The police car that had been closely tailing from behind didn't rush to follow through.
The leading police car slowed noticeably as it reached the intersection. Inside, the officers watched the accelerating Mercedes-Benz with nothing but a cold sneer on their faces.
They all knew what awaited the Mercedes ahead.
"Deploy the spike strip!"
On the other side of the intersection, a traffic officer who had been in position shouted.
Sure enough, the Mercedes had barely sped fifty meters past the intersection when a black box on the roadside suddenly launched a metal spike strip several meters long.
The densely packed steel spikes pointed upward, resembling a menacing black centipede, instantly covering the entire lane.
The Mercedes had no time to react.
"Screech—bang—!"
As the tires rolled over it, there was first the sound of rubber being pierced and torn, followed by a dull thud as the wheel hub slammed directly onto the spikes.
Then came a series of chaotic "clang-clang" noises as the air in the tires rapidly escaped within seconds.
The car's body suddenly sank, and the steering began to drift uncontrollably.
The driver's face turned pale.
He gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling the resistance become unusually heavy, as the car began to swerve erratically down the road like a drunken man.
Instinctively, he slammed on the gas, but the engine roared in vain, and the speed visibly decreased instead of increasing.
Desperately, he glanced at the dashboard.
The tire pressure monitoring values were plummeting, and the icons for several tires lit up with glaring red warnings.
"Young master!" the driver's voice trembled, "The tires... they're all blown... in less than half a minute, the car won't move!"
In the back seat, Lin Yutang instinctively reached out to grab the front seat as the car began to shake.
The sound of sirens outside grew closer, close enough that she could see the reflective vests on the officers through the car window.
Her fingers slowly tightened, and a surge of heat rose in her chest.
Can't move.
Those words, spoken by the driver, fell on her ears like a lifeline dangling down.
That was a lifeline.
In the passenger seat, Tracy's previously calm expression finally changed.
He turned sharply to the bodyguard in the back seat who had been on the phone, speaking quickly, "Is it handled over there?"
The man who had been on the phone put it down, his expression equally grim, "Young master, the boss said... he's coordinating on the phone, telling us not to confront the police directly and to wait for his message."
Don't confront them?
Tracy looked out the window; the police cars had surrounded them again, and in the distance, more vehicles with flashing lights were approaching.
He took two deep breaths, his chest rising and falling, then turned his head, his gaze falling on Lin Yutang's face.
The car had come to a complete stop by now.
Around the vehicle, police cars closed in one after another, blocking every possible escape route.
Officers in black uniforms and blue uniforms got out, crouching, weapons in hand, as they approached the Mercedes step by step.
The red and blue lights of the police cars shone through the window, casting an intermittent glow on Tracy's face.
"Lin Yutang," his voice was low, but each word was enunciated clearly, "if you said anything you shouldn't have inside..."
He paused, struggling to control his emotions, his tone laced with threat, "I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."
With that, he turned his head away, no longer looking at her.
"The police station can't hold me."
Lin Yutang leaned back in the seat, listening to her own heartbeat pounding louder and louder.
Outside, the officers' footsteps drew closer, and someone was shouting, their voice muffled as it penetrated the car window.
She looked at the police cars and officers surrounding them, then at Tracy's unmoving profile.
Her mind was a whirl of conflicting thoughts.
What should she do?
"Everyone in the car! Get out immediately!"
The police command came from outside the window.
Tracy didn't move immediately.
He gave Lin Yutang one last look, the meaning clear: remember what he just said.
Then he turned his gaze away and instructed the two men in the back, "Get the lawyer here as soon as possible, get out of the car, don't resist."
With that, he reached out and pushed open the car door, moving unhurriedly, as if stepping out of a chauffeured car parked at a hotel entrance.
As he stepped out, the bodyguard in the back who had been checking the license plate felt his phone vibrate.
He quickly pulled it out, lowered his voice, and said, "Young master, we found it. The person who reported us is Lu Jingxiu, a junior in the Business Administration program at Ba City University."
Tracy nodded, committing the name to memory.
He stood by the car, adjusted his cuffs, and looked up coldly at the officers approaching.
"Wait for my lawyer..."
He only got halfway through the sentence before several officers stepped forward, swiftly grabbing his arms and pressing his upper body onto the hood.
Immediately, a pair of handcuffs snapped onto his wrists.
The June sun had heated the hood so much it could fry an egg.
Tracy's face was pressed against it, and the composure he'd maintained since getting in the car finally showed a brief crack.
He instinctively struggled, but couldn't move, a flicker of disbelief and confusion crossing his expression.
He probably hadn't expected the Xia police to be so direct and rough.
The other three weren't faring much better.
The driver was dragged from the driver's seat, hands pinned behind him against the car door.
One bodyguard was pressed against the car's rear, the other pinned to the ground, the sound of handcuffs clicking shut one after another.
Not far away, beside a bright blue Aston Martin, Lu Jingxiu leaned against the car door, hands in his pockets, watching the chaotic scene with a satisfied expression.
His gaze swept over the men being taken away, lingering a second longer on the leader who had just been pinned to the hood.
Hmm, he looked quite decent.
But in this situation, being handsome was useless.
The suspects were escorted one by one into the police cars, their hands securely cuffed.
Lin Yutang was flanked by two female officers, led to another police car.
By now, quite a few onlookers, drawn by the sirens, had gathered in a circle at a distance, pointing and filming with their phones.
She stood by the police car door, her gaze sweeping around, her eyes drawn to the bright blue sports car parked by the roadside not far away.
The color and style were too eye-catching to ignore.
Beside the car stood a young man, evenly built, arms crossed as he leaned against the hood, looking relaxed.
He was very good-looking, with a clean-cut appearance that was completely different from Tracy's dark, cold handsomeness.
"Ma'am? Is there something wrong?" The female officer beside her noticed she hadn't moved, followed her gaze, and asked.
"Oh, no, nothing." Lin Yutang hurriedly looked away, not daring to look again, and ducked into the back seat of the police car.
The door closed, shutting out the noise and stares from outside.
She leaned back in the seat, burying her face in her crossed arms. Her heart was still racing, her mind a tangled mess.
Was she safe now?
Maybe only temporarily.
Tracy's words kept replaying in her mind.
"The police station can't hold me."
If anyone else had said that, she might not have believed it.
But this was Tracy. She'd been caught so many times, she knew all too well the extent of this man's power.
Now that she was in police custody, what next? Cooperate with the investigation, tell the police about her experiences in Germany? Or be too scared to say anything?
Would speaking up really help?
She closed her eyes, her breathing erratic.