TTS Chapter 54

After hanging up Han Huaixiao’s call, Xia Hang glanced in the rearview mirror at the vehicle behind him again. In the back seat sat a man with a crew cut and a mask covering his face. Seeing Xia Hang speed up, the man knew that he had already noticed they were following him. He looked at the direction Xia Hang was heading, and the corners of his mouth, hidden beneath the mask, curved upward.

 

As expected, the “Snow Owl” who had Sheng Jun completely wrapped around his finger was no ordinary person. His courage and confidence in the face of danger were truly fascinating. And today, he had actually fallen into his hands.

 

Unfortunately, Sheng Jun had already given the order. He wanted to personally capture the “Snow Owl” alive.

 

The man looked at the young driver whose hands were trembling, and nudged his waist with the gun in his hand, ordering, “Speed up and ram into him. Otherwise, when you go home today, you won’t see your two children again.”

 

There was less than one kilometer to Lang River Bridge.

 

Seeing the car behind him accelerate, Xia Hang stepped on the accelerator all the way. Just before the other car could hit him, he pulled ahead, creating a gap. After avoiding the collision, Xia Hang glanced down at the fuel gauge. The fuel was running low. When he had left the hospital, he had originally planned to find a gas station and refuel, but then this unexpected situation had occurred.

 

He had to deal with them as quickly as possible. Otherwise, once he ran out of fuel, he would be in serious danger. So he glanced at the rearview mirror, rapidly calculating the speed and distance between the two vehicles. At the same time, he drove onto Lang River Bridge.

 

The man in the driver’s seat of the car behind him was drenched in cold sweat. He had thought that after that collision, he would surely be either dead or seriously injured, but he hadn’t expected the car in front to evade him.

 

After narrowly escaping death, he had barely caught his breath when the man in the back seat spoke again: “Keep ramming him, but don’t knock him into the river.”

 

Xia Hang looked toward the opposite lane.

 

He was lucky today. The opposite lane was undergoing maintenance and was closed to traffic, so there were no vehicles passing through, so he edged his car slightly toward the opposite lane. When the car behind him accelerated again to ram him, he suddenly turned the steering wheel, bringing the car back toward the right.

 

The pursuing car scraped past the rear of his car and veered into the opposite lane. The shrill sound of brakes rang across Lang River Bridge, and the car came to a stop just before crashing through the guardrail.

The man in the back seat struck the driver unconscious with the edge of his hand and cursed, “Pathetic driving skills! What a useless idiot!”

 

As he pushed open the car door, a powerful gust of wind came straight at him, but his reaction was extremely fast. He immediately slammed the door shut while retreating, then violently pushed open the other door.

Xia Hang reacted even faster. He flipped onto the roof of the car and, as the man got out, raised his leg and kicked toward the side of his neck.

The man ducked and narrowly avoided the kick. He lunged forward, and before he had even regained his balance, the gun in his hand was already pointed at Xia Hang.

 

“Snow Owl, don’t move. Be careful, the gun might go off.”

 

However, Xia Hang didn’t even look at the gun pointed at him. He stared at the man’s eyes, the only part of his face visible above the mask.

 

“Who are you?”

 

The sound of police sirens filled their ears. Amid the sirens, a motorcycle sped toward them. The man pointed his gun at Xia Hang, jumped onto the motorcycle, and laughed: “Snow Owl, I’m from Myanmar.”

 

Xia Hang watched as the motorcycle sped away from him. A police car stopped beside him, and Xu Wen, the captain of the branch bureau’s detachment, jumped out of the vehicle and hurried over.

 

“Officer Xia, are you alright?!”

 

Xia Hang: “I’m fine. Have your people go after them.”

 

Xu Wen: “I was investigating a case nearby. When I heard Captain Han’s order, I rushed over. I’ve already sent people after them. Are you really alright?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

Xia Hang opened the driver’s-side door and found that the man in the driver’s seat had passed out. He carefully examined him. There were no visible external injuries, but he didn’t know whether there were any internal injuries, so he didn’t dare move him.

 

He was just about to ask Xu Wen to call an ambulance when he heard one approaching with its siren blaring. Once the ambulance arrived, Xia Hang helped the medical personnel move the man out of the car and onto the ambulance. He took out his phone and called Han Huaixiao.

 

The call was answered instantly.

 

“Xia Hang.”

 

“I’m fine. The other guy escaped toward the other end of the bridge.”

 

“Are you injured?”

 

“No.”

 

“Wait.”

 

“…”

 

Xia Hang heard the danger in that word, a danger even greater than the danger of being rammed by a car moments ago. He could no longer stand there, so he smiled at Xu Wen, saying, “Captain Xu, could I trouble you to handle the scene here? I have something urgent to take care of.”

 

Xu Wen pointed at the large scrape on his wrist, answering, “Sure, I’ll handle things here. Once you’ve dealt with your urgent matter, you’d better go to the hospital and get checked. I only just noticed that your wrist is injured.”

 

Xia Hang looked at his own wrist. It had probably happened when he attacked the masked man just now, and the man’s car door had scraped against him as he closed it.

 

“Alright, I’ll get it checked. I’ll leave this to you. Oh, right, my car is out of gas. Could I borrow your car?”

 

“Don’t mention it.” Xu Wen promptly handed him the keys. “Once you’re done, drive it back to the city bureau. I’ll send someone to bring it back later.”

 

Xia Hang took the keys and got into the car. Then he poked his head back out, calling, “Captain Xu, I think that driver was being held hostage. Check whether there are any clues about the masked man inside his car.”

 

“Alright.”

 

And so, Xia Hang drove away in Xu Wen’s car. Watching the vehicle quickly disappear from sight, Xu Wen thought to himself: …Why does it feel like Officer Xia is running away from something?!

 

Less than five minutes after Xia Hang left, Han Huaixiao arrived. After getting out of the car, he swept his gaze around, slammed the door shut, and strode toward him.

 

“Where’s Xia Hang?”

 

“He just left.”

 

“…”

 

He sure escaped quickly.

 

“How is he?”

 

“He looks fine. He only scraped his wrist.”

 

At that, Han Huaixiao’s expression immediately tightened.

 

“Yes?” Xu Wen asked in confusion.

 

“He scraped his wrist,” Han Huaixiao suddenly raised his voice, “It could be fractured! And you still let him drive himself?!”

 

“…”

 

Xu Wen was rendered speechless by the question, thinking, If it were fractured, how could he drive?! Since he could drive, it probably isn’t fractured, right?!

 

Looking at Han Huaixiao, Xu Wen suddenly understood just how much he cared about that subordinate of his. As for Han Huaixiao, he lowered his head and sent a message, then changed the subject.

 

“What was the situation at the scene when you arrived?”

 

Xu Wen: “I saw from a distance that a masked man was pointing a gun at Officer Xia. Then he quickly jumped onto a motorcycle and escaped toward the other end of the bridge.”

 

“…”

 

That man pointed a gun at Xia Hang?!

 

The anxiety and worry that Han Huaixiao had only just managed to suppress surged up again.

 

“…Did that man fire?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then what happened?”

 

“After that man escaped, Officer Xia went to rescue the driver,” Xu Wen reported. “The driver was probably being held hostage by the masked man. Before Officer Xia left, he asked me to check the car for any clues related to the masked man. I checked, but didn’t find anything.”

 

Han Huai Xiao nodded. His phone rang, and the officers pursuing the suspect called to report.

 

“Captain Han, we lost him. He rode the motorcycle along the riverside for a while. By the time we caught up, he abandoned the motorcycle and got onto a speedboat. We couldn’t catch up, so we notified the officers farther ahead to intercept him. But the suspect was extremely cunning. After shaking us off with the speedboat, he came ashore again before reaching the interception point and disappeared. We’re checking the surveillance footage now.”

 

“Got it,” Han Huaixiao said gravely.

 

As for Xia Hang, he was driving Xu Wen’s car back toward the Municipal Public Security Bureau when a new message came through on his phone:

 

[Get out of the car! Take a taxi to Anyou right this second and have Xiang Kaicheng examine you!]

 

Xia Hang rotated his wrist. He knew for himself that it was only a scrape and that he probably hadn’t suffered a fracture or a broken bone. He had just disobeyed Han Huaixiao’s order, though, so it would be difficult to disobey him again. So after thinking it over, he drove to Anyou anyway.

 

Xiang Kaicheng was no longer surprised to see him. As he examined Xia Hang, he said, “…Xia Hang, I mean it. Why don’t you quit this job? Look at you. How many times have you been injured since you came to Lang City?!”

 

“They’re all minor injuries. It’s fine. Besides, what else could I do?”

 

“Who says you can’t do anything else? Han Huaixiao’s third uncle is a big shot in the entertainment industry. I know him. Want me to recommend you? With your figure and your looks, as long as the marketing is done right, I guarantee you’ll become famous worldwide.”

 

Xia Hang knew he was joking, so he just smiled without arguing. After applying some medicine, Xiang Kaicheng said, “There. Done.”

 

“Shouldn’t we take an X-ray anyway?”

 

“What?” Xiang Kaicheng immediately objected. “Xia Hang, are you questioning my medical skills?”

 

Xia Hang also felt there was nothing wrong with him and that an X-ray wasn’t necessary, but still, he explained, “I’m not questioning your medical skills. I’m just worried Han Huaixiao will ask me for the examination report.”

 

“You’re that afraid of him?” Xiang Kaicheng gave him a mischievous smile.

 

“…You’re not?” Xia Hang rubbed his nose.

 

“What do I have to be afraid of him for?”

 

“But I’m afraid of him, so just write me an examination order.”

 

At that, Xiang Kaicheng grinned from ear to ear. By the time Xia Hang returned to the Municipal Public Security Bureau with the examination order, only Xia Ling and Wen Yu were in the office. The moment they saw him, they both came over, concerned.

 

“Xia Hang, are you okay?! We heard you were being followed and that someone even tried to hit you with a car! You scared us half to death!”

 

“I’m fine. They didn’t hit me. I just scraped your car, Sister Ling. It’ll need to be taken to the 4S shop for repairs.”

 

“If the car’s damaged, then it’s damaged. As long as you’re okay.”

 

Xia Hang looked toward Han Huaixiao’s office, asking, “Captain Han isn’t back yet?”

 

“He’s back. He went to interrogate Shen Bing with Ling Yue.”

 

“Oh.”

 

…………………

 

In the interrogation room, Shen Bing didn’t look anything like a man in his sixties. Even after being left alone overnight, he still looked energetic, and Han Huaixiao knew why he was so calm. Shen Bing had already made up his mind to take all the blame upon himself and never reveal the identities of the people who had conspired with him to harm those children.

 

“Shen Bing,” Ling Yue asked, “all those children who disappeared from Yuyou Welfare Institute over the years… were they really sick and died of illness?”

 

“Some of them were. Most weren’t.”

 

“Then what did they die from?”

 

“Officer, you’ve already investigated it, haven’t you? It’s exactly what you found.”

 

“What exactly? Explain it clearly.”

 

“I made deals with people who needed organ transplants. I exchanged those children’s lives for money.”

 

“Who were the people you made deals with?”

 

“There was no list. We contacted each other through the dark web. You should know about the dark web. Its confidentiality is excellent. Neither side knows the other’s information.”

 

“You sound pretty proud of yourself,” Ling Yue said. “What is there to be proud of about using the dark web to take innocent children’s lives?”

 

“Most of those children were abandoned at birth. They’d only become a burden on society’s resources. Using their lives to let people who are more useful to society continue living could be considered a contribution to society.”

 

“…”

 

Ling Yue hadn’t expected him to be so shameless and so cold-blooded. A butcher actually talking about contributing to society… it was utterly absurd. Furious, he slammed his hand on the table and stood up.

 

“You piece of garbage! Every life has meaning! You put on a human face, pretend to be benevolent, deceive the public, and let people praise you a few times. Don’t tell me you actually think you’re God and have the right to decide whether other people live or die?”

 

Han Huaixiao tugged at him, making him sit down, then turned to Shen Bing.

 

“Provoking us and watching us lose our tempers gives you quite a sense of accomplishment, doesn’t it?”

 

Shen Bing had indeed deliberately said those things. Once Han Huaixiao exposed him, the smugness in his eyes faded. But what the man said next made his expression change completely.

 

“Shen Bing, do you think that as long as you don’t expose the people you worked with, they’ll be able to raise your two precious sons to adulthood?”

 

Han Huaixiao tossed the documents beside him in Shen Bing’s direction, continuing, “Your two sons are living quite well in Thailand. No wonder you’re so calm. But do your wife and daughter know they exist?”

 

Shen Bing stared darkly at the photographs of his two sons, his thoughts churning. He had calculated everything, but he had overlooked his wife and daughter. He knew that even if he confessed to all his crimes, the police wouldn’t do anything to his two sons. But he hadn’t anticipated that the police might tell his wife that he had fathered two sons outside their marriage.

 

“Misfortune shouldn’t be visited upon one’s family. If anything happens to my two sons, aren’t you afraid the police will be condemned by the public?”

 

“Oh?” Ling Yue sneered. “Your children are children, but other people’s children aren’t? When you were murdering those innocent children, why didn’t you think about what would happen to your own children once your crimes were exposed?”

 

“Can they even compare to my children?”

 

Ling Yue was so furious he felt like he was about to explode. His fists clenched as he glared at Shen Bing, but Han Huaixiao glanced lightly at him. Ling Yue took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

 

“Captain Han,” Shen Bing looked at Han Huaixiao, “your subordinate isn’t very good.”

 

“Compared to scum like you, he’s indeed not very good.”

 

Shen Bing fell silent, but Han Huaixiao didn’t even look at him. Instead, he said to Ling Yue, “Let’s go.”

 

“Captain Han,” Shen Bing called after him, “let’s make a deal.”

 

“You?” Han Huaixiao gave him a mocking smile. “You think you’re worthy of making demands of me?”

 

After leaving the interrogation room, Ling Yue was still so furious he felt like he was going to vomit blood.

 

“That old bastard! Even if he confesses, putting him to death would be letting him off too easily! They should bring back the ten tortures from ancient times and make him suffer until he wishes he were dead!”

 

“Enough. No matter how angry you are, keep your emotions under control. Don’t let him lead you around by the nose.”

 

The two continued walking as they talked.

 

“Captain Han, when he called you back, was he planning to confess the details of the deals? Why did you leave?”

 

“He won’t confess. He knows that the moment he talks, his two sons will be dead.”

 

“Then what did he call you back for?”

 

“To use some ambiguous evidence to keep us occupied and stop us from telling his wife that his two sons exist.”

 

“He seems pretty afraid of his wife. Is she really that formidable?”

 

Xia Ling came looking for Han Huaixiao. Hearing their conversation, she interjected, “He’s not afraid of his wife. He’s both a male chauvinist and blindly devoted to his parents. His parents are already in their eighties and can no longer take care of themselves. His wife has been looking after them all these years. If she finds out that he has a mistress and even had two sons with her, she’ll definitely wash her hands of his parents and stop taking care of them. He knows he won’t be getting out, so he wants to keep it from his wife and make sure she continues looking after his parents until the end.”

 

“Fuck,” Ling Yue exclaimed. “That old bastard has managed to lower my opinion of him again and again today! I’ve never seen anyone so shameless.”

 

“Did you need me for something?” Han Huaixiao asked Xia Ling.

 

“The autopsy results for Bao Qinglong and Mo Xuan are back. They were drugged unconscious and then thrown into the swimming pool, where they drowned. In just fifteen minutes, the killer managed to approach them without alerting the staff and drug them without leaving a trace. The killer should be someone they knew.”

 

“Someone familiar with both of them would have to be either someone from Taiyi Shipping or someone from Wang Cang’s side.”

 

……………………….

 

A private villa somewhere in Lang City.

 

Guo Gangyi stood in the living room with a dark expression as two men searched him. Once they finished, another man came over with a smile, saying, “Mr. Guo, sorry for the offense. Brother Cang is waiting for you inside. Come with me.”

 

If Xia Hang had been there, he would have recognized the man as the masked man who had followed and rammed his car.

 

“Ah Tai,” Guo Gangyi straightened his wrinkled clothes and glanced sideways at him, “was it you who killed Liao Yongqing?”

 

“Mr. Guo, Brother Cang has something else to attend to later.” Ah Tai smiled without answering.

 

Guo Gangyi snorted and followed him inside. Ah Tai led him to a workshop, where Wang Cang was fiddling with a piece of jade. When he saw Guo Gangyi, he smiled.

 

“You came to see me at a time like this. Aren’t you afraid the police followed you?”

 

“If I hadn’t shaken them off, would you have let me see you?”

 

“Mr. Guo, you didn’t shake the police off yourself,” Ah Tai said. “We helped you lose them.”

 

“I’m talking to your boss!” Guo Gangyi snapped. “Do you have any place in this conversation?”

 

Wang Cang waved Ah Tai off, who shrugged indifferently and left. Guo Gangyi was already furious, and seeing Wang Cang sitting there looking completely calm only made him angrier.

 

“Wang Cang, have you gone crazy?! You knew the police were already watching me, and you went and killed Liao Yongqing, Bao Qinglong, and Mo Xuan one after another! Are you afraid the police won’t realize there’s something wrong with me?!”

 

Wang Cang remained calm as he watched Guo Gangyi lose his temper.

“The police have already traced things back to Taiyi Shipping and you. You can’t make a move yourself, while things are more convenient for me. To keep you from being exposed, I had no choice but to silence all three of them and buy you some time to destroy the evidence.”

 

“You could have killed them, fine! But why did you attack the police too?! This is China, not Myanmar. Do you know what the hell you’re doing?!”

 

“I’m still helping you. They were watching you too closely, so I gave them a little warning to make them wary of you.”

 

“Don’t make it sound so nice. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re really planning. The police originally only suspected me. After what you did, they’re completely focused on me now. You’re not helping me. You’re cutting off my escape route!”

 

Only then did Wang Cang look directly at him. “Mr. Guo truly is Mr. Guo.” He slowly applauded. “Very clever. But Mr. Guo, you have to understand my position. I was forced into this too. How about this? You’ve been dissatisfied with Taiyi Shipping for a long time anyway. Cooperate with me one last time. Once it’s done, I’ll help you leave Lang City safely and go to North America to live the life you want. I guarantee the police won’t be able to do anything to you.”

 

Guo Gangyi had managed to rise to his current position through his own abilities, so naturally, he was no fool. At a time when he was already under intense scrutiny, there had to be something big enough to make Wang Cang take such a risk. And it certainly wasn’t another deal involving Wang Cang using his transportation network to traffic people and organs. There was only one kind of deal worth taking such a risk for.

 

Drugs.

 

“And what if I refuse?”

 

“Mr. Guo grew up in the countryside.” Wang Cang continued smiling at him. “His father was a farmer, and his mother was disabled. You started a hundred times behind everyone else, yet you managed to change your fate through your own efforts. You were the top scorer in your city on the college entrance exam. Even though you could have applied for financial aid, you had enough pride to earn your own tuition and living expenses. After graduating from university, you started at the bottom and worked your way up, step by step, until you became the vice president of a leading company in the industry.”

 

“Nowadays, whenever people mention Mr. Guo, who doesn’t call you an inspiration? Who doesn’t admire you? Your hometown is proud of you. Countless young people look up to you as a role model, even an idol. Famous journalists compete to interview you. Your wife and children respect and love you.”

 

“Mr. Guo, you’re a textbook example of someone who has achieved both fame and fortune. I can’t imagine what kind of situation you’d find yourself in if our cooperation were exposed.”

 

“You’re threatening me?”

 

“I wouldn’t dare. I’m discussing a business deal with you.”

 

“You…”

 

“Think it over carefully, Mr. Guo. But you don’t have much time to consider it. You’ll have to hurry.”

 

Guo Gangyi swept out of the room.

 

………………….

 

When Han Huaixiao returned to the office from the interrogation room, he immediately spotted Xia Hang.

 

“…Captain Han.” Xia Hang smiled at him, but Han Huaixiao’s face was stern.

 

“Come in.”

 

Xia Hang clutched the examination order as he entered, deliberately leaving the door slightly ajar.

 

“You think leaving the door open means I’ll feel awkward about scolding you?” Han Huaixiao saw straight through his little trick. “Close the door!”

 

Xia Hang closed the door and walked toward his desk, but he didn’t sit down. Instead, he lowered his head and stood there obediently, making Han Huaixiao almost laugh in spite of himself.

 

It had been exactly like this when they were together before. Whenever Xia Hang made him angry, he would put on that small, pitiful, obedient expression. Han Huaixiao’s heart would soften, and he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to stay angry. He’d only feel sorry for him.

 

He was almost thirty, yet he was still using the same trick.

 

“Xia Hang, how many times have I told you? I’m the Captain. You have to follow my orders. Do you take everything I say in one ear and out the other? You’ve disobeyed my orders again and again!”

 

“I was confident…”

 

“Confident about what? Are you some kind of race-car god who knew for certain the other car couldn’t hit you? Or did you think you were invulnerable, and that the gun in that man’s hand would turn into a useless piece of scrap metal the moment he pointed it at you?”

 

“Do you know how high the road surface of the Lang River Bridge is above the water? Do you know what would happen if you and the car were knocked off it? Even if you didn’t lose consciousness when you fell and were lucky enough to escape from the car, do you know how deep and fast the water beneath the Lang River Bridge is?”

 

“What exactly were you confident about? Confident that I could apply for a posthumous martyr’s title for you?”

 

Xia Hang knew Han Huaixiao was truly furious this time and didn’t dare argue another word. Seeing him like that, Han Huaixiao’s head began throbbing.

 

“Get out. Write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism on the subject of obeying orders.”

 

“…Ten thousand words?” Xia Hang’s head shot up.

 

When he was in high school, all his science grades had ranked near the top. His humanities grades were slightly weaker, but still above average. However, Chinese had been his worst subject by far, and he was terrible at writing essays. He had tried every possible method and could barely manage to keep his compositions from going off-topic. Even an 800-word essay was something he struggled to write.

 

And now he had to write ten thousand words?

 

It was practically a death sentence, ah!

 

Han Huaixiao knew perfectly well how much Xia Hang hated writing long pieces of humanities-related work. Xia Hang was just about to ask him to reduce the word count when Han Huaixiao spoke again.

 

“What? Too many?”

 

“…”

 

“No.” Xia Hang hurriedly shook his head. “Not at all.”

………………………..

T.N: There won’t be an update next week as I need to prepare for a very important exam. Thank you!
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