Chapter 113: Slingshot Shooter

(Dear readers, sorry about the previous chapter, which has been revised. Please reread the second half to avoid any plot confusion.)

Yu Xiangnian looked around for something to stop them and spotted some scattered pebbles on the ground, which gave her an idea.

She reached into her bag and pulled out a slingshot.

This slingshot was something she had confiscated from Xiao Jie.

A few days ago, Xiao Jie had been playing with the slingshot on the playground and accidentally broke someone’s window.

Yu Xiangnian had confiscated the slingshot on the spot and put it in her bag.

She made Xiao Jie apologize to the owner, and the next day, Cheng Jingmo bought a new pane of glass to replace the broken one.

The cost of the glass was to be repaid by Xiao Jie through chores since he had no money. He was tasked with washing dishes, sweeping, cleaning the table, and washing his own clothes for a week. Only after this would he get his slingshot back.

Unexpectedly, the slingshot came in handy now!

She quickly piled some small stones at her feet, then crouched down and focused intently on the wall.

As soon as a head appeared over the wall, Yu Xiangnian held the slingshot in one hand, pinched the stone-loaded pouch in the other, pulled back, squinted one eye, aimed, and fired.

A cry of “Ouch!” was heard, and the head disappeared.

“Damn it! Someone’s guarding outside!”

“How many?”

“Didn’t see clearly!”

The calm voice commanded, “San Liang, Ergou, both of you go at once!”

Yu Xiangnian silently urged, “Cheng Jingmo, hurry up! I can’t hold on much longer!”

Soon, two more heads appeared over the wall.

Yu Xiangnian hit one, quickly grabbed another stone, aimed, and fired, hitting the other.

“Jiu Ye! It’s just a woman!” one man said.

Another immediately shouted, “Damn it! I’ll go out and smash her head!”

Listening to their conversation, Yu Xiangnian kept her eyes on the wall, held her breath, and pulled back the slingshot, ready to fire.

Five heads popped up simultaneously over the wall. As fast as she could shoot, she only managed to hit three.

The remaining two men jumped over the wall and charged at her.

Without thinking, Yu Xiangnian turned and ran.

She cursed silently, “Damn you, Cheng Jingmo! The twenty minutes are up, where the hell are you? If anything happens to me, you’ll be widowed for life!”

She ran over a hundred meters, turned a corner, and finally saw a group of people about twenty meters ahead.

Led by Cheng Jingmo, more than ten people were running towards her, including a familiar face, Haozi.

Her heart settled, and she slowed down.

She silently thanked Brother Ping for being so loyal, lending so many people to help!

The two men chasing her saw the large group approaching and immediately turned back.

Cheng Jingmo reached her, his usually impassive face showing concern, “Are you alright?”

Yu Xiangnian, with her messy hair covered in grass, clothes and pants stained, and two black smudges on her fair face, replied, “I’m fine! Hurry and chase them, they’re trying to escape!”

The group ran ahead, with Yu Xiangnian jogging behind.

“Nobody move! We are the police!”

At the command, chaos erupted, with some running, others chasing, and some being caught.

Police?! How did the police get here?

Given the time, it was impossible for Cheng Jingmo to have gone to the police station for help.

Yu Xiangnian watched coldly as they apprehended the criminals.

In no time, all seven men were subdued.

The old man, his hands cuffed behind his back, stared menacingly at Yu Xiangnian.

Feeling a chill from his gaze, Yu Xiangnian slowly moved to hide behind Cheng Jingmo.

A man kicked the old man and scolded him, “What are you staring at?”

The old man lowered his gaze.

The man walked over to Cheng Jingmo and shook his hand. “Deputy Commander Cheng, thank you! Without your help today, these people would have escaped.”

Cheng Jingmo replied, “No need to thank us, it’s our duty.”

The man then extended his hand to Yu Xiangnian, “Hello, I’m Zhou Haoyu, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of Nancheng Public Security Bureau. Are you Deputy Commander Cheng’s wife?”

Yu Xiangnian, still holding the slingshot in her right hand, switched it to her left and shook his hand. “Hello, I’m Yu Xiangnian.”

Zhou Haoyu smiled, “Deputy Commander Cheng, Comrade Yu, we’ll need both of you to come to the station later to make a statement.”

“Sure.”

The seven men were all handcuffed, and Haozi and three others kept an eye on them.

Zhou Haoyu led his team into the house to search, discovering that the door had been locked from the outside with wire.

He turned back and smiled at Yu Xiangnian, “Comrade Yu, did you do this?”

Yu Xiangnian nodded honestly, “I was afraid they would escape, so I locked the door from the outside. They then tried to escape over the wall.”

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jingmo’s eyes showed displeasure.

Zhou Haoyu’s smile widened, “So, the injuries on their heads were caused by you using the slingshot while they climbed the wall?”

Yu Xiangnian proudly raised an eyebrow, “Accurate, right?”

Cheng Jingmo’s brows furrowed.

Zhou Haoyu gave her a thumbs-up, “Impressive, quick thinking, and great execution!”

Yu Xiangnian laughed, “That’s a bit exaggerated!”

The door had already been opened, and Zhou Haoyu led his team inside to search.

Yu Xiangnian tugged on Cheng Jingmo’s sleeve, “Let’s go in and take a look too!”

Cheng Jingmo said, “Wait, let me help you get rid of this stuff first.”

“What stuff?”

Cheng Jingmo showed her the bits of grass stuck in her hair. “How did you get covered in grass?”

Yu Xiangnian pointed to a nearby pile of grass. “I hid in there.”

Cheng Jingmo glanced over, speaking without much emotion, “You promised me you’d hide and not show yourself. What if we had been a few minutes later?”

Cheng Jingmo had left believing that Yu Xiangnian would stay hidden.

If he had known she would confront these men with a slingshot, he would have had her go for help instead!

Yu Xiangnian retorted, “Should I have let them escape?!”

Cheng Jingmo replied, “Even if they escaped, you mustn’t put yourself at risk.”

He was still haunted by the last incident. The thought of something happening to Yu Xiangnian made his heart ache.

Yu Xiangnian pouted, “Then why didn’t you come faster? It has definitely been twenty minutes!”

Cheng Jingmo apologized, “Sorry, we encountered Captain Zhou’s team on the way and were delayed for a few minutes.”

Yu Xiangnian asked, “How did you meet them?”

Cheng Jingmo explained the situation.

It turned out that over the past two years, several tomb robberies had occurred in Nancheng, and Zhou Haoyu’s team had been investigating for a long time.

A few days ago, they got a tip that Jiu Ye was planning to sell all his stolen goods.

Zhou Haoyu’s team had placed an undercover agent to conduct the transaction with Jiu Ye.

However, Jiu Ye’s gang was very cautious, constantly testing them, and had canceled the scheduled transactions twice.

This time, the deal was originally set at another location where Zhou Haoyu’s team had already set up an ambush.

But Jiu Ye’s gang changed the location again at the last minute. Luckily, their undercover agent left clues.

However, the clues only provided a general area.

Cheng Jingmo, recognizing Zhou Haoyu, saw him with a few people looking lost and confused when he arrived with Haozi and others.

Cheng Jingmo went over to ask for Zhou Haoyu’s help, and after talking, they realized they were both working on the same case.