Chapter 248: Terrorists Have to Go First!

Xiao Yu and Wang Dong made their way through the smoke-stained building, climbing up to the fourth floor.

They stopped in a storage room with the door open. Inside, shelves held a range of contraband, illegal items, and even some drugs. A few things looked pretty valuable, too.

Only one storage locker had been forcibly broken open. Its door had been smashed in with something like an axe or another blunt tool.

Some people might wonder why the police kept these illegal items around at all. But every piece of contraband had to be documented, organized, and then destroyed. The entire process had to be recorded on video. If even one item went missing, it’d be a massive liability.

This was why every city had an Evidence Vault. Twice, maybe three times a year, they’d hold a public destruction event.

Standing in front of the broken locker, Xiao Yu scanned the items inside. There was a space in the middle, likely where the counterfeit plates had been kept. He looked closer at the locker door and then around the storage room. There were signs that someone had rummaged through the place.

After a solid half hour, Xiao Yu finally exhaled, relieved.

The possibility of an inside job? Ruled out.

The clues suggested that the intruders only had a rough idea that the item was in the storage room. They didn’t know its exact location.

If they had gone straight to the locker, that would’ve been a whole different problem. One Xiao Yu was glad to avoid.

“There were two of them, and they were pretty skilled,” Xiao Yu said, scanning the floor with his Eagle’s Eye. “Their footprints are faint, no tread marks. Looks like they were wearing shoes designed to leave minimal traces.”

‘Tread marks’ referred to the unique patterns and outlines on shoe soles. Analyzing footprints was a key part of modern crime scene investigation, and it wasn’t easy for an amateur to avoid leaving behind a recognizable tread.

Wang Dong’s head started to ache again. 

First, there was a specialized weapon, and now, specialized shoes. Whoever had taken the counterfeit plates wasn’t just skilled—they were practically pros.

He couldn’t help but think of a certain profession… Spies.

“They’re not spies or agents,” Xiao Yu said, almost reading his thoughts. “They might seem professional, but their technique was sloppy.”

He pointed at the locker. 

“They had to smash it open. Took time and effort. If they can’t even do that quietly, they’ve got no business being spies or agents.”

“Hah!” Wang Dong laughed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll just play my role here. What’s next?”

‘You’re really something,’ Xiao Yu thought, chuckling at his straightforwardness.

Wang Dong’s lighthearted words were just his way of easing the tension.

Cops often did this—joking around during cases to relieve some of the stress. Investigations were intense, keeping everyone’s nerves stretched tight. It was easy to burn out or even develop psychological issues.

“These guys managed to sneak in, kill, and steal without getting caught. They definitely planned for the surveillance,” Xiao Yu said, shaking his head. “They probably even mapped out an escape route. Chasing them down won’t be easy.”

It was clear that their target had always been the counterfeit plates. They’d prepared everything down to the last detail, so there was no way they hadn’t figured out an exit strategy.

Xiao Yu could only imagine that if those two officers hadn’t been so dedicated, they might still be alive. If they’d evacuated with the others during the fire, maybe things would’ve been different.

Were they foolish? No.

It was like defending the homeland against invaders. No matter the danger, would the soldiers guarding the borders ever back down?

Ring!

Wang Dong’s phone buzzed. He answered quickly, his eyes lighting up as he turned to Xiao Yu. 

“They found them!”

The killers with the plates? 

No—this time, it was the remaining terrorists.

Xiao Yu stood up and headed out of the storage room. His focus wasn’t on the terrorists, though. It was on the ones who’d killed and stolen those plates.

Run. Go ahead and run.

Savor the time you have left.

Because when I find you, you’ll wish you were dead.

***

Boom!

In a rented apartment, the SWAT team smashed through the door and stormed in.

“Hands up! Don’t move!”

Shouts filled the small room, followed by a burst of gunfire. 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Seven minutes later, Xiao Yu and Wang Dong stepped inside, both frowning at the scene.

Five bodies—one man, four women—were sprawled across the floor. Three handguns lay nearby, and one of the women still clutched a bomb that nearly went off. There was no way to leave anyone alive. Once they tracked these terrorists to the rented apartment, they had to act immediately. Terrorists were just too dangerous to risk hesitation.

For example, if they’d held back just to try and take someone alive, that bomb could’ve gone off. 

Who knows what kind of disaster that would’ve caused?

“Search the place,” Wang Dong ordered, his tone icy.

Soon enough, they found over three million in cash hidden around the room.

Where’d they get that money? From their first successful bank heist.

But why so little?

Banks didn’t hold as much cash as they used to. Customers had to make an appointment to withdraw large sums, so the bank could prepare. Normally, banks didn’t keep a lot on hand—three million was already quite a bit.

And even this cash usually arrived in the morning and went back to the main vault at night. After hours, there was hardly any money on-site. It was all in specialized bank vaults.

These days, even if you robbed a bank, you were not getting much cash. That was why Xiao Yu had thought these guys weren’t just drunk. They had to be downright crazy, practically asking to get themselves killed.

It made sense now why he’d suspected their goal wasn’t just the bank. And he’d been right. They were after those counterfeit plates.

“This is a mess.” Wang Dong crouched down, looking at the five bullet-riddled bodies. “How are we supposed to trace this?”

“They were just grunts.” Xiao Yu shook his head. “Even if we had a survivor, we wouldn’t get much out of them.”

That’s just how it goes with terrorists. They’re good at staying hidden, and anyone who understands their methods knows it. Catching one or two won’t change much.

Look at Shu Yuzhen, the female terrorist—they’d trained her for two years, but she didn’t even know where the training camp was located. The rest of these people wouldn’t know any better.

Xiao Yu glanced at the five bodies, his expression calm.

With those counterfeit plates missing and two officers dead, one thing was clear: dealing with these terrorists had to be the top priority.