bdsm-fiction Chapter 20 Actions Following the Nighttime Conspiracy
Chapter 20 Actions Following the Nighttime Conspiracy
Footsteps and voices could be heard outside the door.
Li Ranmo immediately stuffed the remaining documents back into the drawer and gently pushed it closed.
He glanced around.
The archives room had no other exit, just this one door. The windows were all high up and had iron bars.
There's no escaping it now.
He took a deep breath and instead walked towards the door.
The door was pushed open from the outside.
Two men in gray short-sleeved shirts entered one after the other, each with a cigarette dangling from their mouths.
The one walking in front looked up and came face to face with Li Ranmo.
Both of them were stunned for a moment.
"Who are you?" The man in front realized what was happening, threw his cigarette butt on the ground, and stomped it out. "What are you doing here?"
Li Ranmo's face remained expressionless as he pulled out the Department of Health pass that Shen Qiushui had forged from his pocket and waved it around.
"From the Department of Health's Inspection Division," he said. "Section Chief Wang asked me to check some old files."
"The Inspection Department?" The man in the back squinted. "I've never seen you before. I know all of Section Chief Wang's men."
"New here." Li Ranmo took back the pass. "Why don't you call Section Chief Wang now and ask?"
The two exchanged a glance.
Make a phone call? They have no right to call Wang Qingnian directly.
The man in front sized up Li Ranmo a few times. He noticed that Li Ranmo was dressed plainly, but spoke in a very steady tone, unlike most people.
"What files are you checking?" he asked.
"Confidential," Li Ranmo uttered. "Do you want to see the approval document?"
The two hesitated again.
Taking advantage of this moment, Li Ranmo turned sideways and walked past them.
"I'm done investigating, I'm leaving now. You guys keep watch."
He said this and started walking out.
"Wait!" the one behind suddenly shouted.
Li Ranmo didn't stop walking.
"I told you to wait!" The man reached out and grabbed Li Ranmo's shoulder.
Li Ranmo's shoulders slumped as he dodged the hand, while simultaneously thrusting his right elbow backward.
boom!
It landed right under the man's ribs.
The man cried out "Ouch!" and bent over, clutching his stomach.
The man in front of him changed his expression and pulled a dagger from his waist.
"Damn it, you snuck in!"
He swung his knife and stabbed.
Li Ranmo dodged to the side, grabbed the wrist holding the knife with his left hand, and twisted it forcefully.
Click.
The sound of a dislocated wrist.
The dagger fell to the ground.
Li Ranmo tripped with his right foot, and the man fell flat on his face.
The whole process took less than five seconds.
Li Ranmo didn't even glance at the two people on the ground. He quickly walked out of the archives and closed the door behind him.
There was no one in the corridor.
He followed the route he remembered and headed towards the stairwell.
The documents in his arms were hard and pressed against his chest.
Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I heard a jumble of footsteps coming from below.
A lot of people.
Li Ranmo immediately turned around and ran towards the other side of the corridor.
Someone shouted from behind, "It's over there! Chase after it!"
Footsteps followed.
Li Ranmo ran around the corner and saw a window at the end of the corridor ahead.
The window is open.
He rushed over and looked down.
The third floor isn't very high; below it is a backyard where miscellaneous items are stored.
But at the back gate, four people in inspection team uniforms were standing looking up.
A pincer attack from both sides.
Li Ranmo gritted his teeth, took out the most crucial document from his pocket, quickly folded it into a small piece, stuffed it into his sock, and covered it with his trouser leg.
He crumpled the remaining few ordinary documents into a ball and held them in his hand.
Then, he turned around, leaned against the window, and faced the direction from which he was being pursued.
Five inspectors rushed over. The leader was a man with a scar on his face, whom Li Ranmo recognized. He was Wang Qingnian's confidant, surnamed Zhao.
"Run, why aren't you running anymore?" Zhao the Scarface panted and sneered.
Li Ran remained silent.
"What are you holding in your hand?" Scarface Zhao stared at the crumpled paper in his hand.
"Waste paper," Li Ranmo said.
"Waste paper?" Scarface Zhao waved his hand. "Take it away!"
Four team members rushed forward.
Li Ranmo suddenly threw the crumpled paper in his hand at their faces.
The paper ball scattered, and white scraps of paper flew everywhere.
Several people instinctively raised their hands to cover their faces.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Ranmo rushed forward and punched the person in front in the nose.
The man screamed in agony as blood gushed from his nose.
The second person threw a punch, which Li Ranmo dodged by ducking, but his knee struck the man's lower abdomen.
The third person hugged him from the side, and Li Ranmo elbowed him backward, hitting his chin.
The fourth man pulled out his baton and was about to strike when Li Ranmo closed in on him, grabbed his hand holding the baton with his left hand, and with his right hand, his fingers pointed like a knife, slashed at his throat.
The man groaned, released the baton, and collapsed, clutching his neck.
The whole process was smooth and seamless.
Zhao the Scarface was stunned.
By the time he realized what was happening, all four of his men were already lying on the ground.
"Who...who exactly are you?" Zhao the Scarface's voice trembled slightly as he reached for the gun at his waist.
Li Ranmo didn't give him a chance to draw his gun.
He took a step forward, his right hand moving like lightning to grab Zhao Scarface's wrist as he drew his gun, while his left hand punched him in the temple.
Zhao the Scarface's vision went black, and he collapsed limply.
Li Ranmo pulled the gun from his waist and put it in his pocket.
Then, he turned around, ran to the window, braced himself with his hands, and jumped out.
Landing, tumbling, and dissipation of force.
The movements were clean and efficient.
The four guards in the backyard rushed over when they heard the commotion.
"stop!"
Li Ranmo got up and ran.
Just as I ran out of the back gate, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out from the alley outside.
Then came the woman's scream.
"Fire! Fire!"
Thick smoke billowed from the other end of the alley.
The four guards paused for a moment, then looked in the direction of the thick smoke.
Li Ranmo took the opportunity to slip into a narrower alley next to him.
He ran a few steps and saw a person standing in the shadows by the wall ahead; it was Shen Qiushui.
"Over here!" Shen Qiushui waved.
Li Ranmo ran over.
"Did you get the documents?" Shen Qiushui asked anxiously.
Li Ran nodded and patted his calf.
Shen Qiushui breathed a sigh of relief.
"Han Xiuyun's people are causing chaos outside, let's leave now."
The two walked briskly along the narrow alley.
Just as I reached the alley entrance, several flashlight beams suddenly appeared ahead.
Seven or eight inspectors were blocking the way.
"Li Ranmo! You can't escape!" The leader was a pockmarked man, the same one who had gone to the hospital to arrest Li Ranmo before.
He was holding a gun.
Li Ranmo pulled Shen Qiushui back and stood in front of her to shield her.
"Stay close to me," he whispered.
The pockmarked man waved his hand: "Go! Live or die!"
Several people rushed over.
Li Ranmo pulled out the gun he had just taken from Zhao Scarface from his pocket and fired a shot.
boom!
The person at the front was shot in the leg, screamed, and fell to the ground.
The others were startled and stopped in their tracks.
"He has a gun!"
The man with the pockmarked face turned ashen: "Shoot! Kill him!"
Several people drew their guns.
Just then, several smoking metal cans were suddenly thrown down from the rooftops on both sides of the alley.
The jar hit the ground with a hissing sound.
Thick white smoke instantly billowed out, filling the entire alleyway entrance.
"Ahem!"
"What the hell is that?!"
"My eyes! I can't see!"
The inspection team was in complete disarray.
Li Ranmo grabbed Shen Qiushui and turned to run back.
After running for about ten meters, a wooden door suddenly opened, and a hand reached out and pulled them inside.
The door closed.
Inside was a warehouse filled with shipping containers.
The man who pulled them away was a burly fellow whom Li Ranmo recognized as Ah Bing, one of Han Xiuyun's subordinates.
"Dr. Li, Nurse Shen, this way," Ah Bing said in a low voice.
He led the two men through the warehouse and out the back door.
A black sedan was parked outside the back door.
Han Xiuyun sat in the driver's seat, with the car window rolled down halfway.
"Get in the car," she said.
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui opened the car door and got in.
Ah Bing got into the passenger seat.
Han Xiuyun stepped on the gas, and the car sped off.
The car drove two blocks ahead, and there were no pursuers behind.
Han Xiuyun glanced at Li Ranmo in the rearview mirror.
"Did you get the item?"
"Got it," Li Ranmo said.
"Are you alright?"
"no."
Han Xiuyun nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The car stopped outside a secluded courtyard in the south of the city.
"This is my sister's house; nobody usually comes here," Han Xiuyun said. "You should stay here for now. Wang Qingnian has lost something so important; they'll definitely be searching the whole city."
Li Ran got out of the car silently.
Shen Qiushui followed her down.
"Thanks," Li Ranmo said to Han Xiuyun.
Han Xiuyun waved her hand: "Don't talk about that. Wang Qingnian is a traitor who betrayed the country and deserves to die. What you're doing is the right thing to do."
She glanced at Ah Bing.
"Ah Bing, stay here. If you need anything, just tell him."
After saying that, she started the car, turned around, and drove away.
Ah Bing led Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui into the courtyard.
The courtyard wasn't large, but it was clean, and the lights were on in the main house.
Ah Bing pushed open the door to the main room.
Inside the room, Chen Qitai sat in a chair with a solemn expression.
He saw Li Ranmo and immediately stood up.
Are you alright?
"It's nothing," Li Ranmo said.
Chen Qitai breathed a sigh of relief, but his brows furrowed even more.
"There's chaos at the Department of Health. Wang Qingnian discovered the documents were stolen and is furious. He's ordered a city-wide manhunt for you. There are inspection teams at every intersection now."
He paused.
"You can't go back to the hospital."
Li Ran remained silent for a few seconds.
"The document is here with me." He took the folded document out of his sock and handed it to Chen Qitai.
Chen Qitai took it, unfolded it, and looked at it under the light.
The more he looked, the uglier his expression became.
"You beast!" he cursed. "Selling life-saving medicine to the Japanese and helping them with germ warfare! Is this something a human being would do?"
He slammed the document on the table.
"This thing must be sent out. Sent to where it should be."
Li Ran nodded silently.
"But not now," Chen Qitai said. "Wang Qingnian is looking for you like crazy. You can't go anywhere; you have to hide here."
He looked at Li Ranmo.
"Don't show your face during this time. I'll make arrangements at the hospital. Nurse Shen will stay to take care of you; it'll be safe for her too."
Shen Qiushui nodded: "Okay."
Chen Qitai then looked at Ah Bing.
"Is this place safe?"
Ah Bing said, "The place Sister Yun arranged is absolutely safe. Those useless inspectors won't be able to find it."
"That's good." Chen Qitai stood up. "I'll go back first and keep things stable at the hospital. You guys stay here and wait for things to calm down."
He walked to the door, then turned back.
"Remember, don't act impulsively. Only by staying alive can you send out the evidence and bring down Wang Qingnian."
Li Ran nodded silently.
Chen Qitai has passed away.
Li Ranmo, Shen Qiushui, and A Bing remained in the room.
Ah Bing said, "Dr. Li, Nurse Shen, you two rest for a bit. I'll go get something to eat."
He went out too.
The room fell silent.
The light from the kerosene lamp flickered.
Shen Qiushui looked at Li Ranmo.
"Weren't you scared when you blocked my way at the alley entrance?"
Li Ran shook his head.
"I'm used to it."
Shen Qiushui didn't ask any more questions.
She walked to the table, picked up the document, and looked at it carefully again.
"The basement of the abandoned church hospital in the west of the city..." she read out the address. "Wang Qingnian hid the 'bacterial strain' there."
"Hmm," Li Ranmo said, "We need to get rid of it as soon as possible."
"But we can't get out now." Shen Qiushui put down the documents. "Wang Qingnian's men have definitely got their eyes on that place too."
Li Ranmo walked to the window and looked at the dark courtyard outside.
"wait."
"What are you waiting for?"
"Wait for an opportunity," Li Ranmo said. "Wang Qingnian is currently searching for me with all his might, which might actually make him relax his guard over that place. Once he's searched for a few days and can't find me, and he becomes more relaxed, that's when we'll make our move."
Shen Qiushui walked to his side.
"I'll go with you."
Li Ranmo turned to look at her.
Shen Qiushui's eyes were very firm.
Li Ran didn't speak, but nodded.
Outside the window, a few barks could be heard in the distance.
The night was still deep.
But dawn will always break.