Twenty minutes later, inside the rented apartment where Liu Ruyan was being held, the two kidnappers were bored, scrolling through their phones.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, someone began pounding on the door.
The two men instantly tensed. The Tall Kidnapper signaled to the Short Kidnapper to hide Liu Ruyan in the bathroom and slam the door shut.
With this done, the Tall Kidnapper impatiently called out, "Who is it?! Stop banging! I'm trying to take an afternoon nap!"
"It's me, the Landlord. Open the door."
An elderly voice came from outside.
The Landlord? Why is that old man coming now of all times?!
He's probably here to collect the rent again.
Well, we'll have five million soon enough. Might as well get rid of him quickly.
Having made up his mind, the Tall Kidnapper snapped, "We're sleeping! Too lazy to open the door! It's just about the rent, right? Stop nagging like a debt collector—we'll transfer it right now!"
"It's not about the rent. Officers from the Police Station are here to register the personal information of all tenants in this building. You two are the only ones left to register."
Hearing the landlord's words, the Tall Kidnapper froze, panic spreading across his face.
He glanced at the Short Kidnapper, who wore an equally terrified expression.
Damn it! What terrible luck!
The landlord had mentioned registering their rental information several times before, but they'd never taken it seriously.
Now, their negligence had backfired, attracting the police to their door at such a sensitive time.
If the woman in the bathroom was discovered, the five million ransom would be lost for good...
Still, it wasn't a major problem. These officers were just going through routine procedures. If they cooperated fully, they'd be gone soon enough.
Besides, the men who came probably weren't real police anyway—just auxiliary officers.
With that thought, the tall kidnapper quietly instructed his shorter accomplice to cooperate fully, then immediately plastered on a fake smile.
"Ah, that's what this is about! Coming, coming! We'll cooperate fully with the police comrades."
As the tall kidnapper approached the door, the landlord outside was naturally accompanied by Zhang Hong, Feng Chiyu, and Lin Zhiyuan.
The trio had already changed into auxiliary police blue uniforms.
The rest of the Pursuit Team had fanned out around the building, sealing off all possible escape routes.
Lin Zhiyuan held his phone, wearing an earpiece to monitor the situation inside the apartment.
Though the camera feed remained fixed on the ceiling, preventing any visual observation of the interior, the microphone on Liu Ruyan's phone picked up the sounds of doors opening and closing, as well as the scraping of high heels against tile—clear signs that the kidnappers were dragging Liu Ruyan to another room to hide her.
This perfectly matched Cifera's plan; she had anticipated every reaction from the kidnappers.
Incredible!
No wonder she ran circles around our Expert Team.
After Lin Zhiyuan shared this information with Zhang Hong and Feng Chiyu, they both had similar thoughts.
Since Liu Ruyan wasn't with the kidnappers, the next steps were straightforward.
As soon as the door cracked open, Zhang Hong would burst into the room, swiftly incapacitating both kidnappers. Feng Chiyu would provide support, adapting to the situation as needed, while Lin Zhiyuan would escort the Landlord to safety to avoid unnecessary harm.
Click...
BANG!
The moment the Tall Kidnapper cracked the door open a sliver, Zhang Hong unleashed his full force, sending both the kidnapper and the door flying with a ferocious kick!
The sheer power of the blow was staggering.
The Tall Kidnapper never anticipated encountering such a formidable special forces soldier behind the door. The kick left him dazed and disoriented, his body feeling like it had been shattered, rendering him instantly incapable of resistance.
The Short Kidnapper, however, reacted far faster than anticipated!
Seeing Zhang Hong's imposing figure, he bolted toward the bathroom without a word, clearly intending to use Liu Ruyan as a hostage to threaten them.
But he had gravely underestimated Zhang Hong's reflexes.
The moment the Short Kidnapper moved, Zhang Hong knew his intentions. He grabbed a wooden stool near the door and hurled it forcefully in the direction of the restroom.
Seeing that he would definitely be hit if he didn't dodge, the Short Kidnapper suddenly used the wall to execute a nimble turn, shattering the window glass and bursting outside.
"This shorty's got some serious parkour skills! Brother Zhang, leave him to me!"
Seeing that the Short Kidnapper wasn't armed, Feng Chiyu knew it was his time to shine.
"No problem. Stay safe!"
"You got it!"
Feng Chiyu sprang into action, moving with lightning speed. True to his name, he caught up to the fleeing kidnapper like a gust of wind.
The Short Kidnapper froze in surprise. As a parkour enthusiast, he instantly recognized Feng Chiyu—his idol!
The irony of competing against his idol under these circumstances struck him sharply.
He had once dreamed of becoming a professional parkour athlete, a dream that had almost come true. But one wrong step had led to another, ultimately reducing him to a criminal.
By now, there was no time for further deliberation.
He had already spotted the Pursuers closing in from all directions. In this situation, only one escape route remained.
As a fan of Feng Chiyu, he was acutely aware of Feng Chiyu's capabilities and limitations.
Even if Feng Chiyu were here, catching him immediately would be difficult. His advantage over Feng Chiyu lay in his intimate knowledge of the terrain.
There was one place Feng Chiyu could never reach. If he succeeded, he would not only defeat China's top Parkour athlete but also make a clean escape!
With his plan decided, the Short Kidnapper suddenly smashed through another window pane just before the Pursuers converged, darting into a four-story rental building and vanishing instantly.
"Running blindly in panic? Well, this ends here!"
Feng Chiyu acknowledged the Kidnapper's skills, which rivaled those of a national-level athlete. More importantly, the man showed no fear of injury, a quality Feng Chiyu himself lacked.
That was why he hadn't been able to catch him so far.
Now that the Short Kidnapper had fled into the building, he was trapped like a turtle in a jar. All the Pursuit Team needed to do was station officers at the exits, and he'd have nowhere left to run.
Soon,
Feng Chiyu and the Pursuers methodically cleared each floor, eventually reaching the rooftop.
As expected, they found the Short Kidnapper standing just a short distance away.
"You have nowhere left to run. Surrender now," Feng Chiyu declared, finally getting to play the role of a police officer for real.
"Nowhere to run? Idol, watch this! I'll defeat you in front of the entire nation today!" the Short Kidnapper suddenly roared, his face twisted into a maniacal grin.
Seeing Feng Chiyu and the Pursuit Team appear, the Short Kidnapper knew he would inevitably be captured on live stream. This might be the most glorious moment of his life!
"What? Don't tell me you're planning to..."
Feng Chiyu immediately guessed the kidnapper's plan: he intended to escape by leaping across the rooftops.
But the problem was, the gap between this building and the surrounding ones was far too wide. Even Feng Chiyu himself couldn't possibly make the jump...
No wonder this guy said he wanted to defeat me. But no one in the world could possibly do that! He's just throwing his life away!
"Don't do anything foolish!"
Feng Chiyu instantly sprang into action, this time unleashing his absolute maximum speed.
However, the Short Kidnapper had a significant head start and was driven by the desperate surge of adrenaline in his dire situation.
As Feng Chiyu surged forward, the Short Kidnapper also launched himself into the air, but Feng Chiyu couldn't catch up.
"No! Stop! Stop now!"
But by now, the Short Kidnapper's mind was focused solely on the three-story building across the gap and his fleeting moment of glory.
Gliding through the air between the buildings, the Short Kidnapper roared at the top of his lungs:
"From this day forward, everyone will know my name! I am—"
His words were cut short as he slammed headfirst into the opposite building's wall.
Then he plummeted straight down...
Thud!
In that instant, Feng Chiyu profoundly realized that being a police officer and capturing criminals was far more challenging than being an athlete.
-
Meanwhile, Lin Zhiyuan untied Liu Ruyan.
However, in response to his concerned inquiries, her first words were:
"Was it Cifera?"
"Huh?!" Lin Zhiyuan was completely taken aback by her immediate question. Even with his high IQ, he couldn't process the question immediately.
"I said, the person who called pretending to be my husband—was it Cifera?!"
Startled by her sudden outburst, Lin Zhiyuan was completely intimidated by Liu Ruyan's fierce demeanor and could only truthfully reply:
"Yes... yes, it was."
"Oh, thank you for answering, little brother Lin Zhiyuan~"
Watching Liu Ruyan suddenly transform into a completely different person, Lin Zhiyuan felt his intelligence utterly failing to keep up.
This woman's thought process is so bizarre!