Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

The only response he received was a barrage of bullets! Judging from the intensity and location of the gunfire, Liu Jianguo estimated that there were at least four or five armed men inside the house, more than he had anticipated, making the situation increasingly difficult.

A direct assault would inevitably result in casualties. His mind raced, and he suddenly roared, "Li Cheng! Prepare the grenades! Damn it, they're asking for it! Blow these bastards to death!"

His words were partly driven by genuine anger at the enemy's resistance, and partly a deliberate psychological tactic intended for those inside to hear, meant to intimidate them and force their surrender. It also served as a further reminder to find cover, as the cessation of firing would allow Liu Jianguo to launch a direct assault. After all, capturing an enemy agent alive was far more valuable than taking a corpse, and the achievement would be far greater.

Li Cheng immediately pulled a military-grade hand grenade from his tactical vest, raised his voice, and shouted at a volume audible throughout the room, "You little bastard! Here's a treasure for you to try!" Without hesitation, he pulled the pin, calmly counted to two in his mind, and then swung his arm, sending the smoking grenade flying.

The grenade was accurately thrown into the house through the door! "Boom!" A loud explosion! The grenade exploded inside the house, a flash of fire, and smoke and dust billowed out from the doors and windows!

Before the shockwave from the explosion had completely dissipated, Liu Jianguo, like a cheetah, was the first to charge into the billowing smoke! The room was dimly lit and filled with smoke and dust, but his eyes were like lightning, instantly locking onto four figures who had been blown to their knees but were still trying to raise their guns! He raised his hand, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Four more shots followed, the marksmanship cunning and ruthless, the bullets seemingly with eyes, striking the right wrists of all four men with pinpoint accuracy! Screams erupted, and the pistols clattered to the ground!

"Take them alive!" Li Bing, Li Wu, and the others pounced like tigers descending a mountain, using their knees to pin the four wounded enemy agents in the back, swiftly handcuffing them and quickly confiscating their other weapons. Liu Jianguo scanned the room and saw a body lying in the corner, its head ripped open by a grenade.

The corpse was mangled beyond recognition by the shrapnel. He couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Damn it, what kind of trash is this? They even warned me before throwing a grenade and one still died! With such poor mental fortitude and slow reactions, they'd only be cannon fodder on the battlefield!"

Just as the battle ended and the smoke had not yet cleared, deep within Liu Jianguo's mind, that cold yet clear mechanical voice rang out as expected:

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully commanded and participated in combat, subduing 4 enemy agents and killing 1 stubborn enemy agent. Hidden achievement completed—"Thunderous Sweep, First Glimpse of Brilliance!"]

[Achievement rewards are being distributed...]

[Congratulations, host! You have obtained: 5 Absolutely Loyal Death Summoning Slots!]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Small World Space Ecosystem Expansion - New Saline-Alkali Marine Ecosystem Area (10 acres in area, average depth 30 meters)!]

[Congratulations, host, you have received: A Marine Basic Organisms Gift Pack x 1 (containing common commercially valuable fish, shrimp, crabs, shellfish, and basic seaweed seedlings/spores)!]

The brief moment of disorientation caused by the system notification in his mind quickly faded. Liu Jianguo steadied himself and immediately gave an order to Li Liang, who was guarding outside:

"Li Liang! Bring two men in and search thoroughly! Don't miss any corner!"

Li Liang immediately led his men into the house and, by the light of kerosene lamps and lanterns, began a thorough search of the room, which was filled with smoke and dust.

In a short while, Li Liang found a well-maintained, compact military portable radio hidden in a disguised cabinet. Then, he pulled out a stack of paper documents wrapped tightly in oilcloth from deep inside the kang hole. The documents were densely covered with numbers and symbols, clearly codebooks and some intelligence drafts.

Looking at the radio and the stack of documents on the ground, Liu Jianguo felt a huge weight lifted from his heart, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

The suspect was caught red-handed; the evidence was irrefutable!

With this physical evidence, no one can take away or erase the credit for capturing the enemy agent!

Not only will it add a significant chapter to one's personal record of achievements, but it will also provide valuable promotion opportunities for one's trusted personnel on both the public security and security fronts.

Perhaps the intense gunfire and grenade explosions were too startling, shattering the tranquility of the winter night.

By this time, the central courtyard of No. 93 was filled with awakened residents—men, women, and children—all bundled up in cotton-padded coats, their faces etched with fear and curiosity. Even residents from several nearby courtyards were alerted, rushing out to look around, gathering at the entrance of No. 94 to point and whisper amongst themselves.

After all, in the relatively stable city of Beijing in the early days of liberation, such a large-scale armed arrest operation was extremely rare.

Liu Jianguo glanced at the chaotic crowd and knew he had to stabilize the situation and prevent the spread of rumors.

He took a deep breath, walked to the center of the courtyard, raised his voice, and said in a clear, authoritative tone:

"Dear neighbors, don't panic! I am Liu Jianguo, deputy director of the security department of Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill! We have just discovered enemy agents lurking here and have successfully arrested them! The agents are now under control and the scene is safe! Please disperse and go home to rest!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a suppressed buzz of discussion immediately arose from the crowd.

Some people patted their chests in relief:

"Oh my god! He really is a spy! I knew he was acting suspiciously!"

Some people suddenly realized: "No wonder there were so many noises in the middle of the night! It was a telegram being sent! How terrifying!"

The panic was gradually replaced by a sense of relief, like "I knew it," and a feeling of excitement at participating in a major event.

Liu Jianguo had no time to explain further and gestured for Li Liang to carefully put away the radio and documents.

He led his men, who were escorting prisoners and carrying spoils, and quickly left the No. 93 compound, heading towards the steel rolling mill. They hadn't gone far from Nanluoguxiang when they saw several beams of flashlight beams approaching. Director Wang from the street office, along with two staff members, and the deputy director of the Jiaodaokou Police Station, with four or five armed police officers, were hurrying towards them, panting heavily.

They had obviously heard the gunshots and explosions and rushed over.

The moment the two sides met, Director Wang immediately recognized Liu Jianguo, who was surrounded by a crowd, and quickly stepped forward, his face showing surprise and uncertainty:

"Director Liu! What...what happened? There were gunshots and explosions just now, it scared us all!"

Liu Jianguo glanced at her and replied succinctly, "Director Wang, it's nothing. We just caught a whole bunch of enemy agents in compound number 93."

"Enemy...enemy agent?!"

Upon hearing those three words, Director Wang felt a wave of dizziness and his head went blank!