Chapter 117
Inside the abandoned parking lot, Zhong Wei'en was suspended high in the air. Beneath her lay a powerful pressure bomb. If Jin Xiuji pressed the remote control to send her plummeting, everything in the area would be instantly destroyed.
"Ready, Madam? I've brought Inspector Zhan to keep you company." Kim Soo-hee shouted triumphantly from the ground. "The elites of SDU, I saw you two getting along quite well when you were working together."
Zhong Wei'en remained silent, staring sharply at her. The areas where she had been punched and electrocuted were still throbbing, and she wasn't entirely lucid, but Zhong Wei'en had no intention of sitting idly by and waiting to die. She knew that at least Zhan Hantao would be drawn here, and since she had helpers on the scene, she needed to conserve her strength and wait for an opportunity to act.
Jin Xiuji's plan was indeed meticulous. With a few phone calls and traffic lights, Zhan Hantao disappeared from the sight of the task force members who had been following him all along. However, no matter how carefully she planned, she couldn't overcome the Zhou family's high-tech products. The tracking chip used on Guangzai years ago played a role again. The van stopped for a few minutes, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan led his men out to patrol the area. After confirming there were no extra clues, they sent Zhan Hantao's location to command, allowing Qiu Junsheng to promptly dispatch police support from the vicinity of the final destination. The act of getting out of the car was, of course, a decoy to prevent Jin Xiuji from knowing their plan in advance. When reviewing the base incident, they discovered that Jin Xiuji was very skilled at using network lines to monitor everyone's movements. Therefore, to prevent her from setting up checkpoints along the way, Zhuang Zhuoyuan and his team controlled the speed of the car the entire time, performing every necessary action, playing the role of incompetent police officers in her eyes.
"Ah Yuan's command skills are quite mature now." Looking at the actions of the group, Qiu Junsheng turned to Zhuang Zhuohua beside him and praised her. The task force had already been established, and adding people at the last minute was difficult, especially since Zhuang Zhuohua was currently on exchange assignment; sending her back to the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau wouldn't be appropriate. Edward had spoken with Inspector Qiu beforehand, and with his father's request, Qiu Junsheng adopted a compromise: arranging for Zhuang Zhuohua to come to the command headquarters, ostensibly as an intern, but also to assess her progress over the past year.
If Zhan Hantao had gone to rescue people alone, Zhuang Zhuohua would definitely have gone with him. But now that Zhuang Zhuoyuan and a group of Flying Tigers were covering their retreat, she felt extremely at ease. Therefore, she appeared calm and composed in front of Qiu Junsheng, and answered his questions fluently. Qiu Junsheng couldn't help but laugh: "It seems your whole family needs to prepare for a promotion and a banquet."
Inside the junkyard, almost the instant she saw Zhan Hantao, Jin Xiuji wanted to press the descent button, but hatred prevented her from easily letting the two men go. To let them die without first condemning their crimes would be far too lenient. Zhan Hantao initially tried to reason with her, stalling for time while also attempting to steer her back to the right path. But this latter attempt was clearly futile; Jin Xiuji had her own set of principles, and the so-called "righteousness" the police spoke of was completely disregarded by her.
Seeing the woman in front of him begin to go berserk, Zhan Hantao decisively decided to use force to snatch the remote control from her hand. Jin Xiuji realized his intention and pressed the button immediately. Zhong Wei'en plummeted from the sky, but fortunately the suspension bridge was high enough that Zhan Hantao managed to grab her halfway down the rope. He could still support one person's weight; if he could slowly lower Zhong Wei'en down, the latter could avoid the bomb's explosion by slightly dodging upon impact.
However, Jin Xiuji wouldn't give him that chance. While Zhan Hantao's entire strength was focused on pulling the steel cable, she picked up an iron bar from the ground and struck him hard in the waist. Each blow to his back sent pain spreading to his limbs, but Jin Xiuji seemed to grow more excited with each strike, increasing her strength. Unable to endure it any longer, Zhan Hantao switched to using one hand to pull the cable while using the other to counter Jin Xiuji's attack.
A large movement would inevitably cause the rope to sway, and with another sudden drop, when pulled back, she wouldn't be far from the ground. Zhong Wei'en tried to save herself, realizing that Zhan Hantao was struggling and could be fatally struck by Jin Xiuji at any moment.
"Zhan Sir, switch!" Zhong Wei'en controlled her body, exerting all her strength to swing towards Zhan Hantao as much as possible. Hearing her voice, the latter quickly understood what she meant. He created an opening, deliberately luring Jin Xiuji to attack, and while freeing his hand to catch Zhong Wei'en, he used a counter-grappling move to pin Jin Xiuji under his arm. Zhong Wei'en's reaction was equally swift; the moment they touched, she immediately used her bound hands as a lasso to tighten around Jin Xiuji's neck.
When Zhuang Zhuoyuan and his group arrived, they saw the three of them entangled together. They quickly stepped forward, handcuffed Jin Xiuji, and then untied Zhong Weien. On their way here, they had dealt with several gang members who were lurking in the shadows. Now that they saw no more sniper shots fired after capturing their leader, they breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to escort the criminals back.
Just then, as Zhuang Zhuoyuan turned around, he suddenly saw Jin Xiuji's eerie smile. A bad premonition rose in his heart, and he subconsciously shouted the order: "Run!" Before he could finish speaking, an explosion suddenly rang out, and a wave of heat, carrying the smell of burning, rushed towards him. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was thrown to the ground by the blast wave. The pain of hard shards embedded in his back was sharp and piercing. His nostrils were filled with the smell of gunpowder. He tried to struggle again, but suddenly lost consciousness...
"Quick, save him!" Derek, hearing the loud bang, quickly grabbed the doctors in the vehicle and rushed to the scene. AK wasn't joking with Iris; if necessary, they really could snatch someone from the jaws of death. Years ago, when Kenny was shot in the head, their team single-handedly pulled him back from the brink of death; now that Zhuang Zhuoyuan was caught in a bomb, they had to save him too.
The junkyard was engulfed in flames, with numerous scrap metal frames collapsing. Things were scattered haphazardly on the ground, hitting those near the explosion site, leaving a scene of utter devastation. Only a few Flying Tigers members, knocked down by the impact, managed to get to their feet and began moving towards the epicenter, attempting to rescue their comrades. Xie Jiaxing, slightly regaining his senses, was overjoyed to see Derek arriving with a team. The possibility of a secondary explosion remained, and the more people who arrived, the greater the chances of survival for their injured comrades.
Witnessing the horrific scene on the screen, Zhuang Zhuohua could no longer control her emotions. She rushed out of the command center and hurried towards the accident site. One explosion had taken Abang from her, and now another; she could not bear to see her brother and Zhan Hantao leave at the same time.
Waiting outside the operating room, Iris once again experienced what it meant to be unable to cry. She trembled all over, felt utterly weak, and her mind was blank; she felt no sadness or fear whatsoever. Her eyes were fixed on the operating room door, demanding only one outcome, and only one outcome was allowed. Jennie's hand was gripped so tightly it hurt, but she didn't move. She knew her younger daughter was on the verge of collapse, just as she had when Ella fell into the sea. Iris had anxiously awaited news of her sister's safety, but in the end, she hadn't received it… she hadn't received it… Ella's loss was healed by Zhuang Zhuoyuan, but what about Zhuang Zhuoyuan's passing?
“Miss, no, it won’t happen,” Derek said with a serious expression as he came to comfort her. “Yuan Ge wasn’t that close to the explosion point at the time. We’ve done a preliminary check, and apart from the burns and broken leg bone, he’s not in any serious condition.”
"Derek, move aside." Jennie was still angry. She knew it was an accident and she shouldn't take it out on others. Derek had handled the situation well from the start, but failing to protect Zhuang Zhuoyuan was definitely their fault.
In the operating room on the same floor, Alice was also on the verge of collapse. Like Zhuang Zhuoyuan, Zhang Jiguang and two O-Team agents were also within the blast radius without full protective gear. One of the younger agents, responsible for escorting Jin Xiuji, was closest to the blast and was pronounced dead on the spot; the other died en route to the hospital. Zhang Jiguang, barely making it to the hospital, was also in critical condition. Knowing that this was their young mistress's friend, the Zhou family arranged for a top-notch surgeon to operate on Zhang Jiguang, while also arranging for a doctor for Zhuang Zhuoyuan. His surgery took two hours and fifty-three minutes longer than Zhuang Zhuoyuan's. After barely pulling him back from the brink of death, the weary doctor shook his head with a bitter expression: "From now on, we can only leave it to fate. If he can pull through, he'll be fine."
The ICU ward was suddenly filled with acquaintances, friends and acquaintances alike hovering on the brink of death. Shu Zili felt an overwhelming sense of oppression; the cold corridor seemed to steal her very soul. She felt nauseous with fear, and even in the daytime, a chill rose from her feet and seeped into her heart. After visiting Iris and her sister, leaving Alice and Zhang Jiguang alone, Larine approached the window, yearning for the warmth of the sunlight. But the setting sun offered no warmth; her hands trembled as she reached for a cigarette in her bag, forgetting she had begun to quit. Her fingers mechanically rummaged through the cramped space of her handbag.
"Larine, don't be afraid." A hand suddenly reached out and enveloped her. It was warm. Shu Zili felt like she had grabbed a piece of driftwood, and quickly covered her with her other hand, but there was no new layer of wrapping. She looked up and saw Xie Jiaxing, wearing a hospital gown, standing in front of her with one arm in a sling. "Ah Xing, you're injured too?... Thank goodness you're not dead!" Xie Jiaxing was caught off guard; Shu Zili had thrown herself into his arms. His arm ached from the impact, but the greater strangeness made him ignore the pain. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would stop immediately.
Shu Zili cried for a long time until she realized she had grabbed the hand of an injured person, and only then did her reason return. Embarrassed, she turned away to wipe her tears, then couldn't help but vent her spoiled temper on Xie Jiaxing: "Are you made of stone? You don't even know how to cry out in pain?"
Xie Jiaxing couldn't even feel his headache anymore. He even tried to scratch his head with his injured arm, but when a sharp pain came, he smiled and said, "They call me Stone Star."
Shu Zili covered her mouth and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
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