9: Chapter 9 Negotiation

(The female character in this chapter is neither the female lead nor a female apprentice; she is just a transitional passerby. Please don't jump to conclusions in the comments section after reading for less than thirty minutes, claiming that if she's not the female lead, she must be a female apprentice.)

"Director, how about I negotiate with the criminal to see if I can swap places with the hostage?" Police Officer Zhang Wei suggested after some thought.

He felt a bit guilty; he had been too nervous when he spoke earlier, which had made the fugitive alert.

Upon hearing this, Director Lu Feiming looked Police Officer Zhang Wei up and down and shook his head.

He thought to himself, "Don't you have any self-awareness? Since joining the police station, it seems you haven't even been able to handle civil mediation properly. Last time you were out on duty, you were acting so suspiciously that you were almost arrested by a brother unit coordinating on the case, who mistook you for a suspect."

Thinking back, Director Lu Feiming felt he must have lost his mind at the time; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have let this kid participate in the operation.

"Director, let me do it. I have a Level 2 Negotiation Certificate, and I can go talk to the suspect!"

Just then, a crisp and capable female voice came from beside him. Director Lu Feiming felt much more satisfied as soon as he heard it.

Officer Yan Qinyu was also a newcomer who joined the police station last year, but she was far more capable than that kid, Police Officer Zhang Wei.

She was efficient in her work and had assisted the criminal police brigade on many occasions. However, because she was a woman, she hadn't been assigned to handle some of the more dangerous tasks. Nevertheless, even in departments like fingerprint analysis, portrait profiling, and forensic trace analysis, Officer Yan Qinyu's performance had received high praise.

Only today did he learn that this female officer was also a negotiation expert.

It's just that...

"Little Yan, let's forget about this. The negotiation expert we requested should be arriving soon, so there's no need for you to step in right now."

"Director, I can do it. I'm a woman, and in this situation, a woman is more likely to make them lower their guard than a man!" Officer Yan Qinyu did not want to give up this opportunity.

She had been excluded from many dangerous operations before, and she understood exactly why that was.

It was nothing more than trying to accommodate female officers, but she had a strong personality and had long been dissatisfied with this.

"This..." It had to be said that Officer Yan Qinyu made a lot of sense.

Officer Yan Qinyu's appearance was also quite deceptive; she was beautiful and not very tall. Those who didn't know her might mistake her soft and weak appearance for someone easy to bully.

But Director Lu Feiming knew that this young female officer was a famous fighting expert back in the police academy. She seemed to be a successor to Traditional Martial Arts and had also trained in Chinese Kickboxing and Grappling, making her very formidable.

It was just that her marksmanship wasn't very good, but in this situation, whether her marksmanship was good or not didn't really matter.

After careful consideration, Director Lu Feiming still made the difficult decision and gave the order: "Alright, it just so happens that you aren't on duty today and are wearing plain clothes. You know how to act, right? You're the negotiation expert; you should understand better than I do."

"I understand, Director!" Upon hearing this, Officer Yan Qinyu nodded excitedly again and again.

Deep down, she couldn't help but cheer; her opportunity had finally arrived.

Ever since she was a child, she had fantasized about being the heroine in police and crime movies. Her most vivid childhood memory was of the *The Inspector Wears Skirts* series; she was fascinated by that heroic and spirited temperament.

Now that her opportunity was right in front of her, perhaps one day she could achieve that level too.

She blended into the crowd and looked down at her outfit: a white Patrick Star T-shirt, a pair of white casual sweatpants, and her hair tied in twin tails.

Combined with her delicate and youthful face and height of only 1.56 meters, those who didn't know her would think she was a local middle or high school student.

She nodded with satisfaction and began to push her way inside, moving quickly while saying, "Excuse me, let me through."

Don't let her small and weak appearance fool you; she was quite strong. In no time, she was about to enter the innermost circle.

Thud!

She felt as if she had only bumped into someone lightly, but immediately after, she was startled.

The young man standing at the very inside had actually been knocked over by her, face-first onto the ground, with blood flowing from his nose.

Seeing this, Officer Yan Qinyu, who was preparing to rush out to negotiate, froze.

What was going on?

Was he scamming her?

She didn't feel like she had used much force. Uh... okay, her strength was indeed much greater than that of an average girl, but surely it shouldn't have been like this?

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Officer Yan Qinyu apologized while reaching out to help him up, sighing inwardly that she would probably be pestered by this young man later.

However, the other party waved his hand and stood up on his own.

Only then did Officer Yan Qinyu get a clear look at his appearance: he was quite young, looking to be around twenty-five, somewhat handsome, but his complexion was unnaturally pale, and there was some blood under his nose.

"It's alright, it was my own carelessness."

She had expected the man to pester her, but he just said that lightly, then wiped the blood from his nose himself and managed to squeeze out a smile.

Officer Yan Qinyu nodded slightly, but now was not the time to thank him for his understanding. She noted his appearance in her mind and turned to head toward the criminal.

"Don't come any closer!"

Seeing Officer Yan Qinyu approaching, Zhou Kehua shouted immediately, but after seeing that the other party was a young girl, his tone softened significantly.

"Uncle, don't worry. I'm this child's older sister, and I study at the Affiliated Middle School next door. How about this: I'll swap places with my younger sister."

"You just need a guarantee, and I'm the same." Officer Yan Qinyu said, trying to use as friendly a tone as possible.

Her speaking pace was very deliberate, with inflections that wouldn't make people feel repulsed.

"Hmph! Don't try any tricks. And just because you say you're her sister, I'm supposed to believe you? What if you're a police officer?"

Hearing the criminal say this, Officer Yan Qinyu's heart skipped a beat.

This criminal had obviously watched a lot of police and crime movies, and with his high level of vigilance, he had actually guessed everything correctly.

However, on the surface, Officer Yan Qinyu remained in her disguised state of timidity and concern for her younger sister. She truly lived up to her negotiation training; this performance was likely professional-grade.

"Uncle, I'm really not a police officer. You can see for yourself, I don't have anything on me. And if you're worried about me trying anything, I'll approach you with my back turned to you. How about you release my sister only after you've grabbed me?"

It had to be said that these words from Officer Yan Qinyu really made Zhou Kehua suspicious.

Could this young girl really be the little girl's older sister?

"Alright then, walk backward toward me, and don't look back!"

Zhou Kehua thought for a moment and reminded her loudly. Compared to the little girl, he was somewhat reluctant to harm her.

Upon hearing this, Officer Yan Qinyu nodded, turned around, and began to back up step by step.

"Raise your hands above your head and keep them apart! Don't try any tricks!"

Hearing the suspect's reminder again, Officer Yan Qinyu's hand, which was placed in front of her chest, paused, and her brows instantly furrowed into a knot.

She had been feeling for the pendant inside her bodice; that pendant was actually a pair of brass knuckles.

After all, she was a girl, and she couldn't guarantee she could knock the suspect unconscious with one punch, so the brass knuckles were very important in this situation.

But now...

At this moment, Director Lu Feiming and Police Officer Zhang Wei, who were watching this scene, felt their hearts jump into their throats.

From their angle, they could see everything clearly. If she couldn't knock the criminal down in one blow, wouldn't the result be the same, only with a police officer as the hostage?