The entire restaurant instantly descended into chaos. As Wang Qianqian watched the crowd that had been dining turn disorderly, she also felt a bit panicked.
Just then, a strong hand grasped her. Wang Qianqian looked up and saw that it was Li Chen.
"Don't panic, I'm here."
Li Chen smiled slightly. With the King of the Netherworld present, anyone would retreat three steps in fear, let alone worry about a simple hostage situation?
"Let's first see what's going on," Li Chen said lightly.
"Okay," Wang Qianqian responded. She didn't know why, but when Li Chen was around in such situations, she felt very reassured.
Inside the restaurant, a man, holding a dagger in one hand and gripping a woman with the other, shouted desperately, "Don't come any closer, stay back!"
Some people in the restaurant had already run out, while others were trying to save the woman.
"Brother, don't get agitated. Put the knife down, we can talk it over," a man tried to console him.
"Right, young man, you have a long life ahead. It isn't worth it," a lady lamented, "You're going to ruin yourself. Listen to me, put down the knife. If you have any grievances, you can tell us, we're willing to help."
The restaurant manager also rushed over, fuming at the messy scene: "What's going on here?"
A female waitress standing nearby said timidly, "Manager, we don't know what happened either. He was just having dinner with that woman, then suddenly he grabbed the knife and took her hostage. That's how this situation developed."
This was exactly the type of calamity everyone feared!
The manager rubbed his face hard, trying to clear his mind a bit.
After pacing back and forth a few times, the manager suddenly asked, "Has anyone called the police?"
The waitress nodded: "Yes, we have."
"Good, that's all for you," the manager said. "Quickly go and evacuate the excess customers. I'll handle him."
Upon hearing this, the young waitress went to do as she was told, while the manager pushed through the crowd and approached the man.
"Hello, I'm the manager of this restaurant. Could you please tell me what's happening?" The manager extended his hands, trying to keep his tone even and show that he meant no harm.
The young man's hair was disheveled, and his eyes, filled with despair, looked at everyone.
"It's gone, everything's gone," he said.
"It's okay to lose things, you can earn them back, but if you lose your life, it's irrevocable. You have a lot of time left, but if you end up in prison, it's over," the manager consoled.
"It's people who are gone!" the young man suddenly shouted at the manager.
The manager frowned and said, "What exactly happened? If you don't explain clearly, we can't help you even if we want to."
The young man didn't reply but instead looked at the woman he was holding. Suddenly, tears rolled down his cheeks, and he choked out, "Little Yan, Little Yan wants to break up with me."
"Who is Little Yan?" the manager asked slowly.
"It's her," said a waitress who had served the young man, whispering nearby.
Everyone was stunned. He had kidnapped his own girlfriend?
The young man, staring at Little Yan and sobbing, said, "I love you so much. I've given you everything. I swore to be with you until the end of time. But before, didn't you say you loved me? Have you forgotten our trips to the amusement park, our movie dates?"
The kidnapped Little Yan, seeing the dagger so close, was filled with terror in her eyes. She couldn't have imagined that it would end up like this.
Lately, her relationship with him had been rocky. They had agreed to meet at this restaurant, and that's when Little Yan had brought up breaking up. She simply couldn't stand his lifestyle anymore—indolent and without ambition, only offering verbal promises, unable to provide the life she desired.
But just as she mentioned breaking up, she saw her boyfriend pull out a dagger and take her hostage.
"Little Yan, why do you want to break up with me?" the young man cried. "Don't you love me anymore? Are you going to betray me, to let me down?"
Suddenly, the man's emotions skyrocketed again, and he pressed the dagger against Little Yan's neck: "Tell me, do you still love me or not?"
The surrounding crowd screamed in terror, leaving the manager helpless and praying silently for the police to arrive quickly.
"Ah!"
Little Yan couldn't help but scream as well; she could feel the cold dagger piercing her skin, terrified.
"I love you, I love you," Little Yan gasped.
"Impossible, if you love me, why would you want to break up?" the man raged like a madman, "You're a liar, you're cheating on my feelings."
The manager, standing by, tried to console him: "I think you might be misunderstanding your girlfriend. Maybe she just wanted you to calm down. Just put the knife down, and then you two can talk it out."
"Get lost!"
The man suddenly swiped the knife forward, startling the manager.
"You all are liars too, trying to deceive me?" the man tightened his grip on Little Yan and stepped back, hissing fiercely at the crowd, "If you dare take a step closer, I'll kill her!"
"Alright, alright," the manager hurriedly reassured, "We won't come closer."
Seeing that no one dared approach further, the man turned to Little Yan again: "Little Yan, tell me, why do you want to break up with me?"
Little Yan swallowed hard. She regretted ever being with him, this incapable coward.
The manager signaled to her, urging her to stay calm and first stabilize the situation.
But Little Yan, perhaps finding courage from somewhere, looked at her boyfriend who was gripping her and suddenly said, "Why break up? To watch you waste your life away every day? You have no ambition. I blame myself for being blind and choosing a boyfriend like you."
"You're lying. You must have been seeing someone else behind my back, that's why you wanted to break up," the man furiously accused. His hand wielding the dagger flailed, causing Little Yan to scream as the blade slashed through her clothes and left several gashes on her arm.
"Calm down, please calm down," the manager thought, truly on the verge of tears. Does something had to happen every year? Why did you bring your girlfriend hostage to my restaurant of all places? Couldn't you pick another venue?
Just then, a siren wailed, and someone immediately shouted joyfully, "The police are here!"
At the same time, a strikingly impressive female officer led a squad of police officers into the scene, catching Li Chen's eye. What a beautiful policewoman!
Lin Yi was dressed as a policewoman with a hat, but just her face alone dazzled Li Chen. She had a delicate nose, pearly teeth, bright eyes, and arched eyebrows, and most crucially, she possessed an efficient aura, giving Li Chen a very unique and peculiar feeling.
Her beauty was different from Lin Yi's and Wang Qianqian's, somewhat indescribable and unclear, yet very attractive to Li Chen.
Yu Yueing, leading her team, entered the restaurant and exchanged a glance with Li Chen before looking away.
"Excuse me, could all unrelated persons step aside?" Yu Yueying spoke up, "Who is in charge here?"
The manager hurried over and briefly explained what had happened.
After listening, a look of contempt flashed in Yu Yueying's eyes. She thought, such scum deserved to die.
However, the priority was to save the people first.
Yu Yueying took a deep breath and said through the communication device, "All units, be ready!"
She then stepped forward and said to the man, "I am Yu Yueying from the Linchuan Public Security Bureau. You can talk to us if you have any difficulties."
"Go away, I don't need your help." The man was delirious, laughing desperately and insanely.
"This damn **** cheated on me, and once she found someone else, she wanted to dump me, you slut!" With a dagger in his hand, he swung it at Little Yan. The dagger flicked past her face amid screams from the crowd.
Yu Yueying was startled inside, immediately judging that the man was on the verge of collapse, and under such circumstances, he could do anything!
The hostage was in danger.
A serious look flashed in Yu Yueying's eyes as she quietly stepped back and asked through the communication device pinned to her chest, "Is it possible?"
"Officer Yu, less than ten percent," came the reply from another officer over the communicator. "The target is too insane right now, it's hard to subdue him without endangering the hostage."
"What if we could take him down?"
"Only if the special forces arrive."
"Contact headquarters quickly!"
"Yes."
After speaking, Yu Yueying approached again and said, "Calm down first, after all, she is innocent."
"Haha, I don't care today, even if I die, I'll make sure this damn **** dies with me!" The man laughed loudly.
Yu Yueying was looking for an opportunity. The target was leaning against a wall, and with no objects for cover on either side, subduing the target from the front was the only option, yet exceptionally challenging to ensure the hostage's safety.
The surrounding crowd was also furious, an older woman couldn't hold back and cursed, "You scum, why are you even alive? Just die."
This is bad!
Yu Yueying immediately scolded, "Don't provoke the criminal!"
Hearing this, the man laughed louder, "That's right, I never intended to leave here alive today, but before I die, this filthy **** will die first."
Little Yan was terrified as she saw the knife right above her and couldn't help but scream in fright.
"Don't move!" Suddenly, the man yelled at Yu Yueying, "If you dare take one more step forward, I'll kill her!"
Damn it, how is he so alert?
Yu Yueying cursed inwardly but reluctantly took a step back.
"Can you put down the weapon? I'm here to help you," Yu Yueying said calmly.
"Get lost, what can you do to help me?" the man laughed loudly. "Why? Are you afraid I'll kill her?"
Why haven't the special forces arrived yet?
Yu Yueying felt a surge of anxiety. However, at that moment, a faint voice rang out, "Do you think you can kill her?"
Everyone was startled, the man too, and all eyes turned to see it was Li Chen.
Yu Yueying was furious inside. Was this man an idiot? To provoke the criminal at such a time?
"Haha, she's in my hands right now, you think I can't kill her?" The man reacted as if he had heard the funniest joke.
Li Chen slightly smiled, "I said you can't, so you can't. Want to try? For scum like you, I only need one chopstick."
Yu Yueying glared, wishing she could strike Li Chen right there and render him incapacitated for life.
"Alright, alright!" the man gritted his teeth, raising the dagger high and stabbing towards Little Yan's neck!
"Ah!"
The crowd screamed, and Yu Yueying's heart sank. However, the bloody scene didn't occur. With a flick of his hand, Li Chen threw a chopstick, which reached faster than the falling dagger and directly pierced the man's wrist that held the knife!
"Ah!"
The man let out a wretched scream, the dagger falling from his hand, while Yu Yueying, with a glint in her eyes, quickly moved to the man's side. She kneed him in the chest, grabbed his hands, and yanked them back, making the man scream like a pig being slaughtered.
The waiting police immediately rushed in and detained the man.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, as quick as lightning, and the criminal was subdued.
The crowd was dumbfounded, still seeing the chopstick sticking out of the felon's wrist. Was he really subdued with just one chopstick?
This man was incredibly skilled.
Everyone's gaze turned towards Li Chen, filled with nothing but shock.
Behind him, Wang Qianqian had her mouth wide open, looking at Li Chen with admiration.
Crouching down to handcuff the criminal, Yu Yueying looked towards Li Chen, who was smiling faintly in the distance, filled with astonishment herself. If not for Li Chen's intervention, the hostage would have been in grave danger.