Attack during the night in London

London,UK, 2:50 a.m.

The most urgent matter now was figuring out how to get from London to Paris. Both of them had the same thought in mind.

Eva Herzog glanced down at his watch and then looked up at Song Jie, saying, "It's ten minutes to three now. If we leave immediately, we can reach Paris in about five hours if we hurry. The urgent question is, how do we find a car?" He then turned to ask Director Horden and Mrs. Smith, "Where is the nearest car rental point? Is it open 24 hours?"

Director Horden smiled gracefully and said, "Mrs. Smith, could you go to the parking lot and find a museum car for them?"

"Certainly," Mrs. Smith replied.

Hearing this, Song Jie and Herzog were delighted. After expressing their gratitude, they said goodbye to the Director Horden and followed Mrs. Smith to get the car. Exiting through the main entrance and turning left, they crossed the courtyard and arrived at the museum's internal parking lot. Mrs. Smith found them a silver station wagon and handed the keys to Officer Herzog.

Song Jie quickly asked, "How should we return the car?"

Mrs. Smith smiled and said, "It's nothing to worry about, we'll send someone to pick it up later. Good Luck!" She then stepped back a couple of steps and watched as they drove away.

Eva Herzog drove the car out of the British Museum. Following the GPS, he first navigated along the main road to the Thames River, then continued eastward along the river. Both men were filled with anxious thoughts, each preoccupied with their own concerns, and the car was silent. At this moment, the London night was shrouded in misty rain, with dim, yellowish lights flickering in the distance. In the boundless desolation of the night, the distant chimes of Big Ben on the banks of the Thames rang out—"Dong... Dong... Dong"—interspersed with the loud screeching noise of the speeding car tires skidding across the wet streets.

No one noticed that a black car had been quietly tailing them ever since they left the British Museum.

After about 20 minutes of driving, they passed by Tower Bridge and continued eastward. The view outside the car window gradually changed from museums,skyscrapers and glass-covered shopping malls to rows of low iron warehouses,small shops and yellow terraced houses. The dim streetlights filtering through the sycamore trees made the narrow streets appear even darker and more desolate.

Herzog suddenly broke the silence in the car and said, "Driving from London to Paris will take about five hours. If everything goes smoothly, we should arrive in Paris by dawn. I'll drive first; we should reach the entrance to the Channel Tunnel in about an hour and a half, and it'll take another half an hour to cross the tunnel. Then we'll switch, and you'll drive once we're in France. How's your driving skill?"

Song Jie replied confidently, "No problem. I used to love road trips when I was young. I've driven on all kinds of challenging routes, including China's Qinghai-Xizhang self-driving tour—"

Herzog impatiently interrupted, "Alright, alright, Dr. Song. I'm not interested in your personal history. Save your energy and try to get some rest first."

Before Herzog could finish speaking, suddenly, as the car approached an road crossing, a black vehicle sped out from the right rear side with its high beams on, ramming straight into the rear right side of their car. The collision happened so abruptly and violently that it left them completely unprepared. The car instantly went out of control. Fortunately, the long-bodied wagon had a low chassis and center of gravity, so it didn't roll over. Instead, it spun violently on the wet asphalt, skidding counterclockwise like a boomerang. The tires screeched loudly—"Screech... bang!"—before the right side of the car slammed into a streetlamp. The vehicle then rebounded and crashed into the yellow-brown brick wall of a two-story apartment building at the street corner, finally coming to a stop.

The violent crash echoed through the quiet street, causing the dark windows of the apartment to light up one after another.

The airbags deployed and forcefully struck both of their heads. Eva Herzog's right arm was cut by something sharp, and blood immediately started to flow. Song Jie was slightly better off but still felt dizzy and saw stars swirling before his eyes. As the two were still in a dazed, semi-conscious state, two burly men got out of the black car that had rammed them. They opened the trunk and pulled out two baseball bats. Then, along with his companion, they slowly approached the wrecked vehicle. Without saying a word, the two men began smashing the windshield and the hood with their bats.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Song Jie was terrified. He instinctively covered his head with his hands and pulled up his legs, curling up like a lobster thrown into boiling water. In a panic, he screamed, "Ah! Officer Herzog, what's happening?! Do something!"

Eva Herzog was still groggy from the impact, but with adrenaline kicking in, she began to regain some clarity. She could hear the relentless pounding on the windows and Song Jie's incessant shrieking, as if someone was slaughtering a pig. At the same time, a searing pain radiated from her injured right arm. She tried to move her right hand to reach the door handle but found that she couldn't muster any strength.

"Quick, do something! Where's your gun?" Song Jie urged anxiously.

"No gun. I'm not allowed to carry one in the UK," Herzog responded weakly.

"What? Then what are we supposed to do?" Song Jie suddenly felt a deep sense of despair.

At this point, the men outside seemed to have done enough damage to the windshield and began targeting the driver's side window. Eva Herzog was still unable to move, and shards of glass sprayed toward her face like a rain of sharp fragments.

Realizing that he had to act, and that he couldn't count on anyone else, Song Jie steeled himself. Summoning all his courage, he unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and dashed around the front of the car. With a loud roar, he charged at the two burly men like a storm.

The man closest to Song Jie sidestepped his reckless charge, while the second man took a quick step forward, raised his knee, and drove it hard into Song Jie's stomach. The blow left Song Jie completely powerless. He crumpled to the ground, clutching his abdomen, convulsing in pain, unable to make a sound.

" just useless. Tch!" One of the men spat disdainfully.

Just as the two men were about to continue their assault, the distant sound of police sirens echoed through the streets.

Seeing that the situation was turning against them, the two men chose not to continue the fight. They dropped their baseball bats and, instead of getting back into their car, dashed into the darkness of the streets and quickly disappeared from sight.

Despite the intense pain, Song Jie gritted his teeth and slowly stood up, using his hands to support his knees. He walked to the right side of the car, opened the door, and unbuckled Herzog's seatbelt. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"My right arm and hand are useless. They might be broken. Did they leave?" Herzog responded weakly. She tried to get up but failed, so she remained seated in the car.

"Yes, it looks like the police have arrived. We're safe now. Who were they?" Song Jie asked.

"Maybe they're also after the Buddha head, but one thing's certain—our whereabouts have been exposed," Herzog said slowly, her eyes closed.

The sound of approaching police sirens grew louder until a patrol car came to a stop nearby. Two officers got out—it turned out to be none other than Officers Krucker and Bates. Seeing the shattered windshield, the dented hood resembling a bumpy hillside, and the disheveled state of the two, the officers quickly approached to assess the situation.

"Isn't this Dr. Song? What happened?" Krucker asked.

"And isn't that Officer Herzog in the car?" Bates added.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Song Jie, feeling a surge of relief as if they were saviors sent from heaven, hurriedly said, "Help her first!"

The three of them quickly worked together to carefully lift Herzog out of the car and place her on the brick-paved sidewalk. Krucker and Bates immediately called for an ambulance. Fortunately, the hospital wasn't far, and the ambulance arrived promptly. About 20 minutes later, Herzog was already lying on a hospital bed in the A&E department of Royal London Hospital.

As one of East London's largest and most advanced emergency centers, Royal London Hospital was possibly the busiest building in the city at that moment. The A&E department was packed with people—men, women, the elderly, and children—crowded into every corner, resembling a scene from the underworld. Yet despite the number of patients, very few were being treated; most were simply waiting, sitting quietly in line with anxious faces, as if waiting for a train that might never arrive.

Looking at the somber expressions of those around him, Song Jie couldn't help but feel a mix of relief and gratitude. "Thankfully, with Krucker and Bates here, Herzog didn't have to go through the normal NHS process. At this rate, she might have bled out before even getting seen," he thought.

Even though they had been prioritized, Song Jie, sitting on a chair in the emergency waiting area, felt as though he had been waiting for an eternity. Just then, Herzog pushed open the door and walked out. She had tied her uniform jacket around her waist, leaving only a white tank top on her upper body, which accentuated her impressive physique. Her right shoulder and arm were heavily bandaged, and her arm was supported by a sling, keeping it at a 90-degree angle.

Seeing her emerge, Song Jie quickly stood up and asked, "Is it serious? Is it broken?"

"No, it's just a minor dislocation in my right shoulder. The doctor helped reset it. There are also a few surface wounds, but nothing serious," Herzog replied, pointing at her shoulder.

"That's a relief," Song Jie sighed with visible relief.

"But you," Herzog said, pretending to be annoyed, "what's up with you? You're a big guy, yet you went down with just one hit. No self-defense skills at all—so weak."

"I'm not really good at hand-to-hand combat, not every Chinese person is Jackie Chan." Song Jie admitted awkwardly.

"Then why did you rush out like that? Were you trying to get yourself killed?" 

"I saw them attacking your side, and I was worried about your safety. So I thought… I might as well risk it," Song Jie said, his face turning redder with each word.

Herzog seemed taken aback by his response. She didn't say anything. Instead, she sat down on a chair, leaned her head against the white wall behind her, and closed her eyes, pretending to be deep in thought. As she swallowed, her throat moved slightly, as though she was about to say something—perhaps a thank you—but no words came out.

"It's almost 5 a.m. now. We've been seriously delayed. Can you still drive?" Song Jie asked, sensing Herzog's silence and unsure of what to do. He felt a little down, and that sense of disappointment seemed to spread to Herzog as well. The two of them sat in silence, looking as gloomy as the other patients in the waiting area.

A minute later, Herzog suddenly broke the silence. "Even if we drive to Paris now, we probably won't make it in time. We may need to come up with a new plan."

Song Jie suddenly sat up straight. "Could it be that you're thinking the same thing as me?"