Chapter 183 Bring it on!
"Who brought this person to the island?" Shen Zhenzhu rushed into the woods and saw that the patrol team was already under the tree.
The patrol team said, "I don't know either, but the Mother Goddess has already ordered the president to arrest the introducer."
The people next to him kept shining flashlights at the top of the tree, and some even tied ropes around their waists, intending to climb the tree and pull him down.
"Xiuzhen, I've come to save you! Wake up! I'm Liu Anni. We promised to get married! I've sold our wedding house to come and take you home."
Liu Anni hugged the tree trunk with one hand and held a megaphone in the other. After speaking, she looked down and saw someone slowly climbing up the tree.
He hung the rope from one end of the horn around his waist, spat on his palms and rubbed them together, then arched his body. In the next instant as he leaped into the air, his superhumanly long arms tightly gripped the opposite tree trunk, hanging there dangling precariously.
"Wow, that's impressive." Shen Zhenzhu exclaimed, "I might not be able to do that."
“Now is not the time to admire him. Liu Anni said he has orc blood and can turn into an ape at night. We thought he was talking nonsense!” A member in a Mediterranean black robe said anxiously, “It turns out he really has special abilities. How am I supposed to explain this?”
Shen Zhenzhu pondered that it might not be a special ability, but perhaps it was a natural ability to climb with well-developed arm muscles, which ordinary people do not have.
Liu Anni leaped through the air across three trees, then hung from one again, raising a megaphone and shouting, "Xiuzhen! My dad said he'll give me his job after we get married, and I'll be able to buy another house soon if I take over his position! Please change your mind and live a good life with me! The police are coming soon, please answer me!"
Liu Anni jumped up and down as she spoke, while Shen Zhenzhu and the others below were extremely anxious.
"Where did the loudspeaker come from?" Shen Zhenzhu's right eyelid twitched wildly as she heard him repeatedly say "the police are coming," and she grabbed someone at random to ask.
"He brought it himself, saying that the satellite dish wouldn't work for him and that he needed to wear a megaphone on his head to receive cosmic signals. Who knew he could do that!"
Shen Zhenzhu then asked, "Where is Xiuzhen?"
The other person thought for a moment and said, "I remember he was a superhuman who could communicate telepathically with people face to face. His heart is still soaking in the bottle. The Mother Goddess said it was a great tonic and would give it to the Navigator in portions."
Shen Zhenzhu couldn't describe her feelings at this moment. She had seen with her own eyes the sealed jar containing the human heart. The incomplete heart had stopped beating in the formalin, and it didn't wait for Liu Anni's arrival.
Liu Anni was unaware of Xiuzhen's ordeal and kept running around the treetops, calling out to his lover. Little did he know that his lover was already fast asleep.
"Stop running! If you move even slightly, I'll shoot!" The goatee-bearded chairman raised his hunting rifle, aimed at the treetop, and shouted, "You dare to cause trouble here? Don't you want to live?!"
Liu Anni hugged the tree trunk, took out a bottle of liquor from his pocket, and splashed it onto the dry branches around him. He shouted fearlessly, "Give Xiuzhen back to me, and I'll take her away immediately, or I'll set the island on fire!"
Shen Zhenzhu advised the goatee-bearded chairman, "Don't fire the gun, be careful of a fire."
The goatee-bearded chairman reluctantly put down his hunting rifle. He had never been threatened to this extent before. On the path behind him, the braided man ran up and said quickly, "The lookout spotted the coast guard speedboat in the distance. He really called the police! The police will arrive in thirty minutes at most! The Goddess wants you to take your men and hide immediately!"
Shen Zhenzhu was taken aback; this was clearly not Liancheng's plan. Another group of police officers was also investigating the case!
Unable to fire and forced to retreat, the goatee-bearded chairman, his face turning ashen with rage, shouted at Liu Anni with a forced smile, "Xiuzhen is long dead! We dug out her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, smashed her bones, and chewed up her flesh!"
Shen Zhenzhu grabbed the goatee-bearded chairman and yelled, "Stop provoking him!"
"No!!" Liu Anni nearly fell off the tree, screaming, "You're all liars! You're lying to me again!"
The goatee-bearded guild leader said with a sinister grin, "She must have had pneumonia when she was little, she coughs a lot, right? Her lungs are larger than normal, and there are three black lesions on them. I removed the lesions one by one, and she was still alive when I pulled out her lung lobes—"
"No!!!" Liu Anni lost all strength and slid off the tree! In the nick of time, he grabbed the trunk midway, smashed a bottle of liquor while trembling, and cried out, "You are all devils, I will make you all pay with your lives!"
He lit the liquor on the tree trunk, and the fire spread rapidly in the night wind!
"Put out the fire quickly!"
"Oh no, it's too late to put out the fire, it's burning too fast!"
"President, the Mother Goddess wants us to hide immediately!"
The goatee-bearded chairman raised his shotgun and fired, and Liu Anni was hit and cried out in pain.
He clung to the tree, repeatedly banging his head against the trunk! He tried to forget what the goatee-bearded chairman had said, but every time he looked up, the stinging pain on his bleeding forehead and the ever-dispersing crowd below told him that it was all true.
He and Xiuzhen grew up together. Xiuzhen was a premature baby and the youngest daughter in the family. Having learned to read people's expressions from a young age, she never received much attention from her family. Whenever she was sick, he would steal medicine from home for her.
Later, when they had money, Xiuzhen fell ill. At the hospital, the doctor showed them the X-ray and told them that Xiuzhen's lungs were larger than normal, and the black spots on her lungs were lesions...
The goatee-bearded chairman fired all his bullets before retreating. Shen Zhenzhu ran a few steps and saw that Liu Anni was still motionless in the tree.
She stopped and shouted, "Liu Anni, come down right now! Hurry up!"
Liu Anni could no longer hear anything. Her body was engulfed in flames, and she pressed her forehead against the tree trunk, weeping silently: "It hurts so much, it hurts so much..."
The woman with the braided hair tugged at Chen Zhenzhu and urged, "It's all on fire. He's been shot so many times and he's definitely going to die. Hurry up and get off the island. The police are about to land."
Shen Zhenzhu was pushed and shoved to the entrance of the tunnel. When she looked back, Liu Anni had already merged into the sea of fire and could not be found at all.
......
Lu Ye, Zhao Qiqi, and others set up a cordon with the Liancheng Coast Guard outside the island.
They were confronted by the Fucheng Coast Guard and Public Security Bureau, who had deployed a large number of personnel and more than ten speedboats to stand in standoff with the Liancheng Public Security Bureau.
Lu Ye deployed his forces near the island for 24 hours. In another 24 hours, he could tighten the encirclement as agreed, go ashore to capture the people, and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
However, the Fushi City Public Security Bureau suddenly appeared and kept breaking into the restricted area, ignoring the obstruction of the Liancheng Coast Guard and even attempting to break through by force.
"This is Lu Ye, deputy captain of the Liancheng Major Crimes Unit. Please speak with the city/prefecture officials. Over." Lu Ye was about to smash the radio when he stood on the speedboat, glaring angrily at the city/prefecture coast guard across from him.
"This is the Fushi City Public Security Bureau. We have received a report that a group of fraudsters are operating on the island. Liancheng police are requested to immediately clear the way and not interfere with our arrest operation. Over."
Suppressing his anger, Lu Ye didn't back down at all, gripping the walkie-talkie and saying, "I'll say it again, our Liancheng task force is following up on a major case, and we have people in it. Our superiors have already given instructions that the time is not yet ripe, and everyone is prohibited from taking any action. Over."
The speedboat carrying the Fushi City Public Security Bureau kept circling around, waiting for an opportunity to break through the blockade of the Liancheng Coast Guard.
The head of the Fucheng Public Security Bureau stated firmly, "Our men are also inside, their lives hanging by a thread. The higher-ups in Fucheng Public Security have ordered an immediate arrest; no one is to interfere! Over!"
"They actually have people inside too." Wu Zhongguo, wearing a life jacket and gripping the gunwale, his face covered in sweat, said, "What will happen to Lao Shen if we try to get through like this?"
Lu Ye's face was dark, his body rising and falling with the speedboat, and he gritted his teeth and said, "We absolutely cannot let him go, Old Shen's life is also a life! I'll take responsibility!"
The Liancheng Coast Guard formed a tight defensive line, confronting the speedboats from Fucheng City headquartered in a standoff. Both sides had valid points, and neither would back down.
Time ticked by, and suddenly Xiaobai, who was holding binoculars, shouted, "Oh no! Something's happened on the island! There's a huge fire!"
Just then, the Fucheng City Coast Guard actually went so far as to sound the alarm and issue a warning: "This is the Fucheng City Public Security Bureau. People on the island, please be aware and assemble on the shore immediately. You have been surrounded!"
"This is the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Attention all islanders! Assemble on the shore immediately. You are surrounded..."
The police broadcast system can transmit sound throughout the entire island; as far as the eye can see, the sounds of sirens and alarms can be heard throughout the sea.
"Damn it, they're insane!" Lu Ye couldn't help but curse.
Now it's no use trying to hide it anymore.
Lu Ye said to Wu Zhongguo, "Report to Director Liu immediately." Then he grabbed the walkie-talkie and said, "Get to the island! Find Captain Shen!"
Despite attempts to stop them, the city police successfully landed on the island.
Liancheng police acted ahead of time, arriving at the beach and quickly searching for the sunken pearls.
“Although I don’t know exactly how serious the situation is that Lao Shen is implying, I can guarantee that those people in Fushi have no idea how serious the situation is.” Wu Zhongguo took off his life jacket, put on a bulletproof vest, and released the safety catch on his gun.
Xiao Bai glared at the backs of the people who were eagerly grabbing people, and she even noticed that there were TV station staff members holding cameras among them.
"No wonder he's so imposing."
Xiao Bai quickly put on her bulletproof vest, intending to sneer and mock, but accidentally pulled at the large blister on her lip. The past few days since her sister Pearl left had really put her in a bind.
"Trust Sister Pearl, everyone stick together and don't get separated," Lu Ye instructed, calmly assigning tasks.
The tranquility of the island at night was shattered.
The family members, who had just arrived on the island, anxiously peered out the window from their wooden cabin to check on the outside situation.
Some of the braver ones, seeing the fire on the island, pushed open the door and ran outside. Others sat in meditation, muttering to themselves, telling everyone that this was a divine revelation.
Without hesitation, the Fucheng City Public Security Bureau quickly located the wooden house and arrested everyone inside. Ignoring the still-burning fire, a television reporter excitedly exclaimed, "This is a major operation by our Fucheng City Public Security Bureau! Based on the informant's location, we didn't hesitate and swiftly launched a spectacular arrest operation—an epic maritime law enforcement feat!"
Liancheng and the others' primary objective was to find Shen Zhenzhu, and they didn't try to steal the credit from them. After searching the wooden house, they searched the third floor, but still found no trace of Shen Zhenzhu.
The city police arrested more than 30 "suspected fraudsters" in one go, handcuffed them, and took them to the shore, intending to return with a full load of illicit goods.
Lu Ye led Zhao Qiqi and the others to the shore and looked around one by one, but they did not see the sunken pearl. Everyone's hearts sank.
After catching the man, Captain Xu, the person in charge of the city's operations, relaxed and said to Lu Ye cheerfully, "Captain Lu, you should have said you were here to find someone too. Why were you so tense with us?"
Little White came among the believers and asked them, "Have you ever seen a sunken pearl?"
"Who?" The believers looked at each other in bewilderment, each one like a lost dog.
"I don't know anyone named Chen."
"We're all here."
An officer behind Captain Xu said bluntly, "Someone burned to death in the woods. Could it be her? She died a horrible death!"
Lu Ye strode over, slammed a fist into his jaw, and grabbed him by the collar: "I asked you who died? You fucking say it again, who died?!"
Team Leader Xu couldn't hold Lu Ye back, so Team Four and the others pulled him away. Team Leader Xu, acting like a nice guy, said, "Even though we've arrested everyone, don't be too angry. I promise you, Liancheng, from now on, everyone we arrest belongs to you, okay?"
"Who cares about that!" Xiaobai hugged Lu Ye's waist and pushed him out, saying to Lu Ye, "Brother Ye, don't get excited, Sister Pearl is still waiting for us."
Wu Zhongguo ran over from the wooden house, clutching a mobile phone and a pager, and said, "Look, these are Sister Pearl's things. She must be here."
"Where did you find it?" Lu Ye asked.
Wu Zhongguo said, "We also found a lot of communication items in the bungalow in front of the wooden house."
The people from the prefecture city said nonchalantly, "We can keep the people, and you can keep the things."
Team Leader Xu clicked his tongue: "Speak properly. We're all from the same unit. Let's find our informant first."
Lu Ye didn't have time to argue with them and quickened his pace toward the bungalows.
"This is the kitchen, and the warehouse is next to it. The warehouse is locked." Lu Ye searched the bungalow and heard Xiao Bai say, "There are no kitchen knives in the kitchen."
Zhao Qiqi looked around and said, "I didn't see anyone with the kitchen knife either. Could it be...?" He lowered his voice and said, "Could someone have taken the kitchen knife and hidden away?"
Wu Zhongguo also whispered, "The people they arrested seemed confused and didn't look cautious. Would people from 'Gao Hui' be like that?"
Lu Ye said, "I've also discovered it, but the city government is acting unilaterally and has sabotaged our operation. I just hope that Sister Pearl is alright. Okay, let's search the surrounding area again, even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we'll find her."
Zhao Qiqi watched the approaching fire and anxiously wiped the sweat from his brow: "I'll go check it out over there."
Xiao Bai and the other operators ran towards the wooden house at the back. Wu Zhongguo said to Lu Ye, "Look at them."
Lu Ye looked over and saw that the TV reporters were filming the fire, and the Fushi City Public Security Bureau was explaining the operation to the reporters.
As they walked over, the cameraman carrying the camera said, "Comrade, the case has been solved. If you don't want the things in the warehouse, can we film first?"
Lu Ye said with a cold laugh, "Go ahead and film."
......
Three hours later, the sky gradually brightened.
The fire reached the edge of the forest and almost burned it all down.
On the coast, the city government was taking stock of the spoils. Reporters followed the operation and, after an initial obstruction from Liancheng, proceeded without hindrance.
He excitedly told the camera, "The dismantling of this large-scale fraud ring will definitely deter criminal gangs in society. This operation has come to a perfect end; please stay tuned for follow-up reports."
The city and prefecture's speedboats carried believers, who registered, had their photos taken, and boarded the boats.
"Why haven't the people from Liancheng returned yet?" someone said. "Could it be that they've made a new discovery?"
Team Leader Xu stared in the direction of the cabin, frowning as he said, "Besides us and them, there's no one else on the island. It's regrettable that our informant has gone missing, but their Captain Shen... leave a group of people to continue searching for him; we can't let him get into danger. If we find Captain Shen, we must prioritize rescuing him."
"clear."
Team Leader Xu didn't say anything more. He lowered his head and made a phone call to the city bureau leader to report that the mission was over.
......
Smoke filled the tunnel, and the men in black robes hiding inside couldn't stand the suffocating dampness. They tore off their robes, soaked them, and covered their mouths and noses with them.
Heavy footsteps could be heard coming and going on the ground above. The people in the tunnel sat silently against the wall, like ground squirrels.
As the fire moved, Shen Zhenzhu felt the temperature rising higher and higher, and the moisture on her body kept evaporating.
She stood guard outside the young man's room, facing a pot of stewed body parts that made the air even more unbearable. She glanced at the pile of weapons on the kitchen shelf, then quietly stuck her foot out and secretly closed the kitchen door.
If she misses this opportunity, she might really be stuck on the island forever.
The footsteps overhead grew fewer and fewer, and the sirens were turned off, instantly diminishing their deterrent effect.
When Chen Zhenzhu and the goatee-bearded chairman came down, the teacher who introduced Liu Anni to the island had already been executed, and his body was still hanging in the corner of the tunnel, dripping blood.
"This is the last cylinder of oxygen. The remaining cylinders exploded in the small warehouse." The goatee-bearded chairman served the goddess, looking at the "navigator" who had slumped in her arms, and kept praying that he could hold on.
The oxygen cylinder, no bigger than the palm of your hand, was running out of oxygen. The goddess stroked the young man's hair and said, choking back tears, "My dear brother, just hold on a little longer. If you just hold on a little longer, I'll take you up there after they leave."
The goatee-bearded chairman, leaning against the door, shouted to the silent, wooden-robed men, "What are you all standing there for? Quickly pray to the energy of the universe, pray for our great navigator!"
Shen Zhenzhu's legs were getting tired from squatting, so she plopped down on the ground, crossed her legs, and muttered to herself. The members of the second patrol team beside her also began chanting incantations.
For a moment, the sound of prayers echoed through the tunnel.
She saw the young man looking at her through the crack in the door. In that brief moment when their eyes met, his gaze swept across a certain spot in the room before he closed his eyes.
Just as all the black-robed figures were focused on praying, Shen Zhenzhu heard a painful, suppressed whimper coming from the room, and she quickly sat up straight.
The priestess's choked voice came from under the door: "He...he's gone."
The goatee-bearded guild leader quickly lowered his head and glanced at Chen Zhenzhu, who was bowing her head and praying with her eyes closed, seemingly not hearing the goddess's voice.
With the door closed, Chen Zhenzhu could no longer hear the conversation inside.
After a long time, the black-robed figures who were praying for the "Navigator" gradually grew tired, and thick black smoke continued to pour into the tunnel.
Suddenly, the door to the room was opened by the guild leader with the goatee. His face was flushed an unnatural red, and he gleefully summoned the men in black robes, saying, "We've succeeded! We've succeeded! The navigator has boarded the 'Sky Ship'!"
This statement was like a bolt from the blue.
"Great! Our wish has finally come true."
"May the heavens grant the wishes of the Divine Mother! May the heavens grant the wishes of the Divine Mother!"
Long live the Divine Mother!
"Thank you, great leader!"
The men in black robes, all hoping to enter the blissful, advanced universe, heard the goatee's words and, like wolves smelling blood, crowded at the doorway of the room.
Inside, unlike the excited cheers, Shen Zhenzhu observed the young man lying in the goddess's arms, a relieved smile on his face.
The goddess gently set him down, allowing the men in black robes to come in and pay their respects. She said softly, "This is the power of the advanced universe, making even death serene. Thank you, Navigator, for opening the passage for us. I have received the tickets. Please wait for me to brew holy water for you. Once you drink the holy water, you will be able to board the celestial ship."
The men in black robes were moved to tears and knelt down.
The goddess looked around and her gaze fell on the ignorant Chen Zhenzhu. She called out to her, "Good child, come with me. I have chosen you to be my assistant."
Shen Zhenzhu had a bad feeling. She covered her mouth and nose and followed the goddess through the twists and turns until they arrived at a secret room. The secret room contained various bottles and jars. Unlike the body parts preserved in formalin, these were clearly chemical reagents.
Inside the secret chamber were two basins of golden cosmic energy pills. The goddess took out two unlabeled glass bottles and then took out a bottle of [unspecified substance], which she held tightly in her hand.
Shen Zhenzhu's heart leaped into her throat, and she asked, "What do you need me to do, Mother Goddess?"
The goddess strode out of the secret chamber and instructed, "Boil a kettle of water for me, and bring thirty bowls and plates from the dining table in the passage."
Shen Zhenzhu obeyed her orders, moved the soup pot off the stove and placed a kettle on it.
Just as Shen Zhenzhu was about to stop him, the goatee-bearded guild leader came in from outside with his men: "Do you need any help?"
The goddess smiled and said, "No need, you can all go out. Chen Zhenzhu, you can go out too, and prepare the dishes."
Shen Zhenzhu saw a resolute will to die in the eyes of the goddess.
"Yes." Shen Zhenzhu went next door to get bowls and plates. As she left, she turned around and saw the Goddess unscrewing the bottle and pouring water into the kettle while covering her nose.
She wanted to poison everyone!
Back in the tunnel where they had gathered, the goatee-bearded guild leader quickly followed the Mother Goddess, carrying a water jug: "Quick, the celestial ship is ready! What are you waiting for?"
Shen Zhenzhu silently distributed the bowls and plates, watching the black-robed men scrambling to line up and drink the poison. She couldn't let them die here at a time like this, and she couldn't die here herself either.
"Give me a bowl too." The goatee-bearded chairman naturally wanted to be the first one; he had served the Mother Goddess for so many years, so he was sure to get some benefits.
Shen Zhenzhu walked up to him with a bowl and plates, offering him one. The goatee-bearded chairman raised the kettle to pour the water in, when suddenly a leg swept across and knocked the kettle over!
"It's scalding hot! It's burning me!" The goatee-bearded chairman was soaked through and rolled around on the spot in pain.
The goddess shouted furiously, "Sinking Pearl! What are you doing?!"
Shen Zhenzhu had no way to answer her, so she kicked over the "holy water" and ran away.
The priestess shouted from behind, "Grab her! Grab her! I'm going to kill her!"
The enraged men in black robes rushed to the "kitchen" to grab knives, only to find that the iron door had been locked and the only key was missing.
"It must have been Shen Zhenzhu who did it, grab her!"
The goatee-bearded guild leader sat on the ground wailing, while the men in black robes swarmed after Shen Zhenzhu, chasing and beating her.
There were very few escape routes in the tunnel. After escaping for a few minutes, Shen Zhenzhu was trapped in a dead end.
She grabbed a gun and pounded it against the ceiling, hoping someone could hear the sounds coming from underground.
The goatee-bearded guild leader limped over, pointed at Chen Zhenzhu, and said, "I'm going to chop you into eight pieces and rip you open! Where's the knife? Give me the knife!"
The woman with the braided hair said, "She locked the door; the key must be on her."
Shen Zhenzhu pressed herself against the wall, opened her palm to reveal a key—the kitchen key.
The goatee-bearded chairman yelled, "Take the keys, bring me the knife, I want to slaughter him myself—"
Shen Zhenzhu smiled slightly at him, opened her mouth, and swallowed the key in front of everyone.
This action shocked the Goatee-Bearded Chairman and others. The Goatee-Bearded Chairman exclaimed, "Are you crazy?"
“No knife,” Shen Zhenzhu retorted defiantly, rubbing her hands together and picking up a small hammer. “You’re all just a bunch of rats that can’t stand the light of day!”
The goatee-bearded guild leader sneered and rolled up his sleeves: "You've met someone who's not afraid of death. Let me deal with you myself."
With a forced smile, Shen Zhenzhu said, "Bring it on."
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Author's note: See you tomorrow, there are 100 red envelopes waiting for you! [Let me see]
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