Chapter 151: The Promise

The fire engine rolled out of the heavily guarded residential compound, its emergency lights flashing to clear the way, before speeding through the city streets like a bolt of lightning.

Kang Ning, wearing a bulky firefighter suit, patiently waited for the fire engine to slow down as it took a sharp turn. Seeing no one around, he instantly leaped off the tailboard and ran alongside the vehicle for a few steps before steadying his balance.

Kang Ning quickly ducked into a small alley beside the street. As he walked into the entrance, he stripped off the firefighter gear, completely discarding the uniform in the middle of the alleyway, and then casually returned to his rented apartment.

Just as Kang Ning finished taking a hurried shower and turned on his phone, a text message from Du Jianwu gave him a start: "Citywide martial law in one hour!"

Checking the time, Kang Ning realized twenty-seven minutes had already passed since Du Jianwu sent the message. He hurriedly packed his things, went downstairs to open the garage, quickly changed into the second-class sergeant uniform of the People's Armed Police, drove the vehicle out, locked the garage door, and immediately jumped into the driver's seat. Before long, he drove the off-road vehicle out of the western suburbs.

As he turned onto the road leading toward Chengdu, a temporary roadblock appeared in Kang Ning's sight a hundred meters ahead.

Kang Ning hurriedly glanced at the rearview mirror and found a police car closely tailing him out of nowhere, leaving him with no room to reverse and too afraid to make any rash moves.

With a heavy heart, Kang Ning slowed the vehicle down, debating whether to force his way through the checkpoint. In that brief span of time, he saw seven armed police officers closing the triangular wooden roadblock. Left with no other options, Kang Ning had no choice but to stop slowly in front of the roadblock and submit to the inspection of two approaching officers.

A police officer wearing a steel helmet and a submachine gun slung across his chest saluted Kang Ning outside the car door and said, "Hello, please show your identification!"

Kang Ning pulled his training cap low, concealing almost half his face. He retrieved his sergeant ID and military vehicle driving license from his jacket pocket and handed them to the officer outside the window. The officer glanced at him, then took the documents to the beam of a flashlight held by his companion to inspect them.

Just as Kang Ning was filled with anxiety, the police car that had been tailing him parked on the other side of the road, and Du Jianwu, dressed in special operations gear, walked toward Kang Ning with a smile.

"Give both of your IDs to me."

Du Jianwu took the documents respectfully handed over by the inspecting officer, and instructed the two officers at the roadblock, "This is a friend from the Armed Police Hydropower Force. Let him pass."

Du Jianwu walked around the front of the vehicle to the passenger side of the off-road vehicle, opened the door, and climbed inside. "Let's go. Pull over and stop ten meters past the roadblock."

Kang Ning's hammering heart finally returned to normal. He slowly drove the car past the opened roadblock, pulled over to the side, and expressed his grateful thanks to Du Jianwu: "Thank you, Brother Du. If you hadn't arrived in time, I would have been in serious trouble."

Du Jianwu smiled and returned the two documents to Kang Ning. "You really put that firefighter through hell, buddy. When they pulled him out of the stinking ditch, he couldn't speak and couldn't move; he could only roll his eyes and spin around in circles. Haha, damn it, that acupressure trick of yours is something else!"

Kang Ning apologetically explained, "After I dropped Zheng Yi off downstairs, I didn't expect you guys to arrive so quickly. I only realized it when I climbed over the back wall of the compound, and by then all the escape routes were completely sealed off. Fortunately, there was a sewer right beneath me, so I lifted the concrete cover and wanted to escape toward the river along the sewer. Who would have thought the exit was blocked by thick steel reinforcement bars? With no other choice, I had to sneak back into the compound. Halfway there, I suddenly heard an explosion, which scared me so much I hid in the smelly, narrow sewer and didn't dare to come out. After waiting for a long time, I heard a lot of panicked discussions outside, and several of the voices belonged to my neighbors. So I thought I'd blend in with them, but the moment I popped my head out, that firefighter fixing the water pipe spotted me. I had no choice but to knock him out and strip off his uniform. The moment I climbed out and pretended to tighten the pipe joint, an officer behind me started cursing up a storm and ordered me to go put out the fire, so I just slipped out like that. I'm really sorry!"

Du Jianwu smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I don't know if you're clever or just plain lucky. Tonight, every vehicle entering and leaving the compound has to undergo strict inspection, and not even police cars are exempt—the only exception being fire engines. Haha, if you hadn't foolishly waved at me back then, I wouldn't have recognized you at all. Later, realizing you couldn't get out of the city, I had to wait at the intersection for you. When I saw your vehicle looked familiar, I followed. What? Are you still planning to return to Chengdu?"

"Yes. I gave someone my word, and I can't break a promise."

Kang Ning sighed slightly. "Brother Du, I probably won't be returning to Leijiang anymore. Who knows when my case will ever be cleared? Until then, I'm afraid I'll have to keep running."

Du Jianwu looked at Kang Ning with a heavy heart, thought for a moment, and said in a low voice, "Don't lose hope. One day we'll meet again. Oh, and don't head south—things are very unstable down there right now, especially with a vehicle like yours, which is likely to become a prime target for military patrols."

Kang Ning nodded earnestly. "Brother Du, I will never forget you in this lifetime."

"Don't talk nonsense, I should be thanking you!" Du Jianwu explained to Kang Ning, "I've been promoted to captain of the criminal investigation detachment—skipped three ranks at once. Because you discovered the main criminals of the Ni San syndicate, we wiped them out completely, eliminating a criminal gang that plagued Leijiang for years without leaving any lingering threats. The political scene in Leijiang has also taken on a completely new look, and the people are overjoyed! There's something you shouldn't hold against me: I secretly submitted a report detailing your situation to my superiors. My conclusion was that without your help, we could never have accomplished the mission so successfully and efficiently. Don't worry, the system won't bother you about the warrant for your arrest. If anything, they might want to recruit me instead."

Kang Ning was startled. "Please don't do that. I don't understand your world, and I don't want to join any organizations. Once my name is cleared, I just want to go back and be a proper surgeon. I still haven't earned my doctorate yet."

Du Jianwu playfully punched Kang Ning lightly. "All right, I won't meddle in your affairs then. By the way, is your money enough? If not, I can get some for you from my car."

"It's enough, I still have nearly two million. Keep your money for yourself," Kang Ning said gratefully.

Du Jianwu hadn't expected Kang Ning to have acquired so much money, and after a moment of silence, he didn't ask for the reason. He looked at Kang Ning's handsome face, sighed, and made an earnest plea: "Little brother, it's such a waste for someone with your skills and brains not to contribute to the country. To tell you the truth, Big Brother Gao will soon pass the upper-level review and join us. If a day comes when the country needs you, I hope you'll reconsider, okay?"

Kang Ning hesitated. After a moment of deep thought, he raised his head and replied solemnly, "Brother Du, my grandfather was a soldier, and my father was an upright patriot. I suppose I won't be an exception. As long as I can clear my name of this injustice, I will seriously consider your suggestion!"

"Good brother!"

Du Jianwu gave Kang Ning's shoulder a heavy squeeze, turned his head, pushed open the car door, stepped out with long strides, shut the door behind him, and walked straight toward his police car.

With moist eyes, Kang Ning quietly watched Du Jianwu's retreating figure in the rearview mirror, and after a long while, shifted into gear and slowly drove away.

Just as day was breaking, Kang Ning drove into a gas station in the eastern suburbs of Chengdu. After filling up the tank, he drove along the ring road into the Wuliangye Hotel at No. 100 Shuanglin Road, Chenghua District. Using his sergeant ID, he checked into a standard room for 120 yuan, took a bath, and slept soundly until eleven o'clock in the morning before waking up.

Famished, Kang Ning changed into casual clothes, walked out of the lobby, and took a taxi to a spot diagonally opposite Mengmeng's school. He saw the school gates crowded with parents picking up their children after class. Not far away, an ordinary van was parked in the shade of a tree thirty meters from the school gate, and two plainclothes officers standing outside the vehicle stood alert, staring closely at the surging crowd of children and the eagerly waiting parents.

Kang Ning smiled slightly. He remembered Mengmeng mentioning that the side gate of the school connected directly to a small door in the rear courtyard of the Government Affairs Bureau. Pulling out his phone, he sent a text message to Mengmeng: Someone is looking for you inside the Government Affairs Bureau. Xiaohua.

After sending the message, Kang Ning lowered his head and walked forward briskly. After walking a little over eighty meters, he crossed the avenue via the crosswalk, walked back ten meters, and entered a roadside public telephone booth. Acting completely nonchalant, he observed his surroundings for a moment, took out a magnetic card, and inserted it into the payphone.

"Hello?"

"It's me!"

"Oh god, where are you?!" Mengmeng's anxious voice came through the receiver.

While keeping his eyes fixed on the two plainclothes officers sixty meters away, Kang Ning cheerfully instructed Mengmeng: "Later, walk out of the main gate of the Government Affairs Bureau, turn left immediately, and hail the first taxi you see. Ride it to the northern section of Chunxi Road and get off. Then go straight through the back door of Sunshine Department Store, cross Liansheng Lane, and head around to the lighting plaza parking lot on Chengshou East Street. I'll be waiting for you there. Remember that."

"I remember!"

Kang Ning hung up the phone, pulled out the magnetic card, turned, and left the telephone booth, walking further and further away from the police. He stopped amidst the flow of people at a bus stop and looked back, watching Mengmeng briskly walk out of the bureau's main gate and soon flag down a taxi to climb inside. Kang Ning immediately hailed a taxi by the roadside.

Passing by the school gates, Kang Ning was pleased to see that the two plainclothes officers were still staring fixedly at the entrance, expecting Mengmeng—who always arrived and left like clockwork—to finally show her face.

Kang Ning took a cab straight to the lighting plaza parking lot. After paying the fare, he walked in the direction Mengmeng was supposed to come from. Three minutes later, a hurried Mengmeng came into view. Upon seeing his smiling face, she threw herself into his arms with a surge of emotion, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness.

Kang Ning glanced around, wrapped his arm around Mengmeng's slender waist to cross the street, hailed another taxi, and pulled the joyful Mengmeng into the back seat together. Casually telling the driver, "Wuhou Shrine Cross Street, near the snack restaurant," he looked at Mengmeng and smiled happily.

"A few days apart, and you're getting prettier!"

Hiding in Kang Ning's arms, Mengmeng acted coquettishly. "I thought you weren't coming anymore! You made me cry all night. Look, my eyes are all dark."

Kang Ning gently cupped Mengmeng's pretty face and examined it closely. "Mengmeng, whatever I say, I will fulfill. Every promise is an oath, and no matter how difficult it is, I will carry it through!"

"Mm! I believe you!"

Kang Ning smiled slightly. "Later we'll eat our fill, and then we'll go tour the Wuhou Shrine together, okay?"

"Really? I don't need to go back to work this afternoon either, as long as I submit the report to the Education Bureau before tomorrow morning. I want you to stay with me for a whole day and night!"

Mengmeng raised her head and looked at Kang Ning with a tender, spoiled gaze, making it impossible for the infatuated Kang Ning to hold back the overflowing love in his heart. He pulled Mengmeng closer and slowly leaned in to kiss her...

At noon, the driver stopped the car, noticing that the couple in the back seat had been completely motionless. When he turned his head back, he saw the two locked in an embrace, kissing each other so passionately they had lost track of time. Unable to help himself anymore, the driver let out a sigh: "Hey you two, the snack restaurant has been here for a while, and you still don't want to get out? You're practically drowning in each other's saliva..."