Su Xiu took the cigarette, and Shi Qiang skillfully pulled out his lighter, but didn't light it. He frowned slightly, looking at the red and white liquid on his hand, and put the lighter back into his pocket. In a reserved tone that didn't suit his usual demeanor, he said apologetically, "Leave me your number. These three are criminals wanted nationwide, and there's a good reward for assisting the police in their capture and for acting heroically."
"It's not really for that..."
Su Xiu blinked.
The siren of an ambulance wailed from outside, and medical personnel in white nurse uniforms streamed in, quickly moving the supermarket owner and the woman onto stretchers.
"No trouble, just wait for my call at home."
Shi Qiang reopened his earpiece, and the furious scolding of the director immediately blared in his ear.
Shi Qiang snorted coldly, hung up expressionlessly, then looked down at Su Xiu and said, "I'll handle the paperwork for you."
As Shi Qiang said this, he looked around at the pale, unsteady hostages in the supermarket with lingering fear.
He couldn't even imagine how many of them would have seen tomorrow's sun if Su Xiu hadn't been there.
In the hands of those scum, sometimes even death was a luxury.
After getting a string of numbers from Su Xiu, Shi Qiang put away the notepad with the phone number written on it and waved his hand.
"I still have some aftermath to deal with here at the scene."
Shi Qiang pointed to his earpiece.
"How about this, I'll send you out to give your statement first."
"Alright."
Su Xiu nodded.
Helping the hostages was merely out of a normal person's empathy; he didn't crave any awards or honors, and even worried whether his abnormality might attract the attention of the sophon.
Therefore, after saving the people, Su Xiu wished the matter would be concluded as quickly as possible.
A young police officer who was receiving Su Xiu's report brightened when he saw Shi Qiang arrive, enthusiastically greeting him and calling him 'Master' repeatedly, showing clear admiration for Shi Qiang.
After Shi Qiang dropped Su Xiu off at the police station, he briefly spoke with the duty officer, waved at Su Xiu, and then left on his motorcycle.
"Don't mind that my master usually has a bit of a bad temper and sometimes doesn't quite follow discipline,"
After the statement was finished, the police officer Shi Qiang called Xiao Li escorted Su Xiu to the police station entrance and proactively hailed a taxi for Su Xiu. While waiting for the car with Su Xiu, he chatted, saying,
"But I can tell you this, when it comes to criminal investigation and apprehension, let alone Hujiang province, even nationwide, my master's skill level is absolutely top-notch."
As Xiao Li spoke of Shi Qiang's past glories, his eyes seemed to glow, shimmering with excitement and admiration.
'That's not a problem. When the Trisolarans plot began and the investigation into those suicidal scientists started, the state organs immediately assigned Shi Qiang, a man with a heavily tainted record, to the investigation team. From another perspective, this indeed proves recognition of his abilities.'
Su Xiu thought to himself.
Although it was already autumn, the September sky was still scorching hot. Su Xiu and Officer Li stood on the side of the street, waiting for a taxi, and soon sweat stains appeared on their foreheads.
People came and went on both sides of the road, and handsome men and beautiful women from the university town were everywhere one looked.
"Officer Shi said I could receive a reward for helping you catch those three robbers. Are their bounties very high?"
Su Xiu asked. Since he was idle anyway, he struck up a conversation with Officer Li beside him.
According to previous probes, the two sophons that arrived on Blue Star by the end of 2004 were not yet sufficient to achieve comprehensive surveillance of all life on the entire planet.
The Trisolarans' next wave of sophons would arrive on Blue Star a year later, after the sinking of the 'Judgment Day'.
Therefore, Su Xiu's mood was much more relaxed now compared to when he first awakened the system.
"It can be said to be among the highest in the entire country."
For some reason, as he said this, Officer Li beside him looked at Su Xiu with a hint of surprise, then slowly said,
"Hong Quansan and his two brothers practiced a family martial art from a young age, and three to five ordinary people couldn't get close to them. Moreover, he served as a scout for three years, is very familiar with domestic criminal investigation methods, has a strong anti-tracking awareness, and has been on the run nationwide for years, repeatedly escaping capture."
"Ever since that family of three was... sigh... during a pursuit last year, let's put it this way, these three brothers have always been a thorn in my master's side. As my master says, if these three guys aren't sent to be shot, he won't rest easy even in death."
At this point, Officer Li shook his head. He looked at Su Xiu, and although he knew his question was a bit silly, he still asked, "Was Hong Quansan really captured alive by you? Or knocked out with one punch?"
Looking at the expectant gaze of Officer Li beside him, Su Xiu certainly wouldn't say that he had actually knocked him out using Ling Neng · Premonition.
"Luck, I guess."
Su Xiu replied.
He narrowed his eyes; after awakening Ling Neng · Premonition, his eyesight and physical fitness had greatly improved.
From a distance, he saw that the license plate of the white Audi slowly approaching him was indeed the car he had booked.
"Wow! A master!"
Officer Xiao Li clearly took Su Xiu's answer as a master's modesty. He exclaimed, "If you have time, could you teach me a move or two? Don't worry, I won't let you do it for nothing."
"Maybe someday."
Su Xiu replied vaguely.
"Oh..."
Officer Xiao Li clearly heard Su Xiu's perfunctory tone and sighed with some regret.
The white Audi stopped in front of Su Xiu, and the slowly lowered black car window revealed a delicate face.
Although Su Xiu had no concept of the luxury items the woman wore, he could still tell that her clothes and jewelry were quite extraordinary.
'Someone like this drives a taxi?'
Not only Su Xiu, but even Officer Xiao Li next to him was stunned for a moment when he saw the woman.
"Last four digits 6954."
The woman extinguished her cigarette. Her thin red lips were as vibrant as blood, and she slowly exhaled the last puff of white smoke.
She looked at the two men in front of her and spoke first, asking, "Is that right?"
"Yes."
Officer Xiao Li replied. He opened the car door for Su Xiu and instructed him as he left, "The reward process will take about a week at the fastest. I'll call you as soon as it arrives."
"Thank you."
After waving goodbye to Officer Xiao Li, Su Xiu sat in the back of the car. Through the rearview mirror, he looked at the woman's beautiful yet indifferent face, feeling a vague sense of oddness.
Her refined temperament, coupled with her luxurious attire, seemed utterly mismatched with the identity of a taxi driver.
Su Xiu surveyed the car's interior. On the front seat, there was a string of white stickers densely covered with various mathematical symbols. The notes left by a black ballpoint pen were disorganized, and from the somewhat unrestrained handwriting, it was clear that the author was an uninhibited... in short, quite a sloppy person.
"Are you interested in mathematics too?"
The previously quiet car cabin was broken by the woman's pearly voice. While waiting at a traffic light, the woman pointed to a small golden ornament hanging from the car's ceiling.
It was three spheres connected and intertwined with wire.
After seeing this symbol, Su Xiu's sense of unease grew stronger.
Ling Neng · Premonition was at work. Following its guidance, Su Xiu looked at the operating license placed directly in front of the Audi.
The operator's column clearly showed three characters: Shen Yufei.
Su Xiu's pupils instantly constricted.