Insights Chapter 86: Arrest

Chapter 86: Arrest

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

In a residential building in the Chang’an area at this moment, the curtains were tightly drawn. The room was an old-fashioned studio apartment, serving as both a living room and a bedroom, with the kitchen and bathroom side by side, and a small balcony at the end. Despite being functionally complete, the place was quite small, with a sofa opposite the bed, leaving only a narrow aisle. A dining table by the door was piled with takeaway boxes, emitting a strong rancid smell, with flies buzzing around, refusing to leave.

At this moment, a young man in his twenties was lying on the messy bed in the room. He was playing a video game, reaching a critical moment, with rapid attacking sounds and gunshots filling the air, his face contorted with tension. Soon, a series of loud explosions echoed from the game, accompanied by the characters’ screams of agony. He lost this round, and the familiar “game over” sounded from his phone.

He cursed, “Damn it.”

His phone slipped from his hand, bouncing off the floor, narrowly missing the woman curled up on the sofa.

The person in the room was the wanted Zhao Meng’an, and the woman was not engaged in any legitimate profession, going by the name Xin Xiaomei. Zhao Meng’an walked over to pick up the phone, the screen shattered. This phone belonged to that security guard, but it now had Xin Xiaomei’s SIM card, so he didn’t care. As for his own phone, it had long been shut down due to unpaid bills.

Xin Xiaomei curled up on the sofa, whimpering softly. She and Zhao Meng’an had known each other for a year now. Initially, Zhao Meng’an was introduced as a guest by someone else. Xin Xiaomei found him generous with money and a college student, so she invited him over to play a few times, thinking of engaging in long-term business. However, she soon realized that this man was unpredictable and broke. She gradually wanted to distance herself from him and stopped replying to his messages.

But ten days ago, Zhao Meng’an suddenly showed up.

It was raining heavily that night. He came in wearing an old heavy raincoat, and upon entering, he drove away the previously arranged guest. Just as she was about to protest, Zhao Meng’an opened his raincoat, revealing clothes soaked through with rain and stained with blood.

Xin Xiaomei instinctively wanted to scream, but Zhao Meng’an grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the bed. He sternly warned her, “I’ve already killed several people. One more won’t make a difference. If you dare to scream, I’ll kill you right away.”

Xin Xiaomei was half-choked by this man and completely terrified. Zhao Meng’an released her, and she nodded, crying. Afterward, Zhao Meng’an arrogantly lingered there. Eating, living, all took place in this small room. He feared Xin Xiaomei would call the police so he confiscated her phone. Initially, Zhao Meng’an agreed to order takeout, but later he didn’t dare anymore.

When Zhao Meng’an slept, he would tie up Xin Xiaomei’s hands and feet. She hadn’t slept well for several days, and the food she ate was leftovers from what Zhao Meng’an had.

Annoyed by her crying, Zhao Meng’an walked over roughly, grabbed her hair, and ordered sharply, “Go figure out a way to get some food.”

Xin Xiaomei cried harder, “Where can I find food? I haven’t been out for three days. We’ve run out of rice and noodles. We had instant noodles last night, and I only had some soup…”

After crying for a while, she looked up and said, “Brother, let me go out and buy something for you. I haven’t been out for a week. If the police don’t come, we’ll starve to death here.”

Zhao Meng’an sneered, “Do you think I’m stupid? If I let you out, you’ll probably report me as soon as you get the chance. Keeping you here, at least I have a hostage. Don’t even dream of running away.”

As he finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside, a woman’s voice asking, “Is anyone there? I need to check the gas meter.”

Xin Xiaomei was extremely nervous, and Zhao Meng’an held a fruit knife against her neck with one hand and covered her mouth with the other, “Don’t make a sound.”

The person outside was persistent, knocking again.

After two minutes, the knocking stopped, and they heard voices from the neighboring apartment. Zhao Meng’an breathed a sigh of relief, but not long after, the knocking resumed.

“Is anyone there? It’s just your house left! The gas bill hasn’t been checked for three months!” There was a pause, then the person added, “The neighbor said you’re home. Since I didn’t see you go out, if you don’t respond, I’ll get the landlord to open the door!”

Xin Xiaomei cried, “Let me check it out. I’ll tell her the numbers, and she’ll leave. Otherwise, if they go to the landlord, it might attract the police.”

Only then did Zhao Meng’an let go of Xin Xiaomei. “Hurry up and fool her to leave.” He threatened again, “If you dare to call for help, I’ll stab you.”

Xin Xiaomei nodded through tears, staggering toward the kitchen. But just as she reached the door, it was kicked open. Several police officers rushed in, guns pointed at Zhao Meng’an. The leader shouted, “Police! Don’t move!”

The police had been waiting outside for a long time. Bai Meng had posed as a gas inspector, distracting Xin Xiaomei and allowing the officers to storm in. As soon as they entered, Bai Meng reached out and pulled Xin Xiaomei away, entering the kitchen and closing the door.

The others confronted Zhao Meng’an in the living room. The room was narrow, and bullets could easily ricochet, causing accidental injuries. For a moment, no one dared to shoot. Zhao Meng’an suddenly sprung up, flipping the table full of food boxes with a loud crash, splattering leftovers all over the room.

Taking advantage of the police being blocked, Zhao Meng’an didn’t even bother to put on his shoes as he dashed past the bed in the room and ran to the balcony at the fastest speed. This was the sixth floor, Zhao Meng’an looked down. As his body leaned forward, the wind rushed past his ears. Perhaps jumping off the building to escape arrest was the only way to survive at this moment, but it was a gamble with life and death.

Anyway, getting caught would also mean death…

In a moment of hesitation, Zhao Meng’an made a decision. As long as he could jump to the nearby windowsill, he could cling to the drainage pipe on the side to escape.

Just then, Yu Shen, who had entered first, reacted. He grabbed Zhao Meng’an’s waist from behind and pulled him down from the windowsill. With no way to retreat, Zhao Meng’an turned around with red eyes, gritting his teeth, and thrust the knife towards Yu Shen. Yu Shen, inexperienced, raised his hand in a panic, dodging backward, narrowly avoiding the knife grazing his clothes.

Zhao Meng’an brandished the knife, shouting hoarsely, “Whoever comes at me, I’ll kill them!”

The other officers were stunned by this. Before them stood a fugitive who had killed three people. They hesitated, encircling him but not daring to approach. At a critical moment, Gu Yanchen rushed forward. His speed was quick, as he grabbed Zhao Meng’an’s knife-wielding hand from behind and delivered a powerful elbow strike to his head.

Zhao Meng’an’s head snapped to the side, hitting the nearby window with a crack. With a crash, the glass shattered, and blood stained Zhao Meng’an’s forehead, his mouth filled with the taste of blood. His face contorted in a ferocious expression, he let out an angry roar, the blade in his hand reflecting a cold light as he aimed it directly at Gu Yanchen’s chest.

Not giving him a chance, Gu Yanchen grabbed Zhao Meng’an’s wrist bone, slowing his attack for a moment. Then, he ducked under the strike and, with a swift movement, kicked Zhao Meng’an in the chest. Zhao Meng’an took a step back, his back heavily against the wall, the knife falling from his hand to the ground. He hadn’t had the chance to pick up the knife.

Gu Yanchen’s third move came swiftly. He grabbed Zhao Meng’an’s shoulders, lifting his knee to deliver a heavy blow to his abdomen. Zhao Meng’an lost his balance, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted position. With a thud, he fell to the ground. Gu Yanchen acted swiftly, taking only a few seconds to subdue the suspect.

Zhao Meng’an lay on the ground for a few seconds, his face pale as he attempted to struggle. With a low groan, he reached out to retrieve his fallen knife. The knife was several meters away from him. Zhao Meng’an’s eyes locked onto it, his fingers about to touch…

But Gu Yanchen beat him to it, kicking the knife away. Then he crouched down, his knee pressing on Zhao Meng’an’s body as he drew his gun and aimed it at his head. “Don’t move.”

Feeling something pressed against the back of his head, Zhao Meng’an, without turning back, knew it was a gun. Instinctively, he shuddered. Yu Shen approached, handcuffing him. The suspect was then escorted to the final transport vehicle.

Captain Gu and Yu Shen also boarded, and for safety, Lu Ying also joined them.

As the vehicle moved, Lu Ying cracked his knuckles. He looked at the battered Zhao Meng’an with some regret. “If I were upstairs just now, I would have beaten this kid to death.”

Under the gaze of three police officers, Zhao Meng’an stared back, gritting his teeth, fists clenched.

In the car with a dangerous criminal, the officers remained tense and silent throughout the journey. When they arrived at the City Bureau, Zhao Meng’an was taken for treatment. Gu Yanchen turned to Yu Shen, “You weren’t hurt just now, right?”

Yu Shen shook his head, “No.”

His reflexes were quick, and he managed to grab Zhao Meng’an just as he was about to jump off the building. However, he still felt a cold sweat when the knife grazed his clothes due to lack of experience.

Gu Yanchen said, “You reacted fast, but you need more practice in apprehension.”

Yu Shen lowered his head, unsure if there was still hope for his transfer.

Lu Ying, teaching on-site, said, “You should dodge his knife, but you can’t be afraid. If you fear him, you’ll lose momentum and he’ll easily overpower you.”

Yu Shen couldn’t help but ask, “What should I do then? Why does Captain Gu manage to subdue him so easily?”

Lu Ying taught him, “There’s an old saying: those who hesitate will be intimidated by the aggressive, and the aggressive will be intimidated by those who fear nothing.”

Yu Shen repeated these words to himself, considering them as a motto. Then he suddenly realized, “So Captain Gu is fearless?”

Upon hearing their somewhat nonsensical conversation, Gu Yanchen couldn’t help but say, “Lu Ying, don’t corrupt the kids.” Then he turned to Yu Shen and said, “With more training, you’ll be faster and stronger than your opponent, and he’ll naturally fear you.”

After a simple bandaging, Zhao Meng’an was locked in the interrogation room, waiting to be questioned. Shen Junci heard that the arrest went smoothly and also came to the interrogation room. As soon as he entered the observation room, he noticed several comfortable sofas, one of which had a nice-looking backrest.

Shen Junci thought he might have walked into the wrong room and hesitated for a moment, not daring to sit down.

Bai Meng was already sitting in front of the monitoring station, adjusting the surveillance equipment. Seeing him enter, Bai Meng turned and greeted, “medical examiner Shen, please have a seat…”

Shen Junci then walked in and asked, “This chair?”

Bai Meng explained, “Captain Gu said that several leaders often come to listen in, so we applied for some more comfortable chairs.”

Then she lowered her voice and pointed to the one with the backrest, “Captain Gu also said that this one is reserved for you.”

Shen Junci understood the reasoning, but what was the deal with the label on the backrest that hadn’t been removed yet, which read “Preferred Choice for Expecting Moms”?