I sent my uncle a message via Bluetooth. He quickly replied, "Good job. I knew you and He Xin would have a plan. It seems your thoughtful attentiveness is useful at all times. I'm almost envious!"
"Uncle, stop teasing me. Hurry up and get ready. Be careful when you message me!"
"Don't worry, I know what to do."
I lay on the bed, calmly awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, not very nervous, projecting an air of confidence. My hands behind my head, I stared at the ceiling.
About 30 minutes later, I heard the wail of police sirens outside the stronghold, very intense. I immediately rolled over, pressed the button on my wristband, and told Xiao Doudou to open the door!
However, I didn't hear the screams of those two women, which was strange. Xiao Doudou used its built-in cutter to split the door open. I pushed it ajar and cautiously peeked out, only to find no one outside.
Perplexed, I followed Xiao Doudou towards the conference room. At the same time, I heard the sound of heavy footsteps and numerous gunshots nearby. I assumed the stronghold's thugs were exchanging fire with the police. I suddenly appeared behind them, activating Xiao Doudou's acid spray while also quickly pulling the trigger myself!
Amidst rustling sounds and intermittent gunfire, several men in camouflage uniforms fell. By the time they realized they were being attacked from behind, it was too late to dodge. However, the others didn't panic. Soon, several of them turned their fire towards me, and I immediately took cover behind a rock.
These men were clearly well-trained and reacted quickly. They weren't easy to take down. If it weren't for Xiao Doudou's cover, I would have been shot just now.
We continued our assault until the SWAT team deployed smoke grenades and launched a full-scale charge. The thugs finally descended into chaos, and our men broke through their lines and cuffed them.
We subdued more than a dozen thugs on-site, and over a dozen were killed. After securing these individuals, we pressed on and thoroughly searched the entire stronghold. Some of the thugs had hidden and attempted to resist, but they were all eventually subdued.
Uncle was found by Li Fan and others. When he was released, he hurried towards a room in the back of the stronghold. I knew without him saying so that Du Yuting was hidden there.
Uncle led the way, barging through the door with his gun. Liu Yuning and Xiao Yuande followed with a large contingent of police, their guns drawn. The room was expansive and labyrinthine, much larger than it appeared from the outside. Once inside, it became clear that leaving was not an easy feat.
But Uncle seemed familiar with the layout. He quickly navigated through countless passages and found a large central chamber. He rushed in first, but finding no one, he anxiously called out, "Du Yuting? Where are you?"
I, armed, searched nearby with several SWAT officers, but we found no one. It appeared she had already left.
We continued searching for a long time until we had conducted a floor-by-floor search of the entire stronghold. We ultimately apprehended over 20 individuals and killed 15. However, Pierce and Du Yuting were gone, presumably having escaped.
Emerging from the maze, Uncle punched a tree and cursed, "Pierce, you damned scoundrel! Why did you take her away! Why? And Du Yuting, why did you go with him! He must have forced you!"
I could tell Uncle was deeply conflicted. He himself wasn't sure of the truth.
I comforted him a few times. We had to withdraw for now. After all, we had largely dismantled this criminal organization. Only Pierce remained, and finding him would mean finding Du Yuting as well.
Uncle composed himself, clenched his fist, and said to me, "I will find them. Let's go!"
We all left the stronghold, taking the criminals with us. The most severe interrogations awaited them.
Back at the police station, I instructed my people to begin interrogating the criminals one by one.
I didn't personally conduct the interrogations. Instead, I had Liu Yuning and the others handle them while I monitored the situations in various interrogation rooms from the observation room's surveillance feed.
Based on my analysis, I noticed a man named Nian Hanmo. He appeared very mild-mannered and a bit foolish. However, when answering certain questions, a flicker of cunning crossed his eyes. I suspected he was problematic, and his seemingly honest demeanor seemed like a deliberate act.
I sent Liu Yuning a message, asking her to wait for me in Nian Hanmo's interrogation room. She immediately replied with an affirmative.
Then, I quickly arrived at Nian Hanmo's interrogation room.
"Nian Hanmo, 31 years old, from Ledou, Fuming City. At 25, you were imprisoned for theft. After your release, you continued stealing. You've been in and out of police stations countless times. You must not feel any pressure being here, right?"
"Officer brother, I'm always scared. It's just stealing a little. I'm forced by life. If I had any other choice, who would do this? *Sob sob!*"
"Stop pretending! Do you think I don't know your true nature?" I shouted loudly.
Nian Hanmo only put on a more foolish expression, attempting to put his finger in his mouth. However, due to the handcuffs, he could only move his wrist, and some drool trickled down his chin.
Liu Yuning looked at me nervously, clearly deceived by Nian Hanmo's act. But how could I be? I continued sternly, "Among these people, you're probably the only one who knows Pierce's location, aren't you? Am I right?"
"What are you talking about! How could I possibly know? Officer brother, my status in the group is very low! *Sob sob!* I want to eat, I'm hungry! I want to eat!" Nian Hanmo acted like a child, crying out in a dazed and silly manner.
"Focus on what's important and be serious!" I growled again.
"I'm being serious! I don't know where the boss is, or if he escaped. Maybe he's still at the stronghold?"
"We couldn't find him, and he also took Du Yuting with him!"
"Who is Du Yuting?"
Although Nian Hanmo feigned complete ignorance, his eyebrows twitched slightly at that moment. I sneered, "Nian Hanmo, you're really good at lying!"
Nian Hanmo wore a helpless expression. "I'm not lying, Officer brother. And you, Officer sister, does my appearance look like I'm lying?"