T.N: Thanks to a Kofi donation, there will be an extra chapter today! Thank you very much!
Everyone in the office sprang to their feet in excitement. Liu Ming, the director of the local police station responsible for Mingcheng Residential Complex, spoke first: “That lunatic finally showed himself! Captain Han, I’ll take people and arrest him.”
But Han Huaixiao didn’t believe Chen Zhengde was actually at the West Industrial District. Before his plan succeeded, he wouldn’t have exposed himself so easily. Still, whether it was Chen Zhengde or not, they couldn’t afford to miss any chance to cut off his escape.
“Director Liu,” Han Huaixiao said, “notify officers around the West Industrial District to lock the area down. Have Captain Qi assign a SWAT unit to you. Take them and make the arrest.”
Over at Garage Exit 2, Qi Xuhui’s team had discovered another timed bomb and was dismantling it at full speed. However, no other explosives had been found anywhere else. Han Huaixiao’s mind raced. Bombs had only been found at Exits 1 and 2, but was that really all of them? Should they keep evacuating, or halt everything? If they continued evacuating, would Chen Zhengde trigger another bomb? After weighing it for barely a minute, Captain Han made the call:
Continue the evacuation.
He trusted Qi Xuhui’s SWAT team and the explosives experts. The bomb at Exit 2 was likely the last one Chen Zhengde had planted, so staying put would only play right into his hands.
But after the explosion and Chen Zhengde’s messages in the residents’ group, evacuation in Building One was grinding to a halt. Many residents were terrified. They feared that evacuating would anger Chen Zhengde, and a larger explosion might occur while they were going downstairs, one big enough to destroy the entire building. Some even planned to follow his instructions and go to the rooftop.
“Can you guarantee our safety while evacuating?!”
“What if there’s another explosion on the way down?!”
Every officer assigned to evacuation faced the same questions. The residents’ desire to leave and their fear of dying midway pulled against each other like a wobbling scale, and under those conditions, a rapid evacuation was impossible.
Han Huaixiao took the property manager’s phone, reopened the residents’ group, and lifted the ban. Just as he was about to speak, Chief Yan took the phone from him, motioning for him to focus on command work instead, and let him send a voice message to the group.
“Hello, residents. I’m Yan Zheng, Director of the Lang City Municipal Bureau…”
Ten minutes remained until Yang Xiaoyu’s birthday.
The more urgent the situation became, the calmer Captain Han grew. His thoughts stayed razor-clear. Was the fire in the West Industrial District a coincidence or a diversion?
But if it was a diversion, did that mean Chen Zhengde truly intended to use fire? Or was there another objective altogether? Right now, Building One, and the entire complex for that matter, was packed with police. Chen Zhengde couldn’t get in. At this point, not even a mosquito could slip through, so how could he be so certain his plan would succeed?
Lang City Airport wasn’t far away. Outside the window, a red-eye flight roared overhead, the low rumble of its engines bleeding into the room. Xiao Ye, surrounded by so many senior officials, barely dared to breathe. Hearing the noise, she worried it might disturb them, so she moved quietly toward the window to close it.
She had only taken two steps when Han Huaixiao suddenly stiffened. He strode over in long steps and seized her with a sharp question: “Is the rooftop door open or closed right now?!”
The harshness in his voice made her flinch.
“O-open… it’s open…”
Han Huaixiao didn’t wait to hear anything else. He turned sharply to Wen Yu, ordering, “Wen Yu, immediately scan for drone signals near Building One! Hack their control systems and disable or ground them, now!”
That passing flight had given him the answer. No one could approach Building One from the ground, not even a bug. Chen Zhengde certainly couldn’t. But drones could approach from the air.
After issuing the order, Captain Han bolted out of the command room, opened the public comm channel, and ran toward Building One.
“All units near rooftop access points, get up there immediately and lock the rooftop doors! Under no circumstances should residents be allowed to go onto the rooftop!”
Xiao Ye watched the young Captain vault cleanly over two electric scooters, cutting through a shortcut as he sprinted toward Building One. His earlier question echoed in her mind… along with the message she’d received that afternoon, and the 5,000 yuan transfer.
Her blood ran cold.
She made a grave mistake.
That afternoon, she’d received a friend request. Thinking it was just another resident, she’d approved it without much thought, but the messages that followed read:
[Hello, Mama Ye, I’m Yang Xiaoyu’s father, the owner of unit 1104. May I ask you for a favor?]
[My son loved our apartment in Mingcheng. When we bought it, he was so happy, he hugged me and kept calling me “Dad.” As his father, I want to do one last thing for him.]
[The rooftop is too cold. His birthday is coming up. Could you quietly go up and open the rooftop door, so Xiaoyu can return to his favorite home and warm himself up?]
[You’re a mother too. I hope you can understand how I feel as a father. Take this 5,000 yuan and buy something nice for your child.]
Thinking of what her former colleague had said about having nightmares lately… thinking of how residents in the group chat had mentioned that before freezing to death, the owner of 1104 had asked for the property management’s phone number…
Thinking that everyone knew the rooftop door was usually locked, that no one went up there anyway, especially after Yang Xiaoyu’s death, when people deliberately avoided the rooftop…
Opening it quietly wouldn’t be noticed.
Nothing would happen.
Then she thought of her son, who had been begging to join his school’s study trip. In a moment of weakness, Xiao Ye agreed.
Now she collapsed to the floor.
………………..
On the other side of the complex, Han Huaixiao sprinted toward the rooftop. When he reached it, he saw that Xia Ling and Zhang Tianhua were already standing guard.
Xia Ling looked at him in confusion, asking, “Captain Han, what’s wrong with the rooftop?”
“Chen Zhengde is very likely planning to carry out his revenge here.”
“Have we caught him? Is he really in the West Industrial District?”
“Not yet. And I don’t think he’s there either,” Captain Han replied. “He probably handed his phone to someone else and is remotely directing them to send messages.”
“Then where is he?”
At that, Captain Han scanned the surrounding buildings. “If he really plans to attack the residents with drones, he won’t be far from Mingcheng,” he answered. “And he wouldn’t miss watching the revenge play out either. He should be somewhere nearby, somewhere he can see Building One.”
Zhang Tianhua frowned. “Drone attack?!”
Han Huaixiao’s gaze fixed on the only tall building at the construction site across from Mingcheng. “If I’m not mistaken,” he continued, “forcing the residents onto the rooftop was meant to let him attack them with drones.”
Zhang Tianhua sucked in a breath. “Holy shit… don’t tell me he strapped bombs to drones and planned to drop them once everyone got up there?!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Yu’s call came through.
“Captain Han, we’ve located Chen Zhengde! Half an hour ago, he entered the construction site across from Mingcheng. We’ve also detected signals from three drones inside. We’ve successfully hacked their control systems and grounded them.”
Han Huaixiao turned and ran downstairs, issuing orders over the public channel.
“All units assisting with evacuation around Mingcheng’s perimeter: First Team and Third Team, move immediately to the newly built high-rise across the street. The suspect is there. First Team, secure all exits. Third Team, after midnight, if there are no explosion sounds, begin a building search. Use cover when moving. Watch for explosives.”
Zhang Tianhua and Xia Ling followed behind Han Huaixiao at full speed. Just as they reached the ground floor, the clock struck midnight, and…
Three explosions erupted from the construction site across the street.
Xia Ling didn’t slow down, speaking as she ran. “That lunatic! If we hadn’t predicted he’d act tonight and persuaded residents to evacuate early, a lot of people really would’ve been terrified by the garage explosion and forced onto the rooftop!”
The residents didn’t know Chen Zhengde’s true goal. Compared to the threat of unpredictable explosions, going up to the rooftop to mutter a few words of “repentance” felt like the safer option. But once they gathered on the rooftop, bomb-laden drones would descend into the crowd and explode. The rooftop would become a living hell. That was why Chen Zhengde had diverted firefighting and medical forces.
Not to start a fire, but to delay rescue after the attack, ensuring more injuries and deaths.
Chen Zhengde stared at the empty rooftop across the street and violently hurled his binoculars into the corner, watching as they shattered into pieces.
But that wasn’t what enraged him most.
What truly drove him mad was that the drones had been grounded by the cops. Even now, he still couldn’t believe the police had not only predicted the timing of his attack, but also uncovered the full extent of his plan!
He stood there, powerless with rage, for half a minute. Then, glancing at the bombs strapped to the drones, their timers already counting down, he pulled off his cap and left quickly.
…………………..
After the first explosion at Garage Exit 1, ambulances arrived swiftly, and Xia Hang helped paramedics evacuate the injured. Once the order to continue evacuation came through, he remained near Exit 1, directing traffic.
Outside Exit 1 was a street. Under the threat of imminent explosions and mass evacuation, residents were on edge. One driver, after exiting the complex and turning onto the street beside the construction site, made a mistake and slammed into a roadside tree. The car caught fire immediately.
A burning vehicle could explode at any moment.
The other drivers panicked and floored the accelerator to escape the danger zone, and police officers tried to rush in to rescue the occupants, but were blocked by the accelerating traffic.
Huang Xin from the local police station had been working alongside Xia Hang the whole time, but his first impression of the young officer was skeptical. Everyone knew the Major Crimes Unit was full of elite, brutal, and top-tier officers, but the kid looked even younger than him, a fresh graduate!
Pale complexion, slim build, a handsome face that could have debuted at any moment…
So, how had he gotten into the Major Crimes Unit?!
Wasn’t he just a standard example of a connection hire?!
But in the midst of chaos, that “connection hire” moved so fast that Huang Xin barely saw how.
He only caught a blur before Xia Hang leapt, landing on the roof of a speeding car. At that speed, standing was impossible. Yet Xia Hang stabilized instantly, jumped onto the roof of another vehicle in the adjacent lane, then executed a clean leap and roll, landing safely.
The entire sequence took less than three seconds, and Huang Xin stood there, dumbfounded.
Xia Hang yanked open the damaged car’s door and pulled out the young couple trapped and injured inside. Other officers finally managed to halt traffic, rushing in with fire extinguishers.
Rescue, firefighting, traffic control… it wasn’t a surprise that the scene descended into chaos once more. After pulling the couple to safety, Xia Hang sensed something off.
A subtle shift in the air.
He scanned his surroundings casually and caught sight of a familiar silhouette. Before Han Huaixiao’s command even came through, Xia Hang was already moving.
Chen Zhengde wasn’t wearing a cap or a mask anymore. From behind, he looked like any other passerby, but Xia Hang had an exceptional memory. He’d watched Chen Zhengde’s surveillance footage countless times. He knew his back, his gait, the slight habit of placing more weight on his left foot than his right.
So without hesitation, Xia Hang followed him.
Leave a Reply