Chapter 325 Tacit Understanding
Li Qihan's icy voice echoed through the headset. His tone was serious and frosty, yet a hint of worry and tension leaked out at the end of his voice: "Why didn't you report the empty magazine in advance? It's too risky."
Xia Lili leaned against the rough stone wall, steadying her slightly disordered breathing, but couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth slightly.
Her fingertips pressed the earphones, her voice low but with a clear smile: "I'm too close to the criminal. What if he hears me if I report it in advance?"
Xia Lili paused, then spoke with a mixture of confidence and cunning, "Besides... I know your scope is following me the entire time, and it will never put me in danger."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the channel, as if one could hear Li Qihan's helpless sigh.
When he spoke again, Li Qihan's cold voice seemed to have lost some of its edge: "...speculative talk. Return to the team."
Before he could finish his words, a hurried call suddenly rang out over the communication channel: "Team C urgently needs sniper support!"
Li Qihan's expression froze, and he turned around and walked away without hesitation, his figure quickly blending into the night that had not yet dissipated.
Xia Lili looked at the direction where he disappeared, her heart tightened, but she could only grit her teeth and retreat with the captured criminal.
Along the way, a dull explosion suddenly came from the distance, which made her heart tremble and she couldn't help but clench the gun in her hand.
Half an hour later, reports of success from various teams began to trickle in over the communication channel: "The target area has been secured, and a total of fifteen individuals have been apprehended."
"The entrances and exits to the fishing village have been sealed off. It is recommended that the identities of residents be checked again after daybreak."
Li Qihan's voice rang out again, calm as usual: "The sniper point has been cleared, it's safe."
Xia Lili breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, the sky was gradually turning pale, and the faint morning light gradually spread over the damp eaves of the fishing village and sprinkled on the people who were returning to the team one after another.
The night faded and the dawn arrived like a relief.
Xia Lili quickly retreated from the alley where the smoke had not yet dissipated and walked straight to the temporary command point.
She saw Li Qihan leaning against an off-road vehicle, with his head lowered, biting one end of the bandage with his teeth, trying to bandage the wound on his left arm by himself.
The wound was hideously spread across his forearm, with the flesh slightly turned outward and bloodstains everywhere, obviously caused by debris flying from the explosion.
Although it wasn't too deep, the blood had soaked half of his sleeve, dripping down from his wrist, and spreading a small dark red patch on the sand at his feet.
"How did it happen?" Xia Lili stepped forward quickly, her voice hurried.
Li Qihan looked up at the sound, his forehead still stained with ashes, but he simply curled his lips and said, "It's okay. While assisting Team C, we ran into a tough opponent. They buried explosives on the road."
"Hey, don't move!" Xia Lili rushed forward a few steps, speaking in a hurried tone, and took the bandage and disinfectant from his hand.
She glared at Li Qihan: "How did you do it yourself?"
Li Qihan looked up at her wide-open eyes, said nothing, but let go of her hand as she said and sat down on an ammunition box next to her.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant, mixed with the scent of gunpowder and dust on each other's bodies.
Xia Lili concentrated on using tweezers to clean the tiny sand and gravel from the wound, and her fingertips occasionally inevitably touched Li Qihan's taut skin.
His arms were muscular and smooth, but now they seemed unusually tense because of her subtle movements.
Xia Lili lowered her head slightly, with a few strands of hair falling in front of her forehead.
Li Qihan could clearly see the tiny bloodstains on her cheek that were left by the fishing net, and were stained with dust and gunpowder.
Just as Xia Lili lowered her head to tie the last knot of the bandage.
A pair of warm fingers with thin calluses suddenly gently stroked her face.
Xia Lili shuddered suddenly, raised her eyes, and met Li Qihan's close gaze.
Li Qihan reached out and took out a small bottle of saline solution and a stack of sterile cotton pads from the medical bag.
Li Qihan's voice came softly, like a stream brushing against bluestone, with an undeniable gentleness in its silence: "Lili, look up."
Xia Lili raised her head almost instinctively.
The palm of his left hand was warm, and he gently held her chin, his fingertips brushing against her ear.
Her right hand, which was still able to move flexibly, held a cotton swab soaked in saline solution and carefully wiped away the dust and blood stains on Xia Lili's cheek bit by bit.
Li Qihan's movements were extremely focused, as if he was wiping a precious piece of porcelain, and even his breathing was extremely light.
The cool touch mixed with the warmth of his fingertips sent tiny shivers across her skin.
The saline solution touched the cut, causing a slight sting, but Xia Lili did not move.
After wiping it clean, Li Qihan tore off another Band-Aid and carefully placed it on the most obvious red mark on her face.
He said nothing during the whole process, his eyes focused.
After the Band-Aid was applied, Li Qihan lightly brushed the edge of her jaw with his fingertips, and looked into her eyes calmly.
"Thank you for your hard work." Li Qihan whispered, his voice deeper and hoarser than usual due to fatigue.
There seemed to be some indescribable emotion hidden in his always cold eyes.
After a moment of silence, Li Qihan spoke again: "You are very brave today."
Xia Lili only felt that the small piece of skin touched by his fingertips was on fire, and the heat quickly spread to the entire tip of her ear.
She lowered her eyelashes, not daring to look at Li Qihan again, and said in a voice so soft that it was almost inaudible: "Captain Li, your shooting skills are also very accurate!"
"We work well together!"
…
Soon, daybreak came.
The sky gradually brightened, and the faint morning light penetrated the clouds and sprinkled on the muddy and messy open space of the fishing village.
The criminals were handcuffed one by one and taken to police cars, where they were taken over by Jiangcheng police who came to provide support.
Although the police officers of the action team were covered in dust, sweat and scattered blood, they all had irrepressible smiles of ease on their faces.
After counting, it was found that no one was seriously injured in this fierce operation. At most, they only had scratches and bruises. It was simply a miracle.
The team members patted each other on the shoulders, and the atmosphere was more relaxed than ever before.
Someone laughed and sighed, "After so many missions, this one was the easiest! It's just weird. Every time those bastards try to trick us, it's like we see through it!"
This statement immediately drew a lot of agreement.
No one knew who started it, but everyone looked at Xia Lili, who was clutching a piece of foxtail grass in a daze, and shouted sincerely:
"Thank you, President Xiao Xia!"
"Thank you for your hard work, President Xiao Xia!"
The voices rose and fell, carrying with them the relief and sincere gratitude for having survived the disaster.
Xia Lili felt a little embarrassed by the sudden thanks. As soon as she raised her head, a warm-hearted female police officer handed her a bottle of water.
Xia Lili stood in the morning light, looking at these tired but smiling faces, and her heart felt warm.
The tension and fatigue from running around all night seemed to have dissipated for the most part.
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