Miss Beautiful C.E.O and her system

The second event occurred on the outskirts of Province N, far to the east. The police station on the provincial border received an alert about a wanted manslaughter suspect escaping from the police and heading toward Province N.

The two police forces from different provinces needed to work together. The neighboring province requested Province N's assistance.

Departments communicated with one another, and the Police Chief called Yang Qingyue to notify her of the situation.

Respective levels built rapport to avoid any displeasure between the two forces. The nearest police station dispatched vehicles for pursuit.

Athena intercepted these messages and informed the nearby Spirit Fox patrol unit. She didn't issue an order, as Yang Qingyue hadn't said much.

It was up to their free will. Bored, none of the Spirit Fox operators refused. The girls responded, and two SUVs raced toward the suspects' location.

A few minutes later, on a highway that cut through hills and treelines, winding through several turns, a small police sedan was pursuing a gray Ford van.

Sirens wailed, echoing across the curves and breaking the tranquil silence of nature. A few frightened vehicles quickly pulled over.

Although this highway was no longer a major road after the construction of a new interstate route, some drivers still enjoyed weaving through the bends while sightseeing a flowing stream and several ponds formed over time by water erosion.

Ten or more kilometers behind, the police force that had requested reinforcements sped up in pursuit.

They had received the information too late, allowing the van to escape the tight blockades.

The police officers might not have even been aware of some off-road paths that led elsewhere, and the suspect driver took advantage of this knowledge.

Upon receiving the notification, Yang Qingyue dispatched a new helicopter and its crew.

Once the air asset had its eyes on the suspect, the police would gain the upper hand. Since the CCTV network was still under construction, it was unavailable, particularly in areas like the one the suspect was in, where monitoring was deemed nonexistent.

Nonetheless, with Ling Qingyu's financial power, the entire Province N would soon be under the watchful lens of CCTVs. No location would be hidden.

Even remote areas would be scanned by bypassing patrol drones overhead: both fixed-wing and quadcopters, each serving a distinct purpose.

With automatic recharging and regular maintenance schedules, human intervention was rarely required. Ling Qingyu's new company intended to serve as a contractor to undertake repairs and maintenance under the provincial police department's supervision.

For now, there were still drones available to help track the suspect's location until the police helicopter took over, allowing the drones to return to their original patrol missions.

Of course, for Spirit Fox and Athena, satellites could easily track a moving vehicle.

The police sedan revved its engine, maintaining its pursuit. The intercom blared, ordering the suspect to pull over and surrender.

The van ignored the command and tried to accelerate. However, it was never going to outrun a sedan in terms of speed, given the negligible difference in engine power—even if the police sedan was an old model from the 1990s.

When the police sedan attempted to overtake from the side—a maneuver frowned upon in tactical communities—the suspect driver reacted by swerving into the vehicle to collide.

The sedan braked, avoiding the collision, and tried again as if warning the driver up close might force him to surrender.

Soon, the officers inside the sedan saw a hand stretch out from the van's driver-side window, holding something.

A spark suddenly lit up on the hood of the sedan, triggering panic. The vehicle swerved slightly, slowed down, and regained control after the initial fright.

"What was that? Did you see what he's holding?"

"No idea. Is it a gun?"

"Not sure. Just keep tailing him. Don't give him a target to shoot."
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"You don't need to tell me."

Ping... Pang!

"???"

The fellow officers turned to the driver with questioning looks.

The driver chuckled nervously and excused himself. "My hands slipped. Don't make me talk!"

Crack!

A loud noise accompanied a visible crack on the windshield, eliciting a scream from the policewoman in the back seat. The others followed suit, startled by her fear.

"Well, at least now we know what he's holding. Good news," one officer remarked.

The group stared at the projectile stuck in the glass—a nail. Firing a nail with such speed and force could only mean a modified nail gun.

The officer reported over the radio:

"C201 to Dispatch. Suspect is armed and dangerous. Appears to possess a projectile weapon, possibly a modified nail gun. SWAT intervention may be needed. Any ETA on reinforcements?"

Additional sirens wailed in the distance, bringing relief to the lone officers. They were merely from a township-level department, called in because they were the nearest.

It looked like their colleagues had arrived.

When they glanced at the new arrivals, two black police SUVs approached, joining their pursuit.

…

Meanwhile, Yang Qingyue hung up the call and agreed to provide the necessary assistance. Cai Ning brought live video feeds from the control center to her tablet.

The new control center could monitor through Ling Qingyu's project by using drones, despite inactive CCTVs. Additionally, there were still old ones functioning to fill in the gaps.

Both already had sight of Spirit Fox right behind and smiled helplessly. These girls were like dogs sniffing around.

They had yet to request Spirit Fox's involvement, but the unit had already acted. At the same time, Cai Ning and Yang Qingyue lamented the weaknesses in their internal police communications—like a sieve compared to the generals under Ling Qingyu.

"Let them take over and end the chase before it gets close to an urban area," Yang Qingyue ordered.

Cai Ning nodded and left. Honestly, neither chief was keen on sending additional reinforcements.

Dispatching a helicopter and coordinating with local departments to assist was already more than enough to catch a suspected killer charged with manslaughter and multiple homicides.

When they saw Spirit Fox intervening, they knew the case was as good as solved. However, neither of them yet knew that the suspect was wielding an improvised nail gun.

Once Cai Ning delivered the orders, the two black SUVs roared to life and charged forward. While the police sedan struggled to keep up with the van, the SUVs steadily closed the gap.

There was no hurry, no impatience. Despite the curves that slowed the vehicles down, the SUVs maintained their peak possible speed.

Compared to an averagely trained police driver, Spirit Fox operatives were tactical experts, trained and honed to the maximum level. Instructor Tang had revealed secrets and techniques that made them surpass both special police units and the military.

Not to mention, they had no fear of bullets, especially since the suspect only wielded a nail gun. There was no real threat.

The suspect driver panicked, unable to shake off the pursuit, while the police sedan relaxed and trailed behind, waiting for their colleagues to take the lead.

Though they couldn't see inside the SUVs as they passed by, the officers could guess what kind of operatives they were dealing with.

For now, the chase was in Province N's hands. The provincial force that had requested assistance was still too far away.

They also grumbled about how the suspect had managed to escape from the other police force in the first place.

Fortunately, the suspect wasn't from Province N—if he were, they wouldn't be dealing with nails but real, deadly bullets.

After all, the notorious reputation of Province N meant that surrounding provinces worked strictly to contain the spread of illegal guns and smuggling.

Unlike in Province N, most dangerous criminals in other areas resorted to improvised firearms or nail guns. As such, police outside of Province N rarely faced true firearm threats.

A Spirit Fox operator initiated a TPAC maneuver. A PIT maneuver was too dangerous around so many turns due to the risk of overturning and crashes.

The moment a rare opportunity arose, the first SUV flanked the van, followed closely by the second one. The first SUV blocked the van and braked gradually, boxing it in.

The sedan understood the tactic and joined in to help. A successful boxing-in maneuver brought the chase to an end.

However, the suspect had other plans. In a move that defied imagination, the van veered off the road and crashed into a pond, slowly sinking into the water.

Spirit Fox operatives and the police officers were momentarily caught off-guard.

This was madness—suicide!

The three vehicles screeched to a halt. Everyone dismounted.

The officers stood at a loss while the Spirit Fox operatives were momentarily dumbfounded. Then they shed their heavy gear—vests, helmets—and dove into the water.

Three splashes.

One operator remained onshore, keeping watch over the equipment, while the other three swam swiftly toward the sinking van.

Even as the glass began to submerge, by the time the operatives reached the van, only the hood remained visible.

None of them worried about drowning or other dangers—they had been ruthlessly trained.

The lake near Ling Qingyu's residence wasn't just for show under Tang Ziyi's watchful eye. The operatives had been forced to practice swimming both indoors and outdoors, including under simulated strong currents. God knew where Tang Ziyi had acquired the equipment.

Additionally, their tactical gear included small portable life jackets hidden within their specialized clothing and Kevlar vests. Activating the mechanism deployed the jackets instantly.

The three operators submerged, switching on flashlights embedded in the bases of their expandable batons.

The van's windows were closed, and the doors were locked. Perhaps the depth of the pond wasn't sufficient to create enough pressure to crack the glass yet.