Chapter 328: Even a tiger does not eat its young

Goat City, South Square of Gate River City Long-distance Bus Center.

A plainly dressed woman got off the bus.

She carried a woven bag, held an infant in swaddling clothes in her arms, and hurried through the crowd.

She reached the bench beside the square, put down her woven bag, and hastily pulled out her phone to call her husband.

"Hey, Ahao, I've brought the child to the station—where are you?"

"You go ahead and buy the tickets; I'm on my way and will be there soon."

"Ahao, don't scare me—you know I'm timid. Tell me honestly what you've done; are the police after you?"

"I can't explain over the phone—I'm also dragged into this. Let's talk when we meet; you go buy the tickets first, I'll be there shortly."

"Okay, got it—take it easy on the road."

"By the way, honey, did you bring the can of milk powder from the table?"

"I brought it, and I also took the money from the drawer."

"Later, use the thermos to get some hot water. We need to take a bus for several hours to Red Sea, then hurry through customs to Mysterious Gate. Don't let the child go hungry on the way. I'm sorry for putting you through this; I'll make it up to you and give us a good life."

The woman's nose tingled; looking at the baby in her arms, she said, "I don't need a good life—just plain tea and simple meals are fine, as long as our family of three stays together, that's better than anything."

On the other end of the line, a moment of silence passed, his voice heavy with guilt: "Honey, I'm sorry for letting you suffer with me."

She wiped her eyes and said, "Whether it's suffering or not, hurry over—I'll go in first to get your tickets."

"All right, I'm just two traffic lights away—I'll hang up now."

"Mm."

After hanging up, the woman clutched the child, grabbed her luggage, and rushed to the ticket window.

Seeing that every ticket window had a long line, and the next bus to Red River was about to depart soon,

Left with no choice, she went to the military‑priority ticket window and pleaded with two young soldiers on official duty.

"Sorry, comrades, we're in a rush to catch the bus—could we buy our tickets first?"

"Sure, please go ahead."

The two soldiers quickly stepped aside to let her buy first.

A man and a woman slipped their two IDs into the window; the ticket clerk merely glanced at the baby in the woman's arms and her travel‑worn appearance before saying nothing more.

Apparently taking her for a migrant worker, he printed two bus tickets and told her there were ten minutes left before boarding inspection.

"Thank you, thank you!"

She took the tickets and thanked him repeatedly.

She hurried toward the waiting hall, but as she neared the security checkpoint, anxiety welled up inside her.

Because the station now had many more patrolling police, and two armed police with live ammunition stood at the security gate.

Moreover, the instant she appeared, the police dog lying on the ground suddenly rose and fixed its gaze on her.

The woman knew her husband had done something wrong, but she didn't know exactly what; though she felt terribly guilty, she could only force herself to stay calm, toss her bag onto the conveyor belt, and walk through with the child in her arms.

"Woof, woof woof, woof woof woof!"

Suddenly, the police dog became agitated, barking furiously at the woman who had just cleared inspection.

Had it not been leashed, the dog would have lunged at her.

This scene drew the attention of many nearby passengers; even the travelers waiting in the waiting hall rose to their feet, staring curiously.

The woman's face showed panic; she lifted her bag, holding the baby, trying to evade the dog's focus—but the dog, as if it had singled her out, barked even louder.

Two police officers realized something was wrong and immediately stepped forward to restrain her.

They checked her ID and asked what was in her bag.

"Nothing, just some spare clothes, baby supplies, milk powder and such."

"Please open it for us to see."

"There's nothing to see—just..."

"Please cooperate with our work!"

The woven bag was opened, and two police officers squatted down to examine it carefully.

With the help of the police dog, they quickly zeroed in on the can of infant milk powder.

"Open it up!"

When opened, it revealed a milky‑white powder that gave off a strong milky scent.

But the police dog grew even more agitated, clearly sensing something hidden in the powder.

An older officer immediately guessed what it might be, snatched a bit, sniffed it, and his face turned ashen.

"Does it have a sour smell?"

"It's heroin—the milk powder may be mixed with heroin!"

Several officers' faces darkened; they moved in to subdue the woman and conduct a forcible search.

Soon they found an ID on her person bearing the name Lianghao.

This man was the notorious criminal known as Haoge, whom the Goat City Public Security System had been hunting citywide.

Upon learning they were a married couple, all the officers on site changed expression.

"Attention, attention, attention, attention!"

"This is the Gate River North Passenger Station—we've located the spouse of the mastermind behind multiple robbery‑murder cases!"

"We suspect the criminal intends to flee together with her; she is now in our custody, and heroin traces have been detected in the milk powder she was carrying."

"We suspect that Lianghao, who may arrive later, could be hiding firearms or ammunition, or have other accomplices—request headquarters send reinforcements, request headquarters send reinforcements!"

The nearby officer's words left the woman's mind blank.

She never imagined that the child's milk powder could be laced with drugs.

Even more shocking, the mechanic Ahao, who had been living with me day and night for over four years and seemed honest and hardworking to outsiders, turned out to be a robbery and murder suspect?

「No, no, this is impossible, how could this be possible? 」

「My husband is not that kind of person; he could never be that kind of person! 」

「You must have made a mistake, there must be some mistake somewhere—how could that kind of substance be in the milk powder? 」

「Soon, soon my husband will come; he will explain clearly to you that he's been framed, there must be a misunderstanding here; Liang Hao is just a low‑level worker at the factory, how could he possibly do such a thing? 」

At this moment, several officers were already evacuating passengers in an emergency and were urgently contacting headquarters to request reinforcements.

That gang has committed a series of crimes in the cities around Goat City, succeeding each time, and their firepower is also extremely terrifying.

If the other side is cornered and lashes out at innocent civilians, the problem will become serious.

At the same time, upon receiving the news, the special police and armed police all mobilized, rushing here in great haste.

The piercing wail of sirens echoed through the streets, making the whole city feel extremely uneasy.

Meanwhile, on a modest civilian dock far from the city center, an unremarkable small fishing boat started up and drifted downstream with the current.

On the deck, a man who looked honest and hard‑working held a sports bag, gazing far off in the direction the siren came from, his face calm.

The phone in his pocket kept ringing, but he didn't answer; instead he took out the battery, broke the SIM card and threw it into the water, then walked straight back into the cabin......