Chapter 22

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Chapter 22: Give Them a Little Surprise

“Detective, aren’t we continuing our journey?”

Zhu Di noticed that the carriage had been stationary for quite some time, while the man sitting opposite her remained silent and seemingly deep in thought about something crucial.

Even before the detective arrived earlier that afternoon, Zhu Di’s heart was pounding intensely, as if anticipating a significant event. When he finally showed up and revealed he knew Dunn’s whereabouts, she could barely contain her excitement and immediately agreed to his request—to hire a private carriage and head towards Golden Street in the city’s northern district around 11 pm.

Reflecting back, she realized she might have acted too hastily. Venturing late at night alone with an adult male could be risky. If his intentions were malicious, she would undoubtedly find herself in a vulnerable position.

She couldn’t rely on the rickshaw man for help; after all, she hired a carriage, not a bodyguard.

Instinctively, Zhu Di reached for the hidden dagger at her waist.

If this encounter was truly targeting her, she vowed to take someone down with her, even if it meant her own demise.

“No, we’ll wait here,”The detective suddenly spoke, breaking the silence since they entered the carriage.

For some reason, Zhu Di felt immensely relieved—any response was better than silence. “Waiting? Do you mean Dunn is nearby?”

The detective’s gaze turned inward, as if lost in a distant memory.

Damn it, why must he be so mysterious? Zhu Di thought irritably. After entrusting Detective Chao with her search, she had discreetly inquired among several individuals familiar with the detective industry. Not one of them recognized Mr. Chao’s name.

On subsequent meetings, she even attempted to tail him, hoping to discover where he resided within the city, but each time she lost sight of him halfway through, seemingly out of nowhere—as if he vanished around a corner without trace, leaving her utterly baffled.

Zhu Di also noticed a subtle detail—the detective always wore the same outfit during their encounters, as if he owned only that single set of clothes. Additionally, he had no assistant and never took a carriage when departing, which could only imply one thing- Detective Chao was truly impoverished.

A poor detective typically meant poor performance, and subpar performance indicated difficulty in fulfilling client requests, especially given how challenging this particular commission seemed.

If not for Mr. Chao’s evident dedication, questioning her each time about the puzzling items left behind by Dunn, she might have dismissed him long ago.

Zhu Di lifted the curtain and peered outside. The street was eerily silent, with only a few dim streetlights casting weak glows. Beyond their reach lay pure darkness. Thick clouds tonight obscured even the usual radiant moonlight, illuminating just a small corner of the sky.

She couldn’t fathom where on Golden Street Dunn might appear.

“If he’s nearby, why are you sitting here without moving?”

“If you don’t want to find him yourself, tell me the address, and I’ll go. But the fee will be halved!”

“Say something already!” Zhu Di grew anxious after receiving no response.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of an unusual flickering light.

After a momentary surprise, Zhu Di looked again through the window and discovered, to her astonishment, that a faint glow emanated from a building at the entrance of the street.

That is… the Sinclair Theater?

It was nearly midnight; how could there still be anyone at the theater?

Unless—

Zhu Di immediately rose, intending to jump off the carriage.

But a hand swiftly grabbed her shoulder, pressing her back into her seat.

“Stay here and don’t move,” the detective softly instructed. His grip was like an iron clamp, rendering her immobile.

“Dunn is inside the theater, right? I remember now… all those serial killings occurred late at night. Was he involved due to his investigation? He…” Zhu Di couldn’t help but swallow nervously, “Has he also been harmed?”

“As far as I know, not yet.”

“Then I must go save him!”

“It’s not the right time!” the detective sternly replied. “Listen carefully, there’s a reason I called you here. You can indeed assist him, but only if you follow my instructions! If you act impulsively now, not only will you risk your life, but you’ll endanger him too!”

Zhu Di shuddered.

Despite being just an unknown private detective, his words carried an inexplicable persuasiveness. She stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding.

“So… by staying on this carriage, can we truly rescue Dunn?”

“Do you think I’m handling everything alone?” The detective lowered his hat brim. “Don’t worry, the rescue operation has already begun.”

***

“They’re here!”

As she spoke, the first blue-uniformed man burst through the door and charged into the corridor.

What he witnessed next was almost unbelievable—the six rats did not scatter in panic but gathered near the entrance instead. Not only that, their faces showed little fear; upon seeing him, they even bared sinister grins!

“Suka Blyat, try shooting at me again!” Anthony gripped his sword with both hands and swung it forcefully down.

Before the blue-uniformed man could raise his gun, his head parted from his body.

“Kill!” The Russian stepped on the corpse and lunged towards the remaining enemies.

“Damn it, they didn’t run!”

“Quick, retreat! These bastards are fighting back!”

“Bayonets, prepare bayonets!”

The formation of the blue-uniformed men instantly descended into chaos, caught completely off guard by the unexpected counterattack from the rats. In previous encounters, their missions had always been leisurely hunts, where opponents either scrambled to evade or knelt pleading for mercy, while the hunters devised various ways to kill them.

But this time, the rats were baring their fangs.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Rifles fired continuously, causing bursts of blood to splatter from Anthony’s body, but he paid it no heed. After piercing the chest of one enemy, he swiftly slashed at the neck of another.

“Ha ha ha ha… This is the hunt I’ve craved!” he laughed wildly. “Come on, all of you, attack together!”

While Anthony drew the full attention of the police officers, Tyler and Asahara Naruko leaned out from the doorway, commencing their attacks with crossbows.

Although crossbows required manual reloading, the bolts they fired were as lethal as bullets. A single hit rendered the target immobile, creating at worst an instant kill or, at best, a massive bleeding wound.

“Beware of enemies coming from the opposite side!” Zhou Zhi warned.

The police officers descending from the other end also reached the corridor, intensifying the barrage significantly.

Anthony took multiple hits, and despite his high pain tolerance, his body could no longer sustain the onslaught. His final action was grabbing an enemy, viciously biting down on his neck before pulling them both down with him.

Similarly, Joe James, who had charged forth alongside Anthony, was forced back under suppression, having sustained a bullet injury to his right arm.

“Fall back! Don’t continue entangling with them at the door!” Zhang Zhiyuan shouted.

The remaining five team members retreated back into the corridor, smashing open doors to nearby rooms. They planned to use these spaces as cover, continuing to fend off the approaching attackers.

Outside, the police captain also realized that the situation was not unfolding as he had anticipated.

His subordinates seemed to engage in fierce combat with those rats at the corridor entrance. Strangely, they halted just outside, each pointing their guns down the corridor but few daring to step inside.

“What are you all dawdling for? Why haven’t you taken care of those rats yet?” he shouted at his men below.

“Lord Guster, this group… there’s something wrong with them!” one subordinate responded, looking troubled.

“What do you mean?”

“They seem fearless of death!”

“Huh?” The police captain couldn’t help but question if he heard correctly. “Can’t you just shoot them?”

The subordinate’s expression worsened. “We did… but it’s like nothing can kill them. Even after taking over a dozen bullets, they didn’t go down and managed to kill three of our men! It’s as if the bullets have no effect on them…”

“What did you say?” Guster’s demeanor finally shifted. “Hold your positions at the door, I’m coming up now.”