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Tao Sai in the top-floor room was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. When he rushed to the side of the refueling platform, the special forces had already successfully subdued the criminal suspect on the ship.
The detectives at the gas station also rushed to the edge of the platform and searched the river for Jiang Mingfeng, who had jumped overboard. He had been shot twice, with large-caliber wounds. His injured hands and legs were nearly incapacitated in the water. After several minutes, he didn't surface, and was likely dead.
However, the police did not relax their vigilance and continued to send several motorboats to search the river and organized patrols along both sides of the river.
Zhou Ning hugged Tao Sai tightly. She had suffered unprecedented grievances and abuse in the past few hours. She couldn't hold it in in front of her and burst into tears: "Tao Tao..."
Tao Sai patted her back gently to comfort her.
All the other people on the boat were successfully rescued. Apart from some minor injuries from being beaten by the suspects, they were all fine.
By this time, the diesel floating on the river had been largely cleared. This was intentional spillage by the special forces, with the amount under control. Cleaning up was immediately initiated, preventing any environmental damage. The primary purpose was to convince the suspects that the fishing boat had indeed experienced a massive oil leak, and that they had no other options except waiting for repairs.
The special forces escorted the criminal suspect past them, and Tao Sai finally saw Xiao Yi's face up close. She said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's what I should do." Xiao Yi nodded and walked past her.
According to normal procedures, they also need to go to the county public security bureau to make a statement, and the police will ask for details of what happened.
After today's incident, the mood in the police car was somber. Zhou Weixing was an optimist. Aside from the initial shock of being held to his temples, he felt he had been the calmest of the bunch. He said nonchalantly, "I felt like I was in a cop movie. I had a blast."
"Come on, you were so scared at that time that you were like a docile lamb, and you didn't even dare to breathe loudly." Li Yinzhu ruthlessly put down his plan.
"Did I?" Zhou Weixing spread his hands in disbelief.
"Yes!" Li Yinzhu, Grandma Zhou, Zhou Ning, and three girls they were not very familiar with said in unison.
"This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Zhou Weixing firmly denied.
He heard Zhou Ning's voice, "You're not even in the same room with us, why are you making such a fuss?"
"I guessed it." Zhou Ning made a naughty face at her father.
"My dear granddaughter." When Zhou Ning turned around, Grandma Zhou noticed that the half of her face covered by her hair was swollen, and she touched the edge of her chin with heartache.
"Grandma, I'm fine." Zhou Ning shook his head, rubbed his face and said with a relaxed expression, "It doesn't hurt."
The bald man slapped her in the face, nearly knocking her unconscious, but she seemed to have some magical power that allowed her to hold on. Her swelling had been even worse before, but it had healed a lot now.
For the rest of the journey, the talkative Wei Dongyang chattered incessantly in the passenger seat, describing the entire process of today's operation in full and in various ways.
Although Zhou Weixing and he were of different generations, they seemed to get along particularly well. They talked back and forth, and the people in the police car were sometimes amused and sometimes annoyed, but the dark clouds were gradually dispelled.
Wei Dongyang turned around and found Tao Sai with her head down in a bad mood, so he called her, "Sister, didn't I suggest that you come to our bureau to take the auxiliary police exam? How are you thinking about it? The people need you!"
"I'll go as soon as possible." Tao Sai replied with a slight smile.
Tao Sai remained silent throughout the journey, feeling a pang of self-blame. If she hadn't investigated the potential side quests, she might not have encountered this. This time, it was too dangerous. Although the refuge ship had an early warning system, it had no defensive weapons, and the warning only worked if the attacker had clear intention to attack.
She secretly planned to upgrade the defense system of the shelter ship as soon as the gold coins arrived, so that even if she left to do a mission, other members on the shelter ship would be protected.
It was already dark when the police car arrived at the county police station.
After interrogation, criminal investigators confirmed that the five individuals who hijacked the fishing boat were a group of suspects who had fled from a neighboring county. A few days earlier, a family of eight from Fengjia Village in the neighboring county had disappeared, and a police dog discovered eight bodies buried in the dirt of a flower bed.
The police visited and investigated, and retrieved all surveillance footage within 5 kilometers around the crime scene. A private surveillance camera in a residential building captured the facial outlines of the five murderers fleeing in panic, which matched the characteristics of the four people in custody.
Under interrogation, the suspect confessed to the crime. The main culprit, Jiang Mingfeng, is missing, and patrols are still searching for him. He may have drowned in the river. Police, acting with utmost caution, have issued a wanted notice for him.
It was almost ten o'clock in the evening when we left the police station after taking our statements. Tao Sai was the only one of the eight people with a cell phone and cash, so he treated everyone to a meal.
The countdown for the insect swarm on the panel in front of her was less than 3 hours, and the natural disaster was about to sweep the world.
Considering that this might be their last meal ashore, Towsey ordered generously.
The most important thing about this meal is the enjoyment. For example, how can you make these garlic-flavored spareribs that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside?
After eating and drinking their fill, they stood at the hotel entrance, waving goodbye. Tao Sai had agreed to continue taking Zhou Ning and her family on a Yangtze River cruise over the next few days, while An Nan and the other two would continue their planned itinerary to other destinations.
The three girls walked to the side of the road when Tao Sai suddenly called out to them, "Wait a minute."
They turned around and wondered, "What happened?"
"Why don't you join us for a few days?" Tao Sai invited.
"But our luggage is still in the hotel." Although An Nan also wanted to go, it was too far to go back and forth to the hotel in Xu Zhuang.
"It's okay, I have spare clothes and toiletries on the boat, everything is quite complete," said Tao Sai.
Meeting is fate, and they have been through hardships together. Moreover, the three of them have come all the way from inland areas, and the insect swarm is about to come. They don’t have mobile phones, so it will be very difficult for them to move forward.
Before taking a taxi back to the riverside, Tao Sai took everyone to visit the convenience store again, buying snacks crazily, moving all kinds of goods on the shelves, and buying all the oden in front of the checkout counter. She spent all her money at once.
Tao Sai took two online taxis, with four people in each car and all their belongings were placed in the trunk.
An hour later, the online taxi that Tao Sai was riding in arrived at the riverside first. The car behind it had missed several traffic lights in a row and was slower.
Grandma Zhou fell asleep in the car. The old lady had suffered a lot that day and it was rare for her to fall asleep. Zhou Weixing couldn't bear to wake her up, so he just carried her on his back and walked carefully along the path.
Tao Sai and Zhou Ning couldn't carry the things in the trunk, and Zhou Weixing certainly didn't have a hand free to carry anything. Tao Sai thought about it and asked Zhou Ning to stay where she was. She had good physical strength and could make two more trips.
There were solar-powered street lights by the river, which just illuminated the path. Tao Sai, carrying a large bag of snacks in one hand, ran quickly towards the fishing boat by the river.
Before taking the statement, the fishing boat stopped at the riverside from the gas station in the center of the river. The police greeted the staff at the gas station and asked them to help watch over it.
Tao Sai climbed onto the deck, opened the cabin door, and put the two large bags of snacks into the rest cabin.
Then she went to the cargo hold to get a ladder so that she could pick up Grandma Zhou later. Her hand reaching for the light switch suddenly stopped. She turned around and saw the bald man glaring at her fiercely in the dim night. Their eyes met.
"I'll fucking kill you!"
Jiang Yifeng shouted and pulled the trigger of the T7 pistol. Black sparks flashed from the muzzle and the bullet shot towards Tao Sai.
Tao Sai's reaction was almost extreme. She dodged quickly and the bullet passed her face and hit the steel plate.
She turned and ran, stepping on the side of the ship and hurriedly sprinting towards the corner, disappearing into the dark cabin.
Jiang Yifeng caught up with an iron rod in his hand, moving forward cautiously step by step, his eyes scanning every corner of the cabin, his ears pricked up, trying his best to catch the breathing sounds and any movement around him.
"Fuck you! Get out here!" Jiang Yifeng tightened the iron rod in his hand and shouted.
In the darkness, Tao Sai exhaled lightly, jumped down from a high place, and stabbed the spring knife held tightly in both hands into the back of the bald man's neck.
Blood gushed out, Jiang Yifeng fell to the ground and twitched in pain, and the iron rod in his hand hit the ground with a clanging sound.
Tao Sai blinked hard, and after a second of relaxation, she suddenly thought of something.
No! The weapon he used just now was a pistol!
At that moment, the bullet came out of the gun again and hit Towse in the torso from behind, causing her to fall forward to the ground.
Only a rough outline could be seen in the darkness. Jiang Yifeng took a few steps forward, ready to reload his gun.
As soon as he stepped into the room, a bright light suddenly came on, the environment changed from dark to bright, and he was blinded all of a sudden.
Tao Sai swung the iron rod, activated the skill [Charge], and hit him hard in the face. The force was so great that the skin on his face sank into a groove in the shape of the iron rod, and he fell backwards and hit the side of the ship.
Blood continued to spurt from the wound on his back, but it seemed the spine hadn't been damaged. Tao Sai could still manage to straighten up. Bleeding all the way, she walked over to him, pried the gun from his hand, and with her last bit of strength, pressed the muzzle to his forehead and pulled the trigger. With a crack, the bright forehead instantly exploded.
System subtitles popped up in front of her.
You killed the character [Jiang Yifeng, Level 2], and gained 4 attribute points (which can be freely allocated).
[You have acquired the skill [Clone - Level A]: After using this skill, you will create a clone that lasts for 5 minutes. Your consciousness can switch between the two bodies at will, serving as both the original and the clone (upgradeable).]
[You killed the player [Jiang Yifeng·Level 2], and the player's information has been erased.]
【You grabbed [gold coins x1214]. 】
[Player [Jiang Yifeng]'s system carrier has been decomposed. You have seized the following resources: [Bioplastics x18], [Metal x20], [Cloth x7].]
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