Chapter 70: Some Mistakes Can Only Be Made Once

Replacing someone is impossible.

Choosing Zhang Sen to work with me wasn’t just Yu Dazhang’s sudden whim.

First, he understands Zhang Sen well—he cooperated with him many times in his past life.

Second, Zhang Sen can perfectly make up for his own weaknesses.

Yu Dazhang’s biggest headache is mobility; running is practically a nightmare for him.

Short distances are fine, but once the distance increases, this flaw becomes glaringly obvious.

And Zhang Sen excels at running—otherwise, how could he be called “Little Cheetah”? His speed and endurance are top-tier.

Uh~ lately I heard his nickname changed to “Ride Sen.”

“Brother Sen, I need you,” Yu Dazhang said with sincere expression, looking at Zhang Sen:

“I believe if we work together, we’ll crack this case.”

“Really?” Zhang Sen said skeptically, fearing this fat man had other intentions.

If it was true, he’d be willing to team up with Yu Dazhang.

Word’s gotten around the bureau lately—this new guy has performed exceptionally and was promoted beyond rank.

Who wouldn’t want to partner with a colleague who’s outstanding? In 2014, a new term emerged: “Ask to be carried.”

Many people rushed to find such people.

If they truly solved the case and found both the person and the guns, it would be an enormous achievement.

The only concern is this kid has a habit: at critical moments, he likes to ride people.

He even rode his own nickname “Little Cheetah” right out of existence.

“You forgot?” Yu Dazhang leaned closer and whispered:

“Didn’t we work together quite smoothly last time?”

“You fucking—” At the mention of it, Zhang Sen’s eyes widened instantly.

If there weren’t so many people around, he’d have punched this fat man twice.

Picking the wrong moment to bring it up—intentional, right?

He also noticed colleagues around him staring with envy and jealousy.

The reason goes without saying.

“Don’t ever do that again!”

He scolded sharply, then stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yu Dazhang.

The team assignment took only two minutes; with Wei Qian’s order, everyone immediately moved into action.

Before leaving, Lu Zhongxin pulled Yu Dazhang aside.

“You’ve been issued a sidearm now—I need to tell you something.”

The next words seemed hard to say, but they had to be said; Lu Zhongxin paused for two seconds before continuing:

“When your life is threatened, never hesitate—laws and regulations mean nothing at that moment…”

“Master, I understand,” Yu Dazhang interrupted immediately:

“Raise the gun and shoot—shoot and you live.”

He now found it slightly ridiculous.

His master had warned him about this in his past life—not just once.

Yet he still died because of it.

Some mistakes can truly only be made once.

Everyone’s heard “Mercy doesn’t command troops, righteousness doesn’t manage wealth”—but there are two more lines after that… Emotion doesn’t establish affairs, kindness doesn’t serve in law enforcement.

That’s right—overly kind people aren’t suited for police work.

Because kindness appears as laughable cowardice to criminals, making it hard to handle complex criminal situations and diverse offenders.

There’s a video online of a real drug bust—you can still find it.

In the video, police surrounded a suspect’s car and subdued the drug dealer fleeing from it.

One narcotics officer found a pregnant woman in the back seat and immediately ordered her out.

But the pregnant woman screamed, “Don’t point your gun at me—I’m scared!”

The officer actually lowered his gun and softened his voice.

Then the woman reached behind her, pulled out a gun, and aimed it at him…

The current Yu Dazhang won’t be as indecisive as he was in his past life.

Making the same mistake twice isn’t a mistake anymore—it’s a choice.

This life, he’ll be Niu Gulu·Yu Dazhang.

After leaving the Criminal Investigation Unit, the two drove to an industrial park on the city’s outskirts.

According to Zhou Hongfu’s tip, in 1998, construction had just begun here—he met Zhou Zizhe while working as a carpenter.

On the way, Yu Dazhang noticed other teams were also heading this way. Clearly, everyone had the same idea—starting the investigation here.

At this point, someone might ask:

Isn’t this a waste of police resources?

Sending one team is enough—why deploy so many people to investigate the same thing? Isn’t that redundant?

First, you must recognize what time it is.

Officers and firearms are missing; even the bureau chief is desperate to join the investigation himself.

At a time like this, worrying about resource waste is nonsense.

Second, everyone thinks differently.

Though all teams start from the industrial park, their subsequent investigative directions will inevitably differ.

Center-burst, radiating outward—perhaps one team will find the lead first.

Time is tight; there’s no time left to devise a detailed plan.

Please… collect… 6…9…books…!

If even one of the two missing guns fired, the consequences would be unimaginable.

About a hundred meters from the industrial park, Yu Dazhang told Zhang Sen to stop the car, then got out and gazed toward the park.

As if it wasn’t clear enough, he returned to the car and had Zhang Sen drive to a higher elevation.

This time, after getting out, he climbed straight onto the car roof.

“Hey hey hey—what are you doing?” Zhang Sen quickly reached out to grab him:

“The roof can’t hold you.”

He realized this fat man was quite mischievous.

How old are you, climbing up like this?

Did you not get enough of that as a kid?

“I just need to stand up and take a look,” Yu Dazhang seemed urgent.

“Not even for a second!” Zhang Sen insisted:

“If you crush the roof, how are we going to get back?”

After friendly negotiation, both sides compromised—Yu Dazhang stood on the hood.

Once steady, he brought his thumbs and index fingers together to form a triangle, then aimed it downward at the industrial park.

The two missing officers must have started their investigation from here too.

Next is the location they last reported to the brigade before losing contact.

Yu Dazhang slowly moved his hands upward and left, finally stopping at a distant building’s rooftop.

Two points form a line—he silently memorized an action trajectory in his mind.

“Let’s go—southeast,” Yu Dazhang jumped down, got back in the car, and told Zhang Sen.

On the road.

Zhang Sen asked curiously:

“Why don’t we just go straight to where they lost contact? Why come here first?”

Hearing this, Yu Dazhang didn’t answer directly but asked in return:

“Do you know why we pulled people from the First Detachment and had the Second and Third Detachments assist?”

This question left Zhang Sen speechless.

The leadership must have had their reasons—he’d never really thought about it.

After a moment of silence, he could only admit:

“I don’t know.”

“Investigative habits,” Yu Dazhang explained:

“The First Detachment’s officers are different from yours—they constantly deal with dangerous elements, so their investigations are especially meticulous.”

Especially when handling Category Eight cases—any oversight could trigger serious consequences.

Your method might save a lot of investigation time, but it also risks missing critical clues.

No need to spell it out—everyone here is in criminal investigation; a hint is enough.

The two of you just teamed up—you do need to sync up.

If Yu Dazhang had been assigned with Lu Zhongxin, this wouldn’t have happened.

“I understand.”

Zhang Sen had one good trait: he never argued.

This was also the main reason Yu Dazhang chose him for the team.

“Where’s the next location?” Zhang Sen then said:

“I can’t just drive in one direction forever—I need a destination.”

Yu Dazhang was staring at his phone screen, which displayed a newly loaded electronic map.

Looking at the small dot representing his position, he spoke slowly:

“Two points, one line. Follow this line straight through—like a bullet fired, we cut directly through both places where they went silent.”

(End of chapter)