Free Web NovelChapter 129: Chapter 100: An Unexpected Choice
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!
The continuous roar of a machine gun echoed as tongues of fire spat from its muzzle at the factory’s main entrance.
Several grenades were even lobbed out in the lulls between bursts, clattering down the slope.
Amidst the explosions, and even with smoke grenades obscuring the view of the factory, the officers couldn’t get much closer.
"Come on, you Patrol Department sons of bitches!"
"I’ll tell you the truth. I’m the one who robbed Lianwei Heavy Industry, and I’ve still got plenty of hardware. If you’ve got a death wish, keep trying to come at me!"
The arrogant, wild voice echoing from within the factory was enough to conjure the image of a brutish man with a crazed expression.
Lu Chao and the others were caught in a stalemate, their expressions grim.
"These bastards... I won’t be able to rest until I kill them with my own hands. How can we just let this go?"
"Damn it."
"If it weren’t for the hostages, we would’ve charged in ages ago!"
Many of the patrol officers, grimy with dust and dirt, knelt or stood behind their riot shields, clenching their jaws in frustration.
Meanwhile, wounded officers were carried away to the vehicle convoy for emergency medical attention.
Lu Chao grew even more silent at the sight, and Yu Yong, who was leading the charge, also had a grim look on his face.
At this rate, Ruan Hui’s team would reach the secret tunnel entrance and slip inside in ten-odd minutes at most.
When that happened, they would be nothing but stepping stones, forced to watch as the credit for this mission was snatched away by the other team.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
His earpiece buzzed softly, and Yu Yong soon heard Chen Xiao’s voice come over the operations channel.
Just a few brief words made him visibly startle.
"Are you sure?"
He looked back and saw Chen Xiao standing by the vehicles, nodding at them excitedly.
His trusted subordinate had immediately taken the old security guard aside for questioning and relayed an affirmative answer.
For a moment, everything went quiet. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Yu Yong mulled it over for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and ordered his subordinate to switch communication channels, patching in all the assault squads involved in the frontal charge.
BZZT!!
In an instant, every squad member’s earpiece crackled to life.
Lu Chao, Yang Wangtao, and the others exchanged puzzled glances from behind their riot shields. A moment later, a voice came through.
"Listen up, everyone. We’ve got new intel!"
Amidst the echoing gunfire, Yu Yong’s steady voice resounded.
Lu Chao and the others were confused, but then the comms crackled again, and the old security guard’s voice came through.
"O-officers..."
"Get to the point."
Chen Xiao’s voice cut in, urging him to continue. freewёbnoνel.com
The gray-haired old guard nodded quickly. From his position by the vehicles, he held the comms headset and spoke rapidly, his voice trembling, "O-on top of the factory, there’s a ventilation duct. It was built during a renovation years ago."
"There were some production accidents, so it was decommissioned and mostly demolished, but about a third of the suspended ceiling passage was left. The exit might not be fully sealed."
As he explained, the eyes of Lu Chao and the others lit up.
Gunfire still rang out from the factory in the distance as they processed this new information, their minds split between staying alert and considering the possibilities.
"Why are you only telling us this now?" a squad leader asked over the channel, his voice tight with a frown.
"I... I forgot."
The old guard’s face was pale as he said nervously, "It was all over a decade ago."
"I only heard about it secondhand myself. Back then, Old Xia was in charge of the project. To cut corners, he just sealed the exhaust vent with a steel plate instead of having it properly bricked up with cement."
’So that’s how it was.’
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A series of sharp reports rang out as bullets hammered against the riot shields.
Meanwhile, more smoke grenades were thrown to buy time and obscure the view of Qiu Shan and his men inside the factory.
"The guard they captured—he doesn’t know about this?" Yang Wangtao immediately asked, his tone serious. Whether this path was a viable option or a death trap depended on the answer.
The channel went quiet for a moment before Chen Xiao’s voice was heard again, hurrying the old man along.
It sounded as if the headset was being passed back, as the old guard took it and said with absolute certainty, "No, Xiaoxu definitely doesn’t know."
"He’s been here less than six months. He usually just holes up in the guardhouse all day and drags his feet whenever he has to patrol the factory grounds. He doesn’t know much about anything, and I’ve never mentioned this to him."
’Is that right.’
The officers’ tense expressions eased, and they all turned to look at Yu Yong at the front of their formation.
His face was smudged with soot, and a clear bullet mark scarred his riot helmet—a stark reminder of how he’d nearly been shot while rescuing one of the wounded earlier.
Sensing their unspoken question, Yu Yong’s expression shifted. He quickly ordered his men to analyze the intel and explain the exact location, path, and layout of the ventilation duct to everyone.
According to the guard, the duct entrance was in a blind spot on the factory’s roof terrace, near the back wall. The opening was sealed with a steel plate that looked like part of the concrete roof, but it could supposedly be pried open from the outside with some effort.
Inside the factory, the duct ran along the suspended ceiling toward the center of the building, terminating near a steel crossbeam close to the roof.
The men could just about make out the details over the din. They mulled it over and thought the plan seemed feasible.
But soon, a new concern arose. "The ventilation duct is barely wide enough for one person? And it can only support two or three hundred kilograms at most?"
Yang Wangtao frowned, his expression turning serious.
Many of the officers exchanged glances, and their hearts sank.
In other words, only two people could go in at most.
And that was just the obvious limitation. They also had to consider the risk that the old duct might be in a state of disrepair.
"And what’s more," one of the squad leaders began, his voice heavy with hesitation, "if we make any noise getting in and Qiu Shan’s group notices..."
He didn’t have to finish the sentence. Everyone understood the implications.
The ventilation duct was incredibly narrow, making movement difficult.
