At that moment, the Special Affairs Team arrived at the unit next door.
Liu Zhongzheng shouted toward the inside of the room, his voice sharp with fury: "Li Dayong, are you insane? It's just a few hundred yuan, and you're kidnapping someone over it? I'll pay you the money! Come out now, and I swear, I'll make sure you're okay."
"It's too late!"
Li Dayong bellowed back, his expression twisted with rage.
He held little Nannan in a tight grip, his hand pressing around the girl's fragile neck. Her mother stood nearby, pale and trembling, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. She kept making desperate "hush" gestures at Nannan, trying to soothe her into silence.
Nannan's eyes brimmed with tears too, but not a sound left her lips. Her gaze stayed locked on her mother's face, filled with terror and helplessness.
Liu Zhong took in the scene, his heart burning with anger, but he forced himself to stay calm.
He tossed a cigarette at Li Dayong's feet and slowly reached for his wallet. After counting the cash, he threw it over. Raising his hands, he said in a steady tone, "Let's not escalate this. There's over 3,000 yuan in cash in that wallet. Take it. You know there are no surveillance cameras in this building. If you leave through the window now, I'll stay here and even handcuff myself. I won't chase you."
Li Dayong didn't answer immediately, but his breathing grew slower, more measured.
Liu Zhong then pulled out a pair of handcuffs and held them up. "See these? You know what kind they are, right? Just made yesterday. With these on, my powers are disabled. I'm no threat to you. Just take the money and go. I'll handcuff myself and sit tight. You've got nothing to worry about."
"You take your money and leave, okay?"
"Think it through. If I don't catch you, I'll just get chewed out by my superiors. But if anything happens to them, I'm done for. I just want them to be safe. Run now, while you can."
Li Dayong looked tempted. He hesitated, then nudged the wallet with his foot. After a moment, he crouched, grabbed it, and peeked inside.
Greed flashed in his eyes.
"Not enough. This isn't enough. Get me more."
Liu Zhong spread his hands helplessly. "That's all I've got on me. How about this: give me your bank card number, and I'll transfer you more."
"No! Call your teammates out here. Tell them to hand over all the cash they've got!"
Clearly, Li Dayong wasn't as clueless as he looked. He didn't want digital traces—he wanted cash.
"Alright, alright! Don't panic, I'll ask them now. Just stay calm!"
Liu Zhong took one last glance at Nannan, whose face was growing pale, and backed out of the room.
Once outside, he began knocking on doors, one by one. Some people gave him cash without hesitation. Others refused to open up.
Eventually, he reached Jiang Ming's apartment.
Jiang Ming opened the door and handed over his only 1,800 yuan without question.
"Thanks," Liu Zhong said softly. "I'll make sure you get it back. I promise."
Jiang Ming simply nodded and, after Liu Zhong left, pressed his ear to the wall that connected their apartments. He listened closely.
Inside, Liu Zhong placed the cash into a plastic bag and threw it into the room. "Here. More than ten thousand yuan. You've got it. Just ease up on her now, alright?"
Li Dayong greedily scooped up the money, eyes gleaming.
"Good," he said. "Now cuff yourself. Once I'm gone, you're free."
"Okay, okay," Liu Zhong replied. He held up his cuffed wrists. "Look, I'm restrained. Just go. I'm not chasing you."
Seeing this, Li Dayong barked at Nannan's mother, "You! Get up and come with me."
A flicker of hope lit up her face. She slowly stood and gently swapped positions with her daughter.
As soon as Nannan touched the floor, her mother shoved her toward Liu Zhong.
Liu Zhong's heart nearly exploded from rage. "Li Dayong! Are you out of your mind? If you take her with you, this becomes a serious crime. If you run alone, you've still got a chance!"
But Li Dayong just sneered and made for the window, dragging Nannan's mother along.
In that instant, Liu Zhong slipped free of his cuffs, shoved Nannan out the door, and charged forward.
But before he could reach them—
Unexpectedly, Nannan's mother acted. Seizing the moment, she twisted in Li Dayong's grip and shoved him away, falling to the floor as she broke free.
Li Dayong roared, his face contorting with fury. He pointed at her and screamed, "You bitch!"
"Stop!" Liu Zhong shouted, but he was still three meters away.
Before he could take another step—
Bang!
A beam of dark energy blasted through the wall like a cannon shot.
It streaked across the room, striking Li Dayong in the head before he could even turn around.
His skull erupted in a sickening explosion of red and white.
The headless body collapsed with a thud.
Liu Zhong stared in stunned silence at the gaping hole in the wall separating them from Jiang Ming's apartment.
Then, shaking off the shock, he rushed forward to help Nannan's mother and guided the reunited mother and daughter into the corridor.
With his nerves still buzzing, he went to Jiang Ming's door and knocked, prepared for anything.
Jiang Ming answered, scratching his head. "Uh… I guess that counts as a heroic act?"
Liu Zhong didn't speak. Instead, he quickly slapped a pair of handcuffs onto Jiang Ming's wrists.
Jiang Ming offered no resistance, calmly allowing himself to be restrained. Liu Zhong entered the apartment and searched it top to bottom.
A minute later, he removed the cuffs with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry. Just doing my job. I thought Li Dayong might have an accomplice trying to silence him."
"No worries," Jiang Ming replied, shaking his head.
"So that shot," Liu Zhong asked, "that was you?"
"Yeah. Should count as a heroic act, right?"
Liu Zhong chuckled. "Yeah. Of course. Sit tight for a bit. I need to wrap things up."
"Alright."
Liu Zhong walked out, and the Special Affairs Team began securing the scene and documenting everything.
Back in his apartment, Jiang Ming stared at the new hole in the wall, roughly 30 centimeters wide. His expression twisted in dismay.
How much would it cost to fix this?
"What are you looking at?"
Liu Zhong approached from behind, eyeing the wall curiously.
Jiang Ming pointed solemnly at the gaping hole. "Officer, can this be repaired?"
Liu Zhong's face went blank.
"Officer," Jiang Ming repeated, more urgently this time.
Liu Zhong raised a hand, sighing. "Yeah, yeah, it can be fixed. You're really worried about this hole?"
"Well… this is a rental, not my own place."
"Oh. What about your parents?"
"Gone."
Liu Zhong looked at him in surprise. "You live alone?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing. Here's your money."
He handed back the 1,800 yuan. "How did you know where Li Dayong was standing?"
"My hearing is really sharp. When I heard Aunt Deng push him and realized he was about to hurt her, I fired without thinking."
"By the way, Brother Liu," Jiang Ming added, "you mentioned this was considered a heroic act, right? Does that mean there's a bonus or something?"
Liu Zhong thought for a moment, recalling the Special Affairs Team's policies. "Yeah. There is. I'll file the paperwork for you."
"Thanks, Brother Liu."
Just then, Nannan and her mother walked into the room.
The woman bowed deeply to Jiang Ming. "Thank you."
She patted her daughter's shoulder gently.
Still sniffling, Nannan said through tears, "Thank you, Brother Xiaojiang."
Jiang Ming helped her mother to her feet. "Please, Aunt Deng. You've always given me dumplings and invited me over for meals. There's no need to be so formal."
Then he patted Nannan's head. "Isn't that right, Nannan?"
Instead of answering, Nannan threw herself into his arms and cried even harder.
Jiang Ming comforted her gently, then looked up at Aunt Deng. "Why don't you take her home to rest? She's had a big scare."
Aunt Deng nodded, her own face still pale. "Alright. I'll bring her back later to thank you properly."
She bowed once more before leaving with her daughter.