With such hopeful expectations, Ji An adjusted the navigation once more, and Zhong Xiaoyu stepped on the accelerator, continuing to lead the way at the front.
Guan Xia shook her slightly numb arm, which had braced her body earlier, and leaned over to check the new route. Though it was a bit roundabout, given the late hour, it would still only take 14 minutes to reach their destination.
"We’re almost there," Pang Le muttered, though his focus never wavered as he remained vigilant, scanning their surroundings. "Let’s hope that organization doesn’t pull any more stunts in these last few minutes."
Guan Xia shared the same earnest hope, but considering the sheer audacity of the criminal organization’s two previous attacks, she knew the remaining 14 minutes wouldn’t be safe either.
Sure enough, as they approached another intersection, they spotted trouble from over a hundred meters away.
This time, there were no large trucks, but the road was unusually congested for the dead of night, with a crowd gathering as if some accident had occurred.
Everyone in the car, including Guan Xia, craned their necks to peer through the windows. Pang Le hissed, "Those maniacs wouldn’t have caused a crash just to stop us, would they? If they couldn’t hit us, they’d target innocent bystanders? They can’t be that ruthless."
No one answered. The escalating chaos ahead filled them with a growing sense of dread, their expressions turning graver by the second.
Zhong Xiaoyu slowed the car and asked without turning, "Should we turn around again?"
Guan Xia’s instinct was to avoid the obvious trap, but a quick glance at the surrounding traffic made it clear that wouldn’t be easy.
Curious drivers from other lanes had circled back to gawk at the commotion, leaving all three lanes packed. Cars surrounded them—behind, to the sides—making it impossible to reverse without causing a collision.
Within moments, their car was trapped in the middle, forced to merge into the growing gridlock ahead.
Though no immediate danger was visible, the eerie liveliness of the late-night street sent chills down their spines.
Exchanging uneasy glances, Pang Le asked, "What now? Call the police? Let traffic officers handle it?"
Before Guan Xia could respond, doors on either side began opening as curious drivers stepped out, weaving through the gaps between cars to investigate.
The sight caught their attention. Zhong Xiaoyu rolled down the window and craned her neck forward, then pulled back and reported, "I overheard people talking up ahead—sounds like a fight broke out, and someone pulled a knife."
Pang Le frowned. "A knife? Are they acting that convincingly, or did we just stumble into a real brawl?"
Zhong Xiaoyu closed the window and turned to Guan Xia. "How about this—you all stay in the car, and I’ll go check. Or maybe Xu Nian and the others can scope it out. Ordinary people might not spot a staged fight, but we can. If it’s fake, we’ll know it’s the organization’s doing, and we’ll adapt."
Ji An remained silent, deep in thought, while Pang Le and Zhong Xiaoyu waited for Guan Xia’s decision.
After a brief pause, Guan Xia shook her head. "Too risky. If this is their trap, we have no idea how many of them are hiding in that crowd. Once we step out, we’ll be exposed, and anyone could be ambushed."
Zhong Xiaoyu rubbed her temples in frustration. "Then what? Did they really plan this attack so thoroughly? Maybe we should contact Xu Nian’s local colleagues and let them handle it while we observe from the shadows."
Before Guan Xia could reply, Ji An interjected, "That’s still dangerous. The last two attacks proved they know our car. If we stay parked too long, what if they douse us in gasoline and set us on fire?"
Pang Le shuddered. "Good point. That organization dared to ambush a police convoy and commit murders right in front of officers. They’re capable of anything."
While they debated, Guan Xia activated her system’s shared vision. The moment she saw the soul auras, her heart clenched.
Their instincts were right—this "accident" was undeniably the organization’s work. Amid the crowd, five figures bore blood-red auras, with the one at the center nearly as dark as Wu Xingxian’s.
Guan Xia guessed it was another assassin like Lu Manqing, the main attacker in this ambush.
Spending a few hundred system points, Guan Xia steadied herself. Though tense, the system’s presence reassured her. Rubbing her temples, she cut off the discussion and declared firmly, "I’ve scanned the area. Nothing looks off, but my gut says this is definitely targeting us."
The others weren’t surprised. "Then what’s the plan? Call for backup?" Ji An asked.
As if on cue, Guan Xia’s phone rang. Answering it, she said, "We’ll call for support, but we can’t just wait. I’m going out to identify how many attackers are in that crowd."
The three tensed, but before they could protest, Xu Nian’s voice came through. "Are you sure about this?"
Guan Xia nodded resolutely. "Positive. I can pinpoint them quickly."
Xu Nian responded calmly, "Then Ji An and Brother Jiang stay in the car. The rest of us will form a protective circle around Guan Xia. Her safety is top priority."
Ji An asked, "How long until backup arrives?"
"Fifteen minutes," Xu Nian replied. "I called as soon as I saw the traffic jam. They’re already en route."
Just fifteen minutes to hold out. Guan Xia exhaled in relief, grateful for her team’s reliability in critical moments. She couldn’t help feeling everything had fallen into place perfectly—Xu Nian living across from her, meeting Ji An and Zhong Xiaoyu through him, and uncovering Wu Yang’s criminal ring before things spiraled out of control.
Now, they were one step ahead on the path to ending it.
Sometimes during quiet moments, Guan Xia would wonder: what if the system had activated later, or if she had met a suitable partner to collaborate with much later? How would she be faring now? Would she be overwhelmed, or worse, trapped in a life-or-death situation where every second required caution?
Fortunately, things hadn’t turned out so badly. No matter how difficult a case became, the upgraded system always managed to lower the stakes for her.
With this thought, Guan Xia felt her mind grow even calmer, and she responded composedly, "Alright, I’ll get out of the car now and quickly identify anyone from that organization in the crowd."
Once Guan Xia made a decision, she never hesitated. So as soon as the call ended, she had Zhong Xiaoyu unlock the car doors and stepped out before Xu Nian and the others arrived. Of course, she first confirmed the surroundings were safe—unless someone had a sniper rifle capable of taking her out from a great distance.
Pang Le had been a little tense at first, but seeing Guan Xia so composed quickly steadied her nerves. Still, she immediately positioned herself in front of Guan Xia, shielding her from the crowd.
Pang Le was so tall that Guan Xia had to lean slightly to the side to get a clearer view of the packed crowd ahead.
Initially, Guan Xia worried that members of the organization might be hidden in the middle of the crowd. But as soon as she stepped out, the suspects began moving, easing her concern. Once she reactivated the shared vision feature, it took only minutes to identify four out of the five suspected operatives.
She couldn’t figure out what the fifth one—the one with the most intense aura—was up to. She waited a few more minutes, but the last person never moved to the outer edges of the crowd.
Guan Xia began to suspect that the fifth person might be one of the instigators in the ongoing brawl. Otherwise, there was no explanation for why their soul signature remained stubbornly in the center of the crowd, unmoving.
After waiting another two minutes and confirming the fifth suspect wouldn’t emerge, Guan Xia gave up and got back into the car with the others.
No sooner had she settled into her seat than Xu Nian called. "Well? Did you confirm anything?" he asked as soon as she picked up.
Guan Xia recalled the appearances and outfits of the four suspects she had spotted. Once the system activated fully, replaying the footage in her mind, she nodded with certainty. "Confirmed. I identified four, but I suspect there are more. When you relay this to the task force, emphasize that extreme caution is needed during the arrests."
Xu Nian acknowledged, "Got it."
Guan Xia took a deep breath and quickly described the four suspects. "Three women and one man, all on the outer edges of the crowd, standing alone. One’s wearing a black skull T-shirt with linen pants, another has a white strapless dress with a large bow on the back, the third has a white T-shirt with colorful wings printed on the back and black shorts, and the last is in light gray short-sleeved sportswear. Check if these match the people you see."
No one doubted her. As soon as she finished speaking, they all peered ahead, occasionally asking for confirmation.
"The one in the white strapless dress—is she wearing white sneakers and a pink crossbody bag, standing next to a heavyset guy in a brown T-shirt?"
Guan Xia leaned forward to look. "Yes, that’s her."
"The one in light gray sportswear—does he have a waist bag and headphones around his neck? And is there a tall, thin guy in cycling gear next to him?"
Guan Xia checked again. "Right, that’s the one."
After two minutes of back-and-forth confirmations, Xu Nian said, "Targets confirmed. I’ll update the task force now. Once backup arrives, we’ll move in for the arrests. Guan Xia, Pang Le, Zhong Xiaoyu, and Ji An—stay in the car and stay alert."
Compared to the four of them remaining in the vehicle, Xu Nian and the others were the ones who really needed to be careful. Guan Xia couldn’t help but chuckle before adding seriously, "You’re the ones who need to be cautious. And let me stress this again—there are almost certainly more of them in the crowd. I suspect some of the people involved in this staged accident are from the organization. Treat this like dealing with Lu Manqing—be hyper-vigilant."
Xu Nian responded with equal gravity, "Understood. Don’t worry, we’ll be careful."
After hanging up, they waited another five or six minutes until the distant sound of police sirens grew louder. When the convoy of five or six patrol cars pulled over at the intersection, Guan Xia noticed Xu Nian and his team stepping out. The four of them pretended to be curious onlookers for a moment before gradually advancing, forming a pincer movement with the arriving backup as they closed in on their targets.
Anticipating what was coming, Guan Xia held her breath.
Everything happened swiftly. Figures blurred in motion, and screams erupted from the crowd. By the time Guan Xia managed to catch a glimpse through the fleeing bystanders, it was already over.
Jiang Yingyao and Wang Yu had pinned the young man in the skull T-shirt to the ground, while another officer stood guard nearby, clutching a knife—likely wrestled from the suspect during the arrest.
Finally safe, Guan Xia exhaled and leaned back in her seat. The past hour had felt longer than the three days she’d spent in Li Village.
But at least it had ended without disaster. Guan Xia had a feeling they’d now make it smoothly to the district bureau handling the Rainy Night Murder case.
