The moment the masked man fired the first shot, the entire mall seemed to be drowned out by the gunfire, as if the shots were aimed at the fleeing, wailing customers. The main hall descended into further chaos.
"Everyone shut up! If you want to die, keep screaming!"
*Bang!*
The bandit leader fired at a chandelier that required several people to encircle, its descent sounding like a precisely targeted meteor!
Beneath it, a pregnant woman clutched her belly, unable to dodge in time. She looked to the people around her for help, but seeing no one step forward, she closed her eyes and rolled over, praying to heaven to protect the child in her womb.
This was a mother's instinct. If she could survive, she would gladly give her child the hope of life. Her body arched like a loach wriggling frantically in a boiling pot.
Heroes are never late.
Ren Yuanhao was rushing through the crowd, swift as the wind. As he leaped over a display cabinet, he suddenly saw the falling chandelier and the contorted posture of the pregnant woman. Without thinking, he felt an inexplicable urge to extend his right hand and push, as if from a distance!
But after this strange movement, the chandelier, which had been aimed directly at the pregnant woman, was squeezed aside by an invisible force and landed squarely on a display shelf filled with candies and dried goods, shattering into dewdrop-like glass fragments.
The pregnant woman, of course, didn't know it was Ren Yuanhao's doing. She believed heaven had taken pity on her and her child, so she clasped her hands together and knelt in sincere prayer.
Just then, Ren Yuanhao was getting closer to the bandit leader, whose gaze was fixed on a heavily reinforced glass display case.
Inside the case was an incredibly luxurious hairpin, the "Chai Tou Feng"!
"Holy crap! Brothers, drop whatever junk you have and focus on this! With this thing, we won't have to worry for the next half of our lives!"
Apart from the two keeping the crowd under control, the other two began attacking the upright display case in various ways.
However, even bullets only managed to leave faint white marks on the glass of the display case, without so much as a crack. There seemed to be no gaps around the case that could be pried open.
"Boss, there's no way! This damn thing is too hard!"
"Damn it!" The bandit leader slammed his gun in front of the crouching store manager, grabbed her coiled hair, and with a demonic expression on his scarred face, demanded, "Tell me, how do we open that cabinet!"
The store manager clutched her wound, sweat pouring down her face. She shook her head repeatedly. The bandit leader immediately raised his gun, aiming at her head. "Damn it, even now you're still being stubborn? Don't you want to live?"
With the cold muzzle pointed at her forehead, she felt as if the blood in her body was also growing cold. Trembling, she replied, "N-no, it's not that. This cabinet can only be opened with the owner's fingerprint and password. We... we can't do anything. Killing us won't help."
"Then where is your damned owner? Get him over here immediately, or you can wait to be buried with him! Hurry, call him for me!"
The bandit leader was anxious. After all, this panic had been going on for two to three minutes. Although they had disabled the alarm, there were too many people here, making it difficult to control. It was highly possible that someone had already called the police!
Time was of the essence!
"Th-the boss went on vacation to Hawaii. I..."
"Are you tricking me? Believe it or not, I'll blow your head off right now!"
Just as the bandit leader raised his gun, a finger suddenly appeared at the trigger guard, firmly blocking his access to pulling the trigger.
"Who the hell are you now? Looking to die!"
The newcomer, with a faint smile on his face, nodded at the store manager and said, "You guys want that thing, right? If I die, you won't get it."
This person was undoubtedly Ren Yuanhao. His gaze suddenly fell on the Chai Tou Feng in the display cabinet, and the corners of his mouth curved upwards.
"Holy crap, you're the owner?"
"What, I don't look like it? So, pointing your gun at me is much better than pointing it at the store manager."
Ren Yuanhao raised his hands high, thinking that the goal of these scumbags was to rob a jewelry store. As long as he could keep everyone within his control, everyone else would be safe.
The bandit leader immediately pressed the muzzle of his gun against Ren Yuanhao's back and said in a stiff, harsh tone, "Very well, then you'll have to bother opening that damned cabinet."
"My pleasure."
Under the gaze of all the store employees, Ren Yuanhao slowly moved towards the display cabinet.
"Manager, what should we do? If they find out that man is tricking them, he'll be dead."
"Yeah, Manager, you have to think of a way."
The store manager tightly pressed her leg, which had been shot, her face pale. Her gaze drifted towards the man who had saved her life, but she shook her head helplessly. "Now, we can only hope he's smart enough to stall those scoundrels. Once the security personnel arrive, the crisis will naturally be resolved."
The employees gazed at Ren Yuanhao with admiration. Perhaps they were captivated by his heroic aura, or attracted by his handsome appearance, or perhaps both. In any case, their eyes could not leave Ren Yuanhao.
At this moment, Ren Yuanhao was being held at gunpoint by a group of bandits. If this were in the past, he would probably have been like any other ordinary person, feeling helpless and unable to act, hiding somewhere in the hall, waiting for a hero to save them.
But now, things were very different. He was a "big shot" with a system by his side. This was his duty.
"Hey, don't dawdle. Don't think I don't know what you're up to?"
The bandit leader pressed the muzzle of his gun against Ren Yuanhao's back, pushing him, sweat pouring.
"What's the hurry? Actually, I have a question. Don't you think I'm worth more than this treasure? Moreover, even if you snatch this ancient artifact, it will be very difficult to sell. Everyone in the underworld is my person. Aren't you afraid of internal conflict and double-crossing?"
Ren Yuanhao had grown up watching Hong Kong police and gangster movies. With his flattery, the bandits immediately started whispering among themselves, seeming to reconsider Ren Yuanhao's proposal.
"You brat, don't try any tricks. You look so young, it's hard to say if you're really the owner of this store. Why should we believe you?"
The bandit leader suddenly seemed to have a moment of intelligence.
Ren Yuanhao suddenly reached into his pocket, startling the bandit leader, whose gun trembled. He then roared, "Damn it, don't try anything tricky!"
"What are you afraid of? I don't have a gun in my pocket. I, I want you to see this."
Ren Yuanhao suddenly pulled out a black card from his pocket and waved it. The bandit leader, being from the lower strata of society, didn't recognize such a high-class item at all.
"This is a symbol of Visa's top global account. There are probably only a few in Yun Jin City. What do you say, do you believe me now?"