Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Shen Geng lagged behind everyone else, only stepping into the room a while after Luo Yu had entered.

As a temp who had partnered with Bai Xingshu for a long time at the station, Shen Geng was well aware of what Bai Xingshu would do.

In past operations together, Shen Geng, wearing a body cam, would deliberately slow his movements to give Bai Xingshu some breathing room.

However, with Luo Yu present this time, Shen Geng moved slightly faster to ensure the footage looked legit and unproblematic.

Yet, the current situation still threw Shen Geng for a loop.

His gaze fell on the crumpled, unmoving body of the bandit leader on the ground before he finally looked up at Bai Xingshu after a few seconds. "Still alive?"

Bai Xingshu cocked his head. "Relax, I never screw up!" He then gave the bandit leader a nudge with his foot. "Pan said this guy still has info to cough up—we need to catch his contacts in other areas. Of course, I wouldn’t let anything happen to him!"

It was just that this bandit leader turned out to be a bit of a lightweight.

In fact, if not for that, Bai Xingshu would have pulled his punches. The moment he chased the bandit leader into the living room, that single shot could have already put him down.

Even the hand-to-hand combat instructors couldn't last long against Bai Xingshu, let alone a bandit leader who had gotten soft in his position and neglected his physical training.

Only because the man couldn’t be killed did Bai Xingshu jump at the chance to give him a thorough beating.

After exchanging a few words with Shen Geng, Bai Xingshu finally noticed Luo Yu standing beside him.

Luo Yu, whose eyes brimmed with unrestrained admiration.

This kind of look was nothing new to Bai Xingshu, but being admired was a positive emotion, and he never dismissed it as unimportant.

Grinning at Luo Yu, Bai Xingshu made a hammy, over-the-top cocky look, finger-gunning with his right hand and resting it under his chin.

"Hey, Luo Yu, ain't your senior here the coolest?"

"Yes!" Luo Yu responded loudly, his voice full of enthusiasm.

Seeing Luo Yu’s pumped-up reaction, Bai Xingshu switched gears completely. "Then you can handle cleaning up this guy on the floor!"

"Got it!" Luo Yu answered excitedly, completely oblivious to the trap hidden between Bai Xingshu’s two statements.

While Luo Yu didn’t notice, Shen Geng certainly did, immediately giving Bai Xingshu the side-eye.

—You’re even tricking a kid!

Bai Xingshu, who habitually paid attention to Shen Geng’s reactions, caught the message instantly and shot back a glance.

—Kids gotta learn how shady the world is!

After this brief exchange of glances, neither Bai Xingshu nor Shen Geng said anything more.

Now wasn’t the time for idle chatter or games.

Having offloaded the troublesome cleanup work onto Luo Yu, Bai Xingshu checked his grip on his piece. "I’m gonna bag some more perps."

In Bai Xingshu’s perception, more bandits had broken free from the areas under police surveillance.

"Alright!" Shen Geng acknowledged, and in the blink of an eye, Bai Xingshu was gone in a flash.

Luo Yu handcuffed the bandit leader, and the two of them quickly tossed him into the squad car.

The three of them operated as a team for this operation. Once the job was done, the two immediately decided to make their way to Bai Xingshu’s position.

But…

Where was Bai Xingshu?

Luo Yu remained disoriented amidst the chaos of the lockdown zone, unsure which way to go.

Shen Geng, however, had no such confusion.

“Follow me,” Shen Geng signaled to Luo Yu.

Luo Yu was quick to follow commands, sticking close behind Shen Geng while blurting out his confusion: “Brother Shen, how did you know Bai Xingshu is in this direction?”

In response to Luo Yu’s question, Shen Geng laid out his reasoning.

As someone from the Combat Command Department, Shen Geng's philosophy hinged on rallying everyone toward a shared purpose. He believed this approach—rather than blind obedience—could unlock a unit’s true combat strength and create miracles.

That said, Shen Geng’s reasoning for Bai Xingshu’s location wasn’t particularly complex.

“We’re heading to the southwest bunker.”

“That place is easy to defend but hard to breach for arrests. Most couldn’t handle it there.”

“Bai Xingshu always flourishes in the thick of danger.”

“That’s the most hazardous location.”

“He always has ways to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.”

Still buzzing from Bai Xingshu’s heroics, Luo Yu was deep in his hero-worship phase. Hearing Shen Geng’s biased remarks, his eyes sparkled even brighter.

Shen Geng’s version of Bai Xingshu was next-level cool.

When the two finally arrived at the southwest corner, Luo Yu witnessed Bai Xingshu swarming the bunker like an action hero—weaponizing debris like a martial arts legend, leaving the fleeing bandits howling in terror.

Instantly, Luo Yu realized his earlier mental image of Bai Xingshu dominating the battlefield paled in comparison.

The brutal poetry Luo Yu couldn’t have dreamed up was right before his eyes.

It was…

Holy shit, that was epic!!

Luo Yu couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Though Shen Geng was also armed, he hung back from the fray.

In their squad, Bai Xingshu was the fighter, while Shen Geng primarily served as the observer. Along the way to the southwest corner, Shen Geng had been analyzing the surroundings, periodically feeding his assessments of possible bandit gathering points to the operation’s command center.

Everyone could sense the bandits’ resistance weakening—especially after Bai Xingshu, while flipping fleeing enemies, needled them, sneering: "Daddy’s ditched you rats," revealing the bandit leader’s escape.

Bai Xingshu spared no mercy, physically or psychologically.

Amused, Shen Geng felt the operation nearing its end and found himself thinking—this version of Bai Xingshu was weirdly endearing.

Then he turned around and saw Luo Yu, who also found Bai Xingshu "adorable."

Watching Luo Yu's face lit up with excitement as his unwavering gaze fixed on Bai Xingshu, Shen Geng felt a jolt in his heart.

Was someone else captivated by Bai Xingshu? That was Shen Geng's first thought.

Fortunately, he quickly realized he was overthinking it.

He soon recognized that Luo Yu's gaze at Bai Xingshu was entirely pure.

Upon closer observation, the admiration in Luo Yu's eyes was exactly the same as when he used to admire legendary heroes in the past.

His initial reaction was simply because he himself liked Bai Xingshu—assuming everyone felt the same way.

His worries eased, Shen Geng reached out and patted Luo Yu on the shoulder. "Want to become someone like your senior?"

Having plenty of experience with admiration, and feeling a subtle guilt over his earlier misunderstanding, Shen Geng kindly acted as Luo Yu's big brother figure.

Then, he saw Luo Yu shake his head and blurt out a declaration entirely different from Shen Geng's own reverence for legendary heroes.

"I want to become Senior's favorite person!!"

There wasn't a trace of hesitation in Luo Yu's voice—only full-on adrenaline.