In the middle section of the Third Ring Road, four police patrol vehicles fanned out and parked around a roadside corner. A multi-purpose tactical vehicle dropped off over a dozen officers at the intersection before speeding away.
Sitting in the lead vehicle, Qin Yu picked up the walkie-talkie and softly instructed, “They’re still inside. We’ll make the arrests in the groups we just assigned. There are people in the alley, but try not to fire your weapons or make any noise. We don’t know the layout inside…”
“Received!”
“Understood!”
“…!”
The members of the various groups immediately responded after receiving their orders.
Qin Yu pushed the door open and stepped out. He looked down, checked his firearm, and tucked it into his waistband. Just as he was about to move, Qi Lin came running up from behind. “Hey, I finally caught up.”
Qin Yu turned at the sound. “You’re done?”
“Yeah, yeah, just finished,” Qi Lin said, panting heavily.
Qin Yu had no time for small talk. He fired off rapid orders: “Stick to the original plan. You take vehicle two and wait at the intersection of the Third Ring Road and Maple Forest Road. Once the arrest is successful, I’ll get in your car immediately. If any armed criminals show up as backup, call out their position.”
“Understood!” Qi Lin said gratefully. “Thank you, Group Leader, for always taking care of me.”
“Don’t mention it.” Qin Yu didn’t have time for pleasantries. As he walked, he spoke into the walkie-talkie: “Lao Mao, prepare to approach the alley. We’re charging the front.”
“Received!”
…
Three minutes later.
Wearing a Kevlar Helmet and light green tactical gear with a steel-plated Bulletproof Vest, Lao Mao led a ten-man team. Crouching low, they approached the alley and squatted in two groups on either side, waiting for orders.
By the roadside, Qin Yu asked into his walkie-talkie as he walked briskly, “Any high ground?”
“No, just an external staircase. Should give a clear view of the second floor.”
“Alright, have your group take up positions at second-floor level. Your main job is to provide cover,” Qin Yu instructed.
“Got it.”
Finishing his comms, Qin Yu arrived at the alley entrance. He glanced down the empty street, patted Lao Mao’s shoulder, and said, “Lao Hei and I will go in first. The rest of you hold your positions.”
“Okay.” Lao Mao nodded.
“Let’s go, Lao Hei,” Qin Yu called out.
Lao Hei, dressed in plainclothes, followed Qin Yu into the alley.
As the two walked shoulder-to-shoulder, slowly strolling deeper into the alley, Qin Yu casually asked, “Nervous?”
“Heh, I’m used to it.” Lao Hei smiled.
“It’s fine, relax.” Qin Yu slung an arm around Lao Hei’s neck. He immediately started staggering, shouting drunkenly, “Take me somewhere fun!”
“You’re drunk.” Lao Hei played along without missing a beat.
Further down the middle of the alley, a middle-aged man sat up from a rickety wooden chair upon hearing the noise, squinting in their direction.
Stumbling along with his arm around Lao Hei for about thirty meters, Qin Yu turned his head and spat. “Fuck, life is so damn hard.”
The spit landed squarely on the shoulder of a nearby burly man.
“You motherfucker!” The burly man’s companion stood up, scowling as he prepared to curse them out.
“Oh shit, there are people here?” Feigning drunkenness, Qin Yu sluggishly turned back. “Sorry about that, brother. Let me just ask… which way is the Duo Duo Club…?”
At first, the burly man thought Qin Yu was just a drunk, but as the man stumbled closer, his eyes narrowed, and he instinctively moved his hand behind his back. “Don’t know.”
“Urgh!”
Qin Yu let out a dry heave, his body lurching directly toward the burly man.
“Damn it, you don’t smell like booze…” The burly man stood up and reached for his gun, while his companion immediately tapped his earpiece.
“Thump!”
Qin Yu lifted his leg, snapping his right foot out like lightning.
“Thud!”
The burly man staggered back two steps, slamming hard against the wall.
“Smack!”
Qin Yu seized the man’s arm and violently yanked him to the left, sending the brute crashing to the ground. A second later, Qin Yu slammed his knee onto the man’s head, using his left hand to pin the gun at the man’s waist. He growled in a low voice, “Don’t yell, or I’ll blow your brains out.”
“We’ve got—!” The burly man wasn’t the least bit afraid of Qin Yu, straining his neck to shout a warning.
Left with no choice, Qin Yu released the man’s arm and instantly clamped his right hand over his mouth. “Behave.”
“Squelch!”
The burly man was relentlessly vicious. Unable to thrash free, he instead bit down hard on Qin Yu’s hand, drawing a steady stream of blood.
On the other side, the moment Qin Yu moved, Lao Hei lunged forward, using a police takedown to tackle the other drug dealer. But this man was just as desperate; the second his mouth was covered, he began thrashing his head wildly.
Seeing that both thugs were utterly reckless and too difficult to quietly subdue, Qin Yu immediately turned his head and signaled.
“Tap tap tap!”
Receiving the signal, Lao Mao led his team sprinting into the alley. Rushing to Qin Yu’s side, they raised their rifle butts and delivered a brutal strike to each of the two criminals’ heads, leaving them bloody and unconscious.
“Our cover is blown.”
Qin Yu stood up and barked, “Breach the door!”
“Clack, clack!”
The sound of the officers racking their Remington riot shotguns rang out crisp and clear.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Three gunshots erupted, shattering the iron door panel. Lao Mao signaled with his hand, shouting, “Tactical formation, advance!”
Hearing this, Qin Yu led the ten frontline officers into the building, but they were immediately taken aback. The first-floor corridor was long, narrow, and dimly lit. Through the gloom, they could just make out a metal staircase at the far end.
“Damn it, advance quickly! They’re definitely not on the first floor.” Qin Yu glanced at the layout and immediately gave the order.
Hearing the order, the officers on both sides pushed forward without hesitation.
Three seconds later, two men appeared at the top of the metal staircase leading to the second floor. Without a word of warning, they raised automatic rifles and fired wildly downward.
“Don’t push up, suppress them!” Qin Yu pressed himself against the corner of the stairwell, clenching his right fist as he dodged the bullets. “Group Two, do you have an angle?”
“We have a shot.”
“Stairway corner, two automatic rifles.”
“Bang! Bang!”
The Police Department had very few dedicated snipers, so this operation had no dedicated sniper support. However, experienced field officers were more than accurate enough with automatic rifles at close range. Upon receiving the order, the ambush group on the external staircase fired two rounds through the glass, killing the two gunmen holding the second-floor landing.
As the bodies tumbled down the stairs, Qin Yu signaled and shouted, “Move in!”
“Whoosh!”
Qin Yu led the assault team, swiftly sweeping up the stairs and breaching the second floor.
The living room was pitch black, with only the moonlight from outside faintly outlining the room. Sweating, Qin Yu advanced three or four steps and asked in a low voice, “Why is it empty? Group Two, did you see anyone jump?”
“Negative. From our angle, we can’t see the situation inside the living room,” the voice responded immediately.
Qin Yu frowned, momentarily stunned.
“Clang!”
Just then, a faint metallic sound came from the left. Lao Mao, who had just rushed up behind them, called out nervously, “Qin Yu… Qin Yu… I hit the jackpot. I stepped on a mine.”
When Qin Yu turned around, an officer from Lao Mao’s squad was already crouching down, reaching out to tentatively feel for the tripwire.
“Don’t move, don’t move…” Lao Mao yelled, his right leg trembling. “It’s not a wire. I stepped right on a mine.”
Everyone froze for a split second before immediately backing away to guard the living room entrance. They were still worried that enemies were hiding in the shadows.
Qin Yu quickly pulled the flashlight from his belt. Crouching down, he briefly shone the beam on the mine by the bathroom door. He spoke succinctly, “Mao, if you step back, your right leg is definitely gone. Or you can stay put, then lift your foot while I use my gun to bat the mine away.”
“Can you hit it cleanly?”
“Hard to say. I don’t know if the mine’s been modified.”
“Are you kidding me? Hard to say?! If you miss, I’m dead!” Lao Mao glared and shouted.
“I can knock it away. You won’t lose the leg,” Qin Yu said, his right hand gripping the flashlight perfectly still. “What’s it going to be? Give the word!”
Lao Mao was silent for a long moment, all traces of his usual joking demeanor gone. “Save the leg.”
“On three, you lift your leg.” Qin Yu grabbed an automatic rifle and barked, “Everyone else, get back!”
“Three!”
“Two!”
“One! Lift it!” Qin Yu roared.
Lao Mao didn’t dare hesitate. He jerked his leg up and lunged backward.
“Smash!”
Swinging the rifle butt like a golf club, Qin Yu launched the mine out from beneath Lao Mao’s foot.
“Crash!”
The mine shattered the window and sailed outside.
But seconds ticked by, and not a single sound came from outside.
Exhausted, Lao Mao collapsed onto the ground. “Mother… fucker… why didn’t it blow?”
“It was a fake.” Qin Yu gritted his teeth. “A dummy mine. Group Two, check the perimeter for anything unusual…”
“Sizzle… clink!”
The moment those words left his mouth, an assault team member on the left accidentally bumped into a cabinet by the wall as he stepped forward, triggering a peculiar sound.
Everyone froze at the noise.
“Fuck, this one’s real!” Lao Mao screamed, his face draining of color. “Get down! Shields up!”
Two officers with riot shields immediately dropped to their knees to set them up, but a massive fireball was already erupting before their eyes.
“BOOM!!”
A deafening explosion ripped through the room. Three officers who didn’t have time to dive for cover were shredded by countless fragments, instantly killed in the blast without even the chance to cry for help.
Flattened against the floor, his ears ringing loudly, Qin Yu shouted, “The house is definitely empty! They made a run for the outside! Group Two, Group Two, keep your eyes open…”
…
Outside.
The hardened criminal A Long sprinted frantically across the courtyard with only one companion. “Fuck, the dogs followed Old Man Ma’s scent here! That guy is completely unprofessional!”
“Is it possible he sold us out?”
“Impossible, he still depends on me for his livelihood.” A Long waved his hand as he yelled. “Call Xia Pa Zi! Tell him to come pick us up! Hurry, or we’re never getting out of here!”