Zhen Ai ran into the bank, dazed and disoriented, her mood plunging to rock bottom.
In fact, she had originally planned this way: after Yan Su cracked the first step, she would use the key her brother gave her to complete the remaining steps. At the very beginning, she didn't trust anyone; she could only rely on herself.
But now, she trusted him, yet she didn't want to drag him into this.
It was all his fault for being so smart, seeing through her thoughts and intentions. He must be angry.
She could even imagine that if it weren't for his adherence to the principle of "discretion in words and actions," he would definitely have a stern expression, with a haughty and indignant tone, saying, "Miss Zhen Ai, you have lost my friendship from this moment on."
She paused, her mind conjuring up images of his expression and tone. Though feeling downcast, she couldn't help but want to laugh.
He would definitely be waiting for her outside; she should hurry and get things done, then go back and make amends.
At 11 a.m., the bank was crowded. Zhen Ai took a number, C012. The ticket showed that there were still 10 people ahead of her for C-class services. C represented personal password safety deposit box services, which had a complex process, averaging ten minutes per person. She estimated she wouldn't be seen until the afternoon.
Well, should she invite Yan Su to lunch now?
If she treated him to some delicious food, he wouldn't be angry anymore!
But before she could turn around, she sensed a change in the air around her.
The wind picked up.
Something like a bullet whizzed past her ear with a whoosh. Almost simultaneously, a deafening gunshot exploded near her eardrum. Several bullets struck the nearby bulletproof glass, and the shell casings clinked sharply against the marble floor.
The not-so-thick center of the bulletproof glass was dented by a bullet, with silver cracks spreading across the entire pane like spider silk in an instant. The female staff member at the counter stared blankly.
Everything seemed to happen in a fraction of a second, as a series of bullets struck. Before everyone could react, the bulletproof glass creaked and groaned, collapsing as a whole block.
The female staff member screamed and dodged aside as the glass crashed against the counter, sending paper currency flying.
A man's arrogant and nonchalant voice echoed throughout the bank: "On Your Knees!" Instinctively, all the customers in the hall immediately knelt down, clutching their heads and trembling.
Zhen Ai stared at the glass, wide-eyed, but her first reaction was to turn back.
Backlit, the man had a broad shoulder and a narrow waist, wearing a gray T-shirt and wide-leg pants. His left hand casually rested in his pocket, while his right hand held a submachine gun aimed directly at Zhen Ai, as if he were targeting her.
With a distance of only two or three meters between them, Zhen Ai stared at the dark muzzle, her body stiffening.
The man's face was clean and handsome, standing powerfully with the gun like a statue. His thin clothing wrapped around his muscular body, upright and radiating athletic beauty, even to the point of being described as sexy.
Zhen Ai remained motionless; it was too late to crouch down now. Any movement might trigger the armed man's reaction.
Yet, surprisingly, she didn't feel afraid. A fleeting thought crossed her mind: because she was with Yan Su, she hadn't brought a gun; but her naturally vigilant nature had her carry a syringe. If she had the chance to get close to this man, she could kill him in one hit.
If he was just robbing the bank, she would stay out of it. After all, killing someone with a virus was easy, but the aftermath would be a whole heap of trouble; however, if he intended to kill, then she couldn't just stand by.
While she thought this, the sunlight behind the man flickered. A bank guard near the entrance pulled out his handgun, aiming at the back of this intruder while simultaneously signaling Zhen Ai to duck.
Zhen Ai's heart leaped into her throat.
But after a gunshot rang out, it was the guard who fell, shot by another guard.
One of the two was a partner in crime!
With two criminals appearing, Zhen Ai's plan was immediately ruined!
The guard was shot in the right chest, blood instantly soaking the floor as he grimaced in pain, writhing on the ground. The people who had been crouching with their heads covered were even more afraid to move, with a few young women even sobbing aloud.
The man in the middle of the hall remained unmoved, his expression extremely cold. He glanced at Zhen Ai and suddenly raised his gun, firing a shot into the sky. The giant chandelier near the entrance was hit, falling straight down. Thousands of small shards of glass plummeted to the ground, shattering in a deafening crash, leaving only the frame behind, shattered and messy, blocking the revolving door.
Zhen Ai instinctively stepped back, but the flying shards of glass were clearly faster than she was.
Several pieces sliced across her body, one even grazing her cheekbone, pain slicing through her face like a knife. She stumbled and fell on a shard of glass, another piece piercing her arm and palm, pain shooting through her as if countless needles were stabbing her. She bit her lip, not letting out a sound.
As the gunfire subsided, the previously empty hall was suddenly filled with the blaring of police sirens, red lights flashing—some bank staff had pressed the alarm.
"Fuck!" Damn it!
Zhen Ai heard a customer crouching nearby curse as he stood up. She was startled and was about to get up to pull him down when she heard the twenty-something young man shout, "Arch!" to the disguised guard.
The fake guard named Arch yanked open the drawer of the guard's desk and shouted "Jack," tossing two guns over. His voice was rough and casual, as if robbing a bank was just a game.
Another accomplice was in the crowd!
Zhen Ai looked up, watching the two guns fly over her head, landing in the hands of the young man named Jack.
Jack skillfully tucked one of the handguns into his waistband while grabbing the sniper rifle with one hand, aiming at the red alarm on the wall across from the bank counter. The bullet flew out with a "bang," shattering the alarm into dust.
Zhen Ai stared in shock, her heart sinking.
At a distance of about thirty meters, the alarm's radius was less than four centimeters; this person had excellent marksmanship.
Something wasn't right!
After the alarm was destroyed, the world fell silent.
Jack sprinted a few steps and effortlessly leaped onto the counter, standing with his feet shoulder-width apart, surveying the few tellers cowering in the corner. He spoke clearly, "Who the hell pressed the alarm?"
This single sentence rendered the entire bank silent. The few sobbing female customers turned pale, staring in horror at the imposing figure standing on the counter.
The words were unremarkable, yet they reminded everyone that he was about to kill!
The tellers behind the counter were terrified and didn't dare to admit anything.
Jack laughed: "If you don't confess, I'll kill you all." As he spoke, he raised his gun. A wave of terrified screams and rustling sounds erupted from behind the counter, while the people here all painfully covered their ears.
Zhen Ai's heart suddenly ached intensely for the unknown person who might die in front of her.
At the moment he raised the gun, a trembling yet resolute female voice cried out, "It's me, don't—" But before she could finish, three shots rang out in quick succession.
Blood splattered against the glass counter like blooming red plums.
"Rach! Jesus, no! Rachel! Oh my God, no!" The deceased's colleague sobbed quietly, grief-stricken, afraid to wail too loudly, their cries suppressed like the howls of a ghost.
Outside, the hostages fell into a deathly silence, closing their eyes, tears streaming down like pearls. They were tears of compassion and conscience shed by those who mourned the good and evil of their kind.
Zhen Ai stared at the blood droplets on the glass, her eyes suddenly turning red.
Why is human life so fragile? Why do humans slaughter their own kind? The sorrow and fury surging within her felt like a volcano on the brink of eruption, overwhelming her with a tidal wave of emotion. She clenched her fists so tightly that her fingers seemed to dig into her flesh, yet she felt no pain.
She wished she could kill them, just kill them. She was just someone who understood only violence, and what of it?
Smash the test tubes on the ground and let them all die! Let them all die!
But damn it, there were so many innocent people here!
Jack remained unfazed as he tossed the large bag over the counter, shaking his gun at the people inside. "You lot, hurry up and stuff the money in!"
At that moment, police sirens blared from outside the bank.
Zhen Ai turned around immediately. The entrance of the bank was surrounded by riot police, each one aiming their weapons inside, waiting for orders from above.
Zhen Ai was stunned. No way!
The series of events that just unfolded in the bank could not have taken more than fifty seconds. How could so many riot police have been deployed so quickly?
The revolving door was empty, blocked by a massive shattered chandelier frame. The man with the submachine gun had vanished without a trace. Zhen Ai looked around and found that he was already calmly directing the hostages to tie each other up, forming a large circle in the lobby.
He was using the hostages as shields to avoid gunfire from the outside police.
In contrast to his composure, the other two were somewhat flustered.
Arch asked while helping to move the hostages, "King, how did the police arrive so quickly?"
The leader, referred to as King, ignored him entirely.
Jack, the youngest of the three, cursed, "It just gets more troublesome every time; the cops are getting faster and faster lately."
Zhen Ai sensed something was off. This bank robbery was not right.
Just then, King suddenly pointed his gun at her. His eyes were hollow, devoid of any emotion. Zhen Ai found this man to be exceedingly strange, and right beside her, a girl approached, binding Zhen Ai's hands with rope.
Zhen Ai did not resist, but she felt the girl stealthily slip a length of adjustable rope into her hands as she tied her up.
Zhen Ai was taken aback, turning to look at her. But the girl's expression was calm, not glancing at Zhen Ai at all, as she moved on to bind the next person. The next person who bound her also used the same method, discreetly.
Zhen Ai felt warmth spread through her heart unexpectedly, her eyes stinging. It wasn't for herself, but for the regained belief.
---
The bank was at a crossroads, several hundred meters away from the parking area. As Yan Su sprinted toward it, he was met with a scattering crowd and cars that automatically made way.
Just as he arrived, police cars surged in. Ignoring everything, he dashed toward the bank but abruptly halted just before the entrance.
He wanted to save her. He couldn't go in.
From behind the glass, Yan Su caught sight of Zhen Ai.
Everyone was huddled on the ground, except for her. She stood tall, eyes fixed unwaveringly on the submachine gun in the hands of the robber, showing no fear, no joy, no sorrow. Just as she always was in front of anyone else, quietly, habitually, holding her head high.
For some reason, his heart ached suddenly.
He should have realized by now that she only acted silly, sluggish, pouted, laughed, blushed, and held a range of emotions—whether joy, sadness, shyness, or guilt—when she was by his side… Looking down.
He always teased her for being slow; why did it take him until this moment to understand that he was the truly slow one?
Why did it take him until now to realize that these were her supreme trusts?
The massive glass chandelier shattered against the ground, sending shards flying like splashes of water, and in that instant, she was completely obscured from his view. But he knew full well that being so close to the chandelier, she must have been injured.
He stood safely outside, yet that large chandelier felt like it had crushed his heart, followed by countless shards stabbing him piece by piece.
For over ten seconds, he couldn't think straight; his mind went blank. But in the end, he was Yan Su. After less than half a minute, he regained his clarity and turned around without a word.
From the moment the gun fired until now, 47 seconds had passed, and the police had arrived.
Who called the police?
---
Before long, countless police cars and officers gathered outside the bank, a flurry of activity. Yet, inside the bank, the atmosphere was eerily relaxed. Of course, only the robbers felt relaxed, especially King.
Dozens of hostages crouched along the edges of the lobby, creating an ideal shooting barrier for the three of them. After a while, police outside began shouting for the robbers to surrender for leniency. Undoubtedly, it was pointless chatter.
Jack scoffed at this.
During the lull of packing the money, King suddenly suggested, "Let's play a game; those who cooperate will get priority to be sent out!"
The hostages exchanged wary glances, cautious and alert.
A middle-aged black man said, "Let the women and children go first!"
"Are you sure?" King smiled, his tone chilling. "The name of our game is the 'Killing Game.'"
Hope that had sparked in their eyes instantly turned into terror. When he mentioned "sending out," did he mean it in a corpse's sense? Those who had originally hoped to be chosen all lowered their heads.
King waved his gun: "Since you don't want to play, I'll choose someone. I like the unlucky number thirteen. We have three people; let's pick ten from the hostages."
He spoke slowly, enunciating every word clearly. Each word felt like it came straight from hell.
At this moment, everyone lowered their heads as deeply as possible, afraid to be picked. They all became ostriches, burying their heads in the darkness, trembling, as if not looking up would make the evil doers blind to their presence.
But King's speed was quick; he first pointed to a college girl.
The girl had come with her boyfriend, and as she saw Jack and Arch approaching to grab her, she shrank toward her boyfriend in terror, crying out, "No! No! Help me, Henry, help me!"
Her boyfriend panicked too; his hands were tied behind his back, but he clutched his girlfriend's shoulder tightly with his chin, crying and pleading, "Please, don't! Don't hurt her!"
Zhen Ai felt her heart racing with fear, afraid that they might impatiently shoot the man. But they didn't; they just kicked him away fiercely. The girl screamed, kicking and hitting wildly, but ultimately couldn't resist and was dragged into the center of the circle and thrown to the ground.
Everyone around them was filled with pain and fear. Zhen Ai heard a woman next to her quietly crying, "Oh God, save us. Please, God, save us!" The woman was holding a one or two-year-old child in her arms. The child didn't understand what was happening but was very well-behaved, pressing her face against her mother's cheek, neither crying nor speaking. Only a pair of curious, dark eyes were looking around.
Amidst the waves of crying, King quickly selected nine people, leaving just one remaining.
At this moment, almost everyone's heart hung in suspense, praying to all the gods as if this were their last glimmer of hope for survival.
"May misfortune not come, may it not come." Each person prayed earnestly, unaware that praying for their own good fortune meant wishing for the death of another innocent person.
King looked around, his gaze landing on Zhen Ai's direction, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on his calm lips. Zhen Ai's heart sank slightly as she saw him slowly raise his gun, pointing it at the child beside the woman: "You are the tenth."
Jack and Arch approached, tugging at the child in the woman's arms. The woman instantly felt like her whole world had collapsed, pleading desperately, "Please, don't hurt her. She's just a child; she's my child!"
Jack showed no mercy, slapping her hard across the face. The woman's lip instantly bled, but she clung to the ground, refusing to let go of her child's clothes.
The child sensed something was wrong and began to wail loudly.
The people around turned red-eyed but felt powerless, each regretting that they hadn't included a wish for the child in their earlier prayers. Now, the prospect of survival had lost its luster, and there was no longer any sense of luck or fortune.
Jack pulled at the crying child mercilessly, but the mother seemed to have gone mad, her teeth biting down, blood oozing out as if they were broken. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she refused to let go no matter what.
Zhen Ai watched quietly, and for some reason, she suddenly wanted to become the child that her mother wouldn't let go of.
"Wait!" She slowly raised her head, looking at King in the center of the circle, and calmly said, "I'll take her place!"