Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 419 The Final Battle
The playground simulated a residential building, serving as the site for the hostage rescue team's project assessment.

As the final event of this year's Dongzhou City Special Police System Competition, the competition was quite traditional. Although the hostage rescue operation was a subject that was close to real combat, the reality is that Dongzhou City has not had a single violent kidnapping case that required the special police to be dispatched for hostage rescue in the past ten years.

This is a good thing. It is only natural that special police can prepare early, train and prepare for combat in the absence of sudden cases. This will not be discussed here.

In the examination room, two "criminals" drive a car, kidnap a "hostage," and sneak into a room in a six-story residential building. Special police officers, who are tasked with this critical mission, will use their respective methods to rescue the hostage.

To demonstrate realism, as arranged by the training unit, the "criminals" will carry real, fireable guns, but with plastic bullets instead of bullets. A hit won't kill, but it will cause bleeding. In the contingency plan, the "criminals" may fire at the assaulting SWAT officers, and there is also the possibility of them killing the "hostages."

The SWAT team is also equipped with bullets with plastic tips and is also allowed to shoot at the "criminals" in extreme situations, but for the police, this is a point deduction.

First to appear was the First Battalion directly under the detachment. As the only assault team in the detachment with a history of several decades, the appearance of the First Battalion naturally attracted everyone's attention.

Special police officers launched a three-pronged offensive, using ropes, climbing water pipes outside the building, and lying in wait in the stairwells to approach the building from different directions and angles for reconnaissance. Meanwhile, another group of special police officers broke through from the outside, securing both exits as a precaution.

After determining the floor and exact location of the "criminals" and "hostages," the special police officers descended from the rooftop using ropes and broke into the building through the window. After a brief struggle, one "criminal" was subdued, another was killed, and the "hostages" were successfully rescued.

In the original plan and training of the assault team, Zhang Zhongzhen was the first assault soldier. However, since Zhang Zhongzhen won the individual event and could no longer participate in the team event, the second assault soldier took Zhang Zhongzhen's place, and a replacement police officer took the place of the second assault soldier.

Superior equipment cannot compensate for poor combat training capabilities. The second assault soldier was unable to shoulder the heavy responsibility. After breaking through the window, he suddenly encountered the "criminal". In a moment of panic, he drew his gun and fired. Although he killed one "criminal", he also injured the hostage.

The assessment of the First Directly Subordinate Brigade has concluded.

Sitting on the dais, Director Wang, who came from the Traffic Management Bureau, watched with great interest. He turned to the branch captain, Lao Gao, who was sitting next to him and exclaimed, "Our team's tactics and skills are top-notch! Climbing stairs and jumping out of windows are exactly the same as what they do on TV, without any exaggeration."

Is this praise or criticism?
Seeing Director Wang's excited expression, Lao Gao took it as a compliment.

He was secretly pleased, but on the surface he still put on a humble appearance: "Director Wang, it's mainly because Dongzhou is too safe. In all these years, there hasn't been a case that allowed me to bring my team out for a spin. Otherwise, our reputation would be much greater."

Some things, if you keep them to yourself and don't show them off, others will think they're treasures, but if you really let an expert take a look, they might just fall apart.

Wang Ju, a seasoned veteran of many storms, smiled without saying a word.

Director Wang pointed to the Dongzhou TV program recording team standing next to the competition venue and laughed, "As the old saying goes, what can you create by working behind closed doors? This competition is quite well organized, but we can't just have fun in isolation. You should try to expand the influence of this year's competition to the wider society."

"Old Gao, go talk to those media friends later and see if you can showcase the style of our special police more on local TV stations."

Having received the leader's approval, Lao Gao, who was over forty years old, blushed and readily agreed.

Within the municipal-level public security system, aside from the traffic management branch, which has consistently had the largest number of police officers since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the special police detachment has always had the largest number of officers. However, its influence within the bureau doesn't even rank in the top ten. Correspondingly, the activities organized by the special police detachment on a daily basis naturally don't receive much attention. With this affirmation from the leader, Lao Gao couldn't be happier.

Even his gaze toward the production crew became much kinder.

"That's so cool! That's what a man should look like! I bet the Flying Tigers in Hong Kong are pretty much the same," photographer Xiao Zhao said enviously, drooling.

"Hehe, I wonder if I'll still be so imposing if I really run into some bad guys."

Zhang Yang stood on tiptoe, raised his chin, and looked towards where Chen Shu and the others were. He muttered, "They are the assault team. They usually train at the unit when they have nothing to do. So, they naturally look much better when they are brought out."

"But what it's really like in actual combat is something that hasn't happened in our city for many years, so nobody really knows. So Xiao Zhao, you have to understand, no matter how well you put on a show, if you don't have real combat experience to back it up, it's completely untenable."

As a senior journalist, she certainly couldn't openly and explicitly support Chen Shu's Zhengming Brigade, but that didn't stop her from using a subtle approach to elevate the team she supported.

Xiao Zhao shrank back and remained silent. His thinking was simple: he had already gained something by having his fill of visual enjoyment today, and such grand principles didn't concern him much. However, knowing the relationship between Zhang Yang and Chen Shu, he wisely refrained from arguing.

The solutions proposed by the participating teams were also commendable. For example, the Yong'an Brigade sent negotiation experts to conduct a psychological offensive against the kidnappers. They even investigated the kidnappers' identities in the shortest possible time and brought their families to the scene to persuade them to surrender. In the end, they successfully persuaded the kidnappers to turn themselves in.

The next team performed adequately, sending out a five-man tactical group. The lead SWAT officer stood at the doorway with a shield, while SWAT officers on either side with breaching tools quickly broke down the door. Under the force of the assault, they killed the "criminal" and successfully rescued the hostage.

Wearing his training cap, Wei Hengyuan turned to look at Zhang Zhongzhen beside him, his tone slightly excited: "Looking at them, there's not a single one who can fight. It seems like we're guaranteed to win. What do you think?"

Zhang Zhongzhen scoffed and said, "They have no chance of winning. Although they look quite professional, they are still far inferior to us. These tricks are only good for showing off in the martial arts arena. When it comes to a real kidnapping case, we'll have to step in!"

The confident words came from Zhang Zhongzhen's mouth, but the few gunshots that came from the residential building during the previous large-scale competition gave him a vague feeling that he was not doing well.

“I also think they’re too ordinary, nothing special.” Wei Hengyuan nodded, then hesitated for a moment before asking, “Zhongzhen, what do you think our chances of winning this team project are?”

"Ha, Wei Da, there's no need to doubt it. When it comes to this kind of anti-hijacking drill, the gap between them and us is an insurmountable chasm."

Wei Hengyuan believed him and nodded slightly, but a sense of unease still welled up in his heart.

He glanced at Zhang Zhongzhen, who was sitting upright, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the other man's gaze was not on the martial arts competition that was in full swing.

Following Zhang Zhongzhen's gaze, Wei Hengyuan felt a chill run down his spine. It was Chen Shu, standing tall and proud on the sidelines.

(End of this chapter)