Chapter 9

In the temporary command center, a brief silence fell. Su Mei's well-groomed, slender eyebrows furrowed slightly as she seemed to be pondering. At this moment, Xiao Wu, who was standing in front of the display screen, suddenly spoke up, "Director Su, she's talking."

"What? Who's talking?" Su Mei was slightly taken aback.

"Tang Chuyi, it's Tang Chuyi!" Xiao Wu was somewhat excited, and from his appearance, he seemed to be a fan of Tang Chuyi.

"Tang Chuyi?"

"Yes, it's her! Tang Chuyi, oh, no, the hostage." Xiao Wu corrected his slip of the tongue and said with excitement.

"You can hear the hostage talking? Su Mei was taken aback again and asked in confusion, "Is there a sound control system in the surveillance cameras in the hall? Why didn't I hear anything?"

"There's no sound control system, but I can read lips."

"You can read lips? Xiao Wu, what did the hostage say? Quickly, tell me!" Su Mei's face lit up with joy. She walked behind Xiao Wu, placed her hands on his shoulders, and leaned forward, her eyes fixed on the screen, almost pressing her entire body against Xiao Wu.

"The hostage just said... Hey, why isn't it over yet?"

"Is there more?"

Su Mei was so focused on finding out what Xiao Wu had read from the lips that she didn't realize how alluring her posture was. Leaning forward, her full buttocks were raised, and the soft silk dress accentuated the roundness of her buttocks, with a fine, raised line between them.

Thong! The beautiful director was actually wearing a thong under her skirt!

However, although Su Mei's posture was alluring, the police officers behind her instinctively averted their gazes. Some stared solemnly at the display screen, while others whispered to their colleagues about the case, none daring to look at Su Mei's plump, round buttocks.

Of course, it wasn't that Su Mei's buttocks were not attractive or alluring, but her position was clear. Jokingly, how could one casually look at the director's beautiful buttocks? Even a furtive glance was out of the question, unless one didn't want to stay in the police force.

All the police officers present knew that if their eyes lingered on that alluring part for a few seconds and were noticed by their colleagues, and then reported to the director, given her intolerance for any sand in her eyes, they would surely be in trouble. A demotion would be the least of their worries; they might even lose their jobs.

As the police officers averted their gazes, pretending to be focused, Xiao Wu had already translated the next part of the lip-reading: "Director Su, the hostage also said, 'Ah, you're already removing the explosives? Will it explode?'"

"Will it not explode if the detonator is removed? Really? Don't lie to me!"

"Um... Mr. Ning, can you please remove the steel bars around me? I'm so uncomfortable..."

"What did you say? What about military and civilian wires, and connections? I don't understand..."

"You have to remove all the detonators, right? Are there many?"

"What? There are more than twenty blocks of explosives in the chair? C4... what is that?"

C4? Su Mei's frown deepened as she heard this, and the police officers behind her also looked shocked.

C4 bombs, made from a mixture of TNT, Semtex, and white phosphorus, are highly explosive but safe to handle. They can be wrapped in plastic rubber and will not explode even if shot, making them a lightweight, portable, and highly effective plastic explosive!

The power and destructive force of C4 bombs are undeniable. Once they explode, the consequences are far beyond "serious"!

However, Su Mei and the police officers present were still puzzled. From the tone of Xiao Wu's lip-reading, the mysterious man under the chair seemed to be defusing the bomb, and the hostage's tone did not seem hostile towards him.

Could it be that the mysterious man was not the criminal who planted the bomb but an explosives expert? But the explosives team hadn't arrived yet, so how could he be in the hall?

"Old Chen, hold on a moment." Su Mei straightened up and turned to look at Old Chen, who was busy at another set of monitoring instruments.

"Director Su, is there something?" Old Chen quickly stood up and replied.

"Ask if the explosives team has arrived."

"Please wait a moment." Old Chen picked up the walkie-talkie on the instrument table.

"Z23, Z23, this is Z1, please respond."

"Z23 received, Z1, please proceed."

"Has the explosives team arrived at the scene? Please respond!"

"Not yet... Oh, they just arrived! The explosives team just arrived!"

"Very good, immediately notify the explosives team to come to the command center, over!"

"Received, received, over!"

After the call, Old Chen put down the walkie-talkie and was about to report to Su Mei when she waved her hand and said, "I heard. Did you find anything new in the surveillance history?"

"Yes, we have identified a young man, who is suspected to be the one under the chair."

"Oh? Show me!" Su Mei said and walked over to where Old Chen was.

In front of Old Chen, there were four screens on the instrument table. Three of them showed live footage, while the fourth was a still image of the crowd in the mall's hall.

As Su Mei approached, Old Chen instructed a detective sitting in front of the screen, "Adjust the surveillance footage to around 9:25."

The detective typed on the keyboard and entered the time. The still image on the screen began to move, the footage quickly rewinding. Soon, the image stopped.

The time in the upper right corner of the screen clearly showed 9:25:36, precise to the second!

"Zoom in on the image!" Old Chen instructed.

"Yes!" The detective typed again, and as the image zoomed in, it showed a circular reception desk at the entrance of the hall. Behind the desk were three female clerks in business suits, and a "Storage" sign hung on the wall behind them, indicating that the desk was a temporary storage point.

The footage showed customers entering the mall and depositing their bags and purses at the reception desk. Suddenly, Old Chen said, "Stop!"

The detective tapped the keyboard, and the image froze.

"Director Su, look, the young man who just entered through the main entrance is likely the suspect under the chair..." Old Chen continued, "Zoom in on the suspect's image, slow it down, and gradually enlarge it."

The keyboard clicked, and the image on the screen moved again, showing a young man in a black casual jacket, jeans, and a backpack walking towards the storage desk. His attire matched that of the man under the chair. Although the footage was in slow motion, it was clear that the young man's pace was slightly faster than the other people in the hall.

The next part of the footage showed the young man taking off his backpack and handing it to the receptionist for storage.

Just as the young man turned around after depositing his backpack, the detective, without waiting for Old Chen's instruction, tapped the keyboard, and the image froze. He then zoomed in, giving a close-up of the young man.

The young man in the image was not particularly fashionable but had a neat and tidy appearance. He looked to be in his early twenties, with clear and regular features, slightly immature, more like a recent college graduate than a criminal. His expression seemed excited and nervous.

Seeing this, Su Mei asked with a puzzled look, "Are you sure the man under the chair is him?"

Old Chen nodded, "Yes, I'm sure! From the clothing analysis, he matches the man under the chair perfectly. Additionally, he was wearing black ankle socks and dark brown casual shoes with a slight wear mark on the toe, which matches the socks and shoes of the man under the chair."

"Good. Since you're sure, we need to get all the identity information of this person. You need to act quickly on this."

"Please rest assured, Director Su. I've already instructed my team to work on it. I believe we will have his identity information soon."

"Very good." Hearing Old Chen's response, Su Mei nodded slightly, a hint of approval in her eyes, seemingly satisfied with his progress.

"Report!" A uniformed police officer appeared at the tent entrance.

"What is it?" Su Mei looked at him.

"Director Su, the explosives team has arrived," the uniformed police officer reported loudly.

"Ask them to come in."

"Director Su asks you to come in..." Following the uniformed police officer's words, several plainclothes men entered, carrying several metal boxes of various sizes.

Fortunately, the temporary command center was spacious enough, and the addition of these plainclothes men did not make it feel crowded.

Among the plainclothes men, one who seemed to be the leader was about to greet Su Mei but was stopped by her gesture. She then said, "Time is limited, Team Leader Yang, please check the surveillance footage first to see if it helps. After that, prepare to go in."

Turning to Old Chen, Su Mei added, "Old Chen, you go with him and brief Team Leader Yang on the latest situation. And you, Captain Liu..."

Su Mei then looked at the special forces captain, "Please go and arrange for the special forces to be ready. My only requirement is to ensure the safety of the explosives team and the hostages. As for the suspect... I want him alive. When the suspect comes out from under the chair, you must apprehend him immediately. Remember, do not let the suspect come into contact with the hostages!"