Chapter 55: The Tacit Understanding of Ruthless People

Lin Tiansheng held his firearm in both hands, advancing swiftly to cover Chen Anan's gap in firepower and successfully charging across the entire floating walkway. The combat proficiency forged over twenty-five years of military service had long since transformed into instinct, becoming his ultimate capital in a life-or-death moment.

"Move, move, move!"

Though completely drenched and carrying double his usual weight, his stride remained steady and his breathing even, showing no signs of exhaustion.

Chen Anan followed closely behind the boss, opening the chamber, tipping out the empty shells, and reloading the bullets one by one.

Yao Feiyu hid behind a wooden shed, throwing a grenade backhanded that erupted into a plume of water. Just as he was about to seize the opportunity to charge again, a fishing boat sped toward them, unleashing a flurry of bullets.

Tat-tat-tat.
Tat-tat-tat.

Gao Zicong, holding an M16 with a ballistic shield mounted in front of him, had regained his composure and provided covering fire.

Zhang Jinrong spun the steering wheel hard, sending the fishing boat cutting an arc across the water as it turned around once more.

Upon seeing the floating walkway split and the boss blocked off, Deng Gengyun immediately stripped off his bulletproof vest right where he stood, diving headfirst into the water in just his T-shirt and trousers.

Old Ma was hopping mad, shouting instructions to his men to detour and reinforce them.

The four teams might not all be heroes, but with Deng Gengyun, Zhang Jinrong, and Chen Anan taking the lead, they displayed a grit far surpassing ordinary people.

More importantly, the Five-Poison Detective who had guarded the fish pond for three years had not turned into a useless wreck; instead, he had become even more ferocious and daring.

The moment Yao Feiyu caught sight of Chen Anan, he guessed the origin of the leading inspector and experienced a sudden flash of realization. No wonder the Deng family was willing to fork out a sky-high price of one million Hong Kong dollars; no wonder every single police officer deployed was fighting with their lives on the line.

They were even harder to deal with than the Emergency Unit.

So this was a struggle for power and influence!

As Lin Tiansheng and Chen Anan closed in relentlessly, Yao Feiyu realized he could no longer accomplish his mission and could only seek a way out. His gaze swept over the young girl inside the wooden shed; he hooked his arm around her, clamped her in front of him, pointed his gun at her head, and stepped slowly out of the shed, shouting loudly, "Chicken Head, do you still remember me?"

Seeing the hitman take a little girl hostage, Lin Tiansheng felt a surge of hot blood rush straight to his head. He stopped twenty meters away, raised his gun from a distance, and roared sternly, "Inspector Yao, have you lost your humanity? Using a little girl as a human shield!"

Yao Feiyu replied coldly, "Young Master Lin, you've done far more inhuman things than I have. Returning to the streets and you pretend to forget all our past accounts?"

"Don't play the good guy!"

Chen Anan gripped his gun with both hands, his expression impassive, and spoke up, "Senior brother, taking money from outsiders to kill your own brothers—you've broken the code."

"Pardon me, I'm just a fired dirty cop, I can't claim any brotherhood with the likes of you." Yao Feiyu's face twisted with ferocity, his once refined features now completely soaked in murderous intent.

At least the likes of Chen Anan and Deng Gengyun still had jobs and could wait for an opportunity.

As for that batch of dismissed dirty cops, they either resigned themselves to a lifetime of poverty or had no choice but to cross over to the dark side and turn thoroughly corrupt to the bitter end.

"Weren't you always regretting that you never got the chance to compete with me?"

"If you've got the guts, let's have a match."

Realizing that Zhang Jinrong's boat was maneuvering to find an angle, Yao Feiyu shifted his body, using the wooden shed to shield his head.

Ignoring the little girl completely, Chen Anan slowly squeezed the trigger and accepted, "Alright."

"Simple. Let's see whose gun is faster—right now!" Yao Feiyu kept the trigger pulled taut, unmoving, and threatened, "You have two guns, I have one."

"Here we go."

Breathing heavily and consumed by surging fury, Lin Tiansheng gritted his teeth and spat, "Animal."

Yao Feiyu's intent was crystal clear: he was testing whether their bullets could move faster than the one about to be driven into the little girl's skull.

Immense pressure gripped Lin Tiansheng's heart, because regardless of the case's outcome, a minor dying under police gunfire would make the news and completely ruin the career prospects of the entire team.

Politics was a game for adults; under no circumstances should children be dragged into it. Yet, the greatest advantage of being a hardened criminal was the ability to commit evil without any scruples!

The trigger beneath Chen Anan's fingertip, however, was inching downward.

It seemed to be a reminder to him:
When doing big things, one cannot afford to be soft-hearted.

Lin Tiansheng took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. Out of the corner of his eye, his gaze met Chen Anan's. Though devoid of emotion, a tacit understanding hung distinctly between them.

Even he doubted whether it was real, but brothers who had sworn oaths over burning yellow paper had to be trusted at critical moments.

"Bang!"
"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out abruptly.

The next second,
Yao Feiyu shoved the girl in his arms forward and plunged backward into the water.

Two bullets, one left and one right, split toward either side.

Plop.

The bullet on the left pierced Yao Feiyu's forearm, kicking up a spray of blood and marking the criminal as hit. Lin Tiansheng rushed forward, scooped up the little girl, slid onto the floating walkway, and collapsed backward, letting out a long sigh of relief, "Good thing she's safe."

Seeing him in such a hurried state, Chen Anan wore a slightly perplexed look, muttering skeptically, "Boss, have you started praying to Guanyin lately?"

"That's a human life." Lin Tiansheng set the girl down, knowing full well that Chen Anan hadn't cared about the child's life at all, but rather feared staining an already unsightly record.

"The left side—you bet right. I'll count this as your win." At that moment, Chen Anan pointed toward the water and spoke up.

Deng Gengyun, who had been watching from the water's surface, saw Yao Feiyu dive into the water to escape, took a deep breath, and plunged straight in, swimming at lightning speed toward the fish raft.

Yao Feiyu had actually strapped on an air compression tank, clamped a scuba regulator in his mouth, and hidden beneath the fish raft.

Without a moment's hesitation, Deng Gengyun drew his combat knife and swam forward with agile movements that showcased exceptional swimming skills. His aggressive posture startled Yao Feiyu, who immediately rolled over and kicked out, trying to push Deng Gengyun away. To his surprise, Deng Gengyun latched onto his leg with an iron grip, his strength overpowering. Climbing up along the leg, Deng Gengyun lunged at Yao's torso and violently ripped the respirator mouthpiece right out of his mouth.

In his panic, Yao Feiyu tried to draw his gun, but Deng Gengyun's knife reached his chest first, thrusting fiercely three times and puncturing his chest cavity. Blood immediately dispersed through the underwater currents, staining the surrounding water a brilliant crimson.

Bubbles gushed out.
A look of utter despair washed over the agonizing Yao Feiyu. He opened his mouth to cry out, only to swallow a massive gulp of seawater, and began steadily sinking toward the bottom. Deng Gengyun snatched the respirator mouthpiece, shoved it into his own mouth, secured the air tank on his back, dove down to grab Yao Feiyu, and hauled him back up to the surface.

When Lin Tiansheng and the others realized Deng Gengyun had gone underwater, their complexions turned somewhat ashen. The plumes of blood that surfaced shortly afterward only confirmed the life-or-death struggle taking place beneath the waves.

It was not until Deng Gengyun hooked his left arm back over the fish raft and poked his head out, taking ragged breaths of air, that the men finally let go of their apprehension.

A distance away, Tan Jiaming, holding a pair of binoculars, watched the entire spectacle in absolute dumbfounded silence. It wasn't until a voice crackled through his earpiece that he snapped back to reality, hurriedly responding, "Right, Inspector Lin, I'm calling the Marine Police right now."

A CIB officer standing beside him finished notifying the Marine Police and leaned in with a curious expression, asking, "Sir Tan, did the guys from West Kowloon handle the Gun King?"

Working in the Intelligence Bureau, how could he not understand the complexities of a fish raft? He was utterly astonished by the Regional Crime Unit's speed, managing to resolve the situation without even needing marine backup.

Tan Jiaming lowered his binoculars and clicked his tongue, muttering, "Those madmen are entirely suicidal!"

"Working with them in the future is going to be one hell of a ride."

And it wouldn't just be an adventure—their service records were about to become dazzlingly spectacular...

The Gun King was indeed formidable—none of the CIB teams could take him down. But the West Kowloon Crime Unit? Not only were they fiercely aggressive, but they were also ruthless. They weren't just merciless toward criminals; they were merciless toward hostages and even their own people.

The Marine Police fast boats arrived at the scene swiftly, assisting the Crime Unit in clearing the area around the fish raft, where they even recovered multiple sets of professional diving equipment.

The criminal had thoroughly prepared, mapping out his escape route from the very beginning.

When Lin Tiansheng drove back to the police station, he told his men to send the corpse to the mortuary, then walked straight over and pushed open the door to Pei Zhibang's office.

Dropping a file onto the desk, he stated concisely, "The Gun King is dead. He's at the morgue. Close the case."

"Cough, cough, cough." Sipping his tea, Inspector Pei choked on the liquid, coughing violently as his face turned the color of a bruised liver.