Seven or eight police cars stood lined up outside the Xingrong Hotel in Kunshan County.
Xing Zhaojia and his men were boxed in at the very center, unable to get out, but he did not look the slightest bit worried.
They had the man in their custody, after all. The car doors were locked tight. The other side could forget about taking him.
Lu Jian led his team in surrounding them. He was in no hurry either. This was Kunshan County's turf, and they had strength in numbers. They would see who could outlast whom.
Time ticked by. One group of onlookers replaced another, and the crowd steadily thinned.
Just as everyone's patience was wearing out and they were getting ready to leave, the Kunshan County Public Security Bureau pulled a stunt.
They called in a Roadside Assistance Truck, intending to load up the police car holding Fan Shiyuan and haul it straight back to the County Bureau.
Refusing to come out of your shell, are you?
Then stay right there. We'll take the car and everyone in it.
"Chief Xing, what do we do?" Brigade Commander Li Zhen was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.
Xing Zhaojia glanced at a text on his phone and said calmly, "Don't panic. It's nothing we can't handle. Our reinforcements will be here soon."
Reinforcements? What reinforcements?
Had Chief Xing called the Municipal Bureau for backup?
As that thought crossed his mind, he heard a chorus of piercing sirens approaching from the distance.
At noon on March 29, the onlookers near the Xingrong Hotel and the County Bureau police officers at the scene witnessed something so staggering that their jaws practically hit the ground and stayed there.
A long convoy of police cars and Riot Control Vehicles roared up to the