Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The video cut out abruptly.

Xu Zhangying’s heart was in turmoil after Qi Feng’s final roar. He snapped, “We’re heading over right now—quick, Qiaoqiao, pull up the footage from Zhao Yang and the others’ body cameras!”

Secretary Zhang bolted out ahead of them. “I’ll get the car!”

Shao Qiaoqiao fumbled to open the internal app on her phone, only to look up in disbelief a second later. “The camera signals are down. They must’ve turned on a jammer inside the building.”

Tang Youning hurried over at that moment, his expression serious. “Is it the Qingyuan Industrial Park? Tang Xinrong’s at a bidding meeting there today. I’ll call him right now.”

Xu Zhangying looked up at him and immediately realized that the “Mr. Tang” in the video must be from Tang Youning’s family. Tang Youning had already pulled out his phone and dialed a number, but after ten seconds, he shook his head grimly. “No answer. I’ll go find my second brother.”

Before he could make a second call, Secretary Zhang’s car had already pulled up. Xu Zhangying patted Tang Youning’s shoulder. “Thanks for this. Don’t overdo it.”

With that, he turned and hurried off with Xia Qing and the others. Tang Youning called after him twice, but Xu Zhangying didn’t have time to look back before getting into the car.

Secretary Zhang sped off, but the industrial park was too far—even at top speed, it would take half an hour. Xia Qing sat in the back seat with Xu Zhangying, his expression steadied. As soon as they got in, he made a call.

“Director Lin, this is Xia Qing. The missing truck from the 5-23 case has been found at Qingyuan Industrial Park’s scrap metal processing facility. Around thirty workers are violently threatening the three Major Crime Unit officers who discovered it. None of the officers are armed. We need backup now.”

Xia Qing’s composed tone calmed the tension in the car. His expression was grave but not panicked—no matter how urgent the situation, it wouldn’t cloud his judgment. After nearly three minutes of listening to the response, he finally hung up.

“The Public Security Department is sending SWAT.”

Xia Qing turned to look at Xu Zhangying and added, “Hold steady for now.”

Xu Zhangying nodded. As he lowered his head to gather his thoughts, he noticed the flashing red light on his watch. He quickly pulled his sleeve down to cover it.

What’s going on? Xu Zhangying was baffled. Why had his emotions been so volatile lately?

He clenched his fist, thinking of Zhao Yang and Qi Feng’s furious shouts, and the dozens of workers wielding wrenches and shovels.

This wasn’t like before. The risks to his life had multiplied.

Shao Qiaoqiao dialed two numbers—one to Fang Puxin and another to Yu Mei. Fang Puxin’s team was already en route, and all available officers from the Second and Third Criminal Investigation Units of the Municipal Bureau were heading to the industrial park. According to Yu Mei, Qi Feng had slipped out of the bidding meeting alone and discovered the metal recycling facility. The video showed that as soon as she yanked the tarp off the license plate, someone spotted her, and the facility’s jammer cut off the feed. Five minutes later, Zhao Yang called, demanding immediate backup—Li Xuyang of the Qingyuan Group had brought people to violently drive them out.

Shao Qiaoqiao said coldly, “They’ve got no respect for the law! Hiding a suspect vehicle and assaulting officers—this is a criminal offense!”

Secretary Zhang made better time than expected. In just over twenty minutes, they reached the mountain tunnel on the outskirts. At that moment, Fang Puxin and the others’ police cars appeared in the rearview mirror.

After passing through the tunnel and taking the only side road, the gates of Qingyuan Industrial Park came into view. But Li Xuyang had prepared a contingency—a crowd of at least ten workers in yellow vests had gathered at the entrance, lining up two rows of barricades. The vehicle entry lane was blocked by a lowered barrier.

Before Xu Zhangying could speak, Xia Qing said coolly, “Plow through it.”

Secretary Zhang didn’t even ask why. He gunned it and drove straight through. The security guards and workers who had gathered to pick a fight scattered instantly. Shao Qiaoqiao gripped her seatbelt as the car jolted—just before the impact, Xu Zhangying felt Xia Qing’s hand close around his.

The Mercedes van’s bumper was sturdy. The cabin shuddered with a few jarring thuds before they broke through the gates, with Yan Jianbai and the others’ police cars following closely behind.

“Turn right, then left at the third intersection ahead,” Xia Qing said firmly, letting go of Xu Zhangying’s hand. He had already memorized the industrial park’s layout.

Secretary Zhang acknowledged and accelerated down the empty road. Three minutes later, the car came to a smooth stop in front of a single-story steel-framed building with blue exterior walls.

Xu Zhangying flung the door open and charged inside, Xia Qing right behind him.

The moment he entered, he saw rows of stacked, tarp-covered scrap car frames and metal machinery.

Then, he heard Qi Feng’s furious voice: “Make a move, I dare you!”

Xu Zhangying's heart pounded wildly as he hurried through the narrow paths between the tarps, rushing toward the source of the noise. Turning a corner, he saw the chaotic crowd.

Thirty men wielding metal tools surrounded a massive furnace opening, next to which was the pit of a metal shredder. A van with half its tarp torn off was parked beside the pit.

In front of the van stood three men in suits who stood out conspicuously. Leading them was a silver-gray-suited man in his forties, with a subordinate in black standing close behind him. A much younger suited man hovered at the crowd’s edge, seemingly unwilling to get involved.

Among the workers in uniforms, three leaders had pinned a man to the ground—Secretary Chen. His head and arms were injured, blood splattered across the floor. The sight made Xu Zhangying see red.

They actually had the guts to hit him!

Xu Zhangying quickly searched for Qi Feng and Zhao Yang, spotting Tan Song shielding another man—Secretary Yao—near the van’s wheels. Secretary Yao’s face was bruised, his appearance a mess, but he still held up his phone, recording the scene.

Right in front of them, Qi Feng had pinned a young man in a suit to the ground—Li Xuyang from the Li family of Qingyuan Group. Zhao Yang stood nearby, gripping a rusted steel pipe, his sleeves soaked in blood. He exuded menace as he glared at the middle-aged alpha at the front of the crowd, growling, "Let him go! Or I’ll blow his brains out too!"

The alpha in the silver-gray suit chuckled, then kicked Secretary Chen’s arm, sneering, "You cops got the balls to hurt people? How about you drop and kowtow twice right now, or you’ll never work as a cop again in your next life."

*Click.*

Xu Zhangying flicked off the safety and pressed the gun barrel against Li Xuyang’s temple.

Tang Xinrong’s smile froze. The factory froze.

Xu Zhangying smirked coldly. "Well, as an unregistered personnel, I don’t care about being a cop. Wanna bet I’ll paint the floor with his brains?"

Qi Feng shouted excitedly, "Boss!"

The man in the silver-gray suit was Tang Xinrong. He clearly hadn’t seen this ambush coming. Turning to the man in black, he snapped furiously, "Li Jiayu swore he had the gate covered!"

"Oh, so Li Jiayu’s involved too," Xu Zhangying said, his smile turning icy. "Haven’t seen him in years. He’s got nerve now, but let’s see if he can keep up. I’m counting to three. Let him go, or guess whether this gun’s real."

Everyone present was terrified by the man before them.

Zhao Yang, still gripping the steel pipe, stared at Xu Zhangying crouched on the ground, seemingly stunned as well.

"Three."

Xu Zhangying grinned as he counted the first number, tilting the gun slightly, pressing it harder against Li Xuyang’s temple.

Tang Xinrong looked as if he’d seen a ghost, shouting, "Who the hell are you?! How do you know Li Jiayu?!"

But no one answered him. The factory was dead silent—like a morgue.

"Bang!"

Tang Xinrong flinched hard, his vision whiting out for a split second before he snapped back to reality—only to see the gun-wielding young man grinning at him. That ‘bang’ had been him!

"Sorry, just a joke. Two!" Xu Zhangying called out cheerfully.

"You goddamn psycho!" The man in black beside Tang Xinrong nearly lost his soul from fright, cursing hysterically before his voice trembled into a plea. "Mr. Tang, just let the secretary go! If this madman shoots, what happens to Mr. Li? Qingyuan—"

Xu Zhangying watched them with a smile, feeling the man beneath his grip shivering uncontrollably, stammering, "P-please don’t shoot… I’ll tell them to let him go…"

His face was a mess of bruises—clearly, Qi Feng hadn’t held back, nearly giving this spoiled brat a concussion.

Xu Zhangying lifted his gaze, tsking in fake sympathy as he shook his head at Tang Xinrong. With his left hand, he gripped Li Xuyang’s hair, slowly forcing his face toward the ground. The sheer strength nearly pressed his cheek into the concrete, his struggles useless—like a fish on the slab.

In just one minute, this man’s actions made no sense, instantly dominating the scene with an aura of madness that left everyone—even Qi Feng and Zhao Yang beside him—pale, unsure if he’d really shoot.

Suddenly, Xu Zhangying smiled, his lips parting slightly as he was about to shout "One"—when the man beneath his hand burst into tears.

"Tang Xinrong! Let him go! Right fucking now!" The young scion of the Li family screamed like his heart was being torn out.

Tang Xinrong also panicked. Zhao Yang, gripping the steel pipe, stepped forward and growled, "You heard him! Release him!"

The workers restraining Secretary Chen were likely from the Li family. Compared to Tang Xinrong, Li Xuyang was, after all, the real head of the Li family. Moreover, the three workers had already been shaken by Xu Zhangying's bone-chilling menace. Seeing Tang Xinrong hesitate, a young alpha who had been standing in the corner walked over. He jerked his chin up with icy disdain and said, "Let him go."

This young alpha had striking features, distinctly characteristic of the Tang family, though his mixed heritage was even more pronounced.

Almost as soon as he spoke, the three workers hauled Secretary Chen and shoved him toward them.

"Hey!" Tang Xinrong shouted urgently through gritted teeth.

But Zhao Yang had already grabbed Secretary Chen, half-dragging him to his side.

Tang Xinrong, seeing this, snarled, "Then release Li Xuyang now!"

"Why?"

Xu Zhangying tilted his head, like the words made no sense to him.

For a moment, both Tang Xinrong and the restrained Li Xuyang were stunned.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Xu Zhangying frowned and sneered, "You motherfuckers broke the law, you know that?"

Another *click* sounded as Xu Zhangying wrenched Li Xuyang’s hands behind his back and cuffed him.

Tang Xinrong was thoroughly enraged. "Get them! Hold them down—he doesn’t have the balls to shoot!"

The thugs, faces like rabid dogs, took a step forward—then froze.

In an instant, armed police officers poured out from behind the tarps surrounding them. Song Yuli was the first to shout, "Guns down! Now, goddammit!"

Tang Xinrong trembled with fury, pointing at them and roaring, "This is an illegal raid! This is private property! I’ll bury you for this!"

"You are currently suspected of intentional assault, obstruction of justice, assaulting officers, and, pending investigation, organized crime involvement—as well as being prime suspects in the 523 case."

Xia Qing stepped forward from among the officers, his face like a winter storm. "The police have every right to detain you immediately."

Tang Xinrong stared at him, eyes wide, then turned to look at the handcuffed Li Xuyang, disbelief written across his face. "You’re Xia Qing? No wonder these two secretaries are from Xing’an—are you out of your fucking mind?! This is Qingyuan!"

Beneath Xu Zhangying’s grip, Li Xuyang suddenly thrashed upon hearing Tang Xinrong’s words. Qi Feng slammed his palm into the back of Li Xuyang’s head and snapped, "Stay still!"

But the spoiled Li brat suddenly burst into tears. "This has nothing to do with me! This was all Fifth Uncle’s idea! I don’t know anything! Brother, please, tell them to let me go! Mom’s expecting us home tonight—please!"

Xu Zhangying went dead still.

*Mom?*