Invisible Security Guard
Chapter 113: Into the Tiger’s Den [Six updates for monthly votes]

Chapter 113: Chapter 113: Into the Tiger’s Den [Six updates for monthly votes]

There was a group of individuals in the abandoned building, and the exact number was unclear to the police. However, there were hostages among them, as cries of children were heard from inside, indicating the presence of kids.

When Ember Vance arrived at the scene, the police were negotiating with the criminals and devising a rescue plan.

However, at that time, the criminals also made a demand, requesting the police to send in medical supplies like bandages, suggesting that someone among them was injured.

During the negotiations, the criminals insisted that the woman who had just arrived should deliver the medical supplies.

Thus, Ember Vance was appointed the task amid danger and without hesitation, she was to venture deep into the enemy’s lair!

She entered the building and quickly disappeared from the police’s view.

Ember Vance didn’t carry a gun because she was certain to be searched by the criminals; she didn’t even bring any radio equipment. The mission given to her by her superiors was to ascertain the number of criminals and hostages inside, while also paying close attention to her own safety.

Due to its unfinished construction, the abandoned building was complex, with interconnected floors and half-built staircases.

Just as Ember Vance stepped onto the staircase of the second floor, someone suddenly jumped out from a corner, pressing a gun directly against her forehead.

"Whoosh—" Ember Vance’s body hairs stood on end, and a chill ran through her entire body. At that moment, she finally understood what it felt like to have a gun pressed to her forehead—a feeling of terror, of death looming at any second.

Her hands raised, she didn’t move, and with the corner of her eye, she observed the criminal—approximately in his thirties, bald, not tall, with a modified gun in his hand. However... he was strapped with detonators!

Ember Vance felt a tingling in her scalp. What were these people up to, armed with guns and detonators, and taking hostages?

In truth, she had not yet figured out what exactly was going on.

"Go up." The accent was not local to the capital; it was heavy from another province.

"Big brother, don’t be agitated, don’t shoot; I’m scared," Ember Vance tried to speak in a way that would relax the man, as she suddenly felt very afraid of dying, afraid of death.

Perhaps there were many regrets in life, so even though she was a heroine, she didn’t wish to perish in the prime of her youth.

"Move it," the man urged her to continue upwards.

Soon, Ember Vance went up to the second floor first, and then another person emerged—a young man in his twenties, wearing a white shirt with tattoos on his arm. He looked energetic and didn’t seem like a vicious criminal on the surface.

After sizing up Ember Vance, the young man searched her body, from the legs to the chest, even groping her breasts twice with evil intent.

Then, under Ember Vance’s angry gaze, he opened the first-aid kit and checked through it.

"It’s all good," exclaimed the young man in white shirt, with a strong Beijing accent!

"Come here and bandage Old Luan," a deep voice called out from inside the room.

Carrying the first-aid kit, Ember Vance walked towards the room. Once inside, she quickly scanned the place: there was someone hiding by the window, around forty years old, from whom the earlier voice had come. His Mandarin was very standard, and he too was strapped with explosive detonators, holding a five-round gun in his hand.

Under the window, there was another person with his thigh completely covered in blood, his complexion deathly pale.

Besides these two, there were four more individuals: one ordinary-looking woman holding a three- or four-year-old girl, and a young couple, probably lovers, sitting against the wall holding hands, looking stunned and scared out of their wits.

That was the total number of people in the room. Ember Vance tentatively concluded that there seemed to be four criminals and four hostages, including one child.

Among the criminals, other than the young man in the white shirt and the injured man who weren’t strapped with detonators, the other two were armed with detonators, ready to detonate at any moment.

This situation posed great difficulty for the police rescue efforts, because one careless mistake could result in all four hostages being killed in an explosion.

Ember Vance forced herself to calm down and crouched in front of the injured man, taking out scissors from the first aid kit.

"You had better not play any tricks," the injured man said with a pair of piercing eyes as he pulled out a gun and aimed it at Ember Vance’s chest.

"What kind of tricks could a woman like me play in front of you? Since you’ve chosen to let me bandage you, you have to trust me. I need to cut open your trouser leg—is that a gunshot wound?"

"Yeah, once you’ve bandaged me up, I’ll let you go." The man looked to be in his thirties and very weak. He had been shot.

"How did you get shot? Surely it wasn’t by our police, right?" Ember Vance started working and talking to the man simultaneously. She wanted to know what this gang was up to, why they were so well-equipped, and how they had ended up getting shot.

"Heh." The man chuckled and said, "Telling you won’t do any harm. We were dealing drugs in the neighborhood nearby, and those guys wanted to double-cross us, so... yeah, that’s what happened!"

"You’re involved in the drug trade?" Ember Vance sighed softly. "Real men with both hands and feet, why get involved in such illegal business? And haven’t you heard, more than a hundred years ago, foreigners used drugs against our Chinese people, even calling us the ’Sick Man of East Asia.’ By doing this, you’re digging a pit for our own Chinese fellows."

"Uh..." Hearing Ember Vance’s words, the various thugs were left speechless. This chick was pretty bold, daring to say anything.

The scissors cut open the injured man’s trouser leg, revealing a bloody hole in front of Ember Vance, still oozing blood profusely.

"I’m afraid I can’t handle this—the bullet is inside. I don’t dare to, nor can I remove it. If I damage a nerve, you could lose the use of this leg. Listen to me, turning yourselves in voluntarily will be to your advantage."

"I’ll do it." Just then, the man in the white shirt squatted next to Ember Vance and said to the injured man, "Hang in there, old Lu. Go squat over there." The man in the white shirt pointed toward the hostages, signaling Ember Vance to squat there too.

"I think I’ll pass. How about I go downstairs first?" Ember Vance suggested.

"Didn’t you hear what I said?" The man in the white shirt raised an eyebrow. "Get over there."

"Tiger, tie this woman’s hands. We’ll wait until it’s dark," said the young man in the white shirt, who seemed to be the leader of the group.

Tiger, the first thug Ember Vance had encountered, brought a rope and without a word, bound Ember Vance’s hands behind her back.

Ember Vance did not resist, knowing it would be pointless to say anything at this stage. Her primary objective was to get the information out of here.

"Gentlemen, this won’t work," Ember Vance suddenly said after she was tied up. "The police don’t know the situation here, so it won’t be long before they mount a forced attack."

"What do you mean?" The man in the white shirt turned around and asked.

"What I mean is, you need to show the police that you’re strapped with explosives. That way, they won’t dare to attack hastily. Also, you can keep me, but let the child go."

"Heh, I’ll consider it," the man in the white shirt said with a smile. "Tiger, take her to the window to show herself."

"Alrighty." Tiger pulled Ember Vance toward the window and lifted the tattered curtain.

And the moment the curtain was raised, Ember Vance quickly blinked four times towards the outside, signaling the number of criminals with a hidden message.

Tiger stood next to Ember Vance and announced loudly, "Listen up, coppers, I’ve got explosives on me. One little press from me, and this woman, along with all the hostages, will be blown to kingdom come. Weigh your options."

"Tiger, make a demand. We want money, four million bucks. Cash, no consecutive numbers, give them two hours to arrange it," the man in the white shirt said with a wicked grin.

And upon hearing the man in the white shirt’s words, Ember Vance immediately realized with dread that he was stalling for time!

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PS: Around eight in the evening, there will be five more updates. If the monthly ticket count reaches two hundred, there will be an additional update, three hundred tickets for another, with Alliance Hierarch adding more updates. Thank you all, Uncle’s Book Friends Group: 24173796