Chapter 7: Guessed the Beginning, But Not the End

"Fine, just have them lean against the pillars," the woman commanded, her voice icy as she held her pistol steady. "You two, go to the other side of the pillars, turn around, and squat down with your hands locked behind your heads."

The two men who hadn't been shot obeyed without a word, following her instructions exactly. They turned, crouched down, and gripped their heads tightly. Clearly, the previous gunfire had shattered their nerves; they no longer dared to harbor any thoughts of resistance.

The two men leaning against the pillars, however, showed far more grit. One of them, despite a gunshot wound in his abdomen, endured the sharp agony and forced out a sneer: "You little wench, you've got a vicious streak. Spicy! I guess I underestimated you."

The other gritted his teeth and added, "Stop aiming. Just pull the trigger. Come on, shoot me in the head—it'll be a quick end!"

The woman remained unmoved, keeping her weapon trained on them. Suddenly, the man with the abdominal wound stopped his taunting. His mouth hung open, his eyes fixed intently on something behind the woman.

She sensed the anomaly immediately, her instincts sharpening. Fearing a trick, she didn't turn around directly. Instead, she slid a step to the left, pivoting her body to glance at her previous position.

Empty?

In that split second of hesitation, she felt her right wrist—the one holding the gun—seized in a powerful grip. A jolt of intense pain followed, and her entire arm went numb, her fingers losing their strength and dropping the weapon.

The woman turned in terror. She couldn't believe what was happening, nor could she fathom how someone had managed to approach her so quickly. But when she saw her assailant, her shock deepened: it was a massive, mountain-like man.

Even though she had used a feint, this fat man seemed to have seen right through her, closing the distance with pinpoint accuracy. What kind of reaction time was that?

Before she could process the thought, the man's other hand shot out, landing precisely on the back of her neck. She tried to struggle, but a firm press sent her body limp, and she lost consciousness.

Yu Dazhang picked up the fallen pistol and let out a long breath. From the look of shock in the woman's eyes, he knew she couldn't figure out where she had gone wrong.

"I anticipated your anticipation."

Although the woman could no longer hear him, Yu Dazhang whispered the explanation anyway. Things had been going smoothly; he had poked half his body out earlier without her noticing. His only stroke of bad luck was that man who had been shot—you'd think if you saw someone, you could at least pretend you didn't. He just had to go and look like he’d never seen the world before.

Thinking back on it, Yu Dazhang felt a lingering chill. If his reflexes hadn't been fast enough, he might have been the one who got shot.

***

Looking at the unconscious woman on the floor, Yu Dazhang decided there was no need for handcuffs. The main team would arrive momentarily, and there was no way she would wake up before then.

He walked over to the other side and tapped the two men who were still crouching. "Get up, you're safe now."

They lowered their hands from behind their heads and looked at Yu Dazhang, their faces full of confusion. "Brother, who are you?"

Due to the nature of criminal investigation work, the team rarely wore uniforms. Yu Dazhang was still wearing the casual clothes he had been wearing at the matchmaking corner earlier.

"Who else would save you?" He couldn't be bothered to explain, turning instead to check on the injuries of the other two. "Bear with it, let me see the wound."

Yu Dazhang lifted the man's shirt to examine the gunshot wound on his abdomen. What he didn't notice was that the man’s eyes were locked firmly on the pistol at Yu Dazhang's waist.

Confident that Yu Dazhang’s attention was entirely on his wound, the man slowly raised his hand, just about to reach for the gun...

"Ow!! It hurts! Damn it, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

Yu Dazhang was startled and quickly pulled his hand back. "What's wrong? Why are you screaming?"

"You're just supposed to look, why are you digging around? Why are your hands so restless?!"

The man lowered his hand and clutched his abdomen tightly. His conscious intent hadn't overcome his reflex; he was sweating profusely from the pain.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would hurt that much. Is it serious?" Yu Dazhang looked at him with genuine concern, appearing quite anxious.

"What do you think?! Can't you see the blood spraying everywhere?"

Yu Dazhang leaned in again. "Let me take another look."

"Get away from me! Just hurry up!" The man was like a startled cat, swatting away Yu Dazhang's hand.

"Alright, fine, just hold it yourself."

Yu Dazhang stood up helplessly and was about to check on the other man's injury when he heard footsteps running up the stairs. The main force had arrived!

"This is Yu Dazhang. Come on up, the situation is under control!"

If he didn't call out, the people below wouldn't dare rush up, especially since they had arrived after hearing gunfire. Yu Dazhang stated his name to put them at ease.

Sure enough, a head popped up at the stairwell—it was Lu Zhongxin. He looked like a prairie dog, popping his head up only to immediately retract it.

***

*Still so cautious...* Yu Dazhang nearly laughed out loud.

"Master, don't worry, everything is under my control!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Zhongxin poked his head out again. This time he didn't pull back, instead scanning the room quickly.

"Clear. Move!" With a low shout, he bolted up the stairs, heading straight for the woman lying unconscious on the floor.

Reaching her, Lu Zhongxin knelt down and placed his hand on her carotid artery. Just as he was about to focus on feeling for a pulse, he was interrupted by a voice.

"Don't bother, I just knocked her out."

The words made Lu Zhongxin freeze instantly, as if time had solidified. Seemingly realizing something, he turned his head, his gaze locking onto Yu Dazhang.

"Why did you knock her out?" Lu Zhongxin asked, trying his best to keep his voice from sounding too agitated.

"To rescue the hostage," Yu Dazhang replied, his expression perfectly calm.

Seeing Yu Dazhang’s lack of guilt, Lu Zhongxin knew he wasn't lying.

"So..." Lu Zhongxin pointed at the woman on the ground. "This isn't the hostage?"

Yu Dazhang had an "Of course not" on the tip of his tongue, but he forced himself to swallow it. What was the situation? A kidnapping scene! Who was Lu Zhongxin? A veteran detective so rigid he was nearly stubborn. Would a man like that in a setting like this really be joking around or speaking in riddles?

He was trying to tell him the truth in the most peaceful way possible: *You idiot, you beat up the wrong person; this woman is the hostage!*

Lu Zhongxin was doing this for two reasons: First, he was afraid of alerting the kidnappers near Yu Dazhang. Second, he didn't want the colleagues arriving behind him to realize that Yu Dazhang had mistaken the kidnapping victim for the perpetrator. This, he had to cover up if he could!

Yu Dazhang quickly realized his mistake. He whipped out his pistol and leveled it at the four real kidnappers. "Nobody move!"

"Look at who's moving," one of the men who had been crouching on the floor said, his face turning green. "Whose side are you actually on?"