Chapter 157: You Should Enjoy This Tube of Medicine

"I think you're deliberately avoiding me." Qu Tuotuo's voice carried a hint of anger:

"You get off work right on time. Is this the 'very busy' you spoke of?"

This girl wouldn't be deliberately staking me out here... Yu Dazhang thought it was quite possible.

If it were any other girl, after not seeing each other for so many days, she would have already called to question him.

But Qu Tuotuo wouldn't; she would gather actual evidence like a police officer investigating a case before confronting you.

Yu Dazhang recalled that since Li Mingzhao warned him to be careful, he hadn't met her.

It had been nearly a week.

"Actually, it's related to a case. I can't go into specifics with you."

Already caught red-handed, Yu Dazhang could only reveal a little inside information:

"Just wait another couple of days. By then, I will come find you."

"Are you in danger?" Qu Tuotuo's mind worked quickly; she immediately connected the dots, her eyes flashing with worry.

She's quite smart... Yu Dazhang realized he had underestimated her a bit.

He paused and said:

"Being a police officer carries risks inherently. Don't overthink it; go back."

"No." Qu Tuotuo stared at him with her eyes fixed tightly, as if afraid he might disappear:

"Tell me the truth. Is someone trying to retaliate against you?"

She knew Yu Dazhang had solved major cases consecutively and had even received a Second-Class Merit.

This was the main reason for her concern.

In the police profession, the stronger your ability, the more enemies you have.

I'm starting to understand why men don't want their partners to be too smart... Yu Dazhang had an epiphany at that moment.

She actually deduced it!

And she was very accurate.

If they really got together in the future, wouldn't she eat him alive, leaving him unable to hide even a small secret?

"There is indeed news along those lines." Yu Dazhang looked at her helplessly:

"But it will pass soon. The leaders said everything will be completely fine in another two days."

Since Qu Tuotuo had guessed, he might as well lay everything out clearly to stop her from overthinking.

Actually, he wasn't confident in his heart either.

If the National Security Bureau had handled the matter, Li Mingzhao would definitely have called to notify him.

But six full days had passed, yet the other side hadn't sent a single message.

This indicated the matter at the National Security Bureau wasn't finished; perhaps they had encountered something tricky for them as well.

"Then..." Qu Tuotuo looked at Yu Dazhang with complex eyes:

"Can we have a meal together today?"

As if afraid Yu Dazhang would refuse, she quickly added:

"Look, I'm already here, and I haven't driven. If someone is watching you, I might very well become their target right now."

You did this on purpose... How could Yu Dazhang not know Qu Tuotuo's thoughts?

But seeing the expression on her face, the words he wanted to say were swallowed back; he nodded and agreed:

"Get in the car."

The National Security Bureau still hadn't contacted him; the danger period might very well continue to extend.

He couldn't avoid seeing Qu Tuotuo forever.

Having a meal occasionally shouldn't lead to trouble.

On the road.

"Let's go eat Western food." Yu Dazhang smiled slightly and suggested softly.

Upon hearing this, Qu Tuotuo couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised; she turned her head in confusion and asked doubtfully:

"Don't you dislike Western food?"

They had eaten together a few times before.

But every time, Yu Dazhang would just casually order a plate of pasta or a steak and finish it hastily.

Qu Tuotuo had noticed; he was just accompanying her.

If it were just himself, he would absolutely never step a foot into a Western restaurant.

"That was before." Yu Dazhang explained against his conscience:

"Since eating with you a few times, if I don't have it for a while, I actually miss it a bit."

Wanting Western food was a lie; he just wanted to find a relatively safe environment.

Western restaurants are quiet, elegant, and have a warm atmosphere.

Such an environment is not complicated.

If suspicious characters appeared inside the restaurant, they would be easily discovered.

"Really?" Qu Tuotuo's eyes lit up, and a look of delight appeared on her face.

Although still somewhat uncertain, it was clear she was very happy.

This added another shared hobby for the future.

At this moment, the red light at the intersection ahead turned on, and the car slowly came to a stop.

It was exactly Rush hour; traffic was quite congested. At times like this, it took two green lights to get through.

Just as Yu Dazhang was about to reply, the entire car body suddenly jolted violently!

The sudden jolt made his heart jump.

A rear-end collision, or an ambush?

He looked through the rearview mirror and saw a sedan pressed up against the back of his car.

A woman who looked to be around thirty stepped out from the driver's seat of the sedan.

Her face was grim, her eyes full of fear and panic. She stood rooted to the spot at a loss, yet her gaze was fixed on the spot where the two cars had collided.

Please... bookmark... 6... 9... book... bar...!

Yu Dazhang shifted his gaze to the sedan the woman was driving.

Through the front windshield, he could clearly see there was no one else inside the car.

Even so, he was still a little uneasy.

"Don't get out of the car." Yu Dazhang instructed Qu Tuotuo.

Qu Tuotuo understood she couldn't cause trouble at this moment and immediately nodded in agreement:

"Okay."

He opened the door and got out, walked to the rear of the car, and first took a look at the spot that had been hit.

The sedan's hood had crashed right into the spare tire mounted on the back of the SUV.

Yu Dazhang's car was fine, but the sedan's hood was deformed and the headlights were all shattered.

"File an insurance claim." Yu Dazhang said to the woman.

In this situation the woman was clearly fully at fault; even if traffic police came, they'd definitely assign liability the same way.

His car was fine, so he had no intention of making the woman compensate him.

"Let's call the police first." The woman said, stepping closer and standing beside Yu Dazhang:

"I'm a new driver, I don't really know how to handle this kind of thing."

"If there are no casualties, you don't have to call the police." Yu Dazhang reminded her.

For an accident with basically clear facts like this, it could be settled privately; he figured the woman should be able to understand that.

The next moment, he suddenly sensed something was off.

What was that smell?

He caught a scent on the woman that resembled roasted meat.

The smell was faint, but it still didn't escape his sense of smell.

He'd smelled this somewhere before~

And at that moment, one of the woman's hands had already slipped into her coat pocket……

Shit, acetone!

Yu Dazhang snapped back to himself. In the instant the woman pulled her hand from her pocket, he seized her wrist in one grip.

A syringe was held up in the air by the woman, the needle tip aimed at Yu Dazhang's face.

Because most anesthetics contain acetone as a solvent.

So at police academy, there was a required course on identifying the smell of acetone.

Good thing he reacted in time... Yu Dazhang felt relieved, but also a wave of lingering fear.

If he hadn't been on guard beforehand, and hadn't had such a keen sense of smell, he probably would have been knocked out by now.

Under the woman's terrified gaze, he suddenly exerted force with his hand and drove the needle viciously into the artery of her neck.

She struggled hard, trying to break free of Yu Dazhang's grip, but the gap in their strength was too vast; she couldn't budge him an inch.

More than half the tube of drug was pushed in, none of it wasted—all of it was injected by Yu Dazhang into the woman's neck.

With someone who dared to attack him in a busy area, he didn't dare let his guard down in the slightest.

In just two seconds, the woman went limp all over, collapsing like a pile of mud at Yu Dazhang's feet.

Before he could even bend down to check, the two side doors of that sedan suddenly swung open.

Three men stepped out from inside.

(End of chapter)