Chapter 50.2: She Looks More Like a Robber Than the Robbers!
The safety of every passenger and all their belongings in Carriage Thirteen were now under threat. Passengers might already have been injured, or there might even have been deaths.
And the robbers had a gun.
Trying to deal with that situation could so easily result in accidental injuries to innocent passengers.
Should he attempt to capture them?
Or should he negotiate with the robbers, who had an entire carriage full of passengers as hostages?
If the attempt to capture them failed, and innocent passengers were accidentally injured—or the robbers managed to escape…
Zhao Weiguo didn’t dare dwell on any of those consequences. He immediately called the other two railway police officers and the train attendants from the rest area, grabbed their weapons, and hurried toward the carriage where the incident had occurred.
Along the way, Zhao Weiguo prepared himself for the worst.
Perhaps several passengers were already lying on the floor. Maybe some were injured, covered in blood, while passengers near the front had been taken hostage as human shields. The entire carriage might be in a state of panic. The robbers might even open fire the moment they saw the railway police approaching.
Especially because, on the way there, he heard two gunshots in quick succession, followed by the sound of something heavy slamming into something.
Zhao Weiguo’s heart clenched.
‘Oh no. Someone’s been killed.’
With that thought in mind, Zhao Weiguo reached Carriage Twelve and glanced through the passageway.
He instantly froze.
He had expected chaos, but there wasn’t a single person at the entrance. The entire scene was completely visible at a glance.
At the very front, four or five people who appeared to be passengers were pinning someone firmly to the ground. Blood stained the man’s arm, and an iron rod lay nearby.
In the middle stood two young people, a man and a woman.
The woman was holding a knife and radiating a fierce, murderous aura.
The man was holding a gun, with a cloth bag at his feet, and he too gave off an intimidating chill.
Three people were lying on the floor beside them.
One was unconscious.
Another had blood covering his head, making it impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.
And the third was lying there with a pair of scissors embedded in his chest, only the handle sticking out.
Farther back, even more passengers had come out. They were holding down two people, and one of the passengers had a bruised face and was furiously punching and kicking the two men.
‘???’
‘Wait, what?’
‘The injured civilians… Uh, the people lying on the floor are the robbers, right?’
“Oh, thank goodness, the railway police are finally here!”
When they saw the railway police in blue uniforms arrive, the passengers from the first carriage hurried over to greet them. One of them grabbed Zhao Weiguo’s hand and said, still shaken,
“We were scared half to death! These robbers almost got away with robbing us!”
“Exactly!”
Another passenger waved his hands wildly, speaking incoherently.
“They had knives and guns, and they were smashing them straight at people’s heads! If these two heroes hadn’t stepped up to help us, we’d all have been robbed clean! My goodness, that was just like Jueyuan from Shaolin Temple! They took down two men in only two or three moves!”
This was obviously someone who had gotten completely absorbed in martial arts stories.
“I don’t think that’s right.”
A passenger beside him immediately disagreed.
“He fired two shots too! And he was so accurate. He’s obviously Li Xiangyang from ‘The Two-Gun Man’!”
“And that young lady isn’t ordinary either. She’s practically Wuqionghua from ‘The Red Detachment of Women’!”
Zhao Weiguo understood the situation now.
‘They got lucky and ran into a couple of experts!’
He finally let his heart settle and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, thank goodness. This really was a blessing in disguise. The two passengers in the carriage had taken down all the robbers themselves.
He had no idea what organization these two belonged to, but they were incredibly formidable. They had actually managed to take on seven people between the two of them!
Hearing the passengers’ accounts, the other railway police officers and train attendants behind Zhao Weiguo also breathed sighs of relief.
‘Those were truly the most reassuring words they could have heard!’
Zhao Weiguo was eager to understand exactly what had happened. He quickly withdrew his hand from the passenger’s grasp and walked toward the two people himself.
He looked them over.
The man’s stance clearly carried traces of military training.
The woman holding the knife, however, was rather strange. There was something unsettling about her. Just looking at her made him feel vaguely creeped out.
Puzzled, Zhao Weiguo asked,
“What should we call the two of you, comrades?”
Lu Yixing didn’t get a chance to wait for Jiang Xia’s answer.
Seeing that the railway police had arrived, he lowered the gun immediately and quickly removed the magazine.
He glanced at it.
There was only one bullet left.
He handed the gun and magazine to Zhao Weiguo, then introduced himself.
“Lu Yixing.”
Afterward, Lu Yixing gestured toward his companion.
“She’s my colleague, Jiang Xia.”
Seeing that the railway police had arrived, Jiang Xia also dropped the knife.
She didn’t say anything. Instead, she first focused on trying to regain control of her state of mind.
Although police academies taught combat techniques, because criminals still needed to be interrogated afterward, the emphasis was primarily on taking suspects alive. Most of the training focused on restraining techniques, with only a very small portion devoted to lethal moves, and there was little opportunity for practical experience.
If Jiang Xia relied solely on what she had learned at the academy, she wouldn’t have been able to deal with Scarface, either in terms of psychological preparation or her ability to restrain him.
So Jiang Xia could only immerse herself in the mindset of the Hannibals, allowing herself to mentally adopt their state so she could prepare herself psychologically and make maximum use of the muscle memory granted by the system to deal with the crisis at hand.
Now that the crisis was over, Jiang Xia hurriedly pulled herself out of the Hannibals’ mindset and returned to normal.
But a few dozen seconds clearly weren’t enough.
As the emotions that an ordinary person should have gradually returned, a cold numbness spread up her back.
‘I actually killed someone just now.’
And what made things even more absurd was that while she was frightened by the thought, another thought suddenly surfaced in the depths of her mind:
‘So what if I killed someone? It’s not like I turned him into a dish. I haven’t even thought about how to cook him.’
In this state, how could Jiang Xia possibly dare to look anyone in the eye and talk?
She lowered her head, initially intending to simply remain silent.
But then she noticed the bloodstains on the back of her hand, and an inexplicable appetite suddenly stirred inside her.
‘I really want to know what it tastes like.’
‘Holy crap! That’s definitely something I must NOT taste!’
Jiang Xia shuddered and immediately started recalling every culinary horror she could think of—rotten pig’s feet, gutter oil, shady restaurants using cheap ingredients, and all sorts of other nightmare-inducing food scandals.
Her stomach churned violently again.
Her face instantly turned pale. She hurriedly covered her mouth with her clean left hand, pushed Zhao Weiguo aside, who was standing in front of her, and rushed toward the washbasin.
“???”
Zhao Weiguo, who had been waiting for Jiang Xia to speak, was completely baffled.
‘What is going on?’
How had this Jiang Xia girl gone from being so terrifying just a moment ago to looking at her own hand as though she’d suddenly seen some horrifying monster? Her face had gone deathly pale, and now she was running to the washbasin to throw up?
Zhao Weiguo took the gun and asked Lu Yixing in bewilderment,
“Comrade Lu, what’s wrong with your colleague?”
“I’m a criminal police officer with the Changning Municipal Public Security Bureau. She’s a forensic technician with the bureau. She just graduated this year.”
Lu Yixing looked at Jiang Xia’s retreating back with concern and quickly explained,
“This is the first time she’s ever encountered something like this.”
‘Fellow officers?’
No wonder they had been able to take the gun and fight back.
Wait, what?
‘Forensics?!’
Zhao Weiguo froze again. He turned to look at Jiang Xia’s departing figure, then at the three robbers lying on the floor—especially the one with the scissors sticking out of his chest.
After confirming the man’s condition, he immediately understood.
‘No wonder she’s reacting like this.’
This wasn’t simply her first time facing danger. She had been forced by the crisis to kill someone for the first time.
Her nerves had been stretched to the absolute limit just now, and only now were they finally relaxing. Of course she’d feel awful!
Then her earlier state… suddenly made sense too.
But…
Looking at the robber’s height and build, Zhao Weiguo once again checked the position of the scissors and couldn’t help clicking his tongue.
A desk-bound officer, making her first kill, had driven a pair of scissors straight into the man’s chest with such precision and force that she’d killed him in a single strike.
This girl was ruthless—
No, that wasn’t quite right.
She really wasn’t an ordinary person!
Zhao Weiguo came back to himself.
“The situation just now must have been extremely dangerous.”
The fact that they’d resorted to using scissors meant that neither of them had been carrying weapons. Most likely, they’d taken the gun by force.
And judging from the people lying on the ground, the man in front of him had probably been the main fighter.
But without that girl’s help in taking one of them down, there was no way this male officer could have handled the situation alone.
Two unarmed people against seven armed robbers—the situation had been far too dangerous.
A lingering fear rose in Zhao Weiguo’s heart. He grasped Lu Yixing’s hand and said solemnly,
“Thank you both so much, comrades. Without you, I truly don’t dare imagine what might have happened. Don’t worry, the dispatcher has already sent a report to the higher-ups. I’ll submit a complete account of everything that happened, exactly as it occurred. The bonus, commendation letter, and formal recognition will all be arranged!”
Lu Yixing had taken control of the robbers solely to protect Jiang Xia and the passengers. He hadn’t been looking for anything in return.
Still, the prospect of receiving official recognition and a reward naturally brought a little happiness to his heart.
But that happiness didn’t last long before it was once again replaced by worry.
‘How is Jiang Xia doing now?’
“Don’t worry about that for now.”
Lu Yixing picked up the cloth bag and handed it to Zhao Weiguo.
“This is the money the robbers stole. I was worried that having the passengers rush to reclaim their belongings would cause another commotion, so I didn’t let them take it back. You’ll need to verify everything and return it to them properly.”
“Also, there were seven robbers in total. The two of us couldn’t completely control the situation just now. One of them saw that things were going badly and jumped out of the window to escape. My colleague can draw portraits, and she saw his face. Once she recovers, she should be able to draw him for you.”
“Several passengers toward the front were also injured. I don’t know how serious their injuries are, so please go check on them as soon as possible.”
After saying that, Lu Yixing paused.
“I need to go check on my colleague first.”
“Of course, of course. Leave all the cleanup to us.”
Zhao Weiguo completely understood. After thinking for a moment, he added,
“Uh, this carriage is definitely going to be pretty chaotic for a while. I think Comrade Jiang needs somewhere quiet to rest. You can go wait in the crew compartment for now and come back after we’ve finished dealing with everything here.”
Lu Yixing also felt that Jiang Xia probably didn’t want to be disturbed right now. He nodded slightly in agreement.
“Then thank you, Conductor.”
“No need to thank me.”
After seeing Lu Yixing off, Zhao Weiguo immediately called the train attendants over and had them reassure the passengers and get everyone back into their seats.
At the same time, they needed to check on the injured passengers and determine whether they required treatment or medical attention.
He also had the railway police securely tie up the conscious robbers and keep them together under guard, check whether the unconscious ones were alive or dead, and find out exactly what had happened in the carriage.
With the orders given, the train attendants quickly got to work.
His junior officer swiftly checked the three men. He looked up and reported,
“The one with the scissors in his chest took the blade straight through the heart. He’s already dead. These other two are still alive, but their vital signs are extremely weak. They need medical treatment.”
While speaking, he checked the injuries of the other two and added, “This bearded guy took a heavy blow to the throat and somehow still isn’t dead. The force was controlled incredibly precisely. The younger one’s injuries are a little more serious. He took a bullet to the shoulder, a kick to the abdomen, and two heavy blows to the head. Hmm… looks like he wasn’t beaten by just one person?”
“Ah, yes, yes, that’s right. The two of them took turns beating him.”
With all the robbers under control and so many railway police and train attendants arriving, Guo Qingshan’s heart finally settled. Sitting on the lower bunk and leaning against the compartment partition, he said:
“Comrade Lu knocked the gun out of the bearded guy’s hand at the time and kicked it under my bunk. Then this robber came charging over with a knife. I quickly climbed down, picked up the gun, and handed it to him. He immediately shot the guy in the arm, then kicked him, sending him crashing into the wall and knocking him senseless.”
As he spoke, his hands kept waving animatedly. “Comrade Police Officer, you have no idea how dangerous it was. At the time, there were two robbers at each end of the carriage. The moment they saw the three of them getting beaten, they charged over, all carrying knives and clubs. They were probably only two or three meters away. They could’ve been on top of us in the next second! Comrade Lu turned around and fired at the two on the left first, then immediately turned back to deal with the ones on the right.”
“At that moment, the young robber was still trying to get back up. Comrade Jiang reacted incredibly fast. She grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against the metal corner of the carriage twice, knocking him unconscious. Then she took the short knife and forced the two robbers on the left to stop.”
Recalling what had just happened, Guo Qingshan still felt inexplicably frightened. Unable to stop himself, he added:
“It was just… the way Comrade Jiang looked at the time. It was really scary. She looked even more like a robber than the robbers did…”
After all, she was the person who had saved his life. She had just saved him, and here he was badmouthing her behind her back. That was seriously ungrateful of him. The more Guo Qingshan thought about it, the guiltier he felt, until even his voice gradually faded to a mumble.
Comparing his apprentice’s examination findings with the eyewitness’s account, Zhao Weiguo gradually pieced together what had happened inside the train moments earlier.
Looks like he really had underestimated the female officer. Comrade Jiang had contributed quite a lot. Out of the seven robbers, she had killed one, finished off another, and intimidated two more. She was hardly any less impressive than Comrade Lu.
As for the passenger saying she had been frightening, Zhao Weiguo didn’t take that to heart.
After all, it was easy enough to understand. Comrade Lu was tall and powerfully built, and he had a gun in his hand, so intimidating the robbers came naturally to him.
But the female officer had neither the physical advantage nor a gun. And a short knife was no match for a long blade. If she wanted to intimidate those two robbers, she had no choice but to act even more vicious than they were.
No wonder Comrade Jiang had looked like that earlier.
She had just been forcing herself to keep it together!
But then again, for a newly graduated civilian police officer to perform like that when suddenly confronted by a group of robbers, “excellent” didn’t even begin to describe it. She had a natural gift—she was the kind of person who could hold her own when something big happened.
Come to think of it, having her work in forensic examination might actually be a waste of her talents.
Hmm. He’d have to think of something later to help Comrade Jiang calm down after the shock.
Come to think of it, would putting in a good word for her and seeing what level of merit commendation she could get be any use?