"Then I'd like to make a phone call." Old Xu's face was displeased.
“This…we must monitor it.”
"Surveillance!" Old Xu roared. "Are you here to protect me or to imprison me?!"
The special agent was also somewhat dissatisfied. However, given Old Man Xu's special status, he suppressed his anger and slowly said, "Mr. Xu, please trust our capabilities. A team of colleagues is already working on it—as for you, your safety has a significant social impact, and we cannot take the risk..."
Old Xu snorted and slowly sat down, his face bitter: "I thought I was the target, but I didn't expect them to directly attack Yifan."
After saying that, he glared at his subordinate standing in front of him: "What are you all standing there for! Go find them! Use all available resources and means! I'll dig every inch of K City. I'll find those guys' whereabouts!"
Stepping out of the room, the leader of the special operations team had a grim expression. A colleague approached him: "Boss, this Xu guy is going too far. We're here to protect him, not to be his servants! Ordering us around like that..."
"Shut up." The special operations team leader glared at his subordinate: "Remember who you are! Mr. Xu is a social celebrity, and protecting his safety is of great significance to the financial order of this region! Besides, anyone would be furious if their own son were kidnapped."
After saying that, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. His eyes were sharp and capable: "Make sure to send people to patrol the area. Brothers, be on your guard on the stairs, the elevator, and the rooftop. This criminal is no ordinary person, and his methods are ruthless. Didn't you hear what he said on the phone? They raided the Xu family mansion, and they may have used heavy weapons. The entire Xu family's house has been demolished to the ground!"
The subordinate gave a wry smile, glanced around, and lowered his voice: "Boss, it's probably not some heavy weapon. I just contacted the guys on site by phone, and those bodyguards from the Xu family said it's some kind of three-meter-tall giant... that's impervious to blades and bullets. Damn... could it be some kind of humanoid mech?"
The leader glared at him: "I think you've watched too many science fiction movies! Humanoid mechs? Where do you find such things! If it were really that technologically advanced, which criminal gang in the world could develop it? Even if they could, would they use it against a real estate developer whose net worth is only a billion? What a joke!"
“But at the scene…” the colleague was about to say something more. A sharp glint flashed in the leader's eyes: “Watch your mouth! Don’t think what you shouldn’t think. Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask! I think you need to relearn discipline!”
The subordinates shrank back in fear.
The special operations team leader sighed and glanced at his subordinate. His eyes held a complex expression: "You're still young. There are many things you shouldn't know... Keep a close watch. I'll go check if any of the other teams are acting strangely."
He walked up the stairs and angrily threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out. At that moment, several police officers in uniform came up the stairs. The one in the lead was Officer Xu. Officer Xu and the special operations team leader exchanged a glance, both of them were stunned, and then a bitter smile appeared on their faces.
"You've arrived," the special operations team leader said, his voice sounding somewhat embarrassed.
"Hmm... I'll cooperate with your work." Officer Xu glanced at the other person's black suit uniform as if subconsciously: "Hmm... new uniform? It's very nice, much better looking than the one from back then."
Officer Xu then said to the police officers behind him, "You guys go ahead, I'll be right back."
When only the two of them remained in the hallway, the special operations team leader finally sighed and asked in a muffled voice, "How are things at the police station?"
"What else can we do?" Officer Xu's tone seemed quite relaxed. "I sit in the office every day, and when there's a case, I go out on duty, arresting gangs. Prostitution, gambling, burglary, robbery... If we encounter a really big case, like a bank robbery, we step aside and let the armed police handle it. Speaking of which, the biggest case I've handled in recent years was a gang fight two years ago. As for the rest... life's been pretty peaceful. Much easier than when I was in the team."
Although he said it was "relaxed," a hint of resentment was clearly visible in his eyes.
"Old Xu..." the special operations team leader called out, his voice a little hoarse, and he subconsciously reached for the cigarettes in his pocket.
"Take mine," Officer Xu said with a slight smile, pulling a pack of high-end Zhonghua cigarettes from his briefcase. The special operations team leader glanced at it, frowning. "You smoke this kind of expensive cigarette too?"
Officer Xu understood the implication in the other person's words and smiled faintly: "Don't worry, I've never forgotten the regulations of the team. It's just that now that I'm in this position, being a policeman is different from being a special agent. Someone like me has to deal with all sorts of people. Don't worry, I would never embezzle or accept bribes. However... on a regular basis, social engagements involving eating and drinking are always unavoidable. That's just how society is these days. Look at my figure now, I've got a beer belly, quite different from when I was in the special agent team."
“Actually…” The special operations team leader didn’t take the cigarette, but suddenly said, “I’m sorry you were wronged about what happened back then. I know that the responsibility for that incident wasn’t yours.”
"So what?" Officer Xu chuckled self-deprecatingly. Seeing that the other person wouldn't take the cigarette, he lit one for himself and took a sullen drag. He said earnestly, "Someone always has to take the blame. I understand that, you don't need to enlighten me."
"Actually... I've only vaguely learned a little bit about what happened back then after I got promoted and got to my current position. The higher-ups also knew about it. The people who committed that case were unusual. But in this field, the higher-ups have always kept it secret. So the information wouldn't be released casually. You rashly wrote that report, and naturally you were relegated. However... the team didn't treat you unfairly. Your current position is quite a good job. Actually, that was nine years ago. Back then, the secrecy was much stricter. Now it's much more relaxed. If your situation happened now, it wouldn't be so serious."
Officer Xu listened noncommittally, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "Old Xiao, there are no outsiders here, so tell me the truth. What are you planning to do about this? Hmph, I just came back from the Xu family mansion. You can't just throw this away with some excuse, can you? The person who did this case isn't an ordinary person, and I know you'll try to keep quiet. But... the Xu family's bodyguards at the scene said there was only one person on the other side. Hmph, one person demolished a house with their bare hands? And bullets couldn't kill them... Do you believe that?"
"Whether you believe it or not, you can only keep it to yourself. In any case, when it's announced to the public, the higher-ups will naturally find someone to fabricate a story." The special operations team leader glanced at Officer Xu: "We just need to do our job."
"Now that the case is closed, let's have a meal together sometime." Officer Xu adjusted his hat and tossed away his cigarette butt. "It's been a long time since we ate together. Let's treat it as a get-together with old friends and not talk about work."
After saying that, he turned to leave, but the special operations team leader called out from behind, "Old Xu."
"What?"
"If..." the special operations team leader hesitated for a moment, "If I could find a way to bring you back..."
"Haha, forget it." Officer Xu shook his head, patting his protruding belly self-deprecatingly. "See? Back then my waist was 2.2 feet, now it's 2.8 feet. Back in the special operations team, I was the best in the whole team at hand-to-hand combat, I could climb four or five stories without any tools. Now... hehe, I'm useless. Don't laugh at me, but now if we were to have a drinking contest, I'm afraid the whole team wouldn't be a match for me. As for other skills... I've almost forgotten them all."
The special operations team leader sighed with some regret: "The higher-ups... will probably send a newly established department to assist this time. Once those people take over, I'll be free. I'll come find you for a drink then."
"A newly established department..." A strange glint flashed in Officer Xu's eyes, but he sneered, "Hmph, a newly established department? I don't think it's newly established; it's been around for a while. It's just that we didn't know about it before. Hmph... These kinds of troublesome cases have been increasing in recent years, and the higher-ups couldn't cover it up anymore, so they finally revealed them. If this had happened earlier, I wouldn't have left the Special Operations Team..."
After saying that, he shook his head and turned to leave.
The special operations team leader followed him back down the corridor and saw his men coming towards him.
"Boss, I've checked everything, everything's normal." The subordinate glanced at Officer Xu's back as he walked down the corridor. "Huh? Who are you talking to? The local police?" He paused, then smiled, his tone somewhat dismissive. "What use are these cops for a case like this? We have enough manpower in our team."
"Shut up. You just can't control your mouth!" The team leader suddenly snapped, glancing back at Officer Xu's retreating figure. He sneered, "You look down on this guy? Let me tell you, back in the day, he could take on three of me! Our team's record of 46 consecutive wins in hand-to-hand combat and being number one in rapid-fire shooting—who do you think set that record?! A greenhorn like you probably hasn't even heard of him! Back then… mentioning our team's ruthless Xu, hmph…"
Officer Xu took the elevator down to the hotel lobby, took out his phone, and found a number...
"Chen Xiao... that kid, he's always the one who gets into trouble wherever he goes." Officer Xu gave a wry smile. He had already been to the Xu family's house and learned about the situation. He knew that a total of three people had been kidnapped: besides the second young master of the Xu family, there was a man and a woman, both students from Kidd Academy.
The police have already notified Bai Cai's family, and Chen Xiao...
"There shouldn't be anyone at his house by now," Officer Xu said with a wry smile, but he still decided to go and check.
They got into a police car and drove all the way to Chen Xiao's neighborhood. After going upstairs, they rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong...
The doorbell rang several times. Officer Xu frowned: it seemed no one was home. Just as he turned to leave, he heard footsteps coming from inside the house. Then the door opened, and a girl's head peeked out from the crack.
Large, blue eyes, slightly wavy, light blonde hair, delicate, fair skin, exquisite features, and a fresh, charming aura—she was practically a beauty in the making. It was foreseeable that within the next three or four years, she would grow into a stunningly beautiful woman.
Officer Xu was stunned for a moment. Although he was amazed by the other person's appearance, he was even stranger to the other person's eye and hair color... a foreigner?
Did I go to the wrong address? I glanced at the house number; it was correct. Why are there foreigners living in Chen Xiao's house?