Chapter 95

Geng Zhi slowed down the car, driving extremely steadily. He was worried that a sudden brake might cause the grenade to slip from his hand, which would be disastrous. Glancing in the rearview mirror, the guy covered in mud was nonchalant, holding the grenade in one hand and fiddling with his phone in the other, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, looking utterly carefree.

Young people love to show off and deliberately act this way, Geng Zhi understood. He used to be the same when he was young. Even if he was nervous inside, he would pretend to be very casual and tough, making himself look cool.

"Damn, the phone is waterlogged, it's ruined," Liu Hane Dong was furious. The Coolpad phone Ma Ling bought for him had been used for less than a year and was now broken, costing a couple of thousand yuan. It was all the fault of that parkour guy, and he vowed to beat him up later.

The phone rang; it was from the Municipal Bureau, instructing Geng Zhi to head to the Police Academy, where there were complete bomb disposal and anti-explosion facilities. The traffic police department had also coordinated urgently, using two motorcycles to lead the way, with two police cars sandwiching the drug squad's vehicle to prevent any accidents on the road.

The police motorcycles sounded their sirens, and the captain in the lead car used a microphone to sternly order all civilian vehicles to pull over. All traffic lights at intersections were stopped, and the traffic police manually directed traffic. The convoy had the right of way, and all other directions were immediately closed to ensure the safe passage of the vehicle carrying the grenade.

"Damn, this is the treatment of a provincial party secretary. We're finally having a moment of glory," Liu Hane Dong remarked.

"This isn't for us, it's for the thing in your hand," Geng Zhi said with a cold laugh.

The convoy had a green light all the way, maintaining a steady speed of fifty kilometers per hour. They quickly arrived at the Police Academy, where the gates were already open. Geng Zhi drove straight to the large playground, where the Municipal Bureau's bomb disposal team was already in place. The spacious playground was empty, but the nearby teaching buildings were full of people, with students peering out of every window.

The bomb disposal team consisted of five people, wearing heavy bomb suits and full-enclosure helmets, ready for action. A large steel cylinder was placed nearby, designed to contain the explosion and withstand the impact of high explosives.

The car stopped steadily, and someone opened the door. Liu Hane Dong got out, still holding the grenade, a cigarette in his mouth, muttering, "Isn't this a bit overkill?"

The bomb disposal team inspected the grenade in his hand. It would explode as soon as he let go, with a delay of only four seconds, enough time to throw it into the container and move away.

"Kid, you have to throw it in yourself. Remember, lie down immediately after you throw it," the bomb disposal officer said.

"Got it," Liu Hane Dong took a deep drag on his cigarette, threw it away, and walked toward the steel container in the center of the playground. Everyone else had been evacuated to ensure a safe distance.

Liu Hane Dong approached the container and threw the grenade in from a few meters away, hitting it accurately. He turned and walked away, lighting another cigarette.

"Get down!" the bomb disposal officer shouted from a distance.

Geng Zhi shook his head, knowing that this show-off would never lie down.

Liu Hane Dong thought the same. In movies, tough guys always turned and walked away after setting off a bomb, never lying down or looking back. This was the first rule of being cool.

With a thousand eyes watching, Liu Hane Dong wouldn't miss this opportunity to show off. He walked confidently, his heart silently counting the seconds. If the explosion happened, he would instinctively dodge, but that would ruin his cool image.

Four seconds later, the grenade inside the steel container exploded. It was just a regular military defensive grenade, not very powerful. A burst of flame shot out of the container's opening, but most of the shrapnel was contained within, with only a few pieces flying out at an angle toward the sky, posing no threat to anyone.

Liu Hane Dong didn't even blink, his steps steady, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Back at the car, Geng Zhi didn't praise him at all, just coldly said, "Get in the car!"

Liu Hane Dong felt deflated. He thought Geng Zhi should have patted him on the shoulder and said, "Well done," to which he would have replied, "No problem," making it a perfect moment.

In the car, Geng Zhi drove back to the drug squad's base without saying a word to Liu Hane Dong, making him wonder if he had done something wrong.

Back at the base, they went upstairs to the office, where everyone was busy. Geng Zhi asked, "Did he confess?"

"No, not a word."

"Make sure he's well-fed and well-treated."

Liu Hane Dong couldn't hold back, "I'll interrogate him."

Geng Zhi looked at him, "You've only been in training for three months. Did you learn how to conduct pre-trial interrogations?"

"They didn't teach it, but who doesn't know how to interrogate? Just beat them up," Liu Hane Dong said nonchalantly.

"Dealing with fifty grams of drugs can get you the death penalty. Drug traffickers are not ordinary criminals; they are the most dangerous of the dangerous, armed with guns and explosives, ready to die with the police. Do you think he would be afraid of your fists?"

Geng Zhi then went into the inner room, leaving Liu Hane Dong outside.

A while later, Xiao Fang and another colleague came in, their attitudes completely different. Xiao Fang patted Liu Hane Dong on the shoulder, "Bro, you're the man!"

He gave Liu Hane Dong a grenade pin as a souvenir. Liu Hane Dong took it and put it in his pocket.

He was still in his dirty clothes, reeking of mud, and everyone held their noses. Suddenly, Geng Zhi came out with a set of police uniform, throwing it to Liu Hane Dong, "There's a washroom downstairs. Go clean up and change."

Another female officer, who looked quite nice, handed him shampoo and shower gel, nodding and smiling, "Good job!"

Liu Hane Dong felt elated.

"He can't use shower gel, he needs this," Xiao Fang said, pulling out a yellow, smelly bar of soap.

"And this," another colleague added, handing him socks and leather shoes.

Liu Hane Dong thanked them and went downstairs to shower, washing for half an hour to get rid of the smell. He threw away his old clothes and put on a clean police shirt, uniform pants, socks, and leather shoes, but didn't wear underwear, feeling a bit strange.

Back upstairs, he returned the shampoo and shower gel to the female officer, glancing at her name tag, which read Song Xinxin.

"Officer Song, thank you," Liu Hane Dong said.

"You're welcome, just call me Song Jie," the female officer smiled.

"Are you older than me?" Liu Hane Dong asked curiously.

"I should be older. Although I haven't seen your file, based on your appearance, you're probably around twenty-six or twenty-seven, so you're younger than me," Song Xinxin said confidently.

"Really? You're a detective?" Liu Hane Dong asked.

"No," Song Xinxin smiled, then noticed the cut on Liu Hane Dong's hand, caused by the glass shards on the fence, now caked with mud. Although he had washed it, it still looked alarming.

"Wait, let me treat it," Song Xinxin said.

The office had iodine, gauze, and alcohol swabs. She cleaned his wound with alcohol, applied iodine, and bandaged it, her movements quick and gentle. Liu Hane Dong noticed her slender, elegant fingers, like those of a pianist.

After bandaging him, Song Xinxin left, her tall figure disappearing down the stairs. Liu Hane Dong was still in a daze.

"What's up, bro? You have a crush? She's the ice queen of the Municipal Bureau, twenty-eight years old. If you want to pursue her, you better think twice," Xiao Fang whispered.

"Do I look weak?" Liu Hane Dong asked.

"That's not what I meant. Song Xinxin is a forensic pathologist. Her hands touch corpses all day. Imagine her touching you; wouldn't you get goosebumps?"

Liu Hane Dong shuddered. The thought of those beautiful hands, which were used to touching corpses, was indeed unsettling.

"Liu Hane Dong, come here!" Geng Zhi called from a distance.

Liu Hane Dong entered the captain's office.

In front of the leader, he stood straight, putting away his carefree attitude.

"Actually, the grenade isn't that scary. A paperclip could hold it. Next time, don't be so nervous," Geng Zhi said casually.

Liu Hane Dong felt a bit embarrassed. As a former soldier, he knew how to handle this type of grenade but had just wanted to show off.

Geng Zhi pulled out a QSZ-77 pistol in a leather holster from his drawer and placed it on the table.

"You don't have a police firearm license yet, but our drug squad work is special. Take this gun, and I'll process the necessary documents as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Liu Hane Dong was overjoyed. Being given a gun meant Geng Zhi had accepted him.

However, the QSZ-77 was not impressive, with a small magazine capacity and limited power, and its small size lacked intimidation.

"Captain Geng, can I have a QSZ-92 instead?"

"Don't push your luck. Get out," Geng Zhi said, starting to write his report.

Liu Hane Dong grabbed the gun and left, but was called back by Geng Zhi at the door, "Your performance today, if you hadn't been showing off, would have been a ninety-five."

"Hehe," Liu Hane Dong smiled and left.

In the outer office, everyone was already discussing the new guy's impressive performance, especially Xiao Fang, who was praising Liu Hane Dong to the skies.

"Do you know how skilled that guy who escaped was? He jumped from the sixth floor, landed on the fourth-floor awning, the third-floor railing, and the second-floor air conditioner, like a martial arts master. I've been a cop for so long and have never seen anyone with such agility. Xiao Liu didn't let him get away."

Another colleague added, "When the guy pulled out the grenade, Xiao Fang and I didn't even notice. Xiao Liu was brave and meticulous, stepping on it and picking it up. You know, the thin metal grip on an American grenade, if it flies off, everyone dies."

Just then, Liu Hane Dong came out, and everyone clapped, making him a bit embarrassed.

"Bro, let's formally introduce ourselves. I'm Fang Zheng, captain of the first team of the drug squad," Xiao Fang extended his hand.

"Liu Hane Dong," Liu Hane Dong could only introduce himself by name.

"Let's call you 'Thunder Hand' from now on. Your actions were like a thunderbolt, especially when you threw the grenade and walked away without looking back. Too cool, man," Fang Zheng said.

Someone objected, "Isn't there already a 'Thunder Hand' in the Second Team of the Jiangbei Criminal Police?"

"They're them, we're us. There are many people with the same name. Even the original Red Flower Society's Wen Taicai didn't mind, so why would Han Guang?"

Everyone agreed, and Liu Hane Dong's nickname was set.

A police officer came in from downstairs, "The guy with the grenade has confessed. He was a bodyguard hired by the drug dealer for a monthly salary of 100,000 yuan. His name is Lin Xiaowu, an athlete by training, a former provincial champion in sanda, later trained in Muay Thai and parkour, and has fought in underground boxing matches in Macau, killing three opponents in the ring."

Everyone was amazed at the brutality of the drug dealers, not only equipped with advanced weapons but also hiring such high-level bodyguards.

"No wonder he was so ruthless, ready to blow himself up when caught. He's a murderer," Fang Zheng realized.

Geng Zhi came out of the office, "Everyone, quiet down."

Everyone stopped talking and listened to the captain.

"The provincial, municipal, and brigade leaders have all called to congratulate and verbally praise our squad. Do you have any requests? Speak up now or forever hold your peace."

"Me!" one person raised his hand, "A day off. I haven't slept for days, and I stink."

A wave of hands went up, all requesting a day off. Liu Hane Dong followed suit.

Geng Zhi said, "We've been working on this case for three months and finally made significant progress. Now is the critical time to follow up, so we can't relax. Here's the plan: Fang Zheng, who has been the most hardworking and hasn't been home for three months, gets a day off. Lao Bai, whose mother-in-law passed away, gets a day off. Dogzi, whose wife is about to give birth, also gets a day off. Any objections?"

"No," everyone answered in unison, lowering their hands.

A middle-aged man stood up, "Captain Geng, I can hold on for two more days. I just need a shower and a nap on the sofa."

Liu Hane Dong looked at him. The man had been dozing on the sofa, and now standing up, he looked disheveled, with a beard and bloodshot eyes, exhausted and worn out. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a refugee.

This is the "glamorous, respectable, and impressive" life and work of the drug squad? Liu Hane Dong suddenly felt deeply trapped.