Chapter 62: The Deadly Negotiation

Using drones to lock onto and monitor, suspect Owen emerged from the trunk to the cabin before taking hostages into the public restroom…

It has been confirmed that both hostages remain unharmed for now…

Police have covertly surrounded the scene and established a perimeter around the service area…

Army snipers are in position and ready to engage when needed…

At a highway intersection over a hundred meters from the service area, Wang Dong disembarked from a helicopter and turned to the ice-faced Xiao Yu beside him, saying, “Orders from above: capture him alive if possible!”

Unbeknownst to them.

The role of commander shifted from Wang Dong to Xiao Yu.

Abilities can break through certain rules and hierarchies.

Those with the power take command while others obey.

Wang Dong, aware of his intellectual shortcomings, let Xiao Yu take full control without hesitation.

With his assistance, things should run smoothly…

“Don’t you want to make it count?”

Halting his pace, Xiao Yu looked at Wang Dong.

Wang Dong said nothing.

This deranged criminal deserved nothing less than a grim fate.

Though everyone understood it, some things just couldn’t be spoken aloud.

“Understood.”

Resuming his stride, Xiao Yu headed toward the service area.

Wang Dong exhaled in relief as his ‘little bro’ shot him a meaningful glance.

That look conveyed an unprecedented pressure and murderous resolve.

The intent to kill was aimed not at him, but at Owen.

Wang Dong suspected that, had he not spoken earlier…

the little bro might have tried countless ways to kill Owen?

Such thoughts were natural.

Even Wang Dong wished to dismember this atrocious criminal!

…

“Think you can run?”

A man clutched a one-year-old child as he peered out of a service area window, his gloomy face terrifying.

A woman trembled, visibly frightened yet too scared to move, her eyes fixed on the little one in his arms.

“Who are you?”

The man’s voice carried an indescribably soft quality as a cold smile crept across his face. He murmured, “Just an ordinary cop. Wouldn’t expect them to react this fast…”

“No direct action? Are you worried about the hostages?”

“Not calling in the snipers… is it that you prefer to capture me alive?”

“Hehe…”

The man chuckled, his laughter tinged with a repressed, frenzied cruelty. “Do you really think you’re worthy?”

At that moment, the area outside the service zone lay deserted, sealed off by roadblocks that barred vehicles.

All staff in the service area had been evacuated.

The man had noticed this early on.

He neither cared nor needed to.

With the child secure in his arms, the woman dared not move.

Two hostages were more than enough!

Suddenly, the man’s laughter abruptly ceased.

In his line of sight, a person appeared.

It was a young man, barely in his twenties, steadily approaching the service area.

As he drew nearer, his handsome features became clear; he appeared to be in his early twenties.

A cop?

A soldier?

The man regarded him with puzzled eyes, a venomous glint flickering like a snake.

What do you intend to do?

…

Step by step, Xiao Yu advanced into the service area.

Ready to… negotiate!

If you were a criminal who knew that capture meant certain death,

would you agree to negotiate?

Yet Xiao Yu had come anyway.

This wasn’t about heroism.

It was the result of analyzing countless possibilities.

He chose the method that made approaching the criminal easiest.

And the approach most likely to capture him alive!

But then, Xiao Yu’s skin prickled when he saw the criminal brazenly emerge from the service area’s restroom, cradling a child.

His scalp went numb.

His ever-alert ‘Falcon’s Eye’ latched onto the child in the criminal’s arms.

So, this was his final trump card!

What had Xiao Yu discovered?

The child’s shirt collar was strangely bulging, with a flashing red light emanating from his pale neck.

A wire extended from the child’s collar, connecting to a small box in the man’s hand!

A bomb?

A smuggler? Why would someone like him have such a thing?

It struck him like a bolt of lightning, his very soul seemingly hit.

His enemy’s counter-surveillance tactics had crafted a labyrinth meant to delay the police and facilitate escape.

Such abilities were far beyond ordinary.

And now a bomb was in play.

I should’ve seen it coming… Xiao Yu’s mind flashed with a surge of clarity as many things suddenly made sense.

A bomb doesn’t have to be pre-made; it can be assembled on the spot.

It demands exceptional manual skill and knowledge.

Who else but someone adept at creating dangerous devices?

Stopping ten meters away, Xiao Yu fixed his gaze on his opponent’s eyes, pronouncing each word, “A soldier? A mercenary? A terrorist? I’m curious—aside from smuggling corpses, what did you do before… Owen?!”

“I’m curious too.”

Owen regarded Xiao Yu with a sinister smile and asked, “Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

“Afraid of dying?”

Shaking his head, Xiao Yu replied, “Compared to death, skyrocketing house prices are far more desolate!”

Owen: ???

He was baffled. What house prices?

Wait, why aren’t you following the script? Are you still a cop?

Soon, Owen detected a hint of mockery on Xiao Yu’s handsome face, and his expression darkened.

He’d been played!