Qi Tongwei slowly raised his hands and turned around, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he stepped out.
"It's me!"
"It's Captain Qi!"
"Captain Qi, are you alright?"
"Captain, what was the situation inside just now?"
...
Realizing it was Qi Tongwei, the criminal police officers at the entrance lowered their weapons. Qi took a deep drag of his cigarette and said nonchalantly to those around him, "Call an ambulance, quickly! If you're any slower, those drug dealers might bleed to death."
"..."
What was that supposed to mean? Had Qi Tongwei once again finished everyone else’s job all by himself? The veteran officers exchanged shocked glances, wondering if they had misheard him.
Qi Tongwei didn't have time for explanations and immediately began issuing orders. "Wang Zhan, go find the backup generator! Everyone else, apprehend all the drug dealers inside and take them out!"
"Team One, seal off the scene! Team Two, collect the evidence! Team Three, get in there and make the arrests!"
"Yes, sir!"
Before long, Wang Zhan turned on the backup power for the lounge. When the lights flickered back to life, the officers saw the drug dealers scattered across the floor and collectively gasped.
That was incredible! Had Qi Tongwei really cleared out another drug den single-handedly?
"What are you all standing around for? Get moving! Don't you want to go home and sleep?"
Hearing Qi’s reprimand, Wang Zhan excitedly took the lead and charged in, with the other officers following suit.
"Tsk, tsk. Our Captain Qi is truly something else. I, Old Zhang, am thoroughly impressed!"
"With his marksmanship and combat skills, he must be at the level of a military elite, right?"
"I’d say so! With skills like that, it’s a waste for him to be stuck at our local precinct."
"Once we finish this, we should talk to the Chief. With his talent, he belongs at the Municipal Bureau or the Provincial Department!"
"Wait, isn't this Zhen Sanjiang? How did he get beaten up like this? Who did it?"
Soon, some officers discovered a now-conscious Zhen Sanjiang. As they approached, he curled into a ball on the floor, trembling and begging for mercy.
"Don't hit me anymore! I'll go with you! Just take me away! I'll confess to everything!"
The veteran officers' mouths twitched as they watched this, lamenting how heavy-handed Qi Tongwei had been. Zhen Sanjiang was a notorious, hardcore criminal—the kind who dared to lead men in a shootout against the police. Now, he looked nearly traumatized, clearly the result of Qi Tongwei’s excessive force.
...
Outside Red Romance, Qi Tongwei was busy inhaling a bowl of instant noodles. He estimated that the operation involving Li Hongqi should be wrapping up soon as well. After all, Li Hongqi possessed the "protagonist's halo," making him practically unkillable. Taking down Ma Qiang might take some effort, but it shouldn't pose a major problem.
After this mission, he expected to be reassigned to the Binhai City Bureau. Before leaving, he still needed to settle things for Xiaoyou. Since he had saved her and made her a promise, he couldn't go back on his word.
Just as he picked up his third bowl of noodles, his phone rang.
"Yes? It's me, Chief! My end is wrapped up. Zhen Sanjiang and the other dealers didn't escape; the brothers have captured them all, and we are currently... What?"
"Tongwei, something's gone wrong with Li Hongqi's team! I'm organizing the auxiliary police to surround the scrapyard right now!"
"What exactly happened?"
"I don't know the specifics yet, but hurry and bring your men to support them!"
"Yes, sir!"
...
Qi Tongwei hung up, tossed aside the unfinished noodles, and activated his radio. "Team One, come with me immediately! Teams Two and Three, keep working! Old Zhang, notify the nearby auxiliary units to come and assist you!"
"Yes, sir!"
Soon, over a dozen officers from Team One charged out of Red Romance.
"Captain, what's going on?"
Qi cast a glance at the puzzled officers and said in a low voice, "Something may have happened to Li Hongqi's team. The Chief wants us to provide backup immediately!"
"What?"
"Everyone, get in the cars! I'll explain on the way!"
"Yes, sir!"
The officers didn't waste time. Five police cruisers, sirens wailing, rushed toward the outskirts of the city. As they drove, updates from the Chief continued to trickle in.
"Tongwei! I've reached the scrapyard. Li Hongqi and the officers from the First Team are all trapped inside—their status is unknown!"
"Tongwei, are you all armed? Ma Qiang has taken our comrades hostage. How far out are you?"
"I've already notified the military. Ma Qiang and his group are putting up a desperate fight and holding police officers hostage. The situation is beyond our control now!"
...
The Chief's voice sounded increasingly urgent; the situation was clearly grim. Qi Tongwei, sitting in the car, furrowed his brow. He couldn't understand how Li Hongqi could have failed. Logically, after he had personally arrested the gangs led by Zhen Sanjiang and Qi Dawei, Ma Qiang shouldn't have had any heavy hitters left. Even if Li Hongqi couldn't best Ma Qiang, he shouldn't have lost dozens of officers to him.
Could it be that Ma Qiang’s secret backer had finally stepped in? That was the only possibility Qi could think of. But what gave Ma Qiang the confidence to do this? Did he really think he could get away with it?
While Qi Tongwei rushed to the scene, the major criminal incident on the outskirts of Binhai City spread across the entirety of Handong through the media.
The Binhai drug syndicate had taken police officers hostage! Over thirty officers were missing or trapped, their fates unknown!
Unsurprisingly, the story made the evening news. Every citizen who saw the report felt a sinking sensation in their chests. Through various channels, the group of influential descendants at Handong University also learned the details. After all, their own senior, Qi Tongwei, was directly involved in this dangerous operation.
Chen Yang, who had graduated not long ago and was now working at the Handong Court, returned home early that day and went straight to her father, Chen Yanshi.
"Dad! Bring Qi Tongwei back—Binhai City is too dangerous!"
Chen Yanshi was stunned, then flew into a rage. "Yangyang, what are you saying? Haven't you seen the news? Such a huge incident in Binhai, and you want me to order Qi Tongwei back now? He is a narcotics officer; fighting drug traffickers is his duty!"
"But Tongwei could die..."
"Who won't die? Are you telling me you won't, or I won't? When your old man used to carry explosive charges to blow up enemy bunkers, the danger was dozens of times worse than this!"
Chen Yanshi’s personality was as stubborn as his nickname, "Old Stone." It was impossible for him to call Qi Tongwei back at a time like this. He had supported Qi Tongwei for many years; he considered him half a son. If he called him back now, he would be branded a coward. Could the Chen Family afford that kind of shame?
"Old Chen, enough! Are we going to eat or not?" Chen Yanshi’s wife, Wang Fuzhen, intervened. "Yangyang is just worried about Tongwei!"