Chapter 80: A Classic Case (Please Keep Reading)

The Cadillac XT4 sped along the road. Ever since Zhuo Ning got into the car, she hadn’t spoken a word, leaving Ao Xi to wonder if he had somehow upset her. Yet, after racking his brain, he couldn’t recall having done anything wrong, so he decided there was no need to coax her—she’d come around on her own.

“Am I too small?” Zhuo Ning asked suddenly.

“Too small? You’re twenty, that’s hardly small.”

“I mean my chest. Is it too small?”

Ao Xi glanced at her. An A cup—indeed, not much. Thanks to her habit of lying in his arms to watch shows, he’d picked up a thing or two. “It’s fine—small is cute, too.”

To his surprise, Zhuo Ning wasn’t comforted; instead, she became agitated. “So you do like big ones! I could tell when you kept staring at that dark-skinned girl! If you dislike me, just say so—I won’t mind.”

“I don’t dislike you at all. I think you’re perfect. I don’t like that other girl—I like you.”

“Really?”

“Really. I like fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs—you have all of that. I like you very much.”

Especially since you’re rich—I don’t want to work hard anymore…

Zhuo Ning brightened. “You’re so sweet today. I’ll give you an extra ten dollars in pocket money every month.”

That left Ao Xi speechless. Only ten dollars? Is that all I’m worth? Still, it’s better than nothing.

After a while, a song lyric came to his mind: “You are my little apple, I can never love you enough.” But he feared that calling her “little apple” might upset her, so he hesitated.

Just then, in the distance ahead, he saw a police car had pulled over a silver-gray sedan. An officer had stepped out and was speaking with the driver through the front passenger window. Suddenly, the driver got out, wielding a rifle, circled around the car, and fired two shots at the officer, who staggered and fell. The driver walked over, fired a final shot, then dashed back to his car and sped off.

“Call the police!” Ao Xi told Zhuo Ning, while he followed the fleeing car. The silver-gray sedan accelerated rapidly, soon putting over a kilometer between them.

“Is this 911? I’m at the intersection of Mountain Road and Route 66, heading west. I just witnessed a man shoot and kill a police officer. He’s driving a silver-gray sedan. We’re following him in a white Cadillac. Please send help immediately!”

After Zhuo Ning finished the call, Ao Xi asked while driving, “Zhuo Ning, should I pull over and let you out somewhere?”

“No need, just focus on driving.” Zhuo Ning clung to the handle as Ao Xi overtook car after car, frightened by the speed.

The silver-gray sedan soon noticed it was being tailed and tried to weave through traffic to shake them off, but on the highway, without teleportation, there wasn’t much he could do—at best, he could keep his pursuers at a distance.

Before long, a CHP (California Highway Patrol) cruiser arrived from behind, lights flashing and siren blaring, pulling alongside Ao Xi’s car. The officer gestured for Ao Xi to lower his window.

Ao Xi understood, rolled down his window, flashed his badge, and pointed ahead.

The CHP officer nodded and sped off in pursuit. Though renowned for their ceremonial units, CHP officers’ driving skills were top-notch.

Soon, the CHP cruiser was on the silver-gray sedan’s tail, honking to signal the driver to pull over, but the suspect ignored him. The officer didn’t escalate, simply following closely.

After a while, the CHP officer suddenly accelerated, maneuvered into position, and rammed the suspect’s car. Perhaps he hadn’t been briefed earlier, but once he understood the situation, he immediately took decisive action.

When an officer is killed, no matter which department or where it happens, any available officers will join the fight without hesitation, using every means to bring down the perpetrator.

The CHP officer executed the PIT maneuver skillfully, striking the right rear corner of the silver-gray car, making it swerve and damaging the rear bumper. However, the suspect was a capable driver—after a few corrections, he regained control.

Ironically, the CHP cruiser failed to recover and crashed into the central barrier.

What a mess, Ao Xi cursed, accelerating to overtake the CHP car and catch up with the suspect. Soon, two more police cruisers joined the chase, and Ao Xi yielded the lane to them.

The police cars tried to get into position for another PIT maneuver, but the suspect, now wiser, weaved side to side, blocking their attempts.

Up ahead, two police cars were parked by the roadside. An officer was laying out a spike strip, hoping to puncture the suspect’s tires. Because traffic was still flowing, he couldn’t lay the strip too far in, so the silver-gray sedan dodged it with ease and sped away unscathed.

The officer cursed, quickly gathered the spikes, and jumped back into his car to rejoin the pursuit.

Now, with more police cars joining from behind, there were eight cruisers tailing the suspect, with additional units merging along the route.

Civilians on the highway, seeing this spectacle, quietly pulled over or exited at the nearest off-ramp.

Soon, the only vehicles left on the highway were the silver-gray sedan and a fleet of police cars, parading down the empty road.

With no civilian traffic, officers up ahead set another spike strip. This time, they succeeded—the suspect’s tires were punctured.

Before the triumphant officer could celebrate, the silver-gray sedan showed no intention of stopping, dragging its ruined tires as it kept going.

Even with shredded tires, a car can still move—there are cases of wheels sparking on the rims, speeding down the highway regardless.

That’s exactly what the suspect did, flooring the accelerator out of desperation, knowing that stopping meant certain death.

At that moment, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s SWAT team arrived in an armored vehicle, blasting its horn to clear a path through the police cars and quickly taking the lead.

Ao Xi glanced behind him, startled—over fifty police vehicles had joined the chase, their flashing lights forming a spectacular procession.

The armored car took the lead and, without hesitation, slammed into the back of the silver-gray sedan, shoving it onto the roadside embankment.

Still defiant, the suspect drew a handgun and fired at the armored car. The SWAT officers wasted no time; rifles protruded from firing ports, returning shots.

The trailing police cruisers screeched to a halt, and officers poured out, opening fire on the silver-gray sedan.

The car was riddled with bullets, yet Ao Xi still saw some officers running up to fire more shots—maybe they were after some leave.

He thought about going over to add a couple of shots himself, but since he wasn’t in uniform or driving a patrol car—just his badge on his chest—he decided against inviting trouble.

Most importantly, the suspect was already dead—there’d be no reward.

“What are you doing here?”

Ao Xi turned and saw Mark. “If you can be here, why can’t I?”

“I’m responding to the call. Are you chasing suspects in your personal car?”