Chapter 86: A Man With Weapons And Armor Has Nothing To Fear! (Part One)
Two hours later, the Constabulary made it into Cai Hamlet and found Senior Liu’s corpse in a pile of gravel.
The slightly damaged reinforced umbrella covered him, and his protective vest was in good condition. What killed him was the broken beam that fell on him.
Even in death, he continued leaning forward while bracing himself against the floor with both hands. Beneath him was the child he had rushed back to protect. Even though Senior Liu was unconscious by then, his body moved on its own so that he could use his remaining strength to shield him. That was why the child was still breathing and seemed uninjured.
The female upperclassman whispered, “I get it now. They bound residents in all the houses nearby and buried remote bombs in the paths leading to them. They must have been thinking about luring people over to save them. Then, they’d press the buttons to detonate the bombs. Thank goodness we left fast enough...” Her eyes filled with tears. “He could have left too.”
The boys were silent.
Chen Chuan looked around. At least six houses had collapsed due to the explosion. The child was saved because of Senior Liu’s sacrifice, but the villagers in the other houses were all buried underneath the rubble.
Han Guo walked over. “I will report your coursemate’s death and add my comments.”
“He’s already dead. What’s the point of that?” Senior Wu scoffed.
“He sacrificed his life for the child’s survival. His name will live on to show that what he did had meaning. The corpse committee will take care of his body,” Han Guo said. “Also, I need to tell you this: The mission is over for you.”
The students were shocked and whipped their heads toward her. The female upperclassman stared at her intently. “What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. It's over. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know either, but you will still get your marks. I believe that it’s because Mr. Fang’s son has been rescued,” Han Guo replied coolly.
Senior Wu scoffed again. “Saved, you say? He wasn’t here in the first place.”
While the Constabulary deployed all their constables to look for Fang Xunli, he was throwing darts with a friend who had skipped classes with him. No one knew about it, so they believed that he had been abducted. The two children found the situation on the news fun and decided to stay hidden, so Fang Xunli’s whereabouts were only discovered way too late.
If he had not skipped class or hidden, the huge fuss would not have happened in the first place.
“While you’re no longer assigned to the mission, it still exists, but the client is now the Constabulary, not the Department of Administrative Affairs. You are to decide whether you want to stay or leave. The examination committee will not concern itself with your decision,” Han Guo said.
“What’s the situation now?” the female upperclassman asked.
“Fang Dawei and his gang haven’t run far. They’re on a highland in the north bunkered inside an abandoned guard post from the Great Expansion with a narrow entrance. The Constabulary has tried breaking in a few times, but failed. Decide what you want to do now. If you want to leave, you can come with me. I’ll wait for you for ten minutes,” Han Guo said and left.
The examinees stood there silently. After a while, the female upperclassman said, “I’m quitting.”
Another male examinee bowed his head and said, “Me too.”
The last male examinee looked at Senior Wu and Chen Chuan. “Same. I’ll admit, I’m scared. If Liu Xin hadn’t died, I would have stayed. I suggest that you leave too. We’re the only ones who can break into the guard post, considering the terrain there. But how are we supposed to do it? Besides, the mission is no longer assigned to us, so why should we risk our lives for it? Best think about this carefully, you two.”
“I...” Senior Wu looked like he wanted to stay but could not make up his mind. He turned to Chen Chuan. “What about you?”
Chen Chuan looked at the upperclassmen. It seemed like they wanted him to quit as well, but before he could say anything, a feminine voice called out to him, “Is that you, Chen Chuan?”
He looked behind and saw a fair-skinned thin girl standing behind him. She had two pigtails and wore the simple clothes of a farm girl, but gave off an air of maturity far beyond her age. He was quite surprised. “Guan Xiaohui?”
After some careful consideration, he said to his upperclassmen, “Why don’t you go ahead without me?”
Since he had met up with a friend, the upperclassmen said nothing else. They exchanged glances and left.
“Is that really you, Guan Xiaohui? Do you... have relatives in Cai Hamlet?” Chen Chuan asked once he walked over.
He had heard from Ding Jiao during the student gathering that Guan Xiaohui had to hide in some village because her father had a gambling debt, while her stepmother had run away with her daughter. Did she hide in Cai Hamlet?
Guan Xiaohui nodded. “Why are you here, Chen Chuan?”
“I got into Martial Valor University and am here on a mission from the Department of Administrative Affairs,” Chen Chuan answered.
Guan Xiaohui stared at him in shock. She felt as if she no longer knew him.
After some time, she said softly, “Got it. My mother’s parents live in Cai Hamlet. A group of people occupied the hamlet a few days ago. I was outside with my uncle at that time, so we weren’t captured.
“We wrote a letter to the city to ask for help, but no one answered our call. So, my uncle contacted his friends and relatives from the other villages in hopes to chase the strangers out.
“We thought that we could reclaim the hamlet when the Constabulary came today, but they asked us to put down our weapons instead. We could only watch as those people ran away.”
She then noticed the other Martial Valor University students walking away and asked, “Are you leaving?”
Chen Chuan looked at her, then at the collapsed houses before declaring slowly, “I’ll stay.”
***
Guan Yuming looked at the map in the temporary command center. While Fang Dawei and his gang had left in a rush, Guan Yuming had stationed constables around the perimeter and had them trapped in the highland.
But that place was difficult to break into. There were slopes on all three sides, and the guard post had some food and water stored inside, since villagers would often rest there before continuing on their journeys. The chances of the criminals cracking anytime soon were zero.
He also had a feeling that after they found Fang Xunli, the concern and support from the Department of Administrative Affairs was going to lessen.
They were in a stalemate. It was alright during the day, but once night rolled in, other problems might show up, especially since a large number of constables were held up outside the city. If the resistance group was behind this, would something happen in the city?
“Sir, a group of villagers came over. They’re mostly elderly and children. They had relatives and family who died at the hands of the robbers, so they want us to get rid of them,” his assistant said after he walked in.
Guan Yuming walked out and saw the villagers standing beyond the security line at the perimeter of the temporary outpost housing the command center. He said grimly, “Tell them that I’ll do my best.”
Just then, a messenger ran over. “Sir, the chief is calling.”
Guan Yuming walked over and picked up the phone receiver. “Guan Yuming speaking.”
“I have to tell you something. Black Orchid’s security team is already on its way to you.”
“Why would they come here?” Guan Yuming asked with a scowl.
“Because our progress has been really slow, and the Department of Administrative Affairs isn’t happy about it. Black Orchid has convinced them to let them take over capturing Fang Dawei and his gang.”
Guan Yuming’s expression changed, and he asked, “How could they just hand this over to Black Orchid? This is clearly—”
The chief interrupted him without hesitation. “Then, let me ask you: Why did you stay in the village after learning that Fang Zuo’s son isn’t there?”
“There was an explosion in the village, and quite a number of villagers were buried underneath rubble. There might have been survivors, so I sent the constables to clear up the rubble and save them,” Guan Yuming explained.
“Which means that you set aside what you should have been doing. What does the survival of the villagers have to do with you?”
Guan Yuming sucked in a sharp breath. “Chief, our duty is to—”
“Don’t talk about duty with me. I know more about it than you do. You’re outside the city, so why do you care about those people? They’re not within our jurisdiction.” He softened his tone. “But enough about that. Lao Guan, Black Orchid’s security team will need at most forty minutes to reach your place. If you can take down Fang Dawei and his gang, do it now. If you can’t, let the security team do it. That’s all.”
He then hung up.
Guan Yuming scowled and stared at the map for a while. When his assistant came in, he stopped behind him but did not bother him, even though it looked like he had something to say.
Without turning around, Guan Yuming asked, “What is it?”
“One student from Martial Valor University says he’s willing to work with us in attacking that guard post,” his assistant reported.
Guan Yuming turned around slowly. “I thought all of them went back.”
“One stayed.”
“One?”
Guan Yuming was quite disappointed. A group of agents had tried breaking in already, but to no success. One person was not going to be of much use.
“He’s confident that he can get through,” the assistant said.
Guan Yuming thought about it. “Tell him to come in. I’ll ask him directly.”
“Roger.”