Urban Martial Saint

Ou Keren had just come out of the hospital and was preparing to return to the police station to look for Zheng Tianbao and the others. She was halfway there when she received a call from Zheng Tianbao, who asked her to go to a small town in the West Suburb. He said they had found traces of the mercenaries there and that Zhao Chengshuang had already led a team to the location.

Hearing this news, Ou Keren was overjoyed. She immediately told the driver to turn the car around and headed toward the location Zheng Tianbao had mentioned.

The small town was remote, and there weren’t many people there. Following the location described by Zheng Tianbao, Ou Keren found a small farmhouse at the very back of the town. From a distance, she saw Zheng Tianbao standing outside the yard. When Zheng Tianbao saw Ou Keren approaching, a flicker of panic flashed through his eyes.

Ou Keren didn’t notice the unusual look in Zheng Tianbao’s eyes. She strode up to him and said, ”What clues have you found? Where’s Director Zhao and the others?”

Zheng Tianbao opened his mouth, ready to say something, but before he could speak, two men emerged from behind Ou Keren. Two guns were immediately pointed at her.

”Captain Ou, we finally meet!” The leader of the mercenaries sneered, speaking in halting Huaxia: ”We’ve been waiting for you!”

Ou Keren turned her head to look and her expression instantly changed. She whipped her head back to Zheng Tianbao, and immediately understood what had happened.

Zheng Tianbao’s face collapsed in despair as he said, ”Keren, it’s... it’s them. They forced me. They strapped a bomb to me, and if... if I didn’t lure you here, they would kill all of us!”

Ou Keren frowned deeply and glared at Zheng Tianbao with fury, but she didn’t say anything further. This incident only deepened her contempt for people like Zheng Tianbao. People like them couldn’t even compare to Ye Qing!

”You dare show yourselves!” Ou Keren glared at the two mercenaries and said sternly, ”I’m warning you, the remote control you took is of critical importance. INTERPOL is fully investigating this case. You’d better hand it over quickly—your sentence will be lighter that way. Otherwise, for acts of terrorism like yours, severe punishment is inevitable!”

”Captain Ou, are you trying to scare us?” The mercenary leader laughed coldly. ”Since you know this is an act of terrorism, you should understand one thing: we mercenaries don’t fear so-called INTERPOL. If they had any real ability, we mercenaries would have been wiped out long ago. So stop trying to intimidate me. Don’t worry—as long as you cooperate, we won’t make things difficult for you!”

”Cooperate with you? Dream on!” Ou Keren gritted her teeth and said, ”I’m a police officer. I’d rather die than collude with criminals like you!”

”Hahaha…” The leader laughed heartily and said, ”I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in this matter!”

As he spoke, the leader stepped forward, pointing his handgun at Ou Keren. ”Captain Ou, please do us the favor of coming along!”

Ou Keren stood motionless. As the leader approached to within three meters of her, she suddenly bent low and lunged forward.

The leader hurriedly pointed his gun at her, but Ou Keren’s movements were too quick. In a flash, she was in front of him, grabbing his wrist and twisting it with force. The leader felt as if his arm was about to be dislocated. Unable to maintain his grip, the gun fell from his hand to the ground.

The other mercenary quickly turned his gun toward them, but by that time, Ou Keren was already locked in close combat with the leader. He didn’t dare fire recklessly, afraid of hitting his own man.

Although the leader was strong in combat, he was still no match for Ou Keren’s agility. As she darted toward him again, she suddenly crouched low and rammed her head into his stomach.

The leader seemed unfazed. He grabbed Ou Keren’s shoulders and pulled her toward him, throwing a punch aimed at the back of her head. However, before his punch could land, Ou Keren swiftly kicked upwards, targeting the area between his legs.

It was the spot that hurt men the most, and the leader was no exception. Writhing in pain, his face twisted as he let out a scream. His punch missed Ou Keren, and he quickly withdrew, clutching his groin as he staggered backward in agony.

Seizing the opportunity, Ou Keren rolled on the ground, positioning herself right in front of the other mercenary. This mercenary was far less capable than the leader and was swiftly taken to the ground in less than half a minute.

”Run!” Ou Keren motioned to Zheng Tianbao and then turned to flee. Despite gaining the upper hand, she dared not linger—there were still many mercenaries around. If they all attacked at once, she’d be in real trouble!

Zheng Tianbao hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow Ou Keren. But just as Ou Keren took two steps, a gunshot rang out. A bullet sank into her shoulder, causing her to stumble and eventually fall to the ground. Blood seeped through her clothes, staining her shoulder crimson.

Terrified by the sound of the gunshot, Zheng Tianbao immediately dropped to the ground and covered his head, darting fearful glances around. Somewhere in hiding, their snipers were waiting, but Zheng Tianbao didn’t even dare move, let alone approach to check on Ou Keren’s condition.

The leader, though still in pain, managed to hobble over to Ou Keren. He stomped his foot on her wounded shoulder and spat, ”Bitch! After we kill Ye Qing, I’ll be the first to make sure you suffer!”

With that, the leader grabbed Ou Keren and dragged her into the yard at the back.

Zheng Tianbao stayed prone, paralyzed with fear and unsure what to do. The leader shot him a glare and barked, ”Get that guy and carry him inside!”

Terrified of defying the order, Zheng Tianbao rushed to pick up the mercenary Ou Keren had taken down and carried him into the yard.

Inside, the Xiangjiang police officers were already crouched on the ground. Seeing Ou Keren captured and brought in, their panic only deepened. After Zheng Tianbao entered, he was beaten and kicked by the mercenaries before being forced to sit alongside the other officers.

A mercenary emerged from a nearby room and checked Ou Keren’s wound. The leader stood by, asking, ”How is it?”

”Not serious. She won’t die,” the mercenary replied.

”If she’s not going to die, then leave her be!” The leader gave Ou Keren another kick and ordered coldly, ”Pack it up. We’re leaving now. We’ll head to that location we scouted last time. Tonight, we’ll use this bitch to lure Ye Qing out and kill him to avenge our brothers!”

”Yes!” the mercenaries responded in unison. They quickly cleaned up the scene, gathered the police officers and the injured Ou Keren, and got into their vehicles to leave the yard.

At the same time, back in Shenchuan City, Zhao Chengshuang and Ye Qing were unaware that Ou Keren had run into trouble. It wasn’t until two or three in the afternoon that Zhao Chengshuang tried to contact Ou Keren for something, only to find that her phone was unreachable. Calls to Zheng Tianbao and the others yielded the same result, which left Zhao Chengshuang puzzled.

Zhao Chengshuang immediately sent people to search the hotel and the hospital but still came up empty-handed. This made him grow serious, as such an occurrence was unprecedented. He ordered his team to continue the search while he himself called Ye Qing to inform him of the situation.

Ye Qing, busy at the orphanage, wasted no time after receiving Zhao Chengshuang’s call. He immediately rushed back to Tian Sheng. Zhao Chengshuang went to meet him there, and after they met, Zhao Chengshuang explained the mysterious disappearance of the Xiangjiang police officers.

After listening, Ye Qing frowned deeply. He knew how Ou Keren operated. If something had truly come up, she would have contacted the Shenchuan City police—or maybe even called Ye Qing directly. But now there was no way to reach her, which was extremely suspicious.

While the two were contemplating the situation, an even more crucial piece of information arrived: the Xiangjiang police officers had gone to the North Suburb woodlands earlier that morning. Meanwhile, Ou Keren had left the hospital and taken a cab to the small town in the West Suburb.

”Why did they go to the North Suburb?” Ye Qing’s expression shifted. He was starting to piece together what had likely happened.

”I have no idea!” Zhao Chengshuang said, exasperated. ”This morning I specifically told them the North Suburb was a trap. Why would they act on their own and go there? These Xiangjiang officers are so reckless! Could something have happened to them? But what about Captain Ou? She went to the West Suburb, not the North Suburb. Why has she gone missing too?”

Ye Qing said grimly, ”If Zheng Tianbao and the others were captured in the North Suburb, then what if the mercenaries used them to lure Ou Keren to the West Suburb?”

”What?” Zhao Chengshuang was stunned. ”But... then why would they go to the trouble of luring Captain Ou to the West Suburb? Couldn’t they have just been efficient and lured her to the North Suburb directly? Why bother relocating her so far? Isn’t it more troublesome for them?”

Ye Qing said solemnly, ”These mercenaries are becoming more cautious. If they’ve already captured Zheng Tianbao and the others in the North Suburb, they wouldn’t want to linger there. Moving to a different location increases their chances of success.”

”So, you’re saying Captain Ou has also been captured by the mercenaries?” Zhao Chengshuang became visibly anxious. ”What do we do now? The provincial department gave us explicit orders to ensure the safety of the Xiangjiang officers. If anything happens to them, that’s an enormous failure on our part!”

Ye Qing was even more worried. If Ou Keren truly fell into the enemy’s hands, it would complicate things further. Ou Keren was his friend, and he feared for her safety more than anyone else. These mercenaries wouldn’t hesitate to kill, and if they harmed Ou Keren in any way, it would be disastrous!

”Chengshuang, immediately send people to that small town in the West Suburb. Look for any possible clues!” Ye Qing stood up, pausing briefly before speaking in a low voice. ”Oh, and I have something else to ask of you!”