Mated at First Sight
Chapter 698 - 461_1

Chapter 698: 461_1

With every second that passed, everyone was on edge, counting each moment, fearing that the hour would end too quickly. For the first time, they wished an hour could last a bit longer, just a bit more.

Because in this hour, they all were safe. But after an hour, they didn’t know who would be the first to suffer.

Almost everyone regretted coming out today.

If only they had known, they wouldn’t have left their homes.

Unfortunately, there was no antidote for regret. The only thing most prevalent was destiny.

If you’re doomed to face a disaster and you don’t have the ability to confront it, you could only endure it. If you have the ability, then maybe the other party would be the one suffering.

So one’s fate depends on oneself.

Those who are powerless believe in fate; those with power believe in themselves.

People inside didn’t realize that even though they couldn’t see the outside, they were visible from the outside. Not all of the scenes were visible, of course, as the hostage-takers would not expose their entire plan to the onlookers. The most they could see were the actions of some hostages near the main gate and their frantic appearances.

This is a threat to those in police uniforms outside — an hour later, they would let them see if they are truly playing a real or a bluff.

However, no one knew that the location where Mu Lin and Jing Chen were was a blind spot, not only for the people upstairs but also for the cameras. This was indeed a particularly good position and even helped them to observe.

As soldiers, they kept the best angles in mind, no matter where and when. It was their job, but more so, their habit.

Jing was contemplating whether he should move to where the camera was pointing. Following his instincts, under the current lockdown situation, if they wanted the people outside to witness the shooting of hostages, they could only project it outwards.

At that moment, all communication signals had been completely blocked, and all hostages had been corralled into the lobby of this floor.

The purpose was to have control over them easily and facilitate... execution.

At that moment, the elder was watching television. He quickly switched to the live broadcast. For some reason, he felt a chill in his heart.

"Azhan." Suddenly, the elder called out, and Zhan Zhong quickly came in from outside, waiting for the elder’s orders.

"Look at this," the elder said to him. Zhan Zhong turned to look at the television, his brow furrowed slightly.

Truth be told, he had never liked being overseas. Compared to E Country, it’s much safer; it seems like something always happens just about every few days.

"Do you think, she’s also inside?" That’s what he was really worried about. For some reason, a hunch surfaced in his heart.

"It would be too much of a coincidence if that happened." If she ended up in such a place just after arrival, that would be too lucky.

"Still, I’m a bit worried." The elder looked at him, "Give Jing Chen a call, I need to confirm their safety." This was his duty. He brought them here, so he needed to ensure all of them would return home safely.

Especially his favorite one, he didn’t want anything to happen to her.

"Alright." Zhan Zhong nodded, took out his phone, tried calling Jing Chen, but heard that the call cannot be connected at the moment, no matter how many times he tried, the system always said the number dialed was not in service; Zhan Zhong instinctively looked at the elder, his eyes showing an indecipherable look.

"How’s it? Did you get through?" He asked apprehensively.

Zhan Zhong shook his head, "Tried several times but couldn’t get through." No way...

"Then try calling Mu Lin." The elder instructed again, meanwhile furrowing his brows. He fixed his relentless gaze on the live broadcast on the television. The only comforting thing was that neither Mu Lin nor Jing Chen had appeared on the big screen.

"I don’t have Mu Lin’s phone number. I will ask someone from Ying Sun." Zhan Zhong truly didn’t have Mu Lin’s number.

The elder nodded. Zhan Zhong quickly headed for the door. However, when he got Mu Lin’s number, the message he received was the same.

"Zhan, has something happened to our sister-in-law?" Seeing the look on Zhan Zhong’s face and the disconnected call, everyone from Ying Sun couldn’t help but worry.

"I can’t confirm yet." Zhan Zhong shook his head. He decided not to tell them about this yet. However, his words made the people of Ying Sun even more worried.

No, it can’t be a real crisis, can it?

Zhan Zhong went back into the room, shaking his head towards the elder, "Mu Lin’s number is out of service, out of area coverage." Subconsciously looking at the television, he thought, "What bad luck, to be dragged into this right after arriving to help."

"Perhaps my intuition is right," the elder said, looking at Zhan Zhong.

Zhan Zhong didn’t reply right away, taking a pause before speaking, "You really don’t need great worry. Whether it’s Major General Jing Chen or Doctor Mu, they are both highly skilled and competent. Even among all the soldiers in the military camp, they are the best of the best. I believe that even in this situation, they should be alright." That was his opinion.

The elder nodded.

However, though he said this, he was still worried. No one knows what might happen next. Moreover, they don’t have any details about the situation on ground.

With this thought, the elder picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello." Seeing the number, he could tell it was the elder. He couldn’t figure out why the elder was calling him at that moment.

Without any small talk, the elder asked explicitly, "I’m calling to find out about the hostage situation I just saw on the television." It was a big incident, he must be already aware, or it was assumed.

"My people might be inside," the elder sighed, perhaps he should not have let Jing Chen take Mu Lin out at that moment. His good intentions wound up in an unexpected crisis.

"What." Indeed, he was shocked by the elder’s words, "This..." he was at loss for words.

This time, they truly disgraced themselves on an international scale. It was bad enough that this happened, but to involve their ally’s people in it was unthinkable...

Although his people were inside, their status was rather different from the elder’s people. He felt his head throbbing even more.

Anyone but them, they should not have involved the ones who just arrived in their country. They had just arrived today.

"Can you tell me what’s going on inside?" The elder didn’t know what he was thinking, he only wanted information.

After composing himself, he replied, "I don’t have a lot of intelligence on the situation." At the very least, he didn’t fully understand the circumstances inside.

"Actually, this incident owes its origin to a terrorist we caught half a month ago who was scheduled to be executed on the 20th of this month. We thought we had caught the entire group, but it seems they had a backup plan. Now they’ve taken everyone in the mall hostage, threatening us to make concessions and release the prisoner."

Hearing this, the elder pursed his lips, continuing to listen as he said, "Although we have no choice, we may have to release him, but there’s one thing that concerns me."

"What?" The elder asked.

"There are ten bombs planted inside the mall, I am worried that even if we release the prisoner, the hostages will remain in danger. But if we don’t, they will kill a hostage every ten minutes after an hour. We’ve sent people to stall for time, but we still don’t have a good plan."

Although he didn’t want to disclose this information, he didn’t have a choice and could no longer conceal it.

Hearing his words, the elder furrowed his eyebrows, then said, "If possible, I’d like you to let my people join the rescue mission."

"Your people?" He muttered subconsciously, "I remembered that you didn’t bring many people along." Adding all those they came with, there were less than forty of them. Letting them participate would be a risk, especially if the elder’s men suffered any casualties on their territory. This could create a major problem for their relations with E Country.

They would be unable to cleanse themselves of this guilt, even if they swam across the Yellow River.

"I know, but I will only send eight people. The remaining thirty or so will be sufficient," said the elder. If Jing Chen and Mu Lin were really in there, then sending the men from Ying Sun would be a better option given their rapport.

After these words, the elder ordered Zhan Zhong, "Go and gather all the members of the Ying Sun Special Forces."

Zhan Zhong hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and left the room.

Although he didn’t fully agree with this plan.

"You mean, the Ying Sun Special Forces," he asked. He had heard of this legendary force which was renowned for their unbeatable skills in the battlefield.

"Correct," the elder replied, "I didn’t mention it earlier, but two of the hostages inside are from our team, one is the captain of Ying Sun, and the other is a military doctor." The only reason he wanted to dispatch Ying Sun was to assist in the rescue.