Chapter 431: One Last High

Hearing the gunshot, Lin Qiupu immediately jumped out of the car, followed by the other officers, abandoning the vehicle in the middle of the road. The situation was dire, leaving no time to don bulletproof vests. Lin Qiupu signaled to a few young officers about to rush forward, shouting, “You guys, put on bulletproof vests first. The rest, follow me!”

They followed the sound of the gunfire to a small bar. It was relatively empty during the day, and the few customers present were hiding behind tables, clutching their heads. A burly man lay on the floor, blood gushing from his leg, clutching the wound and groaning in pain.

“Don’t move!”

A voice commanded. Lin Qiupu looked up to see a man behind the counter, wearing a tank top and looking emaciated, with his right hand holding a smoking gun. His left hand held a cup, crushing some crystalline substance—clearly drugs.

The officers instinctively raised their guns. The scrawny man casually said, “You have guns, I have a gun. Who’s afraid of who?”

“Put down the gun, or we’ll shoot,” Lin Qiupu warned.

“Hmph!” The scrawny man pressed the gun against his own head. “Go ahead, shoot! Do you dare?”

The man on the floor pleaded, “Officers, I was just here for a drink. This lunatic shot me out of nowhere. I have nothing to do with this.”

“He’s a drug dealer. Arrest him,” the scrawny man said.

The man on the floor continued to bleed, likely having hit an artery. Without immediate medical attention, he could die. Lin Qiupu tried to reason, “You can keep doing your drugs. We won’t interfere, but we need to take this man. Didn’t you say we should arrest him?”

The scrawny man continued cutting the drugs, drooling at the mouth, seemingly oblivious.

“Sir, can we take this drug dealer? Look, I’m putting my gun away. Can I come over?” Lin Qiupu raised his voice.

The man on the floor protested, “I’m not a drug dealer. I was just passing by.”

Lin Qiupu was frustrated—didn’t this guy realize they were trying to save him? He signaled to another officer to call an ambulance.

The scrawny man still pressed the gun to his head, “No one moves! If anyone moves, I’ll kill myself! I have nothing to lose!”

He divided the crushed drugs into lines with a card, took a straw, and snorted a line. He leaned back, shuddering with pleasure, drool dripping from his mouth. He prepared to snort a second line.

“Let me get high, then I’ll end it myself. I won’t trouble the police,” he slurred.

Lin Qiupu frowned; this man seemed beyond saving.

“Hey kid, do you have the guts to kill a cop?” the drug dealer on the floor taunted.

“Ha, why wouldn’t I?” The scrawny man waved the gun around. The officers tensed, gripping their guns, and the patrons screamed in fear.

Old Zhang whispered, “We should just shoot him.”

“No, don’t shoot!” Lin Qiupu, sweating, replied. “He doesn’t seem to want to hurt anyone. Once he’s high, we’ll rush him.”

“Be careful!”

The scrawny man once again pressed the gun to his head and bent over to snort the second line. This time, he trembled even more violently, barely holding onto the gun as it wobbled towards the ceiling.

Seizing the moment, Lin Qiupu shouted, “Go!”

He leaped forward, slamming the man’s arm against the bar, causing the gun to fly out of his hand. At the same time, Old Zhang circled behind and pinned the man’s head to the bar. Shockingly, the man still tried to snort the remaining drugs from the table, licking what he couldn’t snort.

“Still snorting!” Old Zhang pulled him away, shoving him aside, out of reach of the drugs.

The scrawny man stretched his tongue desperately and started to cry, “Let me get high! Just one last high and I’ll die, I won’t trouble anyone!”

“Take him away!”

As they escorted the man out, an ambulance arrived. The drug dealer was loaded onto it, clutching Lin Qiupu’s hand, “Thank you, officer. You came just in time. I’ll send a banner to thank you later.”

“Why did you provoke him to shoot a cop?” Lin Qiupu asked coldly.

“I figured he only had one bullet, and I wasn’t sure. I thought if he shot at you, you’d kill him, giving you the chance to take him down.”

“Alright, get going.”

Old Zhang retrieved the gun and showed it to Lin Qiupu. Lin Qiupu examined it, “A Russian Makarov pistol. Only two shots fired. We’re lucky!”

“We questioned the people in the bar. The injured man is indeed a drug dealer. It seems they argued over the price, and the suspect shot him, then started doing the drugs alone… Anyway, no one died, so it’s a good start!”

Lin Qiupu frowned; this wasn’t exactly a good start. This shooting would soon spread throughout the city.

“Right, anyone who gets a gun might test it. Keep in touch with all precincts and stations, and whenever a gunshot is reported, lock down the area immediately. Also, post a message on Weibo and mobilize the public to stay alert.”

“Should we make this public? Will the chief approve?”

“I’ll handle it. Just do it.”

Team Three also made progress, finding two lost guns. The circumstances were similar—people fired a shot upon receiving the guns and were reported.

Interestingly, the three individuals who received the lost guns were a destitute addict, a middle-aged man living alone, and a homeless beggar. They were strangers but shared one commonality: their lives were miserable.

It seemed the perpetrator intentionally chose such individuals to “mail” the guns to, sowing chaos.

In the evening, Lin Qiupu and Team Three Captain Bi Guoliang were summoned to the chief’s office. The white-haired chief handed them a report, saying, “Team One has traced the origin of these guns. Sixteen handguns, over two hundred bullets, and three silencers… After today’s incident, my phone has been ringing non-stop. The public is panicking, hearing gunshots, and the higher-ups are blaming us. But I know it’s not anyone’s fault here, so I’ve taken the heat. Just focus on finding those guns!”

Lin Qiupu said, “We’ve recovered one, and Captain Bi found two more. Also, I’ve posted about it on Weibo. It’s impossible to cover up, so we might as well get public assistance to speed things up.”

The chief nodded, “Good job. Public safety is our priority now. I heard you didn’t fire any shots while apprehending that addict today. Is that true?”

Lin Qiupu replied, “He didn’t seem intent on harming anyone, so we used a non-lethal approach.”

“That was incredibly risky, with so many civilians around. Next time, if it’s necessary, shoot to kill!”

“But these people are just ordinary folks. The real culprit gave them the guns. If we kill them, aren’t we playing into the perpetrator’s hands?”

“The guns were given by the perpetrator, but the actions are their own. We’re trying to mend the situation, and we must minimize loss and risk. If this happens again, I authorize you to shoot. Protect civilians first, then yourselves, and lastly the suspects. Understood?”

Though reluctant to accept this harsh reality, Lin Qiupu knew that hoping for “no casualties” was unrealistic. This incident would inevitably lead to injuries or worse.

He saluted, “Understood!”