Qin Yu initially had no interest in the four men and the woman, but at Lao Mao’s prompting, he glanced toward the window from the corner of his eye. The four men were uniformly dressed in fur-lined leather jackets, cargo pants, and worn leather boots. Their eyes were sharp, and their exposed skin was tinged red from the cold.
“They don’t look like locals from the Special Zone,” Qin Yu noted, lowering his head.
“How can you tell?” Lao Mao asked, his curiosity piqued.
“They’re dressed too heavily, and they’ve got frostbite,” Qin Yu replied succinctly. “They look like violent criminals from the Unplanned Zone.”
“What do you mean, violent criminals?”
“Guys who make their living through violence.” Qin Yu scratched his nose.
Hearing this, Lao Mao suddenly felt a bit inadequate. “Then if we blindly play the hero here, we probably can’t take them, huh?”
“Did you bring your service weapon?” Qin Yu asked.
“We came out to eat, of course I didn’t bring it.” Lao Mao shook his head.
“Then I suggest we stay put,” Qin Yu frowned, thinking for a moment before adding, “Call the team.”
As the two exchanged hurried words, the four men had already stood up with the girl in tow, settling their bill and preparing to leave.
“Damn, they’re leaving.” Lao Mao’s hands trembled slightly as he picked up his glass, so nervous his words stumbled. “Should we follow them?”
“Are you Nezha on his wind-fire wheels?” Qin Yu replied in disbelief. “They drove here. You’re going to follow them on two legs? Are you joking?!”
“Fuck, I forgot…”
Qin Yu cast a covert glance at the four men, his frown deepening as he added, “If these four violent criminals are here on business, they’re absolutely packing heat. Even if we jump out now, we won’t be able to stop them.”
Lao Mao was actually terrified. Although he belonged to a frontline investigation team, he had it easy—dangerous assignments never fell to him. Usually, the gun in his pants saw more action than the one in his holster, and he had little experience of large-scale armed arrests. Even so, he still turned to Qin Yu. “If we were civilians, we could just let it go. But we wear the uniform. If we run into something like this, we can’t just turn a blind eye. Hurry up and think of something…”
“We have no gear, we’re outnumbered, we can’t tail them, and calling the team now is too late… How the hell am I supposed to think of something?” Qin Yu broke into a cold sweat. “Unless a miracle happens…”
Right at that moment, the restaurant doors swung open. Six burly young men walked in, glancing around before their leader, Lao San, barked, “Qin Yu!”
At the sound of his voice, Qin Yu and Lao Mao instantly whipped their heads around. They stared at Lao San and his team in stunned disbelief before simultaneously muttering with bright eyes, “Damn. A miracle just walked in.”
Lao San wore a light green police uniform. He led the five men from his team over, tilting his head and puffing on an e-cigarette. He glared at Qin Yu and sneered, “Just arrived and you’re already eating out at a restaurant. Your pockets are pretty loaded, huh? Come on, step outside. I’ll…”
“Lao San, are you here on an operation?!” Before Qin Yu could even respond, Lao Mao stepped up, grabbing the man’s arm.
Lao San looked completely bewildered. “What operation?”
“Weren’t you following a lead here?” Lao Mao asked, his eyes full of doubt.
“Yeah! I asked around and heard he was here.”
“Perfect, how many guys did you bring? Are there more of our brothers outside?”
“…” Lao San grew more confused by the second. “Wait, what are you talking about?”
“Are you an idiot?! I ran into them too, why hide it from me?” Lao Mao slapped his arm, demanding urgently, “Do we arrest them in here, or take them outside?”
“No, I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing.” Lao San pointed at Qin Yu. “I came to find him.”
Lao Mao froze, discreetly gesturing toward the four men by the counter. “You’re not here to arrest that group?”
“Arrest them? What’s wrong with them?”
“Talk about a coincidence.” Fine beads of sweat broke out on Lao Mao’s forehead as he lowered his voice. “Those four kidnapped a girl, and we just happened to stumble onto it. Qin Yu and I were just discussing how to handle it, and then you walked in… Say no more. Let’s pin them down right here. We’ve got the numbers.”
“???” Lao San looked utterly lost, stammering for a long moment. “Fuck me, I… I… you… I just came here for Qin Yu.”
“Isn’t Sister Er’s Restaurant in Team One’s jurisdiction? Why the hell are you still talking about Qin Yu at a time like this?!” Lao Mao hissed. “Figure out how we’re going to make the arrest.”
“Figure out my ass… I’m not prepared for this?!” Lao San was utterly dismayed. He glanced up at the four men again. “I don’t even know what these guys do.”
The moment Lao San and his group had entered the restaurant, the four men across the room spotted them. Seeing the uniformed officers huddle up with Lao Mao and Qin Yu instantly put them on edge.
The four exchanged dark glances. They immediately sandwiched the girl between them, lowered their heads, and started toward the exit.
“Stop dawdling. How exactly are we taking them down? Give us a plan!” Lao Mao’s heart pounded as he urged Lao San.
Lao San, looking entirely defeated, took a step back. “You two are the ones who ran into this. What the hell kind of plan am I supposed to make?”
“You guys are the heavy hitters here. We aren’t carrying anything.”
“Heavy hitters my ass!” Lao San broke into a cold sweat. He turned back to the officers he brought with him. “We ran into it, so we can’t just ignore it… Lao Mao is a moron. If we slip away now, he’s liable to report us.”
“How do we play this?”
“Xiao Hu, notify the precinct. Everyone else, fan out,” Lao San ordered under his breath. “Guo’er, step up for a spot check. Ask for their Residence Permits. If they don’t have them, demand their Entry-Exit Permits… If they look like they are about to attack, shoot.”
“I’m doing the spot check, boss?” The young cop named Guo’er looked like he was about to cry. “Make Lao Mao do it!”
“They aren’t in uniform. You go.”
“…Fuck, this is just my fucking luck.” Guo’er cursed. Gritting his teeth, he sidestepped to block the four men’s path. “Black Street Police Department. Let me see your Residence Permits.”
The four men halted, their expressions unreadable as they stared coldly at Lao San’s squad.
The girl stood trapped in their midst. Sweat poured down her temples, her fists clenched white.
“I’m talking to you. Take out your Residence Permits. Let me see them,” Guo’er repeated firmly.
“We came in from the Unplanned Zone to purchase goods,” the short middle-aged man replied in a low rumble. “We don’t have long-term Residence Permits.”
“Show me your Entry-Exit Permits.” Guo’er extended his hand.
“Sure.” The short man lowered his head and reached for his pants pocket.
Lao San was an experienced veteran. Sizing up the man’s heavy clothing, he instinctively took a step back. He pretended to casually place his right hand behind his back, intending to reach for his gun.
Just as the short man shoved his hand into his pocket, the girl suddenly shrieked, “Save me! They’re kidnapping me!”
“Nobody move!”
Before the echo even faded, the short man’s companion flicked his sleeve back. His right hand locked around a T-34 military grenade. “The pin is pulled! You move, we all die!”
“Ahhh!”
Total chaos erupted. Diners screamed, covering their heads as they scattered in all directions.
The short man grabbed the girl and dragged her backward. His expression didn’t so much as twitch. “Cover me. I’m taking the back door.”
Sweat poured down Lao San’s face. His right hand rested on his holster as he pointed at the man with the grenade. “Don’t do anything stupid, brother. If that thing doesn’t go off, we can talk. If it does, there’s no going back.”
Smash!
The moment the words left his mouth, Lao Mao lunged. He snatched a wine bottle from a nearby table and smashed it against the man’s wrist.
“Whoosh!”
The middle-aged man stumbled back, his expression fierce. Without a second’s hesitation, he hurled the live grenade straight into the crowd.
Qin Yu sprang into action, grabbing Lao Mao by the collar and retreating several steps with him.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion ripped through the restaurant. The blast left a crater in the floor. Fragments of brick flew into the air, and two tables were blown to pieces. Three police officers were wounded by shrapnel and flying debris and fell to the floor.
Lao San hit the deck, roaring, “Take cover! Shoot the bastard with the grenade!”
“Bang! Bang!”
Two gunshots rang out. Just as Lao San pushed himself off the floor, a spray of blood mist erupted from his ass, and he collapsed heavily back down.
“Fuck! Fuck me!” Lao San frantically grabbed at his ass. Seeing his hand come away drenched in blood, his eyes bulged as he screamed, “I’ll fuck your mother, Lao Mao… You really are a motherless bastard…”