In the bank lobby!
The robbers were extremely aggressive, giving the police no room to stall.
"There's one minute left until the ten-minute deadline. Once it passes, we'll execute one hostage every minute until the helicopter arrives!" sneered a man, presumably the leader of the robbers.
Xu Weiwei's face paled as she knew full well that a helicopter couldn't possibly arrive in ten minutes. This meant these thugs would truly kill hostages!
Soon, one minute elapsed.
A robber, grinning sinisterly, walked towards the hostages. Xu Weiwei desperately wanted to act, but the robber leader held a gun to her head, making her afraid to move.
"She'll do! Haha, and a beauty too. Though there's no time to savor, a beautiful flower crushed cruelly is also quite satisfying!" The robber pulled a beautiful woman from the crowd of hostages.
At this moment, Ye Cangtian, hidden at the stairwell entrance, revealed intense killing intent.
The beautiful woman the robber had pulled out was his fiancée, Tang Xinwan!
It seemed he couldn't wait any longer! Ye Cangtian's expression turned grim. He disengaged the safety on the gun he'd taken from a previous robber and aimed it directly at the robber holding Tang Xinwan hostage.
In the lobby!
Tang Xinwan was dragged to the center, her face etched with terror, her body trembling. It was the first time in her life she had experienced such fear, to the point of being unable to utter a sound.
"Time's up, and the helicopter hasn't arrived. We'll have to kill her!" the robber leader said calmly.
"Don't hurt the hostages, I... I can think of another way!" Xu Weiwei's face contorted in panic, turning instantly pale.
"Too late!" the robber leader sneered, then exchanged a glance with his accomplice.
The other robber licked his lips, a cruel grin spreading across his face. He directly pressed his pistol to Tang Xinwan's head. Killing a woman of unparalleled beauty with his own hands, he thought, would be quite entertaining.
Tang Xinwan's mind buzzed. She knew these robbers intended to kill her, yet she could do nothing. She could only close her eyes.
"Bang!"
At that moment, a shot rang out!
But the gunfire didn't stop. A series of shots followed.
In the lobby, six thugs fell one after another. Starting from the robber next to Tang Xinwan, then the two robbers holding other hostages, followed by the remaining three thugs.
Six shots in one second, all six robbers were killed.
The sudden turn of events was unforeseen. By the time the robber leader reacted, Xu Weiwei had already sprung into action. With an elbow strike, she disrupted the robber leader's attempt to shoot at Ye Cangtian.
The robber leader turned back in fury, raising his gun to point at Xu Weiwei. With his companions dead, he knew his own demise was certain, and he intended to take someone with him in his final moments.
Facing the dark muzzle of the gun, Xu Weiwei froze. Against a pistol, she had no hope of resistance.
"Bang!"
Another shot echoed. Xu Weiwei flinched and involuntarily closed her eyes.
But a second later, she found she was still alive. She opened her eyes and looked at Ye Cangtian blankly.
She was still alive because, before the robber could fire, Ye Cangtian had already shot and killed him.
Ye Cangtian dropped the gun, lit a cigarette, and barked, "What are you standing around for? There are bombs in the restrooms, go get them disarmed!"
Is this girl scared silly?
To be honest, her reaction was a bit slow just now. While I was over here shooting the other robbers, she was just watching. Fortunately, the robber leader was slow to react, otherwise, a random shot could have taken someone down with him.
Xu Weiwei was initially annoyed by Ye Cangtian's scolding, but after hearing his words, her expression changed to shock. "There are bombs?"
At this moment, a dozen police officers rushed into the bank's main entrance. They had stormed in preemptively after hearing the gunshots. Seeing the robbers in the lobby gunned down, they too were stunned.
Xu Weiwei, fully aware of the bombs' importance, immediately ordered, "The rest of you rescue the hostages, the bomb squad is with me!"
Some police officers followed Xu Weiwei to search for the bombs, while others focused on rescuing the hostages.
Ye Cangtian walked over to Tang Xinwan, who was staring at him in a daze, and whispered, "It's alright now!"
Tang Xinwan seemed dazed, and didn't even consider why Ye Cangtian was there. She simply murmured, "Am I... am I dead?"
"No, no one can harm you in front of me!" Ye Cangtian placed his hands on her shoulders and said firmly.
"I'm not dead..." Tang Xinwan repeated softly, then her shoulders began to tremble. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. After the extreme tension and shock, her body went weak and slumped.
Ye Cangtian quickly embraced her. After she had sobbed for a while, he realized she had fallen asleep.
Anyone facing a life-or-death situation for the first time would have their spirit shattered, let alone Tang Xinwan, a woman.
Under the mental strain of tension, fear, and the threat of death, it was inevitable that she would suffer from physical exhaustion.
In the lobby, hostages were being led out one by one. Many were breaking down in tears, and even the men were led out, supported, their bodies limp with fear.
Ye Cangtian carried Tang Xinwan out of the bank building.
He soon found Tang Xinwan's private car, placed her in the back seat, and then started the engine, slowly driving away from the bustling scene.
Ten minutes later!
Xu Weiwei emerged from the bank building, drenched in sweat.
The bomb disposal team had successfully defused the explosives, and all thirty-plus hostages were rescued. This brought her a sigh of relief, along with a sense of having cheated death.
Her first action upon exiting the bank was to look for Ye Cangtian.
However, after a round of inquiries, she learned from her subordinate, Xiao Liu, that he had already left.
"Mr. Ye left with Miss Tang!"
"Miss Tang also left? She's a hostage, she still needs to cooperate with us for a statement!" Xu Weiwei glared at Xiao Liu, regretting not stopping that fellow from leaving.
Xiao Liu explained, "Mr. Ye said his wife was traumatized and had fainted, and it wasn't suitable for her to give a statement today. Boss, Miss Tang is a public figure, and it's indeed not suitable for her to give a statement at the scene. We can go to her company later!"
"I understand!" Xu Weiwei waved her hand, then gnashed her teeth. She absolutely did not believe that Miss Tang was truly this guy's wife.
What was Miss Tang's status? The chairwoman of a large conglomerate, an absolute rich and beautiful woman. And what was Ye Cangtian? A loser, penniless, and a scoundrel who didn't do proper work?
"What exactly is this guy's background? How can his marksmanship be so good!" Xu Weiwei frowned, growing increasingly suspicious of Ye Cangtian.
Just before coming out, she had examined the bodies of the robbers. All seven robbers had been shot in the forehead. Six of them were killed almost instantaneously, within one second.
As someone who had graduated from the police academy and hailed from a military family, she knew very well that even an absolute elite in the army couldn't manage six shots in one second.
This guy was definitely problematic!
Xu Weiwei gritted her teeth and snorted.