Chapter 85: High-End Goods
Watching Xiao Liu slowly disappear down the street in the distance, my anger flared up instantly. I immediately replied to Zhang Huanan: "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Don't contact me proactively."
What I didn't expect was that Zhang Huanan on the other end of the phone showed no reaction after receiving the text message.
I had no choice but to pull out the pack of cigarettes I'd hidden earlier from my pocket and light another one.
Time ticked by, and my mood grew increasingly restless. Staking out a person who would never show up was nothing but a waste of my time.
Just as the cigarette in my hand was nearly finished, I suddenly heard the car door open. I thought it was Xiao Liu returning, but the person sat directly in the back seat.
"Officer Li, long time no see."
A voice I hadn't heard in ages rang out from behind me, sending a shiver down my spine.
Zhang Huanan.
"Are you fucking insane? Do you know what car this is?"
Zhang Huanan took the cigarette butt from my hand and took a deep drag.
"What car? It doesn't have police car markings, anyway."
I could see his nonchalant expression in the rearview mirror, and it made me even angrier. "Aren't you afraid I'll drive you straight to the police station right now?"
"Oh? Old Li, we're in the same boat, aren't we?" Zhang Huanan sneered as he looked at me. "Seven years ago, when you arrested me, I gave you a hundred thousand yuan to treat Xuanxuan. You should show some gratitude."
"Your favor—I fucking repaid it long ago." I clenched my teeth, my heart filled with anguish. I should never have gotten tangled up with this scumbag in the first place. "I told you to keep a low profile, but you kept getting involved in cases... I should just take you to the police station myself."
"Is that how you talk to the man who saved Xuanxuan's life?" Zhang Huanan flicked the finished cigarette butt out the window. "Xuanxuan is in elementary school now, right? I remember... Class 6, Grade 4?"
"You—" Hearing Xuanxuan's name come out of this scumbag's mouth, I was instantly furious. "If you dare touch Xuanxuan, I'll kill you and chop you into a thousand pieces."
"It works both ways." Zhang Huanan smiled. "Help me escape the pursuit, and I won't touch her."
Deep down, I knew that once I got on this pirate ship, I could never get off.
Seven years ago, when I was arresting Zhang Huanan with my own hands, he suddenly offered me a hundred thousand yuan to buy his own freedom.
Though I had always loathed evil, my daughter Xuanxuan had a very rare disease. The doctor called it Crigler-Najjar syndrome. He told me how rare this disease was and explained many ways to treat it, but I didn't understand a single word.
All I knew was that Xuanxuan needed a liver transplant, and I needed money.
Zhang Huanan's hundred thousand yuan had indeed saved Xuanxuan's life.
But from that day on, I became entangled with this scumbag.
If I didn't help him escape the police's pursuit time and time again, he would threaten to expose what happened back then.
Zhang Huanan didn't actually have "extremely strong counter-surveillance awareness"—he just had my help.
I couldn't let anything happen to Xuanxuan. She was the child of my fallen comrade, had called me 'Dad' for ten years, and she was naturally my daughter.
"Zhang Huanan, I have my limits." I looked at the scumbag in the rearview mirror and spoke. "If you don't want to get caught, you'd better behave yourself these years. Otherwise, I'll make you regret it."
"Fuck..." Zhang Huanan's expression suddenly turned cold as he cursed viciously. "Li Shangwu, are you trying to negotiate with me? If I get caught, the brothers on the street won't let Xuanxuan off."
Hearing this, my heart clenched painfully.
"What do you mean?"
"It means you'd better be my obedient dog and not have any crooked ideas," Zhang Huanan said, kicking the front seat. "Otherwise, I'll not only ruin your reputation but also destroy your family."
I looked at him in the rearview mirror, a thought flashing through my mind.
If Zhang Huanan were caught, things would get very troublesome. My own reputation being ruined didn't matter—I made the mistake and deserved to face the consequences.
But what about Xuanxuan?
So Zhang Huanan couldn't be caught.
He had to die.
I was sick of helping a fraudster evade capture every day, and sick of living in fear with a guilty conscience.
Now that Xuanxuan's illness was cured, it was time for me to pay my debt.
If Zhang Huanan kept living, only more people would suffer at his hands.
If I could start over, I would have sent him to prison back then, instead of carrying this burden of guilt for so many years.
But I didn't know... if I had done that, would Xuanxuan have forgiven me?
"Zhang Huanan, have you eaten?" I asked in a flat tone.
"Eaten?" He was slightly taken aback, as if he didn't understand what I meant.
"You've been on the run for days. Let me take you for a good meal. Forget what I just said—don't take it to heart."
"Now that sounds more like something a human would say." Zhang Huanan leaned back in the rear seat and stretched lazily. "You guys have been staking me out for three days straight, and I've been fucking eating nothing but plain noodles every day."
I nodded, started the car, shifted gears, and began driving.
Now I needed to find a secluded place where Zhang Huanan's body wouldn't be discovered for at least a few days. Even though I was bound to get caught, I needed to settle Xuanxuan's affairs first.
As I drove slowly, I unlatched the safety on my pistol from my waist.
Zhang Huanan was dozing in the back seat with his eyes half-closed.
Seeing this, I slowly pulled the car into a nearby alley.
But before the car had even come to a full stop, Zhang Huanan in the back suddenly struck. He reached forward and looped a stiff wire around my neck.
I instantly knew something was wrong—this bastard was trying to kill me too.
"Zhang Huanan... you're asking for death..." I gritted my teeth, pulling at the wire around my neck, trying to turn around, but my legs were stuck against the steering wheel.
"You sure are calculating, Officer Li..." Zhang Huanan said as he tightened his grip. "You were supposed to be staking me out with a partner, right? Yet you drove off alone to take me to dinner... Isn't that too suspicious? Won't your partner contact the team when he finds you missing?"
Within just ten seconds, my vision started going dark.
Zhang Huanan was really trying to kill me. I knew that if I died, Xuanxuan's situation would become extremely dangerous.
With that thought, I immediately pulled out the pistol at my waist and fired three shots backward without even knowing if I'd hit anything.
Inside the enclosed cabin, the deafening gunshots made my ears ring.
"I fucking gave you money, and you want to kill me?!" Zhang Huanan roared, tightening his grip even harder.
The pressure was too strong. I felt like my blood vessels were about to burst.
In that critical moment, I pressed the button on the seat. If I could recline the seat, maybe there was still a chance to escape.
But I forgot.
This high-end car would recline the seat at the most comfortable, slowest pace imaginable.
Perhaps to protect the lower back. Or perhaps so people could sleep well when they were tired.
In that slow pace, everything went black before my eyes.
You get what you pay for. There's a reason high-end goods are high-end.
My lower back doesn't hurt at all.