Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1187: Instant Light, Instant Darkness

“Calling for support—ninth floor, a teammate is injured, one suspect down. Requesting medical assistance…”

Zhou Yusheng exhaled deeply, watching Luo Qi walk in—watching every move he made.

“There might still be a chance,” Luo Qi said, standing up. He had already checked the two wounded officers lying on the floor… they still had a pulse.

Zhou Yusheng instinctively nodded.

He looked at Luo Qi—a man about the same age as him. One look into his eyes, and the word resolute came to mind.

“I chased that guy all the way up here. Didn’t expect to find you here,” Luo Qi said casually, glancing around. “Old Zhou, did you guys come because you heard the gunshots too?”

The first and second squads had worked together many times before. Most of them knew each other—they worked in the same building, crossed paths every day.

Zhou Yusheng shook his head, then nodded again. His thoughts were a mess—he still hadn’t processed what had just happened.

Luo Qi didn’t press him. He just gave Zhou’s shoulder a firm pat.

There was light in his eyes—so bright it hurt to look at. Zhou lowered his head, staring at his fallen comrades, perhaps to avoid that light, perhaps just to look at the two young men again.“They… did well!” Luo Qi gripped Zhou’s shoulder tightly, then grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to look straight at him. “Don’t forget who we are. When you’re afraid, when you’re terrified—no matter what—you stand at the front. Even if you fall… now, breathe!”

Blinding light…

Zhou Yusheng suddenly shuddered, like a drowning man gasping for air, drawing in a breath laced with the faint taste of gunpowder.

“I’m fine.” Zhou took another deep breath, looked Luo Qi in the eyes, and asked, “What’s the situation?”

“Hard to say,” Luo Qi replied quickly. “These guys don’t look like ordinary robbers. We’ve rescued one hostage, but there’s still another—they’re taking him upstairs. That’s the real problem. Inside the building, our snipers can’t get a clear shot. We’re trying to drive the suspect into open ground.”

“You already rescued one?” Zhou blinked—how long had it even been?

“Ye Yan did,” Luo Qi smiled faintly. “That kid’s good—really good. Alright, stay here and secure the area. We can’t have any gaps in containment. Be careful.”

He exhaled, steadied himself, and turned to leave.

“Wait—Captain Luo!”

“What?” Luo Qi turned, puzzled, seeing Zhou look like he wanted to speak but couldn’t.

“Are you… not afraid?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Luo Qi thumped his chest twice and grinned. “Aren’t you here too? Five years ago, when you went undercover in that drug case alone, you weren’t afraid. Three years ago, when you faced six armed men by yourself, you weren’t afraid. If you’re not afraid, why should I be? I won’t pry into what’s going on in your squad… but Zhou, haven’t you rested long enough?”

Zhou stood frozen.

Rested…? So all his collapse, his burnout—was that just “rest”?

That departing figure, like the light in Luo Qi’s eyes, was too bright for him to face.

He suddenly understood why Luo Qi’s eyes shone like that—because of trust. Luo Qi trusted himself, and he trusted others.

Memories flickered in Zhou Yusheng’s mind.

He had once earned merit—first-class merit.

He had faced death countless times.

His career should have been bright… until Gao Wen appeared, the son-in-law of a senior official.

Gao Wen also had achievements, injuries, and battlefield glory—nothing to criticize. They started at the same line, but Gao Wen had one extra thing: connections.

The system was full of talented people. All capable, all accomplished—but when it came time to pick the best, Zhou was never chosen.

Maybe it was fate. He was equally capable, but without the same resources.

Even Luo Qi—Luo Qi had few resources, but true ability. The kind that earned the loyalty of equally capable subordinates.

And what about me?

Zhou asked himself.

I had ability—but I let myself rot.

I had time—but wasted it elsewhere.

I worked hard—but after one failure, I never stood up again.

He thought himself proud—but pride makes people fragile. So he decayed, blamed no one but himself.

You’re a useless man, his wife’s voice echoed in his mind. Besides snapping at me, what else can you do?

Their marriage had fallen apart long ago. His life had drifted off its tracks without him noticing when or how.

He looked at the two young men lying in their own blood, waiting for rescue. Just minutes ago, they had asked him, Brother Zhou, have you ever handled a big case before?

I’ll tell you later… That was all he had to give.

I once had glory. That’s enough. Even if I’ve fallen, I once had glory. That’s something—something to hold onto at the end, something to cover the shame.

Not long after, the rescue team arrived. When they burst into the room, hurrying to lift the wounded, Zhou Yusheng took a deep breath.

“Take the injured first. I’m going to back up Captain Luo!”

With firm determination, he looked at the team, inhaled sharply, and gathered the spare bullets from his fallen comrades’ belts.

The rescuers stared as Zhou, expression hard as steel, rushed out of the room.

“What’s with him?” one murmured.

He didn’t look like a man who’d lost his will to fight, not anymore.

…

Zhou soon caught up with Luo Qi—fast enough to surprise him.

At that moment, Luo Qi was pressed against the wall at a hallway corner.

“The wounded have been taken away. Don’t worry,” Zhou said curtly. His eyes were sharp as a hawk’s. “The suspects have a hostage. If they’re professionals, they’ll realize we’re trying to draw them into an open area for sniper range. They won’t fall for it.”

“They’re inside?” Zhou asked directly.

Luo Qi nodded. “Two suspects. One hostage.”

“We can’t wait.” Zhou took a deep breath. “Quick and clean.”

“You have a plan?”

Zhou nodded, then suddenly turned and smashed the butt of his pistol against the wall-mounted fire alarm.

In an instant, the blaring siren screamed through the entire unfinished building!

…

“Don’t… don’t kill me…”

The security guard lay writhing on the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder—the bullet had gone clean through.

He was terrified, his face smeared with dust and blood, but he didn’t dare move. A cold muzzle pressed against the back of his head. Behind him stood two armed men—Southeast Asians, wearing vests, faces hard and cruel. They spoke Mandarin with an accent.

Then came the sudden wail of the fire alarm. The shrill sound made both gunmen flinch.

“Damn it—what are they trying to do?!”

“Bro! What now? It’s just us two left!”

The one called “brother” snapped, “We’ve got the hostage! They won’t storm in. This is our only chance!”

“You’re out of chances! Surrender!”

A figure burst from the entrance, cutting them off.

Zhou Yusheng aimed his pistol squarely at them. “You’re surrounded! Reinforcements will be here in two minutes at most! Don’t count on your friends—they’re done. It’s over. Drop your weapons!”

“Surrender? Hahaha!!” The gunman cackled wildly, sweeping his SMG across the room.

Zhou had to duck back behind the wall instantly.

“Come out! If you don’t, I’ll kill the hostage! I’ll count to three!”

“No need to count,” Zhou said quietly, exhaling once. Then he stepped out from cover.

“Put your gun down!”

Zhou crouched slowly and placed his pistol on the floor.

“KICK IT OVER!”

Zhou Yusheng gritted his teeth and kicked the pistol hard toward them. The other thug instantly picked it up.

“You, come here!”

Zhou Yusheng slowly approached, eyes filled with a trace of fear. “I can take the hostage’s place. Let the security guard go—he’s injured, bleeding heavily. If this drags on, he’ll die, and then you’ll have no leverage. But if you take me instead, you’ll still have a chance!”

“You’re in no position to negotiate!”

“Think carefully!” Zhou Yusheng snapped. “If you kill me or him, you won’t escape! If you exchange him for me, you still have a chance! You don’t have time to think—our men are already coming up! Don’t worry, I won’t move. I just want to get the hostage out.”

As he spoke, Zhou Yusheng suddenly pulled out a pair of handcuffs, locking one end tightly around his left wrist while opening the other cuff. “See? I’ll lock myself up. Just release the hostage first!”

The two gunmen and the hostage all watched his every movement, eyes tense, as he raised the handcuffs toward his right wrist.

“Let him go!” Zhou Yusheng suddenly roared.

The two thugs flinched, their nerves snapping under the tension. In that split second, a shadow crashed through the window—slamming into the gunman who held the hostage!

It was Luo Qi.

When Zhou Yusheng had smashed the fire alarm earlier, he and Luo Qi had split up. Taking advantage of the alarm’s noise, Luo Qi had climbed up the outer scaffolding of the unfinished building to flank the gunmen from behind—waiting for this exact moment.

As he tackled the gunman holding the hostage, Zhou Yusheng lunged like a hunting predator toward the other!

Luo Qi brought one down, Zhou Yusheng hit the other—four men crashed to the ground, grappling violently.

The thug under Luo Qi’s weight suddenly flexed, his muscles bulging unnaturally, and with a roar, kicked Luo Qi back more than a meter.

“Damn cops!!”

Freed, the thug immediately raised his SMG and sprayed bullets wildly. Luo Qi’s expression changed—he dove forward again, this time shielding the wounded security guard, rolling them both behind a load-bearing wall.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yusheng wrestled with the second gunman, managing to wrench his service pistol from the thug’s grip and fire—his shot found its mark, and he broke free!

But the remaining gunman, still firing the SMG, forced Zhou Yusheng to duck behind the same wall beside Luo Qi and the hostage—barely a meter apart.

“I’ll kill all of you!!”

Seeing his younger brother lying on the ground, coughing blood and dying, the surviving thug went berserk, unleashing a storm of gunfire that pinned them in place.

“Don’t kill me…”

The security guard curled up, trembling and clutching his head. Luo Qi took a deep breath—and did something that startled Zhou Yusheng.

He stripped off his bulletproof vest and placed it over the guard’s body.

Zhou Yusheng froze, then clenched his jaw, breathing hard, veins bulging on his face.

Luo Qi seemed to sense what Zhou Yusheng was about to do and shook his head sharply.

“Old Luo,” Zhou Yusheng said suddenly, standing up straight, “you asked me if I’d rested enough. Now I can tell you—I’ve rested enough.”

“Don’t—!”

Zhou Yusheng burst from cover!

The gunman, almost as if expecting it, sneered viciously and sidestepped. His gun flashed—a single shot struck Zhou Yusheng’s arm, sending his pistol spinning away.

Luo Qi dove after him, tackling the gunman, kicking the SMG aside.

Zhou Yusheng, gritting his teeth against the pain, reached instinctively for his fallen gun. But the thug, unbelievably strong even while downed, pushed off the floor with one arm and kicked Zhou Yusheng hard in the stomach.

The three of them fell together—tangled in a brutal struggle.

The pistol lay between them, within reach of all three.

They grappled, bodies pressed together, straining for control. The gun shifted—Zhou Yusheng’s hand clamped over it.

A deafening bang echoed through the hall.

Everything froze.

The gun… was still in the thug’s hand.

But the finger that had pulled the trigger was Zhou Yusheng’s.

And the bullet… had struck Luo Qi.

The dazzling light in Zhou Yusheng’s eyes slowly faded away.

(End of Chapter)