Gunfire

On his way there, Zeng Yuqiang's unease grew stronger and stronger. When he learned that Zhou Yi had led his men up to the eighth floor, that unease turned into outright fear.

If Zhou Yi found that room, if he discovered the laptop inside, the consequences would be unthinkable!

As he neared the hotel, another call came from Hu Huarun, confirming that Zhou Yi had indeed seized a silver-gray laptop. His fear turned to despair, and that despair then gave way to the madness of a cornered man!

Only one thought remained in Zeng Yuqiang's mind.

Whatever the cost, he could not, absolutely could not, let Zhou Yi take that computer away!

Zeng Xuehua felt the same way.

So after getting out of the car, the instant they spotted Zhou Yi, the two brothers walked straight toward him.

Of course they knew Zhou Yi could fight. But no matter how skilled a fighter was, he still feared a cleaver. No matter how good his kung fu, one bullet would put him down.

That was right. At that very moment, Zeng Yuqiang had an Imitation Type 54 Pistol tucked in his trouser pocket.

"Captain Zhou, is there really any need to go this far?" Zeng Xuehua tried to draw Zhou Yi's attention with his voice, giving his older brother a chance to land a shot.

One step, two steps, three.

Zeng Yuqiang advanced while reaching toward his crotch.

He was no professional gunman, after all. With the light so dim, he could not be sure of hitting his target unless he closed the distance.

When fewer than ten meters remained between them, Zeng Yuqiang finally drew his pistol with a vicious grin.

His hand was dry, his heart steady. This was not the first time he had fired a gun to kill someone.

Bang!

A sharp gunshot rang out in front of the hotel entrance.

The bullet punched through Zeng Yuqiang's right wrist. He cried out in pain, and the Imitation Type 54 Pistol clattered to the ground.

Directly opposite him, a faint, invisible wisp of gunsmoke seemed to linger at the muzzle of Zhou Yi's pistol.

The shot stunned Zeng Xuehua and left the thugs who had just poured out of the vans caught in an awkward bind, unable to advance or retreat.

No matter how good your kung fu, one bullet would put you down.

That saying applied to them, too.

"Nobody move! Hands up!"

Deputy Brigade Commander Cai Xiaobo, Shao Mingbao, and Zhu Jianping raised their pistols simultaneously and shouted at the thugs.

By now, their trust in Zhou Yi bordered on blind faith.

Who had ever heard of bringing this many pistols on a routine surprise inspection?

But if their captain said they needed them, then they needed them.

And events had proved that they most certainly did.

Political Instructor Wang Jian was even perceptive enough to realize that everything happening tonight seemed to be part of Zhou Yi's plan.

Zhou Yi kept his pistol trained on Zeng Yuqiang. Before he even needed to speak, Second Squad Captain Liu Zhi rushed over, picked up the fallen pistol, then took out his handcuffs and secured Zeng Yuqiang firmly.

Zhu Jianping wasted no time either. He stepped forward, pinned Zeng Xuehua to the ground, and cuffed him.

Zhou Yi bent down and looked at the two brothers, asking mockingly, "Why do you think I let Hu Huarun call you and tip you off? Hmm?"

"Take another guess. We could have wrapped things up ages ago, so why did we keep dragging it out until now?"

Zeng Yuqiang's face grew even paler.

He was no fool. Naturally, he soon arrived at the correct answer.

Zhou Yi had anticipated that they would lash out in desperation, so he had deliberately waited here for them to walk straight into his trap.

"And you should count yourself lucky. That shot I just fired was actually aimed at your heart."

Zhou Yi stared at Zeng Yuqiang and spoke coldly.

Since the man had wanted to kill him, why would he show any mercy?

Shooting dead a criminal attempting an armed attack on a police officer would have been both reasonable and just.

The only reason he had hit the man's wrist was that he was rusty and had fucking missed!

About half an hour later, more than a dozen police cars had gathered outside the Happy Forest Hotel.

Their lights flashed, and their sirens blared.

The patrol officers and Criminal Investigation Brigade colleagues who had come as reinforcements loaded the gang's thugs into police cars one after another and sped away.

As for Zhou Yi, he had already escorted the brothers Zeng Yuqiang and Zeng Xuehua back to the county bureau.

When he heard the news, Brother Long, who knew nothing of the real circumstances, could not help bursting into laughter.

He had said it all along-why would Zhou Yi ever show Zeng Yuqiang any respect?

Not only had he released him and then arrested him again, he had picked up Zeng Xuehua along the way, too.

Deputy County Magistrate Zeng's face must have been covered in the marks of one resounding slap after another by now, right?

That's Captain Zhou for you. I, Xie Zhaolong, declare you the strongest.

Yet Xie Zhaolong could never have imagined that, in the near future, his own fate might be no better than Zeng Yuqiang's.

At two in the morning, in the County Public Security Bureau's conference room.

County Magistrate Yan Xiangyu sat in the center. Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Zhang Xinsheng, Deputy County Magistrate Chen Fengnan, Public Security Director Lei Ming, Executive Deputy Director Song Chengquan, and Deputy Director Zhang Liping sat on either side of the conference table.

They were listening to a report from Zhou Yi, commander of the Public Security Management Brigade.

"At seven this evening, we received a tip-off from someone calling themselves 'a concerned citizen of Chaoyang Street.' The caller provided a very important lead: on the eighth floor of the Happy Forest Hotel, there was a den used to imprison and sexually abuse women, known as the 'Hao' room. The owner of that room was Zeng Yuqiang."

"I immediately reported this to Deputy Director Zhang Liping. After careful consideration, we concluded that the information provided by this 'concerned citizen of Chaoyang Street' was likely credible, chiefly because the caller described every detail with exceptional clarity and precision. Our assessment was that the caller might well be one of the victims!"

"To prevent any information from leaking, we collected the phones of everyone involved in the operation before holding our briefing. At eleven forty that night, we launched a surprise inspection of the Happy Forest Hotel..."

"We successfully located the room and found a crucial piece of physical evidence-a laptop."

"Stored on that computer were numerous photographs and videos of Zeng Yuqiang sexually abusing and brutalizing women. A small number of those videos also involved Zeng Xuehua and a certain member of the county bureau's leadership..."

At this point, Zhou Yi seemed to notice something. With quick consideration, he drew two tissues from the box on the table and handed them to Executive Deputy Director Song Chengquan.

"Director Song, wipe that sweat off. It really is terribly hot today!"

Yan Xiangyu and Zhang Xinsheng eyed Deputy Director Song suspiciously as cold sweat beaded on his forehead. The temperature was indeed high today, but this conference room had air conditioning. So why exactly was he sweating?

"As I was saying, the relevant videos involved not only a certain member of the county bureau's leadership, but also a certain member of the county government's leadership..."

At this point, Zhou Yi seemed to notice something else. He promptly drew out two more tissues and offered them to Deputy County Magistrate Chen Fengnan, asking with a sincere expression, "Sir, would you like to wipe off your sweat, too?"