Chapter 160

The female police officer shook her head and said, “I can’t believe you just because of your word alone.” Xie Wendong loosened the ropes binding her and said sincerely, “I’m not making things up. There are Ma Feng’s three men outside the window right now. I ran here because they were chasing me. If you catch them, you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”
The officer glanced at Xie Wendong suspiciously, walked to the window, and looked down. Sure enough, there were three faint figures walking back and forth downstairs, acting suspiciously. The officer reached out and said, “Give me my gun back!” Xie Wendong asked, “What are you going to do?”
The officer replied, “Of course, I’m going down to catch those guys and get answers from them.” Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “You underestimate them too much. With your skills, you can’t even beat me, let alone deal with those three.” He paused and added exaggeratingly, “They’re all top-notch killers, desperate criminals. With my skills, I’m afraid I can’t even take on one of them!” The officer was shocked. She had just tested her skills against Xie Wendong and always thought she was quite good, but compared to this young man in his twenties, there was a significant gap. And he couldn’t even beat one of those three—it was unbelievable. Seeing the officer silent, Xie Wendong said, “If you go out like this, it’s tantamount to seeking death. Why don’t you call the police and ask for your colleagues’ help?”
Those words reminded the officer. She slapped her forehead and said, “Right!” Then she went into the house to call the police station. Xie Wendong smiled narrowly and added, “Please send more people from the police station. Those guys are extremely dangerous. If too few people go, they won’t only fail to catch them but might also suffer casualties themselves.” As she dialed the phone, the officer glanced at him and said, “I don’t need you to teach me!” Xie Wendong laughed and said, “Women are really vindictive creatures.” With that, he walked to the balcony, looked at the flower arrangement on it, and asked, “How long will it take for your colleagues to get here?” The officer replied irritably, “About fifteen minutes. What does that have to do with you!?”
“I’m just worried they’ll run away!” Xie Wendong muttered to himself. “Fifteen minutes should be enough to hold them off.” With that, he raised the flower arrangement and smashed it onto the head of one of the big men downstairs.

“Bang!” The burly man reacted quickly. Hearing a rustling sound above, he instinctively stepped aside, causing the flower arrangement to shatter on the ground. Xie Wendong on the balcony hurriedly stepped back, muttering under his breath that it was a shame. The burly man’s face twisted in anger as he looked up—there was no sign of the man anywhere. He signaled the other two and pointed toward the entrance of the building where the female police officer lived. “He must be in this building. Should we search for him or retreat?” One of the burly men with thick eyebrows said, “The boss has issued an order to capture him—no matter where he goes, we’ll get him!” With that, he led the way toward the building’s entrance. The other burly man said worriedly, “We’ve wasted too much time.” The man with thick eyebrows replied, “How can we face the boss if we go back like this?”

Xie Wendong poked his head out and looked down. Seeing several burly men about to enter, he smiled and said, “Great, I was afraid you’d run away!” He indeed feared those three might leave, so he planned to use the police to capture or eliminate them, causing Ma Feng to lose a few of his capable assistants. Xie Wendong understood well the principle of balancing gains and losses.

After hanging up the phone, the female police officer heard the sound of the flower arrangement breaking and saw Xie Wendong on the balcony. She asked, “What are you doing?”

Xie Wendong turned and frowned. “Something’s wrong. The killers have entered the building.” “What?” The female police officer was shocked. She quickly went to the balcony and looked down. Sure enough, the three men had already opened the door and were entering one after another. Worried, she asked, “What should we do?”

Xie Wendong thought for a moment. “There’s no good solution. We can only wait for reinforcements. I think the killers will search house by house, and it will take some time for them to find your place.” In fact, the burly men were much smarter and more experienced than Xie Wendong had thought. Based on the extent of the broken flower arrangement, they deduced that Xie Wendong must be on the third to fifth floor. The first door they knocked on after entering the building was the room where the female police officer and Xie Wendong were.

“Knock! Knock!” Hearing the knocking, the female police officer and Xie Wendong exchanged a glance. She glared at him coldly and said, “Weren’t you saying it would take some time for the killers to find my place?”

“Yes!” Xie Wendong sighed. “It seems I underestimated them!”

The female police officer rolled her eyes and asked, “So what do we do now? Open the door and fight them?”

Xie Wendong said, “But I still want to live a few more years; after all, I’m still young.” The female police officer snapped, “I’m not that old either! It’s all because of you, this troublemaker, that we’ve got so many problems.” Xie Wendong helplessly said, “You’re the only one who came home this late. If there were others, I wouldn’t have chosen you. I think you’d better go open the door and try to send them away. If that doesn’t work, think of another plan.” The female officer asked, “What other plan?” Xie Wendong replied, “I don’t know.”

The three burly men knocked on the door for a long time with no response. They exchanged glances, and the one with thick brows pulled out a gun, ready to break the lock, when a woman’s voice came from inside, “Who is it? What do you want at this late hour?” The man with thick brows hid the gun behind his back and said calmly, “We’re police. We found a fugitive hiding in this building, so we’re conducting a routine check.” The woman yawned and said, “I’m sorry, but there’s no fugitive in my house. I’m going to bed now.”

The man with thick brows said, “Miss, please open the door. This is just a routine procedure. Otherwise, we’ll accuse you of obstructing justice.”

The woman’s voice paused for a moment, then the door was opened slightly. A young woman in translucent pajamas glanced up and down at the three men before saying, “You’re police? Which station? I’ve never seen you before. By the way, I’m also a police officer.” She handed her badge through the crack in the door. The three men were clearly stunned—unexpecting that impostors would end up at a police officer’s home. The man with thick brows reacted quickly and said, “We’re from the provincial department. It’s normal not to have seen us before with so many people around.”

“Oh!” the woman said, still groggy, “Then do you still need to search my house?”

Another man with a moustache hurriedly said, “Since we’re all on the same side, there’s no need to search. Sorry, comrade, for disturbing your rest.” He glanced at the woman’s pajamas, raised his eyebrows, gave the other two a look, and headed upstairs. Halfway up, the man with a moustache stopped, turned back to look at the door that had just been closed tightly, and whispered, “If a police officer knew a fugitive was hiding in the building where she lives, would she be so indifferent as not even to ask the man’s name?”

The other two were also stunned. The tall man who had almost been killed by Xie Wendong’s flower pot shook his head and said, “No!”

The man with thick brows asked, “What do you mean…?” The man with a moustache sneered and said, “Go back! Go inside her house and check.” The man with thick brows frowned and asked, “What if there’s nothing?” The man with a moustache laughed lewdly and asked him, “Have you ever been with a female police officer before?”

Police officer Qiu Ningshui, having tricked the killers, quickly closed the door and let out a long sigh of relief. Xie Wendong, who had been hiding in the inner room, quietly stepped out. He had heard everything clearly and gave the police officer a thumbs up, saying softly, “Good!” Qiu Ningshui smiled proudly and snapped, “Did you really need to say that? But now I’m sure those three aren’t good people at all.”
“Oh?” Xie Wendong raised his eyebrows. “So you never believed me before. Why do you believe me now?”
Qiu Ningshui replied, “Look at their eyes! Their gazes are deep and cold, filled with murderous intent. And… they also seem lecherous, different from you.”
Xie Wendong glanced at the police officer’s transparent nightgown and shook his head with a sigh. “I’m just not very interested in women much older than me.” “You…” Qiu Ningshui’s eyebrows shot up as she was about to explode, but then the door behind them made noise. She looked at Xie Wendong doubtfully, wondering why they had come back. He was equally puzzled. He rolled his eyes and said softly, “Either they’ve noticed something suspicious or they want to kill you to silence you.” Qiu Ningshui asked suspiciously, “Why would they want to kill me to silence me?”
Xie Wendong replied, “Don’t forget they’re fugitives. They’re afraid you might remember something later, which would prove they’re hiding in Yunnan—something very unfavorable for them in the future.”
Qiu Ningshui’s heart trembled as she asked, “So what should we do now? Open the door or not?” “I don’t know,” Xie Wendong said, walking toward the inner room. “You figure it out!”
“Damn you!” Qiu Ningshui gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath. Then she turned around, took a deep breath, and said, “Why have you come back again? Can’t you leave me alone to rest?”
Outside, the man with a moustache laughed and said, “I’m so sorry, my colleague is in a hurry to use the bathroom, and there’s no toilet around here. Comrade, could we use yours?”
Qiu Ningshui replied irritably, “No. What are three grown men doing in my house in the middle of the night?”

The burly man pleaded, “We’re all colleagues, and we’ll leave right after this is done—we definitely won’t disturb you.” Qiu Ningshui replied coldly, “If I say no, it’s no. Sorry, I’m going to bed.” The man with a mustache snorted, “If you want to sleep, accompany me first!” With that, he pulled out the gun hidden behind his back and fired three shots at the door lock. Thanks to the silencer on the gun, the noise wasn’t loud, so it didn’t panic the other residents. Qiu Ningshui didn’t expect them to shoot suddenly; she screamed and rushed toward the inner room where Xie Wendong was. Xie Wendong now understood why they had returned. He had originally planned to make the female police officer put on pajamas just for show, but instead it led to trouble. Seeing Qiu Ningshui’s panicked state, he sighed—after all, a woman was still a woman, even if she was a police officer. Xie Wendong said, “It seems we have no choice but to fight. I hope your colleagues can arrive soon. Otherwise, they’ll just have to collect my body.” He glanced at Qiu Ningshui’s sexy appearance and shook his head, “As for you, you might not be in as much danger.”

“Can’t you say something nice?” Qiu Ningshui asked while picking up a gun. Three burly men entered the room with guns. The tall one pointed at the inner room, and the other two nodded before heading over. Just as they were about to open the door, gunshots rang out suddenly. The two burly men rolled to the sides and leaned against the walls; four or five holes appeared in the door. After five seconds, the three men fired their guns at the door of the inner room simultaneously. *Bang, bang, bang!* After a series of soft sounds, the wooden door was covered in bullet holes. Xie Wendong and Qiu Ningshui lay on the floor, unable to even lift their heads. Qiu Ningshui couldn’t help but say, “If this continues, we’ll both die.”

Xie Wendong thought quickly and said to the female police officer, “Jump out through the window. You’re a police officer—three floors shouldn’t be a problem for you!”

Qiu Ningshui asked, “What about you?” Xie Wendong replied, “They’re looking for me. I brought the trouble, so there’s no need to drag you in. I’ll hold them off here while you jump down and contact the police arriving here. Hopefully, they’ll get here before I die.” Qiu Ningshui gave Xie Wendong a deep look and calmly said, “I’m a police officer. I won’t run away, and I certainly won’t leave you behind!” With that, she fired several more shots outside. Xie Wendong sighed, “You’re a good police officer!” Qiu Ningshui smiled, “You’re not the first to say that to me.” Xie Wendong said, “I hope I’m not the last either.” They repeated those familiar lines, smiled at each other, and put the danger ahead aside.

“Bang!” Although he was talking, Xie Wendong’s attention was fixed on the door. Seeing figures moving through the crack, he immediately pulled the trigger. At the same time, a muffled groan came from outside, as if someone had been shot. The burly man in the room clutched his arm and retreated behind the wall, gritting his teeth as sweatdrops rolled down his forehead.

Separated by a damaged wooden door, neither side could move forward, resulting in a stalemate.

Just then, police lights flashed outside, casting intermittent light in the room. Xie Wendong felt relieved and said to the female police officer, “The police are here. Let’s jump out; we don’t have to worry about them escaping this time.” Qiu Ningshui nodded in agreement, opened the window, and looked down. There were over a dozen police cars outside, with no fewer than forty officers present. Hearing movement outside, Xie Wendong fired several more shots and urged, “Go first! Jump down quickly—I don’t have many bullets left!” Without hesitation, Qiu Ningshui grabbed the window frame and leaped out. After she left, Xie Wendong laughed heartily and shouted, “If you want my life, come after me!”

Hearing something amiss, the three men outside carefully opened the door. They saw Xie Wendong standing on the windowsill, smiling scornfully. Just as they were about to shoot him, Xie Wendong, with a triumphant smile, jumped out of the window. In panic, the three men rushed out at once, but only the burly man was injured. He stumbled slightly and failed to jump out with the other two. As he reached the windowsill, a shadow flashed before his eyes, followed by a heavy blow to his face.