Chapter 153: Long Time No See
Xu Si Bai is leaning against the wall with a gun in his hand as he pants.
He can feel the cold metal against his palm. From his memory, this is the first time he is holding a gun toward another person.
He waits calmly.
Just now, after splitting up with Su Mian and the others, Ding Jun was feeling a lot of pain from his leg and could only stay there to rest. After he and Zhang Fu Cai rescued two others, probably because he looked skinny and like a gentleman, the other three immediately turned against him and surrounded him.
He didn’t fire any shots; it wouldn’t have helped. There are many ways for a forensic investigator to kill someone. Furthermore, he has great reflexes.
He hit one of them directly in the throat and caused him to lose consciousness. The other two were stunned and didn’t dare to move closer. He didn’t stay long; he turned around and left.
Su Mian.
As the clock ticks away, he repeats this name in his heart like it’s a curse. Because of pain, love, and uncertainty. His heart is becoming calmer and calmer like a pond of still water. Only the image of her is reflected clearly.
He wants to find her. He wants to protect her. He wants to stand beside her. Even if there’s already somebody else guarding beside her now.
Xu Si Bai tilts his head back slightly. The cold and damp wall touches the back of his neck. He closes his eyes and hears footsteps coming from behind the wall.
There are hesitation and doubt; it’s one of the two.
They just won’t let go of him. This annoys him. He’s not familiar with this underground place nonetheless, but they know it by heart. Furthermore, he has been searching for her, so it’s easy for them to catch up to him.
They’re near.
He’s going to get rid of them.
He sees one leg stepping out of the wall. Xu Si Bai turns around quickly like a shadow, raises the gun and places it on the other person’s forehead.
It’s Zhang Fu Cai. He’s holding a knife, which he found somewhere, in his hands. It may have been given to him by the seven-member organization. Zhang Fu Cai is stunned from seeing Xu Si Bai with a gun. It’s because Xu Si Bai never pulled it out before. If he knew Xu Si Bai had a gun, he would have never come chasing after him.
“Clink——” the knife in Zhang Fu Cai’s hand drops to the ground. He immediately begs, “Officer, I’m wrong! I’m wrong! I was just confused. It was the criminal who said if I didn’t kill you guys, I would be killed……please forgive me! Officer, I really don’t dare to anymore! I admit my wrongdoing!”
Xu Si Bai looks at him quietly. His handsome face is expressionless. Zhang Fu Cai can only sense his eyes growing gloomier. It makes one feel fright.
“I’m not an officer,” he says suddenly.
Zhang Fu Cai can’t understand why he needs to emphasize this, but his voice is gentle and easy on the ears, so he relaxes a bit. He believes that as long as he admits his fault, Xu Si Bai probably won’t do anything to him. The police can’t just kill him, right?…..
“Bang.”
A loud and crisp sound is heard from a nearby source.
Zhang Fu Cai opens his eyes wide in disbelief. He watches Xu Si Bai lowering his gun slowly.
Zhang Fu Cai falls to the ground; he’s dead from one shot.
Xu Si Bai stares at his body for a few seconds and then raises his head as if he notices something. It’s the other person——He Jing Lun, the CEO of the corporation. He’s standing ten or so meters away in the corridor and looking at him full of fright. The moment his eyes meet with Xu Si Bai’s, he turns and runs away.
Xu Si Bai watches him run far and until he’s almost out of sight. He lifts his gun.
The person falls to the ground from another sound of a bang.
Perhaps in these few years, whether it’s life or death, killing others or saving others, he has never really cared.
He only wants to stay in a quiet place and do the things he likes.
He wants to be in the forensics lab and be by her side.
But until today, he finally realizes something.
To kill someone for her only takes a second to decide.
And he doesn’t mind it.
Xu Si Bai bends down to retrieve the bullet shells looking indifferently. He fetches a handkerchief and wipes his hands clean. He doesn’t want to go to jail for this.
He puts his gloves back on and places the gun back into his pocket. He freezes suddenly.
He jerks his head up.
In the dark commercial area, behind the racks and mannequins, he sees a man embracing a woman standing.
Half of the man’s face is hidden in the dark. He can only see his tall figure and that he’s wearing a well-fitted suit. The woman in his arms is wearing a big police coat. She has a graceful body and a fair white and pretty face with her eyes closed. If it’s not Su Mian, who else could it be?
Xu Si Bai feels his heart pounding hard.
But the two of them disappear in a flash. It’s dark again. The underground level has many paths, so it’s hard to tell where they went. Xu Si Bai pulls out his gun again almost immediately. His pale and handsome face is covered with coldness as he rushes toward the two of them.
_____
On the subway train.
The roaring sound of the train is almost deafening. The dark and deep tunnel is like an endless dragon.
Chatterbox is standing between two subway carts. He’s bending down and is trying with all his might to unlock the hook. Several young men are standing beside him to help out.
And behind them, is a cart stuffed with people like a can of sardines. But on the other side, the car is completely empty and they can see right to the end where the control cabin is. Only rows of handles are swinging above.
The atmosphere is tense in the car. Everyone is watching Chatterbox and others. Some are impatient and ask, “Is it unlocked yet? Is it unlocked?” “Is it still not working?”
Chatterbox doesn’t respond as he concentrates on unlocking the device. One of the young men helping him is an engineering student. He shakes his head depressingly, “Fellow Officer, it’s a dead knot on this chain. There’s no way to undo it. What should we do?”
His words cause an uproar with the other people in the cart. They’re becoming more nervous and anxious.
Chatterbox is usually a gentleman and loves to smile, but his face is tense and pale as he looks around at the frightened people. He squats and stays quiet for a moment. He ruffles his hair and his face turns cold suddenly as he stands up.
“Move aside!” he shouts as he takes out his gun.
The people by the doorway back away. The crowd moves back a little. Chatterbox composes himself and aims at the chain.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang——” several loud gunshots. Chatterbox doesn’t even raise an eyebrow as he fires all of the bullets in his gun. The people in the cart scream from fright.
At this moment, someone sees Chatterbox revealing a smile. He lowers the gun and laughs out loud, “It worked!”
Everybody looks down and sees several parts of the hook and chain breaking. And between the two carts, the front end and the back end start to separate just like that! Even the roaring sound of the speeding train seem to gradually decrease!
“Ah!”
“We’re saved!”
The sound of joy fills the entire cart like a tidal wave. Some are cheering, some are crying, and some are crying and smiling. The massive crowd is like a sea full of ripples.
Nothing is more worth cheering for than being saved from death.
Chatterbox has spent very little time evacuating the people from the front half of the train and spent a long time trying to unlock the hook. He’s completely exhausted as he falls sitting on the ground and watches the crowd moving farther and farther away from him. He smiles.
“Wait!” someone shouts from the crowd, “The officer is still on the other side.”
It’s one of the young men who was helping him before. The moment he shouts, many people start to worry.
“Mr. Officer, what are you going to do?” someone shouts anxiously.
“Hurry and come over! Hurry and jump over!” A few people have already started to lean out of the doorway holding out their hands toward Chatterbox.
“Hurry and jump! Hurry!” many people shout toward him.
The two carts aren’t too far apart right now. Chatterbox only needs to reach out his hand and he’ll be able to hold onto one of them.
He sits on the floor watching them and smiles suddenly. He feels a surge of energy as he gets up. He doesn’t reach out to hold onto them, instead, he stands up, stomps his feet and salutes to them, “Everyone, take care! After it comes to a stop, reinforcement teams will come and save you all!”
Right after he finishes, he turns around and runs toward the control cabin.
Everyone watches his back view and are dumbstruck. “Come back! Come back!” many more people shout. Their voices penetrate Chatterbox’s ears. His eyes become watery as he slides open the cabin door. With the sound of a “Bang!”, he shuts off their voices behind him.
In the control cabin, Cold Face is still standing in front of the dash. Hearing the noise, he keeps quiet for a second before saying, “You didn’t have to come back.”
Chatterbox sniffs his nose, smiles, and walks to his side, “How can I not? Black Shield Team’s Cold Face and Chatterbox can never be separated. Furthermore, who knows? Maybe you’ll need my help.”
Cold Face keeps quiet for a moment. He looks to the front and says indifferently, “It’s fine to come back. There’s no need to cry, is there?”
Chatterbox is speechless, “……Cold Face, you’re really too much! You have no empathy! I’m afraid to die, okay? We still don’t know if we’ll be able to steer the train to a safe area for us to jump out and run for our lives!”
Just as they’re chatting, the communication device comes on. The familiar voice of Qin Wen Long can be heard, “Cold Face, Chatterbox.”
“Here.”
“Here.”
“We’ve mapped out the route. In ten minutes, you guys will be out of the city and entering the underground tunnel of the Han River,” Qin Wen Long pauses before continuing with his voice sounding a bit dry, “The Peninsula Hotel platform isn’t complete yet. You guys will ram into it.”
_____
Above ground at the Peninsula, the evacuation is still in progress. Everybody is running. Many people are shouting and many others have tears flowing down their cheeks.
A is wearing a black windbreaker and a wide-brimmed hat. He lowers his head and walks among the crowd.
No one notices him, and he doesn’t look at anyone. He has left the performance stage at a certain commercial building. He walks speedily farther and farther away from the crowd until he reaches a corner of the garden at the hotel with no one nearby.
He removes a cover revealing a manhole. He hops in and closes it with the cover again. The corners of his mouth curve upward into a smile.
A, tragic walker A.
L, rebellious madman L.
R, heartless man R.
……
These are the nicknames she once gave them. They’re precise yet pitiful. Even though at the time, she was just an undercover trying to get close to them.
And S smiled and indulged her.
Right now, underground, they’re anticipating to see if the one they passionately love has finally come.
_____
About ten or so meters apart, even deeper underground.
Su Mian is unconscious from the impact of the explosion. She opens her eyes slowly.
The first thing she sees is a lamp. An orange lamp. A gentle lamp is placed on the desk not far away from her. And because everywhere is dark in the room and there is no other light source, the lamp becomes even more eye-catching.
She’s lying on an orange-red couch. The couch is extremely soft, and her body almost sinks into it. Besides this, there is nothing else in the room.
Everywhere around her is very quiet.
Su Mian calms herself. She sits up and discovers that someone has already removed the gun from her waist.
“You’re awake?” a low and very deep and gentle voice says from behind her.
Su Mian’s body freezes. She turns around slowly.
In the dark and unlit corner, he is sitting on a long bench looking down. She can’t make out his face. He’s wearing a black suit. He’s tall and has long legs. She can only see the cigarette between his fingers burning slowly.
The lonely figure of the man and them looking at each other quietly like this actually gives her a familiar feeling. The entire world seems to darken because of him, while she’s standing in the middle and feels as if blood is rushing throughout her body. She suddenly feels chills down her spine.
“Long time no see, Su Mian,” he says softly.