Chapter 254: The Criminal Chase (1/2)

We tracked the footprints all the way to an unfinished construction area where they faded to the point they were almost invisible. I put away the Autopsy Umbrella and turned to the officers beside me, ”I'll continue inwards with Xiaotao while the others wait here!”

Although I wasn’t part of the police, the officers obeyed my commands as did Xiaotao. I handed the Autopsy Umbrella to Dali and cautiously proceeded with Xiaotao.

This incomplete residential area was a project that began many years ago. At the time, the plan was to build a stretch of villas in the area, but due to the transportation inconvenience, the rich rejected the idea of purchasing a house so remote from everything else, no matter how well built it was. Thus, the project was eventually deemed a failure. As we walked on, several semi-finished villa structures came into view, along with others that only had the foundation laid down.

I looked around with Cave Vision but discovered nothing amiss until we arrived at a three-story building. I tapped Xiaotao, gesturing for her to stop.

”Are they up there?” asked Xiaotao. “I'll call for reinforcements right away!”

”Don't! Just give me your gun!” I stopped her at once.

I grabbed her gun and pointed it to the sky, ready to fire a shot when Xiaotao interjected, ”What are you doing? You’re going to alert them to our presence!”

”That’s exactly what I want to do!” I grinned.

Having said that, I aimed at the sky and pulled the trigger but the loud bang I was waiting for never came. Of course! I had forgotten that the gun’s safety was engaged!

”I can tell that you’ve never held a gun!” chuckled Xiaotao. “Be careful of a wrist injury caused by the recoil. I'll teach you how!”

She encircled me from the back, placing her arm over mine, wrapping my hands in hers as she disengaged the safety. Her plump breasts were tightly attached to my back and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest, my face flushed with heat. However, my response to intimate contact was much calmer than before. If it weren't for the circumstances at the time, I might have plucked up the courage to do something more audacious.

A loud bang sounded as gunfire shattered the night sky, reverberating like thunder. Then, I heard a voice scream from the second floor. ”Ouch!”

I looked Xiaotao in the eye, triumphant smiles reaching our lips at the same time.

”Get down, or I'll get the SWAT team to swarm the building and shoot all of you!” shouted Xiaotao.

”Don't shoot!” a man yelled. “I surrender, I surrender!”

”How many of you are there?” I asked.

”Twelve,” he replied.

”Fine, make sure you watch each other!” I bellowed. “If even one person dares to run, the rest of you will suffer severe consequences!”

”We won’t run. I promise we won't run!” said the man. “We were merely paid to maintain the site but it has nothing to do with us.”

In fact, this building had only one exit so escaping was impossible. When the twelve scurried downstairs with both hands timidly held high, Xiaotao radioed the other officer, instructing them to come over. They were all skinny tech guys with pale faces and puffy eyes, indicative of the long hours they spent indoors.

When questioned about their jobs, they explained that they were responsible for the daily maintenance and management of the website. These were the hackers that Lao Yao had encountered that time. Earlier, they had received a call from their boss saying that the website had been exposed, urging them to evacuate immediately.

”Who’s in charge?” I asked.

”He fled in a car,” answered one of the men.

”Why didn't he take you with him?”

”He’s the boss. Of course, his life matters more than ours,” he gave a self-deprecating smile. “Why would he care about us? We had no choice but to hide here.”

But I grabbed his hands and examined them, sneering, ”You can drop the act! You’re the one in charge!”

The man was visibly healthier than the others, fingers unlike those exposed to computers for extended periods of time, and the T-shirt he wore obviously didn’t fit him.

Yet he continued to deny it, waving his hands desperately. ”I’m not! I’m just a supervisor.”