Chapter 219 We found some traces in the passage...
Carefully using the light from the flashlight, Guan Xia stepped steadily down the ladder to the bottom of the sewer entrance.
Guan Xia originally thought that there would be another world inside, but after looking around, he found that, perhaps for the sake of concealment, this foul-smelling sewer was no different from the ones in the city, except that it was relatively clean. It was also only a few meters wide and very low. Even though Guan Xia was not tall, he had to bend over to pass through.
Guan Xia shone the flashlight in the two directions of the accessible passages on the left and right. She didn't need the young male police officer to lead the way. She could already tell where Captain Zhang and the others were by the echoing whispers coming from not far away.
"Let's go." Guan Xia shone the flashlight in the direction of Captain Zhang and the others and urged them.
The young police officer waited another two seconds, confirming that Guan Xia and Pang Le had adjusted to the dim underground environment. Then, half-bending over with some difficulty, he led the way. "This section of the road is indeed a bit difficult to navigate due to the camouflage. Expert Guan, be patient. Once we turn the next corner, the road will be easier."
Stepping on the ground that was stained and sticky, Guan Xia felt like she was walking on countless bacteria with every step she took. But at this moment, she could no longer care about these things. She stared intently at the back of the young male police officer in front of her, afraid that she would lose him if she was not careful.
Fortunately, things were just as the young male police officer said. They only had to walk forward for a few dozen meters with difficulty. Guan Xiagang felt a little sore in her waist from being bent all the time. After turning a corner and climbing a step, the walking path suddenly became wider.
The slope of the steps is steeper than that of ordinary stairs. From a distance, you can't tell that there is a step here. So even though it is only a few dozen meters away from the sewer entrance, it is not easy to find that there is a hidden passage here unless you look for it specifically.
Guan Xia subconsciously rolled the soles of her shoes as she stepped onto the stairs. The passage was still dark, but when the flashlight shone through it, she could vaguely see the figures of Captain Zhang and the others.
"Captain Zhang is over there," the young police officer breathed a sigh of relief after finally straightening up. He pointed ahead and said, "When I was waiting for the expert, Captain Zhang had already discovered the secret door. But because of the mechanism, the secret door would close quickly after a short while. I wonder if Captain Zhang has made any new discoveries in the meantime."
The young policeman was so excited about the big discovery that he couldn't wait for Guan Xia to speak, so he took another step forward and led the way.
Guan Xia didn't have anything to ask, so she just listened without responding. After walking for another two minutes, they finally successfully met up with the few people led by Captain Zhang.
As soon as she saw Captain Zhang, Guan Xia couldn't wait to squeeze over and ask, "How's it going, Captain Zhang? I heard from our guide that there's a mechanism on the secret door. Have you figured out anything?"
Without Captain Zhang's instruction, several people surrounding Captain Zhang spontaneously made two positions with good views. Guan Xia walked over and noticed that a young female police officer, who was about the same height as Pang Le, was standing in front of Captain Zhang's right. She raised her right hand and kept pressing on a place on the wall. In front of Captain Zhang, there was a stone door that was open, revealing an iron door with a metallic luster that looked very hard. The iron door seemed to be welded perfectly, and its style was incompatible with the entire underground tunnel. Especially the fingerprint lock on the door was particularly eye-catching.
After seeing everything clearly in front of her, Guan Xia's entire attention was focused on the fingerprint lock. It was not until Captain Zhang spoke that she came back to her senses.
Captain Zhang said, "We've pretty much figured it out. Did you notice where Xiao Liu pressed the button? It's a trapdoor. You can press it lightly or hold it down. Both methods open the secret door, but a light press only keeps it open for 30 seconds, enough for a few people to pass through quickly. A long press, however, keeps it open forever. This suggests this is one of the entrances and exits frequently used by the organization."
Guan Xia moved closer to the iron gate, bent down, and practically pressed her entire body against the fingerprint lock. She used the flashlight to examine it for a few seconds and said, "I can't see any signs of use on the number keys on the fingerprint lock. It looks like this place is indeed the organization's base. Only core personnel are allowed in and out using fingerprints. That's why the management is so strict."
Captain Zhang said, "That's what we were thinking. If we can break down the door quickly, we might be able to catch the culprit. And this fingerprint lock database is like a list of suspects' fingerprints for us."
Guan Xia was also excited after hearing this. Although no one knew where Wu Yang had fled to, this old nest alone was a huge gain for Guan Xia and her team. At least it could ensure that 80% of the core members of the organization were captured in one fell swoop.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, the voices of other people finally came from not far away in the long and empty sewer passage.
Captain Zhang stood up straight after hearing this, looked in the direction of the sound and said, "I heard the heavy sound of equipment hitting the wall. It looks like the fire department is coming down with their tools."
Captain Zhang frowned and looked around before continuing, "Xiao Liu, Lei Zi, you protect Expert Guan and leave first. The fire brigade will enter, followed by the armed police and special police, fully armed. None of us know what will greet us once the door opens, so for everyone's safety, and to avoid hindering the armed police's actions, let's step back and wait for them to break in and confirm it's safe before we go in."
Even though Guan Xia was curious and excited, she knew that her presence at this time would only hinder the team, so she agreed without any objection.
The young male police officer who led Guan Xia and the others asked, "Captain Zhang, what about you? Aren't you going to leave with us?"
Captain Zhang listened for a few more seconds, then shook his head and said, "You guys should leave first. I'll talk to the fire department and then gather with you guys."
Captain Zhang gave a few more instructions, "If you don't want to leave the sewer, Leizi, you will protect Expert Guan and remember to stay away. We suspect there might be a weapons depot in this organization's lair. If you get too close, I'm afraid your hearing will be damaged."
Guan Xia felt that Captain Zhang treated them as fragile objects. He was paying attention to these details at this moment, fearing that they would get bumped or hit.
Guan Xia naturally would not refuse Captain Zhang's kindness. She listened quietly to Captain Zhang's instructions to the young male police officers, then waved her hand and urged them to leave quickly.
Guan Xia heard a series of heavy footsteps getting closer and closer. Fearing that the passage would be blocked, she quickly took a few big steps out of the passage. She only had time to glance at the blurry figures of the fire brigade a few meters away from them, and then, led by the young male police officer, walked deeper into the narrow sewer passage.
This time, there were no wide, hidden passages. Guan Xia and the others were forced to walk, bent over, for an unknown distance. They could no longer hear any sound from the other end. The young male police officer finally stopped and said, "Let's retreat here. I just roughly calculated that the secret door is about 80 or 90 meters away. This distance is enough for us to deal with most emergencies."
The young male police officer was incredibly tall, so he squatted down while speaking. He waved at Guan Xia and said, "Expert Guan, you should squat down too. Considering the thickness and hardness of that iron door, we don't know how long the fire department will be busy. If we stand hunched over for too long, we might not be able to straighten up even when we're needed to enter."
Although Guan Xia and Pang Le were somewhat disgusted by the environment of the sewer, they could only be casual at this time. Fortunately, the ground was just dirty, but relatively dry, and there was no sewage flowing. After the others squatted down, they hesitated for only two seconds and squatted down with the crowd.
The waiting time was so boring and unbearable that Guan Xia simply looked at the young policewoman called Xiao Liu and asked, "Comrade, I want to ask how you found that secret door."
The young policewoman surnamed Liu had a good-looking face, with sharp eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and was very heroic. Her personality was as cheerful as her appearance. She said cheerfully, "Expert Guan, just call me Xiao Liu, just like Captain Zhang. Wenwen and I discovered it together. We were the first group to come with Expert Guan to conduct a carpet search. The two of us formed a team and walked at least 18,000 steps in an afternoon. We almost covered the entire mountain and didn't find anything suspicious. Wenwen suddenly had an idea. She thought that since this organization was so bold and dared to hide in the dark, was there a possibility that they also chose to hide the entrance? What is the most ordinary and inconspicuous place on this mountain? We also wanted to give it a try, so we searched all the sewer entrances we could find. Fortunately, we only searched three sewers before discovering the hidden passage."
While the young policewoman surnamed Liu was speaking, a pretty young policewoman next to her kept smiling shyly. After she finished speaking, she added a few more words.
A similarly young female police officer named Wenwen said, "The idea of searching the sewers was mine, but it was Liu Ying who discovered the secret door. She has a very good eye. After we entered the spacious, hidden passage, it didn't take long for Liu Ying to spot a small stone at the end that was a slightly different color from the surrounding walls. She tentatively pressed it, and the stone door popped open."
Guan Xia looked at Liu Ying and then at Wenwen. She was full of admiration and emotion. As expected, every female police officer who could work in the Municipal Bureau at such a young age was very outstanding.
Once the conversation started, unless there was anything confidential, five or six people squatted together and soon started chatting animatedly.
Guan Xia spoke less and listened more, but Pang Le was different. She fully demonstrated her nature as a community bull and adapted very well. It didn't take her long to become friends with the remaining young people.
I don't know how long they had been chatting, but just when Guan Xia's legs felt numb from squatting, and she was switching legs that supported most of her weight more and more frequently, she suddenly heard a series of crisp gunshots that intertwined into one.
Because of this sudden accident, several people were stunned, and then they stood up subconsciously at the same time. Everyone was only focused on the gunshots, completely forgetting their surroundings, and bumped their heads one after another.
Guan Xia felt that there would definitely be a bump on the top of his head, but no one cared. He rubbed it casually with his hand and asked questions in a hurried and nervous tone.
"There's so much gunfire, and it's so intense. It looks like the armed police and special police have already broken in. I just don't know how many criminals are hiding inside."
"Captain Zhang's guess was correct. There really is an arsenal in this organization's lair. These people are too bold. Jianyang City is the provincial capital. How did they get so many guns and hide them right under our noses?"
"That large group company, although the main business of the parent company is games and animation, has a wide variety of subsidiaries, including decoration companies and logistics companies. As long as they have the channels to buy, they can certainly ship in."
Except for Guan Xia and Pang Le, the other people were talking in a flurry. Judging from their expressions and tone, they were only slightly nervous, but more excited. They were not worried about Captain Zhang or themselves at all.
Guan Xia didn't know how long the gunshots lasted, he just listened to the continuous gunshots becoming sparser and weaker, and finally stopped altogether, letting the sewer return to the silence where he could hear the shallow breathing of the people around him.
Under the flashlight, several people looked at each other in confusion. Pang Le was the first to speak: "The gunfire has stopped. The armed police and special police should have finished their operation. Should we go over now? Or should we wait a little longer and wait for Captain Zhang to call before going over."
Pang Le muttered again, "There should be a signal in the sewer, right?"
Because there were family members everywhere, Guan Xia had forgotten about the signal. Only when Pang Le mentioned it did he take out his cell phone to take a look. As expected, there was no signal.
Liu Ying also took out his phone and took a look. He said, "No signal. I guess we're too deep. I remember there was a signal when Wenwen and I found the secret door and called Captain Zhang."
Guan Xia glanced at the time. It was already past six in the evening. No wonder her legs felt so numb. It turned out that she had waited for more than forty minutes without realizing it.
Putting away her phone, Guan Xia heard the young male police officer Captain Zhang called Lei Zi ask, "Expert Guan, why don't you stay here? I'll go over and take a look. If the armed police and special police are done and it's safe, I'll signal with my flashlight and you can come over."
Including Pang Le, several people looked at Guan Xia inquiringly.
Guan Xia thought for a few seconds and decided, "Let's go together. The gunfire has stopped for a few minutes. I believe the environment is safe now."
Since the system's intuition did not respond, it means there is no dangerous situation.
The others also preferred to go straight ahead, so no one raised any objections. However, the young policeman called Lei Zi still insisted on following Captain Zhang's order to lead the way in front to protect everyone. Except for Liu Ying who had some complaints, the rest of the people were too lazy to argue with him about this matter and just let him lead the way back to the hidden spacious passage.
Although the harsh environment in the sewer made it difficult to walk, fortunately it was built very straight without many turns. No one was afraid of getting lost and they returned to their original place smoothly.
As soon as they approached the wide passage, Guan Xia smelled a strong smell of blood. The wide passage was also controlled. As soon as they entered the passage, there were two fully armed armed police guarding both sides. They meticulously checked the ID of the young male police officer who was leading the way before making way to let them pass.
The tightly fitting iron door that I had seen before had been completely removed and casually thrown aside, revealing a spacious hall inside that was messy but brightly lit.
Before Guan Xia and the others arrived, a dozen or so police officers wearing gloves were already busying about. Guan Xia spotted Captain Zhang immediately. She was standing in a corner, looking down at a map. She didn't notice Guan Xia until she approached her. She glanced up at her and said, "Expert Guan, you're here. How are you? Did the noise hurt your ears? No tinnitus, do you?"
At this moment, there was no time to worry about whether the ears were there or not. Guan Xia perfunctorily said something and asked directly, "Have all the criminals in the lair been caught?"
Captain Zhang casually said, "Nine dead, six seriously injured, and the rest slightly injured. I don't know if any escaped, but before the armed police special police operation, I called Captain Hu who stayed outside and told him to send people to guard every sewer manhole in the mountains of Longbei. I think even if any escaped, they would be caught by the people we left outside."
Guan Xia nodded as she listened. Just as she was about to say something, Captain Zhang grabbed her and moved the entire map in front of her. He said quickly, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Expert Guan, come and see which direction Wu Yang and Lin Jinnan are most likely to escape from this lair."
Guan Xia looked down and found that what Captain Zhang was holding was a map of Longbei Mountain. The map marked in detail every building and every road on the surface of the mountain, and even the roads connecting to the city at the foot of the mountain were marked. It was a pity that it was not a map of the old nest in the mountain. Otherwise, they would not have to guess at all, and could directly use the human wave tactics to search all the passages and find the clues left by Wu Yang and his men.
Now that there is no detailed map of the lair, the fear is that there are some hidden passages. If they follow the wrong direction, then all the work of such a large group of people will be in vain, but if they fail to catch the person, it will be a catastrophe.
Even with the system's cheats, Guan Xia felt a bit helpless facing such a map. She was just about to say something to dispel Captain Zhang's high expectations of her when she saw a figure approaching quickly. Without even catching their breath, they spoke hurriedly, "Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang, the armed police squad at the forefront of the pursuit has reported that they discovered a hidden passage through bloodstains while pursuing the suspect. We've found some traces in the passage and suspect they were likely left behind by Wu Yang and his men during their escape."
Such exciting news immediately made Guan Xia and Captain Zhang completely forget about the map. Captain Zhang casually handed the map to the person next to him and said as he hurried along with the person who came to deliver the news, "Why didn't you tell me such important news through the intercom? Why did you make a trip all the way here? It's such a waste of time."
The messenger said, "The tunnels in this lair are so poorly designed that we don't know how to describe them accurately right now. We're afraid we'll make a mistake and give Captain Zhang the wrong directions, so I'm just going to run over there. But Captain Zhang, don't worry, the armed police team and our two brothers have already entered the tunnel and are chasing them. We can just follow behind and won't waste much time."
Captain Zhang just casually emphasized the point, not intending to reprimand. However, after the messenger explained it carefully, his expression softened a bit. Feeling that sprinting was still too slow, he simply took off running with his men, saying as he ran, "Just a few of us still aren't enough, Xiao Liu."
Captain Zhang called out to Liu Ying and said quickly, "Stay here and contact Captain Hu. Ask him to send another group down to catch up with us along the same route. After contacting Captain Hu, please inform Director Gao about our latest progress. Also, we may need support at any time, so ask Director Gao to organize some more people to be on standby."
Captain Zhang gave the order very decisively and then sped up again, running at almost a hundred-meter sprint towards the passage where he found Wu Yang suspected of escaping.
Guan Xia and Xu Nian have participated in solving many cases together, but this is the first time he has run so hard. Fortunately, he has never stopped physical exercise, and the distance he ran was not far, so he was able to barely keep up and not fall behind.
When she stopped panting, Guan Xia realized that they had run into a storage room. It was not large and was filled with various large and small cardboard boxes and dusty daily necessities.
At this time, the cardboard boxes that were stacked higher than a person and the piles of daily necessities were roughly pushed aside, revealing a narrow hole that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
There was a trail of blood that had not yet solidified by the hole, which was obviously left by a criminal who was fleeing in a hurry.
Guan Xia was panting like a cow after running a short distance. Before she could catch her breath, she saw Captain Zhang push away the person who wanted to go down to explore the way and pass on the message to them, and without hesitation for a second, he simply went into the cave and climbed down.
Guan Xia took the time to take a few deep breaths, and only had time to calm down a little. After the person who delivered the message to them also climbed down, she was the third one in line and followed suit.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
