Police officer Chen Shu.

It got dark very quickly.

Chen Shu was a little anxious, but Xiao Yang, a local police officer who was familiar with the local situation, continued to scroll through his phone at a leisurely pace, occasionally glancing out the car window after looking down for a while.

Zhu Chaoran remained calm and slept soundly in the back seat, claiming it was to conserve his energy; Xiao Qiang was also anxious and had to get out of the car and run to the roadside to use the restroom several times; Xu Lei, who insisted on boarding despite the poor signal in the wilderness, had hoped to take some time to reach the "King of Glory" rank, but he still had a furrowed brow and a pout.

It wasn't until the moon rose above the willow tree that Xiao Yang started the Changhe and drove towards Gajia Village.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Chen Shu turned around, ready to give a pre-battle pep talk. Unexpectedly, the three members of the "problem little army" were already sitting up straight, poised to go, and the dark back seat was now emitting three sharp, piercing gazes.

Chen Shu knew what was going on, so he turned around and focused his attention on what was in front of him.

Xiao Yang wasn't driving fast; the Changhe truck slowly made its way along the muddy road towards the mountain village.

After turning a corner, under the moonlight, you can vaguely see eighty or ninety houses. The houses are generally old, and you can even see from a distance that some houses are still made of wood.

Several muffled exhalations came from the back seat of the car, perhaps the people who had been waiting for a long time were getting impatient.

Chen Shu couldn't help but relax a bit. After two days and thousands of kilometers of rushing, he finally arrived at his destination. Although he hadn't seen anyone yet, he was still somewhat relieved.

Xiao Yang stopped the car, squinted at the village but didn't say anything.

Chen Shuyuan thought that once they arrived at the destination, they should get out of the car and head straight to the fugitive's house, but he saw that Xiao Yang was sitting in the driver's seat, looking into the distance, clearly having no intention of getting out of the car at all.

Chen Shu felt a chill run down his spine, and his breathing quickened involuntarily. He suppressed his earlier relaxation and followed Xiao Yang's gaze toward the village.

At this hour, the village, which should have been quiet, dark, and asleep, was brightly lit in one corner. If you listened carefully, you could faintly hear some sounds of drinking and commotion.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Shu had figured everything out. He said in a deep voice, "The villagers are all gathered together now. If we rush in to arrest people, it could easily cause a mass incident."

Xiao Qiang shouted, "Damn it! We've arrested people on the street or in internet cafes before, and dozens or even hundreds of people have watched us. What's there to be afraid of?"

Zhu Chaoran: "Brother Shu, I'll listen to you."

Xu Lei interjected, "This is all from the same village, unlike in the city."

Chen Shu was somewhat surprised that the young Xu Lei could think so meticulously. Usually, he just sat in the interrogation room taking statements and had not gone out on field missions many times.

Knowing Chen Shu's question, Xu Lei said with a self-deprecating smile, "I come from the countryside. When I was a child, if the police came to our village to arrest someone, they would try to snatch them away. If you were a few steps late, you would be surrounded by a bunch of villagers."

Xiao Yang, who had been silent until now, pointed to the lit area across the street and said, "I forgot, a family is having a wedding today, and everyone in the village went over for the feast."

He then pointed to a house not far away and continued, "This is Ma Zhongyun's house. He's committed a crime and definitely won't dare to show his face. He's probably hiding at home alone right now. As long as we rush in, we'll catch him red-handed."

Chen Shu opened the car door, walked about a hundred steps forward to observe the road conditions ahead, then returned to the car. After a moment's thought, he frankly said, "Xiao Yang, I also want to catch them as soon as possible. But I still feel that today's situation is somewhat inappropriate. There are two problems."

Firstly, the place where the villagers were drinking wasn't far from Ma Zhongyun's house, and the door should have been locked. If we rushed in to arrest him, we would be discovered at the slightest sound. Right now, the whole village was gathered together and had been drinking. If so many people rushed over and surrounded us, and they got carried away, the situation would be extremely dangerous.

Secondly, due to historical reasons, the villagers in this type of village are mostly relatives with some degree of connection. Ma Zhongyun committed a crime, but this is his hometown, and family members celebrating a happy occasion wouldn't care about such things. Therefore, it's very likely that Ma Zhongyun is currently there celebrating.

Zhu Chaoran: "Brother Shu, I'll listen to you!"

Xiao Qiang, looking indignant, retorted, "Damn it! So what if there are more of us? What, you dare to go against us police? Aren't you asking for death?"

Xu Lei pursed his lips.

Xiao Yang was merely following orders to lead the way; now that the case's lead agency had arrived, he couldn't overstep his bounds. He remained silent for the moment.

After pondering for a long time, Chen Shu first asked Xiao Yang, "Does Ma Zhongyun's family have dogs?"

Xiao Yang frowned and thought for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "I'm not sure about that. But there aren't many dogs in this village."

Chen Shuzheng straightened his expression and stated his plan: "I just went closer and observed for a while. Ma Zhongyun's house has a small courtyard that we can climb over. Let's sneak over and throw something in to see if there are any dogs. If there are, we'll ambush them by the roadside; if not, we'll climb over into the courtyard, hide, and catch them when they finish drinking and come home."

Xu Lei asked with some doubt, "What if Ma Zhongyun is inside?"

Chen Shu laughed: "Then let's just wait until he opens the door in the morning!"

......

Under Chen Shu's arrangement, Xiao Yang drove the Changhe car to a secluded corner about a hundred meters away from Ma Zhongyun's house and parked it, leaving him to stay in the car.

Actually, the best course of action at this point would be to have Zhu Chaoran wait in the car while Xiao Yang went in with Chen Shu and the others to carry out the arrest.

Firstly, as a local police officer, if Xiao Yang were to encounter any trouble, his words would surely have an effect.

Secondly, this is his jurisdiction, and he is definitely much more familiar with the surrounding environment and the situation on site than these four outsiders;

Finally, with Xiao Yang's impressive pectoral muscles and extensive experience in "one-man-three" (a type of catching maneuver), he's definitely a one-man-two catcher when it comes to apprehending fugitives.

However, Chen Shu couldn't bring himself to do it. When arresting people across provinces, the local police didn't actually have a strict requirement to assist, and Xiao Yang had already helped them a lot.

After arranging everyone's tasks, Chen Shu made a point of politely asking Xiao Yang for his opinion. At this moment, he harbored a secret thought, believing that Xiao Yang would volunteer to come in with them to arrest the people.

Surprisingly, Xiao Yang nodded in agreement, but said nothing more.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Chen Shu had no choice but to lead the remaining three men quietly toward Ma Zhongyun's house.

However, on the way, he regretted not asking Xiao Yang for help directly.

Northeasterners are straightforward and don't have many hidden agendas!

Safety comes first after all. Southerners might lose face a little, but if they're thick-skinned, so be it.

After deciding, Chen Shu led the three of them back.