She turned pale with shock, reaching for bullets in her pocket. The man in the center lunged forward, throwing a punch directly at her chest.
Zhu Qingxue gasped and dodged backward, narrowly avoiding the blow. But then her neck was gripped, and two more people appeared behind her, restraining them from either side.
Five men surrounded them, forcing them against the alley wall. The man who had thrown the punch sneered, pulling out a syringe filled with an unknown liquid, and was about to inject it into Zhu Qingxue's neck.
Zhu Qingxue's mouth was covered, her body held immobile. Despair and unwillingness flashed in her eyes. Was she really going to be defeated by these scoundrels today?
"Stop!"
A clear, cold voice rang out from behind them, not far away.
The man holding the syringe was startled. He spun around abruptly and threw a fierce punch at the speaker. It was Ye Tian, of course. He raised his hand, caught the man's fist, and then lifted it gently.
"Crack!"
The man's arm snapped in two. Though the muscles were still connected, it hung limply. Then, Ye Tian struck his neck, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
The other two roared and attacked from the sides, using close-quarters grappling and combat techniques. Their movements were skilled and their methods fierce.
"Boom!"
Before either of them could touch Ye Tian's clothes, they were both struck by his palms. A searing pain shot through their chests and abdomens, and they collapsed to the ground.
The remaining two, who were holding Zhu Qingxue and the other beauty, were shocked. One of them yelled, "Back off, or I'll kill them!"
Before the words were even out, both men's minds went blank. Then, their heads felt heavy as Ye Tian knocked them both unconscious.
It was only then that Zhu Qingxue, by the dim light, got a clear look at Ye Tian's face. She was both surprised and delighted. "Dr. Ye!"
Ye Tian smiled slightly. "Officer Zhu, what is this all about?"
Zhu Qingxue gave a wry smile. "I'll tell you later. Let's deal with these people first."
She took out the microphone hidden in her collar and said, "The targets are subdued. You can come out now."
However, there was no response from the other end for a long time. The woman beside her changed expression. "Oh no, something must have happened to them!"
Ye Tian asked, "Do you need me to find some help?"
Zhu Qingxue replied, "Yes. These five are wanted criminals. We've been tracking them for days. Thanks to you, Dr. Ye, otherwise, we would both be finished."
At this moment, Ye Tian took two small black boxes from the subdued men. With a squeeze, the boxes shattered. It turned out they were signal jamming devices, which had caused the communication failure.
Indeed, after breaking the small boxes, the captain's voice came through the earpiece. "Qingxue, are you alright?"
Zhu Qingxue breathed a sigh of relief. "Captain Yang, I'm fine. Please come over quickly. I've already subdued the enemies."
Five minutes later, Yang Huzhong, leading the anti-drug team, arrived with his men. There were seven of them, all in plainclothes. When Yang Huzhong saw Ye Tian, he exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this Dr. Ye?"
Ye Tian replied, "It's me. Captain Yang, we meet again."
Zhu Qingxue quickly recounted the events. Yang Huzhong's face darkened. "These cunning devils, they actually tried to counterattack us!"
He quickly clasped Ye Tian's hand. "Brother Ye, thank you so much today. We were keeping our distance to avoid detection. If you hadn't intervened in time, Qingxue and Yuan Yin would have been finished. Our operation would have failed as well."
Ye Tian asked, "Captain Yang, you don't need to be so polite. Are these people drug traffickers?"
Yang Huzhong nodded. "These five are likely members of the largest drug trafficking syndicate in this province. We've been following them for over a month and only acted today. To maintain secrecy, we didn't alert the local police, fearing leaks. We didn't expect these people had already discovered us."
Ye Tian commented, "These five are not simple. Their martial arts are decent, and they have skills from the underworld. One of them is a thief, and another knows how to use drugs."
As he spoke, he retrieved a thin blade from one of the men's mouths and then produced several packets of powder and vials of liquid from another. Yang Huzhong chuckled. "It's a pity they ran into Dr. Ye. They're all just common thugs. After all, when a Martial King makes a move, he's invincible!"