Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

"It's trying to break through the checkpoint!" shouted the police officer next to him.

Lu Yike stepped aside.

The heavy SUV rushed ahead of the armored truck, its front end crashing directly into the rear of the police car on the outermost side of her convoy.

Bang!

The police car was thrown sideways by the impact, spinning almost halfway before crashing into the tollbooth's guardrail. The front of the car was dented, and all the airbags deployed.

Lu Yike was thrown back two steps by the blast wave and braced herself against the railing next to her.

"Xiao Li! Xiao Li, how are you!" She rushed to the wrecked police car and pulled open the deformed door.

The police officer inside was covering his forehead, blood seeping from between his fingers, but he was still conscious.

"Chief...they have heavy vehicles...we can't stop them..."

The armored truck, carrying two SUVs, sped away through the gaping hole created by the crash. Only three pairs of red taillights remained, shrinking smaller and smaller in the rain.

Lu Yike pulled out a walkie-talkie, her hands trembling.

"Provincial Command Center! Provincial Department!" she roared. "The target broke through the provincial border toll station, rammed one of my police cars, and injured one person! They have heavy vehicles escorting them, we can't stop them! Requesting backup!"

The provincial command center was brightly lit.

Qi Tongwei stood in front of the main screen. The screen showed footage from the tollbooth surveillance cameras: the police car was lying across the guardrail, its airbags deflated, and the police officer was being helped out, clutching his head.

His left hand slowly clenched. The bandage under his sleeve was gripped even tighter.

"Chief," Captain Zhou said, standing beside him, "conventional interception methods have failed. Thirty kilometers ahead is the border with Handong; beyond that, we have no jurisdiction."

"Who said we should use conventional interception?" Qi Tongwei said without turning around.

Team Leader Zhou was taken aback.

"Two mine-resistant assault vehicles." Qi Tongwei's voice was deep. "The entire Special Police Detachment, get in the vehicles and load them with live ammunition."

Several people in the command center looked up.

"Chief, it's time to load live ammunition—"

"I'll take responsibility," Qi Tongwei interrupted. "If anything goes wrong, I'll go to the organization's meeting alone."

He grabbed the walkie-talkie and pressed the call button.

"Team One, listen up!" He spoke into the microphone, his voice laced with suppressed anger. "The target convoy consists of three vehicles and is heading towards the provincial border. Chase them down and bring them to a stop."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"Chief, we've crossed the border into Handong—"

"Once they cross the border into Handong, all this protective gear I'm wearing will have been for nothing!" Qi Tongwei suddenly raised his voice, almost shouting, "Stop them before the border! Don't let a single one get past!"

Everyone in the command center fell silent.

"I'll lead the team myself." He tucked the walkie-talkie back into his waistband and grabbed the bulletproof vest draped over the back of his chair.

Team Leader Zhou stopped him. "Director, your arm—"

"The injury is to the left arm." Qi Tongwei put on his bulletproof vest and fastened the buckle. "Use your right hand to fire."

He strode out, throwing his raincoat over his shoulder.

"There's a data hard drive in the car, irrefutable evidence that pins down Director Qin's line." He turned back at the door. "The hard drive needs to be alive. As for the person, as long as they can live, they can live."

The engine of the mine-resistant vehicle roared to life downstairs, and two high beams tore through the rain.

On the highway, the armored truck was still speeding forward.

The escort team leader stared at the rearview mirror, then suddenly his expression changed. From the depths of the rain, two blinding lights were approaching, moving even faster than they were. The vehicle was tall, with a searchlight mounted on its roof.

"A car is coming from behind!" he shouted.

The driver glanced in the rearview mirror. "A police car? They dare to chase us in this weather?"

The two vehicles drew closer. Searchlights swept across, illuminating the crash barriers on the front of the vehicles and the police lights on their roofs.

The head of the security team suddenly became breathless. He grabbed the satellite phone, his fingers trembling.

The call was connected.

"Chief Qin!" he practically shouted, "Something's happened! The Handong police are catching up, in a mine-resistant vehicle, and they're armed!"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"They...they're courting death!" The security captain's voice trembled as he stared at the ever-growing headlights in the rearview mirror. "These guys are insane! The Handong police are insane!"

The rain pounded against the windshield, so dense that the road ahead was obscured.

……

The highway was flooded, and when the wheels rolled over it, white waves burst out on both sides.

Qi Tongwei sat in the passenger seat of the lead mine-resistant vehicle. With the windshield wipers on full blast, he stared at the three pairs of blurry taillights ahead, his right hand resting on the door.

"Shorten the distance," he told the driver. "Get closer."

The driver floored the accelerator. The mine-resistant vehicle was heavier than the other vehicle's off-road vehicle, and its acceleration was a fraction slower, but once it picked up speed, it became a moving wall.

The two escort SUVs, realizing they couldn't shake them off, began to change formation. The one behind suddenly slowed down and cut sideways towards the mine-resistant vehicle.

"It's trying to cut us off!" the driver shouted.

"Don't dodge." Qi Tongwei stared at the front of the SUV. "It's trying to force us onto the side of the overpass. You'll get my command."

The SUV's front end pressed closer, and through the rain, you could see the tense face behind the car window.

"Slow down," Qi Tongwei said.

The driver eased off the accelerator. The mine-resistant vehicle lurched forward, and the SUV that had tried to stop it missed its target and sped ahead.

"Now, change lanes and stick to its right rear."

The driver jerked the steering wheel. The front of the mine-resistant vehicle precisely locked onto the right rear side of the off-road vehicle and swerved inwards.

The rear of the SUV was swung around, lost traction on the slippery road, slid sideways, crashed into the central guardrail, sparks flew, and came to a stop.

"One vehicle, problem solved." Qi Tongwei didn't turn around. "Chase the armored truck."

The escort SUV in front, sensing the danger, accelerated to try and protect the armored truck. However, the mine-resistant vehicle had already caught up to the left side of the armored truck.

Qi Tongwei rolled down the car window.

Rain poured in, instantly soaking half his face and shoulder. He leaned out, right hand gripping the gun, left arm bracing against the car door for support. The blood seeping from the bandages was diluted by the rain, spreading a pale red stain on his sleeve.

The wind was too strong, the car was shaking, and the target was moving.

He squinted, the muzzle of his gun following the left rear wheel of the armored truck.

One frame, two frames.

boom.

The gunshot was drowned out by the rain; only a muffled thud could be heard. The armored truck's left rear tire had burst, the rim hitting the road and sending sparks flying.

The car suddenly veered to the left.

"It's out of control!" the driver shouted.

The armored truck drew an arc on the wet road, its rear end swung up, and it crashed heavily into the right-hand guardrail, coming to a stop across the middle of the road.

The mine-resistant vehicle braked sharply and came to a stop in front of it. A second mine-resistant vehicle then flanked it from behind, blocking its escape route.

The car door popped open, and the special police officers filed out, their black figures spreading out in a circle in the rain.

Four or five people jumped out of the escort vehicle, some of them carrying weapons.

"Put down your weapons! Kneel down!" The SWAT officer's shouts pierced through the rain.

Some on the other side hesitated, while others wanted to run into the darkness.

Qi Tongwei got off the mine protection vehicle, his left arm hanging down, the muzzle of his gun held horizontally.

"Can you outrun a bullet?" His voice wasn't loud, but it was clear in the rain. "Pointing a gun at the police in Handong territory, can you afford to take the blame?"

The group exchanged glances. One of them, still holding a stick, was stubbornly holding on.

Without a word, Qi Tongwei raised his gun and fired a shot close to the man's feet in a puddle. Muddy water splashed up to about half a person's height.

The man's hand went limp, and the stick fell into the water.

The special police rushed forward, and within three minutes, all five men were pinned to the ground, hands behind their heads, kneeling in the mud. Rain lashed down on their backs, but none of them dared to move.

Qi Tongwei, carrying a gun, waded through the puddles and walked to the overturned armored truck.

The car door was deformed and stuck.

He raised his gun and smashed it down on the side window of the driver's cab with the butt.

Clang. A sudden sound.

Clang. Twice.

The glass cracked into a spiderweb pattern, and on the third strike, the entire piece collapsed.

A man in a security guard uniform was huddled inside the vehicle, clutching a silver hard case tightly to his chest.

"Data custodian?" Qi Tongwei pressed the butt of his gun against the window frame. "Come out."

The man didn't move. He lowered his head, fumbled with his hands on the hard case, and opened the lid.

Qi Tongwei's gaze darkened.

Inside the box, several palm-sized black hard drives were stacked side by side. In the custodian's hand, he held an open plastic bottle, from which a wisp of smoke rose, and a pungent acidic smell mixed with rainwater wafted out.

He was tilting the bottle over the hard drive.