Chapter 59 The entire province is on alert, heading straight for Liancheng…
Early morning.
When Shen Zhenzhu got up, she found that Shen Liuhe was no longer at home.
She went to the shop to find Shen Liuhe first, and saw that all the wooden chairs in the shop had been overturned on the tables and had been wiped clean. When she went to the kitchen, Shen Liuhe was busy washing the pots and pans, and the kitchen stove was already spotless.
The steam in the steamer billowed like white clouds, lifting up the plump buns and carrying the hopes of this family.
Shen Zhenzhu silently came out of the shop, took out her monthly pass to wait for the bus, and staggered to the Agricultural and Commercial Bank.
Emerging from the Agricultural and Commercial Bank, Shen Zhenzhu's face radiated joy. It was rare for bank staff to proactively approach someone seeking a loan, especially not someone as well-known as Section Chief Shen, who had been featured on the city's television station.
They kindly told her that getting a loan was no problem, and suggested she borrow tens of thousands more; some of the bolder ones even borrowed fifty or one hundred thousand to speculate in stocks.
The junior official was so frightened that he waved his hand repeatedly to decline the offer and hurriedly rushed to the bus stop with the application form in hand.
On the way, I came across a legendary bakery where foreigners taught their skills, and I splurged on a pineapple bun for two yuan for breakfast.
It was rush hour on the bus, and the junior official, unable to find a seat, desperately held the pineapple bun he had bought at a "high price" above his head in the crowded carriage in order to protect it.
The junior cadre can be flattened, but her pineapple bun must be fluffy!
People around her couldn't help but laugh, all staring at her pineapple buns. Before getting off the bus, an older man finally asked, "Is this bread really that delicious?"
Shen Zhenzhu nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
Upon arriving at work, the pineapple buns lived up to Chen Zhenzhu's expectations, being fluffy and soft, exuding the aroma of honey and cream, which made Chen Zhenzhu extremely happy.
I ran to the office first to tell my sixth sister the good news. When I heard her breathe a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone, I smiled broadly.
With half an hour to go before work, Chen Zhenzhu munched on a pineapple bun, engrossed in calculating how to make a reasonable mortgage payment. Anyway, she figured she could afford to be extravagant while traveling; she drank a bottle of Beibingyang soda every other day and ate a pineapple bun once a week.
When Wu Zhongguo came over, he was holding a Hong Kong and Taiwan gossip magazine and talking to Lu Ye and the others behind him.
"How did you all get here together?" Chen Zhenzhu looked up.
Lu Ye said, "Didn't you see the news in Hong Kong? Liu Hongmei and Mrs. Ma reached a settlement, and Liu Hongmei received a HK$30 million inheritance!"
He walked up to Shen Zhenzhu and saw her counting on her fingers, saying, "You need a loan for 10,000 yuan, but that's 30 million Hong Kong dollars!"
Everyone has their own ambitions. You have no idea how happy I am now. I feel comfortable spending my own money.
Chen Zhenzhu calculated that a loan of 10,000 yuan with a five-year repayment period would be the most cost-effective, saving more than 20 yuan in interest per month. She looked up at Lu Ye and said, "Three thousand 10,000s is really nothing special. I can probably pay it off in about 15,000 years. As long as the heart is there, the dream is there, understand?"
These words made Lu Ye feel sad. He took out a Big Bubble Gum from his pocket and gave it to Sister Pearl: "Life is bitter, so I'm giving you a sweet treat."
Zhou Chuanxi didn't think much of it, and said while sweeping the room, "It doesn't matter to us whether others have a thousand or ten thousand. What we actually get is just a fixed salary every month. Besides, our boss has much more than thirty million, and I haven't seen anyone envious."
“That’s because he’s incredibly stingy. I’m not jealous of how much money he has.” As soon as Lu Ye finished speaking, he saw Zhao Qiqi winking at him, and then he turned around and saw Gu Yanzheng standing behind him.
"Who fattened you up like this?" Gu Yanzheng lived up to expectations and began to settle accounts.
Lu Ye, with his neck stiff, said, "Sixth Sister!"
Gu Yanzheng had nothing to say.
"Brother Zheng, I've secured the loan! The landlord has agreed to sell the storefront to our family. Thank you for your concern, everything's settled now." Shen Zhenzhu reported to her boss with a smug look on her face.
Gu Yanzheng said, "If you're okay, I have something to discuss with you. Come downstairs for a bit."
Chen Zhenzhu stood up inexplicably and stuffed the loan application form into the drawer through the gap: "What's wrong?"
Gu Yanzheng kept everyone in suspense: "You'll find out when you go down."
Shen Zhenzhu went downstairs with a puzzled look on her face. Since she had nothing better to do, Lu Ye and the others followed her down.
Gu Yanzheng led them towards the front of the Cherokee. After passing the Cherokee, they found a cream-colored women's motorcycle parked in the shed where he had parked his black motorcycle, with a delicate sidecar next to the driver's seat.
Shen Zhenzhu's mouth gaped open; this was simply the car of her dreams!
Gu Yanzheng said, "Don't thank me. This was sent by Liu Hongmei through someone. She had someone prepare it beforehand. Now that the inheritance case has been resolved perfectly, she asked me to give you the motorcycle as a token of her gratitude."
Shen Zhenzhu said shyly, "I didn't help much, I just solved a case."
Moreover, how could she accept Liu Hongmei's gift? That would be a violation of the rules.
Lu Ye waited and looked around the milky white motorcycle. It was perfect for Chen Zhenzhu's height and build, and the three wheels could also fulfill her great dream of an electric tricycle.
"Liu Hongmei has grown a lot since her trip. This time she must have received guidance from a master. It wasn't specifically for you. She contacted Director Liu directly and said it was a sponsorship for the Criminal Investigation Team." Gu Yanzheng couldn't help but admire her. "Director Liu approved that you can use this motorcycle. Once you can drive it, you can pass it on to other officers."
“The leaders have already approved it, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for me not to accept it, right?” Shen Zhenzhu walked to the milky white motorcycle with bright eyes, touched the front of the motorcycle with affection, and with encouragement from Lu Ye and the others, sat on it and struck a couple of poses.
Gu Yanzheng then asked her to try out his motorcycle, having noticed her long-standing interest in the black motorcycle.
As Chen Zhenzhu pedaled onto the motorcycle known as the "Black Warrior," her heart began to race. Just as she was thinking of getting off, she mimicked Gu Yanzheng's posture, stretching out her legs and barely managing to touch the ground on tiptoe.
Seeing that she was struggling to get out of the car on tiptoe, Lu Ye and Zhou Chuanxi didn't hold back their laughter.
Gu Yanzheng comforted her, saying, "This motorcycle was custom-made for my height, so it's normal that it doesn't fit. The one you ride is just right."
Shen Zhenzhu was helped out of the car by Gu Yanzheng and said coldly, "Because that car was purchased according to my height."
Gu Yanzheng suppressed a laugh, patted Chen Zhenzhu on the shoulder and said, "I have a friend who runs a driving school. You can also get a motorcycle license there. Go practice every day, and you'll be able to ride it on the road in two weeks at most."
Zhao Qiqi said enviously, "It's so great to have your own motorcycle, Sister Pearl. Look, the boss's motorcycle is called 'Black Warrior,' what should your motorcycle be called?"
Looking at the milky white paint and the round, bulging truck bed, Chen Zhenzhu licked her lips and said, "Let's call it 'Mantou' (steamed bun)."
Led by Lu Ye, everyone responded with a loud laugh.
Shen Zhenzhu bared her teeth and threatened them, "Be careful, even if you take the dog out, you won't be allowed to." She then glanced at Gu Yanzheng.
Gu Yanzheng laughed in exasperation: "Why do you always look at me when you're about to take the dog out? Did the last case leave you with some aftereffects? Should you go see a doctor?"
Chen Zhenzhu chuckled and said, "No need."
A few days later, Shen Zhenzhu submitted the loan application, and the landlord immediately transferred the shop to Shen Liuhe after receiving the money.
Going from tenant to landlord, the heavy weight on Chen Zhenzhu's heart was lifted, and she felt incredibly relieved, her eyes always crinkling with joy.
In order to ride a "mantou" (a type of motorcycle) as soon as possible, I would go to the driving school at noon to learn how to ride a motorcycle.
There wasn't time to eat at Sixth Sister's shop, so I bought some stinky tofu next to the driving school for lunch. Carrying the stinky tofu back to the Criminal Investigation Team, I first stopped by "Mantou" (a type of steamed bun) to lovingly touch it, and then finished the stinky tofu in Doudou before slowly going upstairs.
These past few days, Wu Zhongguo has been tinkering with the team's old-fashioned radio, and news broadcasts can be heard from time to time in the office.
Seeing Chen Zhenzhu come upstairs, Wu Zhongguo put down his screwdriver and said, "Dongbo Province is in trouble."
Chen Zhenzhu asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Chuanxi pointed to the document that had just been delivered and said, "It says here that three escaped prisoners from Qianhu Province hijacked a rural bus with 29 hostages. They also killed five people along the way and committed more than ten crimes across multiple provinces. According to their escape route, they will pass through the neighboring Dongbo Province in the next day or two."
"They took twenty-nine hostages and killed seven?! How could they be so audacious?!" Shen Zhenzhu couldn't believe her ears: "That's outrageous!"
Gu Yanzheng strode in from outside, his expression grave, and said, "To conference room number three, emergency meeting!"
Shen Zhenzhu quickly grabbed her notebook and pen and hurried after Gu Yanzheng toward Conference Room No. 3: "Brother Zheng, what case is so urgent?"
"It's exactly what you just said!" Gu Yanzheng said, "The bandits who took 29 hostages did not go to Dongbo Province along the national highway. They suddenly changed their route and came to our province. Yesterday, we discovered that they had robbed a farmers' credit union and shot and killed seven employees inside! We'll discuss the details in a meeting. Go there now."
"Seven more killed?" Shen Zhenzhu had never encountered such a vicious and ruthless bandit before.
With a serious expression, she ran to the conference room and saw Director Liu sitting at the front, engrossed in discussing matters with other leaders. Meanwhile, the entire criminal investigation team of the Municipal Public Security Bureau gradually entered the conference room.
Gu Yanzheng had done his research beforehand. During a break from distributing materials, he said to Shen Zhenzhu, "The provincial department has sent a group of people to track us. According to their route, they will first pass through Shencheng and are very likely to come to Liancheng. If they do come, would you be willing to join the special task force to participate in the investigation of this major robbery?"
Shen Zhenzhu knew that Gu Yanzheng wanted to inform her beforehand, so she looked firmly into Gu Yanzheng's eyes and nodded emphatically: "I'm willing."
***
"Criminal records show that the three escaped convicts who kidnapped 29 hostages across 10 provinces were arrested thirteen years ago for robbing 1,500 yuan in cash from a rural credit cooperative. However, during their capture, the five missing credit cooperative employees were not found. It was suspected that they were murdered and their bodies disposed of, but the bodies were never found. They were sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the Yushu Labor Reform Farm in Hunan Province to work on road construction."
Gu Yanzheng wrote their information on the large blackboard: "Zhao Guoqiang, 41 years old this year, 1.73 meters tall. Round face, slightly overweight, with a gunshot wound on his chin from the last arrest, a very noticeable mark."
Lu Kuishan is 35 years old and 1.77 meters tall. He speaks with a Hekou accent, has a square face, and a volatile temper. He is suspected of killing five credit union employees, as he possesses a homemade gun and has some knowledge of ammunition.
Li Hu, 36 years old, 1.62 meters tall, speaks with a southern accent, and is an unregistered resident. He fled to Wei County, where he met Zhao Guoqiang and Lu Kuishan and participated in robberies, holding the role of the 'brain' among the three. His sudden change of route may be due to his discovery of the arrest operation being carried out by Dongbo Province on the Dongshen National Highway.
Zhao Qiqi fixed the provincial map and the national road map on the blackboard, and Gu Yanzheng analyzed five possible roads leading to Liancheng based on their driving route.
Shen Zhenzhu listened to his analysis from above and wrote down the roads he mentioned. If nothing unexpected happened, these five intersections should be armed with security.
During the discussion, things turned out to be more serious than Shen Zhenzhu had imagined. Director Liu stepped onto the stage and said to everyone, "Comrades, the Provincial Department has issued a province-wide alert order. All comrades on the public security front must conduct security and protection activities during this period. All actions must revolve around four points: hostage safety, precise interception, intelligence coordination, and military deterrence."
I hereby announce that Comrade Gu Yanzheng will serve as the commander-in-chief of the preparatory and security team. To prevent them from entering Liancheng and to ensure timely tactical deployment for their arrest, the preparatory and security team may be renamed the Major Robbery Case Task Force. All personnel of the Municipal Public Security Bureau shall unconditionally cooperate with this work.
The fax machine in the conference room was still transmitting information about the three notorious criminals. Director Liu was in charge, and Gu Yanzheng selected fifteen members to prepare for the security team. The captains of teams one, two, and three joined unconditionally, and all members of team four, including Shen Zhenzhu, were included.
"The other party has changed to license plate number Dong B45347 and is traveling through Shenyang on Beishen National Highway. There is now only one fork in the road. They can either go to Tieji City or come to Liancheng City. It is 170 kilometers away from the fork in the road, and it is expected to take about three hours to arrive."
After the conference, the fifteen elite criminal investigation team members continued their analysis in a smaller meeting.
Gu Yanzheng immediately divided the prepared security team into four groups: a sniper group, an assault group, a negotiation group, and a medical group. He notified all units and departments to set up tiered checkpoints and use concealed roadblocks, such as disguised as construction or accidents, for control. Each department deployed tire deflation devices and sniper positions in the security area to cut off their alternative escape routes. The response speed was first-class, demonstrating a strong command and deployment capability.
At the round conference table, Gu Yanzheng sat next to Shen Zhenzhu and said, "The road infrastructure in Tieji City is poor, with few large lanes. According to my analysis, there is a high probability that the suspect's bus will target Liancheng."
With a grim face, Shen Zhenzhu said, "Among the twenty-nine hostages, there are elderly people, children, and pregnant women. If they enter the Liancheng area, could we have a negotiation expert pretend to be a family member and discuss delivering medicine to them to lure the kidnappers into lowering their guard?"
“Their hands are covered in blood; if they don’t want the hassle, they might just shoot them,” Gu Yanzheng said. “Unless there are conditions for negotiation.”
Thinking of their bloodshed, Shen Zhenzhu's desire to capture them grew stronger.
Park Heung-sung said, "I also think they are probably going to Liancheng, but what is their purpose in going to Liancheng?"
Tian Yongfeng said, "It's possible that they'll pass through here. If that's the case, the situation can still be controlled. But if their final destination is here, then the people will suffer."
Zhou Chuanxi opened the documents, raised his hand and said, "They were imprisoned for robbing a rural credit cooperative back then, and this time they robbed an armored truck, but unfortunately there was no money inside. I suspect it's probably still about robbing money."
Money or hatred could drive them to commit crimes across 11 provinces. Continuing their crimes with impunity, do they really think they can grow wings and fly away?
Shen Zhenzhu looked down at the photo of the three of them. Their crimes were highly random, treating hostages as disposable bargaining chips, a continuously consumed resource, deliberately creating chaos to delay the pursuit, and meticulously calculating routes... They must have some kind of unspeakable secret.
Gu Yanzheng said, "In the early stages of a hostage situation, kidnappers will generally avoid using blood as a bargaining chip. However, as the hostage situation progresses, their threshold will change, and they will begin to systematically torture and kill hostages. For example, they might kill a hostage every 24 hours for a certain purpose."
Shen Zhenzhu, holding a ballpoint pen, looked up and said, "If they really enter Liancheng's territory, I suggest we send out negotiation experts directly and accept the conditions they convey."
“That’s what I was thinking too.” Gu Yanzheng stood up and said, “The radio signal network is ready. All personnel will arrive at their respective areas within half an hour.”
......
After the meeting, the fifteen members of the preparatory guard team went to their respective guard posts to guard and coordinate, as assigned by Gu Yanzheng.
Shen Zhenzhu and Lu Ye followed Gu Yanzheng to the Liancheng-Liancheng National Highway toll station, which would be the only way for the robbers to enter Liancheng.
"I have a feeling," Shen Zhenzhu said, standing at the entrance of the checkpoint, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.
Lu Ye, equipped with a bulletproof vest and a battering ram, said behind her, "I had a feeling too."
This kind of premonition is not a good one, and it often comes true.
Half an hour later, Gu Yanzheng's cell phone rang.
"They entered the ramp and are heading towards Liancheng."
After hanging up the phone, Gu Yanzheng's cold and stern face turned towards the national highway: "Intervention and deployment have been made on all the township and county roads. The preparatory and guard teams have been disbanded and a special task force for the major robbery has been established. Director Tu and Director Liu will be here to oversee the operation later. You should also be prepared."
Lu Ye sighed deeply: "A fierce battle is about to begin."
It was 10:30 p.m., and ordinary vehicles occasionally passed by the checkpoint. No one knew that they were facing a threat that endangered the safety of the entire city.
In an effort to stop the killing, Gu Yanzheng repeatedly tried to contact Dong B45347 via radio.
After several attempts to make a call, vehicle B45347 finally responded.
A radio on a bus carrying people with southern accents broadcasted: "Prepare a week's worth of water, food, and gasoline for me."
In the checkpoint command center, Gu Yanzheng personally negotiated: "Why should I prepare these things for you?"
Shen Zhenzhu lowered her head and said to Lu Ye and Zhou Chuanxi, "Judging from the accent, he should be Li Hu."
Director Liu nodded in front, his eyes fixed on Gu Yanzheng.
"Stop pretending, I know the police have been following us. We'll be at the checkpoint in forty minutes. If you don't want the hostages killed, get everything I need ready. If you try anything funny, see if I dare cut off their heads and kick them to you like a football!"
"The checkpoint doesn't have that much gasoline, and it will take time to mix it. We can only provide 20 liters of gasoline right now, but we can provide plenty of food. Release a group of hostages first, and we will speed up the process of mixing the gasoline."
Park Heung-sung chimed in, saying, "Their bus needs 400 liters of gasoline, which will be delivered by a gas station truck, taking more than two hours in total."
Li Hu heard Gu Yanzheng's voice on the crackling radio. He realized that the police here were not blindly obedient to him because he had 29 hostages in his hands, and were much bolder than before.
Gu Yanzheng and the others waited by the communications radio for his reply. After a long silence, he spoke up: "Don't try to play tricks on me. I can release some of the hostages, but the supplies must be sufficient."
Before Lu Ye and Xiao Min could even get excited, they saw Shen Zhenzhu shaking her head at them.
Gu Yanzheng was not fooled and told Li Hu, "I can't lie to you. The oil tanker does need more than two hours to reach the checkpoint."
Li Hu cursed under his breath and then said, "Prepare as much gasoline as you can, absolutely not just twenty liters! And food and water, nothing can be missing. Put it all fifty meters in front of the checkpoint, with no vehicles or police in front or behind."
Gu Yanzheng calmly said, "I agree to your request, but you must release twenty hostages, prioritizing the release of the elderly, the weak, and pregnant women."
Li Hu made no attempt to conceal his bloodthirsty mentality, calmly stating, "I can kill whoever I want and let whoever I want go!"
Gu Yanzheng said, "I know you don't care about human life, but they have been traveling for more than half a month and have suffered severe physical and mental trauma. If they die in the car, it will be blamed on you."
Li Hu gritted his teeth and said, "I can release a few, but if you try anything funny, I don't mind exchanging them for a new batch of hostages!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhenzhu's eyes lit up, but her heart quickly sank again.
Li Hu's statement perfectly aligns with her speculation that "hostages are viewed as disposable bargaining chips, consumable resources." And kidnappers with this mentality often treat human life as worthless, employing extremely cruel methods.
After hanging up the phone, Gu Yanzheng glanced at Chen Zhenzhu: "The meaning Li Hu revealed during the negotiations proves that the twenty-nine people are still in a state of temporary safety, and at least the criminal threshold of the robbers is still within the normal range."
Shen Zhenzhu followed behind him quickly and said, "This proves that they might release some of the 'burdens' or exchange some of the hostages! If they can conduct a hostage exchange, this will be a great opportunity!"
Gu Yanzheng patted her on the shoulder: "Not bad."
When the task force members gathered for a meeting, Shen Zhenzhu was pleasantly surprised to find that Director Liu shared the same opinion as them.
"In the hostage situation in Suzhou more than ten years ago, after the kidnappers released three hostages, they took five more hostages at the scene," Director Liu said. "Director Tu was also there at the time, and he had members of the special task force infiltrate the area. They shot and killed the kidnappers while they were drinking water. I think we can consider a similar approach."
Director Tu is currently participating in a province-wide emergency response meeting at the provincial headquarters and was unable to come to the site today, so he participated in the conference call instead.
He said on the other end of the phone, "No matter what, we must find out their purpose. With purpose comes weakness. Moreover, the people involved this time are even more ruthless than the bandits in the Suzhou robbery. If we rashly send our people in undercover, they might be discovered and provoke them, like what happened in Liucheng that year, causing consequences that neither you nor I can bear."
Although the Bureau Chief didn't mention the consequences, Shen Zhenzhu had seen the files with Zhang Jie.
She knew about a hostage situation that had occurred at a hospital in Liucheng. At the time, there were six hostages being held hostage. After the sniper attempt failed, the hostage-taker, provoked, killed all the hostages on the spot and then slit his own throat. The scene was extremely gruesome.
Director Liu said to Director Tu on the other end of the phone, and also to every member of the task force: "They may not necessarily make an exchange, but if they do want to exchange the elderly, the weak, or pregnant, we will, on the principle of voluntariness, give priority to choosing comrades who appear to be less dangerous but are actually skilled to infiltrate."
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Author's Note: Miss Zhuzhu is itching to get started: Just say my name!
***
See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope coming! [Let me see]
Regarding the undercover agent, Pearl was only shown on local TV; it wasn't broadcast outside the province. There wasn't the widespread internet dissemination of information back then. Also, the escapees were all in labor camps, living in multiple provinces and hadn't seen the television broadcasts, so we'll assume we don't know that. [kissing emoji]
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