The Beautiful County Magistrate
Chapter 241: Martial Law Throughout the City, Comprehensive Manhunt!

Chapter 241: Chapter 241: Martial Law Throughout the City, Comprehensive Manhunt!

Xu Qianli stumbled over a stone and fell to the ground, ending up on the ground alongside Lan Jiao.

Without thinking about anything else, he scrambled up and pulled Lan Jiao behind a tree for cover.

Two gunshots rang out, startling many people in the County Committee Organization Department. They stepped out of their offices to look around, mostly unaware of what had specifically occurred; they only saw Xu Qianli and a beautiful woman clumsily hiding behind a centuries-old tree in the courtyard.

Outside the County Committee Organization Department, an ordinary white car was parked.

The car window slowly rolled up and then it drove off into the distance.

Having narrowly escaped death, Xu Qianli, still shaken, quickly made a phone call to Wu Kai, reporting the situation and his recent encounter.

Upon learning that Xu Qianli had been shot at and nearly killed, Wu Kai swiftly took action. He informed the SWAT team to deploy immediately while he and over a dozen detectives rushed to the scene.

The County Public Security Bureau wasn’t far from the County Committee Organization Department; it took just a few minutes for three police cars to arrive.

Wu Kai, with a team of over a dozen detectives armed with guns, got out of the cars and searched the area for the gunman, but there was no trace left.

Once it was deemed safe, Wu Kai met with Xu Qianli in the courtyard, inquired in detail about the incident, examined the bullet holes in the tree, and confirmed it was undoubtedly a shooting incident.

A shooting was already a major case in itself, let alone when the target was Xu Qianli, who had just been appointed the Party Secretary of Qingshan Town. This was a particularly malicious case.

Not only the County Public Security Bureau, but also the County Committee and County Government among other departments were alerted.

Ge Changhong, Lan Qianrong, and others arrived promptly.

Ge Changhong immediately gave the order for all SWAT members to deploy, block off all roads in Jiang City, and carry out a thorough search with loaded guns for the gunman.

Wu Kai had already found the license plate of the car used by the gunman from surveillance cameras, and through police and traffic cameras, tracked the gunman to an auto repair shop on the east side of the city after an attempted murder.

Once the gunman’s location was locked down, hundreds of SWAT members swiftly moved in for the arrest.

Xu Qianli was urgently sent to the hospital.

Though it was just a graze, he was treated with utmost seriousness, as it involved a gunshot wound and couldn’t be taken lightly.

Liu Qian, who was on duty at the hospital, was terrified when she learned that Xu Qianli had been injured by a gunshot. She hurried over, ready to burst into tears, but to her relief, she found Xu Qianli vibrant and lively, merely covering his shoulder with a cloth.

Once the wound was cleaned and bandaged, Liu Qian couldn’t help but scold him.

"You know, most people are happy when they become officials, but look at you—first, you were attacked with a knife a while ago, and now you’ve been shot."

"Look at your wound, just a scrape from a bullet and it’s this bad. If the bullet had been a few centimeters off, your head would have exploded!"

"You’ve offended too many people recently. Listen to my advice, don’t keep making enemies."

"This time you were lucky, but what about next time? What if someone kills you next time, what about me, what about Meixin?"

As she spoke, Liu Qian started to cry.

Xu Qianli reached out, pulled Liu Qian into his arms, and gently kissed her, soothingly saying, "I’ll listen to you, I’ll try to offend fewer people from now on. Let’s not talk about that now. Haven’t seen you in a few days, did you miss me?"

"Pah, who missed you!"

"You’ve been running off to the city these past few days, who knows who you’ve been having fun with; why would I miss you?"

"Hmm, don’t be dishonest, you’re injured, don’t move your hand around now!"

"Annoying, not here, not there either."

The more she spoke, the more bashful Liu Qian became. She quickly held Xu Qianli’s hand.

Staring straight into Xu Qianli’s eyes, Liu Qian looked at the man she loved. Not having seen him for several days, she missed him terribly, practically to death.

Looking at his shoulder, she couldn’t help but feel heartache again.

"Xu Qianli, speaking of which, who have you really angered lately? Why would someone want to kill you?"

"Could it be because you were going to Qingshan Town to become the Party Secretary, and that upset some people?"

Xu Qianli said, "I have indeed offended quite a few people recently; many would probably want me dead. But regarding my assignment to Qingshan Town, it shouldn’t warrant someone hiring a killer. It seems that the mastermind has other reasons."

Who exactly wanted to kill him? Several figures quickly came to mind—Lu Xingtian, Feng Jiang, and Zhang Kuisan. They were probably the ones who hated him the most.

But who exactly it was, Xu Qianli wasn’t sure. To figure it out, he had to rely on whether Wu Kai could quickly catch the gunman.

Meanwhile, hundreds of SWAT officers and a group of detectives led by Wu Kai had surrounded the auto repair shop.

After a thorough search, not a person or even a trace was found—the gunman had already escaped.

Unable to capture the gunman, they had to cast a wide net across the whole city, blocking all roads and inspecting all vehicles, and checking all entertainment venues and hotels in the county.

Since the gunman was armed, Ge Changhong also coordinated with the military to dispatch armed police to the scene.

During the search, a breakthrough was made when a police dog detected the smell of gunpowder on a small car trying to leave Jiang City. The dog barked furiously, alerting the SWAT and armed police, who swiftly carried out an arrest operation, encountering resistance, and a firefight ensued.

The SWAT and armed police were unharmed and successfully killed two gunmen and captured another alive.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that all three were professional killers hired by someone from Zhongzhou City known as Qingzi for five million to specifically come from out of town to kill Xu Qianli.

Upon learning about the situation, Ge Changhong immediately communicated with the City Committee and City Government, requesting the city police force to capture Qingzi.

When the city police went to Qingzi’s residence, he was already gone, having fled in advance.

The city police immediately began their search, but they were not confident they could catch him quickly.

This information was quickly passed to Xu Qianli, who immediately made a phone call to Sister Wen.

Sister Wen was a significant figure in Zhongzhou City’s underworld, with extensive connections. If the city police couldn’t catch someone, perhaps she could.

After Xu Qianli explained the situation in detail, Sister Wen, furious that her man had almost been killed, immediately agreed to take over the matter.

Two hours later, as it had just gotten dark, several cars arrived at Jiang City County Hospital, and the arrivals were Sister Wen and her group.

She brought a dozen subordinates, escorting a man bound tightly and blindfolded, rushed out of the car, and hurried to Xu Qianli’s hospital room.

Two subordinates pushed the bound man to the floor to kneel and tore off his mask—it was Qingzi, the one who had hired the killers.

Upon confirming his identity, Xu Qianli’s gaze turned exceptionally cold. He said sternly, "Speak, who hired you to kill me?"

"The rules of the underworld: take money to eliminate disasters for others. You think I would betray my employer? Dream on!"

Though captured, Qingzi was stubborn.

Xu Qianli’s smile grew broader, "A real man, huh? Don’t want to speak? Bring the knife, and we’ll cut off his fingers one by one!"