Making Use of Local Resources

"Damn it! Something really big is happening!" The sergeant in the armored van finally believed it. He turned to the four other officers in the vehicle and shouted, "Get out and check the situation. I'll call for backup."

Finally, the trap was set! Underneath the wicker basket, Hou Rui held his breath, watching through a tiny gap as the four officers exited. One of them remained to take a statement from the man with the tie, while the other three entered the alley, passing right by Hou Rui.

"Miss, are you alright? I'm a police officer, don't be afraid. Please tell me what happened," the lead plainclothes female officer approached Lux first, gently helping her cover her upper body as she asked with concern.

"Men—two men attacked me," Lux answered, her acting skills flawless. Her tear-streaked face was filled with vulnerability; she lowered her head even further upon seeing the female officer, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"Miss, what did you say? I didn't quite catch that," the unsuspecting officer stepped closer, almost pressing her ear to Lux's lips.

"Now!" Lux's voice was still soft, but loud enough for Hou Rui and the werewolf to hear. As the startled female officer instinctively recoiled, looking at Lux in surprise, Lux mercilessly jabbed a slender bamboo skewer deep into the officer's ear canal.

A scream tore from her as the excruciating pain from the bamboo piercing her brain drove her mad. She lunged wildly at Lux, clawing for her face, but Lux nimbly sidestepped, circling to the officer's flank. She pressed the officer's head and slammed it hard against the wall.

With a sickening thud, brain matter splattered against the wall, and the officer slowly slid to the ground.

About fifty-six paces away, a uniformed officer was rushing to stop Lux. Hou Rui, emerging from beneath the basket, grabbed his ankle, toppling him to the ground. Without giving him a chance to recover, Hou Rui sprang atop his back, delivering a swift hand strike to the back of his neck, knocking him out cleanly.

Behind Hou Rui, the last uniformed officer to enter the alley pressed his shoulder radio, but before he could speak, the werewolf dropped down from above, both feet slamming into his chest and sending him flying into the alley wall. He was instantly knocked unconscious.

But the werewolf had no intention of letting him go so easily. He seized the officer, twisted and locked his arms, choking his neck tightly. After a brief second, the werewolf released the severely twisted corpse.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop right now!" At the street entrance by the armored van, the remaining two officers finally noticed the fight in the alley. As the one taking a statement pointed at the approaching werewolf and shouted, the man with the tie acted. He plunged a ten-centimeter carbon pen straight into the nearby officer's eye socket.

As the officer collapsed lifelessly, the man with the tie darted to the armored van, lightning-quick, and seized the driver's throat.

"Who are you people?" The sergeant struggled desperately, trying to pry the man's iron grip from his neck. But the man with the tie must have trained in hand-to-hand combat; his hands seemed welded to the sergeant's throat, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break free. The air in his lungs was squeezed out bit by bit.

A raspy, tearing sound came from the sergeant's throat as his eyes reddened and his neck bones strained, but he still fought on—no one wants to die!

The man with the tie grew impatient. Suddenly, he slammed the sergeant's face into the steering wheel, and amid the blaring horns, the sergeant ceased struggling. The man had crushed his windpipe.

Soon after, Hou Rui, Lux, and the werewolf quickly hid the bodies, then joined the man with the tie in the stolen armored van. As the man with the tie donned a police cap and started the engine, Hou Rui and the others rummaged through the weapon locker in the rear compartment.

According to Hong Kong police equipment protocols, every armored van carries a simple safe, containing powerful firearms, bulletproof vests, helmets, and other special gear, ready for emergencies. Ironically, this made the van a prime target and trophy for Hou Rui's crew.

Hou Rui, who had recently mastered lock-picking, took just a minute to open the safe and began pulling out all its contents.

He handed a five-shot pistol with two spare magazines to the werewolf, set aside an Ithaca 37 shotgun and a spare shell belt for himself, and passed a second five-shot pistol and magazine to Lux. Lux, however, turned and handed them to the man with the tie at the wheel.

Finally, Hou Rui pulled out two bulletproof vests and two helmets. After a quick thought, he put one helmet on himself and gave the rest to Lux, letting the three of them sort out the gear.

"Nothing else?" Lux sounded disappointed.

"Nothing useful left," Hou Rui replied, tossing a gas mask back into the safe and closing the lid.

"Don't they have any decent handguns?" Lux preferred large-caliber pistols.

"Only this," Hou Rui said, handing her the heavy-barreled Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver taken from the uniformed officer.

"Tch! A .38 caliber couldn't kill a mosquito," Lux scoffed, looking at the revolver with disdain.

"No choice, you'll have to make do." Hou Rui shoved the Model 10 and two spare speedloaders into her hands.

"And take this too," said the man with the tie, handing Lux a SIG 250 he had taken from the sergeant's corpse, finally silencing her complaints.

"These weapons should be sufficient if we use them well." The werewolf, strapping on a bulletproof vest, fiddled with his five-shot pistol, confidence radiating from his words.

"Don't get cocky. The Spiked Knight failed, which only means the target's security is strong," the man at the wheel remained calm, reminding everyone to stay vigilant.

"Maybe the target just got lucky, but that luck won't save him when he meets us," the werewolf replied, ever optimistic.

As the armored van sped onto another street, the man with the tie pulled out his phone, applying for intelligence support from the organization.

Seconds later, his phone rang, but before he could answer, it auto-connected and switched to speaker.

"The target's current location has been sent to your phone. Good luck," came a voice disguised by a voice changer, impossible to tell if it was male or female.

"How far are we from the target?" The man with the tie, eyeing the dense traffic ahead, asked anxiously. Hong Kong's roads were notoriously congested; missing the target would be troublesome.

"About two thousand meters in a straight line."

"How many security personnel does the target have left?"

"According to current intelligence, only one remains with him."

"What about nearby police positions?"

"Many. At least three police cars are as close to the target as you are. Hope you can catch up in time." With that, the call ended, and his phone screen switched to display a map of the surrounding streets. On the screen, their armored van appeared as a green triangle, while a prominent red skull icon moved rapidly several blocks ahead.

"The organization's tech is impressive!" Hou Rui remarked sincerely, but the werewolf scoffed, "This isn't about their tech. His phone's been hacked—by someone in the organization. That damned Mouse."

"Mouse?" Hou Rui asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, Mouse. A legendary figure in the dark web, also a member of the organization. No one knows if Mouse is a boy or girl—just a brat."

"Alright, I'm accelerating. Get ready to move! We have to finish this before the target joins up with Hong Kong police," interrupted the man with the tie, slamming the accelerator. The armored van shot forward like an arrow.

Gradually, the green triangle on the screen drew closer to the red skull, but Hou Rui and the others saw no sign of Minister Muhammad's vehicle on the road. This oddity made them increasingly restless.

"What’s going on? Could the organization's intel be wrong?" Hou Rui whispered to Lux.

"Impossible. Mouse can easily hack traffic cameras and wouldn't make a mistake," the werewolf answered, cutting in.

Suddenly, Lux pointed to the entrance ramp of a nearby overpass, "Maybe the target's on the bridge—that's why we can't see him?"

"Could be. But we can't be sure. We'll have to take a chance!" The man with the tie turned the wheel, steering the armored van toward the ramp, almost colliding with a merging sedan.