Chapter 135

Chapter 135

A few seconds before the roar erupted, the criminals in the area were still smug and self-satisfied.

They believed the timing they had chosen was absolutely perfect, completely masking their activities beneath the cover of other cases. It truly felt like a smooth, worry-free heist.

The moment just before completing their mission was, in the criminals' minds, when their guard was lowest.

Especially the grunts, who were already gleefully imagining how they would splurge after receiving their share of the spoils.

But fantasies remained just that—fantasies. The harsh reality of the world reached them first in the form of a sledgehammer to the skull.

Though Bai Xingshu and Shen Geng were equipped with handguns and part of the operation team, as temps, they weren’t assigned to join the main force in storming the hideout. Instead, they were stationed further back to guard against any potential escapees.

Neither of them had any objections to this arrangement. After all, merits didn’t mean squat for temps.

Opportunities like these were better left to those who needed them more.

Bai Xingshu was already quite experienced in mopping up.

He scanned the area and eventually zeroed in on the building next to the sealed-off zone.

Bai Xingshu chose to position himself on the rooftop of this adjacent building.

He noticed a weirdly positioned bay window nearby.

At first glance, there appeared to be no viable escape routes, but in reality...

Bai Xingshu measured the distance between the bay window and his current position.

The gap? Nothing to write home about—he felt he could easily leap across it. Even if Shen Geng or Luo Yu attempted it for the first time, they’d have a high chance of success, jumping straight from the bay window into the window of the building where he stood.

So, as part of the team covering their six, Bai Xingshu naturally chose this spot, handgun in hand.

Shen Geng and Luo Yu, as members of the same squad, naturally stayed with Bai Xingshu.

However, none of the three felt like chatting at the moment. Bai Xingshu’s gaze was steady as he white-knuckled his gun, ready to fire at any moment.

Inside the buildings, the shouts of police officers and the screams of criminals echoed back and forth.

Gunfire and footsteps clashed in a messy symphony, seemingly disorganized, but to Bai Xingshu, the overall situation was mapped out in his head.

It couldn’t be helped—his ability gave him one hell of an edge in this world.

After all, nearly all weapons contained some form of metal.

Bai Xingshu was familiar with the firearms used by the police, so any unfamiliar equipment naturally belonged to the criminals.

Thus, even as he guarded the window that seemed like a potential escape route for the criminals, Bai Xingshu occasionally raised his own handgun and, through the walls or windows facing him, squeezed off a round the moment an enemy took aim at an officer.

Bang—

*The sharp report cut through the chaos.*

A shot that snapped heads around.

The rescued officer turned around, stunned, to see some punk bleeding out behind them. Only then did many realize the danger they had just been in.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. At first, the alert officers were blown away, and after the operation, they were itching to find out who was responsible. *That’s Xingshu for you,* someone would mutter later.

Their ammunition was also marked, so it was easy to trace it back to Bai Xingshu.

First time’s luck, second time’s skill.

Now, when they encountered such scenes, they barely batted an eye.

Whether Bai Xingshu could see it or not, they raised their hands high, gave him a thumbs-up in high praise.

Of course, only the rescued cops in the room knew about this.

Luo Yu, who witnessed Bai Xingshu's entire shooting process, didn’t pick up on anything.

He only sensed that Bai Xingshu had fired a few shots. With a wall separating the buildings, he was completely in the dark about the raging firefight downstairs, just listening and piecing things together.

In just about ten minutes, Luo Yu noticed that the screams from the surrounded area below had died down considerably.

Luo Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Having been admitted to the Capital Military University, Luo Yu could easily read the situation.

The police now had the situation under control.

For some, there was joy; for others, despair. For the smuggling group, the current situation had them seething.

Pathetic! Goddamn pathetic!

Listening to the feedback from all sides, the bandit leader knew the game was up.

Before this raid, the bandit leader had believed that even if luck wasn’t on his side and he faced the police of the Shunwang District, he still had a fighting chance.

After all, they outnumbered them!

Fewer people couldn’t pull off smuggling.

They had a good hundred men, while the Shunwang District police station had about as many officers, including administrative staff across various roles.

Fifty at most could be mobilized to deal with him.

With those numbers, the odds were still in his favor.

But the bandit leader never expected his subordinates to be such complete fuck-ups.

Quickly assessing the situation, the bandit leader made his call—to abandon this place.

To abandon the forces he’d built up over years.

Live to fight another day.

If he had succeeded once, he could succeed again. As long as he wasn’t caught by the police, he had all the chances to start over.

Having made his decision, the bandit leader didn’t hesitate.

He had an exit strategy ready.

He had a way to leave without a trace!

Silently, the bandit leader made his way to the bay window on the balcony of a warehouse in the hideout.

He pressed a button in his pocket, and a window in an ordinary residential building next door flew open on cue.

The house across the way was bought on purpose by the bandit leader for his getaway.

Once inside, closing the gaping window would ensure no one knew he had fled.

He’d just be an ordinary resident who happened to live next to a criminal hideout.

The bandit leader had it all figured out.

But as he opened the bay window, he heard glass shattering.

People have a sixth sense for danger.

The bandit leader had been through hell to get where he was.

Upon hearing the noise, he moved fast.

Ducked and twisted hard, a bullet whizzed past his head, leaving his forehead burning.

Without pause, the bandit leader leaped from the bay window, disappearing through the window even quicker than when he’d first come to the warehouse to escape.

Yet, as he jumped, he instinctively glanced toward the source of the fatal shot.

He saw a strikingly beautiful face and the dark barrel of a gun pointed directly at him.

Bai Xingshu!

The name shot through his mind.

Bai Xingshu’s reputation had already spread among the outlaws of the capital planet.

Naturally, no criminal at his level would fail to keep tabs on the famous figures in law enforcement.

Especially someone like Bai Xingshu—with her stunning looks and legendary status as a freelancer—making her even more of a legend.

This bandit leader knew Bai Xingshu had arrived in Shunwang District.

But…

He had no idea how she’d found his escape route.

Not even the rest of the smuggling crew had ever noticed it.

Though questions raced through his mind, that didn’t matter now.

He knew the only thing that mattered was escaping.

Among those who witnessed this, Luo Yu was the most stunned.

From all the stories he’d heard, Bai Xingshu was supposed to be unstoppable.

No mark of hers ever got away.

Yet now?

Bai Xingshu had missed, and the criminal had fled.

"Chase him!" Luo Yu snapped.

As soon as the words were spoken, without waiting for others to react, Luo Yu dashed downstairs.

He believed that since the bandit leader knew his whereabouts had been exposed, he would surely choose to flee the house as quickly as possible.

If they moved now, they could still catch him!

Of course, Luo Yu wasn’t the only one moving swiftly.

“He's all yours,” Bai Xingshu said to Shen Geng.

As soon as the words left his lips, Bai Xingshu leaped down from the rooftop, reaching the spot where the bandit leader had vanished in seconds.

By now, the window had already snapped shut.

But this was no problem at all for Bai Xingshu.

Too bad for him the window was metal.

The reinforced metal window, built to withstand artillery fire, exploded into the room in shards.

The bandit leader, who had just been about to open the door, turned back in shock and saw a bright grin splitting Bai Xingshu’s handsome face.

But this smile brought no comfort to the bandit leader who witnessed it.

He only felt ice flooding his veins.

He felt as if he had been pinned by an apex predator’s gaze.