Chapter 155: Subdued and Captured in Three Seconds—Rose Apprehended!

“You tell me—should I call you Lan Yujuan, or… Rose?!”

The sudden, icy voice in her ear made Rose, who was in the middle of putting on gloves, freeze for a second. Her expression instantly shifted, and just as she reached for the pistol she had been carrying on her waist the past few days—

A powerful sensation of weightlessness surged through her body.

“Bang!!!”

Su Ming gave her no time or opportunity to react.

Already prepared, he seized that brief second of shock caused by his words—when Rose had no chance to resist—and moved with lightning speed, employing military grappling techniques to slam her hard onto the ground. He pressed his knee firmly into the small of her back, making it utterly impossible for her to fight back or move.

Immediately afterward, Su Ming yanked the pistol from her waist and tossed it into the corner of the room to prevent any chance of an accident.

Then, with practiced precision, he pulled a pair of police handcuffs from his pocket. He quickly cuffed Rose’s right wrist, then yanked the other end up with force.

“Clack—Crack—”

The painful sound of a dislocated shoulder echoed alongside the snapping of the second cuff locking into place, all within less than a second.

The searing pain from her dislocated arm and the weight of a knee crushing into her back made Rose want to cry out, to scream, even to explain or argue—but just as she opened her mouth—

A large hand clamped down on her jaw. With a twist of the wrist—

“Click—”

Another crisp pop. Her jaw was instantly dislocated.

Rose, who had been about to speak, found she could no longer utter a single word. Her jaw throbbed with a sharp, numbing pain and couldn’t even close. It had been forcefully dislocated.

Without a doubt, this was Su Ming’s deliberate strategy to avoid another incident like the one during Zhou Shirui’s arrest.

He suspected Rose might be even more ruthless toward herself than toward the jealous “friends” she had betrayed. She could’ve easily hidden a cyanide capsule in her teeth, ready to bite down and end her life the moment she was caught.

After all, within their drug trafficking ring, there were members capable of producing cyanide—and Rose very well might resort to suicide.

So dislocating her jaw ahead of time was absolutely the safest move.

And it wasn’t over yet.

Su Ming pulled out a sturdy zip tie from his pocket and bound her ankles, leaving just enough slack for a shuffle but nothing more.

Barely five seconds had passed.

Through it all, Su Ming’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. His face was calm and cold as ever. His knee remained firmly pressed against Rose’s back.

Completely restrained, unable to speak or move, Rose could only shake her head and weep, desperately trying to express her innocence.

…

At the same time—

Voices came crackling through the police radio.

Lin Tian and Gao Chao, along with the other officers lying in wait near the Red Rose Beauty Salon, sprang into action without hesitation. They burst from the nearby convenience store, one hand on the grip of their firearms, sprinting toward the salon.

Officers stationed in the nearby parking lot also leapt into action upon hearing Su Ming’s voice on the police channel, speeding toward the Red Rose Beauty Salon in their vehicles.

Whether or not Su Ming needed backup, everyone understood—they had to get there immediately.

Clearly, that line Su Ming had spoken—“Lan Yujuan or Rose”—had not only served to distract the target, but also as a signal to the officers still on standby.

At the front desk of the salon, the fittest of them all, Guo Ping, was the first to arrive. Without hesitation, he raised the badge that Lin Tian had handed him earlier and barked out with unquestionable authority:

“Police!”

“Everyone—stop what you’re doing! Hands on your head, squat down and stay where you are!”

The salon staff, who had still been chatting with customers, were stunned at the sudden intrusion by someone holding up an ID but not wearing a uniform. They thought perhaps it was a prank or a rival coming to cause trouble.

One of them even stepped forward to check the badge more closely—

But at that moment, they heard a thunder of footsteps outside. Dozens of people were charging in.

Some were already drawing pistols from their waists, while others tore off outer jackets as they ran, revealing short-sleeved police uniforms beneath.

The salon staff went pale.

None of them dared say another word. They immediately dropped what they were doing, squatted down with their hands on their heads.

As Lin Tian and the others rushed into the salon lobby, Su Ming’s eerily calm voice echoed through the shared earpieces:

“Director Lin, Director Gao.”

“No need to rush. I’ve already subdued Rose. We’re on the third floor, VIP Room #5. Just come straight here.”

Hearing that, Lin Tian squinted, glanced at Gao Chao beside him, and asked through the channel, just to be sure:

“She’s secured?”

“Fully under control. There’s no chance of an incident,” Su Ming replied firmly.

Dong Qin followed up, her tone complicated as she looked at Su Ming and the completely subdued Rose beneath his knee. Speaking into the police channel, she said:

“Director Gao, Director Lin—”

“Deputy Team Leader Su really has secured Rose. Honestly, I barely did anything. I didn’t even have time to react.”

“When I rushed over, ready to assist—”

“Deputy Su already had her pinned down and cuffed. He even dislocated her jaw as a precaution.”

“To be honest—”

“Director Gao, with those moves he just pulled off, you didn’t need me for this at all. You could’ve sent anyone else.”

“The way Deputy Su subdued her, the fluidity and precision… it was cleaner than anything I ever saw from my hand-to-hand instructor during my military days. It could be used as a training video.”

“This operation was a success. Directors, get up here quickly.”

Not only Su Ming’s report, but Dong Qin’s words too, finally put Lin Tian and Gao Chao’s concerns to rest.

They didn’t need to be reminded how important this mission was.

Capturing Rose—the core member of the drug trafficking organization—meant they were now one step away from digging out the entire rotten root of the syndicate.

Gao Chao didn’t even know how to put his feelings into words.

Excitement? Relief?

Strangely, he didn’t really feel either.

Instead, what he felt was a strange mix of liberation—and guilt.

Liberation, because a five-year-old cold case had finally been solved, and justice could at last be served for the victims’ families.

Guilt, because…

A case that had haunted him for five long years had been cracked—and the killer apprehended—in under a day, all thanks to Su Ming.

He couldn’t help but reflect:

If only he had been more capable… maybe justice could’ve come much sooner.

After a moment of silence, Gao Chao took a breath, pushed those thoughts aside, and calmly pressed the mic on his earpiece.

“SWAT unit can stand down. Traffic police, lift the roadblocks. Thank you all for your support.”

“And then—”

“Officers from the Yuhua Criminal Investigation Unit, take control of the order at Red Rose Beauty Salon and test everyone currently in the salon for any signs of drug use.”

“Since Rose has been hiding in the salon for so many years, it’s absolutely necessary to test both her clients and staff for drug use.”

“All departments, coordinate immediately and bring this successful arrest to a perfect close!”