Chapter 70: Cutting In

Chapter Seventy: Interception

The ruthlessness and determination that Bai Zeshou displayed surprised Sun Yanjie; this side of Bai Zeshou was almost unrecognizable to him. The chaotic firefighting efforts were in full swing, drawing so much attention that Gao Debiao and Ye Mao soon heard the commotion. Yet, in a tacit understanding, neither of them made any move.

Bai Zeshou wasn’t particularly surprised by their inaction. He showed no urgency, simply watching as the crowd battled the flames.

An hour later, the fire was finally extinguished. The exhausted firefighters slumped down wherever they could to rest. At this moment, Bai Zeshou let out a cold laugh, turning to the men of Group Three and the police. “Continue searching,” he ordered.

The renewed police search infuriated the residents. But with armed officers before them, they had no choice but to comply.

Just then, someone in the crowd tried slipping away unnoticed, quietly edging toward the outskirts of the group.

Bang!

Suddenly, without warning, Bai Zeshou fired his gun into the air, startling everyone—especially Sun Yanjie, who nearly jumped out of his skin.

Bai Zeshou offered no explanation, only sneered, and shouted toward the crowd, “Try taking one more step, and next time the bullet won’t be aimed at the sky—it’ll be aimed at you.”

People didn’t fully understand his motive, but they turned in the direction of his shout. At the edge of the crowd, they spotted An Guoming.

His face smeared with soot, An Guoming looked grim. As the crowd’s attention shifted to him, he pretended ignorance, glancing around nervously.

This act nearly made Bai Zeshou laugh. “Yes, you. Stop looking around. Arrest him,” he commanded.

Faced with the approaching police and agents, An Guoming chose to run—not outwards, but back into the crowd, firing his gun into the air as he went.

Instantly, panic erupted. An Guoming’s figure vanished into the mass of people, which gave Bai Zeshou quite a headache.

“Captain, if you ask me, we should just gun down the whole lot. That Red Party member’s bound to show himself then,” Monkey suggested, seeing Bai Zeshou’s frustration.

“No.” Bai Zeshou’s face darkened and he stopped him at once.

“So what now? How are we supposed to catch anyone like this?” Sun Yanjie looked to Bai Zeshou for an answer.

“Bring me a rifle,” Bai Zeshou said at length, his eyes scanning the chaos. He sighed and gave the order to Monkey.

Soon, a rifle was handed to Bai Zeshou. He climbed atop a car, aiming into the crowd, tracking with the barrel as he searched for his target.

Bai Zeshou hadn’t wanted to shoot An Guoming, but An’s reckless actions had brought disaster upon the nearby residents. He had no choice but to act.

Bang!

A shot rang out. An Guoming, sprinting through the crowd, was struck in the calf and collapsed with a wretched cry. Bai Zeshou lowered his gun and instructed Monkey, “Go arrest him. Bring him back.”

“Yes, sir.” Monkey hurried off.

“Xiao Bai, impressive! You truly deserve to be top of your class at the military academy,” Sun Yanjie praised, giving Bai Zeshou a thumbs up. After all, finding a target in such a mass was hard enough, but Bai Zeshou had not only spotted him—he hit his leg with a single shot.

Moments later, Monkey returned with the battered An Guoming in tow. Bai Zeshou glanced at him coldly and said, “Take him to headquarters. Let the men know they can stand down.”

After bidding Sun Yanjie goodbye, Bai Zeshou led his team back to the Special Operations Office. But as his car pulled through the gates, he saw Wu Zhengke waiting at the main entrance. Bai Zeshou quickly got out.

“Captain, mission accomplished. The suspect has been apprehended,” Bai Zeshou reported loudly.

“Excellent, you didn’t let me down. You’ve worked hard. Go get some rest—the interrogation can be left to Ye Mao,” Wu Zhengke praised, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Captain, I’m not tired. Since I made the arrest, I should handle the interrogation as well,” Bai Zeshou replied. Though he didn’t know exactly what was going on, he instinctively objected to handing An Guoming over to Ye Mao.

After all, if An Guoming landed in Ye Mao’s hands, it would be impossible to manipulate the situation. As it stood, An Guoming was highly suspicious, but there was no concrete evidence.

“Xiao Bai, go get some rest. That’s an order.” Wu Zhengke’s face hardened at Bai Zeshou’s “naïveté.”

“Yes, sir,” Bai Zeshou replied reluctantly.

Wu Zhengke swept his gaze over the group, then turned and strode inside. Gao Debiao, meanwhile, remarked with sarcastic venom, “Some people always think they’ll get a chance to turn things around, but in the end, they’re just knocked right back where they started.”

Bai Zeshou, his mood sour, snorted and told Monkey, “Hand him over to Captain Ye.”

“But Captain, we caught him!” Monkey protested in a low voice.

“Hand him over to Captain Ye,” Bai Zeshou repeated, then turned and walked out of the Special Operations Office.

Outside, Bai Zeshou had regained his composure. He spotted Ah Hai not far away; their eyes met, and Ah Hai gave an OK sign. Bai Zeshou was reassured.

He crossed to a cigarette stall across the street, bought a pack, then returned to the office.

Meanwhile, inside the interrogation room at headquarters—

As soon as An Guoming was brought in, Ye Mao ordered everyone else out. After a brief pause, Ye Mao spoke with concern, “Mr. An, you’ve had a tough time. I’m sorry you’ll have to stay here for a few days.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” An Guoming replied warily.

“Don’t misunderstand, Mr. An. We’re on the same side, aren’t we? You took a call earlier. The caller must have told you what to do,” Ye Mao said slowly.

Ye Mao’s words struck An Guoming like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened in surprise. Pointing to his shackles, he asked, “If you know who I am, then what is all this about?”

“It’s all a coincidence. Your whereabouts were discovered, so we had to act. Your mission is extremely confidential—very few people know, and I only learned the general outline on my way here,” Ye Mao explained with some emotion.

“So what now?” An Guoming demanded, irritated. It seemed the whole mess was caused by internal problems at headquarters, and he was caught in the crossfire.

“We wait,” Ye Mao replied calmly.

“Wait for what?” An Guoming asked, puzzled.

“We wait for the fish to bite. The bait’s been cast—now we’ll see if the fish takes it,” Ye Mao said with a mysterious smile.