Chapter 18: Chapter 18: He Can Claim the Reward

Given the emergency at that time, even an elite police officer might not have handled it perfectly, not to mention Li Xiang, who was just an auxiliary officer.

Just managing to capture the criminal was already quite an achievement.

But Zhao Jianguo still gently expressed his opinion that Li Xiang’s approach was not advisable.

“Check this person’s identity; he must have a criminal record, otherwise he wouldn’t be so vicious.”

After the criminal was placed in the detention room, the officers immediately verified his identity, and soon his information popped up in the system.

“We found him. His name is Huang Shunan, 54 years old, a person from a place called Huiying, with records of perpetrating 35 consecutive crimes in three provinces, including 3 felony cases, and killing 5 people. He is an A-level fugitive wanted by three provinces, with a bounty of up to 300,000.”

“Whoa~” Upon hearing this, everyone present gasped.

Although they had thought this criminal might be a wanted fugitive—otherwise, he wouldn’t be so deranged—they hadn’t expected that when his information was revealed, it would give everyone present quite a shock.

“Li Xiang, you hit the jackpot, this man’s bounty is 300,000.”

Hearing this, Li Xiang also felt a wave of excitement. Three hundred thousand—how many years of living frugally would it take to save up such an amount?

But thinking of how this money came at the expense of the boy’s life made him feel uneasy. Even if he really claimed it, he wouldn’t spend it in peace.

“I’m not concerned about the bounty; right now what I care about the most is how the child is doing.”

On his way back, he heard that the little boy was still in surgery, and he couldn’t stop worrying. Since the criminal had already been captured, he said to Zhao Jianguo, “Director Zhao, I’d like to go to the hospital and check.”

“Alright, Wang Li, drive Li Xiang to the hospital, and report any new information promptly.”

“Yes!”

In the car, Li Xiang finally had a moment to take out his phone and check the system prompt:

[Ding, Random Task Updated!]

[Task Name: Capture the Fugitive]

[Task Description: Sudden police situation, the scene changes rapidly, the brutality of the criminal makes you realize he might be a serious escapee; you can’t let him go.]

[Task Requirement: Capture him.]

[Task Reward: Experience +500, Diamonds +2500]

[Ding, Task Completed, Reward: Experience +500, Diamonds +2500]

[You have leveled up to Lv.4, gaining 1 Free Attribute point]

Li Xiang put down the phone; after the task update, the rewards had become richer, his level rose to Lv.4, and he had 2500 diamonds, already able to unlock new missions.

At Jinghai City People’s Hospital, in front of the emergency surgery room, the little boy’s mother sat collapsed on a chair, her tears dried from crying, staring blankly at the surgery room door, hoping for a successful operation.

A few kind-hearted passengers were there too, comforting her while telling the police nearby how thrilling it had been on the bus just now.

“How’s the situation in the operating room?”

Seeing it was the officer who caught the thief on the bus in the morning, everyone stood up immediately, only the child’s mother remained vacant-eyed as if all external situations had nothing to do with her.

“Still in the operating room, it’s been almost two hours, and we’re all anxious waiting out here!”

“By the way, was the criminal caught?”

Hearing the word ’criminal,’ the mother’s eyes finally showed some light, and upon seeing Li Xiang, she rushed over suddenly: “Why did you go after the thief? If you hadn’t gone after the thief, my child wouldn’t be in trouble, he wouldn’t be in trouble!”

The mother cried hysterically, her grip strong, dragging Li Xiang to his knees. Others rushed forward to comfort her but couldn’t pull her away.

“This was a sudden situation, nobody wanted this, the priority now is the child’s safety; he risked his life to capture the fugitive, and he will face severe legal punishment.”

Wang Li hurriedly tried to persuade her, understanding the mother’s sorrowful emotions; in such a situation, anyone would feel terrible.

But the mother couldn’t listen to anything, still sunk in her grief and unable to extricate herself.

Just then, the surgery room light went off.

She finally let go of Li Xiang, struggled to her feet, and rushed to the door to await the doctor coming out.

“Doctor, how is my son?”

“The patient was brought in timely, and the wound didn’t fully sever the artery; the surgery was very successful, but he hasn’t completely out of danger yet and needs 24-hour observation in the ICU to prevent infection.”

The doctor’s words made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

—————–

Hongqiao Police Station.

A city bureau police car stopped at the entrance.

Yu Chengzhang from the city’s criminal investigation brigade got out with people and shook hands with Zhao Jianguo who came to greet him.

“Director Zhao, what was the situation with this morning’s incident? How did it garner TV attention again?”

Yu Chengzhang’s eyes were bloodshot, clearly showing he hadn’t slept all night.

Yue Zheng’s case was a media hotspot, and under the pressure of the bureau chief, he had to solve it quickly. Yet early this morning, another public incident occurred, with severity no less than Yue Zheng’s case.

Child, bus, throat-slashing—these terms combined naturally drew attention, but there was at least some good news that the criminal was caught.

“The person involved was an auxiliary officer from our station, who discovered a thief while on duty. Unbeknownst to him, one of them was an A-level fugitive wanted by the police in three provinces and acted extremely aggressively, causing this incident.”

Zhao Jianguo explained while guiding Yu Chengzhang into the detention room, emphasizing the brutality of this person.

“How many years has it been since an auxiliary officer single-handedly captured a fugitive!” Yu Chengzhang remarked with emotion.

Being long in the public security system, they naturally knew that serious criminals were ruthless, knowing they’d face death penalties if caught by the police, so they fought desperately.

Moreover, this was a three-province A-level fugitive; if this person weren’t skilled, how could he have eluded the police of three provinces for so long?

Unexpectedly, in the end, he was caught in Jinghai City by an auxiliary officer.

Life indeed is full of drama.

“Yes, each of the three provinces offered a reward of ten thousand, and since Li Xiang is an auxiliary officer not in the police system, he can claim this reward.”

Zhao Jianguo wanted to help Li Xiang a bit since he was familiar with his family’s situation and this incident also brought honor to their station.

“Director Zhao, don’t be too optimistic. The bureau’s opinion on this matter isn’t unified. If there were no casualties, everything would be easy, but now with the child in the hospital, if anything goes wrong, who will bear this responsibility?”

“In sudden situations, no one can guarantee anything, and if it were anyone else, even you on the scene, could you guarantee a hundred percent that nothing would go wrong?”

“Director Zhao, you’re a veteran, how can you say such things? That’s just being stubborn!”

Yu Chengzhang laughed bitterly; he hadn’t expected his words to trigger such a reaction. “But thinking it over, I couldn’t guarantee handling it better myself!”

“There you have it!” Zhao Jianguo was waiting for that statement.

“I’ll take the person with me first, and as for the bureau’s further handling decisions, multiple factors will be considered; we can’t afford another casualty!”

Jinghai City can’t take much more; with the New Year approaching, this situation doesn’t bode well for a peaceful holiday.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep