A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 88

Every eye was fixed on the entrance of the repair shop, ears straining to pin down the source of the engine’s growl. The sound seemed to be coming from a warehouse deep within the compound.

Suddenly, a pair of headlights cut through the darkness. As the beams swept inch by inch across the dim factory grounds, a white pickup truck slowly rolled out of the warehouse.

“Target in sight,” Old Zhou whispered urgently into the radio.

Lu Xiao sat bolt upright, his eyes tracking the vehicle like a hawk. “Don’t rush. Let’s see where he’s heading,” he commanded softly. His fingertips brushed against the cold metal of his service weapon, the chill seeping into his skin.

Old Zhou’s foot was already hovering over the accelerator when the white pickup abruptly ground to a halt. The medium-built man stepped out of the driver’s side with calculated caution. He scanned his surroundings like a cornered animal before hurrying back into the building.

“What is he doing?” Old Zhou muttered under his breath. “Did he spot us?”

“The old fox is just sniffing the wind before he leaves his den,” Lu Xiao said, his eyes narrowing. He rolled a cigarette between his fingers, almost snapping it, inhaling the unlit tobacco scent to keep himself sharp.

Outside, the night wind howled, but inside the car, the air was stifling. Lu Xiao had been hunched over for so long that his limbs felt stiff and leaden. He stretched as best he could in the cramped space and keyed his radio. “The fox is scouting the path. This is the critical moment. I won’t tolerate a single person dropping the ball. Stay sharp!”

The stakeout had already lasted five grueling hours.

At 2:00 AM, the target finally reappeared.

This time, Li Lin was wearing a hat. He darted out of the factory, his eyes darting left and right, gleaming with a frantic, agile light in the dark. Lu Xiao caught that look and knew instantly they were in for a hard fight. He didn’t dare look away for even a second.

Li Lin appeared incredibly tense. His lips moved as if he were muttering to himself, and a small black object was tucked into his ear—likely an earpiece. He was in a low-intensity conversation with someone. After one last look around, he walked back toward the pickup truck he had pulled out earlier.

“He’s bolting!” Old Zhou barked into the radio.

Li Lin gripped the car door, but just before climbing in, his gaze seemed to flicker toward Lu Xiao’s position. Lu Xiao couldn’t tell if it was intentional—the man couldn’t possibly see inside the darkened car—but the look made his skin crawl.

Almost instantly, Li Lin slammed the door shut, threw the truck into reverse, and floored it.

“Damn it! He saw us!”

Li Lin’s truck roared backward at a lethal speed, but he was heading toward a dead end with no exit! Seeing the pickup pulling further away from the main group, Lu Xiao barked, “Follow him!”

The hidden police vehicles surged forward simultaneously, closing in on the fleeing suspect. Li Lin slammed on the brakes and whipped the steering wheel around, his tires screaming against the pavement.

Lu Xiao stared at Li Lin’s trajectory. There was no road that way. His heart hammered against his ribs. He threw the car door open and took off on foot, sprinting toward the target.

In that moment, he saw the white pickup—still two hundred meters away—continuing to roll forward even as the driver’s door swung open. A shadow rolled out of the cab and hit the ground.

Lu Xiao grabbed his radio and yelled, “He’s bailed! The truck is unmanned—the accelerator must be jammed! Everyone watch out!”

Lu Xiao didn’t stop. He gave chase at full tilt.

Behind the factory wall, there was a massive hole—just large enough for an adult to scramble through. Lu Xiao watched the silhouette leap through the gap and followed suit, his heart racing.

The wind roared in his ears. Behind him, several detectives were scrambling to control the runaway pickup before it could crash. A few others stayed hot on Lu Xiao’s heels, desperately pursuing the nimble figure ahead.

Li Lin was running for his life, his footsteps frantic and desperate in the dark. He stumbled over the uneven ground but didn’t dare slow down. Lu Xiao gained on him, the air growing increasingly damp and salty.

A small pier.

Lu Xiao’s face darkened. He spotted a fishing boat moored at the dock. The realization hit everyone at once—so this was the plan. No wonder he ditched the car; he had a backdoor escape waiting on the water.

The sea breeze carried a thick mist that sprayed against their faces. Aside from the mid-sized fishing boat, several container ships moved steadily in the distance. Every heart on the scene was pounding. If they messed up now, who knew when they’d ever get another shot at Li Lin?

Li Lin’s pace faltered for a fraction of a second. He scanned the area and vanished behind a shipping container that hadn’t yet been loaded.

“Cut him off!”

Lu Xiao didn’t slow down, his eyes sharp as he calculated whether to draw his weapon. Several officers fanned out to flank the container, searching for a sign of him.

In the chaos, a dark, metallic barrel suddenly leveled toward the approaching detectives.

BOOM!

The sound was deafening—the unmistakable crack of a homemade shotgun.

The blast tore through the night. A muffled groan followed. Lu Xiao’s heart lurched. That voice… it sounded like Wang Deng. He looked back to see a figure stumble and collapse.

“Dammit!” “Stop the bleeding, quick!” “F***!”

Cries of rage and desperation erupted from the team. The situation turned volatile in an instant. Everyone was on edge. Lu Xiao threw a punch into the air, struggling to suppress his fury.

If they didn’t take him alive, this entire operation would be a failure. Li Lin was the key to too many unsolved cases. Lu Xiao forced himself to stay calm, signaling his team not to return fire yet.

He pressed his back against a container, inching toward the source of the shot. He raised his service weapon, his voice a lethal rasp: “Li Lin! Drop the weapon! You aren’t getting out of here alive!”

“Bullshit! You think you can catch me?” Li Lin’s voice was hoarse, his hands trembling as he gripped the metal pipe of his makeshift gun. He scrambled toward the edge of the pier, his eyes darting wildly for an escape route.

The next second, Lu Xiao pulled the trigger with cold precision.

The bullet grazed Li Lin’s arm, sending the homemade shotgun spinning into the water. Li Lin let out a pained curse, watching his only defense vanish beneath the waves.

In a final act of desperation, he lunged toward the edge of the dock, leaping like a mad dog into the freezing, dark water below.