Chapter 321: I Will Find the Evidence

Russell Square remains in a boil!

The entire square is like a pressure cooker heated to the critical point, filled with all sorts of gasps and screams!

At this moment, with Russell Square as the center, traffic within a two-kilometer radius has been completely paralyzed.

Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring in from all directions!

The lawn in the center of the square has long been submerged by the crowd; people are climbing onto lampposts, sculpture pedestals, and the roofs of surrounding buildings, holding up their phones to film frantically, flashes going off one after another like lightning in a storm, the entire square illuminated as if it were broad daylight!

The roar of the crowd is wave upon wave!

The local Cockney accent of Yingguo, the rolled-r sounds of Eastern Europe, Arabic interjections, and various Chinese dialects collide in a bizarre harmony during this global carnival!

The next second, just as this chaos reaches the verge of being almost uncontrollable, shrill police sirens begin to approach from afar, erupting simultaneously from all directions.

It is as if the nerve endings of this city received the same signal in the same second, and then the entire central system reacted in the most violent way possible!

At the same time, dozens of police cars burst out simultaneously from all the main roads connected to Russell Square!

These vehicles are not ordinary patrol cars, but fully armed SWAT armored vehicles!

Furthermore, the sound of helicopter rotors comes from the sky.

Over a dozen helicopters with Royal Air Force markings fly in from the four cardinal directions.

From the direction of the Thames River, the roar of speedboat engines arrives simultaneously. The interceptor boats of the river police cut white spray into the dark water of the Regent's Canal, snipers maintain their aiming posture at the bows, and the sound of the police officers acting in synchronization on the shore, wearing bulletproof gear, is perfectly uniform!

Meanwhile, from the direction of the British Museum on the east side of the square, another motorcade drives over.

This group of vehicles is much more low-key, with no police lights, no sirens, all black Range Rovers, even the license plates are inconspicuous, ordinary ones!

But it is precisely because they are so low-key that they are even more eye-catching!

The motorcade stops two hundred meters from the square, the doors open in perfect unison, and those who step out are not police, not soldiers, but the highest-ranking members of the state apparatus wearing various uniforms!

Following closely, on another street, Wesley and the Expert Group also arrive fashionably late!

"Professor Liu."

As soon as they get out of the car, Zhou Yun trots to Liu Xuemin's side: "The SAS has completed the encirclement, two snipers are deployed at each of the four high points of the square, all underground passages and subway entrances within a two-kilometer radius are completely sealed, the Thames River police boats have deployed mines, and London City Airport and Heathrow Airport have suspended all flight arrivals and departures; this time, he definitely cannot run."

Liu Xuemin does not stop walking: "Let's not move yet, listen to the orders from the Yingguo side."

"Understood, I understand."

No sooner have the two finished speaking than forty members of the Special Air Service squeeze toward the center from four directions simultaneously; their steps are uniform, the length of each step precise to the point of making one's scalp tingle!

The muzzles of their automatic rifles are pointed in the same direction at all times, the red dots of the laser sights converging on Chu Chen's chest into a dense cluster of red dots, like a swarm of venomous bees that have found their prey!

There are no reflective metal parts on their equipment, and even the black coating on their firearms is a specially treated matte finish, absorbing light rather than reflecting it under the lights; each person is like a moving mass of black void!

Immediately after!

The Armed Police Force follows closely behind!

Forming a second perimeter outside the special forces!

In the sky, helicopters also begin to hover over the central area of the square, with English announcements playing constantly!

"Royal Air Force, you have been surrounded, please abandon resistance immediately..."

The entire Russell Square is like prey slowly coiled by a giant python, every inch of air tightening!

The SWAT officers pouring in from all directions also surround Chu Chen at this moment!

The pitch-black muzzles are all aimed at him!

Looking at the SWAT officers, Chu Chen feigns surprise and says in English: "Wow, what are you doing? Such a big formation?!"

"Hands up!"

The circle of SWAT officers in the lead says in unison!

"OK, OK! Don't shoot! Calm down!"

Seeing this, Chu Chen slowly raises his hands!

Just at this moment, Wesley and the Expert Group also walk to the front.

"Chu Chen." Liu Xuemin speaks first.

Chu Chen lifts his eyelids and looks at him with a forced smile.

His gaze lingers on Liu Xuemin's face for less than two seconds, then moves down, sweeping over the other's collar, cuffs, and shoe surfaces, before finally returning to the other's eyes.

"Professor Liu." Chu Chen's voice is very calm: "Long time no see!"

"This time, don't think about running." Liu Xuemin says.

Six words.

Concise, direct, without any diplomatic embellishment, without any room for maneuver or negotiation.

Chu Chen looks at him without speaking.

"You have already proven yourself." Liu Xuemin's tone has no fluctuation, like stating a physical law that has been verified many times, "Your technique, your courage, your execution—the whole world has seen it. But you should also be clear that this is not a matter from which you can walk away unscathed; you must come with us."

He takes a step forward.

The five-meter distance becomes four meters, and the air becomes scorching in this compressed space.

"In my capacity as Team Leader of the Expert Group and Special Consultant to the Pursuit Team, I formally demand that you—voluntarily cooperate with our investigation and that of the Yingguo police to seek leniency. I can guarantee you that, provided you cooperate fully, no part of the procedure will result in unnecessary harm to you personally."

"Professor Liu. The 'leniency' you speak of, what kind of leniency does it refer to?"

Liu Xuemin does not answer.

Chu Chen does not need him to answer either, continuing on his own: "Ten years? Or twenty years? Or, given that the amount involved exceeds five billion pounds, plus transnational crime, destruction of cultural heritage, and endangering national security—oh right, I have to add one more, making the King of Yingguo get rained on himself—with all these charges added together, I'll probably be sitting in prison until I die, right? But, don't forget..."

Chu Chen pauses here before continuing: "Solving a case requires evidence; you have no evidence of my direct participation in the crime. Unless you truly believe my magic is real."

Liu Xuemin is silent for three seconds.

In these three seconds, the entire Russell Square is as quiet as a tomb!

Hundreds of thousands of people hold their breath simultaneously, hundreds of thousands of hearts beat violently at the same time, and hundreds of cameras record this three-second silence simultaneously!

"I will find the evidence."

Liu Xuemin finished speaking slowly, and Wesley also made a gesture toward all the special police officers standing by!

The next second, all the special police officers who received the order immediately began to act, continuously narrowing the encirclement!

When they had Chu Chen completely surrounded, the leading special police officer ordered directly: "Move!"

Hearing this, the four special police officers at the front immediately put down their guns and grabbed Chu Chen's two arms respectively!

But just at this moment, Chu Chen's entire body suddenly went limp, instantly slipping out from his clothes!

By the time the four special police officers reacted, the already empty clothes instantly piled onto the ground, and Chu Chen was nowhere to be found!