Chapter 1 The First Strike

  It was already 1 o'clock in the middle of the night, and Peng Sizhe, who was on standby in the corridor, looked up at the dark corridor. The room where "the target" was located was brightly lit, with loud music coming from the speakers, and the sound of guessing fists and shouting orders pouring into his ears one after another.

  The order for the surprise attack still hadn't been given, Peng Sizhe looked at his comrade-in-arms Commander Gao across from him, Commander Gao smiled wryly at him, with a look of helplessness on his face.

  Gao Commander was originally named Gao Ling. It is said that when he was a child, he played war games and called himself commander, and this nickname has been with him until the special police team. In the special police team, he is Peng Sixian's best friend. Whether the special police can control the situation depends on whether they can occupy the most advantageous position in the instant when the door is broken open. Long-term training has made their cooperation tacit. This is the first real battle for Peng Sizhe and Gao Commander. No one expected that waiting before the actual battle would be so difficult!

  The high commander, who had been waiting for more than three hours, muttered in a low voice: "Where is the order?"

  Waiting for orders is to keep silent, especially under the eyelids of the "target". Although the noise in the room made it impossible for the "target" to hear Commander Gao's complaints, Peng Sizhe still raised his index finger to his lips, signaling Commander Gao to be quiet. Commander Gao shut up and looked up at the dark corridor again...

  At 2 am, the noise in the room stopped. The "targets" who had been playing all night seemed to need a rest. The command from HQ came through the earpiece: "Assault team, prepare!"

  The ambushing team began to tense up, although they had been trained for 6 months. When the actual combat that had been imagined countless times in their minds finally arrived, tension made some of the younger SWAT team members inevitably make small mistakes - The SWAT officer behind Peng Si Zhe heard the command and took a step forward, lightly bumping into Peng Si Zhe's back. It was only then that he reacted and returned to his original position.

  The next command was issued ten minutes later, and a calm voice came from the headphones: "Assault team, go!"

  Peng Sizhe raised his 05 submachine gun, pointing it at the stairwell, and stepped forward. The rest of the team followed in a standard stairwell search formation.

  The assault team quickly arrived at the room where the "target" was located, with Peng Sixhe and Gao Commander flanking the door, waiting for the next command.

  Peng Sizhe's throat was dry, and the tension made his hand holding the guitar tremble slightly. He grasped the guitar tightly a few times to stop his hand from shaking.

  What would his brother do if he were in this situation? Peng Sizhe thought of his brother.

  Adjust your breathing, calm down your heartbeat, relax your muscles, recall the layout of the house in your mind, remember your direction of advancement, quickly cross after entering the door, control the right corner of the house, don't block the shooting line and advancing line of teammates behind you, quickly turn around, force the opponent into the left rear corner, don't hesitate! Control the situation, what follows is a matter for the capture team...

  Peng Sizhe muttered the charging procedure, took a few deep breaths, and heard the observer's report in his earphones: "The assault team is in position!"

  "Headquarters' order was simple and concise: 'Start arresting!'"

  The breacher, who was behind the team, heard the command and moved forward to the door with his breaching tool. He glanced at Peng Sizhe and asked him if he was ready with a look in his eyes. Peng Sizhe nodded in confirmation. The breacher swung his tool and struck the lock with precision, then kicked the door open and stepped aside.

  The moment the door was kicked open, Peng Sizhe took a step forward and entered the room. The "targets" inside had just finished their ecstasy and were savoring the aftertaste of the drugs. Suddenly, there was a loud noise and the door burst open. A person wearing all-black combat gear rushed in. Before they could react, they heard Peng Sizhe's shout: "Police! Get down on your knees!"

  Peng Sizhe was stuck in the right corner of the house, under the muzzle of a black hole gun. The "targets" first reaction was to rush out the door, but the high commander and the rest of the special police blocked the entrance, compressing their activity space and quickly deploying their formation to occupy an absolute geographical advantage. Seeing that escaping through the door was hopeless, they retreated step by step, being pushed into the left rear corner position. A few who knew better immediately squatted down and covered their heads. One "target" didn't know if he had gotten too high earlier, actually picked up a wine bottle from the table and rushed towards Peng Sizhe.

  "Police! Get down!" The angry shout still didn't stop the drunken man, so Peng Si Zhe had no choice but to kick him with one foot. The special police combat boot left a big footprint on his chest, and the drunken man fell to the ground, still shouting that he wanted to pounce over. Fortunately, the special police in charge of capturing him reacted quickly, and two of them neatly pinned him down with their arms, handcuffed him behind his back, and subdued him instantly. None of the "targets" dared challenge the authority of the special police again, and they quietly allowed themselves to be taken away.

  "The targets have all been captured," the team leader reported over the intercom, and the hearts that had been hanging in the balance at headquarters finally put down. The director looked at the deputy director beside him: "I told you those young men were capable."

  The deputy director did not comment, this time the arrest operation involving underworld and guns was originally to be carried out by an experienced special police squad, Peng Sicheng's squad would provide peripheral cover, but the director insisted on letting young team members train, after all, the other side had firearms, if there were casualties, no one would be able to explain it, however, now that the task is complete, the deputy director also cannot say anything.

  The SWAT team put hoods on the "targets" and escorted them downstairs, where detectives from the criminal investigation squad began to arrive. A young detective gave a thumbs up to the SWAT officer.

  After handing over the "target", the special police team's mission was thoroughly completed, but other departments still had to work overnight to collect evidence. Peng Si Zhe leaned against the special police transport vehicle, took off his helmet, and let his head breathe. It wasn't until then that he discovered his hair was already drenched in sweat.

  A female police officer handed Peng Sizhe a bottle of mineral water and gave him a sweet smile. Peng Sizhe took the mineral water, unscrewed the cap and gulped down half of it - this was his first drink in over 5 hours, stuck in his bulletproof vest and tactical backpack.

  "Hey! Where's mine?" After holding it in for several hours, Captain Gao rushed downstairs to relieve himself as soon as he could. He felt relieved, but his throat was still smoking. Captain Gao grabbed his helmet and ran over to find some water to drink. The female officer looked at the empty box: "There isn't any!"

  "Ah...... how come there's none left? Police Flower sister, what kind of logistics are you running here? A whole squadron of 10 people and yet somehow there isn't one for me?" Commander Gao grumbled discontentedly.

  The female police officer in charge of logistics was very resentful: "In the middle of the night, and in this desolate wilderness, where do you want me to go to find...?"

  "Alright, drink mine." Peng Sizhe didn't think that this would turn into a departmental dispute. This temporary task had been pending for so long, and it was already good enough that the logistics team could get water. He handed the mineral water to Gao Siling.

  "Isn't it poisonous?" Commander Gao said with a smile as he took the water.

  "You're just a plague! Don't drink if you can't handle it!" Peng Sizhe retorted gruffly.

  "Hey, do you think we'll have a midnight snack tonight?" Commander Gao tilted his head back and downed half a bottle of mineral water, then wiped his mouth and asked: "Our first mission was so successful, shouldn't we celebrate a bit?"

  "There is, I'll give you a second-class merit." Peng Sizhe said with a glance at him.

  "Really?"

  "Get on the bus, you're the only one who talks nonsense!" Unbeknownst to him, Deputy Commander Cheng Telie was standing behind General Gao, and it wasn't until he slapped him on the back of the head that General Gao woke up from his daydream.

  SWAT team transport vehicle speeding down the empty streets, the SWAT team members inside had just completed a mission, their excitement still hadn't dissipated, discussing every detail of the operation, the atmosphere in the vehicle was no longer dull as before, but instead became more relaxed.

  "Hey, Peng Sizhe, when is your brother going to be discharged?" Squadron leader Cheng Teli suddenly changed the subject and asked.

  "Last time I heard him say, with this batch of discharged soldiers returning, there's still about half a year left."

  "Has your job been settled? If not, let your brother join the Special Police Team."

  "I also want to know, but what is he doing in the special police?"

  "Mind your own business, as long as you don't take this chair of mine."

  "It's true, last time the team leader had a CQB with your brother, he was beaten to a pulp as soon as they faced each other... Haha..." A SWAT member joked at the right moment, taking advantage of the team leader's good mood.

  This hit the pain point of Cheng Te Li, last time Peng Si Zhe's brother Peng Si Cheng came back to visit his relatives, heard that Peng Si Cheng was a special forces, and invited him to play a few rounds on the training ground, claiming to be the first of the special police team, he lost, but this further ignited Cheng Te Li's desire for victory, always thinking about finding an opportunity to communicate with Peng Si Cheng again.

  "You're the sieve! Your whole family is a sieve..." Being at least a deputy commander, even if it's a small official position, these dozen or so special police officers are under his command. Having been teased, he felt somewhat uncomfortable in his heart, and Commander Li's voice also grew louder.

  "What's going on, the squad leader is a sieve and we're all meat sauce... haha... Old Dry Mama Meat Sauce..." Seeing the squad leader get angry, that outspoken special police officer quickly found an excuse for him.

  "Right, right, special forces and SWAT are two different things. Capturing is much harder than killing, isn't it, Captain Zheng?" Another SWAT officer quickly tried to calm down Cheng Li.

  "This is a bit more like it..." Chen Teli felt slightly relieved, and as he spoke, the car had already arrived at the special police team's entrance. After supervising everyone to hand over their guns and equipment, they simply ate something in the cafeteria. Chen Teli returned to his dormitory, feeling wide awake, picked up a copy of "Special Police Tactics Manual" from his bedside and started reading it.

  The next day, the special police followed their usual routine of getting up at 5:30, then running five kilometers, followed by theoretical study. The tactical training scheduled for the afternoon was replaced by a summary meeting. The deputy commander gave high praise to the third squad's first real combat mission, but...

  "Comrades, I've emphasized time and again that a perfect special police operation is one where no harm is done, to either the target or ourselves. Last night's operation had an object who was kicked in the ribs, fracturing three of them, and is now lying in the hospital... This has hindered the next step of work for our criminal investigation comrades... Liu Dajin, indeed a veteran of political work, always praises with just a few words, but can talk about shortcomings for half an hour..."

  Last night's operation, the "target" was a core member of a criminal gang involved in underworld and violent crimes. In the subsequent raid, two steel ball guns, one imitation 64 pistol, more than ten bullets, and several grams of leftover drugs were found in the room. Next, the criminal investigation team will issue warrants for the arrest of the remaining members of the gang. This case has been followed by the criminal investigation team for several months and is now basically concluded. Liu Dajin was talking incessantly on stage, while Peng Siche's mind kept replaying the shadow of the target yelling and pouncing forward. In the narrow space, he could only kick him away to create space. At that time, this was the best way to deal with it.

  "Peng Sizhe, Peng Sizhe! Are you daydreaming again?" Liu Dajin called out Peng Sizhe's name, and it was only then that Peng Sizhe came to his senses, stood up and shouted: "Present!"

  "What were you thinking yesterday? How did Foshan Wuyingjiao become so fast?"

  "Report! Yesterday I didn't think much of it, but when I saw him coming over with a wine bottle, my subconscious kicked in. Didn't you always teach us that protecting ourselves is the best way to fight against criminals?" Peng Sizhe reacted quickly and kicked the ball back...

  "Uh......I did say that, but......what's so funny? Peng Sizhe, sit down......" Seeing the special police officers below trying to hold back their laughter, Liu Dajin's words suddenly flew away.

  "Alright, alright, everyone worked hard last night. Let's end today's meeting here. The Third Squad is commended once and gets a half-day off. Others who are on duty should remain on duty, and those who are on standby should remain on standby. Dismissed!" Commissar De Shu stepped out to mediate, indeed an old commissar, he got straight to the point as soon as he spoke.

  The so-called half-day holiday, in fact, is less than 5 hours left. The special police officers who have a holiday rush out of the conference room, and Lao Zhengwei still reminds: "Wear casual clothes when going out."

  "Got it!" Commander Gao hastened his pace and rushed back to the dormitory, hastily putting on a casual outfit, and instantly disappeared without a trace at the entrance of the Special Police Unit.

  "This kid, his legs are so fast!" Liu Dajin, De Shu and Cheng Te Li were walking and discussing the gains and losses of yesterday's task, when they saw Commander Gao disappear with a devilish pace, De Shu thought it was funny and said this.

  "He is a quick and agile player with fast breaks and sharp movements," said Cheng Te Li.

  Some fake special police officers changed into casual clothes, preparing to go out in twos and threes to take a stroll. Qin Xiaoyu saw that Peng Siche hadn't changed yet and asked: "Why don't you want to go out?"

  "Haven't thought of where to go yet." This holiday came a bit too suddenly, and Peng Sizhe really hadn't thought it through.

  "Want to go sing a few songs?" Qin Xiaoyu, who loved singing, would always want to sing a few tunes whenever he went out, but his voice was really not that great.

  "No, I'd better head back home." Peng Siche declined Qin Xiaoyu's kind offer and also saved his ears from a scolding.

  When the bus arrived at an elementary school, Peng Sizhe changed his mind and decided to get off here to see his brother's girlfriend Luo Jingqiu. Peng Sizhe stood in front of the "No Entry for Outsiders" sign at the entrance of the elementary school, took out his mobile phone and called Luo Jingqiu. It happened that Luo Jingqiu didn't have classes, but she couldn't go out during work hours either. She rushed to the gate and met Peng Sizhe briefly, making an appointment to have dinner together after school was over.

  Peng Sizhe glanced at his watch, still an hour before the elementary school let out. He found a coffee shop across from the school and ordered a cup of coffee, passing the time by gazing out the window at the school entrance.

  School is over, and the parents' cars are blocking the elementary school entrance, making it impossible to pass through. The teachers didn't breathe a sigh of relief until they had safely handed the children over to their parents. As the vehicles slowly dispersed, Luo Jingju made a phone call to confirm where Peng Sizhe was. Peng Sizhe simply said on the phone: "The usual place."

  "How are you still waiting here? Won't you go for a walk around?" Luo Jingjuan entered the cafe and saw Peng Siche still sitting at that table, asking.

  "Today I ran five kilometers and don't want to move anymore. Would you like a cup of coffee?" Peng Si Zhe asked.

  The coffee and food in this cafe are really mediocre, but it has been open for so many years. Luo Jingyu rarely comes here to drink coffee or eat, but it's right across from the elementary school gate, where she can clearly see Luo Jingyu walking out of the school gate. Maybe it's a professional habit, people in this line of work are used to keeping their "targets" within sight.

  "I'll take you out for a delicious meal! There's a new roasted pork trotter shop that just opened." Food can be exciting, especially good food.

  Peng Sizhe left the cup of almost untouched coffee and walked with Luo Jingqian on the street. During rush hour, many electric vehicles drove onto the sidewalk to save time, squeezing pedestrians' space. Peng Sizhe let Luo Jingqian walk on the right side, dodging reckless electric vehicles from time to time.

  "You and your brother are just the same, every time you make me walk on the right side, sometimes I end up walking into a flower bed." Luo Jingjuan said with a half-joking tone.

  Peng Sizhe smiled somewhat awkwardly, the congestion was getting more and more serious, and the electric vehicle riders who were in a hurry to return home were becoming increasingly impatient, squeezing and squeezing, Luo Jingju almost stuck to the edge of the flower bed.

  After parting ways, Luo Jingjian familiarly walked into a small alley, Peng Siche had always admired this aspect of Luo Jingjian - no matter which corner of the city had delicious food, Luo Jingjian could always find it in the first instance. The roasted pig's trotters were sizzling on the stove, emitting a fragrant aroma that wafted through the air. Taking advantage of the fact that the pig's trotters weren't yet fully cooked, Luo Jingjian suddenly asked: "Siche, when is your older brother coming back?"

  "There's still half a year left."

  "When is the annual discharge?"

  "Year-end."

  Lu Jingjuan counted her fingers and a happy expression appeared on her face: "You say, what's good for your brother to come back?"

  "Our team leader said that if possible, let him join the special police force too."

  "Alright then, from now on you two brothers will work together to eliminate evil and bring peace!" The roasted pig's trotters were brought up, Luo Jingjian shifted her attention, put on gloves and grabbed a trotter to devour it with relish.

  "Si Zhe, you should find a girlfriend too." Luo Jingjuan suddenly said after finishing her pig's trotters, and Peng Sizhe, who was concentrating on fighting with the pig's trotters, almost choked.

  "You said you like what kind of? Do you still remember Zhang teacher from our school? The family environment is not bad either, they seem to be interested in you." Every woman has a talent for matchmaking, Luo Jingjuan didn't notice Peng Siche's embarrassment and continued: "You're now stable at work, it's time to consider it."

  "This... I... will wait a bit longer." Peng Sizhe said evasively.

  "What exactly do you like?" Luo Jingjuan asked very seriously.

  "Just like you." Peng Sizhe said with a half-joking tone.

  "Don't joke around, I'm being serious with you."

  "This... I really haven't thought about this... Besides, I've only been in the special police force for less than a year... Is it suitable to talk about romance now..."

  "Are special police forces still in charge of your lifelong affairs? Teacher Zhang is really great, you should consider it, they admire you."

  "I'm not full yet, let's have some more." Peng Sizhe hastily changed the subject.

  After dinner, send Luo Jingqiu back home, the time is not early, Peng Sizhe sees Luo Jingqiu's room light up, looks at his watch, and takes a bus to estimate that he can't catch up. He hails a taxi and rushes to the Special Police Team.

  To avoid suspicion, the special police usually wouldn't stop at the entrance of the special police team. When they were still 200 meters away from the team, Peng Sizhe asked the driver to stop, paid him, and then jogged back to the team, arriving just in time for 7:30.

  The rest of the SWAT team had already returned to their posts, but Qin Xiaoyu, who had been singing all afternoon, was still not satisfied. In front of the dormitory, he sang loudly: "In the midst of prosperity, I retreat into an empty room and escape from worldly troubles..." This brought dissatisfaction from the four-legged comrades in the neighboring SWAT police dog squad, who responded to his song with a chorus of "Woof woof woof". Before long, Qin Xiaoyu changed to another love song and had a heartfelt duet with the police dogs.

  Peng Sizhe's special police brigade has several large teams, but not every special police officer needs to rush into rooms and capture like him. For example, the police dog team next door, the explosive disposal team, the security team, etc. Peng Sizhe belongs to the third team under the rapid response team, which has only four teams in total. Each team has about a dozen people, usually one team is on standby, two teams are training, and one team is resting. However, personnel who are resting need to ask for leave before going out.

  The semi-militarized management of the special police team makes life here a bit monotonous. The special police are almost always training, studying and exercising within the team, and their eyes are always on the team's compound. Although it's not as strict as the military, Qin Xiaoyu's singing with the police dog doesn't count as a violation of discipline, so no one stops him. After a while, Qin Xiaoyu will naturally stop after teasing the police dog.