Chapter 50: Action (Please Keep Reading)

Everyone realized it was true; they were just patrol officers, not members of the SEB, untrained in CQB, working for their pay—there was no need to risk their lives. Kars discussed with the surveillance team and decided to have the community police send a notice, claiming there was a document in the community that needed his signature, to lure him out. Once he stepped outside, they’d rush him and make the arrest. If he refused, they would organize a forced entry—simple and direct.

Ao Xi agreed, saying there was no need for heroics in a team operation. Besides, he thought it best to try the plan first and reconsider if it failed.

The community police quickly called Christian Chen, who agreed over the phone to come out immediately.

“Target is about to leave the house—everyone be ready.”

Christian Chen didn’t think much after receiving the call. Out of habit, he strapped his pistol to his body, grabbed his car keys, and stepped outside, locking the door behind him. He instinctively scanned the street before getting into his car.

As he started the engine, something felt off. Sitting there, he realized the street was unusually empty. Normally, at this hour, people and cars would be everywhere—it was never so quiet.

“Something’s wrong!”

His first thought was trouble. The phone call had been strange, and as someone familiar with American efficiency, he knew urgent paperwork was rare.

Go back!

No, that wouldn’t work. If the community police managed to lure him out, they had to be cops. Cops never have only one plan; if he didn’t leave, they’d likely surround the house, and he’d be trapped inside, unable to escape. Now, since he was already in the car, he might as well drive fast and try to shake them off, heading for the suburbs.

Let’s do it!

He drew his pistol, loaded it, flipped off the safety, placed it in the armrest, and steered onto the street.

“Attention, the suspect’s car is on the road. The guys up ahead, get ready to block him.”

Ao Xi started his engine and slowly drove out of the alley, preparing to intercept the suspect’s vehicle.

The operation was proceeding step by step as planned, but no one expected Christian to sense something was amiss. Suddenly, he accelerated to escape. The police cars ahead didn’t close in time, and he slipped through the gap, breaking free.

“All units, suspect has escaped! Emergency pursuit!” Kars shouted, furious, over the radio.

Ao Xi quickly sped after him, but he was a step behind and the suspect’s car managed to break through three police barricades in succession.

There was nothing to do but fall in line, forming a convoy on the road behind the suspect.

Christian Chen was growing more anxious. He had only guessed police might be involved, but hadn’t expected so many. In a blink, a swarm of police cars was following him. Instinctively, he pressed the accelerator harder, speeding up, ignoring all traffic signals.

He ignored the traffic lights, but the lights did not ignore him.

Christian intended to race through a red light up ahead, but a blue sedan drove straight through the intersection. He didn’t have time to brake and crashed directly into it.

Both cars were badly damaged. Christian’s Elantra lurched forward a few more meters before coming to a halt.

The line of police cars behind seized the opportunity and instantly surrounded him.

Ao Xi, gun in hand, was the first to rush up. He quickly peeked inside—Christian Chen’s face was covered in blood; he sat unconscious behind the wheel.

“Safe, suspect is unconscious!”

Other officers moved in, guns drawn, covering Ao Xi as he opened the car door and quickly searched Christian’s body.

“No gun.”

Only then did other officers come to help pull him from the car and handcuff him.

A sharp-eyed colleague picked up a pistol from the car floor. The crash had been so severe, the gun Christian had placed in the armrest had been thrown onto the floor.

He was stuffed into a police car and would soon be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

“Officer, what am I supposed to do about my car? I was delivering for Uber—my car and the food are seriously damaged, you saw it. I was driving normally, didn’t break any laws!” The owner of the blue sedan, a Chinese woman, clung to Kars, her face tearful. She was injured, but not seriously.

“Ma’am, I regret your misfortune, but this was a standard law enforcement operation. We bear no liability for compensation. If you want reimbursement, you can sue that guy, or go through your insurance, or contact Uber.”

The woman was crestfallen, out of options. After noting Kars’s and the police station’s phone numbers, she hesitated but ultimately chose to continue her delivery. The same in both China and America—no matter what happens to drivers or couriers, the order must be completed.

Ao Xi glanced over but didn’t pay further attention, focusing instead on his colleagues searching the car. Others headed straight back to Christian’s house for a search. Christian was indeed a professional dealer; from his car and home, they found nearly two kilograms of fentanyl, almost two thousand grams of methamphetamine (commonly known as ice), eighteen thousand counterfeit M30 pills containing fentanyl, seven hundred thirty-four Adderall pills, around one hundred and forty pounds of marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, and butane honey oil, plus two unregistered pistols and a shotgun.

Good news came from those arresting other suspects: the ringleader, Zhen Da He, was apprehended. From his home, they found two unregistered pistols, a whopping four hundred thousand dollars in drug funds, several computers, hard drives, and USB drives—packed with information analysts would love.

Colleagues searching the small grow operation soon reported smooth progress as well. The growers offered no resistance, and were arrested without trouble. In their homes, they found more than fifteen hundred hydroponic marijuana plants and over seventy pounds of freshly harvested marijuana.

Not long after, CHP reported they had intercepted Jin Kai Chen’s Mercedes van on the highway. They found two hundred sixty-eight pounds (about two hundred forty-three pounds) of marijuana and one hundred thousand dollars in cash in the van, and arrested several others aboard.

On the way back to the station, word came that the ringleader Zhen Da He wanted to make a deal with the police, offering up money-laundering channels and contacts, as well as the food processing plant that helped him manufacture marijuana edibles, in exchange for certain charges being dropped.

It was clear: when disaster strikes, everyone looks out for themselves. Criminals have no loyalty; when trouble comes, they confess faster than anyone.

None of this concerned Ao Xi. Neither the follow-up work nor interrogating suspects involved him.

With nothing to do, he checked the progress of the missing Chinese case he’d reported the day before, only to find it already closed.

He opened the file and discovered that someone had noticed a car parked in an alley for a long time. Upon checking, they found the driver dead inside.

After police comparison, it was confirmed that the deceased was the missing person, Colin Zhang. The exact cause of death was still unclear; the coroner had yet to issue a report.