34: Chapter 34 Arrived at the Police Station

"Quick! Get down!" Zhang Wei finally reacted, hurriedly dropping to the ground as he shouted at the top of his lungs.

An Xiaoxi followed his lead and lay flat on the ground. However, Liu Haorui and Yu Hongtao failed to react, remaining frozen in place.

"It's over, someone's going to die!" Zhang Wei lay on the ground with his hands over his head, bracing for the impending explosion.

He heard a series of clangs, and then everything went silent. After a dozen seconds, Zhang Wei felt something was off and slowly raised his head to look into the distance.

A conical artillery shell lay solitary in the center of the square, only seven or eight meters away from the Infantry Cannon.

"Is it a dud?" Zhang Wei wondered. Seeing Liu Haorui and Yu Hongtao still standing there like idiots, he hurriedly shouted at them, "Old Liu, are you okay? Get back here! Stay away from that shell!"

Although the shell hadn't exploded, it didn't mean the danger had passed. No one dared to gamble their life on a shell from the War of Resistance that had just been fired.

Liu Haorui and the other remained dazed. Zhang Wei gritted his teeth and ran over, grabbing the two and dragging them away. Only after they reached the safety of a flower bed did Zhang Wei ask loudly, "Are you okay, Old Liu?"

Liu Haorui and Yu Hongtao watched Zhang Wei's mouth open and close, but they couldn't hear a single word. Oh no, were they deaf?

The two had been too close to the artillery; the sound wave from the firing had stunned them. Fortunately, the gun wasn't very powerful. After a while, they slowly recovered and could finally hear again.

Yu Hongtao was trembling all over. He pointed at Liu Haorui and roared, "You! You actually brought a real cannon! You're trying to blow up the entire Museum!"

"We never said it was a fake," Liu Haorui said with a look of grievance.

"Alright, Director Yu, we'll talk about that later," Zhang Wei interrupted. "The most important thing now is to secure the scene. If someone passes by and the shell explodes, the consequences will be unthinkable. Director Yu, contact the staff to set up a cordon around the shell. Old Liu, call the police immediately."

Yu Hongtao calmed down, pointed at the three of them through gritted teeth, and hurriedly took out his phone to contact the Museum's staff.

Liu Haorui's hands were shaking as he tremulously pulled out his phone, finally managing to dial 110.

"Hello, this is the 110 Emergency Center. How can I help you?" a female voice answered.

"I... I want to report an incident. In front of the Shenghai Museum, we've been shelled! No, wait, I fired the cannon. I was shelled by the cannon I fired! Please, send someone quickly!" Liu Haorui cried out shrilly.

There was a moment of silence on the other end before the woman spoke in a stern tone, "Sir, please do not joke. Filing a false police report carries legal consequences!"

Liu Haorui was close to tears. "Everything I'm saying is true! The Japanese shell almost exploded!"

"If you don't start speaking normally, I will report this as a prank!" The voice on the other end grew even more severe.

Seeing this, Yu Hongtao snatched the phone and said, "I am Yu Hongtao, the Director of the Shenghai Museum. What he said is true. Quickly arrange for bomb disposal units to come and defuse the shell."

The female officer was still skeptical. After calling a supervisor to handle it and hearing Yu Hongtao's further explanations, she finally believed them.

By then, the Museum staff had cordoned off the entire square with ropes. A few elderly people who had been exercising there were evacuated behind the lines and were now pointing and whispering at the shell.

Zhang Wei couldn't help but sigh. "The people of China sure love a good spectacle. If this thing blows, they'll lose their lives just for a look."

With such a major incident, no one dared to delay. The SWAT team received their orders and rushed over immediately.

"Hello, can you tell me the specific situation?" the leading SWAT Captain asked after giving a salute.

Zhang Wei explained the situation, leaving the Captain a bit dazed. Before arriving, he had thought the Museum was under terrorist attack. He hadn't expected it to be such a blunder.

"We'll arrange for experts to defuse the shell immediately. However, you must come back to the station with us to cooperate with the investigation."

The three didn't dare to object. They nodded quickly and got into the police car.

Yu Hongtao showed his ID to confirm his identity and stayed behind to coordinate.

The police car drove toward the station, with the three of them sitting in the back seat.

Liu Haorui looked around curiously. "This is my first time in a police car. The interior doesn't look any different from a regular sedan, does it?"

"Shut up!" Zhang Wei snapped. "You had your fun pulling that lever, but now we're in deep trouble. I've never been to a Police Station in my life. Now, who knows? Maybe I'll be spending my days behind a sewing machine in prison!"

Liu Haorui felt quite aggrieved. "Who knew there was actually a shell inside? It's not like I have experience with this."

They arrived at the Public Security Bureau. The officers were relatively polite, placing them in a reception room without handcuffs. This allowed Zhang Wei and the others to breathe a sigh of relief.

An Xiaoxi said cautiously, "I was just thinking that if we got locked up, I'd find a way to hack the system and escape. It seems that won't be necessary now."

Zhang Wei forced a smile. "My dear, please just stay quiet. Things are messy enough as it is."

They waited in the reception room for two hours before the Captain and Yu Hongtao finally entered.

The Captain brought them bottles of mineral water, sat down, and said, "The bomb disposal experts have cleared the danger. The shell wasn't a dud; most of the gunpowder had deteriorated, but a small portion was still intact. That's why you were able to fire it, but it didn't explode. It was still extremely dangerous, though. If the gunpowder had been fully functional, everything within a dozens-meter radius would have been affected."

Zhang Wei and the others kept their heads down nervously, not daring to respond.

The Captain's tone shifted. "Director Yu has explained the whole situation to us. You were making a selfless donation, and your intentions were good. You truly didn't know there was a shell inside. It was a case of good intentions leading to a bad outcome. Since there were no casualties or damage to public property, the Public Security department has decided not to issue any punishment."

The three felt as if they had been granted a grand pardon and finally relaxed.

"However, you are still suspected of disturbing public order. Considering it's a first offense, you'll need to write a letter of repentance before we can let you go."

Compared to going to jail, writing a self-criticism was a piece of cake. The three of them obediently finished their letters, and only then did the Captain let them leave. As they left, he repeatedly warned them that they wouldn't be treated so kindly if there was a next time.

Zhang Wei gave a bitter laugh. "Next time? If I ever encounter something like this again, I won't even dig it up. I'll just call the police directly."

After leaving the Criminal Police Brigade, since they had arrived in a police car, they had to return to the Museum to pick up the NIO and drive home.

To their surprise, Yu Hongtao hadn't left; he was waiting at the entrance of the Criminal Police Brigade. Seeing them come out, he called out, "Take my car back to the Museum. There are still some things to handle."

Liu Haorui was shocked. "The Captain just said they wouldn't pursue the matter. Are you still trying to fine us?"

Yu Hongtao snapped, "It's not about a fine. I want you to get back and sign the donation agreement immediately. This gun caused such a mess, and I'm afraid someone else might try to snatch it. I almost got blown up by that shell; this gun must stay at the Shenghai Museum!"