The Rich Spring of the Southern Dynasties, Storms in the Wind and Rain Tower (4) Part 2

Zhao Dailin glanced at Yu Hao hesitantly, but Yu Hao urged, “Hurry up and tell me, what on earth happened?”

Zhao Dailin thought carefully. This probably didn't count as 'other matters,' right? It might even be somewhat related to Yu Hao's duties? With that thought, she gritted her teeth and said to Yu Hao, “Sun Kai caught someone at the border. They can't confirm his identity. Sun Kai said he might be an extremist militant and needs further confirmation.”

“Why are you looking for me for this?” Yu Hao laughed.

Zhao Dailin looked at her with worried eyes and said in a low voice, “But there’s a problem now. Sun Kai found a lot of IEDs on him, and he heard that several more are buried in the town, set with twenty-four-hour timers. That means that before six p.m. tomorrow, these bombs will all explode. Sun Kai is going crazy...”

Yu Hao's expression froze, and her smile vanished.

The town was mostly populated by the elderly and children; the young men had all gone out to work.

If he really was an extremist militant, it was possible he would kill indiscriminately. The town wasn't large, but finding the bombs would not be easy.

Zhao Dailin gritted her teeth and said, “Sun Kai has already had the entire town locked down, but searching like this is like finding a needle in a haystack. Right now, the only way is to force that person to talk first—”

“Where is he?” Yu Hao interrupted directly.

...

The interrogation room was dimly lit.

Sun Kai stood fuming outside the interrogation room's one-way mirror. When he turned and saw Zhao Dailin bringing Yu Hao in, he tempered his anger a little. His usual cheerful demeanor was gone; he just nodded as a greeting.

Yu Hao stood beside him and looked through the glass into the interrogation room.

She saw that the man was wearing a jacket similar to a Ghillie Suit, with a black turban wrapped around his head, which made his square face and fierce, round eyes stand out.

“Can I go in and talk to him?” Yu Hao asked Sun Kai while still looking at the man.

Sun Kai was taken aback, looking at her in amazement. “Aren't you scared?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? I've seen criminals far more vicious than this.” Yu Hao shifted her gaze from the man in the Ghillie suit to Sun Kai and said, “Have you heard of the Pingchuan serial dismemberment case? The killer was actually a gentleman who wore gold-rimmed glasses and a suit and tie, frequenting high-class places. When a woman sat in front of him, she might even fall in love with his refined and outstanding appearance, only to be cooked right after they had sex...True psychopaths don't wear it on their faces. Someone who looks ferocious on the outside might just be a Hello Kitty on the inside.”

After Yu Hao finished, Zhao Dailin even nodded in agreement.

Sun Kai couldn't help but laugh. He had thought Yu Hao was a delicate flower from a greenhouse and that Lu Huaizheng would have his hands full with her in the future. He didn't expect her to be a tough character too.

“Be careful when you go in.”

Yu Hao nodded. “Okay. And please, could you lower the air conditioning in the interrogation room to eighteen degrees and dim the lights a bit? Try to angle the light towards him so I can see his expression clearly. Aim it mainly at his eyes.”

Sun Kai gave an OK sign, and Yu Hao went in.

Zhao Dailin was actually a little scared, but she forced herself to remain calm in front of Sun Kai.

Sun Kai glanced at her and suddenly threw out a faint, “Thanks,” before turning his gaze back to Yu Hao inside.

Zhao Dailin didn't reply. After a while, she asked, “Does Lu Huaizheng know about the situation here?”

Sun Kai shook his head and pursed his lips. “Haven't told him yet. I was planning to call Hunan later.”

Sensing something was off in his tone, Zhao Dailin looked at him.

“Why the long face?”

Sun Kai gave a bitter smile. “If that grandpa knew what Yu Hao was doing right now, he’d probably kill me when he gets back tomorrow.”

Zhao Dailin was surprised. “He’s coming back tomorrow?”

Sun Kai nodded. “An eight a.m. flight tomorrow. He won't get to the town until three or four in the afternoon at the earliest.”

...

After seeing off Jiang Yuanliang, Lu Huaizheng went back to talk with Li Hongwen for a while about future arrangements. As he was about to head back to his dorm, the phone in the instructor's office rang. The instructor picked it up, answered twice, then hurriedly called out to Lu Huaizheng and Li Hongwen who were about to leave.

“Captain Lu! A call from Yunnan.”

Lu Huaizheng was suspicious and glanced at Li Hongwen. Li Hongwen thought it was Instructor Tang calling to rush them. “We’re going back tomorrow, why is he calling now?”

The instructor said, “It's Captain Sun. He says there's a situation in Yunnan.”

Lu Huaizheng walked over in two strides and snatched the phone.

“Sun Kai?”

Sun Kai's voice was crisp. He explained the situation from beginning to end efficiently.

“Have you reported it to the higher-ups?”

“Reported. They said they’ll send a bomb disposal expert over.”

Lu Huaizheng found this laughable. He held the receiver and shook his head speechlessly. “You need a bomb disposal expert for a few homemade bombs? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at!”

“It’s not a bomb disposal problem now, it’s a reinforcement problem. We don’t have enough manpower. We won’t have time to search the entire town by tomorrow night.”

“What about the nearby armed police force?”

“They're on their way as soon as they got the news.”

Lu Huaizheng's voice turned cold as he asked, “What’s that person's background?”

“He's playing dumb, pretending not to understand when spoken to. He's dressed like someone from the border, possibly a nomad. We can't rule out that he's an extremist militant.”

“And now?”

Sun Kai said, “Dr. Yu went in to negotiate.”

“Who?!”

“Yu Hao.”

Lu Huaizheng went back to his dorm, packed his things, and changed his flight to leave from Hunan that night. Li Hongwen had the instructor arrange a car to take him down the mountain and even returned his phone. “Keep this with you on the road to stay in touch with Sun Kai. Just give it to Instructor Tang when you get there and have him hold on to it for a few days. You’ll all be back in a few days anyway.”

Lu Huaizheng grunted in acknowledgment.

He pocketed his phone, turned, and jumped into the army-green jeep.

On the way to the airport, Lu Huaizheng sat in the passenger seat. He held the phone in one hand, which was propped on the window frame, his eyes sweeping aimlessly over the passing scenery. He called Sun Kai, his fingers tapping rapidly. He was truly anxious.

When Sun Kai heard he was on his way, his jaw dropped.

“If you leave now, what time will you arrive?”

“Around three or four in the morning.”

“Will there be a car to bring you up then? I can send someone down to pick you up.”

“No need, I’ve contacted the unit in the city, they’ll send a car.” Lu Huaizheng said, “Patch me into the interrogation room now. I need to know what’s going on inside.”

...

Yu Hao discovered the other party couldn't speak Mandarin. The first round of confrontation lasted for half an hour, during which the man didn't say a single word. Yu Hao was extremely patient and switched to English.

The man still looked at her with a disdainful expression, his eyebrows raised frivolously as if admiring something beautiful and novel. Yu Hao suppressed her disgust, furrowed her brows, and told him in English again.

“If you don't talk, we have the right to hand you over to the judicial authorities. They won't question you as gently as I am.”

...

Yu Hao’s clear and cold voice came through the receiver.

Lu Huaizheng’s heart tightened.

After three seconds of silence.

The man’s voice, filled with teasing and lewdness, came through the receiver again.

“You're so beautiful.”

“I really want to be inside you.”

Fuck!

Lu Huaizheng fiercely kicked the jeep’s dashboard. The vehicle shook, and the driver’s face turned pale with fright, thinking he had taken a wrong turn. He stammered, “Wh-what’s wrong?”

Lu Huaizheng’s face was grim, a fire smoldering in his eyes. He had rarely lost his temper like this.

“Just drive.”

Author's Note:

PS: The subject matter is sensitive, so the names of countries and places in some plots can only be fictionalized, and much of the content cannot be described directly.

This story is purely fictional. Yesterday, I saw a reader mention Watson; this story has no prototype.

Additionally, the story places equal emphasis on romance and plot. The subject matter is sensitive, so I won't be writing only about the romance. This can be considered a breakthrough for me in terms of both subject matter and writing style.