“Captain Xu, we’ve got the results—that couple is at Intime Mall!” The officer turned around immediately to report the findings to Xu Mo.
Xu Mo was standing right behind him. Even if the officer hadn’t turned to inform him, Xu Mo would have seen it for himself.
That couple had actually gone to a shopping mall!
As everyone knew, shopping malls were always crowded. A couple potentially armed with a gun in such a place posed a serious threat to the unsuspecting people inside.
If the couple were to open fire in the mall, it would undoubtedly cause panic. And if the crowd started to panic, there was a high risk of a stampede…
Thinking this, Xu Mo made a quick decision. He decided to temporarily halt the investigation of the officers and instead assist Han Fei in apprehending the couple.
After all, Han Fei’s team was likely short-handed when it came to dealing with an armed couple.
Once the couple’s location was confirmed, Xu Mo called Han Fei back.
“So, did you find them? Where are they now?” Han Fei asked urgently as soon as the call connected.
“Yes, they’re at Intime Mall. You don’t have enough people… I’m heading over to help you now!”
After saying this, Xu Mo turned to the three officers who had already been cleared of suspicion: “You three, get ready. You’re coming with me.”
…
Intime Mall.
Xu Mo, along with Wang Dachuan, Chen Ke, and the three cleared officers, arrived at the mall as quickly as possible.
At the same time, Han Fei, accompanied by Li Chen, Old Zhou, and Xiao Zhang, also arrived.
The two teams met at the entrance of the mall.
“Let’s split up to search for them. It’ll be more efficient. If you spot the couple, don’t act rashly—just keep an eye on them. Notify everyone immediately if you find the suspects. We’ll move together once everyone’s in position,” Han Fei emphasized repeatedly before they entered. “The suspects might be armed. Don’t do anything reckless!”
To speed up the search, they needed to spread out and conduct a thorough sweep of the mall.
The mall had five floors.
With ten people, they could assign two officers to each floor.
After a quick division of search areas, the team dispersed and began their systematic search.
…
Fifth floor.
“Waiter! Come here! What the hell is this? Look at this! Get your manager over here!”
Inside a restaurant, a man was yelling at a waiter, pointing angrily at the dish on the table.
There was a fly in the food.
As soon as the waiter saw the fly, they immediately called for the manager.
“I’m so sorry, sir. This must have been an oversight in the kitchen. How about we make you a new dish? Or better yet, your meal is on the house. No charge. My apologies for ruining your dining experience.”
“A new dish? That’s not the damn point! I’ve already eaten half of it before finding this fly. You think remaking it solves everything?” the man continued to rage.
“You’re paying me compensation! According to the food safety laws… you owe me three times the price of the dish. No, wait—if it’s less than a thousand, you owe me a thousand. You’re paying me a thousand!”
The manager just wanted to resolve the situation quickly. After all, there were other customers in the restaurant, and if this continued, their business would suffer more than just a thousand-yuan loss.
So, after a brief moment of thought, the manager decided to comply with the customer’s demand and pay him a thousand yuan.
“Alright, this is our mistake. We’ll compensate you. My sincerest apologies, sir,” the manager said with a forced smile.
Seeing the manager’s cooperative attitude, the man’s anger subsided a bit.
“This is so unlucky… Get me a glass of water. I need to rinse my mouth.”
“Of course, sir. Just a moment. I’ll have the waiter bring you water right away,” the manager said, pulling out his phone.
While apologizing, he added, “Sir, could you show me your payment QR code? I’ll transfer the money to you. Again, I’m so sorry. It must have been a slip-up in the kitchen today…”
The old saying goes, “Don’t hit someone who’s smiling at you.”
Even though the man was still upset, the manager’s polite demeanor made it hard for him to continue making a scene. Doing so would only make him look bad. So, he just grumbled unhappily.
“You really need to be more careful. How can there be a fly in the food? I’m never coming back here again.”
“I’m so sorry. We’ll definitely improve…” the manager continued to apologize.
After receiving the compensation from the manager, the man rinsed his mouth with the water brought by the waiter, then stood up with his wife and prepared to leave the restaurant.
Coincidentally, at the next table, a young man had also just discovered a fly in his freshly served dish. Fortunately, he hadn’t started eating it yet, so he caught it early.
Since he hadn’t eaten the contaminated dish, he didn’t feel as disgusted, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth.
Finding a fly in your food was definitely a mood killer.
Remembering how the man at the next table had handled the situation, the young man decided to follow suit and demand compensation.
Even though he hadn’t eaten the dish, he still had the right to demand compensation under food safety laws.
With this in mind, the young man waved at the manager and pointed at the fly in his dish. “Hey, manager, don’t go yet. Come here and take a good look at this!”
But just then, there was a commotion at the entrance.
Several burly men suddenly appeared beside the couple who had just stormed out.
Without a word, they quickly subdued the couple.
The young man clearly saw the men drag the couple away in broad daylight. The whole “abduction” took less than three seconds—it happened in the blink of an eye.
“Who are you? What are you doing?!” the man being dragged away shouted, completely bewildered.
Was this a kidnapping, right in the middle of the day, in front of all these people?
Was there no law or order anymore?
The man racked his brain, trying to remember if he had offended anyone recently, but he couldn’t think of anyone.
If he had to name someone he’d recently upset, it would have to be this restaurant…
This place must be a front for some shady business!
I only asked for a thousand yuan. Was that worth kidnapping me over?!
Thinking this, the man started to panic.
“Hey, hey, hey… Let’s talk this out. It’s just a thousand yuan, right? I’ll give it back to you. Just let me go, okay?”
Xu Mo was completely confused by the man’s rambling.
What thousand yuan? What is this guy going on about?
He smacked the man on the head. “Stay quiet!”
The young man at the next table: “???”
Watching the man who had just caused a scene in the restaurant get dragged away by several burly men, he was stunned.
This place is definitely a front for something illegal!
First, they politely paid him compensation, and then they sent people to retaliate?
His earlier thought of demanding compensation vanished instantly.
Money wasn’t worth it. It was just a thousand yuan. Getting beaten up over a measly thousand… not worth it!
The manager, who had also heard the commotion outside, chose not to look, adhering to his professional ethics. Instead, he turned to the young man who had called him earlier.
“I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t catch what you said earlier. Could you repeat it?”
The young man forced a smile.
“Haha, it’s nothing… I just wanted to thank you. You guys are so thoughtful, adding a little protein to my vegetarian dish. Really… really thoughtful.”
Following the young man’s finger, the manager saw the fly in the dish.
Manager: “???”
Damn… this kid!