Legendary FBI Detective
Chapter 469: Four Explosions, Jumping Down the Elevator Shaft

Chapter 469: Chapter 469: Four Explosions, Jumping Down the Elevator Shaft

Boom—

The SWAT members had just sealed off two staircases and an elevator inside the building when a deafening explosion suddenly erupted, causing the entire building to seem to shake.

"Are there any casualties?"

Luo An quickly inquired about the condition of the SWAT members, then swiftly pressed the communicator, asking:

"Mona, where did the explosion occur?

Sniper, what’s the situation now?"

"The explosion occurred on the fourth floor where the target is located!"

Mona, who stayed outside to monitor surveillance footage, furrowed her brows and quickly typed on the keyboard as she responded:

"The target somehow found out about our operation!"

Right after Mona finished speaking, another sniper lying on top of a different building continued:

"The explosion originated from the target’s bedroom!

The scene is now obscured by smoke and debris, I can’t see what’s happening inside!"

Luo An muttered a curse under his breath, then loudly ordered:

"Completely lock down this building! The rest of the personnel, quickly head upstairs to search for the target!"

"Understood!"

A collective response came from the agents, as the SWAT agents quickly split up into pairs to execute Luo An’s commands, and the Special Investigation Team’s agents also paired up to start searching for the target.

Luo An teamed up with Chenier, and the two, armed, rapidly ran upstairs along the staircase. When they reached the third floor, Luo An suddenly grabbed Chenier and a few SWAT members, and they began to search the rooms on the third floor together.

The layout of this building resembled the layout of certain university dormitories in the East, with a long corridor inside and residential or family rooms on the north and south sides.

Chenier, holding her weapon, stayed close to Luo An carefully examining the surroundings, and whispered:

"Luo An, do you think Ernest would have come to the third floor?"

"It’s possible."

Hearing Chenier’s question, Luo An whispered back:

"Ernest is an assassin, this guy wouldn’t just kill himself. The explosion could either be an attempt to destroy evidence or a diversion from us."

Before this operation, Luo An had already obtained the building’s layout, and noticed there was no suitable escape route from the rooftop, unless one dared to paraglide from under eight stories high.

There were SWAT members waiting in the streets, ready to shoot if anyone dared such a jump.

Since that route was impractical, Luo An thought like an assassin and deduced that the best strategy would be to detonate a bomb to distract the SWAT members and rapidly run to the third or second floor, then find a way to escape.

But since SWAT was already on the second floor, the only place he could go was the third floor.

After listening to the explanation, Chenier nodded slightly, Luo An’s reasoning made sense, but there was still one issue—they couldn’t confirm whether people in the many households on the third floor were at work or resting at home.

Thinking of this, Chenier furrowed her brows and asked in a low voice:

"Luo An, should we..."

Chenier’s words were cut off as the pre-warning sensation from the danger detection drug made Luo An’s expression change drastically. He quickly grabbed Chenier by the arm and pulled her to the ground, loudly shouting to the nearby SWAT members:

"Get down!"

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

The next second, four ear-splitting explosions violently erupted not far from where Luo An and the others were, instantaneously blowing the doors off three rooms apart, and orange-red flames along with black-gray smoke engulfed several SWAT members.

Fortunately, Luo An’s timely warning and the quick reactions of the SWAT members, who lay on the ground, meant they only suffered singes on their clothing from the stray flames, and one member had their helmet-clad head hit by a piece of wood, but otherwise, they were all largely unharmed.

"Mother Fu-ker!"

Chenier quickly climbed up from the ground and, seeing the chaotic scene in front of her, cursed loudly:

"What a lunatic!"

Turning her head to look at Luo An, she saw him rapidly run to another room that wasn’t destroyed by the bomb, kick open the door, and swiftly charge into the house.

Chenier immediately followed and rushed into the room, only to find Luo An standing at the bathroom door, with the wall behind the toilet now blasted open, revealing a dark hole.

Seeing the sparks splashing intermittently from the wires around the hole in the wall, Chenier quickly realized what had happened and looked at Luo An with admiration, analyzing:

"The fourth explosion just now was here, this is the elevator shaft, did Ernest plan to escape to the first floor through the elevator shaft?!"

"No, he must have gone to the building’s underground parking garage."

Luo An shook his head and casually tore off a bedsheet from the bed in the room’s bedroom.

Under the puzzled looks of the SWAT team members and Chenier, Luo An wrapped the bedsheet while pressing the communicator, shouting loud:

"Winslow, Reesi, hurry up and take people to the underground parking garage!

Mona, check the surveillance video of the underground parking garage, is there anything unusual?"

Winslow and Reesi quickly responded affirmatively and led people towards the underground garage, with Mona rapidly typing on the keyboard, and then urgently saying:

"There are two surveillance cameras in the underground parking garage, they have just been smashed!"

"OK, I got it."

With the bedsheet now completely wrapped, Luo An turned to the SWAT team members behind him, saying:

"You guys hurry up to the underground parking garage, remember to take the stairs."

Several SWAT team members nodded, quickly turned around, and prepared to leave, while Chenier frowned slightly:

"What about us?"

"Hold on to me."

Luo An grinned, suddenly extended his left hand to wrap around Chenier’s waist, and with his right hand, he vigorously swung the made bedsheet, tying it around the steel cable in the elevator shaft, and directly leaped down into the dark hole with Chenier.

"Holy shit!"

"Jesus!"

Several SWAT team members, faced with shock, looked at each other and uttered a few federal-style exclamatory swear words, hastening to leave the room and run down the stairs to the underground parking garage.

Inside the dark elevator shaft, Chenier clung to Luo An with a tense expression, realizing she had greatly underestimated Luo An’s style and courage.

The position where the elevator stopped in the underground parking garage, and the opened elevator top cover, all proved Luo An’s guess was right; Ernest had indeed escaped through the underground parking garage.

The rope made out of the bedsheet was of average quality and was quickly cut into two segments by the elevator cable.

But Luo An remained calm because, the moment the bedsheet was cut, he had just brought Chenier to the top of the elevator.

Luo An gently stepped on the top cover of the elevator, threw the broken bedsheet aside, released his hand from around Chenier’s waist, sent her into the elevator interior, and then jumped into the elevator himself, stepping out of the elevator doors into the underground parking garage and casually adjusting his hair tousled by the descending breeze.

"..."

Seeing this, Chenier’s mind was in chaos, she opened her mouth not knowing what to say, paused for a moment, then took a deep breath, held her weapon, and carefully observed the surroundings.

At this moment, Winslow, Reesi, and several SWAT team members also burst out from another nearby stairwell entrance.

They didn’t hesitate and immediately splintered off with weapons ready, while Winslow shouted loudly:

"Carefully check beneath the cars, the trunks! The target person must be here!"

Holding weaponry and moving quickly forward, Winslow saw Luo An and Chenier and was momentarily stunned.

The SWAT team members who followed Luo An hadn’t yet reached the underground parking garage; how could Luo An and Chenier have gotten down so quickly?

"Did you take the elevator down?"

Chenier rolled her eyes and shook her head:

"No, jumped down through the elevator shaft."

Winslow: "..."

Without a meeting, Winslow and Chenier exchanged peculiar glances, Luo An quickly walked to the area mentioned by Mona, where the surveillance video was smashed, and carefully surveyed the surroundings. Suddenly pressing the communicator, he asked:

"Mona, when is the next subway train arriving at the nearby station?"

"In about 6 minutes."

Mona quickly tapped a few keys on her keyboard and promptly answered Luo An’s question, followed by questioning:

"Why do you ask?"

Winslow and Chenier also gathered around, as Luo An pointed to a mesh drainage vent not far from the wall below, coldly saying:

"It’s likely, Ernest has escaped toward the subway station through here!"