Southwest, checkpoint.
A neatly dressed Zhang Yuan pinned the newly issued ID badge to his chest, then checked his appearance in the mirror.
He adjusted his hat, straightened his collar, and felt the badge on his chest was sticking out a bit, so he pressed it down with his hand.
It didn’t seem to flatten, so Zhang Yuan complained to his colleague, "They’re always coming up with useless stuff. Why change the ID badges? And we have to wear them on duty—even plainclothes officers have to carry one. Are they treating us like an honor guard? Now we even have to worry about our appearance."
His colleague, who was also pinning on his badge, added, "And it has two pins. They’re probably afraid we’ll lose it."
Seeing that his colleague was also ready, Zhang Yuan turned and opened the door. "Let’s go. It’s almost ti to change shifts. It’s Old Chen’s daughter’s birthday today, and he’s in a hurry to get off work and pick her up."
His colleague chuckled. "Did he invite your son to celebrate with them?"
Zhang Yuan grinned. "I’d be fine with it, but I’m afraid Old Chen would just kick the kid out. Last ti he caught my son holding hands with his daughter, he chased the boy for two whole blocks."
"You should’ve been there!"
"Hey, I was on duty!"
Laughing, the two walked out of the locker room and were soon outside.
Without the blessing of air conditioning, even with the lush greenery all around, waves of heat in the air made them break into a sweat instantly.
Outside the checkpoint.
Cars were being inspected one by one. The drivers were variously relaxed, silent, casual, or anxious.
The inspectors’ gazes were as sharp as eagles’, their expressions outwardly friendly, but their attitudes were all business.
Zhang Yuan and his colleague quickly joined in, getting into work mode. At the sa ti, he said to another middle-aged man drenched in sweat, "Old Chen, shift change. Go on, hurry up and pick up your daughter."
Chen Zhixing grinned broadly, glanced at the few cars still in line, and said, "I’ll help you finish these last few, then I’m off."
Seeing that Chen Zhixing was in a good mood, Zhang Yuan joked, "Pick up my son on your way, too."
Chen Zhixing’s expression changed in an instant. "Get lost!"
Everyone who heard them burst out laughing.
Just then, a private car passed the inspection. The driver waved at them before driving off, and a dium-sized van pulled up to take its place.
The routine process began: present docunts, open the back for inspection.
It was all just common fruit: kiwis, mangoes, papayas, Passion Fruit, wax apples, and the like.
Zhang Yuan opened a styrofoam box and casually rummaged through it, but found nothing.
Chen Zhixing opened two boxes as well—one of Passion Fruit, the other of mangoes.
Just then, the Labrador beside Chen Zhixing trotted forward and snatched a Passion Fruit in its mouth.
"You can’t eat that!" Chen Zhixing said, startled. He took the Passion Fruit from the dog’s mouth, put it back, and patted the dog reassuringly. "We’re getting off work soon. You’ll get your treats then."
But the Labrador gave Chen Zhixing a puzzled look, then snatched another Passion Fruit from the box, dodging Chen Zhixing’s reach.
"Hm?"
Chen Zhixing realized sothing was wrong. His dog had always been well-behaved and never ate things it wasn’t supposed to. The first ti could be chalked up to a lack of self-control, but after being told off, it would never make the sa mistake again.
So, Chen Zhixing took the Passion Fruit from the Labrador’s mouth. This ti, however, he didn’t put it back. He held it in his hand, examining it closely. His gaze sharpened. "There’s a seam on this Passion Fruit!"
CRACK!
Chen Zhixing broke the Passion Fruit open, revealing a tightly sealed plastic bag inside. Through the plastic, he could see it was filled with tiny granules.
"We’ve got a situation!" Zhang Yuan shouted imdiately.
But just as Zhang Yuan shouted, the two n in the van saw everything in the rearview mirror.
"Go!" the man in the passenger seat roared.
The driver slamd the accelerator. The van roared, shot backward into the car behind it, then whipped around to escape back the way it ca.
"We have a situation!"
"Stop! Stop the car!"
The inspectors outside rushed forward, while the ard security officers nearby reached for their weapons.
The van spun around, throwing the dog that had been inside to the ground. But Zhang Yuan and Chen Zhixing had each grabbed onto sothing inside the van and kept their balance.
"Stop the car!" Zhang Yuan roared.
Chen Zhixing lunged forward to grab the driver and force him to stop.
But the passenger, seeing that the two n hadn’t been thrown out and that people were surrounding them outside, reached under his seat and pulled out a handgun.
"Go to hell!" the passenger snarled, and pulled the trigger.
Chen Zhixing was focused on the driver and didn’t see the passenger draw the gun. But Zhang Yuan, who was behind him, saw it all clearly. Seeing the man point the gun at Chen Zhixing, Zhang Yuan didn’t hesitate for a second and threw himself in front of his partner.
BANG! BANG! BANG! The gunshots rang out.
Zhang Yuan’s body shuddered. He had actually blocked the bullets with his body at point-blank range.
"Old Zhang!" Chen Zhixing roared, his eyes wide with fury and panic.
CRASH!
The van crashed into another car on the side. This ti, Chen Zhixing, who was holding onto Zhang Yuan, lost his footing. Both of them were finally thrown from the van, landing right behind it.
"Old Zhang’s been shot!" Chen Zhixing yelled.
The next mont, the van finished its turn and was facing the way it ca, but directly in its path were Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan, who had just been thrown out.
"Drive!" the passenger scread.
The driver didn’t hesitate, slamming the accelerator to the floor again.
Before everyone’s horrified eyes, the van charged straight toward Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan.
"Old Chen!"
"Zhang Yuan!"
The other inspectors could already picture Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan being sent flying or crushed under the wheels.
But facing the oncoming van, Chen Zhixing didn’t dodge or flee. He turned around, shielding Zhang Yuan with his own body and facing the van with his back.
BOOM!
With a trendous bang, the van slamd into Chen Zhixing.
But to everyone’s astonishnt, neither Chen Zhixing nor Zhang Yuan was sent flying or crushed. Instead, the van looked as if it had hit a solid wall. It not only stopped dead but even bounced back a ter.
Chen Zhixing had tensed his entire body, bracing for impact, and he had indeed felt the collision from behind.
But strangely, he didn’t feel any pain, nor had he been sent flying.
Chen Zhixing blinked, completely baffled, and saw Zhang Yuan beneath him, looking just as bewildered.
"Old Zhang?"
"Old Chen?"
"Are you okay?"
"Are you okay?"
Chen Zhixing saw that Zhang Yuan wasn’t bleeding, nor did his face show any pain or pallor from a serious injury.
Zhang Yuan, in turn, looked past Chen Zhixing at the van that had been knocked back, its bumper and hood now crumpled.
"What the fuck?"
"What’s going on?"
Only then did the other inspectors rush over. One group surrounded Zhang Yuan and Chen Zhixing, while another surrounded the van, disarming the driver and passenger and taking them into custody.
Then, under everyone’s incredulous stares, Chen Zhixing and Zhang Yuan stood up. Aside from being a bit dusty, they didn’t even have a single scratch.
Everyone: 〣(ºΔº)〣
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