Chapter 1630: Chapter 1630: This Night Was Destined to Be Turbulent

This night was bound to be restless.

With Capital City, Shenzhen, and Shanghai taking the lead, multiple cities launched joint operations. The armed police force coordinated with local public security agencies to begin a netting operation against the XX Group’s trafficking of cultural relics.

Checkpoints have been set up at all exits from Capital City, and vehicles are being thoroughly inspected.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Qingxiang felt that his old classmate wasn’t giving him a way out, so he decided to drag him down to hell as well.

He was supposed to leave Capital City in the afternoon, but he delayed his departure because he wanted to take his lover with him.

By the time he wanted to leave the city, it was too late, so he decided to go for a big score.

He sent his lover to a safe place and called two brothers before heading straight to the courtyard where Luo Qiao and the others lived.

Last time he came with his wife, he had already circled the area, so he was quite familiar with the terrain.

As soon as they approached, the dog tied up in the garden started barking.

Luo Qiao gently entered the room connected to her son and daughter’s room, woke them up, and got them to change into clothes and shoes convenient for action.

After listening to the commotion, it seemed those people were already in the front yard. Luo Qiao instructed the children to stay in the backyard as she worried about Elder Rong and Rong Daniang and planned to check up on the situation in the front yard.

However, the children insisted on not letting her face danger alone and demanded to act together, leaving her no choice. The group quietly made their way outside towards the front yard.

Luo Qiao, having good eyesight, saw three individuals pouring gasoline into the yard. This was intolerable beyond measure.

So, Luo Qiao assigned targets for each of the children: Yanyan and Yueyue would handle one, the three sons would tackle another, and Luo Qiao herself would take on one. Today, it seemed they were fixated on the number three.

As Luo Qiao made the first charge, the children swiftly followed, confronting the individuals still pouring gasoline.

These guys were less resilient than those encountered in the afternoon and were quickly subdued. Unexpectedly, each of them had matchboxes in their pockets; one of them attempted to strike but was thwarted by Luo Qiao’s swift kick.

Another lit a match, which was extinguished immediately by the eldest son. The other two sons directly snatched the match from the man’s hand and searched his body thoroughly, ensuring there were no more ignition tools before feeling relieved.

Finally, only Zhou Qingxiang was left. Holding a matchbox, he laughed and said, "I wonder what Lu Yichen’s mood would be knowing you all perished in flames. It must be unbearable."

After that, he laughed manically and struck a match, saying, "Since there’s no escape, taking you all along is not bad."

Luo Qiao kept her eyes on the match in his hand and ordered the children, "Take Grandpa Rong and Grandma Rong to the backyard. This is an order."

The children were unwilling to leave, prompting Luo Qiao to snap, "Go to the backyard now."

As the children turned to rouse the elderly couple in the Rong Family’s house, Luo Qiao dashed forward, snatched the flaming match into her space, and before Zhou Qingxiang could react, seized the matchbox from his hands and immediately dislocated both his arms and proceeded to search him.

Seeing he had two more boxes of matches, she collected them all.

Then she unleashed a brutal beating on him, a truly savage act, and if murder weren’t illegal, she would have considered killing him then and there.

He was beaten so severely he couldn’t move, suffering multiple fractures, while the other two received supplementary beatings until she felt slightly better.

The commotion had long alerted the surrounding residents, with someone having reported the incident to the police even before Luo Qiao could, so she put down the phone, and before long, public security officers arrived.

After checking the courtyard, taking photos, and keeping evidence, they escorted the individuals to the gate and had people guard them.

Luo Qiao learned from the children that the elderly couple was drugged unconscious and couldn’t be awakened.

The police officers from the station noted this information.

Initially, she considered not waking them up, thinking it might be best for them not to know what had happened, to avoid shock; come morning, the courtyard would be tidied up.

However, thinking further that family members or neighbors might inquire the next day, she decided to break the antidote at their noses, and before long, the elderly couple woke up. Seeing the newcomers in the room, it took them a while to react: "What’s going on?"

The children helped them up and explained everything, all prepared to comfort them, yet instead, they pitied Luo Qiao and the children, eyes reddening, and spent a long time fussing over them.

The neighbors helped wash the yard several times with detergent until the smell subsided before cleaning up thoroughly.

Luo Qiao repeatedly expressed gratitude and gifted each family a bag of strawberries as thanks.

A neighbor remarked, "There’s really no need to thank us. We didn’t do much. As public security’s family, it’s not been easy for you. Without your intervention tonight, this alley might’ve been lost; we should be thanking you."

It was then that Luo Qiao realized that before entering the courtyard, those individuals had already spilled quite a bit of gasoline in the alley. Even a spark could have jeopardized the entire alley.

The nearby fire brigade received the task and brought professional equipment and solvents to clean all the walls and floors in the alley several times. Even at Luo Qiao’s courtyard, they meticulously helped to clean again, guaranteeing safety after testing with instruments, then concluded their operation.