"How did you know I love zhajiang noodles?" Ember Vance couldn’t stop smiling and looked at Yusuf Zuck in surprise as they arrived at the old Beijing zhajiang noodle restaurant.
"Officer, I was the one craving zhajiang noodles, how would I know you liked them too?" said Yusuf Zuck with a wry smile.
"Boring." Ember Vance rolled her eyes at Yusuf Zuck and whispered to him, "Don’t call me officer; I’m not in uniform."
"Oh, got it, got it," said Yusuf Zuck, nodding his head and following Ember Vance into the noodle shop.
"So, Ember, how old are you this year?" Yusuf Zuck asked curiously as they ordered their noodles and waited for the waiter to bring them over.
"What ’Ember’? Call me ’sister.’ How old are you? Call me ’Sister Vance.’" Ember Vance corrected him.
"Alright, Sister Vance, what’s your esteemed age this year?"
"You just have to go against me, don’t you? You just have to, huh?" Ember Vance lowered her voice, visibly annoyed.
"Alright, no more joking, Ember, how old are you really? I’m being serious," said Yusuf Zuck earnestly.
"Older than you, anyway!" Ember Vance huffed.
"Yeah, you’ve developed quite well..." Yusuf Zuck’s gaze briefly swept over Ember Vance’s chest. Thɪs chapter is updated by novᴇlfire.net
"Are you asking for it?" Ember Vance didn’t wait for him to finish, grabbing chopsticks ready to hit Yusuf Zuck as her face turned bright red.
"Okay, okay, I’ll stop, I’ll stop," Yusuf Zuck begged for mercy, knowing he couldn’t bring up that matter again. If he did, she would lose her temper.
Ember Vance’s face felt hot, and after a couple of snorts, she said no more.
The zhajiang noodles were served, and Ember Vance started to eat and tell Yusuf Zuck about Bud Trujillo’s background. The reason she had asked him out was to information because she knew exactly what kind of person Bud Trujillo was, that he was utterly despicable.
If Yusuf Zuck was a bad guy, then Bud Trujillo deserved to be sliced a thousand times over.
As the two chatted intermittently while eating for about five minutes, Ember Vance’s phone rang. She gestured for Yusuf Zuck to be silent—it was probably a call from the station.
"Hello, Captain Liu, I’m outside. What? Where exactly? Alright, I’ll be right there, got it, got it," Ember Vance hung up the phone in a rush and stood up abruptly, "Yusuf, drive me to Daxing, there’s a case."
"Oh, right, okay," Yusuf Zuck leapt up without a word, left two hundred yuan on the table, and quickly ran out with Ember Vance.
"Do you guys always rush off to a case before you can finish your meal?" Yusuf Zuck asked curiously as they got in the car.
"Yeah, I’ve even developed a stomach condition," Ember Vance nodded and said.
Yusuf Zuck thought for a moment and said, "In the next few days, I’ll ask a friend for a traditional remedy for stomach ailments. You should take care of yourself."
"Thanks," Ember Vance said while pulling out her gun from beneath her clothes.
"Damn, what are you doing?" Seeing her pull out a gun, Yusuf Zuck’s scalp tingled in fear—she was always quick to hold a gun to someone’s head.
Seeing Yusuf Zuck looking scared, Ember Vance couldn’t help but laugh and said, "Hey, what are you scared of? I’m not going to shoot you. I might need it soon, so I’m checking it now in case it jams later."
"Seeing you pull out a gun scares me," Yusuf Zuck said with a wry smile.
"Give me a break; I’ve never seen you scared. Besides, you even dared to steal my gun; you’ve got guts bigger than the sky. But how did you manage that? Tell me. Outsiders aren’t allowed in my residential area—you could at most follow me to the entrance, but you couldn’t possibly know my exact address..."
"I have a special nose, just followed your scent right to your place," Yusuf Zuck chuckled.
"Oh, like a dog’s nose, huh? Giggles..."
"Heh, don’t laugh, who knows, one day I might just show up again..."
"You dare?" Ember Vance glared at him.
"Dare not, dare not." Yusuf Zuck nodded repeatedly.
"Yeah right, what are you afraid of?" Ember Vance curled her lips.
"What kind of case are you on that you need to use guns?" Yusuf Zuck asked curiously.
Ember Vance lifted her chin: "Top secret."
"Alright then, I won’t ask. But be careful, you’re a girl, you should be on logistics. Why lead the charge? It’s a hail of bullets out there, I’m scared just thinking about it."
"I like to eliminate violence and uphold justice, it’s been my dream since I was a child."
"A heroine’s dream, huh? Better wake up from it soon, can’t keep living in a dream," Yusuf Zuck reminded her.
"Mind your own business and drive," Ember Vance glared at him.
Yusuf Zuck obediently drove and started to speed up.
About an hour and a bit later, they reached Daxing District. After Ember Vance made a call for the specific location, they continued another ten or so minutes before they arrived at an old abandoned building complex in Daxing.
The abandoned building complex seemed to date back to the ’70s or ’80s and was never completed, hence it had been deserted. And from afar, Yusuf Zuck could see many police cars, even armed police, surrounding a building. The criminals must be inside that abandoned building.
"Stop here. Don’t show your face, hurry off, don’t let the station folks see you," Ember Vance signaled Yusuf Zuck to park and took out her badge, hanging it in front of her chest.
"Drive carefully on your way back, don’t answer calls from unknown numbers, and call me if anything happens," Ember Vance reminded Yusuf Zuck before getting out of the car in a rush.
Yusuf Zuck rolled down the window: "Ember... "
"What?" Ember Vance turned and looked back.
Yusuf Zuck opened his mouth: "You be careful too."
"I know, I know, I’m off," Ember Vance gave Yusuf Zuck a grin and ran forward.
Yusuf Zuck put the car in reverse, driving away slowly.
But... just as he had driven away from the alley onto the main road for not even two minutes, he suddenly stopped the car again.
He quietly took out a cigarette and lit it, took a few puffs, then quickly turned around, heading back toward the abandoned building complex and parked the car about five hundred meters away from the complex on the roadside. He also stepped out of the car.
He felt that the scale of the operation today was significant, seemingly capturing some extremely vicious criminals, and he suddenly felt a sense of unease, especially considering the instructions Ember Vance had given him when she got out of the car. She was very uncharacteristic today, different from the Ember Vance he usually saw.
After she got out of the car, she also flashed a sunny smile at him, which made him feel even more insecure.
He walked up to the outer perimeter of the police cordon, a few hundred meters away, and squeezed to the front of the crowd to get a better look at the abandoned building ahead.
However, after only one glance, he almost freaked out, because he saw Ember Vance walking towards the abandoned building with her hands raised, carrying a medical box on her back.
"Damn!" Yusuf Zuck’s whole body bristled with sweat, feeling anxiety and unease in his heart, and now it had actually come true.
Watching her retreating figure and remembering her words about eliminating violence and upholding justice, Yusuf Zuck suddenly thought that Ember Vance was truly remarkable. She demanded his utmost respect at this moment!
After another look at her retreating figure, Yusuf Zuck began to retreat, leaving the crowd, turning around to leave.
And just as he turned into a corner where no one was paying attention, his body vanished into thin air!
"Whoooosh—" A gust of wind whistled by as he sprinted, like an arrow, chasing after her figure towards the abandoned building.