Chapter 4: The Gunshot at the Nightclub

  Lao Wei followed Da Dui Zhang to the duty room. Xiao Bin felt that something was fishy and also followed them in.

  "Play the recording." The captain said, and a police officer opened the phone recording.

  "Hello, is that the Narcotics Brigade?" It was that hoarse male voice again. Old Wei's spirit lifted and he listened attentively.

  "Hello, this is the Narcotics Brigade, what's your question?"

  "I heard that Dio nightclub is having a zombie-themed party tonight, you guys should go and participate, it'll be rewarding."

  The hoarse male voice made the operator confused, and before she could ask a question, the man said: "It's best to bring SWAT, bye!" Then came the sound of the phone hanging up.

  "It's him again!" said Xiao Bin.

  This hoarse male voice came on the phone for the first time, and something big happened at the border inspection station. He seemed to know something, but didn't say it clearly. His intuition told Lao Wei that something big would happen tonight at the nightclub he mentioned.

  "Captain, I think we should request SWAT support." Old Wei said.

  "Okay, I'll go coordinate it."

  Due to the vagueness of the intelligence, the anti-drug brigade could only make a search plan based on the situation. At around 1 am, when the nightclub was most crowded, they first sealed off the nightclub and then searched each private room individually. Meanwhile, the police outside would take people back for urine tests. Old Wei initially estimated that at least several hundred people would be taken away tonight. Such a large operation must be reported to the municipal bureau.

  The municipal bureau quickly approved the action plan, and in the afternoon, more than 200 police officers gathered at the anti-drug brigade waiting for orders. To prevent leaks, all police officers' mobile phones were confiscated, and they were not allowed to contact the outside world during the standby period. Except for a few leaders, no one knew what the operation was about.

  Xiao Bin and Lao Wei blended into the nightclub, trying to find some clues. At midnight, the nightclub's time had arrived, and several street dance boys wearing zombie masks jumped onto the stage to dance. The host yelled wildly as he spun records, amidst the deafening music, two models wearing bikinis and zombie masks walked onto the stage, grabbing handfuls of zombie masks and throwing them into the crowd in the mosh pit. The already restless crowd became even more excited, with many girls screaming and jumping high to grab the masks being thrown from above.

  "Old Wei, Old Wei... how's the situation?" The voice from the command center came through the earpiece, but Old Wei couldn't hear it clearly at all. He gave a wink to Xiao Bin, and the two of them walked into the bathroom, where several layers of walls barely blocked out the frantic music and screams from outside.

  "Nothing so far," Old Wey replied through the earpiece.

  "Is it possible to take action?"

  Lao Wei thought that if they acted at this time, those hot-headed and violent crowds would bring unpredictable consequences. He thought for a moment: "Let's delay it slightly until the dance hall is quieter."

  Lao Wei was on the phone, while Xiao Bin pretended to wash his hands at the sink. He glanced up and saw an unbelievable scene in the mirror - a girl wearing revealing clothes with a dazed expression pushed open the door of the men's restroom and walked right in. Xiao Bin poked Lao Wei, who turned around, but the girl didn't seem to notice Xiao Bin's shocked expression. She opened the door to a stall, relieved herself freely, then walked over to the sink. Xiao Bin looked at Lao Wei, who seemed completely unfazed. Xiao Bin took off his jacket and tried to put it on her, but Lao Wei stopped him. The girl's face was flushed, her eyes were distant, and she hugged Xiao Bin tightly, kissing him hard: "Handsome guy... awesome... let's have some fun together..."

  Xiao Bin was embarrassed and didn't know what to do, the girl turned her head and walked away by herself. Xiao Bin randomly wiped his face with his hand, trying to remove the lip print she had left behind, muttering: "What's going on here?"

  Lao Wei pulled him one: "Follow her."

  Two men pushed open the door and saw a girl with a slender figure but staggering footsteps walking towards the VIP lounge area in the deafeningly loud and dimly lit corridor, teasing several nightclub staff along the way. The staff, who had seen it all before, simply smiled and flirted back. The girl turned a few corners and entered the VIP lounge area. Old Wei and Xiao Bin were about to follow when two security guards blocked their way: "Sorry, gentlemen, this is a VIP lounge, only members with reservations can enter."

  Lao Wei, with his rich experience, pretended to be drunk: "Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I must have walked into the wrong room after drinking too much." He took Xiao Bin and backed out.

  Lao Wei had a faint feeling that there was definitely something wrong with the VIP lounge area. He glanced at his watch, gave Xiao Bin a signal with his eyes, and the two of them made their way through the chaotic crowd, walking out of the nightclub.

  Lao Wei walked to the opposite side of the nightclub and sat down at the edge of a flowerbed. Xiao Bin was already drenched in sweat, removing the earphones that had been stuck in his ears. Lao Wei didn't say a word, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one up, and handed another to Xiao Bin.

  Lao Wei doesn't usually smoke, but when he does, it's because he's thinking about a difficult problem. Xiao Bin also lit up a cigarette and stared intently at the large billboard in front of the nightclub that read "Zombie Night Crazy Party", as well as the people dressed up as zombies at the entrance.

  After finishing a cigarette, Xiao Bin thought he should say something: "Boss, what to do?"

  "What was your impression of the woman who just came in?" Old Wei suddenly asked.

  Xiao Bin was startled: "Head?"

  "Just say your first impression."

  "Hmm... when I saw it in the mirror, at first, I didn't dare believe it, I was shocked." Xiaobin recalled.

  "What's next?"

  "When I turned around, I suspected that we had gone to the wrong place, then looked at the sign on the squat toilet and confirmed that I hadn't made a mistake, it was her who had."

  "Have you ever thought she's very pretty?" Old Wei suddenly said.

  "Hmm, very beautiful, extremely beautiful." Xiao Bin thought about the girl's appearance earlier, her delicate face was like an angel, her curvaceous figure made any man have improper thoughts, if it wasn't for the environment at that time, when she kissed him, it would be hard to guarantee he could hold himself back...

  "Do you know what I'm thinking?" Old Wei asked again.

  "I don't know." Xiaobin honestly shook his head.

  "This is a very pretty girl, she should have doting parents, a promising career, and a tall, handsome boyfriend, hmm, just like you." Old Wei smiled.

  Xiao Bin also smiled awkwardly, and Lao Wei took out another cigarette and handed it to him, continuing: "A beautiful girl should be a beautiful landscape wherever she goes, but what I saw just now was ugly, and there are many things in the world that can't be described with language. So, after 22 years, I've been staying in the anti-drug brigade. I think beauty still needs someone to protect it."

  Xiao Bin looked thoughtful and asked: "Boss, if you could only choose one between wealth and beauty, which would you choose?"

  Lao Wei smiled: "I choose beauty, okay, I think it's starting to cool down inside too, we can move now."

  At the entrance of the nightclub, there were already a few people leaving in twos and threes, with the aftertaste making them either sober or intoxicated.

  "Lao Wei reporting, can act, request dispatch of special police to inspect VIP lounge area with me."

  "Headquarters understands, Lao Wei stays put, we set off now."

  Lao Wei put down the walkie-talkie and drew a pistol from his waist. Xiao Bin was startled: "Boss, is this necessary?"

  "It's always better to be prepared, but I've always thought there was something wrong with VIP rooms."

  Xiao Bin listened and also took out his gun to check it, the two of them sat quietly on the edge of the flower bed, looking at the nightclub across the street, the music from the two speakers at the entrance of the nightclub began to ease.

  When the police car surrounded the nightclub, most people reacted with surprise and cooperation. Lao Wei didn't care about the dance floor or the ordinary box area, and directly led the special police team to the VIP box area.

  "Sir... this is... VIP... You can't go in..." The two security guards didn't know what was happening outside, and when they saw Lao Wei and Xiao Bin walking over, they habitually stood up. But seeing the fully armed special police behind them, their words became incoherent.

  "Police inspection!" Xiao Bin flashed his ID and pulled out handcuffs: "Please cooperate."

  Another security guard saw the situation and ran back, shouting loudly: "Police are searching the house! Police are searching the house!", Xiao Bin reacted quickly, chased up a few steps, pounced on him, knocked him down, and handcuffed him.

  This was undoubtedly an alarm for the people in the private room, and the scene became chaotic. Several people, regardless of their disheveled appearance, rushed out into the corridor, trying to escape. The special police didn't give them a chance, and they were quickly subdued with handcuffs. The rest of the people, seeing that things were not going well, locked the private room door from the inside.

  The SWAT team's persuasion was ineffective, and they had to force their way in. The door-breaking expert entered the scene with a battering ram, smashing open the lock with a loud crash. The private room instantly descended into chaos, with women screaming and men attempting to flee, knocking over objects as they went.

  The door was broken, and Peng Sixi had nothing to do with it. He is now in the warning corridor. The special police continuously broke down several private room doors. Those drug addicts inside were almost powerless under the intimidation of the special police. However, when they were being escorted away, several people struggled and kicked, and the civil police could only drag them out. Some female drug addicts had to be led away by female civil police to avoid suspicion.

  Lao Wei looked at the dimly lit corridor, and at the far end, a private room door that had never been opened before was eerily silent. Lao Wei and Xiao Bin walked over, patted Peng Si Zhe's shoulder, and Peng Si Zhe followed them to the entrance of this private room.

  Lao Wei made a gesture and Peng Sizhe stopped, habitually sticking to the wall, raising his gun to be on guard. Xiao Bin saw this and also drew out his handgun to be on guard.

  Lao Wei's ear was pressed against the door, and he heard the sound of a chair falling over inside the room. He also faintly heard someone's voice: "Hurry up! Hurry up!"

  Lao Wei judged that they were destroying the drugs, and looked at Peng Si Zhe, who nodded to indicate he was ready. Lao Wei kicked the door open with a loud crash.

  The door lock of this room was specially reinforced, and Lao Wei's kick couldn't open it. The people inside were even more flustered. Just as Lao Wei was about to kick again, several small eyes suddenly appeared at the door. Lao Wei stumbled, and a bullet grazed his armpit, knocking him to the ground. The bullet penetrated the wooden door and hit the wall on the other side, causing a burst of smoke and dust. Xiao Bin instinctively ducked and dodged to the side. Peng Si Zhe reacted quickly, squatting down to grab Lao Wei's collar and pulling him behind the wall.

  Lao Wei touched his armpit and found a handful of blood. Xiao Bin was very nervous: "Boss, boss, how are you?"

  "I'm fine!" Old Wei got up by himself, and before he could even catch his breath, several more bullets pierced through the wall.

  "Fall back!" Peng Sizhe shouted, pushing with one hand, covering Old Wei and Xiao Bin as they retreated in a defensive posture to a safe location.

  That was the sound of AK's gunfire. When Cheng Te Li heard the gunshot and looked up, Peng Si Zhe was covering Old Wei and Xiao Bin as they retreated to the back. Gao Commander and Qin Xiao Yu heard the gunshot and immediately came forward with their guns to provide support.

  "Peng Sizhe, how are you?" Commander Gao called out.

  Peng Sizhe raised his hand to indicate that he was fine, the muzzle still maintaining a vigilant posture pointing at the door of the private room. Commander Gao moved forward to Peng Sizhe's back, gun raised and on high alert.

  The sudden gunshot silenced the addicts who were just frolicking and rolling around, and the dimly lit corridor suddenly became quiet to the point of being eerie. After a brief silence, the addict who was just struggling with the police seemed to have received an order, and he took off running towards the outside of the corridor, leaving the police with no choice but to chase after him, using all their might to drag him back.

  Xiao Bin supported Lao Wei and led the unrelated people to evacuate first, leaving this place to be handled by the special police team. When Lao Wei walked past Li's side, he said: "Speed up, they are destroying the drugs!"

  The thin refractory bricks used for insulation are not bulletproof, and the other side occasionally sweeps a few shots at the wall, making it impossible for the special police team to approach the door and break in. The special police team that has lost the initiative needs to think of another way.

  Cheng Te-li brought up the bulletproof shield, planning to use it to block the bullets on one side and force his way through the door, then use the stun grenade as cover to rush into the house.

  Time is pressing, there's no time to adjust personnel positions. Since Peng Sizhe is at the forefront, he will still serve as the first batter.

  The corridor was too narrow to accommodate too many people, three shield bearers stepped forward, holding the heavy shields with their shoulders, nodded at Peng Sizhe, and Peng Sizhe began to move his feet.

  Another burst of bullets pierced the wall, hitting the shield with a loud clang, splashing out a string of sparks. The shield bearer stumbled, and the powerful bullet impact almost made him lose his footing. But Peng Sizhe didn't have time to think about that now; he needed to rush to the door quickly and control the situation.

  The shield bearer stood firm, continuing to advance. The breacher at the back of the stack had his head down, holding the ram, just as he was about to raise it, another burst of gunfire erupted, forcing him to temporarily retreat behind the shield for cover. Bullets whizzed along the wall in a curved trajectory, everyone huddled behind the shields with their necks tucked in.

  The gunfire paused for a moment, Peng Sizhe judged that he should have fired all the bullets in his magazine, waved his hand to signal the breacher to take action immediately. The breacher left the protection of the shield and heavily swung the breaching hammer at the door lock, the door "thudded" open. Commander Gao pulled the safety ring on the stun grenade, took a step forward, and threw it in.

  A loud "boom" shook the air as the stun grenade exploded, Peng Sizhe was about to rush forward quickly, but didn't expect a bullet to block his path. Commander Gao panicked and hastily threw another stun grenade in.

  The power of two concussion grenades would have made an ordinary person bleed from the mouth and nose and collapse to the ground by now, but inside they were still shooting!

  The gunfire paused for a moment. Peng Sizhe felt that he could no longer wait, and with one swift step, he entered the door. Commander Gao saw this and also rushed in to cover his flank.

  "Police, hands up!" Peng Sizhe shouted, but the other side seemed to have gone deaf. Seeing the special police in black combat uniforms rushing in and pointing their guns at him, Peng Sizhe had no time to think. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit its target accurately, and the opponent fell backwards, his fingers twitching on the AK rifle, which fired "rat-a-tat-tat" and left a trail of bullet holes on the ceiling.

  The private room had only one person, Peng Sizhe's gaze shifted to the bathroom next to the private room. He walked over and High Commander was sandwiched between the bathroom door on the other side. The situation was urgent and the person inside the bathroom didn't have time to lock the door. Peng Sizhe stretched out his hand to push open the door, just as High Commander was about to move his feet. Two bullets shot out from the gap in the doorway, startling High Commander into taking a step back.

  "Police, come out and surrender!" Peng Sizhe roared, just as Commander Gao was pulling out the third concussion grenade from his bag. In this confined space, the grenade would be enough to completely disable their opponents.

  "Son of a bitch!" A curse came from the bathroom, followed by several gunshots "Bang! Bang! Bang!", Peng Sizhe glanced at Commander Gao, put his 95 rifle behind him, drew his pistol and prepared to charge. Commander Gao understood, pulled the pin on a stun grenade, Peng Sizhe pushed open the door, and Commander Gao threw the grenade inside through the gap.

  "With a loud crash, Peng Sizhe burst into the bathroom, but there was no one in the smoky room. Peng Sizhe looked up and saw that the window on the toilet was open. He climbed onto the toilet and looked out to see what was happening. 'What's going on?' asked Gao Shuai."

  "He's jumped!" Peng Sizhe jumped down from the toilet.

  "My god!" Colonel Gao was somewhat disappointed as the two men walked out of the restroom.

  The battle ended, and the brief fight of tens of seconds left Peng Si Zhe drenched in sweat. As he thought back to the scene where bullets were flying everywhere, he couldn't help but feel a little frightened. He plopped down onto the sofa in the private room, took off his helmet, and a burst of steam rose from his head. Peng Si Zhe looked down at the corpse he had just shot dead, which was lying on its back with a bullet hole precisely through its heart. The blood was still slowly seeping into the carpet, and Peng Si Zhe's eyes followed it as it spread across the floor, staining the high-end carpet a dark red color that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. His mind went completely blank.

  "Let's go, leave this place to others." Commander Gao saw Peng Sizhe in a daze and patted him.

  Peng Sizhe got up and withdrew from the scene. Lao Wei, upon learning that the situation was under control, didn't bother to bandage his wound, and with one hand covering it, hastily walked inside, shirtless. In the corridor, he saw Peng Sizhe and asked: "Are there any survivors?"

  Peng Sizhe shook his head and brushed past Old Wei. Old Wei went to the private room, took a look, and shook his head in disappointment.