Chapter 62: He Must Not Die Easily

“Drone surveillance has locked on the suspect, Owen, who moved from the trunk to the driver’s seat and then took hostages into the public restroom. It’s confirmed that the hostages haven’t been harmed. The police have discreetly surrounded the service area. Military snipers are positioned, ready to take the shot when necessary.”

Standing over a hundred meters from the service area at a highway entrance, Wang Dong stepped out of the helicopter, addressing Xiao Yu, whose expression was icy, “The higher-ups have instructed us to capture him alive if possible.”

Unknowingly, the leadership role shifted from Wang Dong to Xiao Yu. 

Ability could indeed override certain rules and hierarchies. The capable lead, and others follow.

Wang Dong, aware of his limitations in comparison, willingly deferred to Xiao Yu’s command of the situation. With Xiao Yu’s assistance, he believed no substantial mishaps would occur.

“Do you think he doesn’t deserve an easy death?”

Pausing, Xiao Yu turned to Wang Dong.

Wang Dong remained silent.

Such a deranged criminal must not be allowed an easy end.

Even though the unsaid was well understood, some things were better left unspoken.

“Understood.”

With renewed determination, Xiao Yu made his way towards the service area.

Wang Dong let out a sigh of relief. The glance that the younger brother gave him carried an unprecedented sense of pressure and killing intent.

This intent wasn’t aimed at him but directed toward Owen. Wang Dong speculated that without his previous comment, the younger brother might have devised numerous ways to end Owen’s life.

It was a normal thought.

For a criminal beyond redemption, even Wang Dong wished to dismember him piece by piece.

***

“Can’t escape, can we?”

A man holding a one-year-old child peered through the service area window, his complexion ominously dark.

A woman trembled beside him, overwhelmingly frightened yet unable to leave, her eyes fixated on the child cradled by the man.

“Who are you?”

The man’s voice was eerily soft, his face breaking into a cold smile as he murmured to himself, “Ordinary police wouldn’t respond so quickly. Are they not taking direct action because they’re worried about the hostages? They’re avoiding using snipers. Do they want to capture me alive? Hehe!”

The man laughed, his laughter tinged with a suppressed, maniacal cruelty, “Do you think you’re worthy?”

The exterior of the service area was deserted now, roadblocks preventing any vehicles from entering. The staff inside had already been evacuated. A fact the man had noticed early on. 

He didn’t need to care about it, nor did he have any reason to.

He held a child in his hands, and the woman beside him dared not to run. Two hostages were more than enough.

Suddenly, his laughter stopped.

Within his line of sight, someone appeared. A youth, distinctly young, was steadily making his way into the service area. As the distance closed, the youth’s handsome face came into clearer view, seemingly in his twenties.

A cop?

A soldier?

The man was puzzled, a serpentine chill flashing through his eyes.

What are you planning to do?

***

Xiao Yu advanced step by step into the service area.

Getting ready for negotiation.

Knowing full well that death waited for you if you were caught as a criminal, would you engage in negotiation?

Nevertheless, Xiao Yu proceeded. 

This wasn’t an act of heroism, but the outcome of meticulously analyzing countless scenarios in his mind. He chose the approach that seemed most likely to bring him close to the criminal, and potentially, the most feasible for capturing him alive.

However, as Xiao Yu observed the man boldly walking out of the service area restroom with a child in his arms, a chill ran down his spine.

His Falcon Eyes vision focused on the child cradled by the criminal. And there it was, the criminal’s final gambit.

What did Xiao Yu see?

The child’s clothing at the collar was conspicuously bulging, with a red glow intermittently shining through the pale skin of the neck. A wire trailed from the child’s collar to a small box held in the man’s hand.

A bomb?

Why would someone involved in smuggling have such an item?

A bolt of lightning strike jolted Xiao Yu’s thoughts as if his soul was struck. 

The criminal’s counter-surveillance awareness, his ability to orchestrate diversions to delay the police, and find an opportunity for escape were all coming into a terrifying focus. These capabilities weren’t something an ordinary person could possess. 

And now, a bomb appeared.

‘I should have realized earlier.’ 

It felt as if an electric current surged through Xiao Yu’s brain, bringing clarity to numerous questions in an instant.

A bomb didn’t necessarily need to be pre-made, it could be improvised on the spot. This required exceptional manual skills and a significant amount of knowledge. 

What type of individual is most adept at crafting these hazards?

Halting ten meters from the man, Xiao Yu locked eyes with him, each word dropping like a weight, “Soldier? Mercenary? Terrorist? I’m genuinely curious about what you did before smuggling corpses… Owen?”

“I’m curious too.” Owen examined Xiao Yu, his voice laced with a sinister chuckle, “Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

“Afraid of death?” Xiao Yu shook his head lightly, “Compared to death, it’s the housing prices that truly scare me.”

Owen, “???”

He was baffled. What about housing prices?

‘No, this isn’t how you’re supposed to talk. Are you really a cop?’

Quickly, Owen detected the teasing in Xiao Yu’s handsome features, and his face darkened.

He had been played.