Memory Lost

Five minutes later.

At the public security bureau office building, the lights are brighter than usual and it's abnormally quiet.

Qin Wen Long and Zhou Xiao Zhuan are sitting across from each other exchanging gazes.

Qin Wen Long inhales from his cigarette deeply with his face looking pale, "What did you say? They're holding everybody at the square as hostages?"

Xiao Zhuan nods and holds the tablet in front of him. It's a video filmed by an officer at the scene, but in reality, these clips are available all over the internet.

"A said: explosives have been set up on all the roads that lead to the bridge. Whoever wants to die can try to escape," Xiao Zhuan explains helplessly, "Therefore, everybody at the scene is scared to death. They are all listening to his instructions."

Qin Wen Long curses but after venting his anger, he calms down and starts to think. He's holding a cigarette between his fingers as he rubs his chin and says, "After the seven-member organization appeared, we've added twice as many officers to patrol the streets. This commercial area at the peninsula is one of the main areas under 24 hours of monitoring. It's impossible for them to find an opportunity to bury this many explosive. Unless……" he lifts his head and looks at Zhou Xiao Zhuan with a gloomier face, "The construction for the commercial area at the peninsula finished last month. Unless they had already planned for this day one to two months ago and snuck in to plant the explosives before the construction workers finished their work. F–k!"

Zhou Xiao Zhuan curses as well. But he remembers the inferences that Han Chen made a few days ago. He said that the seven-member organization must have a bigger plan hidden and that it would have been something that was decided a long time ago. This really seems to be the case!

They're facing powerful enemies and Qin Wen Long hasn't forgotten about his dependable subordinates. He raises his voice and roars toward the doorway, "Have we connected through to Han Chen yet?"

Zhou Xiao Zhuan feels his heart up his throat: they better not be in danger!

A low-rank officer comes in hurriedly with an awful look on his face and answers, "No! We have not been able to get through to him. Han Chen, Su Mian, Xu Si Bai, and Ding Jun. All four of their cell phones cannot be reached!"

Qin Wen Long and Zhou Xiao Zhuan are both lost with words.

Qin Wen Long inhales from the cigarette deeply and then tosses the cigarette butt into the ashtray. He grabs his jacket from the back of the chair and stands up, "Is the team ready?"

The criminal investigators say, "Yes! We are ready to go!"

"Let's go!" Qin Wen Long pats Zhou Xiao Zhuan on the shoulder and walks outside taking big steps. But Xiao Zhuan is full of worry. He's extremely anxious as he follows Qin Wen Long and the others with his head down. His phone rings suddenly.

He takes a look at the number and picks it up right away, "hello, hello! Where are you guys?"

The caller is Chatterbox. He and Cold Face had been sent to go to another city district to meet a witness who claimed to have seen A. But although the kind-hearted grandpa had seen A from the wanted list and even described many details of his appearance, he wasn't able to clearly say which direction A headed.

"It was rush hour. He was originally standing at the entrance to this district area for a long time. I was out for a walk, so I saw him clearly. But with a blink of an eye, he was gone," the grandpa said pitifully.

Chatterbox and Cold Face couldn't do much. Just after they ended the conversation, they saw the news about the people at the century hotel being held hostage. They tried calling Han Chen's cell phone but couldn't get through. Therefore, they called Xiao Zhuan. ƒ𝐫𝒆𝐞w𝗲𝚋𝗻૦𝘷e𝙡.c𝑜𝙢

The two of them hop back into their police car feeling extremely anxious. Chatterbox answers Xiao Zhuan, "We're still in the West city district. We'll go to the peninsula immediately!" Cold Face steps on the gas pedal. The police car zooms through the road.

At the same time, at the peninsula square.

"Boom!" another thunderous sound of the explosion is heard at the square like it's counting down to their deaths.

At a corner of the square, the music fountain explodes into pieces and is completely demolished. Although no one is hurt, everybody at the square is all lying down on the ground with their faces pale. No one dares to make a sound or dare to move.

And on the multiple LCD screens, the same A in every one of them shows his eyes carrying a smile.

After announcing that he is holding everyone hostage, the square has been chaotic. People have been running frantically everywhere and no one has been listening to him. This probably made him upset and lose his patience. Therefore, he pressed a button remotely in front of everyone.

You see? Isn't everybody all quiet now?

"Ah hem……" he clears his throat and walks around on the screen. He's standing in front of a black curtain; no one knows where he is or knows what he's up to.

Everybody raises their head in fright. Some stand up bravely to look at him on the screen.

He lets out a faint sigh suddenly. His voice even carries a sense of helplessness yet with a bit of mischievousness, "You guys need to be good. I won't kill you. I promise that we won't kill anybody. It's not our goal. We only have one goal."

People at the square exchange gazes.

His eyes behind the mask curve into a smile again, "We only want to invite you to watch a performance. The grandest performance. That's all."

Everybody is quiet; keeping silent from fright and nervousness. But they promise that they won't kill and have stated such an unimaginable request. Someone asks loudly and courageously, "What performance is it?"

"Yeah, what kind of performance is it?" many people add their input.

"Will you let us go after we finish watching it?"

……

The A on the screen smiles slightly and doesn't answer.

He then turns around and bows toward the curtains behind him. His actions are elegant like a gentleman while carrying a hint of freshness and liveliness of a young lad.

"Please let our actors come on stage."

He retreats out of the screen after saying this. And the curtains behind him open slowly. A brightly lit stage reveals in front of everybody's eyes.

"What? Watch a performance?"

Qin Wen Long is sitting in the central monitoring vehicle as he listens to a subordinate report back to him. His face turns pale and his expression is awkward as he learns that the seven-member organization is doing something unexpected again.

"Yes," the criminal investigator says full of surprise, "After holding everybody hostage, they have not proactively contacted us or announced publicly about their criteria for negotiation. They just want the people there to watch a performance. And they say that they won't kill anybody."

Everybody in the car falls into silence.

A long line of police cars zooms through the roads. Qin Wen Long's has a stern look on his face. He taps his finger on the car window as he worries inside his heart. Although these people are crazy, based on the previous incidents, Han Chen and Su Mian have reported that these maniacs have always spoken truthfully and like to obey the rules of the game. Could it be that their goal is really not to kill people? 𝐟r𝒆ℯ𝘄𝑒𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃e𝗹.c𝘰𝐦

He thinks deeply for a moment before speaking, "We still can't connect to Han Chen?"

Zhou Xiao Zhuan, who's beside him, has been calling the phone number repeatedly non-stop. Hearing him ask, Xiao Zhuan tightens his grip on the phone and responds as if he's about to cry, "I still can't reach him……"

At the same time, a criminal investigator on the side puts down his phone but his expression is even bleaker. He pauses for a second before looking directly at Qin Wen Long and saying, "Leader, it's not good! Our men have found witnesses who spotted Leader Han and his team at the Century Hotel. During the first explosion, the four of them were at the scene and were buried! Several of our men are trying to dig them out, but……it's too deep. The situation does not look good!"

Everybody in the car is in shock. Qin Wen Long squints his eyes. Zhou Xiao Zhuan is completely dumbstruck. His mouth is opened but no words are coming out.

"Dig! Dig with everything that you have! They must be saved!" Qin Wen Long roars, "F–k~ it was a trap! What kind of f–king s.hit is this He Ya Yao! He's scared of death so he goes to help the criminals to take advantage of the police!"

The inside of the vehicle is all quiet. The officer who is responsible for connecting with the others picks up the phone and repeats word for word shouting, "Dig! Dig with everything that you have! They must be saved! F–k!"

At this moment, a criminal investigator says out loud, "The performance has started!"

Just as he finishes announcing, everybody including Qin Wen Long all lowers their heads to watch the monitor.

Su Mian wakes up and the first thing she notices is the choking smell of smoke as well as the damp smell of soil belonging to the underground. Everywhere on her body hurts. She can feel the stinging from cuts all over her skin, but they're not so painful that they can't be tolerated.

She opens her eyes and sees darkness above her just like a large pit. She adjusts to the darkness after a while and sees clearly that she is lying in an area of dirt. There are many shattered pieces of wood and foam on top of her. And this place that she's in looks like an underground construction area that hasn't been fully completed. The ground is still all dirt and there are stacks of items standing against the walls. There is also a very dim light bulb hanging at the ceiling not far away; no wonder she can see.

She moves her arms and legs and realizes that she can move freely. She feels a bit of relief in her heart and pushes away the things that have fallen on top of her. She turns around and starts to search: Han Chen! Where is Han Chen? And where are Xu Si Bai and Ding Jun?

Behind her is just a pile of debris. Now that she looks at it again, it's dark and messy. She was probably buried in the outermost part. She can't seem to spot the others yet.

She feels anxious and starts digging the area. But she calms down after digging for a while: how long will it take her to dig everything out? She looks down and feels something small scraping across her chin lightly. She stares at it. It's the whistle hanging around her neck.

She immediately puts the whistle in her mouth and blows on it while removing the scraps at the same time.

This place is probably very deep below the ground. It's empty, damp, and cold. In the hazy light, there seems to be a long corridor behind her that leads to a more spacious area that's more well lit. She looks at it at a distance. Based on the shapes and shadows, it seems to be already constructed and is part of the underground commercial area that is to come in phase two.

The crisp sound of the whistle pierces through the damp air and the darkness. It echoes underground loudly and sharply; repeatedly, anxiously, and stubbornly.

And below the pile of wood and concrete, in a corner without light, who could be there and how many people will hear the whistle and open their eyes?

"Han Chen, Han Chen! Xu Si Bai! Ding Jun!" Su Mian calls out and blows on the whistle. She blows it louder and louder as she removes more and more scraps. She then seems to see a block of wood and sand move. She can feel delighted in her heart. And then she sees the shape of a body below a big piece of wood near her. He pushes the wooden board away and reaches out one arm. The familiar platinum ring is wearing on his slender fourth finger.

Su Mian rushes over immediately and holds his hand, "Han Chen!"

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