Chapter 156: Chapter 149: Capture the King First to Catch the Thieves
Looking at Xiao Lin’s calm face, completely unlike these special police officers, who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, he appeared more composed. It seemed he had experienced many such dangerous situations, and in Xiao Lin’s eyes, that artillery just now seemed routine and didn’t cause him any shock.
Wu Shuang was truly shaken this time, feeling wave after wave of emotional impact. She looked carefully at Xiao Lin’s calm face. Just how many such experiences had he gone through to develop such alertness, to face such situations with such composure?
"Have you experienced many such things? That explosion was caused by a rocket launcher; aren’t you shocked?" Wu Shuang couldn’t help but ask, growing increasingly curious about Xiao Lin. This young boy, excessively young and somewhat handsome, truly sparked her boundless curiosity. She felt an urge to crack open his head to see what experiences he’d been through to remain so calm in such circumstances.
"It’s normal, alright, gather up!" Xiao Lin said indifferently, not wanting to elaborate on Wu Shuang’s question. After all, he was the military doctor of Dragon Soul. Some seemingly ordinary things, when spoken by him, would take on a different tone. Just like this Jiangling incident—if it were someone else, or if he wasn’t Xia Xue’s boyfriend, perhaps Xia Xue and Chen Yufeng’s car accident would have ended without resolution.
Wu Shuang wanted to ask more, but in such a setting, she felt it inappropriate to speak too much with Xiao Lin. She thought of finding a good time to ask him after this matter was over. She was just too curious about Xiao Lin.
The tactical police in Yanjing acted rather quickly. All vehicles temporarily turned off their engines and extinguished their lights. Fortunately, the sky tonight was graced by a crescent moon, enabling them to see the ground clearly even without flashlights. Soon, they gathered by the side of the road.
Meanwhile, Xiao Lin, Wu Shuang, and the tactical police squad leader Luo Ci discussed the next action plan aside. Even for Luo Ci, the squad leader of the tactical police, this was an unprecedented scene. This was no ordinary criminal capture scenario; it was purely a heavily armed base, a positional assault battle.
Surrounded on three sides by mountains, clearly, going up on foot was impossible, and to avoid unnecessary losses, airborne armed support was necessary. Merely relying on these seventy or so tactical police officers to charge in, it was estimated not many would survive.
"Mr. Xiao, what now? Should we force our way in or wait for backup?" Luo Ci looked at Xiao Lin. Initially, Luo Ci didn’t take Director Lin’s instructions to heart, but Director Lin sent Wu Shuang over to oversee and handed the command of the tactical police to Xiao Lin. Although Luo Ci felt uncomfortable, he still dared not disobey.
Particularly when Xiao Lin ordered them to stop and gather, Luo Ci even had the impulse to curse; gathering at this time? What the heck? But upon hearing the loud explosion at the front intersection just after getting out of the car, seeing many in the tactical police panic, and witnessing Xiao Lin calmly directing the team to gather, unmoved, Luo Ci couldn’t help but develop some admiration.
Even Luo Ci had never encountered this kind of scene; he was shocked at the time but seeing the young man calmly directing the team’s actions, he was even more amazed. This young man seemed anything but ordinary, and Director Lin entrusting him with command wasn’t without reason.
"Forcing our way in is clearly not an option. Your current task is to hold this intersection, seal off the mountain, and absolutely not let a single opponent escape! Then wait for support from the Yanjing Military Region!" Xiao Lin said sternly and then asked a question that left Wu Shuang and Luo Ci a bit bemused: "Oh, by the way, do any of you have coins? Like a ten-cent one? Ideally, a dollar coin, something sturdier!"
"Why do you need that?" Wu Shuang asked in surprise: "I do have a few coins!" After speaking, she took out her wallet and handed five one-dollar coins to Xiao Lin.
Luo Ci awkwardly said, "I came straight here after receiving the notice, didn’t bring any on me!"
"Having five is enough!" Xiao Lin said to Wu Shuang.
Wu Shuang looked at Xiao Lin in surprise and asked, "Mr. Xiao, what do you want to do with these?"
"The situation inside is still unclear; I must go in and take a look! And these coins are my weapons!" Xiao Lin said calmly, as if inside wasn’t any sort of dragon’s den, but a scenic spot to browse through.
"No, I oppose it. Since we’ve discovered such an amount of firepower here, let’s request Yanjing Military Region to send support troops and eradicate this armed stronghold. Why take the risk?" Wu Shuang immediately opposed. Inside, there were heavy weapons like rocket launchers, it was indeed a dragon’s den now.
"Even if the support of the Yanjing Military Region arrives, do you think they would bomb everyone inside? Alright, I’ve done this kind of thing many times; one more wouldn’t matter, and besides, the situation here is much more straightforward than what I’ve encountered before!" Xiao Lin said with a faint smile. To him, such circumstances truly were no big deal.
Wu Shuang and Luo Ci indeed wanted to stop Xiao Lin from doing this. After all, in their understanding, such a situation is too dangerous, and Xiao Lin is clearly walking into a trap.
But at this moment, Xiao Lin took out his phone, dialed Lin Zhifang’s number, and without any courtesy, he said directly: "Director Lin, there’s a large amount of heavy weaponry here. I’m afraid the special police squad’s strength to destroy this place isn’t easy, so it’s best to request support from the Yanjing Military Region. Wu Shuang will explain the situation to you!" After speaking, he handed the phone to Wu Shuang, saying, "You report the situation here to Director Lin, I’ll go in and take a look first!"
Wu Shuang took the phone and indeed wanted to stop Xiao Lin, but at that moment, Xiao Lin turned around and instantly disappeared from their sight, without even a chance to speak.
This move left Wu Shuang and Luo Ci staring wide-eyed and speechless. Clearly, Xiao Lin was beside them moments ago, then his figure flickered, and their vision went dark, almost exceeding the speed at which the eyes can process images. Wu Shuang could only react when Lin Zhifang’s loud voice came from the phone, helplessly picking it up to tell Lin Zhifang about the situation here.
And Luo Ci, following Xiao Lin’s instructions, went in front of the assembled special police team, assigned the task of guarding the road entrance, and also dispatched two squads, each with fifteen people, to patrol the surroundings to prevent any bandits from escaping.
Xiao Lin’s mastery of stealth was rapid, so quick that in this dark night, Luo Ci and Wu Shuang didn’t even know how he left their sight. Xiao Lin wasn’t someone with a severe personal hero complex. To him, this terrain looked treacherous, but in the eyes of their Dragon Soul, this terrain here was simply a scenic area.
Steep cliffs and bizarre trees protruded everywhere, with every jutting rock serving as Xiao Lin’s foothold. A mountain wall that appeared to be over a hundred meters high was climbed by Xiao Lin in less than two minutes, reaching the summit.
Standing atop the hill and surveying the scene, an imposing villa fell into Xiao Lin’s gaze. Nestled at the mountain’s waist, surrounded by hills on three sides, it exuded a sense of dominance as if overlooking the entire world. Building a castle-style villa here was indeed a good choice.
Descending from the mountain top was not as easy as climbing up. While ascending, he could use both hands and feet to climb swiftly; descending required precise jumps, taking about ten minutes.
Xiao Lin did not alert the bandits near the mountain entrance. That wasn’t his purpose in entering, but he had mapped out their positions anyway, so he could relay the situation to those outside when he exits later.
Without hesitation, Xiao Lin slowly approached the villa at the mountain’s waist. Observing the military layout here, he became even more shocked; there were already four pieces of heavy weaponry, with only one rocket launcher spotted so far, though its exact placement remained unknown. Likely, the rocket launcher was positioned inside the villa.
After leaving the mountain entrance, he didn’t stumble upon any hidden posts along the way. It seems Zhang Teng had considerable confidence in the terrain, stationing most firepower at the entrance while leaving the front of the villa unguarded.
When Xiao Lin reached a small grove near the villa, he was merely ten meters away. He pulled out his wristwatch, pressed a button, then swiftly adjusted his stance and leaped to the second floor.
A bodyguard approached head-on. Xiao Lin flicked his right hand, sending a coin flying; the bodyguard tried to react but fell to the ground without a chance to call out.
Meanwhile, in the first-floor hall, a bodyguard suddenly jogged over to report to Mr. Zhang, lounging casually on the sofa: "Mr. Zhang, the surveillance system is completely down, there might be an external intrusion!"
"What?" Zhang Teng momentarily paused, an external intrusion? That’s impossible. The surveillance here is so complete, and there’s no movement at the mountain entrance. How could someone intrude?
Suddenly, Zhang Teng heard the sound of someone falling in a hallway on the second floor, his expression becoming stern. Indeed, someone had invaded, and they were an expert, scaling the mountain wall to reach the summit and then descending rapidly. With the special police expected to arrive at the entrance within half an hour, the intruder had reached the villa in such a short time, undoubtedly a master.
Just as Xiao Lin was slowly approaching the second-floor hall, a sinister voice emanated from within: "Since you’re here, don’t sneak around!"
Xiao Lin had considerable confidence in his body technique. The opposition certainly knew someone had infiltrated, but they couldn’t possibly know his hiding place. Thus, Xiao Lin didn’t plan to reveal himself. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian () to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)