Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 175 - 164 Loyalty

Chapter 175: Chapter 164 Loyalty

Only Feng Biao and Shaman remained in the room.

Feng Biao let out a long sigh. He didn’t choke Shaman by the neck like Gao Yi did, but he yanked Shaman up, making him leave the room’s only chair.

Shaman looked at Feng Biao, who sat on the chair, with cold eyes.

Feng Biao pointed his gun at Shaman and then suddenly turned his head toward the people at the door, shouting loudly, "Close the door!"

Shaman sharply countered, "Don’t close the door!"

Feng’s eyes widened, but the standing Shaman immediately glared back and said, "Don’t think that gun can scare me!"

Shaman truly had backbone, undeniable.

There wasn’t much to say; after a thought, he finally took the only seat, while Shaman stood beside the desk, continuing to glare at Feng.

Time flew by fast, yet it also felt exceedingly slow.

Fortunately, Feng no longer harbored any hope of leaving alive, so the subjective perception of time didn’t really matter to him.

About half an hour later, Feng’s phone suddenly rang. He answered and heard Gao Yi speak softly, "We’ve connected with the boss, heading to the airport now. How’s it on your end?"

Feng replied with a smile, "Everything’s fine here, no problems."

After hanging up, Feng didn’t want to talk much. He just kept his gun raised, calmly watching Shaman.

Shaman suddenly said, "You’re going to die."

"I know."

"You know?" Shaman looked at Feng with questioning eyes, and then he suddenly asked, "Why would you do this? Sacrificing yourself to save others? Is it worth it?"

"Worth is subjective."

Feng quickly answered Shaman’s question, then laughed and said, "Actually, I’m a man of loyalty, but I’ve never found anyone worth being loyal to before, so I never showed it to anyone. Loyalty... do you understand?"

Shaman kept a stony face and didn’t speak, because Feng didn’t know how to say loyalty in English, and although Shaman could speak English, he wasn’t very good at it.

Feng thought for a moment and said, "Loyalty is... well... I don’t know how to say it, but you know I’m willing to die for others, that’s the gist of it."

Shaman suddenly said, "What are you after? Money? I can give you lots of money. Put the gun down, and I’ll give you one hundred million dollars in cash, then escort you to the airport. I’m a man of my word. A hundred million dollars is nothing to me, and there’s no point in killing you. I’d rather take out Harold and your boss. I can spare you, as long as they’re gone."

Feng laughed, "Trying to buy me? That might have worked before, but not now. I’ve made enough money."

"Enough money? How much is enough? One hundred million dollars isn’t enough, how about one billion! You can’t take that much in cash, so I’ll transfer it to you. You should understand that to me, money is just a number."

Feng sighed and said, "I believe you, but have you ever heard of a boss covering the retreat of his men and letting them escape first? Have you seen such a thing?"

Shaman frowned.

Feng mused to himself, "Yeah, you’ve certainly never seen it. You’re high and mighty; you’d never encounter it, let alone witness it. I’ve never seen or heard of it either, but today I did. So what should I do?"

Shaman spread his hands, saying, "It’s just a way to control subordinates."

Feng laughed, "A way, you say? I’d accept that, too. Pretending brotherhood in good times and pushing brothers in the line of fire when hard times hit, I’ve seen plenty of that. But this situation, where he’s willing to die so I can escape, even if it’s a tactic, I accept it. Even if he only said a word, I accept."

Shaman took a deep breath and then said in a stern voice, "You’re not afraid to die, but what about your family? Have you thought about that?"

Feng replied indifferently, "I told you, my life’s not worth much. If I’m willing to throw my own life away, do you think I’d be scared of your threats?"

Shaman was left speechless.

Feng continued, "A worthless life I have, money I’ve made, wishes fulfilled, death I’m ready for—I don’t care!"

Shaman’s eyes roved as he thought about how to turn the situation around.

Finally, Shaman said seriously, "No, nobody is indifferent to their own life. You think someone will save you, don’t you?"

Feng laughed, "A worthless life I might have, but I’m not a rotten person. Others used to think I was rotten, because they never gave me a chance to show my loyalty. Now, the boss has shown his loyalty; so I’ll reciprocate. Now that I want to show loyalty, you don’t have to think of any tricks, it’s useless!"

Despite his insistence of having a worthless life, Feng might truly feel that way, but Shaman didn’t believe it.

Shaman fell silent, pondering a way to break the deadlock.

Feng glanced at the open office door, then suddenly said, "Close the door."

Shaman was unmoved.

Feng suddenly raised his gun and fired a shot at the entrance.

The gunshot scared the life out of the few people blocking the door, and even Shaman couldn’t help but startle.

Feng, pointing the gun at Shaman’s head, said earnestly, "Even if I can’t blow your brains out right now! But do you believe I’d shoot your leg with my next shot?"

Shaman flinched.

Feng continued, "As long as you’re not dead, they can’t move. But do you want a hole in your leg? Do you want that? Tell them to close the door. I’m counting to three, one, two!"

Shaman immediately said, "Close the door!"

Shaman ultimately gave in on the issue of whether to close the door, because he realized this person, who dared to hit his head with a gun, might truly not fear death, might truly dare to take a shot at his leg.

With the door closed, there was a sense of added security.

Feng sighed deeply.

After nearly half an hour, the phone rang again.

Feng Biao picked up the phone, and Gao Yi whispered on the other end, "We’re at the airport, but they’re not letting us take off; we can’t get airborne. Order them to clear the plane for takeoff."

Feng Biao looked at Shaman and said, "Order our plane to take off. Don’t let the air force intercept, or I’ll kill you."

"You may not be afraid to die, but you want your people to survive, right? I’ve found your weakness. You can kill me, but your companions and Harold’s family will all have to die!"

Shaman was truly brave, he really had guts.

Shaman suddenly laughed and said with seriousness, "Do you think by taking me hostage, you can achieve your goal?"

Feng Biao didn’t know how to respond, because he realized that both he and Gao Yi might have truly underestimated Shaman’s stubbornness.

Shaman said fiercely, "I’d rather die than accept such forced compromise. You don’t understand me, you really don’t understand me!"

Feng Biao looked at Shaman, who stared back unflinchingly. Then, he suddenly said, "Let Harold’s family get off the plane, your companions can leave. Listen! Now you have two choices, either you shoot and kill me, and then all of you will join me in death, or you exchange your life for your companions’. I give you this opportunity, you have ten seconds to decide."

There was no compromise, he would not soften, truly fearless, and now Shaman was the one timing Feng Biao.

Feng Biao stared at Shaman blankly as Shaman calmly began to count, "One, two..."

Feng Biao suddenly laughed lowly, "You think you can outdo me in ruthlessness?"

"Three."

"Alright!"

Feng Biao exclaimed in approval, then he stood up, patted his belly, lifted his quick-dry shirt, and revealed a bundle of headscarf.

Shaman looked coldly at Feng Biao, "Four."

Feng Biao smiled and said, "Your security measures are outdated. Ever heard of fabric explosives?"

Shaman was slightly taken aback, but after a brief moment of distraction, he continued, "Five..."

Feng Biao saw a letter opener on the table. Smiling, he picked up the knife and gestured along his leg.

"Six."

Feng Biao suddenly raised his hand and plunged the knife deeply into his thigh.

Shaman was startled again and briefly stopped counting.

Feng Biao held a gun in his left hand and grabbed the knife with his right, then he ferociously sliced across before pulling the knife out.

Blood spurted out in an instant, flowing quickly but not too fast; it wasn’t the kind of excessive bleeding that could kill someone within minutes from slicing a major artery.

Shaman swallowed hard, clenched his teeth and said, "Seven!"

Feng Biao released the knife and reached into his pocket, pulling out a car key.

"This is a remote control. It can start a car, or it can detonate an explosive."

Shaman looked at the remote in Feng Biao’s hand, and through clenched teeth and trembling voice, he said, "Eight!"

"Ahh!"

Feng Biao suddenly let out a loud shout, then he abruptly pressed the unlock button on the car key.

Shaman flinched, closing his eyes and instinctively put up a defensive gesture.

There was no explosion.

Shaman opened his eyes. He looked at Feng Biao, about to speak, when he saw Feng Biao grinning with gritted teeth, "It didn’t explode because this is a dead-man’s switch detonator. Now, if I release my grip, the bomb explodes!"

Shaman could only clench his teeth, speechless; he looked at the bleeding wound on Feng Biao’s leg, unable to utter ’nine.’

Feng Biao chuckled and said, "I told you I’d show loyalty, you didn’t believe me. You want to compete in ruthlessness with me? Fine, I stake my life on it. Continue the countdown!"

Shaman squeezed out a word from his mouth.

"Nine!"

Feng Biao kept smiling, "Once my hand loosens, we both die. Now I won’t release it, but I’ve cut open a blood vessel. I’ll surely die from blood loss, and my companion will just die in front of me. It could take about two hours, maybe faster, maybe slower, but roughly two hours."

Shaman could no longer say ’ten.’

Feng Biao said in a low voice, "As long as I have the strength to press this remote, you order the plane to take off. Once I confirm my companion is safe, I’ll release you and blow myself up in this room. How does that option sound to you?"

Having said that, Feng Biao placed the gun he’d been holding onto the table, turned the grip towards Shaman, and pushed it forward toward him, laughing, "I know you truly aren’t afraid to die, I truly respect your courage, so you can also choose to shoot and kill me now. You shoot, I release the grip, we die together. That’s another option."

Did Shaman believe there was a bomb?

Would Shaman dare to take the gun?

Shaman looked at the bleeding wound on Feng Biao’s leg.

Feng Biao laughed again, "You guessed right, we truly didn’t dare to kill you, but now I’m going to die, you understand? Once I’m dead I won’t care if there’s a flood or storm, so you better decide quickly. If I bleed too much, I will inevitably lose my grip, and even if you don’t want to die, you’ll have to join me in death."

Shaman took a deep breath, he stared into Feng Biao’s eyes, and suddenly, he reached out and grabbed the gun.

Feng Biao closed his eyes, saying calmly, "Please hurry, it hurts a lot."

Shaman didn’t believe it at first, but now, he had to.

Suddenly Shaman yelled, "Clear the plane for takeoff, let them go."

Feng Biao opened his eyes, looking calm as he watched Shaman.

Shaman violently put down the gun pointed at Feng Biao, then he continued to shout, "Don’t intercept them!"