Chapter Ninety-Five: Midnight Arrest

When Chen Liang returned home and explained the matter to his uncle, the older man also felt the situation was thorny. In a rural place in those years, unity was prized above all else. Without a clear understanding of what kind of place Dongsheng Commune actually was, rushing in recklessly still carried great danger.

No one knew what connection the child traffickers had with Dongsheng Commune. If they forced their way in to make arrests and stirred up public anger, nobody would come away unscathed.

Time would not wait. His uncle gritted his teeth and gathered every member of the mobile unit.

In those days, when households relied on dogs and travel was done on foot, there were no mobile phones to summon people. They could only call one another by voice. But strength lay in numbers, and in less than half an hour, the hundred-odd members of the mobile unit had all assembled at the plant.

His uncle also opened the armory and issued everyone a semi-automatic rifle. From this alone it was clear how formidable the security department of the Red Star Steel Rolling Plant was. So many guns, even if three or four local police stations pooled everything they had, they still would not be able to match them. It showed just how domineering the plant’s security force was.

After contacting the transport team and dispatching two large Dongfeng Liberation trucks, his uncle led the men aboard and set out, stopping less than three li from Dongsheng Commune.

He then arranged checkpoints at every road junction. Once the personnel were all in position, he took Chen Liang, Buerba, and several other team members into Dongsheng Commune.

When they encountered a patrol of the commune militia, his uncle immediately showed his work permit and asked to be taken to the commune secretary. In those days, a commune was not an easy target. It, too, had an organized armed force, and a militia company with real guns and live ammunition could be very intimidating when brought out in full.

So if Chen Liang and the others were to enter the village and make arrests, they absolutely had to coordinate with the commune’s people first. That was why his uncle had gone to seek out the commune secretary.

Both sides were armed and backed by men, so the talk went smoothly. The commune secretary naturally had no objection and nodded in cheerful agreement. Something so serious had happened under his watch in Dongsheng Commune; if he wanted to avoid criticism, the commune would have to contribute men and effort and take a share of the credit.

Besides, if they cracked down hard on the traffickers and rescued the kidnapped children, who knew? A reversal of fortune might even bring him unexpected good luck, and he, as secretary, could benefit from the disaster.

With the commune’s people helping, the situation was quickly clarified. The militia company commander said to the commune secretary, the director, and Chen Liang’s uncle, “It’s all been investigated. The other day, five or six poor relatives came to the old Zhang family at the east end of the village to seek shelter. They all had letters of introduction, so the commune didn’t pay them much mind. We never expected them to be a gang of child traffickers.”

“Lead the way. This time we’ll wipe them out completely. To come here and run wild in the capital? They’re lawless!”

His uncle, Lu Youwei, said those words through clenched teeth, wishing he could shoot them dead on the spot.

The old Zhang family lived at the very eastern edge of the village, with no neighboring houses around them, standing all alone by themselves.

Chen Liang did not approve of the militia commander’s proposal for a direct assault. After all, the old foxes inside had hostages, and Chen Hong was among them too. He feared that if they were pushed too hard, the other side would lash out in desperation and kill the captives. That would be disastrous.

Chen Liang cautiously moved close to the wall first. He pricked up his ears and listened carefully for a while. After confirming there was no dog in the yard on the other side, he gestured to his junior, Buerba.

In those days, when people could barely eat their fill, ordinary families hardly had spare grain to keep dogs.

His junior quietly came over as well, crouching by the wall with his hands clasped together, palms up, and nodded at Chen Liang.

Chen Liang stepped onto Buerba’s hands and, using the upward force from his lift, sprang over the courtyard wall as agile as a leopard. He then landed lightly and rolled once, not making the slightest sound.

Like a wandering ghost, he moved without a trace of footsteps, slipping to the front of the courtyard gate. First he examined it carefully, and sure enough he found a fine thread connected to the house from the doorway.

Damn it. Good thing Chen Liang, in his previous life, had received military training even when he was just a small-time undercover operative, or he would have surely fallen to this inconspicuous little trick.

Crouching down, he first wound the thread gently around his finger several times. After making sure it was taut enough, he flicked it with a knife and cut the section beyond his finger.

Because the thread wrapped around his finger was held under sufficient tension, it made no warning sound at all. Then, inch by inch, he moved his finger forward until the thread finally slackened. Only then did Chen Liang release it.

With the defense disarmed, he quietly lifted the latch, pushed the courtyard gate open without a sound, and waved his uncle and the others in.

The courtyard was a standard rural thatched house compound, with three main rooms running north to south, and two side rooms each on the east and west.

After his uncle and the others came in, they quickly arranged the next phase of the forced entry. Seeing this, his uncle gave a sharp downward wave of his hand.

Chen Liang rushed forward and kicked with all his strength. With a loud crash, he sent the front wooden door flying, then, pistol in his right hand and flashlight in his left, the left hand braced over the right in a crossed guard held before his chest, he burst straight inside.

The main house had east and west side rooms. Chen Liang took the lead and charged into the east wing. By then, a burly man, awakened by the noise of the breach, reacted with startling speed: he shoved away the woman who was naked on top of him and reached for a pistol from under his pillow.

But Chen Liang had already rushed in. In the beam of the flashlight, he caught sight of the black pistol in the man’s hand and, without hesitation, fired at his arm.

With a bang, the shot hit home, and the burly man instantly lost his grip on the weapon, clutching the wound and howling miserably.

So never believe the nonsense in films and television, where a man takes a bullet and still fights ten people. That’s just burning paper at a grave and fooling ghosts.

A normal person, regardless of whether the wound is in a vital spot, will basically lose mobility the instant they are shot, because the body’s reflex nerves will frantically remind you: it hurts!

The mind goes almost completely blank. Other than clinging to the wound and crying out, there is nothing else one can think of in that moment.

Chen Liang stepped forward and kicked the fallen pistol away, then shouted at the two of them, “Hands on your heads, both of you! Move it!”

The woman, naked and terrified by that decisive shot, let out shrill screams. Irritated by the noise, Chen Liang fired another shot into the roof and roared, “Get on your knees and put your hands on your heads, all of you!”

No one could remain calm when a black gun barrel was pointed at them. Especially now that Chen Liang had already proven he was the kind of man who would shoot to kill, the woman and the burly man who had been hit quickly became obedient.