Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 224 The Devil Among Us

Wu Zhiyuan realized that there were at least four people in this group of criminals.

The leader should be Brother Long, but he's not here today.

The three people inside the house all had distinct physical characteristics: one was tall, one was short, and one was fat.

This gang of criminals not only trafficked women, but also raped them.

Taking advantage of the unique geographical location at the junction of the two provinces and three counties, they used supernatural tricks to scare outsiders into approaching, and used these bungalows as a place to imprison women.

The short man said, "Brother Long said we can't touch college students, but he didn't say we can't touch the other two women."

The fat man's mouth was watering: "But this college student is really something else, with such a great figure and such a pure look."

The taller man interjected, "In my opinion, Brother Long isn't trying to sell her whole for a high price; he just wants to have his way with her. Does selling her to human traffickers necessarily require her to be a virgin?"

"Whether she's a virgin or not is still unknown!" The fat man shook his head with a wry smile. "Even if Brother Long wants to have some fun, what can he do? He's the leader, after all."

The short man said, "Everyone knows how ruthless Brother Long is. If we mess with college students, he might chop our three-inch intestines into mincemeat. Our happiness in the next life will be completely ruined."

The fat man took a sip of wine and ate a piece of braised goose: "Fine, I'll go play with that young woman later."

The short man took a sip of his drink: "Then I guess I'll have to sleep with that forty-year-old woman."

The tall man glared at him: "You guys are having a good time. You want me to dress up as a ghost again?"

The fat man laughed loudly: "You're the best at playing the female ghost. After we're done, I'll play the female ghost."

Actually, if no outsiders get close, there's no need to play the role of a female ghost.

Those who dare to come here now are either reckless fools who don't know this place is haunted.

Then there are the braver ones, like those two guys from earlier, who wanted to come and see if it really was haunted.

The tall man chimed in, "Yes, those two guys didn't believe it at first, but after experiencing it firsthand, they'll probably never forget it."

The short man said, "A lifetime? Maybe he'll get seriously ill when he gets back, go crazy from fright, and need to be sent to a mental hospital!"

The tall man took a sip of his drink, stood up, and said, "I'll go outside and keep watch. You guys hurry up and finish, then I'll take over."

The short man taunted, "The fat guy can only last three minutes, maybe not even a minute. He might just collapse after you walk around the house once."

The fat man glared at the short man: "You little rascal, lying on top of a woman, anyone would think you're a minor!"

The short man was about to retort when the tall man impatiently stood up and walked towards the door: "Alright, alright, go inside and use your energy."

I'm going out for a walk, you guys hurry up and stop dawdling.

Wu Zhiyuan and Liao Yong communicated with hand gestures, indicating that they should rush in while someone opened the door.

The door was just opened a crack.

Wu Zhiyuan rushed into the house, baton in hand, and shouted sternly, "Police! Don't move!"

Almost simultaneously, Liao Yong rushed in, shouting sternly, "Crouch down! Hands behind your head!"

The tall man reacted quickly; in his panic, he grabbed a long wooden bench and hurled it at Wu Zhiyuan.

Wu Zhiyuan dodged to the side, and the wooden stool crashed against the door frame with a loud bang, breaking one of its legs.

He grabbed the baton and slammed it hard into the wrist of the man holding the stool.

"Ah!" the tall man screamed.

Liao Yong had a clear goal and rushed straight towards the fat man with a fierce face next to the table.

The fat man was a seasoned veteran and wasn't afraid. He grinned maliciously, grabbed an empty wine bottle from the table, smashed it on the corner of the table with a "crack," revealing sharp glass shards, and then stabbed Liao Yong with his backhand!

"Watch out!" Wu Zhiyuan hurriedly warned.

Liao Yong, being a veteran policeman with rich combat experience, executed a standard grappling and parry when faced with the shards of broken liquor. He used his left hand to deflect the opponent's wrist holding the bottle, while his right hand slammed the police baton heavily into the fat man's shoulder and neck.

The fat man groaned, half of his body went numb, and the broken bottle crashed to the ground with a thud.

Wu Zhiyuan and Liao Yong each took on one of them, but they overlooked the short man.

The short man was cunning and treacherous; the moment Wu Zhiyuan and Liao Yong rushed in, he lunged into a corner of the room.

There's a double-barreled shotgun there!

"A gun!" Wu Zhiyuan saw it and his heart skipped a beat.

Just as the short man's fingers touched the gun handle, Wu Zhiyuan used the baton in his hand as a dart and threw it at the short man with all his might.

The baton whistled through the air and struck the short man squarely on the back of his hand, causing the shotgun to fall to the ground.

At this point, both the fat man and the tall man were subdued.

Wu Zhiyuan yelled sternly at the shorter man, "Put your hands behind your head and squat down immediately! Any further movement will be considered violent resistance to law enforcement, a double offense!"

The short man, at his wit's end, still wanted to lunge at the hunting rifle once more.

Would Wu Zhiyuan give him another chance?

After the baton left his hand, he didn't stop. He grabbed half a bench leg, took a step forward, and slammed the bench leg into the short man's calf.

The short man screamed, clutched his leg, and collapsed to the ground, unable to resist.

Wu Zhiyuan quickly stepped forward and kicked the hunting rifle on the ground into the corner of the wall.

"Cuff them!" Liao Yong took out handcuffs from his waist and neatly handcuffed the fat man and the tall man together. He then used the restraint straps he carried with him to tie the hands and feet of the short man who was rolling on the ground.

After bringing the situation under control and calling the police station for help, the two looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the fight was brief, it was extremely dangerous; the slightest mistake could have had unimaginable consequences.

Liao Yong wiped the sweat from his brow, still shaken: "That was close! I didn't expect these guys to have hunting rifles!"

"Desperados!" Wu Zhiyuan said to Liao Yong, "Keep an eye on these guys, I'm going to check on the victim in the back room."

There are three rooms. The outermost room serves as both a kitchen and a dining room. The middle room contains a bed, which is presumably where the perpetrators slept.

Opening the door to the inner room, it was very dark inside, with no windows and only an emergency light.

There were two earthen beds on the ground, covered with straw and quilts.

Three women lay on the bed, their clothes disheveled, one of whom was a girl of eighteen or nineteen, with tear stains on her face.

She looked terrified when she saw Wu Zhiyuan.

Of the other two women, one seemed to be asleep and remained motionless.

The other woman had a blank expression and empty eyes.

The fact that she can cry means that she still has emotions and that her mind is still relatively normal.

If someone can't even cry, they've probably been tortured to the point of mental instability.

"Little sister, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you," Wu Zhiyuan comforted her.

The girl stared at Wu Zhiyuan in horror, seemingly unable to believe it.

However, judging from Wu Zhiyuan's appearance, he didn't seem like a bad person.

"Little sister, I'm a town official. Those three thugs outside have been apprehended. Don't be afraid." Wu Zhiyuan's gaze fell on the sleeping woman. "What happened to her?"

"She said she had a fever last night, was she delirious?"

The girl's name was Zhou Xiaoyu, she was nineteen years old, and she was of sound mind. She briefly recounted what had happened.

"I am a freshman at a university in the provincial capital. My home is in a neighboring county, which is adjacent to Gushu Village."

I went home to visit my parents for the weekend, but I got off the bus late at the county bus station; it was already getting dark.

The rural bus routes to the town have stopped running, so I'm thinking of hitchhiking or taking a motorcycle back.

Just then, a man rode by on a motorcycle and said he was going the same way and could give him a ride for only five yuan.

I blame myself for being young and naive, and for being in a hurry to get home. The man looked kind and didn't seem like a bad person, so I got in the car.

After driving for a while, he suggested taking a shortcut and turned onto a secluded country road.

I sensed something was wrong and asked him to stop the car. He suddenly pulled out a handkerchief and covered my mouth and nose, and then I knew nothing more.

When I wake up, I'll be in this dark room...