Chapter 324: Abandon J? Or Kill Su Ming?

Are you confident you can escape capture?

Professor’s question made K narrow his eyes slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Looking at the man across the table, who was elegantly wiping his mouth without the slightest hint of urgency, K spoke slowly, his expression filled with unprecedented confidence.

“Of course I’m confident.”

“If it were in the more liberal United States, I’d have far more methods at my disposal. At the very least, I wouldn’t be as constrained as I was in the Dragon Country.”

“Besides, the United States doesn’t regulate firearms as strictly as people think. There are plenty of reckless gang members out there. As long as you offer them the right incentives and some cash, I believe…”

“Eliminating a police officer wouldn’t be that difficult. It wouldn’t cause nearly the same uproar as it would in the Dragon Country.”

“The United States, with all its freedom, is a paradise for criminals.”

After hearing K’s words, Professor didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he gracefully finished wiping his mouth, placed the napkin on the table, and then asked in a weathered, thoughtful tone.

“K.”

“Have you ever considered something?”

“A more relaxed environment doesn’t just benefit you. It also benefits those Dragon Country police officers.”

“From your previous encounters, I imagine you must have a very deep impression of that officer named Su Ming.”

“If he comes to the United States, the constraints that once bound him—concerns over civilian safety, property, and public opinion—will completely vanish.”

“At that point, his pursuit will only grow more ruthless, his tracking more vicious. Not to mention his already exceptional deductive skills.”

“Under those circumstances, are you truly confident you can evade his pursuit?”

Those words threw K into silence.

Scenes from before flashed through his mind—how Su Ming had unearthed clues bit by bit, until the entire dam burst open.

Every time he managed to patch one leak, a new and even more dangerous one would appear.

And that was under the restrictive environment of the Dragon Country.

If it were in the United States instead…

If a leak appeared and couldn’t be sealed in time, would he have the chance to eliminate the root of the problem directly? If he could take out the lead dog, everything might return to calm.

At that moment, K began to carefully recall the process of his failure in the Dragon Country.

He realized that, aside from the final moment when Priest was forced into a corner and attempted to kill Su Ming out of desperation, they had never seriously considered taking out Su Ming before.

Back then, he had been worried that killing a Special Task Force officer would trigger the most terrifying and extreme manhunt imaginable, collapsing the drug trafficking network he had spent years building.

Killing a Special Task Force officer would likely escalate the case from criminal investigation to counterterrorism.

It was precisely this fear and the high cost of failure that had kept him on the defensive, curled up in a passive stance, doing everything he could to preserve the drug trafficking chain.

But in the end… his constant retreat and restraint only led to even worse consequences. The drug trafficking organization he had spent years building collapsed faster than he could have imagined.

So what if, from the very beginning, he had targeted Su Ming directly instead of choosing to back down?

After all…

While it looked like his organization was falling apart piece by piece, the real issue had always been Su Ming.

For years before that, without Su Ming, the police hadn’t even discovered the existence of his organization.

Let alone dig so deep in such a short time that, aside from himself, every member had either been captured or left as a corpse.

And now, the impossible had happened.

If he had eliminated the problem at its source, how could he have lost so badly?

After sorting through his thoughts, K looked seriously at Professor, still brimming with confidence as he spoke.

“Teacher.”

“Honestly, during those few days, the only real variable was Su Ming. The other officers were no different from before—still just guard dogs that had lost their sense of smell.”

“So I believe… if we move the operation from the Dragon Country to the United States, it’ll only get easier, not harder.”

“As long as we take out the lead dog in advance, the rest will immediately lose their sharp senses and start running around like headless flies.”

“In the free United States, the death of a single police officer isn’t considered a big deal.”

“Besides, the United States is our home turf. From every angle, it’s clearly more advantageous for us.”

“Back in the Dragon Country, the restraints on me were far heavier than the ones on him. Freedom will only work in my favor, not his.”

At that moment.

After hearing K’s confident words, Professor’s expression remained calm. He looked seriously at K and said,

“I hope… you can carry that confidence into the confrontation a few days from now.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the Dragon Country police, led by Su Ming, will likely figure out very soon that you’ve fled to the United States.”

“To them, not uprooting the most critical core of the drug trafficking organization would be a complete failure. They’re afraid you’ll come back even more viciously than before.”

“As long as there’s even the slightest chance, they’ll do whatever it takes to capture you and bring you to justice. Even if you’ve already escaped to the other side of the United States, there’s a high chance they’ll attempt a cross-border arrest.”

“Normally, of course, such cross-border operations wouldn’t be authorized.”

“But K, I think you already know… what special methods they might use to legally come here and carry out that arrest.”

“Lan Cai’er’s Secret.” K, sharp as ever, immediately answered the Professor’s question, then continued.

“If they go through official diplomatic channels,”

“Dragon Country police wouldn’t have the slightest chance of coming to the United States to conduct cross-border law enforcement. The relationship between the two countries isn’t nearly as close as people think.”

“And there’s another reason… the United States isn’t some pushover like Laos or Myanmar that can be manipulated at will.”

“But once they know about Lan Cai’er’s Secret, the Dragon Country police can use that to reach out to the Morgan Family and try to secure the possibility of a cross-border operation.”

“As one of the most powerful conglomerates in the United States, the Morgan Group has long had terrifying influence over both the political and civilian spheres. You could even say they control half the election.”

“So, as long as the Morgan Group gives the nod, those Dragon Country cops will have all the justification and backing they need to come to the U.S. and carry out their investigation.”

“Of course, even without a justification, the Morgan Group wouldn’t care. With their status, they don’t need to explain to the public why they brought in foreign police to investigate.”

“If we want to stop those Dragon Country officers from coming, there’s probably only one real option—hand over J in advance, and let that old man from the Morgan Family cool off a bit.”

“Even though they’ll still dig into the people involved afterward, at least the overall investigation won’t be as aggressive as it is now. They likely wouldn’t push to have Dragon Country police participate either.”

After speaking, K looked at the Professor, waiting for his response.

But the Professor remained calm as ever. He reached out, picked up the empty plate in front of him, and carried it to the kitchen sink.

As he turned on the faucet and began washing the dishes himself, he asked without any hint of emotion,

“K.”

“You’ve had the most contact with the Dragon Country police, so tell me what you really think.”

“Do you believe it’s better for us to give up J outright, or should we, as you suggested earlier, take advantage of the United States’ freedom and boldly wait for those dogs to come to us…”