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Chapter 166: Chapter 145 - Fully Prepared_1
"Knock, knock, knock..." the door to Tang Qing’s house was being pounded on.
Tang Qing quickly got up and turned on the light, pretending to be drowsy as he went to answer the door.
"Creak...snap..."
A sharp friction sound came from the main gate, startling the three police officers standing nervously at the door. They reflexively placed their hands on their waists, appearing as if they were ready to draw their guns. However, they relaxed once they realized it was the door. It was only natural given their overly sensitive state, with a serious gun shooting event having taken place in the middle of the night. This wasn’t just about a pistol bullet, but also rifle ones. The fact that someone in this country had the audacity to use weapons like these for wounding people was nothing short of outrageous.
"Hello officers, what brings you here?" Tang Qing shamelessly played cute while asking. However, there was no mistake, the man leading the bunch was indeed a mature police officer, with two young officers trailing behind him. From the weariness in their eyes, it was clear they had been awakened by a wake-up call from their superior.
Being a police officer was never easy. Tang Qing’s uncle was no exception. It may sound glorious to be a police station chief, but it meant that you had to be on call 24/7. Whenever incidents occurred in the middle of the night, you’d get a phone call and have to immediately report in. There would be days when you wouldn’t have time to go home. Apart from that, there would be numerous overtime duties unrelated to the main job. To outsiders, the life of a police chief could seem very glamorous and commendable, however, only the individual knows the real exhaustion that comes with it, especially diligent officers like Qin Yugang.
All Tang Qing could do about it was apologize.
Seeing a handsome young man answer the door, the senior police officer relaxed.
The three officers at the door were experiencing complex emotions. From where they stood, catching crooks was a noble duty. But, there were exceptions. They found it straightforward to deal with petty thieves and average criminals. They were gallant when it came to ’easy jobs’ like those, but not this one. This time, the criminal they were up against was ’hardened to the core’. While they yearned to make an arrest, the last thing they wanted to do was encounter the offender.
After all, they were dealing with an armed criminal this time. Who knew what weaponry he possessed aside from the rifle, or how proficient he was in hand-to-hand combat. Being up against such a ’professional fighter’, if they were to encounter him, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that their survival chances would be slim. As human beings, police officers were not known for their bravery or fearless nature. They too had the instinct to avoid danger and pursue comfort.
"Young man, are your parents home?" Asked the older officer.
Before Tang Qing could respond, his father called from inside, "What’s going on, Tangtang? Who’s there?"
Tang’s father and mother, exhausted from a day’s work, were in a deep sleep and not awakened by the police sirens. Yet, they were stirred awake by the sound of their own front door. They had thought about changing the door or lubricating it to suppress the noise, but they figured the loud noise could serve as a form of theft deterrent. If a thief broke into the house, the loud noise would scare them away. It was more effective than a lock.
"Dad, it’s the police. They probably have some questions." Tang Qing turned and replied.
Upon hearing it was the police, Tang’s father and mother hurried over. Lin Jiaxue, wrapped in her coat, also emerged from her room. Seeing the police at the front door, everyone couldn’t help but feel anxious. After all, an inherent fear of the police was ingrained into most people.
"Dear officers, may I ask what the matter is?" Although their sleep was disturbed, Tang’s father and mother dared not show impatience, smiling as they spoke. Given it was the middle of the night, they knew it couldn’t be a minor issue.
"Well, we wanted to inquire if you had heard any strange noises recently, or seen any unusual individuals around here." The older officer asked, following protocol, notebook in hand. The two young officers behind him, suspecting that there were no criminals present, left to knock on the door of the next house asking similar questions.
"Not really, we were busy all day and slept soundly. I was only awakened by the sound of our door opening just now. Didn’t hear anything else," Tang’s father shook his head, with Tang’s mother echoing the same sentiment from the side.
The police officer then looked at Lin Jiaxue, who quickly said, "I didn’t hear anything either, except for your police sirens and the opening of the gate."
She was a light sleeper and was awakened by the first sound of the sirens. However, she stayed in a daze until a large number of police cars arrived, after which she couldn’t fall asleep anymore.
After Lin Jiaxue finished, the elder officer looked at Tang Qing.
Fine then.
Seeing the officer’s resolute look, Tang Qing also said, "I didn’t hear any unusual noise either. I was awakened by the knocking at the door. Officer, what happened?"
The policemen didn’t doubt the Tang family’s words. Given the noise of their door, if anyone entered or left their house, the whole neighborhood would hear it. As for climbing out of the window and back up? That was outrageous, not even the world champion could do that. It’s okay to come up with creative ideas when solving cases, but daydreaming would be looking for trouble. Besides, from here, they couldn’t even see the steel factory. They didn’t have much hope to begin with, otherwise they wouldn’t be standing at the door asking questions so casually. The residents close to the steel factory would face a much more detailed line of questioning.
"Nothing much, just a criminal in the area. Be careful when you go out in the near future. Since none of you have noticed anything unusual, go back to sleep. If you remember something, let us know. If your tip is reliable, the Public Security Bureau offers a reward of 100,000." The senior officer naturally wouldn’t tell ordinary people the real situation, but the reward of 100,000 was real. It was not uncommon for such high rewards for serious cases.
"One hundred thousand." Mother Tang gasped, Father Tang was also wide-eyed. Even Tang Qing assisted with his expression of ’what a huge sum of money’. As for Lin Jiaxue, her nerves were rather big, and she was not much interested in money, only feeling a slight surprise.
"Alright, you guys go back to sleep, I’ll go ask the next house." Seeing their reactions, the officer laughed. In today’s day and age, one hundred thousand could represent half a house, it was not a sum to scoff at. He had seen a great deal of such expressions.
"Alright, take care, officer," says Qin Yuzhen loudly.
"Hmm," Upon finishing the questioning, the senior police officer leads the other officers upstairs for further inquiries.
"Squeak...bump," another pig-killing-like noise.
After closing the door, everyone retired to their rooms to rest.
However, Tang’s parents could not sleep, thinking about the one hundred thousand reward, and also because the sirens outside kept sounding. From the window, you could see no less than ten police cars coming and going in the neighborhood. Even the Armed Police were patrolling everywhere.
Everyone realized that something major was going on. In all these years, the whole county had never seen such a large search operation.
Tang Qing, who was involved, was restless on the couch. Despite dodging the police’s inquiry, he did not dare to relax. His uncle was a cop, so he never underestimated the intelligence of police officers. There are too many people inside, like the leading role in "Detective Chinatown", those who are talented in the police system, are not nonexistent but quite frequent, considered beloved assets. Tang Qing, who had seen many ’bizarre affairs’, would never underestimate the number of ’madmen’ in the world.
"Let Tangtang and the others go back to the village early tomorrow."
"Hmm."
......
This night was destined to be a sleepless night.
County, city, and provincial leaders were all awakened by a phone call.
The incident had been reported to the Ministry of Public Security. Naturally, the order that came down was to thoroughly investigate. The Ministry of Public Security, in an overnight effort, set up an investigation team to rush here. All the county police were on patrol, the city’s reinforcements were on the way, and the Armed Police and stationed troops had set up checkpoints around the county town’s main thoroughfares.
A group of armed bandits sneaking into the country and carrying pistols to inland provinces was an earth-shattering case. Then this person was inexplicably killed by another group with rifles, making the case even more complicated. Their only clue was hoping to find the person who made the emergency call in the morning. However, they were unclear about the life or death of the emergency caller. But, it’s clear that since this group of people did not leave K county town and died here, the person they were looking for should also be around the county. Otherwise, the opponents would have already moved.
Just as the leaders were worried, they received a call about Wei Jun’s ’capture’.
Wei Jun and his companion were ’forced’ by Tang Qing to run towards a distant village. Under the faint moonlight and the guidance of scattered lights in the distance, after twenty minutes, the two finally arrived at the nearest civil residence. Wei Jun had long discarded his phone. He had no option but to ask to borrow one from the villagers.
However, at midnight, when someone knocked on the door, no one would be willing to open it.
After much persuasion, the villagers inside refused to open the door. Seeing the distress and blood on both of them, they became even more nervous. They immediately reported to the police and called their neighbors for help.
Therefore, the first to arrive were not the police, but the awakened neighbors, each carrying a shovel and carrying poles, glaring at them and not allowing them to leave. Yet they had no intention of leaving. Seeing all the fully armed villagers, Wei Jun laughed. They were finally safe.
It was another five minutes before the police arrived. Two vehicles came at once, followed by an Armed Police Van.
As soon as the police got out of the car, they saw the mud and blood on Wei Jun’s companion and immediately drew their guns, dispersing the villagers: "Do not move, break it up. It’s dangerous to gather around them."
Armed Police Officers at the back quickly loaded their guns, pointing at Wei Jun and his companion. The tension skyrocketed. Today’s event was too significant, although they did not know who Wei Jun was, but it was certainly connected with this crime.
Seeing so many police officers and someone ready to open fire, the villagers were terrified. They immediately dispersed—running to a distance to continue watching. They were afraid that Wei Jun and his companion would take them as hostages.
Wei Jun was not scared being at gunpoint, as long as he did not make any misunderstanding actions, the police in front would not shoot.
So, following the actions on TV, Wei Jun and his companion quickly raised their hands and said, "Hello, officers. I made the emergency call this morning. I surrender, and I’ll go with you."
Hearing this, the lead officer breathed a sigh of relief. They finally got a breakthrough. But they did not dare to be careless; they signaled their subordinates to search the two against the village’s enclosure wall. Seeing no threatening weapons, they were handcuffed and put into police cars, along with several enthusiastic villagers
After the police left, the villagers also dispersed. Probably, they would be bragging about their assistance in the ’bad guy’s’ arrest for a long time to come.
