Stop it, the country really can't fit any more bans on the domestic entertainment industry.

The off-road vehicle's tires rolled over the rough asphalt road, producing a dull screech.

Two days have passed since the surprise inspection of the bar that night.

The convoy drove westward, and the vegetation outside the windows became increasingly lush, with the vast tropical broad-leaved forests blocking out most of the sunlight.

The air here is thick with a humid, oppressive heat.

We're getting closer and closer to the border.

The journey these past few days has not been smooth.

The checkpoints and inspections along the way became more and more frequent, with armed border police checking people at almost every intersection that crossed cities.

The atmosphere in the carriage grew increasingly oppressive.

Those henchmen had long lost their previous enthusiasm for eating, drinking, and having fun in the bar.

Everyone was on edge, their fingers always unconsciously resting near their waist.

Zhao Zhihai sat in the passenger seat, smoking one cigarette after another.

The smell of tobacco filled the small space.

His brows were tightly furrowed, and his fleshy face revealed deep irritation.

He was under immense psychological pressure in order to successfully leave the country to attend the fan meeting that concerned the distribution of benefits.

In stark contrast to this tense atmosphere was Li Mo'an, who was sitting in the back row.

Li Mo'an leaned back in the leather seat, her eyes slightly closed.

Breathing is even and long.

He didn't take the intense checks outside seriously at all.

This unwavering aura instilled in Zhao Zhihai, who was sitting in front, a sense of awe in addition to his initial agitation.

Meanwhile, Lao Zou and the other plainclothes police officers were scattered in different cars.

Old Zou sat in the back seat of another car, looking out the window at the car in front.

He had been secretly observing Zhao Zhihai's group of men for the past few days.

One of the young henchmen caught Lao Zou's attention.

The young man's name was Yu Zui.

Yu Zui had a clean-cut buzz cut and a strong physique.

When they were resting at camp, the other henchmen would make vulgar jokes and swear constantly.

Yu Zui, however, always sat alone to the side, silently wiping the blade in his hand.

Even earlier, when passing through a service area, an elderly woman selling fruit was knocked down by a henchman.

Yu Zui also helped pick up the scattered oranges.

This action was highly unusual in the eyes of a veteran detective like Lao Zou.

After these past few days of subtly getting information out of people and observing them in the car.

With his keen eye and subtle probing, Lao Zou roughly figured out the young man's background.

Yu Zui was actually a graduate of the police academy.

Deep down, he actually has a sense of justice.

But fate is cruel; I heard it was because the family's only sister was bullied by local thugs.

In a moment of impulse, he accidentally killed the thug.

With nowhere else to turn, they fled to the border to escape capture.

Zhao Zhihai, who was in dire need of thugs, happened to take a liking to him and recruited him as a subordinate.

All told, Yu Zui had only been in this drug trafficking group for less than half a month.

Old Zou sighed inwardly.

From the police's perspective.

Although Yu committed a crime, he was not inherently bad, and his hands were not stained with the innocent blood of drug dealers.

This is someone who can still be saved, someone who can be redeemed.

However, being in enemy territory, Lao Zou could not show any sympathy.

He could only continue to maintain that cold, authoritative demeanor that instilled fear in his henchmen.

That noon.

The convoy arrived at a border trade market with extremely complex terrain.

This is the last major supply point before leaving the country, and it is also a hotspot for smuggling and the trade in contraband.

The market was bustling with noise, and there were makeshift sheds made of tarpaulins everywhere.

Vendors speaking in various accents were loudly hawking their wares inside.

The air was filled with a complex mix of spices, tropical fruits, and animal manure.

To avoid attracting attention, Zhao Zhihai had the convoy park in a secluded spot on the outskirts of the market.

He arranged for everyone to break up into several small groups and walk through the border trade market.

Li Mo'an and Lao Zou walked in the middle of the group.

Zhao Zhihai, accompanied by several trusted confidants, walked slightly ahead.

Yu Zui and two other henchmen acted as the vanguard, leading the way to scout ahead.

The passageways in the market were very narrow, and the muddy ground was covered with sewage.

Everyone kept their heads down, trying to avoid the patrol personnel's line of sight.

Just as sin was about to pass through an alleyway selling dried goods.

An accident happened.

A group of local police officers suddenly appeared at the intersection ahead.

One of the police officers was holding a large black police dog on a leash.

The police dog was originally sniffing around on the ground.

As Yu Zui and his two henchmen walked past from the side.

The police dog suddenly stopped moving.

He twitched his nose twice and then suddenly turned his head.

The tow rope instantly taut.

"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

The police dogs barked fiercely in the direction of Yu Zui and the others.

The sharp barking of the dog instantly drowned out the hawking of the surrounding vendors.

The air in the alley became quiet.

The surrounding vendors and passersby stopped and moved aside.

The policeman with the police dog immediately became alert.

He tightened the rope and quickly reached for the walkie-talkie at his waist with his right hand.

The surrounding police officers also gripped their weapons tightly, their gazes piercing like swords as they stared at Yu Zui and his two companions.

Yu Zui's steps suddenly stopped.

His expression changed.

The two henchmen next to him panicked instantly, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.

They knew that they had packed some contraband in their backpacks for self-defense and for making transactions on the road.

It was clearly the scent leaked from that substance that gave the police dogs away.

Hearing the commotion, a large number of police officers are converging on the intersection from all directions of the market.

The encirclement is rapidly tightening.

Zhao Zhihai stopped behind another stall a dozen meters away from Yu Zui.

Using the hanging clothes as cover, he could clearly see what was happening ahead.

His fleshy face instantly darkened.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

His mind was racing, quickly assessing the current situation.

If we rush in to save them now, not only will we fail to rescue them, but we'll also endanger everyone else.

Once you're cornered by the police, they'll conduct a full body search.

If their weapons are exposed, their identities will be completely revealed.

The fan meeting that had been planned for so long is now completely over.

They might even lose their lives here.

His selfish and cold-blooded nature was laid bare at this moment.

Zhao Zhihai did not hesitate at all.

In order to ensure that he could leave the country smoothly and protect his own interests.

He made the decision on the spot.

Abandon sin.

Under the cover of the crowd, Zhao Zhihai made a very subtle hand gesture toward Yu Zui.

The meaning of that gesture is very clear in the underworld.

They were instructed to immediately run in the opposite direction to distract the police.

This buys the main force time to evacuate via the side roads.

Yu Zui stood at the intersection and caught a glimpse of Zhao Zhihai's gesture out of the corner of his eye.

His body trembled slightly.

His face turned somewhat pale.

Although he hadn't been a member for long, he knew that this was the rule of the underworld.

When danger arises, the lower-ranking henchmen are just cannon fodder that can be discarded at any time.

But when it actually happened to him, the cold feeling of being abandoned still made him feel suffocated.

Yu Zui gritted his teeth.

There was no room for resistance.

He suddenly turned around and shoved aside a bamboo basket next to him.

The bamboo basket overturned, and the miscellaneous items inside rolled all over the ground, obstructing the police's view.

Then, he took off running towards a complicated dead end on the right side of the market.

"stop!"

"Police! Don't run!"

The officer in charge shouted.

The police dog barked wildly and pounced out.

A large number of police officers were immediately drawn to Yu Zui and chased after him into the alley on the right, carrying their police equipment.

The previously tight encirclement was instantly torn open.

Zhao Zhihai watched coldly as the police were lured away.

He turned to the remaining henchmen and whispered, "Go!"

They quickly blended into the crowd and retreated rapidly to the left.

He didn't even glance back at the young subordinate who had lured away the pursuers for them.

at this time.

Yu Zui, being chased by the police, had run into that dead end.

The road here is blocked by a high brick wall.

He was breathing heavily, his back pressed tightly against the cold wall.

I could hear the sirens and barking of dogs getting closer and closer outside.

Yu Zui hid in the shadows of a corner, his gaze passing through the gaps in the alley, looking at the market exit in the distance.

He saw Zhao Zhihai and his men disappear from sight.

His eyes were filled with despair and disbelief.

He had thought that by following Zhao Zhihai, he could find a way to survive in this dark world.

Little did he expect that he was just a tool to be used and then thrown away.

Despair overwhelmed him like a tidal wave.

Old Zou and several other plainclothes police officers mingled with the evacuating group.

They saw it all.

Old Zou's fists were clenched tightly together, his nails digging deep into his flesh.

Looking at that police academy junior who was cornered.

A pang of pain shot through his heart.

From the police officer's perspective, he really wanted to rush out and pull the young man out.

Give him a chance to start anew.

But reason told him that he absolutely could not take action.

Old Zou gritted his teeth, forced himself to turn around, and continued walking forward with Zhao Zhihai's group.

The henchmen around them remained silent.

Although they were used to this life of constant danger.

But seeing the brother who was having dinner with me just a few days ago being so coldly treated as a pawn by the boss.

It's inevitable to feel a sense of desolation, like the rabbit mourning the fox's death.

The atmosphere in the team plummeted to freezing point.

Just when everyone thought Yu Zui was completely finished.

Just as Lao Zou was enduring the inner torment and preparing to give up.

Li Mo'an walked in the middle of the group.

They suddenly stopped walking.

The chaotic flow of people around him hurried past.

Li Mo'an ignored Zhao Zhihai, who was urging him from the front.

He turned around calmly.

His deep gaze swept across the bustling border trade market.

He glanced in the direction of Yu Zui.