Chapter 31: Hunting the Beast

Jun’an Logistics Park functioned essentially as a large-scale meat storage and transfer station, so a vehicle disinfection pool was installed at the entrance; every vehicle entering or exiting had to pass through it, meaning all tires inside the park carried traces of disinfectant.

The vehicle carrying the cash box was no exception! After police investigation found no vehicle matching the one at the scene, it could only mean the criminals had replaced the tires after entering the park. Such modified small trucks were numerous within the park, nearly identical in appearance and color; the criminals had also used fake license plates. Police initially relied on tire tread patterns and wear levels to narrow suspects, but once the tires were replaced, this method could no longer identify the suspect vehicle.

After Gu Changzheng proposed a new search direction, they indeed found a small truck whose tires had absolutely no disinfectant residue.

This discovery revived the exhausted team’s spirits—it meant they were closer to the criminals!

“Driver Liu, do you recognize which company this truck belongs to?” Gu Changzheng had turned the park’s guard room into a temporary command post, pointing at the photo of the small truck to the night guard, Liu Dafu.

Liu Dafu put on his reading glasses and examined it closely: “I know, I know! This truck belongs to Haiqing Cold Storage. The owner is Tan Haiqing—his cold storage is in the northwest corner of the park, with a sign reading ‘Haiqing Cold Storage’ at the entrance!”

“Good, thank you!”

Gu Changzheng glanced at his watch: “It’s 4:32 a.m. on the 6th. Synchronize your watches. Target: Haiqing Cold Storage in the northwest corner. Group One, breach the front door…”

“Form encirclement in five minutes! Liu Boshan is armed and extremely dangerous—he has at least two accomplices, weapons unknown. Coordinate carefully. Do not let him escape the building! Understood?”

The team growled: “Understood!”

The hunt began!

Inside Haiqing Cold Storage, Tan Haiqing stood before a gleaming stainless-steel table, wearing a thick military coat. Where pork had once been laid out now rested the naked corpse of a man. Tan Haiqing picked up a towel of indeterminate color and covered the corpse’s head, then pressed a red button beside the table. A loud mechanical roar erupted as he expertly pushed the body toward the rapidly spinning saw blades…

Suddenly, a sharp gunshot shattered the silent night! Tan Haiqing, slicing the corpse, jolted in shock. “Damn! The police found him!” He glanced around wildly, then stopped his work, opened the cold storage door—and found a line of armed SWAT officers aiming their rifles directly at him!

Tan Haiqing turned pale, trembling as he raised both hands. Two SWAT officers lunged forward, pinning him to the ground. “Click!” Cold handcuffs snapped shut behind his back.

Back at 4:37 a.m., Tan Haiqing was focused on cutting the corpse, utterly unaware that he and Liu Boshan had already been surrounded by police.

With a loud “whoosh!”, the roller door rose. Liu Boshan, asleep in the back room, jolted upright in bed at the sudden noise. In the same instant, his Type 77 pistol was chambered and fired!

“Puh! Puh!” Two bullets pierced the shield of the lead officer and struck his body. Fortunately, all officers wore bulletproof vests; though the shots knocked them down, none were fatally wounded.

Liu Boshan’s reaction was astonishingly fast—a skill honed over years of crime. He could fall asleep in seconds and wake in an instant. Except when bathing, he never parted from his weapon. That was why he could launch an attack the moment the police breached the door.

But today, all his resistance was futile. After he shot down one officer, the assaulting SWAT teams immediately scattered into cover, leaving a clear path through the center of the room. Liu Boshan, seeing this, did not move.

He burst into wild laughter: “Don’t move! I’ve got the owner here! Take another step, and I’ll kill him!”

Liu Boshan didn’t know whether the police had found him through systematic house-to-house checks or had already pinpointed this location. In desperation, he resorted to his old trick—bluffing to buy time.

Gu Changzheng still couldn’t determine whether Tan Haiqing was Liu Boshan’s accomplice or an innocent hostage. The other accomplice who helped abduct Jiang Yuanqi had not yet appeared. For now, he hesitated.

In a flash, Liu Boshan spotted, by dim light, that Tan Haiqing was not in the room. Knowing Tan’s habits, he shouted loudly, “Ahh!” and grabbed a pillow from the bed, hurling it outward.

“Whoosh!” The SWAT officers at the door, seeing a dark shape hurtling through the air, opened fire. “Bang! Bang! Bang!” The pillow exploded into shreds, duck down flying everywhere.

Seizing the moment, Liu Boshan lunged forward, slamming his entire body into the nearest officer.

“Thud!” The officer collapsed. Liu Boshan instantly clamped his arms around the fallen man, locking his chest in a wrestling-style grip, then rolled violently on the ground.

Everyone was stunned. Afraid of hitting the pinned officer, no one dared shoot. Liu Boshan now had the officer pinned face-up: his chest crushed under Liu’s grip, his jaw pinned beneath Liu’s skull, his head immobilized, his arms trapped. After several violent “death rolls,” the officer was choking, suffocating.

Liu Boshan had reached the entrance of Haiqing Cold Storage. His plan: roll out the door, press his back against the wall, and use the officer as a human shield to escape.

At that exact moment, Tan Haiqing stepped out of the cold storage, surrendering.

Tan Haiqing, handcuffed, was hauled to his feet by two officers. Others rushed into the cold storage—and immediately, retching sounds erupted. A young officer, leading the charge, was the first to see the dismembered corpse. He couldn’t hold it in—he vomited.

Outside, Tan Haiqing heard the vomiting. He knew exactly why. He stared at the ground, a strange smile curling at his lips.

Less than five meters apart, Liu Boshan, still rolling, caught sight of Tan Haiqing being led out. His face first registered shock, then sorrow, then twisted into manic laughter: “Hahahaha!” He released the nearly unconscious officer, pointed at Tan Haiqing, and screamed: “This faggot’s been driven crazy by me! Hahahaha! The bastard’s a lunatic! Hahahaha!”

“Slap! Slap!” Four officers lunged from all sides, pinning the still-laughing Liu Boshan to the ground.