Ten minutes earlier, Captain Jang Tae-su was jubilantly returning to downtown Seoul with two of his subordinates and his former colleague, Kang Jin-tae, who had come to assist.
The detectives from the Guangsuo Squad were driving a Hyundai Huiyi van, the four rear seats facing each other, convenient for interrogation along the way.
The two captured "Ichijou" gang members, Guangzhi and Jin Yanghao, were handcuffed to the side handles of the van. Their upper bodies were bare, their arms and backs covered in hideous red and blue tattoos, typical yakuza features.
Kang Jin-tae, who had come to assist, was offering cigarettes to the Guangsuo Squad detectives with an ingratiating look. He looked to be in his late 40s, with prominent brows, single eyelids, round eyes, and thick lips. His ingratiating smile gave him a more risqué demeanor than Captain Jang Tae-su.
"Jin-tae, how's life been since being transferred to the Cyber Crime Investigation Division?" Jang Tae-su, sitting in the passenger seat, took the cigarette with a smile. Today had been a productive day. Though everyone was bruised and battered, everyone was in a good mood.
"Hey, forget it," Jiang Jin-tae lit his own lighter with a click and passed it to the officer beside him, his face full of resentment.
"Every day it's just trivial matters. Even hitting someone with a keyboard in an internet cafe was considered a cyber crime and handed over to us. It's so annoying! I hope the higher-ups will recognize my contribution this time and let me return to the Guangsou Squad."
The others burst into laughter. Jiang Jin-tae, as if suddenly struck by something, pulled a Smith & Wesson M60 revolver from his pocket, which was in an evidence bag, and waved it at the two yakuza who were sneering at him.
"Hey, you two bastards, where did you get that? It's a police service rifle!"
The two "Ichi-ichi" operatives sneered at him without saying a word. Though their faces and bodies were also covered in bruises, they looked even more formidable than the four detectives who had come to arrest them.
"They really don't understand Korean?" Jiang Zhentai turned around and asked Captain Zhang Taizhu in confusion.
"Hey, you must have gone crazy from sitting in the office. You can tell from their names that they are Korean-Japanese. How could they not understand Korean?"
Zhang Taizhu turned around and sneered at the two "Ichiro Group" brothers, "You secretly drugged people and killed people, and you are in possession of so many drugs. I have contacted the prosecutor. You will be in prison for at least 30 years."
"Hey hey!" Jiang Zhentai pointed at the two people whose faces changed drastically and said in surprise, "Look, these two guys must have understood, their faces drooped."
At this time, the mobile phone rang. The detective brother who was driving patted his captain and handed him the phone on the armrest, "Captain, your phone."
Zhang Taizhu took the phone, and the previous conversation followed. When Ma Xidao said, "We are heading in your direction, and it will take at most 10 minutes..."
At this time, the Hyundai Huiyi van happened to pass a small intersection, and a Kia SUV with a bumper installed suddenly rushed out from the side and hit its left rear wheel heavily.
A sharp squeak echoed as the completely out-of-control van circled the road, finally coming to a stop after crashing headfirst into a temporary container-converted house on the side of the road.
The door of a Kia SUV opened, and three men wearing peaked caps and masks emerged. The iron rods in their hands made contact with the ground, making a crisp clanging sound. The leader advanced aggressively, flung open the van's door, and peered inside. Everyone inside was bleeding and unconscious, not even a groan.
He gestured to his two companions, one of whom opened the driver's door and removed the dashcam. Then, searching the arms of Captain Jang Tae-soo, he retrieved the two Yakuza passports the detectives had confiscated.
Another opened the trunk and quickly carried off two large bags of drug sachets seized by the Guangsuo team.
Just as the three were about to turn and leave, one of the Yakuza, blood all over his face, groaned and regained consciousness. "Hey, are you just going to leave like this? Why didn't you save me?"
The three attackers glanced back at each other. One of them took two steps forward, grabbed an iron bar, and swung it down on the Yakuza named Guangzhi's head. Once, twice, three times, he stopped until the Yakuza named Guangzhi was completely still.
"Check the others. Leave no one behind," the leader commanded in a muffled voice, motioning for his companions to hand over the drug sachets.
At that moment, a burst of rapid sirens rang out in the distance, followed by the glaring high beams of two headlights.
"Hurry!" the leader shouted, grabbed the two drug sachets, and bolted towards the Kia SUV. The other two reacted quickly, ducking their heads and turning to run.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Jack, one-handed on the steering wheel, fired warning shots from a distance. Brakes screeched, and the gunfire continued until the magazine was empty.
The Kia SUV's rear window shattered, sparks flickering from its rear end. Terrified, the three attackers dove into the car, not even daring to look up. They sprang into third gear, their rear wheels swooping in a stream of smoke as they sped away. With a long, grinding sound of tires, the Palisade SUV swerved sideways in a beautiful drift. Jack, in the driver's seat, flicked the trigger with his index finger, and the empty magazine slid out.
His right hand released the steering wheel, shoved a fresh magazine into his SIG Sauer P320-XTen pistol, and fired several more shots at the rear of the retreating Kia, not stopping until its taillights vanished into the night.
Ma Xidao, in the passenger seat, had already impatiently pushed open the door and exited, sprinting like a black bear towards the wrecked van.
"Jongsu, Jongsu! Taesu! Are you all okay? Jack! Come help!" They'd known each other for several days, but this was the first time Jack had seen Ma Seok-do so panicked.
"It's not serious, no one's life-threatening." Seeing Jack expertly checking the injuries of his colleagues as they were carried out of the car, Ma Seok-do tugged at his hair, pulled out his phone, and began making calls.
Soon, the accident scene was surrounded by police cars and fire ambulances responding to the 112 and 119 emergency calls. With Jack's help, several paramedics carefully loaded the injured officers onto stretchers.
"I checked them all. They were all wearing seatbelts. Mostly just soft tissue contusions and mild concussions. Two days of rest will be enough."
Watching the ambulances rumble away one after another, Jack patted Ma Seok-do's shoulder and smiled a reassuring smile.
"Ashiba, these guys are so careless! They must have been followed since the raid," Ma Seok-do complained, his eyes still filled with worry as he watched the ambulances disappear.
(End of Chapter)