Chapter 84: First Kill

Nobody in the world would believe that… Yu Dazhang stood up and stepped back one pace.

"Get up. Go to the bedroom."

As the man rose, he fixed Yu Dazhang with a stare and asked:

"Are you a cop?"

"That's right." Yu Dazhang didn't dare relax for a moment, his eyes locked tightly on the man across from him:

"Move slowly. Put your hands on your head."

The man obeyed, clasping his hands behind his head, then slowly walked toward the bedroom, muttering under his breath:

"Is there such a fat cop?"

Yu Dazhang ignored him. Only after they entered the bedroom did he speak:

"Where's the gun?"

"What gun?" the man countered.

"Your service pistol!" Yu Dazhang suddenly barked:

"Don't play smart with me. If I hadn't been watching you the whole time, you'd already have gone inside to grab it."

To his surprise, the man no longer denied it—he answered honestly:

"In the first drawer of the nightstand."

Yu Dazhang glanced at the nightstand and ordered:

"Open that drawer, then put your hands on your head and step back to the windowsill. Don't make any unnecessary movements."

The man did exactly as instructed. After opening the drawer, he slowly retreated to the windowsill and turned around.

His eyes never left the man as he moved forward, arriving at the nightstand. He glanced into the open drawer—there, indeed, was a handgun.

A Type 92, standard issue for criminal investigators… Yu Dazhang recognized it at a glance.

"Where's the other one?!"

"Not with me," the man answered bluntly:

"It was taken by Xiao Wei from the Lao Han family."

Yu Dazhang slowly knelt, reached into the drawer, pulled out the handgun, and holstered it at the small of his back.

Throughout the entire process, his eyes never left the man.

"Let's go to the yard."

Escorting the man to the pile of firewood beside the courtyard wall, Yu Dazhang commanded:

"Open the cellar lid."

Now he was certain the missing officer was inside that cellar.

After all, the service pistol had been found—that was direct evidence.

What he needed to confirm now was the current condition of the two officers.

Under Yu Dazhang's watchful gaze, the man lifted the lid and stepped aside.

The moment the lid opened, a heavy stench of blood poured out.

Yu Dazhang frowned and took one step forward.

At that moment, a sudden "Bang!" came from afar.

Gunshot!

From the sound, it was clearly a homemade crude firearm.

Then came two more "Bang-bang!" shots.

This time—the sound of a handgun firing.

Zhang Sen is in trouble!

In the instant Yu Dazhang hesitated—

The man across from him suddenly bent low without warning and lunged at him like an arrow released from a bow.

In the blink of an eye, he was already within arm's reach!

At the same time:

A cold, razor-sharp glint flashed abruptly, slashing straight toward Yu Dazhang's right hand holding the gun.

Everything happened too fast—Yu Dazhang had no time to fire.

The man's face twisted into a cruel grin, his cold eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

But the next second, his swinging knife-hand was firmly seized by a fat, meaty palm.

That fat hand clamped down like an iron vice, locking the man's wrist in place, immobilizing him completely.

Then a tremendous force surged up from the wrist—the pain made the man grunt involuntarily, and his dagger dropped from his grip.

Yu Dazhang released his hand and caught the falling dagger mid-air.

His left hand moved swiftly.

One slash—right through the man's neck.

Withdrew the blade.

Before the man's blood could spurt, another stab—straight into his chest.

Withdrew the blade.

Thrust again—the final strike plunged into the man's abdomen.

Three strikes. Total time: one second.

Each strike lethal!

The man staggered, swayed, and collapsed, eyes wide open.

At the final moment, his mouth gaped wide but no sound came out.

The cut on his neck had pierced his trachea, now completely filled with blood, his throat gurgling "guk-guk."

"You've been waiting for this chance, haven't you?" Yu Dazhang crouched down, waving the dagger before the man's face:

"Hidden beneath the wooden lid—what a pity. I'm least afraid of close-quarters combat."

Heightened senses mainly manifest in reaction speed.

As for physical mobility, Yu Dazhang's fat was indeed a burden—he couldn't run well, that was true. But in close-quarters brawling, it was absolutely his strength.

Not just reaction and speed—even his strength far surpassed that of an ordinary person.

In the instant the man charged forward, Yu Dazhang had already prepared for battle.

Disarming and counter-killing was a last resort.

Facing such a desperate man, he dared not hold back.

Watching the man die, Yu Dazhang finally dared to lean into the cellar.

"Is anyone down there?" he shouted downward.

No response.

No way… a flicker of panic surged in Yu Dazhang's heart.

If they'd been killed, there shouldn't be this much bloodstink.

Please… collect 6…9…books…!

"Is anyone down there?!" he repeated, unwilling to give up.

Still no answer.

But this time, a muffled "mm-mm" sound came.

They're still alive!

Yu Dazhang immediately exhaled in relief.

But his tension returned quickly.

Going down directly to rescue them was too risky.

If that woman returned and slammed the lid shut, they'd be trapped like turtles in a jar.

After a quick thought, he tossed the man's corpse into the cellar, then pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

He glanced at the large iron gate nearby and calculated in his mind.

The distance from the iron gate to this cellar opening was about seven meters—if he heard the gate move, he could run up in time.

With his hearing, even the faintest sound from the gate would be detectable.

Down in the cellar, he quickly found the two in the corner.

Their hands were bound behind their backs, cloth stuffed in their mouths.

One stared at him in terror, while the other lay curled up, utterly motionless.

Yu Dazhang had no time to check their condition.

The cellar wasn't large—he grabbed one by each arm and dragged both to the cellar opening in a few pulls.

He first hauled the conscious officer to the surface, then swiftly untied the ropes binding his wrists.

"Injured?" Yu Dazhang asked quickly.

"Not badly," the officer pointed to his left arm, still oozing blood: "Won't hinder movement."

His voice was weak—he clearly hadn't eaten much in three days.

Yu Dazhang handed him the police pistol:

"Hold position here."

He'd seen this officer a few times in his past life—his senior, though his face was now smudged with dirt, Yu Dazhang still recognized him.

He descended into the cellar again and brought up the other officer.

This time, with help from the officer above, the process was faster.

"Go inside."

Yu Dazhang slung the unconscious officer over his shoulder and sprinted into the self-built house.

After laying him down, he quickly checked the officer's condition.

A knife wound on his lower abdomen—swollen, red, and purple. The cut wasn't fatal, but it was infected.

Dammit… Yu Dazhang's heart tightened.

He knew a person couldn't last long in this state—they had to get to a hospital fast.

Good thing he'd called Lu Zhongxin before coming.

Given his master's meticulous nature, he'd definitely arranged for an ambulance to come along.

"Stay here and don't move," Yu Dazhang told the conscious officer:

"The task force should reach the village in about an hour."

After giving instructions, he stood and walked out.

"Where are you going?" the officer called from behind.

Yu Dazhang didn't stop walking, answering as he went:

"There's another colleague outside—I'm going to support him."

He didn't mention Zhang Sen's name, because he wasn't sure which of the two officers was Zhang Sen's master.

The apprentice was already impulsive—if the master was the same, it'd be worse.

As Yu Dazhang stepped out of the self-built house, the large iron gate suddenly creaked.

The gate swung open, and the middle-aged woman from before walked first, followed by seven or eight young men.

So she had received the man's signal and gone to fetch people... Yu Dazhang felt no fear at all and walked straight toward them.

"It's him!"

The woman pointed at Yu Dazhang, and the youths behind her immediately closed in.

(End of this chapter)