Chapter 608

Director Lin, no one in the ventilation duct! Chen Shaokang came running to report: "The fan motor at the end has been dismantled, the fixing screws are scattered all over the ground, Wu Changsheng has already escaped from Elegant Maiden No. 1."

Lin Dongfan stood at the bow of Elegant Maiden No. 1, the sea breeze blowing his forehead hair into disarray.

He stared fixedly at the pair of leather shoes floating on the sea surface; although his gaze was full of anger, he did not act immediately.

This deathly silence caused Peng Tianhua, Liu Minghui and the others nearby to hold their breath, nobody daring to make a sound.

A few seconds later.

Lin Dongfan gave a cold, angry order: "Lock down the whole city! Immediately launch a carpet‑style manhunt! Even if he grew wings, we must catch him!"

His voice echoed on the deck, striking the nerves of everyone present.

Nobody dared to be negligent.

Especially Liu Minghui, who had just finished flattering.

As the highest commander of the on‑site public security, Liu Minghui already bore the responsibility for "ineffective cooperation in apprehension." To prove he was not a total waste, he was more anxious than anyone.

Under Liu Minghui's command, Haishan Shi quickly entered a "locked‑down" state, with checkpoints set up on every exit route.

The city's armed police, traffic police and special police sprang into action like machines.

The mobile patrol units operated nonstop twenty‑four hours a day!

Liu Minghui held a walkie‑talkie.

He kept issuing orders: "Train station, bus station, dock! Also hotels, rental houses, abandoned factories—all must undergo carpet‑style sweeps! Notify all sub‑bureaus and police stations, send out every available person! Nobody is to go home before we catch Wu Changsheng……"

The orders were passed down level by level, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.

The entire police apparatus of Haishan Shi burst forth with an unprecedented work efficiency. Shrill sirens wailed from every corner of the city, red‑blue flashing lights cutting across the evening sky.

On the city's main thoroughfares, barriers were quickly erected; police in reflective vests began strictly inspecting passing vehicles.

In residential communities, community police with auxiliaries began visiting households one by one.

An invisible net of heaven and earth was closing over this coastal city.

Yet this net was ultimately a step too slow.

One hour earlier.

At that time, Liu Minghui was still on the ship upholding the "besiege and cut off supplies" strategy; Lin Dongfan and the others were still on the road, not yet arrived in Haishan Shi.

At that moment, Wu Changsheng, relying on his knowledge of ship structure, had difficulty removing the fan motor and protective net at the end of the ventilation duct.

He slipped out like a loach through the narrow Stormproof Door, then, with the resolve of a warrior breaking his own wrist, plunged into the icy seawater.

The salty seawater stung his wound, the survival instinct overriding fatigue.

Wu Changsheng exerted all his strength, alternating between breaststroke and freestyle, using his familiarity with his hometown waters to avoid deep‑sea undercurrents and swim toward the most remote reef beach he remembered.

When he collapsed like a puddle of mud onto the rough gravel.

The bone‑chilling cold and sense of weakness nearly engulfed him, yet at that moment he felt an unprecedented happiness!

By his own strength alone, he escaped the police encirclement once again!

With such ability and wit, who else could there be?

He then angrily roared at the heavens: "If I don't want to die, who can do anything to me? Even Heaven cannot prevail against me!"

He lay on the sand and gravel, resting for two or three minutes.

Soaked through, Wu Changsheng ran barefoot into the mangrove by the shore; he did not, like an ordinary fugitive, blindly dash about in panic.

His thoughts were clear; first he called the immensely capable G Xiansheng for help, then he would find a place to hide and wait for the deity's aid.

Unfortunately, the phone had been soaked in seawater too long and had become useless.

Thus he crossed the cedar forest, entered an old residential area, and happened to see Chen Shaokang's former wife Wu Qin returning from outside.

He then tailed her and followed.

Wu Changsheng and Wu Qin are from the same clan, having grown up together in the same village.

But Wu Changsheng did not know that Wu Qin had divorced Chen Shaokang; in his memory, Wu Qin was still Chen Shaokang's wife.

Seeing this somewhat attractive woman, Wu Changsheng's anger flared from within.

Reflecting on his life, which had once been glorious, he blamed Lin Dongfan as the chief culprit for his present plight, while Chen Shaokang was an accomplice who constantly pressured him.

"Damn it, if I can't have peace, neither can you!"

Taking the moment Wu Qin opened the door, Wu Changsheng seized the chance, lunged forward in a single stride, shoved her inside, and then unexpectedly locked the door from the inside.

"Ah!"

This sudden intrusion startled Wu Qin badly.

After steadying herself and getting a clear look at Wu Changsheng's disheveled, fierce‑eyed appearance, Wu Qin instead pressed a hand to her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

It was as if she had met a brother from the same clan.

Wu Qin muttered offhand: "You scared me to death; I thought it was someone else—you're not a high official in the province, why are you running to my place?"

Hearing that, Wu Changsheng stared, a bit dazed—could she not know I'm a wanted criminal?

Forget it, Chen Shaokang's wife must die!

Wu Changsheng quickly drew his gun and pointed it at Wu Qin's head, coldly issuing an order: "Give me the phone." In fact, his gun chamber already had no bullets.

However, even an empty gun was more than enough to intimidate Wu Qin.

Wu Qin tremblingly handed the phone to Wu Changsheng, and, as an afterthought, asked: "Shengge... what's wrong with you? Could something have happened?"

Cut the nonsense, step back!

Wu Changsheng held the gun in his left hand, forcing Wu Qin to retreat a few steps.

With his right hand holding the phone, he dialed G Xiansheng's number, said nothing else, and simply reported his exact location.

Finally, Wu Changsheng shoved the phone into his pocket.

He then flew into a rage at Wu Qin: "Damn it! Your husband and Lin Dongfan have driven me to a dead end! Do you think I should chop you up and feed you to the fish, or bury you alive? I'll give you a choice!"

Upon hearing that, Wu Qin's heart leapt into her throat.

She blinked, and two pools of wronged tears welled up: "Brother Sheng, Chen Shaokang that bastard, as soon as he got promoted he divorced me. I've already had enough of this miserable life, and you still put his debt on my head. You might as well just shoot me dead—what kind of fate is this for me?"

As she spoke, she burst into tears, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Wu Changsheng is a ruthless person; he has little interest in women's tears, but the truth behind Wu Qin's divorce fascinated him, because it gave him a feeling of being insulted in his intelligence.

He shoved the gun barrel forward, pressing it hard against Wu Qin's forehead.

He coldly questioned: "You're the village belle, even though you're over thirty now, your looks are still there—how could Chen Shaokang divorce you? You're trying to fool a ghost!"

"Brother Sheng, getting promoted, making money, and having your wife die—isn't that what you men all hope for?" Wu Qin said through tears and a bitter smile: "He's already been transferred to the Provincial Department and made a deputy section chief; he wouldn't look down on me."

"Bring out your divorce certificate, let me have a look."

"Fine, come with me."

Wu Qin turned and led Wu Changsheng into the bedroom, pulling out two certificates from the bedside cabinet—one a voided marriage certificate, the other an effective divorce certificate.

She handed both certificates to Wu Changsheng: "I really divorced him."

Wu Changsheng flipped open the divorce certificate and took a look; his heart instantly felt tangled! Damn, what now? If killing Wu Qin wouldn't make Chen Shaokang feel any pain, should he still kill her?