"Little Lin, go and take a look over there!"

The police searched around the empty building. Lin Qiupu, holding a flashlight and pistol, was carefully searching a row of rooms on the west side of the fourth floor.

He kicked a door open, and the entire room could be seen with one look. When he came back out, a belt suddenly wrapped around his outstretched neck. A man had been lying in ambush behind the door. Lin Qiupu pulled the trigger on reflex, but the gun only rang and he was taken away by that person.

This was the first time in his career that he had fired a shot in actual combat. The moment the shot missed, he felt his heart drop.

The man didn’t hesitate to smash his head with the gun. This wasn’t a movie. It’s unrealistic to faint from just the impact. Lin Qiupu was just momentarily stunned. Then, his hands were tied up by the man with a belt. He was pulled back and his wrists and neck were fixed into positions. His flashlight also fell to the ground. The beam of light rolled along the ground before finally falling down the stairs.

Lin Qiupu couldn't move and was extremely uncomfortable. The person behind him had a familiar smell. Lin Qiupu asked with trembling lips, "Senior, is that you?"

The only answer to him was silence.

Lin Qiupu’s colleagues heard the gunshots and rushed to the fourth floor. When they saw the robbed Lin Qiupu and a "masked" gangster, they were very surprised. They raised their guns and the leader, Old Zhang shouted, "Do you know the consequences of taking a police officer hostage? Put the gun down!"

The criminal actually fired the gun without a word. His marksmanship was extremely accurate. All three shots hit the ground in front of the policemen's feet. Looking at the three smoking bullet holes, many policemen were scared and started sweating.

"Song Lang, is that you?" Old Zhang asked.

The other party swung the gun to signal them to retreat. When the police hesitated, Lin Qiupu said boldly, "Forget about me. Just shoot!"

"How could they forget about you?!" the criminal said. His voice was extremely hoarse and low. "If they shoot and kill you, you become a martyr and the person who shot you must go to jail. Are you stupid? What kind of police officer are you? Everyone, get lost!"

The last sentence was directed at everyone else.

Nobody could do anything, so they could only stand aside. The criminal put the gun against Lin Qiupu's temple, slowly moved to the other side, and then went down the stairs carefully. Every step of the way, the other people followed behind, sweating from having the guns in their hands.

When they got downstairs, Lin Qiupu wanted to take a risk such as knocking down the criminal, but the criminal seemed to be able to read his thoughts and whispered, "If you dare to move, I will shoot."

"That's even better. Then, you’ll have no hostages." Lin Qiupu sneered.

"Who said I would shoot you? I’d shoot your colleagues."

These words paralyzed Lin Qiupu. He no longer dared to have the idea of taking risks.

Old Zhang deliberately stayed back and used the walkie-talkie to contact the people below to guard the entrance. In addition, he contacted the SWAT team for support. Hostage situations could often be in deadlock for several hours. Even if the SWAT team came, there was only one option: Stall. Stall until the criminal revealed a flaw before taking them down in one fell swoop.

When they got all the way down to the second floor, the criminal suddenly shot several shots at the ceiling, stuffed the empty pistol into Lin Qiupu's hand, pushed him forward, and jumped out from the glassless window.

No one thought that the criminal would adopt this strategy. The police were stunned by the shots. By the time they reacted, the criminal had already jumped out.

Old Zhang rushed to look down and saw the criminal land on a car, jump to the ground, get up, and immediately run away.

"Chase after him!"

After they went downstairs, the criminal had already disappeared from the surrounding dense alleyways. The police officers returned without success. All of them felt like failures, and a suspicion lingered on everyone's mind. "Was he Song Lang?"

"Does Song Lang have such good skills?"

"Of course Song Lang has such good skills. Don’t just look at how he uses his brains. In fact, his stamina, fighting, and shooting are all spectacular. It’s just that he usually doesn't show it." Old Zhang said.

Lin Qiupu leaned behind the police car and didn’t say anything. Old Zhang thought he was frightened. He walked over and handed a cigarette over, saying, "You’re really lucky. If this gun was robbed by him, you’d be in serious trouble. "

"Officer Zhang, didn't the person who reported this plainly state that they saw Song Lang? This person was wrapped up like this. How did the person who reported him know?"

"Oh, you’re right. That person didn’t leave behind contact information. It’s indeed a bit suspicious."

"Let's search again to see if there’s anyone else in the building."

This search really resulted in finding another person. She was a girl delinquent with dishevelled hair and tattoos on her hands. She was taken back to the bureau. She said she had nowhere to go at night and stayed there overnight. She heard gunshots just then but didn’t know what happened.

After asking many times, she insisted on this rhetoric and refused to admit that she knew the criminal, so she had to be let go.

It was 2:00 in the morning by the time she left the Public Security Bureau. Kaowei felt that this night was really long. She couldn't wait to return home. The alley was unusually quiet, and the old man at the entrance had been let go by someone. Kaowei guessed that it had been the bandaged man.

After entering the house, the bandaged man was nowhere to be seen. Kaowei was disappointed and searched inside and out. She suddenly remembered something and crawled out of the attic window. She saw the bandaged man squatting on the roof like a gargoyle.

"Are you Batman?" Kaowei teased.

"I don't know how to say goodbye to you. I was prepared to leave quietly, but you found out."

"You took an officer hostage just then?"

"If I didn't do that, I wouldn't have been able to escape. It was a very dangerous situation!" He smiled bitterly.

"There’s still a little bit of wine left, so finish it with me!"

The bandaged man could only go downstairs and drink with Kaowei. The alcohol and the two being alone seemed to be a precursor to something, but Song Lang knew that rather than physical attraction, it was more that there were similarities in their psychological state. They experienced similar pains and had the potential to become friends.

"Is it fun to be a police officer?" Kaowei asked. Her cheeks were slightly flushed under the influence of alcohol.

"Being a policeman is my most favorite thing in life."

"I envy you. All the love I had in my life rests on a man who won't return."

"Don't be sad. Drinking alcohol is originally supposed to be a happy thing. We cry every time we drink... It's almost time to start a new life. You and I both. Wang Xi left you a lot of money, right?"

Kaowei put the bank card on the table. "I took a look on the way back. It’s over 600,000 yuan. It’s a lot of money. Should I buy a house or a car? Or do some small business?" Thinking about being able to spend a lot of money, Kaowei was very happy.

Song Lang held it in his hand and looked at it repeatedly. "Pay off your debts first, and then learn a skill."

"Huh? Going to school? I hate going to school the most!"

"If you don't work hard for the life you want, you will have to deal with the life you don't want. Learn something while you’re young!"

Kaowei pouted. She asked, "What about you? Surely you can't be a policeman anymore? I seem to understand what's wrong with your face. Did you have plastic surgery? Then, when we meet again, will I still recognize you?"

Song Lang picked up the wine glass. This was the final bit. He said, "I will say hello to you. Whether you recognize me or not is your own business."