Chapter 453: Everyone’s Luck

In the hijacked police car, Wang Xindong lounged in the back seat, his gun aimed at the heads of the two narcotics officers in front. “I heard the narcotics team just seized five kilograms of heroin. Exchange that for the lives of these two officers,” he said.

In Lin Qiupu’s car, Captain Zhang roared, “That’s impossible!”

“Don’t speak!” Lin Qiupu gestured for silence, quickly typing on his phone, “Do not engage with the hijacker unless I give the order.”

He showed the message to everyone in the car and sent it to all the officers present.

Wang Xindong’s laugh echoed over the radio. “Just kidding. I was planning to kill myself next month, but then a gun appeared at my doorstep. Holding it feels familiar, like destiny. Someone wants me to do something.”

Lin Qiupu shouted, “Wang Xindong, that person is just using you.”

“Being used, not being used—it doesn’t matter. This isn’t the first time I’ve been used… Captain Zhang, tell them about your dirty deeds!”

Captain Zhang responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“You really don’t know!?”

“I don’t know anything.”

A scream burst over the radio, and the car ahead skidded. A police officer was thrown from the passenger seat, tumbling across the road, nearly causing a pile-up of police cars behind him.

Lin Qiupu ordered over the radio, “Old Zhang, take a few men and get him to the hospital.”

“No need!” Wang Xindong interrupted. “He’s dead. One shot to the head.”

“What do you want!” Lin Qiupu demanded, stunned by the swift violence.

The driver sobbed into the radio, “I don’t want to die! Captain, I don’t want to die!”

“Shut up!” Wang Xindong shouted, accompanied by the sound of blows.

Everyone listening held their breath. Wang Xindong continued, “Captain Zhang, are you ready to talk now? I’ll count to three. One… two…”

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Captain Zhang, drenched in sweat, began. “After you left the narcotics team, you kept dealing with drugs. I sympathized with you, but I’m a cop. I couldn’t break the rules to help you. So, I suggested you continue undercover work. Your identity wasn’t exposed yet, and you had many contacts among the dealers. It would also satisfy your need for drugs.”

“But you lied to me!” Even through the radio, Wang Xindong’s fury was palpable. “You told me that if I completed one more mission, I could rejoin the team. I waited year after year, taking down drug dens, narrowly escaping death numerous times. Finally, you told me a drug-using cop could never return. You told me to keep working undercover, saying I’d have access to drugs. You never understood the agony of living a double life, constantly acting, always on the edge. You never even tried to help me get reinstated. You just saw me as a worthless addict, hoping I’d get killed by the dealers and disappear, because to you, I was nothing!”

Captain Zhang, drenched in sweat, said, “I… I’m sorry. I never knew how much you were suffering. I just wanted to help you at first.”

“And then what!?” Wang Xindong demanded.

“Then…”

“Say it!!” Wang Xindong roared.

“Then I got busy with other things. I didn’t keep in touch. I asked about your reinstatement, but they said as long as you were using, you couldn’t come back. You went to rehab several times but never succeeded.”

“You can’t just quit. It’s not just in the body; it’s in the mind. That’s why we need narcotics officers,” Wang Xindong said, his voice filled with despair.

Chen Shi’s voice came over the radio, “Officer Wang, I’m a negotiator. I can tell you’re a good man. I sympathize with you. It’s hard to talk like this while driving. Can you stop the car?”

Lin Qiupu clenched his fists in frustration at Chen Shi’s interruption.

Wang Xindong scoffed, “Negotiator? Who do you think you are? What can you solve? I’ve already ruined a cop’s life and killed another. If I stop, I’ll be shot to death immediately. My life is a dead end, destroyed by a tiny syringe.”

“It wasn’t your fault!” Chen Shi insisted.

“Hah, whose fault then? The drug dealers? The police? Society?”

“Listen, being a cop is about upholding the law and justice. We don’t care about a criminal’s past. If a drug dealer stands before you, you won’t care about his tragic story. He’s just a virus to be eradicated. Police work is noble, but not all cops are noble. Some are corrupt, some solicit prostitutes, some use drugs. But the system expels them, regardless of past kindness or loyalty, because that’s the job—removing the virus from society, even within the force.”

“Enough!” Lin Qiupu interjected, fearing Chen Shi would provoke the hijacker.

But Wang Xindong said, “Let him speak.”

Lin Qiupu was shocked that Wang Xindong was listening. Chen Shi continued, “That tragedy wasn’t your fault. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Think about it—criminals we arrest often have tragic pasts, but we don’t show sympathy. If they had better lives, better education, met the right people, they wouldn’t be criminals. But they drew the short straw, just like you did. The world deals different hands to everyone. Some get lucky, some don’t. You just drew a really bad hand.”