Chapter 379

Mu Zhiyang bounced excitedly twice, as if warming up.

He shielded his head with his buckler and took a few steps forward, looking fairly professional.

In fact, since being injured during the "Wu Long Mountain Savage Case," Mu Zhiyang had specifically trained in it, and the First Platoon's platoon leader, Wu Junhao, readily taught him.

As Wu Junhao had said back then: "These days, if you encounter a thug waving a pistol around, consider yourself lucky! 'Commander, flank him from both sides—don't give him time to take a hostage!'" Mu Zhiyang urged, then shouted for Wang Chuan, Shen Yaowei, and others to form a temporary assault team behind him.

Zheng Tianxin glanced back at Jiang Yuan, thinking: Your men are pretty fierce.

Jiang Yuan understood their high spirits well. The members of his Cold Case Special Team were all highly driven officers; none would have transferred from afar to serve under him unless they were eager to earn merit and achieve something. His team's workload was heavy, even crushing, and their pay and benefits were worse than those of ordinary officers in Changyang City—they all sought accomplishment, sought victory. Jiang Yuan himself was no different.

If you measured by cost-benefit or career advancement, Jiang Yuan's choice to become a forensic pathologist made no sense at all.

"Assuming the suspect is alone, let Mu Zhiyang and the others give it a try. They've all been trained in related tactics." Jiang Yuan expressed his support, surprising Zheng Tianxin.

As for training, everyone had received it. Police are inherently violent instruments—look at American cops: two or three of them charging into gunfire is common. Domestic police don't charge not because they're afraid, but because their superiors fear accidents.

For leaders, it's better to waste three or five hundred men exhausting a single armed criminal, or wait hours for armed police or SWAT to arrive, than to let regular officers take the front line.

With this pattern repeating so often, many officers themselves no longer wanted to go forward. But this was clearly not normal.

Everything has a cost. These are officers who've been thoroughly trained, yet they're routinely assigned dangerous tasks—yet when firearms appear, they suddenly turn into porcelain dolls. If it takes two hundred detectives to wear down one armed criminal for a full day, then hundreds of theft cases will be shelved indefinitely.

With 365 days a year, homicide cases demand full mobilization, armed incidents demand full mobilization, meetings demand full mobilization, high-level visits demand full mobilization—how much time is left for ordinary cases?

Jiang Yuan himself had experienced gunfights; looking back now, the fear he felt was real, and upon review, many things could have been done better.

Mu Zhiyang likely felt the same—someone who's been caught in the rain has no fear of walking through it again, especially when fully protected.

Rather than slowly accumulating seniority day by day, Mu Zhiyang preferred to take a little risk.

"Jiang Team, they're your men—if you're willing, I won't object," Zheng Tianxin said. He could guess what these young officers were thinking. He didn't fully approve, but honestly, with a single small pistol on the other side and dozens of our men armed with bulletproof vests, helmets, and shields, charging in would earn at least two third-class merits. It was normal for young men to want to prove themselves—he himself had seized a few chances back when he was young.

Routine work, unless you're a genius like Jiang Yuan—a master detective—will leave most officers as lifelong desk-bound cops: working overtime until their hair thins, staying up until their livers harden, writing reports until they're bloated with grease—better to get shot than endure this!

"Then let Mu Zhiyang and the others try?" Jiang Yuan locked eyes with Mu Zhiyang and the others. Zheng Tianxin nodded. "I'll give you three guns—use them only if absolutely necessary."

He sent someone to retrieve the firearms, then turned to his own team. "Anyone who wants to go—go ahead. It's an opportunity."

The two officers beside him just smiled and stayed silent. They were in their thirties, married with families, had seen it all, and had no interest in risking their lives. Not even for glory—just getting injured would mean chronic leg or back pain later, and it wasn't worth it.

Zheng Tianxin's gaze drifted further, and a young officer, fresh out of school just a few years, couldn't help but step forward: "Chief Zheng, I want to go."

"Alright," Zheng Tianxin agreed. He couldn't let outsiders charge while his own men stood by to claim the credit.

One led to another—soon, half the young officers from nearby patrol cars stepped forward, totaling nearly ten. Meanwhile, Mu Zhiyang and his team, armed and shielded, had circled around the right-side self-built houses and reached the base of Tian Xiang's building.

The Lu Yang City Criminal Investigation Unit split into two teams: one circled left through the self-built houses, the other moved to the rear, linking up with the officers who had arrived earlier, preparing to scale the wall from behind.

In effect, aside from the dozen or so police cars still flashing lights at the front, all three other sides now had assault teams in position.

Tian Xiang hid behind the second-floor window, occasionally peering out as if afraid of being sniped. He couldn't see what the police were doing—and even if he could, he wouldn't understand.

At the same time, he waved his arms wildly, shouting incoherently, showing signs of mental instability.

Of course, anyone suddenly surrounded by dozens or hundreds of men threatening to shoot them would lose their composure.

On Zheng Tianxin's side, a detective raised his shield and shouted through a loudspeaker: "Person inside, you are surrounded!"

As he spoke, Mu Zhiyang, with two colleagues lifting him, climbed directly into Tian Xiang's second-floor window. It was a standard maneuver they'd trained for—but opportunities to use it were rare.

In the time it took to speak, Mu Zhiyang, with the help of two colleagues lifting him, directly vaulted into Tian Xiang's second-story window—standard moves for trained personnel, though rarely put to use.

The sound of shattering glass strangely resembled gunfire.

But the detective's loudspeaker call was too loud—Tian Xiang, separated by just one room, heard nothing.

Mu Zhiyang rolled on the spot, pulled his small buckler from behind, tossed a rope down, and braced his foot against the window sill's lower edge. The detectives behind him easily climbed up with a little help.

These tactical maneuvers were practiced more by SWAT, but regular detectives still trained in them—typically, the longer they'd been out of school, the more their form degraded.

After three or four officers had climbed up, Mu Zhiyang's pounding heart slowed.

At this point, half the mission was already accomplished. What followed depended on whether Tian Xiang had taken a hostage—and whether he'd survive.

The six-man team all reached the upper floor; one went downstairs to open the door, the rest advanced slowly. Soon, the sound of windows being smashed echoed from outside.

Tian Xiang stuck his head out again, shouting: "Don't come closer..."

Mu Zhiyang gave a hand signal, raised the newly brought large shield, and slammed it straight into the room. Crash!

Tian Xiang fired again—the bullet struck the shield, not even sparking. Thud!

Mu Zhiyang, shield and all, charged forward without slowing, ramming Tian Xiang into the wall.

Mu Zhiyang charged straight at Tian Xiang, body and shield as one, with not the slightest reduction in speed, slamming him into the wall.

Taser!

Taser!

Before Tian Xiang could curse, he slid down the wall.

"Stop tasing—he's done, he's done!" Mu Zhiyang blocked the third taser strike, removed the shield, and stared at Tian Xiang like a freshly caught wild yellow croaker.

"Stop shocking him, it's done, it's done." Mu Zhiyang blocked the third electric shock, removed his shield, and stared at Tian Xiang as if he were a freshly caught wild yellow croaker.

Golden and radiant!