Chapter 389: This Fatty Is Way Too Shameless

The scary thing isn't a crook making demands—it's a crook spouting nonsense.

So Yu Dazhang figured it was better to lay things out clearly in advance.

"Do you know how many people are inside?" a man's voice came through the phone.

The moment Yu Dazhang heard that voice, his heart rate spiked.

Zhang Chao!

Earlier, when Wang Hao had been on the phone with Zhang Chao, Yu Dazhang had been standing right beside him, and he'd heard every word of their conversation crystal clear.

Besides, Zhang Chao was crude in the way he talked, and his voice was very distinctive, so the memory was fresh—he couldn't be mistaken.

"Probably over a hundred of those mentally disabled people you lot rounded up."

Yu Dazhang forced himself to stay calm and said evenly:

"There should be another dozen or so people in charge of guarding them. I'd guess the total is close to two hundred."

Saying he wasn't worked up would be a lie. The fact that he could answer steadily was already a sign of strong nerves.

Zhang Chao being here had caught him completely off guard.

By all rights, someone like Zhang Chao should have prepared multiple hideouts for himself long ago.

For instance, he could easily have bought property under someone else's identity, or rented places long-term, or even booked a hotel room under a fake ID.

With enough preparation, any of these methods could have helped him evade pursuit and stay hidden.

Yet instead, he'd chosen to hole up in an underground prison.

In Zhang Chao's eyes, the safest place was probably this one.

"You actually know all this so clearly!" Zhang Chao said, surprised:

"I really suspect one of you people went undercover in there."

You lot grabbed the wrong people… Yu Dazhang muttered inwardly.

From Zhang Chao's words, it was clear he still didn't know that Fang Peng was mentally sound.

"Cut the crap."

Yu Dazhang couldn't be bothered to trade words with him and urged him straight on:

"If you've got something to say, say it."

There was only an hour until dark, so he had to make every minute count.

Once night fell, the variables could easily multiply.

"I can guarantee the safety of these hundred-plus people," Zhang Chao said unhurriedly:

"I've got just one demand—let me and my wife leave. A hundred-plus people in exchange for the two of us. That's a pretty good deal, right?"

Why's he not swearing today… While Yu Dazhang found it strange, he replied off the cuff:

"You've watched too many movies. Given the situation right now, even if we let you leave, you wouldn't make it out of Liancheng."

"That's none of your business," Zhang Chao said dismissively:

"That's my only condition. If you lot don't agree, I guarantee not a single person in here walks out alive."

Not a single person walks out alive? Yu Dazhang was caught off guard and didn't catch Zhang Chao's meaning at first.

That was over a hundred people—even if he really steeled himself to kill them all, he couldn't pull it off in a short time.

Could it be…

Zhang Chao had dangerous stuff like bombs?

"I don't believe you can kill that many people at once," Yu Dazhang said in a probing tone:

"Unless you can give me a convincing method."

Though he was saying he didn't believe it, he'd already raised his hand and was waving it forcefully, signaling the officers in the warehouse to pull back.

"What the hell, you're so damn slow."

Zhang Chao's tone suddenly changed, impatience creeping into his voice:

"I'm not bullshitting you. If you don't believe it, come in and see for yourself. We can talk specifics while you're at it."

Now that's more like it… Hearing him talk that way, Yu Dazhang actually let out a breath of relief.

He'd thought Zhang Chao had gotten smart, but turned out he'd been putting on an act the whole time. His wife must have been coaching him from the side.

"Fine, I'll head down now." Yu Dazhang agreed without hesitation.

"At most two people come down," Zhang Chao reminded him:

"If it's more than two, then don't even bother talking."

After saying that, he hung up directly.

Yu Dazhang's agreeing to go down was a move born of helplessness.

The stakes were too high—if there really were bombs or other dangerous items down there, the police had to prepare countermeasures in advance.

So going down to confirm was absolutely necessary.

Because this feature phone's earpiece was quite loud, the leaders standing beside him had all clearly heard Zhang Chao's voice.

When the call ended, everyone wore a heavy, solemn expression, and their gazes converged on Yu Dazhang without exception.

What guts.

In a situation like this, daring to go in alone—that kind of courage alone was worthy of admiration.

Director Long was just about to open his mouth and remind him to stay safe, when he saw Yu Dazhang turn his head toward Hua Kaiquan:

"Captain Hua, bring one person down with you. Negotiating isn't my strong suit."

Director Long: …

Captain Hua:!!!!

The assembled bigwigs:????

Everyone had assumed Yu Dazhang would go down and negotiate with them personally, but no one expected him to push Captain Hua out instead.

If you didn't want to go down, then don't agree to it.

At this moment, the way everyone looked at him completely changed; the admiration they had once felt for him vanished in an instant.

This fatty is way too shameless.

What the hell kind of thing did this turn into… Captain Hua was so angry his hands were trembling.

Going is fine — as a criminal investigator, he's long been used to dealing with danger.

But going just like this felt really awkward; he couldn't shake the feeling that someone had set him up.

Besides, shouldn't this kind of dangerous work be done with everyone fighting to be first? How did it get to him and turn into some Kong Rong-yielding-pears routine?

"I, I…"

Captain Hua wanted to argue back, but the moment he opened his mouth, he realized there was simply no argument to be made.

He really couldn't bring himself to back down at the critical moment.

"Don't get worked up." Seeing this, Yu Dazhang consoled him:

"I know an opportunity like this is hard to come by, but you still need to keep a level head. Once you go down, don't drag things out — the main thing is to confirm whether there are any hazardous materials."

Am I worked up…? Captain Hua took two deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

Then he picked one police officer, and together they walked down the steps.

Just before entering the iron gate, he still couldn't help it — he turned his head and glared at Yu Dazhang.

Yu Dazhang, on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest. He had always believed this kind of thing should be left to experienced veteran criminal investigators.

And as the leader of the task force, he couldn't possibly do everything himself, could he?

He had to give others a chance to shine every now and then.

Time passed second by second, and everyone inside the warehouse couldn't help but grow tense.

The officers stood ready with weapons in hand, and even Yu Dazhang placed his hand on his holster.

If there were any abnormal sounds from below, or if Captain Hua called for help, he would charge down without hesitation.

Ten minutes later.

Just when everyone was on edge, Captain Hua and his partner appeared at the entrance and walked back up.

"How did it go?" Yu Dazhang immediately went over to meet them.

"Not great." Captain Hua's face was grim, and he kept walking as he spoke:

"They really do have explosives, and they're all piled up against the base of the wall. The moment they're detonated, it'll definitely cause a collapse."

This was the last thing Yu Dazhang wanted to hear, and it also meant the police side had to make some concessions.

Only that way could they keep Zhang Chao and the others steady.

The SWAT leader simply turned around and walked out of the warehouse.

Everyone knew in their hearts that he had gone to call in the bomb disposal unit.

"Did you negotiate the terms?" Yu Dazhang asked.

"It's a bit strange — they only took me to see where the explosives were." Captain Hua said, frowning:

"Most of what they said was just threats, but at the end they demanded that you go down to talk in detail."

"They want me to negotiate?" Yu Dazhang suddenly felt something wasn't quite right.

He could recognize Zhang Chao only because he had overheard the other party talking with Wang Hao on the phone.

But Zhang Chao didn't know him.

Even though they had dealt with each other over the phone before, there was no need to insist on a detailed talk with him specifically.

"What were his exact words?"

Yu Dazhang had a premonition that Zhang Chao and the others were definitely planning something.

"He said…" Captain Hua thought for a moment, then answered:

"Tell that fatty to come down and talk to me."

Hearing this, Yu Dazhang couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

How did he know I'm the fatty?

(End of chapter)