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墨書 Inktalez
Old Shao was only a second late; the order to fire had already been given. He never expected things to escalate to this point. He didn't hear the gunfire; his mind was blank, and at that moment, he saw Wang Liguo lying on the ground, face up.
Old Shao pressed himself against the grimy glass, looking through the window at Wang Liguo, who lay motionless on the floor. The part of his head that should have been there was missing a third. The ground was splattered with blood and brain matter, both red and white sprayed far and wide, marking the iron door and the window.
In his youth, Old Shao enjoyed watching television, but whenever he saw criminals being shot on screen, he would laugh. It was nothing like what was portrayed in dramas; even a bullet from a handgun passing through the frontal lobe would create a gaping wound at the back of the head, resembling spilled tofu pudding.
Let alone bullets from a sniper rifle; it was common for a single shot to blow a person's head apart. And now, this was exactly Wang Liguo's fate. A third of his head was completely gone, one eye lost somewhere in the chaos, and it was easy to imagine that his skull had been utterly destroyed.
Blood gushed like a fountain from the gaping hole in Wang Liguo's head.
Wang Liguo was dead, in the most undignified and horrifying manner possible.
Yuan Jun gently pulled at Old Shao because the Special Police were preparing to breach the door with a hydraulic breaching tool. Old Shao numbly stepped back a few paces to make way. The sound of the hydraulic tool made Old Shao's head buzz as he continued to think about Wang Liguo's words; Wang Liguo could have survived.
Minutes later, the iron door had been twisted and deformed. A SWAT team member kicked it open effortlessly. As Old Shao followed the Special Police into the top floor, the SWAT Captain had already led several other Special Police officers up as well.
Two SWAT team members were helping Xiao Xuanmiao untie her ropes, while she stood there in shock. Although she hadn't seen what had happened to Wang Liguo behind her, she could imagine how horrific his condition must be.
The SWAT Captain approached Old Shao and noticed his pale complexion. He had heard Old Shao's final roar of anger but did not expect that city leaders in the building across had directly ordered to shoot without giving the kidnapper a chance for redemption.
From the very beginning, this kidnapper's fate had been death.
The SWAT Captain didn't know what Old Shao and this kidnapper had discussed, but it was clear that Old Shao disagreed with such an approach.
Regardless, the SWAT team had completed their mission perfectly this time. There were no casualties among civilians, no harm came to the hostages, and they had killed the kidnapper at first opportunity.
"Old Shao, we leave these people to you," said the SWAT Captain. "We'll be heading out now."
Old Shao looked at the captain of the criminal police team and could only nod helplessly in agreement.
Xiao Xuanmiao was just a girl, and seeing such a bloody scene made her legs almost give way. Yuan Jun hurriedly stepped forward to support her, but she remained silent.
Jiang He rushed down the stairs as well. Old Shao looked at Jiang He and said, "Notify the hospital to clean up the bodies."
Jiang He nodded in response.
As Old Shao led Xiao Xuanmiao down, all the reporters surrounded them. At that moment, Old Shao had no desire for an interview whatsoever.
Several city leaders approached and said to Shao the Elder, "Old Shao, this operation was very successful."
Old Shao smiled at the leaders but then glanced at the reporters crowding around Xiao Xuanmiao, feeling a sudden discomfort in his heart.
"Who gave the order to shoot?" Old Shao asked.
Seeing Old Shao's expression change, the leaders quickly pulled him away to a quieter spot. An older leader spoke as they walked, "Old Shao, you see, this case has been resolved very successfully. The kidnapper was shot dead, and the hostage was rescued. Even if there are some flaws, they can be overlooked."
"Flaws?" Old Shao was pushed forward by several people as he replied angrily, "A living person's life is just a flaw in your eyes?"
The leader responded, "Old Shao, you might not have seen clearly from where you were standing. He rushed towards the hostage; it was very likely he intended to harm them."
"Harm them?" Old Shao retorted furiously. "Why didn’t you discuss it with me before taking action? Do you not understand that I had already moved against him? He was going to release the hostage, not kill them!"
"We know, we know. You acted against the kidnapper; your contribution is paramount in this operation's success," another Middle-Aged Leader said.
Old Shao broke free from their grasp and stood his ground. "Do you think I’m trying to claim credit like you? This is a damn life—a life right in front of me! A life just like yours that needs food and has emotions."
The Middle-Aged Leader grew somewhat angry. "Old Shao, I’ve given you face by addressing you respectfully due to your age. But according to rank, I am still above you by quite a bit; it’s best to know your place. How dare you compare our city leaders to that kidnapper? Watch your words!"
"I just want to know who gave the order," Old Shao said, looking at the three of them with deliberate emphasis. "No matter how much higher your rank is than mine, shooting was unjustifiable. I will report this to my department; when that time comes, you won’t need to explain it to me but rather to those above."
The middle-aged man was thoroughly enraged by Old Shao. "Hmph, don’t try to pressure me with that. In that situation, I determined that the killer would definitely harm the hostage. If you disagree, let that dead man rise up and confront me. Besides, no one can judge; that bullet should have already been lodged in that bastard's brain. He killed someone years ago and should have died back then."
"For such a scum, you're arguing with us here?" the Middle-Aged Leader said. "He's just a worthless piece of trash who deserves to be shot in the head..."
He was about to say more when he was stunned.
Old Shao's fist had already struck his face.
The Middle-Aged Leader stumbled and fell to the ground from the force of Old Shao's punch. It had been years since anyone dared to treat him this way. Just as he was about to explode in anger, he caught sight of the fury in Old Shao's eyes. The curse words he wanted to shout were swallowed back down.
Old Shao had seen many people like him—sitting comfortably in their offices, oblivious to the realities on the front lines, self-satisfied and unaware. As a veteran detective who had spent decades on the front lines dealing with countless criminals, Old Shao's aura was forged through countless life-and-death tests, something the Middle-Aged Leader could never compare to.
"I don’t care what your rank is; I only want to know who did it," Old Shao said, looking at the Middle-Aged Leader. "This punch is my personal statement. If you want revenge, I'm ready anytime; you know my name."
With that, Old Shao turned and walked away.
All of this was witnessed by Jiang He, who had just come looking for Old Shao.
Jiang He didn’t understand why Old Shao acted this way, just as he didn’t understand why Xu Yiman always got angry over his slightly “risky” actions. Deep down, Jiang He felt there was a connection between these situations. However, he couldn’t grasp why one person’s emotions would be swayed by another’s life.
Jiang He believed that life was a personal matter for everyone, but it seemed others didn’t share that view.
Seeing Jiang He approach, Old Shao asked, "What's going on outside?"
Jiang He replied, "The reporters are still pestering Xiao Xuanmiao with questions. I had security take her back to her hospital room. The hospital will handle the body; the SWAT team has withdrawn. Some reporters are waiting to interview us; they know Wang Liguo is behind Xiao Xuanmiao's kidnapping and have a bunch of questions for you."
"Reject all those reporters; I’m not in the mood to answer any questions right now," Shao the Elder said.
Jiang He nodded and added, "By the way, the police station just called. Wang Jing has turned himself in at the Public Security Bureau. They are currently taking his statement and asking if we need any further investigation."
Old Shao sighed and said, "Tell them to follow up on their own; Wang Jing has nothing to do with this case anymore."
"Alright." Jiang He nodded again. "I've sent the others to wait at the back door, but I just saw Wang Chao in the crowd. He wants you to help him out by getting him out of the hospital; he's about to suffocate in there. He really wants to get back to the team and is asking if you could think of a way."
Hearing this from Wang Chao, Old Shao smiled helplessly. "Did you forget that you called me about Wang Chao's wife? She's already come to this point, so let's not involve Wang Chao anymore. Look at us in the project team; everyone is single, while Wang Chao has a family and a career. He's different from us."
"Then I'll go tell him now," Jiang He said.
Old Shao stopped Jiang He and said, "No, Wang Chao has only one dream in his life; shattering someone else's dream isn't a good deed. Just let it drag on; he won't be able to leave the hospital anytime soon. Hasn't he talked to you about his recent situation?"
Jiang He nodded. "He did. Right now, he's just playing chess with the kid in the next bed; he doesn't have any other entertainment activities. He also asked me to call him more often when I have time."
Thinking about the phone calls, Old Shao remembered that Captain Liu had called him not long ago, but he hadn't been able to answer due to an urgent situation.
He redialed Captain Liu's number and asked, "Hello, did you find something important when you called earlier?"
"Major discovery!" Captain Liu replied emphatically.
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