When Guan Tong arrived at the Sheriff's Department, he saw Director Li Meng about to leave in a hurry with a large group of Sheriffs.
When Li Meng saw Guan Tong, he was stunned for a moment. "Why are you here again?" he asked.
"I just called to report a crime. Someone kidnapped a friend of mine, and the operator told me to come down and give a statement."
"So you were the one who made that call." Li Meng said, understanding now. "Don't worry. I sent a team of Sheriffs to tail them immediately. There's no way they'll get away this time!"
He looked at Guan Tong, paused, and then asked, "I'm about to lead the second wave of backup. Do you want to come along? Since it's your friend who was kidnapped, it would be good to have you there to make an ID. You can just wait in the car."
"Okay." The whole reason Guan Tong had come to the Sheriff's Department was to figure out exactly what was going on.
He got into a car with several Sheriffs, after which the second wave of backup—a total of six vehicles—was dispatched. A report from the first team of Sheriffs soon crackled over the radio.
"Reporting to Director Li, we've spotted the target vehicle. It's a black Wosang, license plate ST7739. The vehicle is currently heading down Qingchi North Avenue. We can intercept at any time."
"Do not intercept." Li Meng's steady voice came over the radio. "Tail the vehicle, but don't get spotted. This time, we're going to strike them right at their lair!"
"Yes, Director Li."
Guan Tong breathed a sigh of relief when he heard they were tracking the target vehicle.
This way, Xu Xiaotian should be saved.
He wasn't too worried about the criminals committing murder. No matter how you looked at it, the criminals' motive for kidnapping High Spirit Users was definitely not just to kill them.
The first team of Sheriffs continued to provide real-time updates on the criminals' vehicle. About twenty minutes later, they reached their destination.
"Director Li, the target vehicle entered an abandoned construction site. We were afraid of being spotted, so we didn't follow them in."
"Good," Li Meng said. "Stay put and await orders. We're almost there."
The six vehicles of the second wave sped up, arriving at the construction site's main gate a few minutes later and meeting up with the four Sheriffs from the first tracking team.
CLICK!
After getting out of the car, Director Li Meng drew his service weapon and flicked off the safety. He spoke gravely to the Sheriffs, "Everyone, ready your weapons. The targets are likely vicious and desperate gang members. We can't afford any carelessness!"
"Sir!"
"Zhao, Qian, you two stay here and guard the gate. If anyone tries to escape, you must stop them! And you, Guan Tong, it could be dangerous inside. Just stay in the car by the gate and don't wander off."
After giving his orders, Li Meng led nearly thirty armed Sheriffs into the construction site. The two Sheriffs left to guard the gate, Zhao and Qian, also gripped their pistols tightly, watching their surroundings with vigilance.
Inside the construction site, in a foreman's office, Hu's expression changed drastically as he watched the surveillance footage on a screen on the desk.
He shot up and slapped the long-haired youth behind him to the ground, cursing, "You useless pieces of shit, you let the cops tail you?!"
The long-haired youth sat on the floor, clutching his face in terror. "How is that possible? Could it be... because of that phone call, the one that kid made..."
"You let him make a call while you were kidnapping him? And you didn't think to mention it as soon as you got back?" Hu said through gritted teeth, the murderous intent in his eyes practically overflowing.
The long-haired youth and his men hadn't dared to tell Hu that Xu Xiaotian had made a brief phone call before being captured, precisely because they were afraid of his anger. Now that the cat was out of the bag, all they could do was beg for mercy. "Hu! That kid played dirty! He had some kind of Instant Noodles Items, and we got splashed in the face and couldn't dodge, that's why—"
"Shut up!" Hu immediately whipped out his phone and made a call. Once it connected, he snarled, "The cops are here. If I get busted, tell your boss to get me out! Otherwise, if I go down, your boss is going down with me!"
Finished, Hu pointed at the long-haired youth and his men. "Go get the kid and use him as a hostage. With a hostage, the cops won't dare to make any sudden moves. Go, now!"
"Yes, yes!"
The men scrambled out. Hu spat a few curses and glanced at the surveillance monitor again.
After the large group of Sheriffs entered through the main gate, they quickly dispatched a team to guard the back exit. It was clear they didn't intend to let a single person escape.
Hu pondered for a moment, then opened a chest in the room. He took out a white Sheriff's uniform that fit his build and put it on.
This was his disguise kit, something he always kept ready and by his side for critical moments, to pass himself off as the real deal.
Then, while his underlings were outside tangling with the Sheriffs, he slipped away alone down a hidden path made of connected cement pipes, heading toward the construction site's main gate.
Having been in the game for years, Hu knew that in this line of work, you had to know when to sell out your teammates. 'You can always find new underlings, but if the boss goes down, it's really over.'
Besides, based on his years of experience dealing with Sheriffs, he knew the fewest cops would be left guarding the main gate. 'All I have to do is blend in, get out, hijack a car, and drive off. By the time the cops figure it out, I'll be long gone.'
At that moment, at the construction site gate, Guan Tong was sitting in the car. He noticed that just three or four minutes after Li Meng led his men inside, several sharp shouts came from within.
"Don't move!"
"Get on the ground!"
"Drop your weapons immediately!"
The shouts were followed by a series of gunshots. BANG BANG. It seemed someone was resisting arrest, forcing the Sheriffs to open fire.
Hearing the gunshots, the two Sheriffs on guard duty at the gate, Zhao and Qian, tensed up, worried for the safety of their colleagues inside.
Just then, a Sheriff walked out of the main gate with his head lowered. Zhao and Qian were taken aback for a second. "What are you—"
THWACK!
The "Sheriff" suddenly attacked. A Finger Tiger materialized on his previously empty right hand, and he knocked Zhao to the ground with a single heavy punch!
Qian, beside him, was shocked. He had just started to raise his gun when the attacker's fist struck again! The powerful fist, clad in the Finger Tiger, slammed into Qian's stomach. The pain was so intense Qian couldn't even cry out, his face contorting as he crumpled to the ground, curled up like a shrimp.
The thug's attack was so sudden that not only Zhao and Qian, but also Guan Tong, who was sitting in the car behind them, didn't have time to react.
This ruthless and decisive thug in a Sheriff's uniform had taken down two Sheriffs with just two punches. His strength was extraordinary; he was clearly no ordinary person.
'And that Finger Tiger materialized on his right hand out of thin air. It's obviously his Psychic Power item!'
At this moment, Hu also noticed Guan Tong sitting in the back seat of the car. His vicious eyes narrowed. "Another one?"
Guan Tong knew a conflict was unavoidable. Watching the thug run toward his car, he immediately retrieved the [Wordless Book] from his storage.
'Shadow, come out!'
CRASH!
The thug's right fist, wearing the Finger Tiger, shattered the car window. He reached in to grab Guan Tong by the collar, trying to drag him out of the car.
But just as his hand reached inside the car, two pure black arms suddenly emerged from behind him, clamping down hard on his neck!
"UGH!!!"