Seeing Little Liu slowly disappear down the distant street, I was instantly filled with anger and immediately sent Zhang Huanan a message: “Do you have a death wish? Don’t contact me on your own.”

What I didn’t expect was that after receiving the text, Zhang Huanan on the other end of the line showed no reaction at all.

All I could do was pull out the cigarettes I’d hidden earlier from my pocket and light another one.

Time passed minute by minute, and my mood gradually became anxious. Having to stake out someone who would never appear was simply a waste of my time.

Just as the cigarette in my hand was nearly finished, I suddenly heard the car door open. I thought it was Little Liu returning, but the person sat directly in the back seat.

“Officer Li, long time no see.”

A voice I hadn’t heard in a long time rang out behind me, making my whole body shudder.

Zhang Huanan.

“Are you fucking crazy? Do you know what kind of car this is?”

Zhang Huanan took the cigarette butt from my hand and took a hard drag.

“What kind of car? At least it doesn’t have police car markings.”

I saw his nonchalant expression in the rearview mirror and felt increasingly angry. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll drive you straight to the police station right now?”

“Yo? Old Li, we’re grasshoppers tied to the same rope.” Zhang Huanan looked at me mockingly. “Seven years ago when you arrested me, I gave you a hundred thousand yuan to treat Xuanxuan’s illness. You need to repay that kindness.”

“I’ve long since repaid your fucking kindness.” I gritted my teeth, my heart in turmoil. I knew I should never have gotten involved with this scum. “I told you to lie low, but you’ve gotten involved in case after case… I should have personally sent you to the police station.”

“Is this how you talk to Xuanxuan’s savior?” Zhang Huanan threw the finished cigarette butt out the window. “Xuanxuan’s in elementary school now, right? I remember it’s… Class Six, Fourth Grade?”

“You…” Hearing Xuanxuan’s name come from this scumbag’s mouth, I was instantly enraged. “If you dare touch Xuanxuan, I’ll absolutely tear you to pieces.”

“It’s mutual.” Zhang Huanan smiled. “You help me escape capture, and I won’t touch her.”

Deep in my heart, I knew that once I boarded this pirate ship, I would never be able to get off for the rest of my life.

Seven years ago, when I personally arrested Zhang Huanan, he suddenly offered me a hundred thousand yuan to buy his own life.

Although I had always hated evil with a passion, my daughter Xuanxuan had contracted an extremely rare disease. The doctor said it was called Crigler-Najjar Syndrome. He told me how rare this disease was and mentioned many methods for dealing with it, but I couldn’t understand a single word.

I only knew that Xuanxuan needed a liver transplant. I needed money.

Zhang Huanan’s hundred thousand yuan did save Xuanxuan’s life.

But from that day on, I became entangled with this scumbag.

If I didn’t help him escape police pursuit time and time again, he would threaten to expose what happened back then.

Zhang Huanan didn’t have “extremely strong counter-surveillance awareness”—he just had my help.

I couldn’t let anything happen to Xuanxuan. She was my deceased comrade’s child. She had called me “Dad” for ten years, so naturally she was my daughter.

“Zhang Huanan, I have a bottom line.” I looked at the scumbag in the rearview mirror and said, “If you don’t want to be caught, you’d better behave yourself these years. Otherwise, I’ll definitely make you regret it.”

“Fuck…” Zhang Huanan’s expression suddenly turned cold as he cursed viciously. “Li Shangwu, you’re trying to negotiate terms with me now? If I get caught, my brothers on the street definitely won’t spare Xuanxuan.”

Hearing this, my heart clenched hard.

“What do you mean?”

“It means you obediently be my dog and don’t get any funny ideas.” Zhang Huanan kicked the front seat with his foot. “Otherwise, I’ll not only ruin your reputation but also destroy your entire family.”

I glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and a thought flashed through my mind.

If Zhang Huanan got arrested, things would become very troublesome. My own ruin wasn’t important—after all, the mistake was mine, and I should bear the consequences.

But what about Xuanxuan?

So Zhang Huanan couldn’t be arrested.

He had to die.

I was sick of providing help to a fraud every day, and sick of living with a guilty conscience in constant fear.

Now that Xuanxuan’s illness was cured, it was time for me to repay my debt.

Keeping Zhang Huanan alive would only mean more people would be victimized by him in this world.

If I could do it all over again, I would choose to send him to prison back then instead of carrying this burden of conscience for so many years.

But I didn’t know if I really did that… would Xuanxuan forgive me?

“Zhang Huanan, have you eaten?” I asked calmly.

“Eaten?” He was slightly stunned, seemingly not understanding what I meant.

“You’ve been under surveillance for so many days. Let me take you out for a good meal. Just forget what I said earlier—don’t take it to heart.”

“Now that sounds more like it.” Zhang Huanan reclined in the back seat and slowly stretched. “You guys have been staking out for three days straight. I’ve been eating fucking instant noodles every day.”

I nodded, started the car, then put it in gear and pulled out.

Now I needed to find a secluded place where Zhang Huanan’s body would be discovered as late as possible. Although I would definitely be caught, I also needed to settle Xuanxuan’s situation before that happened.

While driving slowly, I released the safety on my gun at my waist.

Zhang Huanan had been squinting in the back seat the whole time, resting with his eyes closed.

Seeing this, I slowly drove the car into a nearby alley.

But before the car had fully stopped, Zhang Huanan suddenly attacked from behind. He reached over with a hard iron wire that instantly wrapped around my neck.

I immediately sensed trouble. This bastard also wanted to kill me.

“Zhang Huanan… you’re asking for death…” I gritted my teeth and kept pulling at the wire around my neck, trying to turn around, but my legs were stuck by the steering wheel.

“You really had it all calculated, Officer Li…” Zhang Huanan said while exerting force. “You two should be staking out together, right? But you drove me out to eat… isn’t that too strange? When the other person discovers you’re gone, won’t he contact the team?”

In just ten seconds, I felt my vision going black.

Zhang Huanan was really trying to kill me. I knew that once I died, Xuanxuan’s situation would become very dangerous.

Thinking of this, I immediately pulled out the gun at my waist and blindly fired three shots backward, not even knowing if I hit him.

In the enclosed car, the tremendous gunshot sound made my ears ring.

“I fucking paid you… and you still want to kill me?!” Zhang Huanan roared angrily and increased the force in his hands.

This stranglehold was too fierce. I felt like my blood vessels were about to explode.

In this critical moment, I immediately pressed the button on the seat. If I could recline the seat at this moment, there might still be hope of escape.

But I had forgotten.

This high-end car would slowly recline the seat at the most comfortable, most gradual pace.

Possibly to protect the person’s lower back, or possibly to allow someone to sleep well when fatigued.

Under this slow rhythm, my vision went completely black.

You get what you pay for. High-end goods have their reasons for being high-end.

My back really didn’t hurt.