Police officer Chen Shu.

In the early morning, darkness enveloped the land, and a light drizzle covered the earth. Apart from the tinkling of raindrops hitting the car body and the sizzling sound of the car tires slowly rolling over the mud, there were no other sounds around.

Time passed second by second, and as the two people driving the Golf gradually approached their destination, the atmosphere inside the car became increasingly tense.

"Fatty, slow down." Chen Shu glanced at the navigation on his phone, reviewed the terrain information that Li Meng had just forwarded to him on WeChat, and turned to Zhu Chaoran, saying, "There's a bend about two or three hundred meters ahead. You'll see the overpass once you turn there."

"Okay." Zhu Chaoran tapped the brakes a few times, slowly reducing the car's speed to first gear and coasting away.

"Turn off the lights and stick it next to that little hill by the roadside," Chen Shu said, pointing to a small hill not far ahead after carefully observing the surrounding terrain.

Zhu Chaoran turned off the car lights and slowly slid the car to a stop on the inside of the hill. The two of them tacitly began to pack their belongings.

"Fatty, remember to turn your phone off."

"Understood."

"Put this bulletproof vest on." Chen Shu bent down and pulled out two bulletproof vests and two plates from under the chair, handing one to Zhu Chaoran. "Try it on and see if it fits after the plates are in place."

Zhu Chaoran took the bulletproof vest with his left hand, weighed the insert plate in his right hand a few times, and put it aside. He said calmly, "It can't affect my agility. My physique still has some effect."

"Come on, with your weight, what's the big deal about this board? Stop arguing and just stick it in."

As Chen Shu spoke, he quickly put on his bulletproof vest, sat in the car and turned his upper body slightly. When he felt it was about right, he pressed the holster buckle again.

"Get out of the car and follow me."

Chen Shu gently pushed open the car door, cautiously got out of the car, stood still, looked around, and immediately ran towards the small hill next to him.

He gripped the sloping tree trunks at the bottom of the hill with both hands, stepped on an exposed rock with one foot, and quickly climbed to the top of the hill. He squatted down and looked westward.

Under the faint moonlight, the Dingshan Viaduct, nestled against the mountainside and running straight north to south, was faintly visible. Occasionally, a few cars with their headlights on would pass by. In the center, two beams of light could be clearly seen parked. One beam was on the bridge, presumably the vehicle of the hostage's family; the other beam was under the bridge, but its light was directed straight down, undoubtedly the kidnappers' car.

Chen Shu's eyes suddenly lit up.

Hehe, after running so far, we finally got a bite.

One kidnapper was on the mountain west of the bridge, another was under the bridge, and a third and the hostage were in a car parked more than 100 meters west of the overpass... Li Meng mentioned in her WeChat message that Ren Dahui would try to separate the hostage from the kidnappers, and all we needed to do was protect the hostage.

The mission was simple; Ren Da's instructions were sound, and the safety of the hostages was paramount. For Chen Shu and Zhu Chaoran, who only had two officers, this mission was perfectly suited.

However, the kidnappers will almost certainly take the money and run. None of the kidnappers' identities have been confirmed. If they escape this time, the outcome will most likely be the same as the previous times, becoming a cold case.

The light in his eyes dimmed.

No matter how you calculate it, they didn't have enough police resources to arrest the kidnappers, even if they were protecting the hostages.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. If the kidnappers discover that there are only two police officers sneaking over, they will likely become even more vicious and may even retaliate.

Since the kidnappers have brought the hostage to the family, there is a high probability that they will not kill the hostage after receiving the ransom.

Firstly, it's unnecessary; the ransom has already been successfully obtained, and there's absolutely no need to risk another life. Secondly, it contradicts the other party's repeated emphasis on "professionalism"...

Chen Shu's brain was working at high speed. After combining the WeChat messages sent by Li Meng with the information he had observed on site, he slowly began to form a rough plan in his mind.

Perhaps we could try bluffing, using a feint to attack from the east while striking from the west...

After watching Chen Shu's fluid and graceful movements, Zhu Chaoran, standing at the bottom of the hill, decided to stand guard and look around. This gave him something to do and prevented him from feeling too awkward.

"This is no place for a human to climb," he muttered to himself as he looked around.

"Fatty, come up here!" Chen Shu lowered his voice and whispered to where Zhu Chaoran was standing.

The air suddenly became quiet.

"..." Looking at the hill that was over four meters high, Zhu Chaoran controlled his emotions, took a deep breath, shook his chubby face, and said despairingly, "Brother Shu, are you kidding me? How am I supposed to get up there?"

"Stop talking nonsense, pick an easy spot to climb up, hurry up." Chen Shu interrupted Zhu Chaoran's grumbling and urged, "I'll come down and pull you up."

After a flurry of activity, with trees falling and leaves scattering, the two of them squatted together on the hilltop.

"Nothing is impossible to a willing mind." Zhu Chaoran, having painstakingly climbed the hill, began to sway his head and smugly remark.

"Shh!" Chen Shu pointed to the overpass ahead and whispered, "That's the overpass. The two places where the car lights are still are the meeting place designated by the kidnappers."

"Hmm, hmm." Zhu Chaoran squinted for a while and nodded.

"Our people are on the bridge. There's a target under the bridge, and another target in the car. The hostage is in the car," Chen Shu continued patiently.

"Understood." Zhu Chaoran nodded again, his expression calm and composed.

"The hostages will be taken to that location by the kidnappers, about ten meters to the right of the kidnappers' car, next to the big rock." Chen Shu pointed in the air a few times, but it was too dark to see any rocks.

"Yes, I think so too," Zhu Chaoran responded, indicating that he was listening carefully and considering it in his mind.

"There are kidnappers on the mountain behind the overpass. When you sneak across the fields, you absolutely must not turn on your phone," Chen Shu pointed to the huge, dark silhouette behind the bridge and gave him detailed instructions.

"Hmm, not bad. These kidnappers even thought to keep watch from the mountain... What? I'll sneak over there!?" Zhu Chaoran, upon hearing that he had to sneak over there himself, hurriedly stood up, but the ground was muddy and slippery, and he slipped and fell back down.

"Brother Shu, this isn't in the script. How am I supposed to get there by myself?" Zhu Chaoran said anxiously, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, without even thinking of standing up.