Chapter 111 Chapter 111 An explosion occurred in the Children's Palace! ...
"...In this fiery early summer, our country is about to usher in the return of Hong Kong. July 1, 1997, will be a day that will captivate the world and go down in history! The world will listen attentively to the solemn tolling of bells from the East, resounding throughout the world, solemnly proclaiming to all corners of the world: The time has come for our country to exercise sovereignty over Hong Kong! The time has come for our nation to hold its head high!"
"Our city will host a series of major celebrations, including organizing a flag-raising ceremony for primary and secondary school students at City Hall Square, a lion dance competition in front of the train station, and a Hong Kong history quiz across the province... to celebrate the carnival with the general public."
"In addition, on the evening of June 30th, our city will broadcast the handover ceremony simultaneously with CCTV in City Hall Square. Citizens are invited to attend in an orderly manner—"
Ji Yinhe looked down at his watch, and one second before the bell rang, he pressed the switch on the radio.
However, the tail end of the morning news was still echoing in the office, and everyone had an excited smile on their face.
Qiu Peng said with a beaming face, "I've been looking forward to it for so long, finally Hong Kong's return! Eh? Team Leader Ji, why don't you guys look so happy?"
"..." Ji Yinhe made a face at him. "With so many public celebrations, and two fugitives still outside, what if something goes wrong?"
"When the enemy comes, we will fight him with soldiers; when the water comes, we will block it with earth!" Comrade Xiao Qiu turned around happily.
Ji Yinhe looked at his cheerful expression and suddenly remembered that when he first became a policeman, he was also fearless and inexperienced.
But times have changed. The longer I work in this industry, the more I realize that maintaining safety is much more difficult than I imagined.
She took a deep breath and shifted her gaze to the newspaper in her hand.
In conjunction with this series of activities, relevant provincial associations will also invite entrepreneurs from all over the province, including Hong Kong bosses, to celebrate together at the newly built Golden Ring Hotel opposite the City Hall Square.
At that time, the provincial television station will also broadcast live the scene of the provincial entrepreneurs association celebrating together with drinks.
——Gong He called early in the morning, and he and Gong Chenggong were also invited.
Ji Yinhe pinched his brows fiercely and said in a deep voice to the other end of the receiver: "When will you two arrive in Jingzhou?"
"On the evening of June 30th, one hour before the event begins." Gong He laughed. "Based on your advice last time, Officer Ji, I think it would be best if we minimize our appearances in Jingzhou."
The answer given by the other party made Ji Yinhe feel relieved, but now there is only a week left until June 30th, and all hidden dangers must be eliminated during this period.
There were soft footsteps, and a pair of beautiful hands brought coffee and placed it on the table in front of her.
A gentle voice said, "Don't worry."
"...Thank you." Ji Yinhe raised her eyes, met Lu Zheng's gaze, and puffed her cheeks in grievance.
After drinking half a cup of rich coffee, she immediately felt much more alert.
So he stood up and walked to the big blackboard, knocked on the table and said, "Two deputy team leaders, please report on yesterday's actions."
"—There aren't many people left at Zhang San's house." Guan Ye rubbed his face and said, "After all, he's been imprisoned for over twenty years. His wife died of illness, and his son got married and had children in Chongqing. After he grew up, he had little contact with Zhang San and treated him like he didn't even exist. His sister is still around, and she was very surprised when she heard that Zhang San had escaped... It doesn't seem like she's faking it, because three months ago, this woman visited him in the provincial prison. They agreed that after he's released next year, he'll return to his hometown to build a house on his homestead to retire."
"In other words, Zhang San's sudden change happened within these three months, and it has nothing to do with his family." Ji Yinhe concluded solemnly, "What kind of person do these relatives and friends think Zhang San is?"
"He's a good, honest man." Guan Ye shook his head. "He doesn't even have a house. He's extremely poor. According to his sister, he doesn't care about material possessions."
"So, it's not for money." Cheng Mo added sparingly.
“…” No one spoke in the office for a moment.
Sun Gaoge cleared his throat. "The armed police searched with police dogs all afternoon yesterday, but after they crossed the stinking ditch of Shiwuli River, even the dogs couldn't sniff out the direction... But one thing is certain: the traffic police set up checkpoints on the main roads out of the city yesterday. They should still be hiding in Jingzhou. Honestly, I suspect they've disguised themselves and blended in with the citizens."
Ji Yinhe hummed, "What is the armed police's current thinking?"
Sun Gaoge made a face. "They're planning to conduct a city-wide search."
"It's a huge waste of time and will likely cause panic." Guan Ye slowly shook his head. "They must be hiding somewhere. If it were me, I would have stayed quiet and waited until June 30th to take down Gong Chenggong and Gong He. I'd then take advantage of their comeback event to eliminate them."
"Not necessarily..." Ji Yinhe just shook his head and stared at the blackboard in thought.
However, at this moment, a loud bang sounded from a corner of the city!
Ji Yinhe's pupils widened instantly and he turned his head suddenly - outside the window, in the aftermath that was slowly coming from far away, a thick black smoke rushed straight into the blue sky!
"Oh my god, this is..."
"What's going on!?"
"Did it... explode?"
All the police officers in the team were stunned. Ji Yinhe quickly strode back to the table to get the phone, but the person outside the door was half a second faster than her!
Tan Li appeared at the door holding a mobile phone, with a serious expression and an anxious tone:
"There was an explosion at the City Children's Palace. Xiao Ji, take your men over there immediately!"
*
Ji Yinhe slammed on the brakes.
About ten meters away from the Children's Palace, the alley at the entrance was no longer accessible. The surrounding shops were being evacuated, and children in dance skirts were being led by their teachers to evacuate. Several panicked citizens rushed over, holding their children's little faces, and waited for the ambulance while wiping the dust.
The heat wave with the smell of burning had not yet dissipated and was blowing towards us. A three-meter-wide gap was blown out in the west outer wall, and the twisted steel bars were exposed, as if they had been rubbed hard by someone.
Before they could all get out of the car, police from the police station, branch office and municipal bureau surrounded them.
The leading comrade got straight to the point and delivered the good news: "Apart from a few frightened children, no casualties have been found so far!"
"call--"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After Ji Yinhe assigned the tasks, he lifted the plastic isolation tape with a serious face and went into the explosion site.
This is the table tennis classroom of the Children's Palace. It is on the first floor. It is very large and takes up an entire corridor.
There used to be four billiard tables in the classroom, but now two of them have been blown far away by the blast, and the other two are almost unrecognizable.
An armed police officer wearing explosion-proof gear came over and called out, "Team Leader Ji." He pointed at the hole in the ground and said, "This is where the second pool table was originally located. The bomb was placed on the back of the table leg, so no one noticed it."
Lu Zheng has already started on-site work with several technical detectives. Ji Yinhe nodded and put on investigation gloves.
"Was there no one in the classroom at that time?"
"That's right," the armed police officer said in a muffled voice. "The table tennis class didn't start until after 10 a.m., and the classroom was closed at the time, so there were no casualties."
Ji Yinhe lowered his eyes thoughtfully.
Just as she was about to say something, a technical detective stood up with a cry of "Ah" while holding a part he had dug out from the pile of bricks.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it——
"A quartz watch, a battery, plumbing pipes, a small alarm clock, gears, black powder, and this strange foam... It looks like a bowl of Master Kong braised beef noodles!" the technical detective exclaimed excitedly. "Team Leader Ji, Teacher Lu, this is a homemade time bomb!"
Ji Yinhe concentrated for a moment, his brows deeply furrowed.
"Since the bomb was timed, it means the explosion was scheduled long ago." She walked out of the classroom. A half-destroyed schedule was still posted on the dilapidated wall. "Since this wasn't a random accident, there couldn't have been no prior investigation—"
"What you mean is that the criminal deliberately chose a relatively safe time and place to detonate the bomb in order to reduce casualties." Lu Zheng followed her train of thought.
The technical investigators and armed police on the scene were all puzzled: "Why?"
"——The night of his return is approaching, and he wants to build momentum." Ji Yinhe raised his eyes and looked out the window. Not far away was a crowd of onlookers, and fear was written on each of their faces.
"……ah?"
At this moment, there was insufficient evidence, and Ji Yinhe couldn't speak too sincerely. He could only say vaguely: "It's just a hunch, and I speculate that there may be more explosions later."
The armed police officer in charge of bomb disposal was shocked and asked, "What should we do next?"
"We'll do our best to catch the perpetrator as soon as possible." Captain Xiao Ji patted the armed police officer's shoulder reassuringly, looking around. "Since the Children's Palace doesn't have surveillance, we can only use the old method—we'll take the device back for inspection, work back to determine when the bomb was placed, and ask teachers, students, and security guards and cleaners. Perhaps we can identify the suspect."
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, the mobile phone on Ji Yinhe's waist beeped twice and rang.
The caller was Sun Gaoge, and he said in a trembling voice that Old Xue from the mailroom had delivered a letter, "The recipient is you, Team Leader Ji."
"What's wrong?" Ji Yinhe keenly noticed that something was wrong with him. "What did the letter say?"
"The letter was very thin, and the address on the envelope wasn't handwritten, but was made of newspaper words. I felt something was amiss, so I took it upon myself to open it for you." Sun Gaoge took a deep breath and read the single sentence on the white paper in front of him, "—The first explosion, the City Children's Palace."
Ji Yinhe felt a sudden buzz in his head and asked loudly, "Where's the signature?"
Sun Gaoge stopped shaking and said in a somewhat baffling tone, "The other party is actually called... Outlaw?"
Outlaw? Wasn't that what Ji Jianguo mentioned casually before?
Ji Yinhe's pupils widened, and he blurted out subconsciously:
"—The people who placed the bomb in the Children's Palace and attempted to cause a series of horrific explosions were Gong Xie and Zhang San!"
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