She is the most beautiful rose

Chapter 332 Catching a Turtle in a Jar (Part 1)

Three days have passed since the malicious assault on Shiyou Road in Huaicheng Third District. The injured person who was sent to the hospital has been treated and is out of danger.

The mentally ill patient who committed the assault was sent to a designated hospital for diagnosis and evaluation. After being confirmed to have no serious mental illness, he was sent to a local medical institution for compulsory treatment due to his potential danger.

"How could someone be found not guilty of such a heinous act of violence?"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. The hospital diagnosed that the patient had no voluntary consciousness and wouldn't be held criminally responsible. But being sent back for compulsory treatment is at least a way of settling things down."

The police station in the third district had just closed for the day, and my colleagues in the office chatted for a bit.

"What's there to explain? The injured person is just out of danger, and the patient can't even afford the medical expenses. They're just suffering."

"What do you mean?"

"The patient has no guardian and has been receiving treatment in a mental hospital."

"Then how did they manage to escape?"

My colleague changed into casual clothes, grabbed his briefcase, and walked out. He scoffed, "He must have had a mental breakdown and ran away. Otherwise, how could he have been diagnosed during a psychotic episode?"

The other person who went out with him could only sigh, "The hospital director is really unlucky. Officer Qiao hasn't left yet?"

At the desk in the lobby, Joey was still working. She looked up after a couple of seconds, as if she had heard a sound. Her already fair skin appeared excessively pale under the incandescent light. She politely said to her senior, "I want to finish these before I go back."

The two officers joked that she was the most hardworking among her peers, otherwise she wouldn't be promoted so quickly. "Take care of yourself, we're leaving now!"

Joey, being young, obediently agreed. After watching the two seniors leave the police station, her eyes suddenly froze, and she abruptly stood up and ran towards the lounge.

About ten minutes later, he emerged, drenched in sweat, leaning against the wall, his eyes lowered and somewhat unfocused.

At 7 p.m., Shangyang Street in Huaicheng North District is bustling with people at the night market.

The two young people hurried into the street corner, then suddenly turned towards the roadside pancake vendor. The tall, thin man looked over his companion's head and gazed at a pet dog stall ahead. His dark face was marred only by his deep, cold eyes.

"A pancake."

The shop owner skillfully spread out the batter, glanced at the two of them, and asked, "Want anything else?"

The other person's attention was also focused on that side.

From their perspective, a woman in a dark gray trench coat was half-squatting in front of a pet stall, beckoning a golden retriever to the enclosure. The stall owner chatted with her for a bit, and the woman pulled down her mask and smiled in response, shaking hands with the golden retriever that was wagging its tail wildly.

"It's very similar."

The tall, thin woman had more defined features than her companion, with a pair of sharp, eagle-like eyes above her high, straight nose, giving her an inexplicable air of intimidation. "It's her."

The young woman chatted with the proprietress for a few words, then put on her mask and strolled away leisurely with her hands in her pockets.

The tall, thin man immediately followed, "Let's go."

The shop owner leaned out and called out, "Hey, pancake!"

The streets are full of mobile vendors, and there is a lot of foot traffic. The women walk leisurely and only look around without buying anything at the night market.

The two young men exchanged a glance. Just as his companion was about to give chase, the tall, thin man stopped him, saying, "Notify someone to come over. Don't disturb her yet."

Although his companion was shorter than the man, he was still a good 1.8 meters tall and had a typical Asian appearance. He took out his phone to contact the others. "That's right. The other side is already on guard after the last operation failed. We finally got news that she was back in the country. If she escapes again, it won't be so easy to find her."

In the center of Shangyang Street is a circular plaza about the size of a middle school playground. From the plaza, a network of alleyways of varying widths extends outwards, and the night market is one of them.

Around 7 or 8 p.m. is the liveliest time for square dancing. Bluetooth speakers play the latest popular music, and even the cold winter does not dampen the enthusiasm of the aunties. Many young people who are out shopping also join in. Even with the colorful lights, it takes a lot of concentration to accurately track someone in the dense crowd.

The two men watched the woman walk into the square from a distance of about ten meters, with a crowd in between. Sure enough, by the time they followed her, they had already lost her.

The tall, thin man muttered a couple of curses under his breath, then took out his phone to contact other people.

His companion nudged him with his elbow and showed him his phone, "They said they saw it in West Alley!" West Alley is right next to the night market.

"Walking so fast?" The man raised an eyebrow, but his feet didn't stop as he headed towards the next alleyway. He contacted his teammates and instructed them, "Keep up close."

The alley is full of restaurants. The alley is quite wide, and apart from people coming to eat, the street is much emptier. There are no familiar faces on the street, so I can only search one shop at a time.

"She was so badly injured that night, how could she still have the energy to go out for a stroll? Brother, do you think we're mistaken?"

As they walked, they glanced at the customers in the shops on both sides, and even went into some of the shops to take a look.

Unable to find her, the man's brows furrowed with impatience. He scoffed at the words, "She's no ordinary person."

How strong can a woman be? Does she think she can just freeload off them?

His companion muttered to himself.

The two men came from two different organizations, mostly of European descent, that worked in China. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they also hired another Asian team, of which he was one Chinese.

He didn't have as much specific information as the other party, and he was too lazy to ask more questions; catching the person was enough.

"No."

I walked along, looking around, and almost reached the end of the alley, but I still couldn't find that figure from before.

"Wait, bro, they said they saw someone on Auditorium Road!"

"where?"

The man was clearly unfamiliar with the area, so his companion had to change directions, saying, "It's at three o'clock, two alleyways away from us."

The man stood there, frowning. "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"The photos have all been sent over, take a look."

The companion opened the photo sent by the other party.

A woman in a dark gray trench coat walked toward an antique shop. Her mask was hanging on her ear, and her profile was fairly clear in the photo. She had a candy stick in her mouth and looked very relaxed.

"Walk."

The two returned the way they came.

At the end of the alley where the two left, inside a noodle shop, a woman in a dark gray trench coat came out with a can of soda. From a distance, you could still see the two figures running away.

She smiled slightly and walked in the opposite direction.

Almost every alleyway surrounding the square was searched. One minute someone would send a message saying someone was over there, and the next minute someone would say they were over there. In the alleyways that stretched in all directions, there were pairs of men hurrying by, and some were wandering around in the center of the square.

There's a teahouse next to the square in Huangjue Lane. The second-floor terrace faces the square. A woman wearing a thin sweater leans against the railing, a dark gray trench coat draped over a rattan chair. She nods with her earpiece on, "Give me your seat."

Two female voices responded in succession through the headset.

The woman glanced at her watch; it was 7:32.

"We will move in five minutes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the square dancers switched to even more energetic music.

The man emerged from the night market again, his face now showing signs of agitation. "Where is she?"

His companion, following behind, also looked uneasy. "Brother, do you think she might have discovered us? Is she deliberately avoiding us?"

The man sneered, his eyes sweeping across the square. "So many of us are looking for her. She dares to run away from us unless she's courting death!"

"Bro," his companion said, his gaze lingering on the group of people dancing in the square across the street, "is that it?"