The moment Lake entered the ICU and opened fire, the support request received by the dispatch center had already been relayed to the NYPD.
A group of people stood there, utterly bewildered.
Chief Burt, who had been gathering his subordinates for a meeting to discuss how to resolve the matter, was even more bewildered. When he finally recovered, his first reaction was to look straight at Inspector Montgomery.
Inspector Montgomery, sitting in his usual spot, froze for a moment before his expression darkened.
There was no other reason.
Chief Burt and Inspector Montgomery both had an ominous feeling.
"Where's Detective Edwin?"
"...I let him go home to rest first."
"..."
Chief Burt drew a deep breath, then swept his gaze around the people in the conference room.
Five minutes later.
One police car after another roared out of the NYPD, sirens blaring as they raced toward New Amsterdam Hospital.
Maureen, who had heard from her office that someone had gone to the hospital intending to kill the Black-and-White Couple, dialed Lake's number over and over again, but no one ever answered.
Maureen's brows knitted tightly. She grabbed her coat and rose, walking out of her office.
Woo-woo, woo-woo.
In barely ten minutes, a large contingent of police had already appeared in front of the New Amsterdam Hospital building.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The sound of a firefight came from the ICU floor.
The officers who had just gotten out of their patrol cars immediately used the vehicles as cover and formed a defensive line. A large number of medical staff screamed as they evacuated the building.
The media reporters held back by the cordon outside the hospital gates heard the gunshots from inside. Though they were somewhat frightened, they were even more excited.
In fact...
Some reporters had already imagined an earth-shattering story before the NYPD had even entered.
A detective with certain racial views had flown into a rage and tried to silence someone?
The NYPD staging the whole thing itself?
When it came to imagination, these media reporters were truly in a league of their own.
"Go, go, go!"
"Move, move, move!"
When the gunfire in the ICU ceased, the NYPD finally began to act. Jack, the captain of the Special Operations Team, led his team straight inside at the head of the charge.
Beckett from the second team was among them.
"Ryan."
"What is it?"
"Call Lake."
"What?"
"Quick!"
"...Oh, right!"
Inside the elevator.
As the elevator rose, the Irish Ryan looked around at the Special Operations Team members in confusion. His gaze even lingered briefly on Captain Jack's face.
Jack coughed dryly and looked straight ahead, pretending not to notice. As the elevator climbed, he even began whistling.
Three seconds later.
Ryan took the phone away from his ear and frowned. "It's turned off."
Lake's phone was an old-fashioned model—the kind that could last a week on a single charge. Lake usually waited until the battery ran out before charging it and did not charge it every day.
When he had just left, Lake had even checked the battery. It had been at five percent.
Obviously.
Maureen's repeated calls had completely drained the phone's battery.
Beckett frowned slightly and looked at Captain Jack.
Jack said nothing. He merely sighed inwardly.
Buddy, it better not be you.
If it is you, run now. Once we meet face-to-face, there'll be no room for negotiation.
Ding!
The elevator doors opened.
Jack led the Special Operations Team out in a defensive formation.
The ICU corridor was deathly quiet.
A short distance away.
The two officers who had been shot in the legs and were leaning against the wall gestured toward Little Bai the nonconformist's room.
Jack, Beckett, and the others immediately let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Given how serious the incident was, the three officers stationed there had been specifically instructed to memorize Lake's photograph. Judging from their reaction, it was obvious that Lake had not come through.
But after relaxing, the group quickly returned to combat readiness.
At that moment.
Bang!
A gunshot with no attempt at concealment rang out from inside the room.
Jack and the others instantly raised their guard.
Yet after that gunshot, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, the room fell into genuine silence—a dead, suffocating silence.
After a while.
"Dispatch center, dispatch center, 999!"
"Received!"
About three minutes later, Jack watched the completely motionless hospital room warily. He spoke into the radio, then gestured to the Special Operations Team members beside him. Two teams extended their weapons, pressing their muzzles firmly against the utterly silent room where Little Bai the nonconformist lay.
"Go, go, go!"
Two Special Operations Team members dragged the officer who had been shot in the leg and could not walk backward. Jack immediately reported to the center, "999, take the elevator down."
The center replied once again, "Received!"
Two minutes later.
The Special Operations Team had completely surrounded Little Bai the nonconformist's room from both sides.
Jack on the left and Beckett on the right exchanged glances.
They both nodded.
The next second.
Bang!
Jack smashed the door open.
Beckett charged into the room at the first opportunity and shouted, "Don't—"
He never finished the word.
There was no other reason.
Apart from Little Bai the nonconformist, who had a fruit knife embedded in the center of his forehead, there was no one else in the room.
Uh...
A white coat hung from the hospital room's window.
A breeze blew in from outside, stirring the hem of the coat. The bullet casings in one pocket clinked against one another, and then three police pistols in the other pocket came clearly into view.
"Be careful."
Jack ordered his team, "Search!"
The Special Operations Team members all nodded.
But...
The officers searched every room on the ICU floor, yet they never found any trace of the killer.
Had he escaped through the window of that room?
That was completely absurd. Outside the window was nothing but empty space, with nothing to use as a foothold. Anyone who climbed down from there would either die or end up paralyzed.
Besides...
The officer who had been carried out of the elevator and placed on a stretcher swore that the killer had entered that room and had not come out again before Jack and the others arrived.
Yet.
Jack had nearly dismantled the monitoring equipment in the room.
The room was only so large, and the window was impossible to use as an escape route. Where could he have gone? It was not as though he had vanished through the ceiling...
Wait.
The ceiling?
Beckett and Jack looked up together, instantly focusing on a ceiling panel above the hospital room that seemed to show signs of having been loosened.
The ceiling was indeed a viable way to reach another room and escape while their attention was focused here.
But!
After one of the Special Operations Team members climbed up, he coughed repeatedly and told Jack and Beckett below that, judging from the dust on the ceiling, it was impossible for anyone to have crawled through there.
Jack and Beckett were dumbfounded.
Where was he?
Had he vanished into thin air?
Thanks to Brother Ye Qiaogu for the ten-thousand-yuan reward, and thanks to Brother Zi Mu for the ten-thousand-yuan reward as well. There'll be an extra chapter. Lao Mi hasn't forgotten about it; just wait a little longer. The timing of this book's release wasn't very good. A whole bunch of big names released their books at the same time, and with so many words already posted, it would be easy for us to become cannon fodder if we tried to catch up. There will definitely be extra chapters—I guarantee it. I'm saving up some drafts! Thank you!
Before you continue