Chapter 48: Zhang Heng's Darkest Hour (Part 1)

Right at this moment, the police car drove directly in front of the coach and came to a sudden halt.

As soon as the police cruiser stopped, several armed officers rushed out, holding service pistols in their hands, and advanced directly toward the bus.

The two men in charge of distributing goods on the coach realized something was terribly wrong. They hastily ordered the driver to shut the doors and drive away at once.

The driver had no choice but to comply. Just as the doors were sealing shut, an officer lunged forward, grabbing the edge of the door with one hand while aiming his weapon right at the driver with the other. At that very second, the rest of the police force converged on the vehicle.

"Open the door!"

A voice barked an order at the driver from the back—it was an officer wearing what looked like the uniform of a team captain.

The driver glanced nervously at the two cargo managers, but the pair immediately whipped out their mobile phones and barked instructions at him:

"Shut the door! Step on the gas!"

Realizing the situation, the driver obeyed, slammed the doors shut, floored the accelerator, and lunged the bus forward.

In doing so, they dragged along a police officer whose arm had been caught in the closing doors.

"Step on it! Go!" the two managers roared at the driver.

The driver kept his foot pressed hard on the gas pedal.

Seeing the coach attempting to flee, the pursuing officers broke into a sprint to keep pace.

A massive crowd of onlookers had gathered by now.

At that instant, an alert driver of a passing civilian car abruptly swerved and parked right across the coach's path.

This unexpected maneuver panicked the bus driver, who instinctively prepared to brake. However, the two managers bellowed at him:

"Don't you dare stop!"

The driver had no alternative other than to ram straight into the blocking vehicle.

Right then, Zhang Heng experienced a sudden flash of realization.

Indeed, this was his golden opportunity to shine and render meritorious service!

Abandoning the handrail he had been gripping, Zhang Heng bolted straight toward the driver's cabin.

The driver paid him no mind.

Zhang Heng reached out, grabbed the ignition key, twisted it counterclockwise, and yanked it out. The engine sputtered and died instantly, bringing the bus to a complete halt just inches before striking the roadblock.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" one of the managers roared at Zhang Heng, before kicking him violently toward the rear passenger seats.

By this time, the pursuing officers had caught up to the stalled bus.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The arriving officers raised their sidearms and fired directly into all four tires, instantly shredding them.

Deprived of its suspension and support, the heavy coach sagged and collapsed toward the ground.

Simultaneously, an officer strode up to the passenger door, drew his pistol, and fired straight through the front windshield.

*Crack!*

The windshield shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, sending a shower of glass shards flying everywhere.

Several officers climbed directly through the shattered front window into the cabin. Upon entry, they immediately subdued and handcuffed the driver.

The remaining officers swept the interior with their leveled weapons, ordering everyone to stay put.

An officer stepped into the cockpit, hit the door control button, and the pneumatic doors slid open.

The moment the doors unsealed, the officer whose arm had been trapped tumbled out onto the pavement. Two colleagues outside immediately rushed forward to support their injured comrade.

"Nobody move!" shouted one of the officers holding the passengers at gunpoint.

Just then, the officer wearing the captain's uniform boarded the bus from the outside.

As he stepped further into the aisle, Zhang Heng looked up closely and recognized him. It was none other than Officer Yang from the Narcotics Brigade—the very same Officer Yang who was slated to take him away after he had been step-by-step entrapped into becoming a drug suspect while trying to see Brother Liang at that hotel; the very same Officer Yang who had accompanied Chief Shang to the interrogation room at the brigade headquarters.

When Officer Yang stepped aboard and spotted Zhang Heng, an expression of utter disbelief washed over his face.

Sensing this was the ideal moment to brief Officer Yang, Zhang Heng moved to stand up. But before he could even rise, Officer Yang pointed a finger directly at him and shouted:

"You, stay right where you are!"

"Officer Yang, I..."

Zhang Heng attempted to speak, but Officer Yang cut him off abruptly.

"Stop!" Officer Yang roared.

"You two, slap the cuffs on him and take him out of here first," Officer Yang instructed the two nearby officers.

"Huh?" The two officers looked momentarily bewildered.

"I said cuff that man and get him out of here," Officer Yang repeated firmly.

The two officers immediately stepped forward, forced Zhang Heng face down onto the floor, and secured both his wrists and ankles with heavy handcuffs.

Zhang Heng offered no resistance, behaving with complete docility.

Once restrained, he was hauled off the bus and marched toward a waiting police cruiser.

Glancing around, Zhang Heng noticed several more police vehicles speeding toward the scene, all with their sirens flashing.

Reaching the police car, an officer opened the rear door, and Zhang Heng willingly slid inside.

Once he was settled, another officer raised a walkie-talkie and transmitted:

"Zero-One, Zero-One, the suspect has been secured in the vehicle."

"Understood. Bring him straight to our Narcotics Brigade headquarters. The two of you are to guard him closely and await my further instructions," the voice crackled through the radio.

"Copy that," the officer replied before clipping the transceiver back onto his belt.

The two officers climbed into the driver and passenger seats, started the engine, and pulled away from the scene.

Through the rear window, Zhang Heng watched as the arriving police cruisers pulled up around the crippled bus. Numerous heavily armed officers piled out and swarmed the vehicle.

Seeing this sight brought a measure of reassurance to Zhang Heng.

Every single drug peddler on that bus was bound to fall into the net, which meant countless people in this city would be spared from ruin.

A mixture of relief and excitement stirred within him.

Yet, at the very same time, a harsh reality loomed before him, one he would soon have to confront: he, too, was counted among those very drug traffickers.

Just then, a media van flashed past his window in the opposite direction.

He instinctively pressed his face against the glass to look back, but the vehicles were hurtling away from each other at high speeds.

Almost simultaneously, a large box truck—another media vehicle, emblazoned with the words [S-Xi Radio and Television General Station News Media] on its side—zoomed past him as well.

The sight of the news vans jogged Zhang Heng's thoughts.

Without a doubt, those media crews were rushing to the scene of the coach standoff for live coverage and reporting.

Since he was no longer at the scene, he had miraculously dodged a bullet and wouldn't be caught on camera.

Suddenly, it dawned on him: Officer Yang's order for him to leave the bus earlier was actually an act of protection. To put it bluntly, Officer Yang had recognized him and let him go purely out of respect for Chief Shang.

The realization left Zhang Heng with a complex whirlwind of emotions churning inside his chest.

His mind flashed back to the entire undercover operation to infiltrate the drug ring. It had undeniably gone up in smoke—not only had the mission completely failed, but he hadn't accomplished a single useful thing.

Worse still, another terrifying fact hit him: he had become addicted to drugs. Back when he was first pulled into the syndicate, while he was in a dazed, semi-conscious state, the syndicate boss had ordered his thugs to inject narcotics into his body.

The memory filled him with profound remorse. Right now, he truly knew what it felt like to swallow bitter herbs as a mute—he had grievances too deep to voice.

Not only had his infiltration yielded zero assistance to the authorities, but he hadn't even managed to—

At that juncture, his thoughts drifted back to yesterday. Chief Shang had already brought men to raid the stronghold, yet he had somehow persuaded Chief Shang to call off the operation. That single mistake had ruined what should have been a clean sweep by Chief Shang last night, destroying the chance to wipe out the ring in one fell swoop.

He let out another heavy sigh.

By this point, the sheer chaos in his mind defied description.

All he knew was that he was completely doomed.

Yet, amidst the despair, a specific remark made by the boss resurfaced in his memory.

The boss had once told him:

*(The boss has connections inside the Capital Public Security Bureau and even higher up at the Ministry of Public Security. The very reason he was assigned to this case in the first place was due to the maneuvering of those people inside the Ministry and the Bureau.)*

True, having a lead like that wasn't entirely useless.

If that allegation proved to be true, it would constitute a massive breakthrough. After all, as the old saying goes: *(Guard against external enemies day and night, but betrayal from within is the hardest to prevent.)*

Reflecting on this led his thoughts back to the very origin of the case—(Liang Lahua's missing child, who was later found in a different city, severely traumatized).

Compared to the first case he handled upon joining Brother Liang's team—the grisly human dismemberment case where body parts were packed into bags in a secluded corner of a shopping mall in Chaoyang District, Beijing—this current affair was nothing.

First of all, that dismemberment case involved a homicide, and the culprit had meticulously destroyed all evidence at the crime scene. That had left Zhang Heng with virtually no clues when he first took the case; yet, purely through sheer deduction and sharp judgment, he successfully unraveled the puzzle and arrested the perpetrator.

And that entire case had taken a mere three days to crack.

As for the current case? It had been well over half a month—nearly a full month—since he traveled from Beijing to Y-City in S-Xi Province.

During these two weeks of investigation, he had deduced and verified within two days that (the culprit behind Liang Lahua's missing child case was her own husband, the biological father). Yet, when they reported this to superiors, the higher-ups insisted on hunting down the primary drug traffickers instead. Brother Liang had rushed over to assist, but during their investigation at the drug den, he was secretly framed and murdered.

Simultaneously, a critical question plagued Zhang Heng: following Brother Liang's death, why didn't the superiors or the local police—specifically Chief Shang—launch an investigation? Why hadn't they made any notable efforts regarding Brother Liang's demise?

Was this ordered by higher authorities, or was it a deliberate cover-up by the local police?

When Zhang Heng pondered this, he suddenly realized he had forgotten to ask Chief Shang about it.

It seemed the waters running beneath the surface here were unfathomably deep.

Zhang Heng plunged back into profound contemplation.

Before long, the vehicle pulled into the familiar compound of the Municipal Narcotics Brigade.

The two officers escorted Zhang Heng inside and locked him inside a detention cell.

...

Scarcely had they secured him in the cell when the mobile phone of one of the officers began to ring. He pulled it out, answered in public, and spoke into the receiver:

"Hello."

The person on the other end replied:

"Hello."

"Who is this?" the officer asked.

"Hello, is this Xiao Liu? Liu Chun, right?"

"Uh, yes."

"My surname is Shang."

"Y-You... are you Chief Shang of the Municipal Public Security Bureau?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Hello, hello, Chief Shang!"

"Did you bring someone back with you? The one Officer Yang told you to take?"

"Oh, yes, Chief Shang."

"Is that person with you right now?"

"Yes, right beside me."

"Ask him if his name is Zhang Heng."

The officer turned to Zhang Heng and questioned him directly:

"Hey, is your name Zhang Heng?"

Zhang Heng remained silent, merely nodding in response.

"Chief Shang, he nodded. It must be him."

"Good. Hand the phone to him; let him speak."

The officer thrust the phone toward Zhang Heng, and Zhang Heng took it to his ear.

"Comrade Zhang Heng, tell me, is your drug lord boss located solely at that stronghold? Are there no other hideouts?"

"Chief Shang, the only other place I know of is a villa complex they use to accommodate their operatives."

"Where is it?"

"I... I don't know the exact location, but last night when I followed their coach to that villa area, I caught sight of a hotel sign. I paid special attention to it, and the number on the sign read: No. 26 Songyi Village."

"Which characters are used for Songyi?"

"Song as in *songshu* (squirrel), and Yi as in *zhengyi* (justice)."

"Alright, give the phone back to the officer."

The officer snatched the phone back and said into the speaker:

"Chief Shang, I'm here."

"Good. Guard this Zhang Heng carefully. Wait until Officer Yang and I arrive."

"Understood."

With that, the line went dead.

After hanging up, the officer stared at Zhang Heng with a look of sheer incredulity and mocked:

"Well, well. Looks like you're no ordinary drug dealer. Are you an undercover cop or something? You've even got a direct line to Chief Shang."