78: Chapter 78 She escaped? The cunning Sister Hong!

Dozens of SWAT officers surged in like a tide, their dark gun barrels pointing at every corner of the warehouse.

When Qin Yumo rushed in, her own weapon was aimed forward, her nerves wound tight.

She was prepared for a fierce firefight.

After all, the other side were desperadoes; they definitely had weapons.

However.

One second passed.

Two seconds passed.

The anticipated resistance did not appear.

There wasn't even a single sound of panic or shouting.

Inside the entire warehouse, apart from the sound of the rain outside, only the heavy breathing of the SWAT team remained.

"Clear!"

"First floor left side, clear!"

"Second floor, clear!"

"No target found!"

As the search results were reported one by one, Captain Lei's expression grew increasingly ugly, eventually turning as black as the bottom of a pot.

No one?

How could there be no one!

They had clearly seen the lights just moments ago!

"Search! Search thoroughly for me! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find them for me!"

Captain Lei roared furiously, his voice echoing through the empty warehouse.

Qin Yumo slowly lowered her gun, her brows locked tightly together.

She looked around.

This was a typical smuggling transfer station.

The floor was piled with messy wooden crates, along with a few simple folding beds with unmade quilts.

The air was filled with the mixed scent of cheap cigarettes and instant noodles.

Clearly, there had been people here just a moment ago.

And quite a few of them, too.

Qin Yumo walked over to a broken table in the middle of the warehouse.

On the table, some documents and several laptops were piled in disarray.

However, the computer screens were black, and the main units were still smoking; it was obvious they had just been forcibly destroyed.

Beside it was an iron basin filled with a pile of freshly burned paper ash, still retaining some warmth.

"Damn it!"

Qin Yumo gritted her teeth.

These people moved too fast, destroying every trace of evidence.

At this moment, Captain Lei walked over.

Wearing white gloves, he reached out and picked up the only intact item on the table: a purple clay teacup.

The lid was half-covered, and inside was half a cup of tea.

As soon as Captain Lei's fingers touched the side of the cup, his pupils constricted sharply.

"It's hot."

He slammed the teacup down on the table, splashing tea everywhere.

"It's still scalding."

This sentence sent a chill through everyone present.

The tea was hot.

This meant they hadn't gone far.

One could even say that just a minute, or perhaps even thirty seconds, before they broke down the door, someone had been sitting here, leisurely sipping this tea.

What was this?

This was a provocation!

A naked provocation!

It was as if they were telling the police: I knew you were coming, but I'm not panicked at all; I even have the leisure to drink a cup of tea before leaving.

"Captain Lei, we have a situation over here!"

A shout came from a SWAT officer in the corner.

Qin Yumo and Captain Lei exchanged a glance and immediately rushed over.

In the innermost corner of the warehouse, a pile of old tires was stacked.

At this moment, the tires had been moved aside, revealing a concrete slab underneath.

The slab had been pried open halfway, revealing a pitch-black opening.

"A tunnel?"

Captain Lei's eyes lit up.

"Chase them!"

As long as there was a path, he wasn't afraid of not catching them.

Old Hei, along with two SWAT officers, prepared to jump down without a second thought.

"Wait!"

Qin Yumo suddenly shouted, grabbing Old Hei's tactical vest.

Almost at the same moment, a dull thud came from the pitch-black hole.

Pfft!

The sound wasn't loud, just like a muffled fart.

Immediately following that, a thick cloud of dust and the smell of gunpowder spewed out from the opening.

The hole, which had previously been large enough for a person to pass through, instantly collapsed, completely blocked by countless broken stones and dirt.

"Damn it!"

Old Hei broke out in a cold sweat.

If he had jumped down just now, he would probably be buried alive by now.

"Directional blasting."

Captain Lei looked at the sealed opening, his teeth grinding together.

"Ruthless."

"Not only did they block the path, but they almost sent a few of us on our way in the process."

This wasn't a panicked escape; this was clearly a meticulously planned retreat!

The other side had long prepared their escape route, even calculating exactly how to destroy it.

Qin Yumo looked at the pile of rubble, a deep sense of powerlessness welling up in her heart.

The trail had gone cold.

"What does the technical department say?"

Captain Lei turned to ask the technician who was fiddling with the destroyed computers.

The technician shook his head with a bitter expression: "Captain Lei, it's hopeless."

"The hard drives were physically destroyed and also corroded with strong acid."

"Apart from this pile of scrap metal, nothing can be extracted."

"The documents were also burned clean; not even a scrap was left."

Captain Lei took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to pull out his gun and blast the broken table to pieces.

"Withdraw!"

He squeezed these two words out through his teeth.

The SWAT team members began to pack up their gear, heads hanging low.

They were as frustrated now as they had been imposing when they arrived.

Qin Yumo did not move.

She stood at the warehouse entrance, watching the torrential rain outside, her mind a tangled mess.

This operation had the highest level of confidentiality.

Aside from the core members of the task force, even the bureau chief didn't know the specific time and location of the operation.

Moreover, to prevent leaks, everyone had handed over their communication devices since yesterday afternoon, cutting off all contact with the outside world.

How on earth did that "Sister Hong" know?

Could there be a mole in the police force?

But even if there were a mole, it would be impossible to pass the message out.

Unless...

A ridiculous thought suddenly popped into Qin Yumo's mind.

Unless the other side could also, like Su Yun, divine their arrival just by calculating on their fingers?

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Qin Yumo shook her head, casting the ridiculous thought out of her mind.

A freak like Su Yun was absurd enough with just one.

If criminals also had people like that, what would they need police for?

Everyone might as well just cultivate immortality together.

"Let's go, Yumo."

Captain Lei walked over and patted her on the back, his tone filled with exhaustion.

"We'll keep this account for now."

"As long as she is still in Jiangcheng, as long as she dares to reach out, we will catch her sooner or later."

Qin Yumo nodded, took one last look at the steaming teacup, and turned to walk into the curtain of rain.

...

Two kilometers away from the pier.

On an elevated bridge spanning the river, a black Maybach sedan was parked quietly in the emergency lane, its hazard lights flashing.

The windshield wipers swung rapidly across the glass, but they couldn't clear away the torrential rain.

The rear window of the car was lowered a crack.

A hand, excessively fair-skinned, held a delicate, small telescope, aimed directly at the direction of the pier.

Through the telescope, one could clearly see the flashing police lights and the dejected police officers retreating.

"Heh."

A soft laugh came from inside the car.

The voice was light and soft, yet it carried a chill that made one's bones feel cold.

That hand lowered the telescope.

The car window slowly rolled up, obscuring that face.

But in the brief moment of light inside the car, one could vaguely see that it was a woman.

A woman wearing a red veil over her face.

Only her eyes were visible.

Those eyes were beautiful, with the corners slightly upturned, carrying a hint of allure.

But at this moment, those eyes were filled with mockery and playfulness.

It was like a skilled chess player watching their opponent fall into a trap they had laid long ago.