Chapter 84: Manhunt
Han Guo brought the six students including Chen Chuan out of the main hall. They got into an armored personnel carrier parked outside and left the campus.
They could only look outside through a narrow sliding window, but there was a small radio inside.
Han Guo distributed a set of papers to everyone. “These are the details of the robbers, but they’re from before they were imprisoned. Still, read through them. Also, when Fang Dawei’s gang broke into Fang Zuo’s mansion, they abducted his seven-year-old son.”
“What’s their goal for doing this? I can’t tell from this,” one of the male upperclassmen who asked Chen Chuan to refer to him as Senior Wu said without even looking up. He flipped through the papers in slight irritation.
Han Guo gave him a look and said, “Fang Zuo had been examining a batch of forbidden drugs prior to this and seemed to have brought some of them back home, but the constables found no traces of them in his mansion. He might have handed them over to someone else. The constables believe that the robbers abducted Fang Zuo’s son in order to trade him for a batch of forbidden drugs or something else.”
“Does that mean that Fang Zuo’s son is in no danger for the time being?” the female upperclassman asked.
“If things are as we deduced. When I came to meet up with all of you, the shooting at the bank had already ended. Many constables were injured and killed. The robbers from the bank and the mansion met up and fled northward. The Constabulary has been tailing them ever since, and they’ve succeeded in tracking them to a spot, where they have taken up a defensive stance.”
Han Guo took out a map, spread it out before them, and pointed at a spot. “Based on the news from the frontlines, they’re at Cai Hamlet.”
***
Guan Yuming, Deputy Chief of Yangzhi City’s Constabulary and commander of the mission, stared at the map on the wall. More specifically, he was staring at Cai Hamlet.
A messenger came in and saluted him. “Sir, we’ve set up temporary phone lines and can receive messages from the city now. The students from Martial Valor University sent to cooperate with us are on their way. Also... Mr. Fang’s wife is coming over as well.”
“Got it,” Guan Yuming grunted.
He looked away and walked out of the temporary command center. Since it was located on high ground, he brought a pair of binoculars to observe the hamlet in the distance. There were some people moving inside. “Is everyone in place?”
His assistant immediately opened a folder. “Aside from those stationed in the headquarters in the Eternal Treasure District, the rest from the West Post District, Sealed District, Checkpoint District, East Fortress District, Defense District, Great Plain District, and other branches have arrived. The captains from each branch are leading them, and they’re—”
“Enough. Tell them that since we all know each other, I won’t be calling them over one by one to check on them. They just need to do as I say later and not mess up.”
“Roger!”
Guan Yuming turned his eyes forward. The houses in the hamlet were split into the east and west ones. The houses in the west were on higher ground, while the ones in the east were on lower ground. To the north was a hill, and to the east was a stream. A mound with some dwarf elms and shrubs lay southwest of the hamlet. It had a gentle slope that led to the hamlet entrance. A donkey cart was overturned there and lay on the ground along with the donkey.
As Guan Yuming observed the place, he found the mound to be an incredible eyesore.
“Are the machine guns, mortar launchers, smoke bombs, and grenades I ordered here yet?” he asked.
“Not yet, sir. The constables back at the headquarters say that the approval is stuck at the Department of Administrative Affairs,” the assistant replied.
Guan Yuming was displeased. “I won’t say anything about the machine guns and mortar launchers, but they won’t even give us grenades and smoke bombs? Forget it. We can fight even without them.
“Tell Hobbling Sun to guard the spot near the eastern bridge entrance. Small Eyes Yu should take a radio with him and bypass the stream to get behind the hamlet and block off the path leading to the hill. Wei Laohu and Lady Xiao should bring a squad each to the mound, but tell them to stay put for now. The mound is most likely occupied, so they are only to head up when they see a chance.
“Once everyone is at their stations, they are to listen for the signal. When they hear it, they are to use firepower to subjugate the hamlet. Even if we don’t manage to hit those robbers, we need to make some noise. Then, agents should do their part. While we’re shooting at the hamlet to suppress the robbers, they are to think of a way to charge in.”
“Roger!”
The messenger quickly took note of all the instructions before running away.
After around twenty minutes, the messenger came back. “Sir, all squads are in place, but Captain Yu said that a group of people have blocked the entrance at the back. It seems like they had a shootout with the robbers before.”
Guan Yuming’s eyes turned cold. “Where did they get the guns?”
“Captain Yu said that they’re all outdated models from the Great Expansion. Some of them were even using hunting crossbows. They came from the villages around the area and are relatives of the residents in Cai Hamlet. There’s quite a lot of them, and they’re quite familiar with the terrain. They can hold off the robbers for a while.”
Guan Yuming frowned. He could tell that things were not as simple as they sounded, so he ordered, “Tell Small Eyes Yu to disarm and detain them for now.”
At this point in time, he could not allow another armed group to participate, especially one whose origins he did not know and did not have time to verify. He could only look into why they were armed after he took down Fang Dawei and his gang.
The messenger soon came back with a report. “Sir, Captain Yu said that the villagers were very cooperative and gave up all their weapons.”
Guan Yuming nodded and said, “Alright. Send the signal.”
“Roger!”
Soon, the constables received a signal, and almost at the same time, gunshots came from multiple directions of Cai Hamlet. The agents also charged toward the hamlet.
There were about twenty of them. They paused multiple times during their charges as a precaution and took zigzagging paths. Still, they soon drew near the entrance of the village. The people in the lead sped up and quickly made it in.
When the ones at the back saw how smoothly they got in, they followed. But at that moment, sparks and the sound of rapid fire suddenly came from the mound. The ones who made it up the slope were gunned down one by one, and a number of them were blasted so full of holes that their limbs were torn off.
Guan Yuming did not bat an eyelid at that. He said calmly, “That’s the Streetsweeper Machine Gun. They really do have firepower. Someone is working with them.”
Through the binoculars, he could see that the agents who made it into the hamlet could not retreat. They had to brace themselves and continue forward, but a large man showed up and sent one of them sprawling with a single punch. A swift, black figure moved close to the ground. Whenever he passed by an agent, the person would fall to the ground without a sound.
In just ten or so seconds, all those who rushed into the hamlet were taken out.
Intense gunfire came from behind the mound. It lasted for about half a minute before it faded away.
Soon, a messenger came over. “Sir, Captain Wei said that he occupied the mound and killed two armed robbers. One of them fled into the hamlet. They got a damaged Streetsweeper Machine Gun and some bullets.”
Guan Yuming hummed. It was a pity that the mound was not higher than the hamlet. If it was, they could fire right into it.
“Don’t stop me. I need to speak to the deputy chief.”
Just then, a woman of no more than thirty, with long, wavy hair, thin, arched eyebrows, delicate earrings, and a modified, turquoise ruqun ran in. At the sight of Guan Yuming, she started bawling. “Deputy Chief Guan, you have to save my son. Please, save him!”
“This is Mrs. Fang, Sir,” his assistant said.
“Mrs. Fang, we’ll try our best to ensure his safety,” Guan Yuming assured her.
“B-But I saw you firing guns just now. Can’t you negotiate? You can tell the robbers that I’m willing to pay however much they want, as long as my son is safe...”
“Mrs. Fang, we’ll decide how we should proceed with the operation,” Guan Yuming said. He turned and ordered the constable at the entrance, “Take Mrs. Fang away to rest.”
“No! I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying right here!” Mrs. Fang refused to leave. Due to her status, the constables could not just use force. They had to do their best to persuade her to leave.
Just then, the phone rang. The assistant picked it up and said to Guan Yuming, “Sir, it’s from the chief.”
Guan Yuming went over and answered the phone. “Hello. Guan Yuming speaking.”
“How’s the situation?”
“We’ve surrounded Cai Hamlet.”
“Don’t corner them too tightly. You can open up a path for them to escape when the time is right. The Department of Administrative Affairs is paying close attention to this, and someone from the government called. Remember this. You can ignore everyone else, but you must make sure that Mr. Fang’s son stays alive, no matter the price.”
Guan Yuming fell silent for a moment before he said, “Roger.”
Once he hung up, he said to the assistant, “Send word to Small Eyes Yu. Tell him that he can leave with his squad from his occupied spot. Then, send word to the robbers that we’re willing to negotiate, as long as they’re willing to hand the boy over.”
After around eight minutes, the messenger came back. “Sir, the robbers sent a representative over and said that they need a large amount of anti-mutation medicine. They won’t accept less than twenty boxes. They also want fifty thousand devs and three cars.”
“I’ll give it all to them! Anything as long as they release my son!” Mrs. Fang cried out before Guan Yuming could say anything.
Guan Yuming, meanwhile, did some careful thinking and said, “Tell them that we can give them the stuff, but we must see the boy first to make sure that he’s still safe.”
The messenger saluted him and went out to carry out his orders.
A few minutes passed before he came back. “The robbers said that we can send someone into the hamlet to see the boy, but they have to bring the medicine. The rest of the things can wait, but not the anti-mutation medicine. Otherwise, the negotiations are off.”
While Guan Yuming was thinking about it, someone came in and spoke to his assistant, who then looked up and said, “Sir, the students from Martial Valor University are here.”
Guan Yuming looked up. “They came at the perfect time. Bring them over. I have some instructions for them.”