Lu Zheng faced Li Ying while Lin Wan moved behind her to untie the ropes.
Of the four men just now, the second and third had been knocked out by Lin Wan and Lu Zheng respectively. The first had been kicked into the wall by Lu Zheng. The middle-aged man lay on the floor in severe pain but had not passed out.
Seeing that the pair were not paying attention, the middle-aged man signalled to the first man with his eyes. The first man, enduring intense discomfort and spitting blood, reached into his jacket and struggled to draw the pistol from his pocket.
The middle-aged man extended his right hand, slowly moving towards the dagger tucked into his waistband at the back.
“Careful!”
Li Ying saw the first man drawing his gun and cried out in alarm.
Lin Wan pressed down on Li Ying’s shoulders and smiled faintly. “Stay calm.”
The next instant, Lu Zheng casually picked up a signing pen from the table and flicked it.
Swish!
Thud!
“Ah!!!”
The man’s palm was pierced clean through by the pen. The pistol fell, and he let out a scream of agony.
Then, the three turned their attention to the nearest target, the middle-aged man.
He had already drawn his dagger and was forcing himself to his feet, preparing to rush forward and stab Lu Zheng several times while his accomplice fired.
Instead, Lu Zheng had ended the fight with a concealed projectile, exposing the middle-aged man completely.
He froze on the spot, unsure whether to charge or turn and flee.
Flee?
A spark lit in his eyes. He paused, then spun and ran.
Lu Zheng shook his head. In a flash, he was behind the man, gripping his shoulder.
Whoosh!
Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man still had some skill. The dagger thrust back from under his ribs at an awkward, treacherous angle.
Feint retreat to advance? A parting shot?
“Not bad,” Lu Zheng remarked. He sidestepped the blade, kept one hand on the shoulder, lifted the man, spun him once in the air, and slammed him down.
Bang!
“Ah!!!”
This time Lu Zheng used real force. Several bones snapped. The dagger the man had been clutching flew away.
“Weak…”
By now Lin Wan had freed Li Ying’s hands from the ropes behind her back.
“Thank you, Sister Wan! Thank you, Brother Lu!”
“No need,” Lin Wan said with a smile. “First let your family know you’re safe.”
“What family? They don’t even know anything happened,” Li Ying said wryly. “I live on my own.”
“Er…” Lin Wan was speechless. “Then call the police.”
“You didn’t report it?” Li Ying asked.
Lin Wan shook her head. “We were worried that alerting the police might scare them off, so we came straight here.”
Li Ying felt touched. She threw her arms around Lin Wan and rubbed her cheek against her arm. “Sister Wan, you’re so good to me.”
Lin Wan laughed. “All right, all right, no need to get emotional. You know us. This was nothing.”
“Hee hee!”
Then Li Ying picked up her phone and rang Huang Xiumin.
“Sister Xiumin!”
“Little Ying! What’s up?”
“We’re in Room 1203, twelfth floor of Huikai Building in the East Gate Port Area. The remaining criminals are all here. Come quickly!”
“What?” Huang Xiumin sounded baffled.
“I was kidnapped! Brother Lu and Sister Wan just rescued me.”
“What?” Twice baffled.
“The kidnappers didn’t realise how capable Brother Lu and Sister Wan are. When I told them they were the ones who helped catch Wang Liming, they invited them over themselves.”
“What?” Thrice baffled.
“They’ve secretly prepared a speedboat at the port dock. Apparently there’s a cargo ship waiting offshore to take them to Japan. Hurry!”
“We’re on our way! Stay in touch!”
Huang Xiumin hung up without another word and informed her superiors.
At the same moment, a phone rang in the middle-aged man’s pocket.
“Ohyo?”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow, walked over to the groaning man, and fished the phone out.
He brushed a finger across the man’s neck. The man’s eyes widened in terror as he found he could make no sound.
Then, with a thought, Lu Zheng caused the man whose palm had been pierced, who was still cradling his hand and whimpering, to black out instantly.
Only then did Lu Zheng answer the call. “Hello?”
His voice was identical to the middle-aged man’s.
“Brother Jin! Are you leaving or not? Time’s tight. The cargo ship will soon reach the rendezvous point. They won’t wait!”
“Yes, yes, yes! We’re already on our way! Five minutes!”
“Good. Hurry!”
Lu Zheng ended the call and asked Lin Wan, “You go or me?”
Since they had stumbled onto it, they would round up the whole lot.
“I’ll go. I’m Interpol. I’ll take the speedboat to the cargo ship, order it to stop, and hold it until the police arrive.”
“Fine,” Lu Zheng nodded.
“That’s dangerous!” Li Ying said worriedly. “We don’t know how many people are on the cargo ship, and they’re definitely armed!”
She knew Lin Wan was formidable; otherwise she would never have so calmly drawn her and Lu Zheng into this.
But just now there had only been four men. Now they faced possibly an entire ship’s worth of enemies.
“I’ll be careful,” Lin Wan replied with a smile. She nodded to Lu Zheng and left immediately.
“Perhaps…” Li Ying turned to Lu Zheng. “Brother Lu, you should go with Sister Wan. I can watch these guys here.”
“You’re not scared?” Lu Zheng asked.
Li Ying was, after all, only a technical officer. She had never worked the front line, and having just been kidnapped, she was clearly still shaken. That was why Lin Wan had left Lu Zheng behind.
“Not scared!” Li Ying shook her head. She picked up the pistol Lu Zheng had tossed onto the table. “I’m fine. These men are in no state to cause trouble. I can keep an eye on them. Brother Lu, go help Sister Wan!”
Lu Zheng smiled and shook his head. “No need. You know Lin Wan. This is small stuff to her.”
The middle-aged man on the floor was numb with shock.
Wasn’t Interpol just an intelligence organisation? What were these two human-shaped monsters?
And she calls this small stuff? Then what counts as big? An army clash?
Still…
A venomous glint flashed in his eyes. He looked at Lu Zheng with malicious satisfaction.
You still don’t know who’s on that ship, or what weapons they have!
I may be finished, but at least I can drag one of you down with me!
You won’t get off easy either!
…
Lu Zheng ignored him and simply chatted idly with Li Ying while they waited for the police.
Half an hour later, Huang Xiumin arrived with a large team. Her first words were, “Lin Wan has shot dead several armed criminals. She’s stopped the cargo ship. Maritime police have boarded and arrested a lot of people. This is a major case!”
The middle-aged man: 〣(ºΔº)〣
