Film and Television: My Cheat Code is AI

The 815 Major Case (5)

February 8, noon.

Almost two hours after the bank robbery, Lao Zheng and his men arrived at the gate of XX factory. The car was parked under the shade of the trees by the roadside, and several men stood beside the car, staring at the rusty iron gate of the factory. Yang Zhen's car turned from the street corner, and he braked sharply to a stop, then got out of the car.

Old Zheng glanced at him: "The SWAT team won't be here for another fifteen minutes."

Yang Zhen closed the car door and said as he walked, "Liu Zhi already gave us the details on the way here. There should be five people inside. He recognizes three of them: his older brother Wang Xianren, Wang Xianren's younger brother Wang Xianmin, and Yao Bianzi. The other two should be drivers, one hired by Wang Xianmin and the other by Wang Xianren. It seems the two drivers don't know each other." He glanced at his watch. "They're only going to wait at this factory for two hours. There are only a dozen minutes left. I'm afraid it won't be enough time for the SWAT team to arrive."

Old Zheng threw his cigarette butt on the ground, stomped it out, and nodded. "Then let's get ready to move." He turned to Chang Baole. "You take Da Liu and drive around to the back door. If they drive out, ram them."

Chang Baole responded and got into the car with Da Liu and drove away.

Old Zheng then looked at Tian Rui: "You're in charge of keeping an eye on Liu Zhi and securing the rear. The task of contacting the SWAT team is yours."

Tian Rui nodded: "Understood."

Old Zheng looked at Ding Jian and Zhang Yang one last time: "You two climb over the wall and open the door for us. Ji Jie, Yang Zhen, and I will go in, and then the five of us will move in together. We can fire if necessary."

"clear."

Chang Baole and Da Liu's car had already circled around to the back of the factory. Tian Rui drove the car carrying Liu Zhi to a nearby scrap yard and hid it, then picked up her walkie-talkie and began calling the SWAT team.

Zhang Yang and Ding Jian exchanged a smile and nodded simultaneously. Zhang Yang took two steps back to run up, using a protruding brick seam in the wall as leverage, and pulled himself up, peering inside. The factory area was quiet; all five of them were gathered in the open space at the factory gate, and there wasn't even a guard at the entrance. He jumped down quietly, landing on a pile of discarded woven bags without making a sound, and then helped Ding Jian down. The two of them crouched low and crept to the gate, slowly loosening the bolt on the iron gate. The hinges were dry, and when they pushed it open, it still made a long, thin creaking sound.

Everyone loaded their guns. Old Zheng pointed forward, and five men crept in along the wall of the factory.

Upon reaching the entrance to the inner factory area, Zhang Yang crouched behind a pile of old tires, peeking out halfway. The factory was dimly lit, with beams of light streaming through several tall windows onto the concrete floor, dust slowly drifting within them. The people inside were clearly anxious; two were pacing back and forth, and another was squatting on the ground smoking.

Zhang Yang turned his head back, made a five-point gesture towards Lao Zheng and the others, and then used his hand gestures to show the positions of the people inside one by one.

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze, his head snapping towards the factory entrance: "Who's there?"

Old Zheng knew he had been exposed, so he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Police!"

The people inside instantly grabbed their weapons. Wang Xianren snatched an AK47 leaning against an oil drum and fired a burst towards the door. Bullets struck the iron door frame, sparks flying, the echoes reverberating in the empty factory. Yang Zhen, leaning against cover, shouted, "I'm telling you, you're surrounded. Surrender now, and I'll consider it a voluntary surrender."

"Turn yourself in, my ass."

Bang bang bang, several more AK bullets hit the cover, scattering chunks of concrete all over the ground.

Zhang Yang glanced at the bullet's trajectory, then lowered his voice and said, "I'll go. I'm fast and a good shooter."

Ji Jie glanced at him, her lips moved, and she only said one sentence: "Be careful."

Old Zheng nodded: "Okay."

Zhang Yang gripped his Type 54 pistol tightly and crouched low as he crept out from the side of the cover. The factory was cluttered with miscellaneous items; he used oil drums and wooden crates as cover, slowly making his way to the side. Halfway there, he secretly peeked up. The men were crouching behind a row of rusty oil drums, Wang Xianren on the far left, Wang Xianmin on the right, and Yao Bianzi huddled behind Wang Xianren, her long hair peeking out from under her hat. Two men who looked like drivers were huddled at the very edge, one in a black jacket and the other in a blue jacket.

Zhang Yang retreated to a position where he could see Ding Jian and waved to him. Ding Jian also saw where the group was standing and nodded to him. Ding Jian turned to look at Lao Zheng, whose gaze swept back and forth between the two men before he nodded emphatically.

Ding Jian turned back, raised his left hand, and began counting down with his fingers.

three.

two.

One.

The two men simultaneously stood up from behind their cover. Zhang Yang, without even aiming, pointed his gun at the oil drum and repeatedly pulled the trigger, the spent cartridges bouncing off the ejector and onto the ground. When he ran out of ammunition, he immediately crouched down and began to move, changing cover as he pulled a spare magazine from his tactical chest pouch. He ejected the empty magazine with a press of his thumb, and a new magazine clicked into place.

A scream came from the oil drums, the voice cracking and throbbing, crashing against the concrete wall of the factory: "Ah!"

"Big brother! Brother! Wake up!"

Taking advantage of this opening, Yang Zhen shouted, "Everyone, throw out your guns and surrender! We can treat the wounded!"

"Fuck you." That was the only response he got, a sobbing curse followed by another round of gunfire.

After Zhang Yang moved to his new seat, he glanced at Ding Jian, who was also looking at him. The two nodded to each other and simultaneously prepared to get up for the second time.

three.

two.

One.

The two men stood up simultaneously. Through Zhang Yang's sights, Wang Xianmin was holding a replica Type 54 pistol, aiming it at him and pulling the trigger. He didn't have time to aim carefully, relying on instinct to press down on his wrist and fire repeatedly. The gunshots rang out in a chaotic cacophony in the factory, making it impossible to distinguish who was firing whom.

Suddenly, Zhang Yang felt something slam into his body. It wasn't the jolt of a bullet hitting cover, but a real, solid impact, like being swung at with a hammer. A sharp pain exploded within him, and he looked down to see a red stain on his shirt.

His vision began to blur, and the high windows on the factory roof turned into a swaying white light. He heard Ding Jian calling him, his voice loud but far away, as if it were coming from underwater. Ding Jian was holding him and shouting something in his face, but he couldn't hear anything clearly.

Ding Jian shouted, "Quickly, save people! Ambulance!"

Old Zheng also ran over and said, "Quick, save them!"

The ambulance arrived, and Zhang Yang was lifted into it and taken to the military general hospital.