However, it wasn’t time to celebrate victory yet. After 5 PM, the bomb in the possession of Song Lan’en was still not in the hands of the police.

Unlike the other bombs that had predetermined detonation times, his bomb had the highest yield and was the most complex.

Fortunately, his location had already been pinpointed by the police, and the tracking software displayed his behavioral roadmap.

Su Hui looked at the map. In the afternoon, Song Lan’en had traversed almost half of Huadu’s urban area with the bomb in his possession.

He and those bombs seemed different, with no discernible predetermined target.

This criminal seemed to be strolling aimlessly throughout the city.

Occasionally, he would turn on the phone he obtained from Liu Yumei, browse some messages, and then shut it off.

Because he hardly stayed in one location and often moved through alleys, the police were constantly chasing after him. Almost every time they arrived at a place, they were a step behind him.

Fortunately, although Song Lan’en carried dangerous goods, there were no signs of him wanting to ignite them.

Su Hui frowned slightly. What was this person planning to do…

At 6 PM, Song Lan’en finally stopped moving and remained in one location.

Good news finally came from the external command vehicle: “We have locked down Song Lan’en. He is currently eating noodles at the restaurant on the top floor of Dingmian Xuan…”

As dinner time arrived, the mastermind behind the crisis that had engulfed the entire Huadu was leisurely enjoying his noodles.

Qiao Ze exclaimed in frustration, “We’re all hungry, and he’s actually eating.”

Director Tan instructed Secretary Wang to order four buckets of family meal, then turned and issued orders to Lu Junchi through the earpiece. “Follow him, but prioritize safety. The restaurant is crowded, so don’t act rashly. We’ll discuss the operational plan here…”

According to the information brought by Yao Fei and Xu Shuang’s testimony, all the other bombs were timed, except for the one in Song Lan’en’s hand, which was manually operated. This meant that he could detonate it at any time, making it even more dangerous.

Dingmian Xuan was an old renowned noodle restaurant in Huadu. From its interior decoration, tableware, and service by the staff, to the quality of ingredients and food, everything reflected meticulousness.

Now, Song Lan’en was sitting at a scattered seat in Dingmian Xuan, facing a steaming bowl of crab roe noodles.

It could be described as a bowl, or even as a plate.

The noodle bowls at Dingmian Xuan were specially made, shallower than regular bowls but deeper than ordinary plates. With such tableware, the noodles were easier to mix evenly and didn’t cool down quickly. A bowl of noodles like this cost 288 yuan, a steep price, yet the place was always crowded, and sometimes people even had to queue.

It was now late autumn and early winter, just after the season for eating crabs.

The restaurant spared no expense with the crab meat and roe, turning them into top-quality yellow butter.

This was the season when crabs were at their fattest. They selected crabs weighing three to two taels or more, separated the roe and meat, and then fried them in lard made from free-range black pigs. After sautéing the scallion and ginger, they added fine Shaoxing rice wine and braised it until fully cooked.

When the noodles arrived, they were topped with a generous amount of golden sauce, covering all the noodles, even exceeding the amount of noodles.

The noodles were made of fine golden strands and included eggs, making them both smooth and chewy.

With a gentle mix, the aroma of the crab permeated the noodles.

These noodles were made from this year’s freshly harvested wheat, and beneath the fragrant crab roe, they carried the natural flavor of the grain.

It had been a long time since Song Lan’en last ate at this restaurant. Now he leisurely enjoyed his meal, feeling particularly satisfied.

As he ate the noodles, he browsed various information on the website.

Nothing, still nothing.

It was already past 5:30 PM.

So far, he hadn’t seen any news.

Song Lan’en furrowed his brow slightly. Did Bi Shanyu fail as well?

Has everything fallen apart this time?

However, he still had a glimmer of hope. Fireworks were best ignited at night for a more spectacular display.

At night, the temporary command vehicle of the police stopped at the back door of the Huadu Top Pavilion.

This noodle restaurant is the flagship store and is quite large, spanning across two streets.

The front door is located on a famous food street in Huadu, while the back door faces a busy road with constant traffic.

Now, more and more police officers are arriving, and Lu Junzhi is assigning these personnel to different locations: the front door, the back door, and plainclothes officers are hiding inside the restaurant, starting to replace real customers.

If the suspect were holding a firearm or a knife, the police would act decisively and make an arrest. However, now they have surrounded Song Lan’en, but no one dares to make a forceful move.

To avoid causing a disturbance and drawing Song Lan’en’s attention, they only contacted the restaurant manager, informing them of the potential emergency.

Real-time surveillance footage from body cameras worn by the police officers and the restaurant’s security cameras is being transmitted.

In the command room at the headquarters, several leaders are also engaged in heated debates.

The current crucial point is that Song Lan’en is carrying dangerous goods, and according to the information the police have, the last item has the highest yield. They cannot evacuate the public safely without alarming Song Lan’en.

If they push Song Lan’en to a desperate state, it could result in serious casualties.

The police have been busy all day, arresting several dangerous criminals. If something goes wrong now, the entire operation will be in vain.

The most secure method seems to be using a sniper to take out Song Lan’en from a distance, but the limited visibility inside the restaurant poses extremely high risks.

Should the officers directly make an arrest?

If they could capture him instantly, it would be fine. However, if their first attempt fails, everyone would be in danger.

They cannot find a better breakthrough point.

Director Tan suggested whether they could use a method to lure Song Lan’en to a less crowded area outside the restaurant…

But then the group got stuck again, wondering how to lure him out completely unguarded.

Perhaps the best approach is to lie in wait, conducting surveillance outside both the front and back doors, and launching a sudden attack the moment Song Lan’en steps out.

Inside the noodle restaurant, Song Lan’en is eating his meal when suddenly a message pops up on his phone: “You’ve been careless. You didn’t even notice you were being followed.”

Song Lan’en frowns and looks around. The restaurant is now filled with people, making it hard for him to determine if any police officers are among them.

This direction faces the street, and he can see people coming and going outside. Everything seems normal.

Has he been followed? How did those people discover him?

The phone vibrated again: “Stop looking and throw away your coat and phone. Come out through the back door.”

Song Lan’en closed the dialogue box on his phone, ignoring the person. He lowered his head and continued eating the noodles in his bowl, savoring the delicious food in front of him. He had only eaten half of the bowl.

The screen flashed again, and the person urged, “Hurry up!”

Song Lan’en rolled his eyes, took two more bites, and then placed the chopsticks on the table with a slap.

Seemingly feeling hot from eating the noodles, Song Lan’en unbuttoned his coat, then suddenly stood up and walked towards the back.

At this moment, Zheng Bai, who was pretending to be ordering food in the front restaurant, quickly followed and spoke through the wireless earpiece, “The target is moving, without a backpack! He took off his coat!”

Lu Junchi, stationed at the back door, also saw this scene through the surveillance equipment and hurriedly said, “Prepare for action, those outside the back door, get ready…”

Everything happened too suddenly. Several police officers acted together. Some went to check the backpack left on Song Lan’en’s seat, some followed him towards the back, and a few people surrounded the back door.

Disguised as a diner, a police officer took the bag from Song Lan’en’s seat and inspected it, risking danger. Then he said into the earpiece, “The bag is empty. The items might be on his person!”

Zheng Bai was the closest to Song Lan’en, only about six or seven meters away.

Song Lan’en walked through the restaurant’s hall and suddenly turned around, heading towards the kitchen and the back area.

The chefs in the kitchen were stunned when they saw someone intruding.

“Who are you? What are you doing?”

“This is the kitchen! You can’t come in!”

Someone wanted to stop him, but before they could act, Song Lan’en rushed past them.

He didn’t say a word, took off his jacket, and stuffed it into a nearby kitchen waste bin. Then he pulled out something from his pants pocket, threw it towards the kitchen, and it ignited upon contact with fire. It was a small glass bottle, and when it shattered, the liquid inside burned and ignited with a bang.

Hearing the loud noise from the kitchen, Zheng Bai and the others paused. Everyone’s heart sank…

“It’s not a high-yield explosive. He might have other flammable items!” Lu Junchi quickly deduced through the footage and sound.

Although it didn’t cause an explosion, the incendiary bomb was enough to create panic.

“Help! Fire!” The chefs in the kitchen shouted in alarm and hurriedly ran out. The staff in the restaurant quickly opened the back door and ran outside, with two chefs sustaining burns on their hands.

The restaurant, which was already overcrowded, suddenly descended into chaos. People rushed and fled outside, creating a scene of disorder.

In the meantime, the kitchen was filled with smoke, and the fire alarm blared throughout the restaurant. In the rush, someone fell to the ground.

Zheng Bai had chased after the suspect into the back kitchen, but he was blocked by thick smoke and the fleeing crowd. The sight of Song Lan’en was nowhere to be found. “Damn it, we lost him! That guy threw a Molotov cocktail!”

At this moment, Song Lan’en had already followed the flow of people and escaped through the back door.

“Zheng Bai, evacuate the crowd as soon as possible! Ensure everyone’s safety!” Lu Junchi got out of the car while pulling out his gun, “Old Qu and I will block him at the back door, and if necessary, we’ll shoot him on sight!”

“Song Lan’en is out! How did he know we were ambushing here?” Qu Ming and his team were guarding near the back door. Reacting quickly, he aimed his gun from a distance at Song Lan’en among the crowd. “Lu, our line of sight is obstructed! It’s hard to aim.”

As Song Lan’en emerged from the back door, he immediately grabbed a petite waitress passing by and used her as a hostage, blocking the line of fire.

The waitress, a young girl, let out a scream and started crying.

Amidst the noisy night crowd, with Song Lan’en holding a hostage, Lu Junchi hesitated, his hand on the trigger…

In that moment, their eyes met, less than ten meters apart.

Lu Junchi couldn’t describe the feeling that overwhelmed him.

He had encountered many criminals before and faced them head-on, but none had affected him this deeply.

Song Lan’en’s gaze reminded him of nocturnal creatures – bats or lizards.

His eyes were deep, calm, eerie, devoid of any emotion, as if he knew not what mercy meant.

In the midst of the chaotic street, Song Lan’en smiled at Lu Junchi.

He raised what he had in his hand – a remote control. With a simple movement of his finger, he could unleash disaster.

Lu Junchi’s hand was steady, aiming at Song Lan’en on the other side, but his forehead was sweating, and his heart pounded. As a police officer, he was not afraid of death, but he couldn’t let so many people die here…

A moment’s carelessness, and the tragedy from two years ago would repeat itself.

In this environment, it could lead to significant casualties, not just a few lives, but possibly dozens!

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze.

In the command center, everyone was tense. Su Hui, who saw the scene, held onto the table for support, his heart twitching from excessive tension.

The police were in a passive position.

Lu Junchi was skilled with his gun, but he didn’t have a hundred percent certainty that he could take down Song Lan’en with a single shot.

If Song Lan’en didn’t die and detonated the bomb strapped to him on the street, it would cause even greater casualties.

Song Lan’en seemed to have figured this out too. He was gambling that Lu Junchi wouldn’t dare to shoot.

Su Hui felt a pain in his chest, coughing lightly, feeling his heart like a tangled mess of blurred flesh, as he spoke worriedly, “He doesn’t fear his own death, but he fears something happening to Lu Junchi…”

Time seemed to stretch out, although only a few seconds had passed.

With no clear instructions, Lu Junchi found himself in a dilemma, teetering on the edge of life and death.

Director Tan rushed to the command center and spoke with a trembling voice, “Don’t shoot, let him go…”

In this confrontation, they lost before it reached its conclusion.

As law enforcement officers, they couldn’t afford to gamble with so many lives.

Just as Lu Junchi hesitated, a completely black car with concealed license plates suddenly stopped at the back door of the restaurant.

Song Lan’en pushed the waitress forward and opened the car door before getting in.

The black car stepped on the gas, instantly speeding away and narrowly avoiding hitting several people.

“Chase after them!” Lu Junchi holstered his gun and got into a police car.

This was a bustling area, but the other car recklessly maneuvered through the streets, paying no attention to the pedestrians. After three intersections, they lost sight of the car.

Inside the command center, the atmosphere became heavy. Qiao Ze said in a low voice, “Song Lan’en seems to have discovered the surveillance. He took off his coat and discarded his phone.”

Director Tan asked, “What about the traffic cameras? Can we determine their direction of travel?”

Qiao Ze anxiously replied, “The license plates were concealed, so we couldn’t track them automatically. We manually followed them for three intersections but lost their trace…”

At this moment, only Yao Fei remained calm. He yawned and said, “The car headed towards the suburbs. It probably won’t explode today. Go get some rest, everyone.”

Director Tan frowned, reflecting on everything. “How did he know to take off his clothes?”

Several pairs of eyes turned to Yao Fei, who shrugged. “Don’t look at me. If I were the leak, why would I bother with positioning?”

With that, he stood up and patted Director Tan’s shoulder. “Old man, your headquarters has been compromised for more than just a day or two.”

There were more than ten people in the command center, coming and going, and someone must have leaked the information.

Other leaders were about to get angry.

Su Hui turned his head and said seriously, “Yao Fei might be right. Song Lan’en has been without a target all this time, so it’s highly likely he’s receiving guidance from someone else. Now, they’ve rendezvoused.”

Yao Fei nodded beside him.

“I think this case is different from the fine sand case two years ago. The previous case had more planning and restraint, but this time, although the attacks are concentrated, there’s chaos and no pattern…” Su Hui coughed a few times.

He looked up at the map. As time passed, the simulated range on the map continued to expand. Based on the initial direction of travel, it was possible that they had already headed to the outskirts.

There, the area was vast and sparsely populated. Even if something happened, the impact would be much smaller than in the city.

Currently, Lu Junchi and several teams were still actively searching for them, but no one knew if they would be able to catch them again.

Within the headquarters, the atmosphere was heavy. Everyone pondered how they could find a breakthrough, how they could locate the whereabouts of Song Lan’en, the dangerous criminal.

Director Tan thought for a moment and said, “Didn’t we arrest some people? How’s the interrogation going? Have we gathered any clues?”

Qiao Ze immediately handed over several stacks of testimonies. “We’ve questioned them all, but the collected clues are few.”

Su Hui glanced briefly and stood up, saying, “I want to ask Dai Yuansheng some questions.”

Director Tan nodded, “You and Qiao Ze, go interrogate him again.”

Su Hui and Qiao Ze came out of the command center and walked along the corridor.

By this time, it was already dark outside the French windows. The city was dotted with lights, and the operation had been ongoing from the afternoon until the evening, but it was not yet over.

Su Hui coughed lightly a few times and swayed slightly; his heart rhythm was irregular since he witnessed the confrontation between Lu Junchi and the suspect. This afternoon, he had been working tirelessly.

Qiao Ze stopped walking, “Professor Su, are you okay? How about we grab a bite to eat and then continue?”

Su Hui endured the dizziness, his face pale, and shook his head, “Let’s make good use of our time.”

They quickly took the elevator to the fourth floor, where the pretrial room was located. The captured suspects were confined to different rooms.

Dai Yuansheng was in Room Number 3.

Before this, the elderly man had been interrogated twice but had been pretending to be clueless, and the police had not extracted any useful information from him.

Qiao Ze was not entirely sure why Su Hui chose him for this task.

The two of them entered the pretrial room and sat down.

Su Hui looked at the old man in front of him and asked, “Dai Yuansheng, why did you kill those people?”

The interrogation room fell silent, and Dai Yuansheng kept his head down, remaining silent.

“Who ordered you to carry out the Fine Sand Case?” Su Hui asked again.

Dai Yuansheng put on a smug smile, “I don’t know, officer. Haven’t you already caught other people? Why bother asking this useless old man?”

“You helped Song Lanen escape, and you provided him with those materials, right?” Su Hui continued, “In the past two years, you’ve been in contact with the mastermind behind the scenes.”

The actions taken couldn’t have been done solely by Dong Anchen; if Song Lan’en escaped, there must have been other accomplices involved.

Bai Shanyu had impersonated Yao Fei, and Xu Shuang didn’t know many specific details, so the most likely person was Dai Yuansheng.

It was highly possible that Dai Yuansheng and the mastermind had collaborated on the plan, and then they utilized Dong Anchen to help Song Lan’en escape. Dong Anchen had merely been a puppet throughout.

Dai Yuansheng was advanced in age, and his legs were not agile, which made him cautious in character and full of concerns.

However, these traits were not his true nature.

Deep down, he remained cruel, and he might know more than he let on.

Upon hearing Su Hui’s words, Dai Yuansheng’s expression changed drastically. From initially being submissive, he turned hysterical.

In an instant, a murderous intent seemed to arise from him. His teeth were clenched, and the veins on his old hands stood out as he struggled against the handcuffs with a loud clatter. His eyes reddened, as if he were about to scream or leap from his chair.

In that moment, Su Hui sensed the murderous aura emanating from him.

TN:

Someone from within the Bureau must have tipped Song Lan’en off! Coz how else would he know to leave his coat behind?

Y’all pray for me. I really want to finish this story within this month! Fingers crossed.