Chapter 363: Starting with a Body Comparison

First, the other side will definitely find a way to learn the situation over here.

This is beyond doubt; otherwise, having someone drive here would lose all meaning.

Second, hiding inside the buildings to observe and relay information is, at present, the only viable method.

Would disguising as a passerby work?

Yu Dazhang had long taken this point into consideration.

Everyone outdoors in the compound had, as the encirclement shrank, already been listed as a person of interest and investigated.

Final verification showed they were all residents of the compound, and none had made any outgoing phone calls during this period.

"You can fly, can you?"

As Yu Dazhang muttered to himself, his gaze fell on the roof of the building opposite.

Since there's nothing inside the buildings, that only leaves the basement and the roof.

Just then, Qi Fang's call came through.

"This compound is all old-style multi-story residential buildings, no basements, so now only the roofs are left."

He was seeking Yu Dazhang's opinion.

In other words, he had already given up hope.

Qi Fang had never understood from the start how Yu Dazhang had reasoned it out, so he didn't believe there was an accomplice of the other side inside these six buildings.

Now that all six buildings had been completely searched, he was even more certain of his own idea.

"Continue the search," Yu Dazhang ordered:

"Don't let go of any spot on the roof where a person could hide."

Generally, for an old-style building like this with only six floors, the roof is wide open at a glance, with nowhere to hide a person.

As long as the police get on the roof and look around, they can see the entire layout of the roof clearly, and finding a person would be a piece of cake.

"Yes." Qi Fang acknowledged, then hung up.

As the order came through the walkie-talkie, the officers in the six buildings moved simultaneously.

Five minutes later, reports came in one after another:

"Building 4 search complete, no suspicious persons found on the roof."

"Building 6 search complete…"

Four reports in a row, all indicating nothing out of the ordinary.

Until an urgent voice cut in:

"A suspicious woman found in Building 7!"

Immediately after came a burst of chaotic footsteps and noisy sounds.

"The woman shows suicidal tendencies and is refusing to let us approach…"

Listening to the continuous reports coming through the walkie-talkie, Yu Dazhang breathed a sigh of relief.

Found her!

Just catching a designated driver is useless; he doesn't even count as a pawn.

Only by finding someone inside their organization can this operation be said to have not been a waste of effort.

At the same time, the criminal investigators and SWAT officers in the other buildings rushed toward Building 7.

"Take Wang Hao back," Yu Dazhang said to Lu Zhongxin.

"Got it." Lu Zhongxin acknowledged, and together with Zhang Sen, the two flanked Wang Hao and escorted him downstairs.

Arriving downstairs, Yu Dazhang came to the front of Building 7, looked up, and hesitated briefly.

Too high…

Climbing to the roof in one go is a form of torture for him.

"Honestly, me going up wouldn't do any good either," he couldn't help but talk himself out of it.

Pacing around in front of the unit door, he now only hoped for news from above that the suspect had surrendered.

The officers guarding each unit door downstairs couldn't help but cast curious glances his way.

Too slow… Yu Dazhang complained inwardly.

So many people and they still can't catch one woman—looks like he has no choice but to go up.

Stared at by the surrounding officers, he could no longer dawdle, and had to stride into the building.

When he reached the third floor, Yu Dazhang deliberately paused—maybe good news would come from above and he wouldn't have to keep climbing.

He panted a few times, but no one came down from above, so he had no choice but to keep going up.

Finally, he painfully crawled up to the sixth floor, hands braced on his knees, gasping for breath.

After recovering slightly, he looked up and saw that the way to the roof was a vertical ladder fixed to the wall.

Can this little ladder hold up under my weight… Yu Dazhang expressed deep concern about this.

He stared fixedly at the ladder, fantasizing that news of a successful arrest would come from above.

About ten seconds later, he had no choice but to give up, grabbed the ladder's rails, and climbed up one slow step at a time.

Luckily, the reserved opening was big enough that he wouldn't get stuck there.

Reaching the roof, Yu Dazhang saw a group of people gathered at the edge of the building, and Qi Fang's voice rose from the crowd:

"This won't get you anywhere; whatever you have to say, come back with us and explain it clearly…"

Still trying to talk her down? Yu Dazhang moved closer and saw a young woman standing at the edge of the roof, her face tense as she faced off against the officers.

She's actually quite pretty… that was Yu Dazhang's first impression of her.

The woman looked to be about twenty-five years old, with delicate features.

If she weren't cornered on the roof, no one would have taken her for a suspect.

All one can say is the other side knows how to pick people — a complete civilian like this is inherently disarming.

At this moment, the spot where she stood was only half a step from the edge of the building; one more step and she would fall.

Coming to the front, Yu Dazhang stood beside Qi Fang.

The woman, upon seeing him, visibly froze for a moment.

She seemed curious how, in a scene like this, someone had squeezed in just to watch the excitement.

It was really because Yu Dazhang's build didn't look like a police officer, and he was wearing plainclothes, making him look exactly like a rubbernecking bystander.

"You're so young, why bother with all this?"

Qi Fang continued to persuade:

"Think of your parents — if they knew you were like this now, how heartbroken they'd be."

The woman opposite, hearing this, was completely unmoved and rebutted coldly:

"I've been an orphan since I was little, raised in an orphanage. No one would be heartbroken for me."

"An orphan, huh." Qi Fang was stunned by what she said, but immediately said seriously:

"Then you should cherish yourself even more. Even if the whole world leaves you, at the very least you can't give up on yourself."

Why does this sound like song lyrics… Dazhang said nothing, just shook his head over and over.

He felt Qi Fang was about to run out of things to say.

Persuading people is a technical job too — it requires not only understanding psychology, but also quick thinking and the ability to adapt on the fly.

Qi Fang was clearly not cut out for this kind of work.

In the country there's no dedicated negotiator position; generally when this kind of situation comes up, it depends on who at the scene has the most experience.

"Cut the crap." the woman shouted loudly:

"Everyone back off!"

Qi Fang turned his head and glanced at Yu Dazhang, his look suggesting he wanted to hand this job off.

Yu Dazhang got the message, stepped forward half a step, and said to the woman:

"Backing off, backing off right now."

Saying so, he turned around, raised both arms, and made a dispersing gesture at the crowd:

"Back off, back off, no need for this many people to crowd around."

With him doing this, the originally tense atmosphere eased considerably. Everyone stepped back a few paces, leaving the space for the two of them.

"Satisfied with this distance?" Yu Dazhang turned back and looked at the woman.

"You back off too." the woman glared and replied loudly.

"Someone has to stay and talk to you, right?" Yu Dazhang looked quite helpless:

"Even if we all backed down to the ground floor, you still can't get away. You should be clear on that, so there's no need for this."

"Besides, there's such a strong wind up on the roof — what if it blew you down? Judging by your figure, you probably don't even weigh a hundred jin, right?"

His tone was casual, not at all like he was trying to persuade her — more like he was making small talk.

"Ninety-two jin." the woman replied reflexively.

No woman is indifferent to her figure; she was an ordinary woman too, so of course she'd care about this kind of question.

Yu Dazhang had hit upon what she cared about.

"Tsk tsk, that figure — I really envy you." Yu Dazhang patted his own belly:

"If only I had a body proportion like yours."

He had figured it out: the woman in front of him had no intention of killing herself at all.

This was nothing more than a tactic to scare people. If she really wanted to die, she would have jumped long ago, and there'd have been no chance for him to come talk her down.

"Answer one question for me first." the woman stared at Yu Dazhang curiously:

"Are you a police officer?"

(End of chapter)