Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 179: Life on the Line 3
“Thunder Squad reporting, we can hear gunfire here, it’s intense…”
“This is Thunder Squad Four, requesting to engage…”
“Thunder Team Five, the road is blocked, we can hear gunfire…”
“…”
The operation had begun, and voices crackled through the radio. The task force was too focused to respond, their eyes glued to several feeds embedded in the helmets of the assault team. Two Tanks served as a natural barrier for the enemy, and from behind this cover, they could see two… three… shooters with remarkable accuracy. One shot directly hit a SWAT Team Member, and the camera tilted up to darkness as the impact sent the SWAT Team Member flying, causing those present to gasp in shock.
The raid was relentless, but no one expected the enemy's firepower to be so fierce. It wasn’t the swift strike they had anticipated. Inspector A gripped tightly, trembling slightly as he reminded, “Notify ahead, Never give them time to destroy evidence.”
At that moment, it was too late for notifications. Three guns fired intermittently from the front door, and two teams of SWAT Team Members were pinned down near the front of their vehicles. With a loud “boom,” a grenade exploded, and the entire task force turned pale; the level of resistance from this group was beyond imagination.
“I’ll take the call.”
Shen Lingchen stood up, his expression fierce as he took the communication device handed to him by Lin Qizhao. Taking a deep breath, he said, “Your code name is Thunder; you are not to hold back. When paths cross in narrow spaces, it’s survival of the fittest. Fish may die, but the net must not break.”
……………
……………
Hiding beneath a tire, Aeming heard this and spat fiercely, “Cover me.”
At 7 o'clock and 1 o'clock, two submachine guns provided suppressive fire. Taking advantage of a moment when shooting from inside ceased, Aeming pressed against the vehicle and leaped forward. As he approached the garage door, he executed a roll and pressed himself against the side of the door.
Bang... A shot struck the person inside the canister, followed by a scream from the one firing inside. In response, a companion swiftly tossed in a tracer round. He closed his eyes for a moment, then rolled urgently into the workshop, firing several shots that suppressed two fire points.
Breakthrough... A rapid breakthrough, the Police Force quickly secured the entrance, sealing off the vehicle with their guns aimed directly at several suspects hiding under the Tank. Those individuals, terrified, raised their hands and shouted for mercy.
At this moment, reinforcements had already breached the rear entrance and surged in through the back door. Tracers flashed as four SWAT Team Members entered, but unexpectedly, the lights went out, plunging the workshop into darkness.
Bang bang... Two shots hit parts of the Printing Press near the SWAT Team Members. The four crouched down, avoiding movement out of fear.
In an arrest situation, you never know what will happen next, and you can't just rush in, especially in such a complex environment where cover for shooting is readily available. In the darkness, the SWAT Team Members found themselves trapped. At that moment, they all turned off their flashlights; in this environment, having light was like being a target.
Amidst the hesitation, a voice emerged from the darkness: "Three-man team, your direction is at nine o'clock, gun barrels at a forty-five-degree angle, fire."
Aeming heard it and shouted, "Follow his command."
One SWAT Team Member hesitated briefly before complying and fired a burst of bullets. Accompanied by several screams, a gunman trying to evade was knocked off a high platform.
"Damn it, it's really you?" someone cursed from the darkness.
"At six o'clock, there's one hiding behind the tool cabinet," another voice spoke up.
Rat-a-tat-tat... Another volley of bullets erupted as someone in the dark cried out in terror: "I surrender! I surrender... Don't shoot anymore!"
Aeming recognized Xiao Mu's voice and felt a surge of joy. He crawled from around the corner and made his way along the wall toward Xiao Mu.
"The light switch is at nine o'clock; there's still one hiding," Xiao Mu's voice rang out again.
Bang... A shot was fired toward the direction of the speaker. Aeming opened fire several times at the source of light behind the machinery to suppress it. He got up and ran while shouting, "Nine o'clock, turn on the lights!"
The micro-stamping device was firing, and with a tactical flashlight in hand, Aeming rushed towards Xiao Mu. Following the direction, he dropped to the ground, and when he finally spotted Xiao Mu, his heart ached so much that tears almost flowed. Xiao Mu was covered in blood, with a bruised face, timidly hiding behind a stack of ink barrels. He immediately embraced him and asked with concern, "Mu... Mu..."
With a click, the light turned on. Xiao Mu slowly opened his eyes and, upon seeing Aeming, weakly said, "Baldy, you really screwed me over."
"Thank goodness... thank goodness... damn it, you really are tough," Aeming said, tears streaming down his face as he smiled.
"Well, it would have been better if you had come later... I had already thought of a way out. At least it would have been a glorious death, better than living in mediocrity while being despised and scorned by others... heh." Xiao Mu spoke self-deprecatingly, his mind flashing to the familiar face of Erhu Lu. He had brushed with death more than once but felt strangely devoid of the joy of surviving.
"Get up... stop talking nonsense. You'd make a great cop; you're much better than I am," Aeming helped Xiao Mu to his feet. Xiao Mu stood straight but stumbled again; it was clear he was badly injured, most of it from beatings. Aeming gritted his teeth and said, "There's still one left; drag him out, dead or alive."
At this moment, the battlefield was nearing its end. A few people hiding inside the barrels emerged with their hands on their heads. Those who had been crouching under the vehicle crawled out cautiously and lined up at a distance along the side of the vehicle. Fully armed SWAT members were searching through the cluttered workshop for any remaining threats. At the entrance lay a body that had been shot dead—Xiao Mu recognized him as Maozi, who still had an unclaimed gold bar lying next to him.
Tap… tap… more bursts from the micro-stamping device interrupted Xiao Mu's thoughts. He turned his head as Aeming supported him and said, "A few hundred Police Force members showed up today; he won't be able to escape even if he grows wings... They've already taken action—Anyang, Taizhou, and San Shui."
"Congratulations then, Baldy; you're getting a promotion and a raise," Xiao Mu said lightly, his words laced with sarcasm.
"Heh heh, you know me; I'm an idealist. I don't care much about position or income," Aeming replied sheepishly.
"You're not being sincere; damn it! I was ready for this! You dragged me back like this instead; now I've got all this resentment built up. We could have launched an ambush ages ago; you made me wait this long," Xiao Mu said angrily as he limped along. Aeming sighed heavily in response, speechless. The task force had to consider the bigger picture and ensure they completed their mission in one go; it was just unfortunate for this exposed informant. He gently patted Xiao Mu to comfort him: "See? You're fine now... If you're upset, just curse at me."
"Actually, you should have come later; if I had closed my eyes for good, you wouldn't have to feel like less of a person every time you think of me," Xiao Mu retorted bitterly.
Aeming awkwardly explained, "What are you talking about? You're not dying! From now on, you're a hero; brother, I'll feel proud too."
Xiao Mu glanced sideways and rolled his eyes before giving Baldy an exasperated middle finger and cursing under his breath: "Damn you."
Aeming laughed heartily without a care in the world.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the air, punctuated by the commanding shout of "Don't move!" Outside, a fleet of police cars had surrounded the area, beginning to take away the suspects. Two teams of SWAT were on the scene, with Xu Jian leading the charge. The fierce suspect fired several shots before running out of ammunition, and then a group closed in around him.
"Throw down your weapon..."
Xu Jian shouted as he fired a warning shot at the suspect hiding behind a machine tool. The bullet struck the ground, purely a threat.
With a clatter, a dark handgun was tossed out.
The encirclement slowly tightened. The already injured bandit cowered behind the machine tool. Someone caught sight of him from the side; he was bleeding from multiple wounds, and his fingers relaxed on the gun's trigger. At this point, anyone still resisting was facing certain death.
As the encirclement continued to close in, Xu Jian could see clearly that the suspect was a middle-aged man with scars on his face and blood staining his clothes. Yet his expression remained fierce; this was likely someone who would fight to the end. Xu Jian raised his gun and commanded, "Raise your hands so I can see them."
The man slowly lifted his hands, but they were curled into fists. Halfway through raising them, a strange smile crept across his face as he sneered, "Do you think someone with nowhere to go will surrender? Fool."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Several shots were fired at the Brutal Bandit. Xu Jian shouted in terror, "Get down! There are explosives nearby!"
With a clatter, a remote control fell from the bandit's limp hand.
Aeming instinctively saw an arc of electricity flash from the tanker and immediately scooped up Xiao Mu.
Boom! The bomb strapped beneath the tanker exploded with a deafening roar, sending flames toward Aeming and Xiao Mu, who were closest to the door. The tanker was blown several meters into the air. Xu Jian watched in horror as Aeming hunched over Xiao Mu, shielding her back from the blast point. The shockwave hurled them far away, and in an instant, half of the workshop was destroyed.
Alarms blared, shouts filled the air, and police rushed in—some to extinguish fires and others to apprehend suspects. Just as they had managed to regain control of the situation, chaos erupted once more...
When the bomb exploded, all the officers in the task force were startled and jumped from their seats. The shockwave rendered both audio and video nearly useless, leaving only a silent image on the screen. It took several seconds for things to recover, and the radio chatter became chaotic. The command point was focused on Aeming, who was closest to the blast site. Lin Qizhao shouted into the communicator, "What’s the situation? What’s going on... Zero Team, A Group..."
"I'm from Second Group. The bomb is located near the fuel tank, and the assault team is trapped in the workshop. Half of it has collapsed, and we are currently fighting the fire," came the report from ahead.
"What’s the casualty situation?"
"I don’t know; they’re buried inside."
"Quick... organize a rescue."
A thousand miles away, even if he was anxious, it was of no use. Six surveillance points went dark on the screen, indicating that six people were trapped in the workshop after the explosion. Lin Qizhao's face turned pale as he trembled while gripping the communicator.
At that moment, a hand gently reached out and patted his shoulder. He turned around in surprise to see Shen Lingchen, who was signaling him to stay calm. Old Shen pointed towards updates from other locations.
In Taizhou, a group led by Sun Dazheng had been completely taken down. Officers were escorting Sun Dazheng away in handcuffs while a large amount of imported pulp paper was seized from warehouses under his name.
In Suzhou and Hangzhou at the Golden Seat Hotel, Gexi and Dai Qiongshi were being taken away for investigation by the police. This action had alarmed many people; when they exited the hotel, hotel staff were seen negotiating with security and police, seemingly furious about such a high-profile arrest that tarnished their hotel's image.
Today, there was no need for an image; what was needed was to strip away those hypocritical facades to reveal the truth. Arrests and interrogations were advancing with utmost intensity.
At the same time in San Shui, Fan Saili and Guo Wei led a team of officers to knock on Li Yingzong's door for a criminal summons and search. The detained Li Yingzong looked ashen as dozens of hand-drawn templates were discovered in this Old Level Eight Worker’s home. They laid out a table filled with replicated patterns ranging from trademarks to banknotes—over a dozen types—all of which were obsolete templates. Alongside these findings was a plasma centrifuge, a miniature tool used for mixing pigments that could scrape ink off banknotes for minute analysis of substitute mixtures; this old worker had recorded extensive experimental data in several large notebooks.
Meanwhile, another raid in Anyang went smoothly without incident; they only encountered an armed thug named Qiu Guanghan. After being injured, he was captured while crouching in a corner of a counterfeiting workshop, fearfully recounting everything that had happened. Nearby lay several piles of counterfeit money.
The chain of evidence regarding manufacturing and trafficking perfectly connected at this moment. As they saw that the fire at Houji Town's operation point had been extinguished, two inspectors let out a sigh of relief. The only imperfect aspect was that several officers remained trapped in the collapsed workshop, their fates uncertain.
"No sacrifice, no victory," Shen Lingchen said solemnly, his expression grave. Each drop of blood shed for victory would dilute the joy of success.
"We misjudged each other's strength," Lin Qizhao said regretfully.
"Even if this place is filled with bombs, we only have this one choice," Shen Lingchen replied.
Lin Qizhao felt a pang in his heart, his nose twitched, and he was left speechless.
Beep... beep... beep... A signal light lit up, and a voice filled with excitement came from the Technical Investigation team. "It's Assault Team Four; they're still here."
At that moment, no one cared about the suspects or the progress of the case. Everyone's attention was focused on the rescue efforts at the scene, watching the shadows moving around and listening to the chaotic commands. Each person strained to discern what could be good news.
...
...
"There! They are here!"
As a prefabricated panel was moved aside, the rescuers saw a faint beam of tactical flashlight. A shout echoed, and everyone rushed toward it.
"Respond, who’s there?"
"It's me, Team Four..."
"Casualty report?"
"We're fine... it's a triangle here; we're stacked on top of each other."
"Hold on..."
With hands moving and shoulders bearing the weight, they lifted a fallen concrete pillar with a jack, searching for survivors like digging up sweet potatoes, pulling one person out after another. Miraculously, several emerged without serious injuries. The worst off had a leg crushed by a precast slab; he was the last to be pulled out. Xu Jian impatiently pushed away the medical staff examining his wounds and asked, "I'm fine. Where's the instructor? Where's our instructor?"
"What instructor?"
"The one leading us... ah."
As he stood up and regained his senses, he was stunned to see that the area where the fire had just been extinguished was now completely flattened. In a panic, he rushed toward the scene, shouting, "Instructor... Instructor... hurry, there's still someone here! Our instructor is buried underneath!"
The communication device directed several police cars into the area, their lights illuminating the rubble as rescuers scrambled to move steel and concrete blocks, searching for signs of life with flashlights.
"Here... here, there's someone here..."
"I can't move it; there's a metal piece blocking it."
"Bring the tow truck over; use the tow bar."
"Both at once..."
"One, two, three... pull!"
As people and vehicles moved together, they cleared away the compressed machinery and concrete blocks. When Xu Jian finally saw what lay beneath the rubble, he couldn't hold back his tears any longer and covered his mouth as he cried.
A steel beam several centimeters thick was crushing Aeming's leg, which had already become deformed. Xu Jian cried as he dug with bloodied hands, continuously calling out for his instructor.
"Hurry... get him out... there's someone else under him."
The rescuing officers carefully pulled up the fallen debris. With dozens of arms working in unison, they lifted both individuals from the wreckage and laid them flat on the ground. Xu Jian desperately checked for a pulse but felt nothing but blood on his hands. Pressing his ear against Aeming's chest, he could no longer hear a heartbeat. In agony, he pounded the ground with his fists, tears flowing freely like a burst dam. He felt like a wounded beast, reaching for his gun to shoot those captured suspects. In his urgency, his companions firmly restrained him and took away his weapon.
"Get this one in the back, he's still breathing. Hurry, get him in the car, we need to rush him to the hospital."
On the other side, another individual was being carried away, already unconscious. A team member recognized him as an informant under the protection of the task force. A dozen police officers formed a makeshift stretcher with their arms and hurriedly placed him in the vehicle, racing towards the hospital.
"I'm Zhou Qunyi... which member of the Anhui Province task force is on site? How is Aeming doing?"
The radio kept repeating this question. Xu Jian, whose gun had been taken by a comrade and was pinned down, wiped away his tears and responded into the radio, "Instructor... he's gone... just like that... gone in an instant..."
He cried, his voice breaking. With his rough, dirty hands, he gently stroked Aeming's peaceful yet lifeless face, as if waiting for him to burst into laughter or to curse loudly, but that would never happen again. The thick bulletproof vest had not shielded him from the blast; a large gash had been torn open at the back of his neck, from which blood had flowed out completely, draining every last drop.
The officers present solemnly removed their caps, honoring their fallen comrade with a salute.
Far away in the task force headquarters, one by one, officers silently took off their hats. The female officers could no longer hold back their tears, their eyes brimming with sorrow.
That night, a criminal gang involved in Counterfeit Money production and distribution was dismantled. Joint operations were conducted across five locations: Haoji, Anyang, San Shui, Taizhou, and Suzhou and Hangzhou. A total of 67 gang members were captured, including key figures like Sun Dazheng, Xu Tonglei, Gexi, and Li Yingzong, with none escaping. In the most intense confrontation at Houji Town, three criminals were shot dead on site.
Four police officers were injured during the operation; one lost his life. While reviewing bodycam footage from various teams during the Thunder Strike operation, they found a frame captured two seconds before the explosion: it showed Aeming lifting up the informant, turning away from the blast point, and then… being thrown back by the explosion. A metal shard had embedded itself in his neck; he remained in a protective stance until his last breath, shielding the informant in his arms.
Dying in service is the highest honor bestowed upon followers by their faith; yet this honor came without flowers, applause, or final words. As another dawn approached, both front-line and back-office personnel simultaneously witnessed a scene filled with rubble and debris, wisps of smoke rising from the ruins, along with vivid red blood—a haunting and tragic sight.
Comment 0 Comment Count