Chapter Eighty-Three: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain?

The little soldier picked up a brick from the ground and winked shrewdly. "If I toss a grenade in there, I refuse to believe I can't blast them out."

Old Lin gave him a thumbs-up. "But aren't you worried you'll blow up Old Huo and the others?"

The little soldier replied helplessly, "To tell you the truth, Chief Commander had biometric monitors installed on everyone involved. The monitors on those three have shown no response, which means they were already dead long ago. I think their souls would certainly allow me to avenge them."

Old Lin nodded. "Mm, that's reasonable enough. All right, let's give it a try." It was obvious the two of them were putting on a show for whoever was below.

The little soldier tore off a piece of cloth, wrapped it around the brick, stuffed in some dry twigs, and lit it. Thick smoke soon billowed out.

He immediately threw in the "improvised smoke bomb."

Aside from the sound of bricks tumbling and striking the ground, there was no other noise at all.

Old Lin hurriedly said, "No one there. Get in quickly. Who has a rope?"

Li Hong immediately took out the rope he carried with him.

Old Lin said, "Do you know the saying about not putting all your eggs in one basket? We can't all go down; we might be wiped out in one sweep. Like this: Xiao Yang, you and I will go down. Li Hong and the little soldier, you wait above. If anything dangerous happens, pull us up."

The little soldier instantly objected. "Old Lin, that won't do. I have to make sure you're safe."

Old Lin smiled and patted the little soldier on the head. "Kid, we're very satisfied with your performance. Don't worry, we won't treat you badly. Staying up top is the best protection for us, because there is no danger below."

Li Hong also smiled and said, "Old Lin has eaten more salt than we've eaten rice. There won't be any problem."

The little soldier was stubborn as ever. "I always eat steamed buns."

After our earnest persuasion, the little soldier finally agreed. I tied the rope around Old Lin's waist and then around ours, and had the two of them lower us down.

The space below was not large, exactly as we had seen in the video. But the smell down there was absolutely revolting; someone had clearly been defecating and urinating here.

Besides the three coffins, there was only a fluorescent lamp above them and an X-shaped symbol crudely fashioned from a sheet of metal.

Old Lin and I struggled with all our might before finally prying open the coffin lid. What lay inside left us utterly dumbfounded.

Old Huo lay naked in the coffin, his hands and feet bound with red rope, gaunt and sallow, already in a severe coma. Beside him sat a large bottle of beer, with a straw extending from the bottle all the way to Old Huo's mouth.

In this way, if he grew thirsty, he would drink beer. If he did not drink it, he could be left to die of thirst within three days. Yet if he drank the beer, Old Huo would sink back into unconsciousness.

What an ingenious design.

I immediately took Old Huo's pulse and examined him. Thankfully, though weak, he was not in mortal danger. Only his complexion suggested signs of alcohol poisoning.

I slapped Old Huo twice on the face. At last, he opened his eyes and looked at me dazedly. "Where is this?"

"Old Huo, don't speak. We're here to save you."

I said that as I hoisted Old Huo out, then stood on the coffin and handed him up to Li Hong.

I then opened the other two coffins as well. Luckily, neither of the others was in any life-threatening condition.

I let out a long breath and quickly carried them out one by one.

The soldier's consciousness was still a little clearer. Grabbing Li Hong's arm, he cried out, "Bugs, so many bugs..."

Li Hong hurriedly told him it was all right. They had already been rescued.

Only then did the little soldier finally faint in relief.

The two of us searched the room carefully, but found no other clues, so we had Li Hong pull us back up.

Tang Jingjing had turned her back to the three naked men and anxiously told Li Xingchen to cover them with clothing. Li Xingchen took off his shirt to cover Old Huo, then removed his undershirt to cover A Shan. When Tang Jingjing turned around and saw that the little soldier was still bare, she cursed Li Xingchen for not covering him too. Li Xingchen said that if he took off any more, he'd be left naked too. Did she want to see his bare backside?

I immediately took off my own shirt and covered the little soldier, then called the emergency center at once.

All three had fallen into a deep coma. I knew it would be bad if they kept sleeping like that, so I patted their faces and woke them.

They were all dazed and muddled, their minds in a fog, unable to remember anything. This was normal. I did not dare tell them they had been kidnapped, for fear of shocking them.

If they were stimulated now, it would be easy for them to develop amnesia.

Old Lin coughed once, forcing back a taunting smile, and asked, "Old Huo, are you all right?"

Old Huo stared at him in confusion. "Old Lin, what are you doing here?"

Old Lin grinned broadly. "Passing by, so I thought I'd come see whether you were dead yet."

Old Huo thought over the matter in bewilderment for a long time, then finally screamed, "Old Lin, it was me who found it! I found it!"

"Found my ass," Old Lin snapped. "At a time like this, you're still trying to claim credit."

"It was the Guardian Sect," Old Huo said. "I was investigating them at the time. The leader was an old man with a white beard, speaking in a twisted, sneering voice, like a eunuch. I found it. I have a recording."

Old Lin asked, "How do you know it was the Guardian Sect?"

Old Huo replied, "I recognize that symbol. Their purpose is revenge against the police. We must pay special attention to the safety of the police station. As for people with other identities, they don't seem interested at all."

I drew a sharp breath.

The emergency crew soon arrived and carried Old Huo and the others away. As they left, Old Huo was still shouting, "You all have to testify for me! I found it first! It was my discovery!"

Old Lin cursed in exasperation that he was truly beyond help.

I said to Old Lin, "Old Lin, it looks like there doesn't seem to be any danger here. Why don't we let the troops keep an eye on the place for the moment and go back first? This case seems to be getting more and more complicated."

Old Lin said, "To openly go against the police like this, their power is far beyond anything we imagined. Back then, only the Severed Blade Gang in River North had the nerve."

"With just the few of us, I can't guarantee we can beat them," the little soldier said. "We should leave here quickly. I have to be responsible for everyone's safety."

Old Lin nodded. Even after getting in the car, he still wore a puzzled expression. "These people are truly strange. They clearly had the chance, yet they simply didn't make a move. What exactly is this all for?"

I said, "Maybe it has something to do with the principles they believe in. In ancient times, weren't many religious groups all about killing corrupt officials and helping the poor by robbing the rich?"

Old Lin said that was possible.

But Tang Jingjing's words awakened us all at once. "But Old Huo said their target was the police. Aren't Old Huo, A Shan, and the little soldier all not police officers?"

Old Lin said they were not on the official roster.

Yu Tian suddenly said, "Could it be... a feint to draw the tiger away from the mountain?"

"What kind of feint?"

"Right now, most of the police force has been pulled out, and only a few duty officers are left at the station," Yu Tian explained anxiously.

Old Lin slapped his palm and was shocked. "Then what are we standing here for? Hurry and call over there to ask about the situation."

Yu Tian immediately took out his phone and called the duty room.

Fortunately, the call connected at last, and the familiar voice of the operator came through. "Chief Tian, hello. How may I help you?"

Yu Tian let out a breath of relief. "Has anything strange happened at the station?"

"The strange thing you mean is..."

"Has anyone been in danger?"

"No," the operator said. "There hasn't been any sign of distress."

"No sign of distress? Go take a look and see what those people are actually doing."

"Understood."

Not long after, the operator came back and said that the few of them were watching Tian Feier.

Yu Tian relaxed and said, "Immediately recall all officers who are out on investigations! Also, have all remaining officers go to the armory to receive weapons and ammunition. From this moment on, the station goes into Level One alert."

"Understood," the operator replied.

Old Lin also breathed a sigh of relief and said it looked like we had been overthinking things.