Chapter 52: The Hammer Fiend Case (Part 21)

The fluorescent lights of the shooting range buzzed overhead. Li Rui adjusted his protective goggles, his peripheral vision catching Lei Chen loading his Glock. Their eyes met in mid-air, a silent flash of sparks passing between them.

"Shall we go with the old rules then?" A smile tugged at the corner of Lei Chen's lips. "Moving targets, ten rounds rapid fire."

This was an old tradition among the police force, favored by elite officers when testing their skills against one another.

Li Rui did not answer, silently inspecting his magazine instead. Ever since Lei Chen had thrown down his challenge that morning, a pent-up tension had been building inside him.

Competing for supremacy was not his usual style, but today was different. He could smell the scent of vengeance—not directed at Lei Chen, but at the fugitive demon still at large.

"Begin!"

The targets suddenly activated, swaying unpredictably from side to side. Li Rui moved with swift precision, the gunfire merging into a continuous roar. Through the drifting smoke, he half-imagined he saw the killer fleeing down a narrow alley, a red silk scarf fluttering in the wind. Every shot carried a suppressed fury, and the shrill scream of bullets tearing through the air set his blood racing.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

As the final shot echoed away, Li Rui's shirt was drenched in sweat. He removed his goggles and looked at the scoreboard: 98 rings.

Lei Chen let out a whistle. "Not bad, Old Li. I didn't expect a forensic pathologist to have such impressive marksmanship." He held up his own scoreboard: 99 rings.

Li Rui's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Just one ring short—it was always like this. He thought back over the days of the manhunt, always arriving a step behind.

"Another round?" Lei Chen raised an eyebrow.

Li Rui shook his head, turned, and walked over to Xiao Wang. "Pay attention. The key to moving targets is..."

His voice suddenly trailed off as he caught the gleam in Xiao Wang's eyes—a look of desperate yearning for justice, an unyielding obsession with the truth.

In that instant, something clicked in Li Rui's mind. He lowered his gun and patted Xiao Wang's shoulder. "Remember, we aren't competing against each other; we're racing against time. Every second we shave off might mean another life saved."

The lights of the shooting range cast long shadows that gradually merged with the photographs of senior officers on the wall—veterans who had cracked major cases in the past. Not far away, Lei Chen stood watching, the smile on his lips softening. He knew that the Li Rui who had been obsessed with winning and losing had finally rediscovered his original purpose.

Gunshots echoed in succession across the shooting range, the gunsmoke lingering in the afternoon sunlight. Li Rui stood behind Xiao Wang, correcting his shooting stance hand by hand. "Relax your shoulders, keep your breathing steady."

"Bang!" The bullet struck the dead center of the bullseye. Xiao Wang turned around excitedly, only to find Li Rui's brow furrowed in concentration.

"Not enough," Li Rui shook his head. "A killer won't stand still like a target waiting for you."

Before the words had even faded, Lei Chen pressed the remote control. The targets abruptly started moving again, swaying erratically. Xiao Wang fired three shots in rapid succession, missing every single one. Sweat trickled down his temples, dampening his collar.

"Relax," Wen Rou handed over a bottle of water. "Imagine you are pursuing the murderer. He will turn corners in alleys, he will duck and weave through crowds..."

"Just like this!" Han Junshan's voice rang out abruptly. He had appeared in the shooting range unnoticed, holding a Glock in his hand. With swift movements, he wove between the three moving targets, the gunfire erupting in a continuous chain.

When the smoke cleared, bullet holes were punched cleanly through the dead center of all three targets.

The four of them gathered around the rest area. Lei Chen reported, "Chief Han, although we extracted the DNA, the suspect is lost in a vast sea of people, mingling among the crowds, and we haven't been able to isolate him yet. Still, logging the killer's DNA profile into the records once more undoubtedly pushes our investigation one step further."

Han Junshan unfolded a map. "The killer has now drifted into Dengzhou, committing murders in Zhaoqiao Village and Bainanzhuang one after another. We've been led around by the nose, constantly trailing a step behind him."

Li Rui's finger traced a line across the map. "Chief Han, his previous trajectory went all the way south, then east, and then north. So the next step..."

"West!" Han Junshan stated.

"Exactly. He's moving in a circle; his operational radius is just this large," Li Rui said. "He uses the mountainous terrain at the borders of counties and districts as cover, drifting from place to place. It looks random, but it stays within a certain perimeter."

Xiao Wang spoke up suddenly, "Do you think his next step will be to return to Xiping?"

Han Junshan nodded approvingly. "Good. You're improving."

As the sun set, the lights of the shooting range flickered on one by one. The four of them stood at the firing positions, their muzzles aimed at the moving targets.

At this moment, they were more than just colleagues; they were comrades fighting back-to-back. The gunfire reverberated through the twilight, sounding like a path being cleared for justice.

The police cruiser sped through the night, its wipers sweeping rhythmically to clear the curtain of rain from the windshield. Han Junshan kept his hands on the steering wheel, his peripheral vision catching Li Rui in the passenger seat unconsciously rubbing his fingers together.

"Still thinking about that single ring?" Han Junshan's voice blended with the sound of the rain. "There's no shame in losing to Lei Chen by one ring."

Li Rui's fingers froze, his gaze still fixed on the streetlights flashing past outside the window. "Just one ring... It's just like these past few days, always falling short by a single step..."

"You're too obsessed with winning and losing." Han Junshan gently turned the steering wheel, guiding the cruiser onto the highway. "I remember when I first became a criminal investigator, I was always dreaming of cracking major cases and winning great merits. Until one time..."

His voice dropped lower, and the rhythm of the wipers seemed to slow down in unison. "I was chasing a robber, and just as I was about to grab him, he jumped over the overpass. That was the moment I realized we aren't fighting criminals; we're racing against time."

Li Rui turned his head and saw the fierce scar on Han Junshan's profile flickering in the dim light of the streetlamps—a memento left behind during an anti-narcotics operation twenty years ago.

"Chief Han..."

"Let me finish," Han Junshan interrupted him. "I arranged for you to mentor a rookie because I saw myself in you when I was young. But you must remember, a police officer is never a lone wolf; we are a team."

"Although your father and I never worked together, I know he was a good cop," Han Junshan said softly. "Some things—it's time to let them go."

The rain grew heavier, and the wipers thrashed wildly. Li Rui's phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from Wen Rou: A civilian report came in. Someone resembling the suspect purchased a four-pound octagonal hammer with a handle over a foot long in Xiping County town, along with gloves, a flashlight, shoes, and a small knife.

Han Junshan glanced at the rearview mirror, a slight smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "Look, that is the power of a team. You lost to Lei Chen by a ring, but you've won a breakthrough for the entire case."

The police cruiser passed through the toll booth, and the silhouette of Dengzhou loomed faintly through the curtain of rain. Li Rui clenched his fists, the scar on his wrist gleaming faintly under the streetlights.

This time, he was no longer a lone man chasing the fleeing shadow of a demon, but a single strand in a vast net woven by an entire team.

"Ring, ring, ring," Li Rui's phone rang out.

"Hello?"

"Old Li, we've got a pulse on that guy," Lei Chen's excited voice came through the receiver. "An old man named Hu in Maozhuang Village, Xiping County, reported it. A thief broke into his house last night, stole a few thousand yuan in cash, a savings passbook worth fifty thousand yuan, and conveniently took his rechargeable flashlight as well."

Li Rui analyzed, "Since this theft went off without a hitch, the killer's desires haven't been satisfied yet. He'll feel this job was too smooth, too unchallenging, and he'll definitely continue looking for new targets."

"Right, that's our analysis too. So we've tightened security across the nearby villages. We're setting an inescapable trap just waiting for him to walk right into it!"