After venturing deep into the desolate mountains, we realized the sheer vastness of this desolate place. Despite our substantial numbers, the moment we stepped into the mountains, we felt as insignificant as ants.
We were like lost beasts, navigating through winding caves. Everyone switched on their flashlights, searching every nook and cranny. The police dogs let out astonishing barks, with Xiao Niu charging ahead of us!
Liu Yu Ning, holding its leash, struggled to keep up with its pace. "Xiao Niu, slow down!"
"Woof woof!" But Xiao Niu paid no mind, running as if it hadn't had its rabies shots in ages.
Gao Ming Qiang said at this moment, "Everyone, rest assured, the more excited Xiao Niu gets, the closer we are to the culprit!"
The others were somewhat reassured and continued to press on, relentlessly pursuing.
Xiao Niu seemed to have a special tracker installed, charging forward continuously. We reached the foot of the mountain, near a dense patch of woods, when Xiao Niu suddenly stopped. Its tail wagged, and it stood in front of us, its posture as if to warn us to be cautious!
We all became alert, silently moving towards the trees. Soon, a man and a woman appeared from within the woods. They tried to turn and flee, but our officers instantly surrounded them!
"What do you think you're doing?" the woman snarled.
"What are you doing? Huang Yi Qing, you have quite the nerve. Knowing Shi Jing Tong committed a crime, you still want to help him escape? You're under arrest!" Liu Yu Ning said, pointing his gun at them. We were about to apprehend them when Shi Jing Tong suddenly pulled up a man from the ground. He now held a dagger in his hand. "Don't come any closer! Or I'll kill him!"
This man was none other than the taxi driver.
The man, who had been unconscious, was pulled up and instantly awoke. Seeing the situation, he pleaded, "Officers, save me!"
Dozens of our detectives had Shi Jing Tong and his accomplice surrounded, yet they showed no fear.
"Hmph, if you don't want him to die, then back off!" Shi Jing Tong yelled aggressively, veins bulging on his face, his eyes flashing with a fierce glare.
"You can't escape! Do you hear me? We have backup arriving!" Liu Yu Ning said, raising his walkie-talkie, attempting to intimidate them.
The walkie-talkie crackled with the sound of hurried footsteps. Yet, Shi Jing Tong stubbornly insisted, "Hmph, no matter how many of you come, the outcome will be the same. Prometheus will definitely save me!"
"Prometheus?" Liu Yu Ning and the others exclaimed in surprise.
I quickly explained, "Prometheus is one of the gods of the Titan race in ancient Greek mythology. He was the son of Iapetus and Clymene, who were themselves sons of Gaia, the Earth Mother, and Uranus. He was the brother of Epimetheus. Prometheus, together with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, created humankind. Of course, this is just a Greek myth!"
"Hahahaha! I didn't expect this police officer to have some knowledge. You know how great my master is!" Shi Jing Tong laughed wildly with an unexpected sense of pride upon hearing my words.
I could see that this so-called Prometheus held a very high status in his mind. I wondered if his thoughts were twisted because of this.
"I not only know his greatness, but I also know that he is just a legend. Shi Jing Tong, you are deluded. You are falling, becoming a victim of art, do you know that? You have committed crimes! You have killed several people!" I said sternly.
"I committed crimes? Weren't these people criminals to begin with? I was merely doing your work, using the Hand of the Divine Emperor to put eternal handcuffs on these criminals!"
"Who do you think you are? What right do you have to judge them? Even if you were God, you couldn't rise above the law!" I argued vehemently.
However, Shi Jing Tong shook his head. He fiercely covered his face and tore off a layer of skin!
A face, covered in blood, rough and uneven, and incredibly vacant, appeared before us!
"You?" I said, slightly astonished.
"I was burned like this by a great fire when I was young. Everyone thought I was a monster. At that time, I even developed Moebius syndrome! Why is heaven so unfair to me! What have I done wrong, whom have I offended! Or is it that my past life was filled with too much sin? Why have I become this kind of person!"
"So, you admit that you became this way because of Moebius syndrome!" I pressed on, seizing the opportunity.
"No! No! It's precisely because of Moebius syndrome that I have been reborn. I have resonated with the great god Prometheus. He has glimpsed the darkness within me and helped me cleanse the gloom lurking in my heart! I can already predict that the world will soon be purified anew!"
I really didn't want to continue listening to Shi Jing Tong talk about Prometheus, but at this moment, Shi Jing Tong was highly agitated. If we resorted to force, the taxi driver would be in grave danger!
Our people subtly moved closer at this moment, with snipers hidden in the trees.
The ambush site was quite far away, so Shi Jing Tong couldn't see them.
Captain Li Fan of the SWAT team whispered into my earpiece, "Consultant He, what do we do now?"
I pressed the button on my earpiece, not replying, but simply tapping it.
This was our police code, meaning "wait a moment longer."
Li Fan cautiously replied, "Understood. Falcon team, do not open fire for now."
"Yes, Captain Li."
These sounds were only audible to our police team. Shi Jing Tong, however, noticed something was off about my expression and suddenly shouted impatiently, "What were you just doing?"
I spread my hands, dropped my gun, and deliberately kicked it behind me, shrugging. "Buddy, just relax! I'm telling you, you're throwing your life away over a story, don't you think that's a shame? If you surrender now, I'll try to get you a mitigated sentence. How about that? I can even help you with your illness. Once you're back to normal, you can re-enter society. Isn't that killing three birds with one stone?"
This action surprised Liu Yu Ning, Gao Ming Qiang, and the others. They must have thought I had gone mad!
"That's not a story, I am Prometheus! Prometheus is me!"
"Hahaha! And I'm God, Jesus. What proof do you have?"
This question left Shi Jing Tong speechless. He appeared to be thinking hard. Seizing the opportunity, I suddenly lunged forward, grabbed Huang Yi Qing who was standing not far from him, and pushed her directly back into our police ranks.
"Mom!" Shi Jing Tong's exclamation caused everyone to be even more shocked. I, however, wore a confident smile of inevitability. It was as I suspected.