Today is not the morning reading session for Chinese, and the headteacher rarely comes unless there’s something important.
"Sheng Tang, Sheng Tang, something has happened again," Jiang Baocu urgently pushed Sheng Tang.
Sheng Tang leaned back to let her into the seat.
Jiang Baocu had just sat down when the classroom’s front door was pushed open. The chaotic morning reading class suddenly fell silent.
The headteacher brought five men and women, all with sharp eyes, scanning the classroom.
The students were not used to this situation and were startled.
"Do they look like drug enforcement officers and their canine units?" Jiang Baocu gossiping in a low voice to Sheng Tang.
Other students were also guessing the identity of these people. Their posture was straight, like they were from the military. The specific role they had, the students couldn’t figure out.
But they were certainly not from the local police station.
The students had seen police officers from the local station several times, and they didn’t have this kind of demeanor, nor would they bring police dogs to conduct operations.
Everyone had seen television dramas and felt these people seemed like narcotics officers.
The crowd looked at the doorway with confusion.
Sheng Tang also watched, not responding to Jiang Baocu’s words.
The headteacher spoke: "Students, these people are from the city’s bureau and need your cooperation for an investigation. All of you, stand in the aisle and exit the classroom one by one for checks."
The students whispered among themselves.
The bolder ones asked directly: "Teacher, what is the city’s bureau looking for?"
"Students, we are proceeding legally with our investigation, please cooperate," one of the special police officers spoke.
Under the headteacher’s arrangement, the students began to walk towards the door group by group.
Each student once they reached the door was thoroughly checked; girls were body-searched by one of the female officers, very meticulously.
The police dog squatted nearby, eyes sharply watching all the students.
Everyone held their breath.
Each check was detailed and the progress was slow, causing the students in the back to start discussing again.
"What are they doing?"
"Looking at their posture, are they catching a fugitive?"
"Why would they need body searches to catch a fugitive? They must be looking for contraband, either drugs or guns."
Jiang Baocu seemed to have some insights into this and whispered to Sheng Tang: "Deploying special forces, it must be a major incident."
Sheng Tang responded with an "oh."
"If it’s drugs, it’s enough for a heavy or even decades-long prison sentence, not just some small matter," Jiang Baocu added.
Sheng Tang responded with an "oh" again.
The headteacher heard the students discussing and reminded them: "Everyone, please be quiet and stay in line."
All the students felt inexplicably uneasy, unsure of what was going on and whether the disaster would fall upon them.
Feng Yijin was also puzzled.
Sheng Tang’s group was the fourth, they were the last ones to get checked.
By the time it was their turn, the morning classes were already well underway.
Students from the adjacent Class Two faintly saw the commotion in Class One, many stretched their heads, trying to glimpse through the windows.
After the checks were completed, everyone stood in the hallway, no one was allowed to leave.
Then, they began checking the classroom.
When the bell for class time rang, teachers from various classes simultaneously delayed the dismissal.
"Teacher, the class is over." In every class of Grade One, students reminded out loud.
The teachers unanimously responded: "Class is temporarily extended; please stay in the classroom and do not move around."
The inspection in Class One continued.
Until all inspections were completed, the police dog did not detect anything. The leader had a few whispered words with the headteacher.
The headteacher sighed in relief.
"Teacher, what is this all about?" The class monitor stood up, "We’ve been checked for most of the day, we deserve to know what’s happening, right?"
The headteacher slightly furrowed his brow.
The Special Police Captain, looking very amiable, stood on the podium and apologized to the students first: "This operation is confidential and cannot be disclosed for now. Please understand. Sorry for disrupting your studies, everyone."
Saying that, several people left.