The moment Bai Cheng saw the message, she jumped up from her bed. Not wanting to interfere with Luo Tian’s mission, she called Lin Fei.
“Feifei, is Luo Tian on a mission today?”
“Yeah, they found where Mí Qiū and È Yú were hiding. Right now, they’re getting ready to head into the drainage tunnels to chase them.”
“Where did they find Mí Qiū and È Yú?”
“At an illegal house on Baisheng Road. Why are you asking all this?”
“It’s nothing, I’m just a little worried.”
“Don’t be. Captain Luo is the ace of the police force. He’ll definitely capture those criminals.”
“Mm.”
Bai Cheng hung up the phone, but she was wide awake. She drove straight to Baisheng Road and found the room where Mí Qiū and È Yú had been hiding. On the computer screen, she saw the drainage system blueprint they had left behind. She downloaded it and began walking along the street, following the map. It didn’t take long for her to find the overpass shown in the blueprint.
Without hesitation, Bai Cheng jumped down from the curb and stepped into the dark bridge tunnel.
The visibility inside the drainage tunnels was low. Luo Tian and his team, flashlights in hand, carefully listened to the sounds around them as they moved forward. They eventually reached an open reservoir, square in shape. Ahead of them were three different drainage tunnels.
“According to the blueprint, all three of these tunnels lead to Huqi Pier. How do we decide which one to take?” Fang Chong asked, looking at the three identical tunnels.
Luo Tian glanced at the blueprint and said, “You take the left one, Da Liu and Da Li take the middle one, and I’ll take the right.”
Fang Chong seemed like he wanted to say something, but in the end, all he said was, “Be careful,” before heading into the left tunnel with his team.
After seeing Da Liu and Da Li enter the middle tunnel, Luo Tian moved into the right one. His gut told him that, while the left tunnel was the shortest route to Huqi Pier, the right one was more complex and offered more escape routes. Knowing how cunning Mí Qiū and È Yú were, they’d likely choose the safer, more complicated path.
Luo Tian and his team silently moved through the tunnel until they heard faint voices up ahead. Luo Tian raised a hand, signaling his team to stop. He leaned against the wall, listening closely. Though he couldn’t make out the exact words, he could tell it was two men talking.
Luo Tian quietly advanced toward the voices, and soon, the backs of Mí Qiū and È Yú appeared less than ten meters away. He motioned to his team, and they all rushed forward.
Hearing footsteps behind them, È Yú spun around and immediately opened fire, spraying bullets wildly. A gunfight erupted, and the intense firepower from È Yú and Mí Qiū momentarily slowed the police pursuit. Luo Tian pressed on with his uninjured team members.
Caught off guard by the sudden chase, Mí Qiū and È Yú abandoned their original escape plan and fled in panic, taking any path they could find. But no matter where they ran, Luo Tian remained hot on their heels.
The chase continued until they entered another, larger reservoir. This one had no other exits.
È Yú suddenly turned and fired a shot at Luo Tian. Luo Tian dodged, but the bullet grazed his neck, tearing away a chunk of flesh. He quickly dropped to the ground behind the reservoir wall, wiping the blood from his neck. He shouted, “There’s no point in resisting. The gunshots have been heard, and backup will arrive soon.”
Mí Qiū and È Yú were hiding on the opposite side of the reservoir, with the pool of water separating them.
Meanwhile, Bai Cheng, who had been wandering through the drainage tunnels on her own, heard the gunshot. She had followed the blueprint to where Luo Tian and Fang Chong had split up and, like Luo Tian, chose the right tunnel based on her judgment. Along the way, she found a wounded officer resting against a wall and quietly picked up the gun he had dropped. She continued forward until she heard that gunshot.
Following the sound, Bai Cheng soon came upon the standoff between the three men.
Seeing there were no other exits, Mí Qiū and È Yú stopped running. They turned to face Luo Tian, who was standing alone, gun in hand.
È Yú sneered. “Captain Luo, long time no see. How about you let me go this time, like you did before?”
Luo Tian didn’t respond and immediately fired a shot into È Yú’s right leg.
“Not this time. Surrender now,” Luo Tian ordered.
È Yú’s leg was shot through, and he staggered, nearly falling. Mí Qiū quickly caught him, holding him up. È Yú clutched his bleeding leg, gasping in pain.
“Brother È, what do we do now? This is a dead end. There’s no way out!” Mí Qiū said, panicking.
“Don’t be scared. I’m done for, but you still have a chance. I’ll distract him. You find an opportunity to take him out. If you fail, run on your own.”
“But… I…”
“Stop stalling. Just wait for your chance.”
È Yú loaded his gun. After a quick countdown—“Three, two, one”—he dragged his injured leg and ran toward the exit. Luo Tian raised his gun and shouted, “Stop!” When È Yú didn’t stop, Luo Tian fired at his left leg, and È Yú collapsed with a thud. At the same time, Luo Tian heard another gunshot. He turned to see Mí Qiū, who had been aiming at him, collapse to the ground, a bullet through his heart. His eyes were wide with terror as he fell.
Luo Tian quickly scanned the area for the source of the shot and saw Bai Cheng standing by a pillar, trembling with the gun in her hand. Luo Tian ran toward her, disarming È Yú along the way. When he reached Bai Cheng, he gently took the gun from her shaking hands. The moment the gun left her grasp, Bai Cheng seemed to snap out of her daze.
“Are you okay?” Bai Cheng’s first instinct was to look at Luo Tian’s neck. The bullet graze wasn’t deep, but blood was still slowly oozing from the wound. She tried to wipe away the blood, but more kept coming.
Suddenly, Bai Cheng burst into tears. In a panic, she tore off part of her inner shirt and wrapped it around Luo Tian’s neck to stop the bleeding. Luo Tian let her treat his wound, gently wiping the tears from her face.
Once Bai Cheng finished bandaging him, she tied a small bow at the wound.
She looked at Luo Tian, tears streaming down her face like two small rivers.
“I killed someone,” she said, her voice shaking with sobs.
“It’s okay. You did it to save me. It was self-defense,” Luo Tian said as he pulled her into his arms.
Fang Chong arrived just then. He bypassed Luo Tian and Bai Cheng, went over to Mí Qiū’s body to confirm he was dead, and then moved to È Yú. Both of È Yú’s legs had been shot, and he lay on the ground like a fish stranded on land. Fang Chong crouched down beside him, pulling out handcuffs to restrain him.
Suddenly, È Yú, who had been twitching on the ground, grabbed Fang Chong’s gun from his waist and aimed it at Bai Cheng, who was crying on Luo Tian’s shoulder.
“Watch out!” Fang Chong shouted as he lunged for the gun. At the same time, Luo Tian, seeing the gun pointed at Bai Cheng, instinctively turned and shielded her with his body, taking the bullet himself.
Fang Chong managed to wrestle the gun away from È Yú and kicked him several times until he was completely subdued. Then, he handcuffed him.
Bai Cheng felt Luo Tian’s arms slip from around her, his body slowly collapsing like a tree that had been chopped at its base. She reached out to catch him, but his body continued to sink, and she stumbled forward, almost falling with him.
Fang Chong caught them both, laying Luo Tian flat on the ground. He pressed his hand over Luo Tian’s wound, trying to comfort Bai Cheng. “Backup is on the way. Luo Tian will be fine.”
Bai Cheng didn’t say anything, tears pouring down her face. She clutched Luo Tian’s hand, watching him, barely clinging to life, too distraught to speak.
“Bai… Cheng… Bai Cheng, listen to me, you have to listen carefully,” Luo Tian whispered, his voice barely audible.
Bai Cheng nodded frantically.
“Bai Cheng, I never wanted to be a hero. I applied to the police academy because I didn’t have any goals. I just followed Jiang Shuo’s lead. After he was killed, I stayed in the force to avenge him. I never wanted to be a hero. But after I met you, I didn’t want to be a cop anymore. I was planning to quit after this mission. I just wanted to grow old with you. I know memories are unbreakable, and no one can replace Lu Heng in your heart. You said he was your epic love. But if I die for you today, will you remember me the way you remember him?”
As he spoke, blood trickled from the corner of Luo Tian’s mouth.
Bai Cheng wiped the blood from his lips. “You’re not allowed to die. You’ve already avenged Jiang Shuo, so you can’t die. If you die now, I’ll never marry anyone. I must be cursed. So for my future reputation and happiness, you’re not allowed to die. Do you hear me?”
“I… I won’t die. I… won’t let you… stay single.” Luo Tian weakly pulled the cross necklace from around his neck and pressed it into Bai Cheng’s hand. “Here… take it. Remember me, okay?”
With that, he lost consciousness.
“Luo Tian… Luo Tian…” Bai Cheng tightly gripped his hand, calling his name over and over.
The ambulance arrived, and Fang Chong lifted Luo Tian onto his back, carrying him to the exit. Bai Cheng clutched the blood-stained cross necklace and ran after them.
A nurse took Luo Tian from Fang Chong and, with his help, placed him on a stretcher and into the ambulance. Bai Cheng sat inside, clutching the necklace tightly, watching the nurse work on Luo Tian as her tears continued to fall.
The ambulance soon arrived at the hospital, and Luo Tian was rushed into the ICU. Bai Cheng waited outside the ward, hands clasped together in prayer, gripping the cross necklace that Luo Tian had given her.
She repeated over and over, “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. Amen.”
“Amen…”
“Amen…”
“Amen…”
“Amen…”
“Amen…”
