Chapter 292: Blending In

"Jian Ge, why the sudden talk? If there's one thing about me, Chen Er Gou, it's that loyalty is carved right into my bones!"

"Don't agree so quickly. Let me finish." I stripped off the intern police uniform and pulled on an insulated electrician's suit. "There's a citywide warrant out for my arrest right now, and my identity is way too sensitive. The cops definitely won't let a dangerous figure like me anywhere near the dam. So, I need you to impersonate me."

"Impersonate you?"

"Exactly. They don't know you exist. They'd never guess I left you hidden here in Shanyang Mall as a trump card. It's a blind spot for them, and my only chance to get away."

"Easy. I'll do it!"

Er Gou reached for the police uniform, but I refused to let go. My expression was grim. "Think this through. I've been running these cops in circles all night. They're exhausted and absolutely despise me. If push comes to shove, they might just choose to shoot you dead! I can't guarantee your safety. I have no certainty about this!"

I lowered my head as I said this. No one had the right to force another person into a life-and-death situation, and I was fully prepared for Er Gou to refuse.

My fingers were pried apart, and the uniform was snatched from my grip. I looked up, a hint of surprise in my eyes. "Er Gou?"

Buttoning the shirt, Er Gou straightened his back and gave me a salute. "How do I look, Jian Ge?"

"Er Gou, are you really sure about this? You might have a hundred guns pointed right at you later."

"Who gives a shit? I was born in the backwaters, Chen Er Gou from the sticks. If I can go out looking this badass just once in my life, it'll be worth it."

Hearing him say that made me feel even worse. "Er Gou, honestly, I wouldn't blame you even if you refused. This is just too dangerous. You don't have to—"

"Jian Ge, say no more." Er Gou slowed his tone, a rare thing for him. "I know it's dangerous, and I know you aren't doing all this for yourself. Hearts are made of flesh and blood; I've seen everything you've done with my own eyes. I trust you."

I paused for a second or two, swallowing back the words I was about to say. I finished putting on the insulated suit and pulled on the matching hat. "Take the gun. Bai Qi will stay behind to help you. Throw on the raincoat, gag Jiang Chen, and make sure you don't let the cops get too close. Also, try to stand in a blind spot—watch out for their snipers."

"Don't worry. But speaking of which, you've never been in the kidnapping business, so how are you so experienced?"

I didn't find Er Gou's joke funny. I grabbed the Deer-Slaying Dao and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Survive, and I'll tell you the answer."

"Deal!"

I turned and headed toward the back of the mall. After walking a few meters, Er Gou's voice rang out behind me again. "Jian Ge, thanks for taking care of me when I first got to Jiangcheng. I just wanted to say thank you one last time today! You're the second person who ever told me to study hard, go to a vocational school, and stop messing around on the streets."

"The second?" I looked back over my shoulder at him. "Who was the first?"

"My dad. But he died in a big rig accident when I was thirteen. That was when I dropped out." It was the first time Er Gou had ever told me about his past. After saying that, he waved at me and pulled up the hood of the raincoat.

I couldn't make out his expression in that moment. All I knew was that water from the soaked police uniform seemed to have splashed onto his face.

...

I found some dark cloth to wrap around the Deer-Slaying Dao. Snatching up the electrician's toolbox, I smashed the window of the mall's first-floor restroom and slipped out silently.

It was already four in the morning by the time I reached Lanjiang Dam. Heavy, dark clouds pressed down from above, blocking out every single ray of light and making it look as if it were still the dead of night.

I sprinted across the road and ducked into the greenbelt. Keeping my head down, I pressed forward through the torrential rain along the riverside highway.

I didn't dare get too close to the river. The waters, normally as gentle and nurturing as a mother, had transformed into an out-of-control, rampaging dragon. Waves several meters high slammed against the banks, battering the trees and fences on both sides until they tilted wildly.

The terrain sloped upward as I continued along the path, and I went over the information I had previously looked up about the dam.

'The main dam is forty-one meters high, wide at the base and narrow at the top. It is an arched concrete gravity dam. In addition to the main dam, it features two spillways, nine discharge tunnels, and two flood diversion gates. The dam spans over two hundred meters in total length, dividing the upper and lower reaches of the river. From afar, it looks like an archway standing over the Land of Shenzhou, protecting the people of the region. As a result, local residents have dubbed it the Heavenly Gate.'

'Lanjiang Dam is the most critical engineering project in Jiangcheng, and it is also a heavenly blade suspended right above the city's head.'

I looked up into the distance. The sky was thick with water vapor, and the deafening roar of the floodwaters echoed through the myriad mountains and valleys.

'With this torrential rain pouring from above, the floodwaters battering the dam from the outside, and Lu Xing and Qiu Ren causing trouble from the inside... this thousand-li embankment really might collapse from an "ant hole." I have to root them out as soon as possible.'

'Lu Xing is highly likely to target the various floodgates and the control rooms that regulate water pressure and storage capacity. A large group of electricians and mechanics rushed over earlier, which means the hydroelectric station might already have a problem.'

Two-Faced Buddha had been setting this scheme up for twenty years. I suspected that some of the on-duty staff at the dam were also followers of the Buddha; otherwise, it would have been impossible for Lu Xing and his partner to sneak inside so smoothly.

Time was running out. I gritted my teeth and sprinted wildly through the pouring rain. The roar of the raging torrent grew increasingly deafening until my ears rang and my head spun. Only then did I stop, looking up toward the scattered pinpricks of light on the dam.

The forty-one-meter-tall Lanjiang Dam stood firmly between the mountain peaks. To relieve the structural pressure, all nine flood discharge gates had been opened.

The flood crest surged forward with the unstoppable momentum of a thunderbolt. It looked like nine winged horses leaping down from the heavens—gushing, churning, galloping—before violently slamming into the massive boulders at the bottom of the gorge. In that instant, the water shattered into pieces, transforming into a sky-filling curtain that connected heaven and earth, letting out a roar that shook the very cosmos!

Standing before Lanjiang Dam, I felt incredibly insignificant for the first time. Yet, this magnificent sight also sparked a completely different emotion within me. Without even realizing it, I stood up straight in the face of that majestic, surging flood crest, my eyes flashing with a bloodshot intensity and without a single trace of fear.

"Struggle against man, battle against heaven!"

Carrying the toolbox in one hand and cradling the Deer-Slaying Dao in the other, I stopped wasting time and ran onto the dam grounds.

The police had already set up a cordon here. Even before reaching the top of the dam, I could see countless figures bustling about—soldiers on standby to fight the flood, alongside a significant number of maintenance workers.

"Specialized tech? Handling the high voltage?" someone yelled upon seeing my insulated suit, frantically waving me over. "Quick! They're short-handed at the hydroelectric station! Get over here right now!"

It was a man who looked like some kind of commander beckoning to me. I didn't overthink it; I simply agreed and followed him upward.

This was only one corner of the dam. To find Lu Xing and Qiu Ren, I would still have to search many other locations.

Even though I didn't know the first thing about electrical circuit maintenance, this was the perfect opportunity.

I followed the man who seemed to be the commander halfway up the dam, but I was ultimately stopped.

Two police officers were guarding a narrow intersection, and I could see the silhouettes of even more officers further up. 'Has Er Gou been exposed already?'

My heart couldn't help but pound in my chest. However, once I got close enough to get a good look, I realized that these men weren't wearing the uniforms of armed police. 'Epaulets, uniforms... Are these detectives from the Municipal Sub-bureau?'

"Halt! We're searching for a fugitive. Let's see your work ID."

An officer blocked my path. I shoved both hands into my pockets and dug around for quite a while before keeping my head half-lowered and replying, "Crap. I was called in on such short notice that I was in a rush and forgot my ID."

"You can't enter without an ID." The officer found my accent a little strange, but the torrential rain and the roaring floodwaters were so loud that he couldn't hear me very clearly.

Blocked at the entrance, the man who looked like the flood-control commander had no choice but to plead on my behalf. "Can't you make an exception? It's extremely urgent over at the hydroelectric station! Every extra person increases the chances of a successful emergency repair. We're incredibly short-handed right now."

The officer shook his head. "Orders from above. Unidentified individuals are trying to sneak onto the dam, so we need to stay vigilant at all times."

The man who had called me over was out of ideas. Just as I was wondering if I should try another method, another police officer walked down from the dam. Even wearing a raincoat, he was completely drenched.

"Morning, Captain!"

"Huazi, what's going on here? Who is this guy?" The man addressed as Captain pulled back the hood of his raincoat, revealing a tough, rugged face.

"He claims to be a high-voltage electrician, but he doesn't have his work ID," Huazi reported truthfully.

"No ID? The higher-ups ordered time and again that everyone coming in must wear their work ID. How could anyone forget it?" The tough-faced captain stared at me suspiciously before suddenly shouting, "You! Take off your hood right now!"