Chapter 384: Thunder Nets

The ink‑black night sky had no moon.

In the unremarkable courtyard in West City, the lights burned through the night without going out.

The ashtray before Zhou Zhengwei was already piled high with cigarette butts.

The slip of paper taken from a fish's belly lay flat on the table, its thirty‑seven names like thirty‑seven poisonous thorns, stabbing the eyes with a painful sting.

"Everything deployed?" his voice was hoarse.

"According to your instructions, we divided into twelve action teams."

Lao Zhao stood straight and reported, the scar on his face looking especially fierce under the light, "Each team has five men, all politically reliable, battle‑hardened veterans. The arrest is set for four a. m., when people are most drowsy and slow to react."

"What about the Shopkeeper?"

"We have twenty men stationed around his residence, with mobile sentries on the perimeter," Lao Zhao paused, "but starting this afternoon, the flow of people in and out of his house increased noticeably, three car trips came. I'm afraid... they may have sensed something."

Zhou Zhengwei pinched out the cigarette in his hand.

Sparks flickered at his fingertips, then turned into a wisp of blue smoke.

"Sensing is normal," he said slowly, "If Li Ping'an's commotion last night had not prompted the Shopkeeper, he wouldn't be fit for that position."

He stood up and walked to the wall.

On the wall hung a schematic of Four Nine City, its surface covered with dense red and blue pencil markings.

"But precisely because they sensed it, they might act desperate," Zhou Zhengwei's finger traced several key spots on the map, "These locations need extra forces. Especially…"

His finger stopped at one spot.

It was an old residential district in the north of the city, marked on the map with an unremarkable code.

"Warehouse No. 7."

Zhou Zhengwei's eyes were sharp, "The Shopkeeper built his fortune there; underground tunnels exist, hiding many unsavory items. The third person on the list lives next to the warehouse. If they intend to move or destroy evidence, that place is the most likely."

Lao Zhao nodded heavily.

"Understood, I'll lead the men myself."

"Be careful," Zhou Zhengwei patted his shoulder, "The Shopkeeper may have guns in his hand."

His words were understated.

But everyone present understood.

By "hard guys" he meant guns.

It was 3:40 a. m.

Four Nine City was still asleep.

The streets and alleys were empty, only occasional wild‑dog barks tore the night's silence.

The twelve action teams were already in position.

They spread out everywhere, like an invisible giant net, silently covering those still in their sleep.

Lao Zhao, with six men, lurked under the eave of the grocery shop opposite Warehouse No. 7.

The grocery shop had long been closed, its sign creaking in the night wind.

The warehouse doors were tightly shut, the windows pitch black.

But Lao Zhao could feel someone inside.

The breathing was faint, more than one.

He gave a hand signal.

Two team members crouched, pressing against the wall base, feeling toward the warehouse side door.

Their movements were as light as a raccoon, feet barely touching the ground, not stirring a speck of dust.

Just as they were three steps from the side door—

A sharp whistle suddenly rang out from inside the warehouse!

"We're exposed!" Lao Zhao's heart tightened, "All‑out assault!"

Before the words finished, the warehouse doors slammed open.

Three dark figures darted out, each holding a long, rod‑shaped object.

They flashed in the moonlight.

They were guns!

"Get down!" Lao Zhao barked.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire erupted, tearing the night sky.

Bullets struck the bluestone slabs, spraying a spray of sparks.

A team member let out a muffled groan, blood blooming on his shoulder.

"They have guns!" someone shouted.

Lao Zhao rolled behind the wall, drew his Type‑54 pistol from his waist, and fired three shots in a row.

A wail of agony came from the warehouse.

But more gunfire rang out from inside.

Bullets rained down like raindrops, pinning people so they could not lift their heads.

"Grenade!" Lao Zhao roared.

A team member gritted his teeth, pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and hurled it with all his might.

Boom!

Flames shot upward, the blast wave overturning the clutter at the warehouse entrance.

The gunfire faltered for a moment.

"Charge in!" Old Zhao leapt forward first.

Almost at the same time.

Gunfire rang out throughout Four Nine City.

In an officer's building in the east of the city, the Action Team had just broken through the door when they met fierce resistance.

The fifth person on the list was a man in his fifties, usually looking kind and gentle.

At this moment he clutched a Shell Gun, hid behind a desk and fired wildly.

"You can't catch me!" he roared, "The Shopkeeper won't let you go!"

Bullets pierced the door panel, and wood shavings flew everywhere.

The Action Team leader kicked the desk over, and the old man's gun barrel turned toward him.

Bang!

The gun fired.

But it was the old man who fell.

A bloodied hole gaped in his forehead, his eyes bulged wide, as if he couldn't believe he would die here.

A small courtyard in South of City.

The resistance here was even fiercer.

They had actually dug a trench in the courtyard; three youths were inside, manning two rifles and a makeshift gun.

Bullets flew out as if they cost nothing.

"They are death warriors!"

The Action Team was pressed against the main gate; the Group Leader gritted his teeth, "Use fire attack!"

A kerosene bottle was lit and thrown into the courtyard.

Flames roared up, lighting the night sky.

Screams of agony came from the trench.

But the gunfire kept ringing.

In the Siheyuan.

When the first gunshot sounded, Li Ping'an opened his eyes.

He lay on the bed, unmoving.

Divine Perception spread like a tide, enveloping the entire courtyard.

In the Front Courtyard, Yan Bu Gui, frightened, rolled off the bed and crouched on the ground, trembling.

In the Central Courtyard, Yi Zhonghai sat up abruptly, tilted his ear to listen, his face ashen.

The Jia family.

Jia Zhangshi clutched a blanket, curled up in the corner, muttering, "May the Bodhisattva protect, may the Bodhisattva protect…"

Qin Huairu held two children, biting her lip, too scared to speak.

Bang Geng and Xiao Dang stared with terrified eyes, not understanding what was happening outside.

The Sa Zhu Family.

"Damn it!" Sha Zhu scrambled to his feet, shuffled to the window and looked out, "Did they really fire?"

Ma Dongmei pulled him, "Stop looking! Get down quickly!"

"What are you scared of? It's just a few streets away," Sha Zhu said bravely, but his body was honest, and he slowly crouched down.

In the back courtyard, Liu Haizhong shakily lit a lamp, only to have Er Da Ma blow it out, "Looking for death! Light a lamp to attract bullets!"

Gunfire grew denser.

Like New Year's Eve fireworks, crackling nonstop.

Intermixed were explosions and screams.

And... police sirens.

Many sirens sounded from all directions, growing louder.

All of Four Nine City was jolted awake.

In Xi Kua Yuan.

Lin Xueqing also woke up.

She reached out to feel her husband beside her, but found nothing.

"Ping'an?" she whispered.

"I'm here," Li Ping'an's voice came from the windowsill.

He stood in the shadows, watching outside through the crack in the window.

The moonlight was dim, unable to see far.

But he could roughly discern the direction of the gunfire.

West City, East City, South of City…

Zhou Zhengwei moved.

Moreover, they met fierce resistance.

The Shopkeeper's men, indeed, were desperate and reckless.

"What's happening outside...?" Lin Xueqing's voice trembled.

"Catching the bad guys," Li Ping'an said simply.

He walked back to the bedside and grasped his wife's hand.

His palm was cold, slick with sweat.

"Don't be afraid." He said softly, "They can't hit us here."

Although he said that, his divine perception remained at maximum alert.

If the shopkeeper were truly driven to desperation, would he come take revenge on him?

Would he act against his family?

The possibility is small, but we must guard against it.

Li Ping'an let go of his wife's hand.

"I'll go check on the children."

He walked into the inner room.

Li Yaozong and Xiao Nuanqing slept very soundly.

The young children weren't sensitive to the gunfire; only Xiao Nuanqing furrowed her brow in her sleep and turned over.

Li Ping'an sat at the bedside, keeping watch in silence.

His hand rested on his waist.

There were three copper coins hidden there, and a short dagger.

If anyone really dared to come…

His gaze turned cold.

The gunfire lasted about half an hour.

It gradually grew sparse, sporadic.

Finally, only the distant wail of sirens remained, along with the sound of fire engines rushing by.

Dawn was approaching.

The east turned a fish-belly white.

The people in the siheyuan, however, dared not sleep.

They all pricked up their ears, listening to the outside.

Until it was fully light, voices came from the street.

They were early risers, discussing.

"Have you heard? There was gunfire last night!"

"Not just gunfire—people died!"

"My second uncle's place is right in West City; he said he saw soldiers carrying out several corpses…"

"What a sin…"

The discussion grew louder.

Finally, someone dared to open the door.

First came Yan Bu Gui, who cautiously pushed open a crack in the door and poked out half his head.

Then came Yi Zhonghai, standing in the central courtyard and looking toward the alley entrance.

Liu Haizhong came out, belly thrust forward, trying to put on the airs of a second uncle, but his legs still trembled.

"Everyone… everyone come out!" he shouted hoarsely, his voice weak, "Time to go to work, time to go to school!"

Nobody paid him any attention.

Everyone gathered in the courtyard, talking all at once.

"What on earth happened?"

"Could it be enemy agents sabotaging?"

"It sounded like battle to me…"

Just as they were speaking, two people in Zhongshan suits walked in from the alley entrance.

They wore work certificates on their chests.

"Fellow residents, don't panic." the leading middle-aged man said in a loud voice, "Last night the public security organs were apprehending a gang of criminals; the operation has ended. Please carry on with your normal work and life, and do not spread rumors."

His words sounded official.

But nobody dared to ask further.

The two walked around the courtyard, their gaze lingering briefly on the west wing, then left.

Li Ping'an stood at his own doorway, watching their backs.

These two were sent by Political Commissar Zhou.

One was to pacify the masses, two… to tell him the operation had ended.

At breakfast time, the siheyuan was unusually quiet.

Usually at this time, every household would be lighting stoves to cook, children crying, adults calling out, bustling with activity.

Today, however, it was eerily quiet.

Only the puffing of the coal stove could be heard, along with the faint clinking of bowls and chopsticks.

Li Ping'an's family sat at the small table.

Millet porridge, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns.

Lin Xueqing had no appetite, opening her mouth several times to speak but stopping herself.

Li Ping'an, however, ate with relish, a bite of steamed bun, a bite of porridge, no different from usual.

"Dad." Li Yaozong suddenly looked up, "What was that sound last night?"

"The sound of catching bad people." Li Ping'an said.

"Have the bad people been caught?"

"They have been caught."

"All right then." Li Yaozong nodded and continued drinking his porridge.

A child's mind is simple; say you caught them, and he'll believe it.

Li Ping'an looked at his son, but his heart felt heavy.

Did you catch them?

What about the shopkeeper?

Commissioner Zhou Zhengwei's dragnet operation—did it succeed?

Those gunshots, those explosions, those cries of anguish…

How many died? How many were injured?

He didn't know.

But one thing is certain—

This battle isn't over yet.

If the shopkeeper is really caught, that's still manageable.

If he got away…

Li Ping'an set down his bowl and wiped his mouth.

"I'm going out for a walk."

"Ping'an…" Lin Xueqing looked at him worriedly.

"It's fine, just at the alley entrance." Li Ping'an patted the back of her hand.

He walked out of the siheyuan.

In the alley, groups of three or five were already discussing.

Seeing him come out, their voices lowered.

Their glances darted away, filled with scrutiny.

Li Ping'an ignored them and walked straight to the alley entrance.

The street scene made his brows furrow slightly.

Normally at this time, the street should be full of people heading to work or school.

Today, however, it was sparse.

What's more, everyone hurried along with solemn faces.

Occasionally, one could see people in uniform patrolling.

In the distance, an ambulance wailed past.

The air still seemed to carry the smell of gunpowder.

He stood under the old locust tree, gazing at this city that had just endured a covert battle.

The morning sun rose, casting golden light over the streets.

But beneath this brightness, how much bloodshed, how many schemes, how many unknown sacrifices?

He didn't know.

But he knew he still had to wait.

Wait for news from Commissioner Zhou.

Wait for the final outcome.

A wind blew from the street entrance, bringing the chill of deep autumn.

Li Ping'an tightened his collar and turned to head back.

Behind him, the city gradually awakened.

A new day began.

But the bloodstains of last night still linger in many people's memories.

Long after, they cannot be shaken off.