Arrest

Lu Chengchuan could barely make out what she looked like. She was a very young woman, dressed in tattered clothes, and she looked utterly despondent. All she could say was, "Help me."

"Who are you? Who beat you up like this?" After watching for a while, Lu Chengchuan suddenly spoke.

Was she someone who had been kidnapped? Or had she simply been bullied into this state?

Hearing a voice nearby, a glimmer of life returned to the woman's eyes. She turned toward the darkness beside her. "Save me! They... they're here. Please, save me!"

She did not know who was beside her. She only wanted to live and never return to that place.

"Were you kidnapped?"

The woman was extremely agitated, so Lu Chengchuan quickly asked whether she had been kidnapped.

"Yes! I was kidnapped by monsters, and people—people! There were monsters! Everything was there!" Remembering what had happened a day ago, the woman became agitated again, both in tone and emotion.

"Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. You're safe now. Don't be afraid." Lu Chengchuan hurried over to comfort her.

He pulled her to her feet and led her out of the alley. The moment he emerged, several people rushed over with grim expressions. When they saw the woman in Lu Chengchuan's grasp, they shouted and gave chase.

Lu Chengchuan carried the woman on his back and ran. He did not want to alert anyone; he wanted to lure them somewhere more secluded.

The men assumed Lu Chengchuan was afraid of them and immediately chased after him. They did not want to attract attention either, so after that one shout, they stopped yelling.

Lu Chengchuan maintained a steady pace, making sure the pursuers could clearly see him while keeping them from catching up.

After running for more than ten minutes, Lu Chengchuan reached a relatively secluded spot. Once he confirmed there were no people or vehicles nearby, he set the woman down, turned around, and waited for the pursuers to catch up.

Seeing him put her down, the pursuers assumed he was exhausted and immediately surrounded him.

"Are you the ones kidnapping people in the city?"

Lu Chengchuan questioned them. The three men said nothing, drawing short knives from their sleeves. It looked like they intended to kill him.

Lu Chengchuan narrowed his eyes. He knew these people were bold, but he had not expected them to dare murder someone in the city.

Without a word, the three men surrounded Lu Chengchuan and charged, swinging their blades. All three knives targeted vital points; they wanted to kill the man who had ruined their plans in a single strike.

They were extremely fast. Ordinary people did not possess this kind of speed or strength.

Espers? They did not look like it.

As they closed in, Lu Chengchuan raised his hand and struck forward. Inner Energy surged out, sending two of them flying with a single blow. After knocking them away, Lu Chengchuan turned and caught the incoming knife.

The blade scraped against his palm, leaving only a faint white mark on his hand.

Lu Chengchuan easily seized the knife, then punched his opponent in the stomach. The man collapsed to the ground. Just as the other two got back up, Lu Chengchuan stepped forward and gave each of them another punch.

In an instant, all three were down and unable to resist. Lu Chengchuan took out his phone and called Zhou Yaning.

"I found a kidnapping victim here, along with three people who came after her. Get over here quickly."

After hanging up, Lu Chengchuan sent her his coordinates. Before long, Zhou Yaning drove over.

Lu Chengchuan kept the three men under control. The woman on the ground had still not recovered mentally. After seeing Lu Chengchuan knock the three men down for her, she covered her face and sat on the ground crying.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Zhou Yaning threw open the door and ran over.

"Is she the kidnapped victim?"

"Yeah. I found her in an alley. These three chased after her. Take them all back and question them." Lu Chengchuan pointed at the three men. They had delivered themselves right to his door.

With both victim and perpetrators in hand, Zhou Yaning did not waste a second and immediately arranged to bring them back.

On the way back, Zhou Yaning called Zhao Lei and asked him to coordinate with them.

Upon learning they had caught three kidnappers, Zhao Lei hung up, got to his feet, and gathered everyone to prepare for interrogation.

The car pulled into the police station. The three men were escorted into interrogation rooms, while the woman was sent to the counseling room for a psychologist. She could not even speak clearly right now, so she needed psychological counseling first.

"No matter what methods you use, make them tell the truth. Quickly. We don't have much time."

Zhao Lei ordered his subordinates to make them talk as soon as possible. He did not care whether it was by the book, because he had just received dozens more reports. Dozens more people had been kidnapped and gone missing.

Without exception, all those missing were young people, none older than thirty.

This was a provocation against government agencies, a provocation against the police. Hundreds of people had already gone missing, and the impact was far too severe. If they failed to find any leads, he would not even need to resign—his superiors would deal with him first.

Their top priority was finding the victims. Whether these kidnappers lived or died was irrelevant.

With the team leader's support, the interrogators obtained the information they wanted before long.

They used method after method. The three men barely held out for half an hour before confessing everything they could.

"They were acting on orders from a Loan Shark Company. The company's owner had recently been close with several people. One of the suspects described them, saying they had never seen those people before.

"Those people may be Black Tower Mercenaries. According to the suspect's testimony, one of them had a scar at the corner of his left eye and a Black Snake tattoo on his right arm. His codename was Black Snake. That confirms it.

"Black Snake will be resting at Xing Le Bar tonight. The bar is on the border of the northwest district in the city. It's now 12:37 a.m. We need to carry out the arrest immediately."

The three men had been caught. Before those people found out, they needed to act fast.

"Black Snake, the owner of the Loan Shark Company, and all their members must be arrested. Don't let a single one get away. Whether they were involved or not, arrest them first and question them afterward!"

With the intelligence in hand, Zhao Lei began preparing the operation.

They had to make arrests early. They could not wait until the targets reacted before making plans.

"Team Leader Zhao, we'll take the lead. This is what we're good at. As long as the target shows up, we absolutely won't let anyone escape." Zhou Yaning stepped forward and volunteered to lead the charge.

Zhou Yaning's reasoning was that Lu Chengchuan was there. With him around, a few mercenaries could not stir up much trouble. If Lu Chengchuan could not even defeat these mercenaries, there was no point in them thinking about taking them alive.

"Fine. Captain Zhou, your team will take the lead. We'll provide support outside."

After deciding who would lead the assault and who would provide backup, they moved out immediately. All personnel got into ordinary cars and sped toward Xing Le Bar.

At 1:48 a.m., they arrived near Xing Le Bar.

At this hour, most people were already deep in sleep, but for a bar, one in the morning was still early.

Lu Chengchuan and the others disguised themselves as customers and entered the bar without obstruction.

The moment they entered, pounding music rushed into their minds, mixed with shouts and laughter. Lu Chengchuan frowned. He did not like this kind of place.

"Split up and search. Be careful! If you encounter danger, fire a signal flare."

After everyone made their preparations, Zhou Yaning, as captain, still took the lead. Chen Long and Lin Yong, the two combat-capable teammates, entered with her, along with Lu Chengchuan.

The four entered to search for the target. The moment they spotted him, they would call the main force inside.