CHAPTER 30: CHAPTER 29: CAPTURE, EXPLOSION ON THE HIGHWAY (VOTE FOR MONTHLY TICKET! FOLLOW FOR UPDATES!)

"Block them!"

Nozaki Masao, upon realizing the situation, refused to sit still and wait for his demise. He threw a sentence behind and, ignoring the two confused underlings, immediately rushed into the car and locked the door, attempting to drive away. However, reaching for the keys, he found nothing – the keys were not in the car.

And in those few seconds, the dozen or so police cars had already screeched to a halt, and with doors flinging open, armed police officers leaped out.

Assured that there were no guns in Nozaki Masao’s car, Aoyama Xiu Xin became incredibly heroic and, with an intrepid, fearless posture, charged to the front.

"Idiot!"

Seeing there was no escape, Nozaki Masao immediately grabbed the car’s mobile phone from the back seat and dialed a number.

"I’ve been caught, you have to save me..."

With a "bang!" having reached the car, Aoyama Xiu Xin punched through the window. His fist shattered the glass and landed on Nozaki Masao’s head. Hit like by a sledgehammer, his body slumped against the car door and he passed out.

If Nozaki Masao had not decided to leave the house late at night instead of sleeping, he would not have been knocked unconscious – a perfect testament to how an irregular routine can damage one’s health.

Aoyama Xiu Xin yanked open the car door, picked up the still-connected phone, and arrogantly bellowed, "I don’t care who you are, but listen up. Nozaki is someone Senior Police Director Sato from our investigative team intends to take care of. Tuck your tail in and don’t fucking make trouble for yourself!"

As his words ended, he hung up the phone, turned around and saluted Asai Youki, "Report, Senior Police Director, suspect Nozaki Masao has been subdued!"

"Hahaha! Excellent! Aoyama Criminal is as valiant as ever!" Asai Youki laughed, striding forward to clap him on the shoulder, then turned to the four officers who set up the checkpoint, "You’ve also worked hard tonight. Thank you, you should head back and rest early."

"Yes!" It was only at this point that the four officers from Chiba Prefecture came out of their stupor, bowing in response.

Nozaki Masao’s headquarters were in Matsudo, and the Noguchi Group was well-known throughout Chiba Prefecture. They had of course heard of them, and only now did they realize that the police from Shinjuku Police Station weren’t there to catch any ordinary thief.

So it turned out they were scrounging off Chiba Prefecture’s forces to make an arrest while also preventing them from taking credit.

They had been deceived! Dammit! Brothers in arms, and yet you play mind games with your brothers!

Watching a big achievement slip from their hands to someone else’s, all four of them were green with regret.

"Fall in!" bellowed Asai Youki, with a sweeping gesture.

Despite minor twists, tonight’s operation had gone so smoothly he almost couldn’t believe it.

Not a single shot fired, and the suspect was caught.

He felt a twinge of regret.

After all, so many had come tonight for nothing.

Just then, with the roar of an engine, a car sped up a slope and the blinding headlights cut through the night, shining on the group of policemen. Asai Youki looked back then spoke to the four officers from Chiba Prefecture, "Hurry, take down the barricade; don’t impede the normal flow of traffic."

"Bro, so many cops ahead!" the driver of the black BMW exclaimed, slowing down the car.

Due to the high speed and the slope in the road that had obscured their view before, by the time he accelerated and saw the cops, it was already too late.

Hearing this, the other four in the car took out their guns and loaded them, ready to engage in a shootout.

"Idiot! It’s definitely those Noguchi Group bastards who called the cops, running to the police when there’s trouble. Let’s see how they can keep mixing in the underworld industry after this gets out!" cursed one of them from the passenger seat.

The group in the car was the same band of robbers who had hit the Noguchi Group’s casino in Matsudo that night. They targeted the Violent Gang because, for various reasons, such groups wouldn’t call the police after a robbery.

After all, seeking police assistance for such matters would earn scorn from the entire underworld.

For instance, last year the Extreme East Association, when confronted with the powerful Hua Country Chaoshan Gang, ended up calling the police to detain the Chaoshan Gang members who lacked legal status, thus reversing their losing streak but at the cost of being shamed and marginalized among violent gangs, unable to rise again.

"Big bro! What should we do? Plow through them or turn around and run now?" The driver gripped the steering wheel tightly, sweat beading on his forehead.

The other three were also nervously looking towards the crew-cut youth in the backseat middle. Although they were ready to fight, given the police presence ahead, they felt little hope of escape.

"It’s not necessarily for us. Turning around might arouse suspicion," the crew-cut youth said calmly and unhurriedly. "They might ask to inspect the car soon. The money and the bomb can’t be found. Here’s the plan: while we’re still some distance from them and under the cover of darkness, hide your guns on you. I’ll take the money, the bomb, and the extra clips, and get out through the trunk. You’ll use the car to shield my movement as I slip into the bushes nearby. Once past the checkpoint, wait on the road ahead for me to catch up to you on foot."

"If you can’t slip by unnoticed, you might choose to fight it out, and if that fails, just surrender. As long as I’m still out here, your share of the money will be delivered to your families. You can call home to check if they received the money after you’re imprisoned. If I’ve deceived you, you can rat me out at any time."

The other three exchanged glances.

They felt there was no better plan for now.

"Brother, what are you saying? Of course, we trust you, we’ll leave everything in your hands."

"My mother has had bad legs for many years, if I go in, please take care of her surgery."

"Don’t worry, but I still hope everyone will be alright, we still have another heist to do." The crew-cut youth flashed a smile on his stern face before sliding into the car’s trunk through the folded rear seat, and after a bit of fumbling around inside, said, "Alright, open the trunk."

The driver immediately operated the trunk door to open it.

The crew-cut youth tossed two large bags down, then rolled out and landed on the ground. After the car started moving again—with the trunk now closed—it deliberately drove close to the guardrail.

Using the cover of night and the car itself, the crew-cut young man carrying the two large bags jumped into the field beside the expressway but didn’t get far before lying flat on the ground.

...

The black BMW leisurely arrived at the checkpoint just as the Shinjuku Police Station officers began to pedal their bikes and withdraw.

The three people inside the BMW breathed a sigh of relief, thanked the heavens—it really wasn’t about them after all, meaning their chances of getting through had just increased.

The Patrol Chief from Chiba Prefecture approached and rapped on the window, then said when it was opened, "Please wait a moment. Let the police cars pass first, then you can go."

"Sure!" said the driver with a smile.

The Patrol Chief was about to leave when suddenly his peripheral vision caught sight of a bullet on the rear seat of the BMW.

His face changed dramatically; he retreated a step, drew his gun, and shouted at the driver, "Turn off the ignition and get out of the car!"

The other three cops from Chiba Prefecture Headquarters were all taken aback by the scene and quickly drew their guns to surround the black BMW.

"Turn off the ignition and get out of the car immediately for inspection!"

"Screw you!" Seeing that many officers had already gotten into their cars, the BMW driver, driven by desperation, decided to make a break for it and floored the accelerator.

"Vroom vroom vroom!" "Bang!"

The screech of tires on pavement was followed by the BMW darting forward, colliding with and knocking aside a squad car parked in front. Officers from the Shinjuku Police Station, who hadn’t managed to pedal away yet, scattered in all directions while raising their guns and pulling the triggers toward the BMW.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

The violent gunfire sounded like endless firecrackers.

Bullets sparked off the car’s body.

Aoyama Xiu Xin aimed at the BMW’s left front wheel and fired two shots, blowing out the tire and sending the car careening out of control to crash into the roadside guardrail.

"Don’t shoot! We surrender! We surrender!"

Seeing they couldn’t break through, the four men threw their guns out of the car and raised their hands high, shouting loudly.

"Raise your hands and get out of the car slowly!"

Asai Ayumi, with a clear, cold voice, ordered them, dressed in her police uniform, curvaceous, long-legged, with a ponytail, and holding a gun, she looked particularly striking.

"Boom!"

And just at that moment, the BMW, immobilized by the guardrail, suddenly exploded, the immense fireball causing the police officers, who were slowly closing in, to scatter and dive for cover.

"Is anyone hurt? Call an ambulance!"

"Ah! My leg! My leg is broken!"

The scene was immediately engulfed in flames and thrown into chaos.

In the distance, in the field, the crew-cut youth, face expressionless, glanced at the blazing fire and thick smoke on the expressway, put away the remote in his hand, hoisted the two large bags, and stepped back into the darkness of the night.