TTS Chapter 14

Across from Mingcheng Community stood a half-finished new development. It was originally planned for five buildings, but the developer ran out of money after completing just one, and the construction site was now completely unattended.

 

Chen Zhengde stood on the rooftop of the only completed building with binoculars in hand, watching the situation at Mingcheng. Seeing the plainclothes officers stationed all around the perimeter, he kicked the wall beside him in fury. How had the cops figured out he was going to carry out a larger retaliation tonight?!

 

His phone vibrated, showing “Qu” on the screen.

 

“Yeah,” he answered.

 

“There are police all over,” the voice on the other end said, “inside and outside the complex. They’ve guessed you’re moving tonight. If they didn’t know, your plan would have had a high chance of success, but now that they do? Impossible. I’m telling you, you’d better give it up.”

 

And yet, Chen Zhengde refused to accept it. The hypocrites in Building One… If even one of them had remembered his son that night, or just asked why he needed the property office’s number, he wouldn’t have died. But they hadn’t. They hadn’t asked. They had just watched him freeze to death on the rooftop. The police said he’d done terrible things, but how were those people any better? Compared to them, he was practically righteous.

 

Their faces looked gentle, but it was only a mask. Beneath it were people who ignored a human life, people who only deserved to accompany his Xiaoyu.

 

“His birthday is almost here,” Chen Zhengde said. “He died so miserably, I have to give him a present he’d be satisfied with. I know what I’m doing. The cops won’t catch me. Just have someone meet me at the west entrance of the market.”

 

“You’re sure you’re not letting this go?”

 

“The hypocrites in Building One, if I can’t send all of them down to keep Xiaoyu company, I’ll make sure at least some of them do!”

 

Hearing his resolve, the caller relaxed. “Suit yourself. I’ll have Jiang Tao waiting with the car at the market’s west gate, but whether you slip past the cops… that’s on you.”

 

Chen Zhengde understood what the man was really worried about.

“Don’t stress,” he replied calmly, “I’ll hide somewhere else for a while. I won’t be going back to the mountain anytime soon.” With that, he hung up, sneering at the brightly lit Building One across the street. Checking the time, he dialed another number.

 

Inside Mingcheng Community’s command room, two phones started ringing one after another.

 

The fire brigade leader who’d been on standby picked up, and his expression changed instantly.

 

“Captain Han, there’s a major fire in the West Industrial District! There’s a residential area right next to the factory, densely populated, all migrant workers. We must contain the fire within the factory. If it spreads… the consequences will be disastrous. Our units stationed here by your request need to be redeployed. But don’t worry, I’ve already dispatched another team from elsewhere. They’re on their way.”

 

At the same time, the emergency medical chief took a call, too.

 

“Captain Han, our ambulances here need to support the fire response as well! We can only leave half.”

 

There was no guarantee a fire would even occur in Mingcheng, as arson was only one of the retaliation methods they predicted Chen Zhengde might use, and the standby was precautionary. But now, a real fire had erupted elsewhere. Han Huaixiao had no choice but to agree, though a suspicion nagged at him.

 

Something about that fire didn’t feel right.

 

And there were still no instructions coming from Chief Yan.

 

Only twenty minutes left until Yang Xiaoyu’s birthday.

 

Everyone in the room was tense, eyes drifting toward Han Huaixiao again and again. The air was heavy, like a storm waiting to break. Xiao Ye, the property assistant tasked to remain in the office, felt suffocated just watching the pressure bearing down on the young captain, to the point where she didn’t even dare breathe too loudly. Sneaking a glance, she saw him staring at the documents before him, expression severe but steady. No panic, no hesitation, as if all that crushing weight wasn’t on his shoulders at all.

 

“Any progress?” Han Huaixiao looked at Wen Yu and asked.

 

“Chen Zhengde is too good at counter-surveillance,” Wen Yu reported, fingers flying over the keyboard. “Around his last known hideout, we found several different routes he used when leaving. All we know is that he disappeared in the direction of the West Industrial District. We’re still tracing him.”

 

Han Huaixiao checked the time again. Too late. If they couldn’t catch Chen Zhengde before midnight, then they had to evacuate the residents. After all, he wasn’t gambling two hundred lives on whether or not Chen Zhengde would strike in twenty minutes.

 

He was just about to order the evacuation when Chef Yan entered the office with several city and provincial officials. Seeing them, Han Huaixiao stepped forward, voice firm as he declared:

 

“Leaders, we must evacuate immediately! If we don’t, we won’t make it in time.”

 

The officials had already discussed the situation on the way. One placed a hand on Han Huaixiao’s shoulder in agreement. “You’ve handled major cases before, so everyone trusts your judgment. Begin the evacuation.”

 

With that, Han Huaixiao opened the public comm channel, ordering immediately: “All officers in Building One, begin evacuation according to the plan! Move fast! All exit points, take your positions and maintain order! Once residents are out, instruct them to disperse.”

 

Multiple acknowledgements crackled through the headset. Amid the noise, Captain Han caught Xia Hang’s voice, whose assigned post was the No.1 exit of the underground garage.

 

Alongside him, Zhang Tianhua, Kong Qinmao, and Ling Yue led teams to discreetly persuade residents to evacuate. The plan was to have the residents with private cars leave through one of the two exits of the underground parking garage. Soon enough, ground-floor residents and those who trusted the police had already reached the garage.

Xia Hang stood at Exit 1, ready to direct residents driving out so they could leave in an orderly flow. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but only a handful of people knew his new number. These days, every vibration was either from the Major Crimes Group, work chats, or the Building One residents’ group.

 

He unlocked the phone, every instinct screaming it wouldn’t be good news. And sure enough, someone had just posted a photo in the Building One group chat.

 

The bouquet of chrysanthemums someone had placed at Yang Xiaoyu’s door.

 

Under the picture was a message.

 

[These flowers are laughable and hypocritical.]

 

In an instant, Xia Hang switched to Han Huaixiao’s comm channel, almost screaming: “Captain! Quick, check the Building One group!”

 

Captain Han turned toward the property manager, who was frowning at his phone. “With everything going to hell, they still have time to post garbage like this…” But he didn’t finish his rant as Han Huaixiao already snatched the phone from him. One look at the message, and everything became clear.

 

It had to be from Chen Zhengde.

 

“Wen Yu, now! Trace the sender’s location!” Then Han Huaixiao whirled on the stunned property manager and barked, “Why are you standing there?! Tell the group owner to kick the sender out and lock the chat!”

 

The property manager didn’t dare argue. “I… I… I’ll do it right now.”

 

But it was already too late. Chen Zhengde sent three more messages:

 

[All of you go to the rooftop now and repent for Yang Xiaoyu, who froze to death up there last year. You have two minutes. If I don’t see you there, you’ll join him.]

 

[I mean what I say. Don’t believe me? Listen.]

 

[If you don’t want to die with him, get upstairs now. Otherwise, I’ll blow up the entire building.]

 

At the same time, at Exit 1 of the underground garage, three cars had just driven out when Xia Hang’s sharp ears caught something: a faint, strange countdown. The years he had spent undercover had honed his instincts, and danger made him move before he could think. Waving frantically, he shouted at the cars behind him to reverse. Thankfully, in their panic, the drivers didn’t hesitate and backed up on instinct.

 

They retreated just in time.

 

The blast hit a moment later, and only the driver of the car in front was injured when its windshield shattered, glass slicing into his head and knocking him unconscious. Xia Hang, standing outside, was thrown by the shockwave, but experience saved him. In the same instant he lost balance, he rolled behind a pillar, arms shielding his head. Only his lower back scraped against the edge of the pillar, tearing a large patch of skin.

 

The messages in the residents’ group and the explosion echoing from the garage sent the building into chaos. Panic erupted instantly, accompanied by crying, screaming, cursing, and shouting in one, explosive mess.

 

At the moment of the blast, Xia Hang had been reporting through his open comm channel. The explosion and his shouts traveled straight into Han Huaixiao’s ear and, for one breathless instant, his heart stopped until Xia Hang’s voice returned, giving a rapid situation report.

 

Relieved, Han Huaixiao slammed a hand on the table, knowing he had messed up. He assumed Building One was the target, so they checked only Building One for explosives, overlooking other locations.

 

“Wen Yu, cut Building One’s signal!” He immediately issued new orders. “Block residents from posting and causing mass panic. Qinmao, take a team to Garage Exit 1. Assess damage and contact ambulances.”

 

“Captain Qi, take your people and sweep the entire complex again!”

 

“Property staff… assist our officers in calming residents.”

 

“Xia Ling, once Captain Qi confirms the area is secure, continue evacuations immediately.”

 

Only when the emergency tasks were assigned did Han Huaixiao call Xia Hang again over comms.

 

“I’m fine.” On the other side of the receiver, Xia Hang’s voice was steady.

 

“Really fine?” Captain Han asked again, but to Xia Hang, the scraped back wasn’t worth mentioning.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

The photo and messages had been sent using the resident of 1103’s account, the one who was living right across from Yang Xiaoyu’s apartment. Zhang Tianhua, who was on that floor, quickly located the 1103 household, noticing the new surveillance camera installed outside their door.

 

However, the resident of 1103 said in panic, “Officer, that wasn’t me! My phone was stolen yesterday! I haven’t bought a new one yet!”

 

“When did you install this camera?” Zhang Tianhua asked.

 

The man had already seen the group messages on his wife’s phone, and fear was eating him alive. Eager to evacuate as soon as possible, he slammed a teacup onto the floor. “You cops! Besides asking questions, is there anything else you know how to do?!” he screamed. “Look at the situation, we’re about to be blown up, and you’re still asking, asking, asking! Asking your damn…!”

 

“Our questions are directly related to your safety and the safety of everyone in this building.” Zhang Tianhua’s expression didn’t budge. “Answer properly.”

 

The man wanted to snap back, but his wife smacked him on the back.

“Enough! Stop it!” she said before turning towards Zhang Tianhua. “Officer, the camera was installed two days ago. After someone stole our money right from our doorstep, and with the elevator incident, we felt unsafe. Worried someone might cause trouble, so we put up a camera.”

 

Zhang Tianhua understood now how Chen Zhengde got the photo: he must have seen the footage on the stolen phone and taken a screenshot from the camera feed.

 

“Where did you lose your phone?”

 

“He doesn’t know,” the wife answered. “He went to Shanhu Park yesterday, then took the bus home. Somewhere along that route, it must’ve dropped. We don’t know exactly where.”

 

Over the comm channel, Han Huaixiao heard all that, so he called over tech investigators and ordered them: “Lin Xinyang, Ma Zheng, trace that bus route. Find out where Chen Zhengde took the phone and where he got off.”

 

The wall clock in the command room ticked forward, minute by minute.

 

Ten minutes until Yang Xiaoyu’s birthday.

 

“Captain Han!” Wen Yu rushed in holding her laptop. “We got a location on the sender!”

 

“He’s in the office building of Xiangxian Carton Factory in the West Industrial District.”

………………………..