He spoke while looking at everyone, seemingly hoping to find supporters for his views.
“I think so too. It’s a risk.” Old Bruce sighed, his face grim. “Now we’re certain those people outside are terrorists… but regarding what Officer Louis said earlier, I personally don’t think we can completely trust him… You see. If we listen to him, we’ll be taking a risk! A huge risk! And remember… once we start taking that risk, there’s no turning back! You see, once the floor is breached, it’s like we’re giving up this safe haven we have now! A breach in the floor can’t be patched up! If our risk fails, those guys can catch us! — But right now, at least we’re here. We’re still safe.”
I didn't speak, I just looked at them, at all these people. The three waiters didn't speak either, but judging from their expressions, they seemed quite hesitant... As for the ladies, apart from Yang Wei who was on my side, even Jessica seemed somewhat undecided.
I know very well that this is probably a weakness of human nature: people are more likely to risk their lives in relatively safe environments. No one would choose to do so when the situation is uncertain.
“Bruce!” I looked at old Bruce and said in a deep voice, “I know making this decision is difficult. But do you really think this is just baseless speculation? Damn it… are you like those bureaucratic FBI agents who think the worst things can’t happen?”
“…At least for now, these people are only demanding that the authorities release their accomplices,” old Bruce said hesitantly.
"Ha!" I laughed deliberately, then stared at him. I questioned, "So, let me ask you, even if their goal is really as you say, what if the authorities don't compromise and refuse to release them?" I glanced at him, stopping him from speaking, and continued, "Okay! Even if the authorities have to compromise because of the hostages and release the terrorist leaders they've detained, how will these terrorists in this building retreat? In the end, when it's a fight to the death, who can guarantee they won't go down in a suicide attack?"
No one spoke.
After all, their lives are their own.
I looked at them, especially at old Bruce, and continued, “Then let me ask you something else… Look, that policeman just told us that these terrorists possess a nerve gas called TG23! That's a weapon of mass destruction, right? Damn it! Do you know how difficult it is to obtain such a weapon? How much does it cost to get one? Did these terrorists really acquire this level of equipment just to intimidate the police?” I glared at old Bruce. “If their only goal was to take hostages and force the authorities to release the terrorist leader, then ordinary firearms would have sufficed! Was it really necessary to go to such lengths to acquire such a powerful weapon? Therefore, there's only one conclusion… these people are definitely planning to use this weapon!!”
Finally, I looked at these people and said, "If you're planning to stay here and wait to die... then I'm sorry, I'm not going to keep you company!"
After saying that, I called out to Lei Xiaohu and asked him to hand me the fire axe. Then I prepared to go into the changing room to break through the floor. Suddenly, the two male guests yelled and stopped me: "Damn it! What are you trying to do! Once you break through the floor, they can storm in from downstairs! You want to die, but don't drag everyone else down with you!!"
In a moment of desperation, the two of them actually came up and started fighting with me.
I was already seething with anger, staring at these two guys who had been giving me a hard time for a while... Damn it, do they really think I'm some kind of saint? I'm a mob boss who's done everything from murder to arson! If they push me too far, I won't even need terrorists; I'll chop them both down with an axe each!
I raised the axe in my hand, my face full of murderous intent, and shouted, "Get out of the way!"
One of the guys immediately went limp and took a few steps back, while the other hesitated for a moment before I kicked him to the ground. Then I swung my axe down at his head... With a scream, the axe grazed his scalp as it struck the floor. The man was so terrified that his eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted.
I ignored them and headed towards the locker room with the axe on my shoulder. Suddenly, old Bruce called out from behind, "Wait!"
Seeing him follow me, I frowned: "Bruce, are you going to stop me too?"
“No…” He hesitated for a moment, “I think what you said makes sense… but this matter is too crucial. We need to plan it out… because once it starts, there’s no turning back! We need to be more confident!”
"Bruce!"
This time, it was old Bruce's young companion, Monica, who suddenly spoke. She walked over and whispered, "I also think Mr. Chen makes a lot of sense. I also think that staying here would be even more dangerous. So..."
“…Alright!” Old Bruce finally nodded, and said with difficulty, “But we must think of a way first… It’s not a good choice to rush in like this.”
I didn't say anything more, as long as he didn't object. In fact, what he said made sense; we did need to make a plan, and rushing in rashly was not a good idea.
“Mr. Willis,” Yang Wei suddenly spoke up, “I do have a plan.”
Everyone looked at Yang Wei, her breathing rapid, but her eyes remained calm: "If we all rush down, we'll definitely die! We're unarmed, and they're heavily armed terrorists. We can't possibly break through the floor of the 61st floor right under their noses! So, we only have one option... we must find a way to divert most of the terrorists' attention from the 61st floor! So, my plan is..."
She slowly walked to the table, took out a piece of paper, and roughly drew a sketch:
"Look, the 61st floor is different from the 62nd floor we're on now. This is the top-floor convention center, with a large exhibition hall in the center. Around it are corridors, restrooms, lounges, and the like. The layout of the floor below is different. Downstairs is a large service area, the 'backstage area' for all performances and shows. There are many rooms, many dressing rooms, some small rehearsal rooms, and even a small stage. The layout downstairs is more complex. And...it's also more suitable for hiding. And you know, there were originally quite a few hostages on the floor below, dozens..." Models, actresses, and several A-list female celebrities! There are also makeup artists and stylists! Adding them all up, there are probably dozens of people! To control these hostages, the terrorists need at least three or four people to guard them. Our problem is, we don't know which room the terrorists are holding the hostages in… We have to gamble here! Because if we're unlucky, and the room where they're holding the hostages happens to be right below us… then we'll probably be facing fully armed terrorists the moment we step down! On this point, we can only pray to God.”
At this point in Yang Wei's speech, Jessica suddenly spoke up, "That shouldn't be the case."
Her words drew everyone's attention. Jessica thought for a moment and said, "This isn't my first time here. I've been to a show here before. There's a large dressing room downstairs on the east side of the building, and we're currently on the south side. That means I think after those people took the hostages, they were probably in that large dressing room on the east side of the building. So they shouldn't be down here."
“Very good.” Yang Wei took a deep breath, and I noticed her breathing suddenly became very rapid… a rapid yet weak feeling. She took more deep breaths, but continued, “Then our first problem is solved. The next thing is… when we're chiseling the floor, we'll inevitably make noise! Based on my guess, the other side will definitely send people to investigate. Do you understand? They'll hear the noise, but they won't know what we're doing! So they won't send everyone… most likely only one or two people to check… This is our chance. I need Chen Yang and Xiao Hu to go down first. Because you two are the most skilled! Only you two can quickly deal with the terrorists who come to investigate… I know it's dangerous, but I have complete faith in your abilities!”
“But…” Old Bruce said, “But even if Chen and his friend can immediately kill the terrorists who come to investigate, it will still cause a commotion! We’ve already been exposed. How can we continue digging from the 61st floor downstairs? You know, downstairs, there aren’t any sturdy walls and doors like this place! We can’t continue digging down here! Because the terrorists will come.”
“No!” Yang Wei said decisively, “We’re not digging a tunnel here!” She seemed to smile slightly, “Didn’t you hear what Officer Louis said? In the original building, floors 60 to 63 each had two passageways! That means, on the 61st floor below us, besides where we are now, there’s another place we can dig a tunnel!! Officer Louis just said that originally, each of their two lounges had a staircase! We can dig a tunnel from another place!”
“But we don’t know where the other passage is,” old Bruce asked.
"Don't forget, there were originally 'two lounges, each with its own staircase.' Following the typical symmetrical design, the two lounges should be symmetrically located on opposite sides of the building! That means the two enclosed staircases should also be symmetrically positioned! Our current staircase is on the east side of the building. So, it's simple: the other staircase must be on the west side! If we firmly remember the principles of distance and symmetry, knowing the location of our current staircase makes it easy to calculate the location of the other staircase! Isn't that right?"
As Yang Wei spoke, she pointed overhead: "Everyone sees that? There are ventilation ducts overhead, big enough for one person to crawl through! My plan is this: after we go down, Chen Yang and his friend, Mr. Lei Xiaohu, will go down first and take out the terrorists they sent to check for any movement we make! And they have to be quick! Then, the rest of us will immediately crawl into the ventilation ducts! Following the principle of symmetry, we'll quietly crawl to the other passageway!! At the same time, Chen Yang, I need you and Lei Xiaohu to make as much noise as possible to attract the terrorists! According to my estimation, there should be fewer terrorists downstairs than on this floor! Because there are fewer hostages downstairs, they will definitely have fewer people assigned to control the 61st floor than on this floor! Moreover, these terrorists actually have weaknesses in their operations!"
"oh?"
Yang Wei coughed, took a breath, and laughed, "Look, they've sealed off the elevators and fire escape staircases... which means that when we get downstairs and cause a ruckus, the terrorists on this floor won't be able to send reinforcements down! Do you understand what I mean? So, we only have to face the enemies on the 61st floor; we don't need to worry about the people on the 62nd floor coming down to capture us!"
Then Yang Wei looked at me and said, "As I said before, the layout of this floor is much more complicated. I suggest that after you go down, make some noise to buy as much time as possible and play hide-and-seek with those bandits. Your task is to attract their attention and as many people as possible, and make as much noise as possible, and stay as far away from us as possible! While you are dealing with them, we will quietly go to the other passage to dig a tunnel! That's about it."
I took a deep breath and looked at everyone: "Do you have any objections?"
No one spoke.
Yang Wei's plan was excellent. The fatal flaw in our original breakout plan was that we would be discovered immediately after digging to the next level—there was no escaping it. However, Yang Wei abandoned the idea of continuing to dig in the same spot and boldly proposed "crossing" the entire building to the other side to find another sealed passage!
No one raised any further objections.
As for the two male guests, I only said one thing to them: "Whether you leave or not is up to you. But we're definitely leaving! If you two want to stay here and wait to die, then go ahead!"
The result, needless to say, is that those who are afraid of death will never dare to leave the main group.
The changing room was already slippery with wetness because we had turned on the fire sprinklers! Everything was damp, and the air in the room was humid.
I held a fire axe, Lei Xiaohu used a fire extinguisher as a tool, Old Bruce held a lamp post, and the rest of us could only stand there and watch.
We carefully searched the floor and pushed aside the bulky metal storage cabinets, clearing the space in the middle of the room.
After tapping the ground countless times with the axe handle, I finally found a spot where the tapping sounded hollow. Then, I carefully plunged the axe into the edge of a large paving stone and cautiously pried it up…
After digging away some more filler material, I finally struck the ground with my axe. It made a crisp, metallic clang!
We finally found the blocked passageway! This passageway, originally designed as a staircase, was quite wide, but now it's locked with a steel plate door. I tried it and found that the steel plate door wasn't actually welded shut; it was only secured to the ground with a bolt at the top!
They smashed open the long-rusted lock with an axe...
With a series of clanging noises, we pried open the rusted steel plate! Below was a suspended ceiling! After lifting the steel plate, I could directly see the various pipes inside the ceiling: fire sprinkler pipes, air conditioning pipes, ventilation ducts…
"Shh..." I suddenly turned around and made a shushing gesture!
At the same time, I listened intently...
Sure enough, I could faintly hear footsteps and voices coming from under the ceiling. Two men… I was pretty sure they were terrorists! Because they weren't speaking English! The footsteps approached, as if they were searching for something. They were probably alerted by the sound of us digging in the floor!
With so many metal pipes in the ceiling, it's really easy for sound to travel through.
"Are you ready?" Yang Wei whispered behind me, "You and Xiao Hu go down together... but you must take them down as quickly as possible! Be quick!"
I nodded, then suddenly raised the axe and swung it down at the ceiling below! At the same time, I leaped from the passageway and crashed heavily onto the ceiling!
First, I swung my axe with all my might. Then, with the added force of my deliberately heavy slam when I jumped down, instantly... a large section of the ceiling below collapsed!
With a loud thud, I fell from the ceiling. And just like that, I landed right on top of a guy!
It turns out that the two terrorists weren't standing very close together!
Another terrorist was standing about two meters away from me! He watched as a section of the ceiling suddenly collapsed, burying his companion underneath! In the dust, he could still see a man on top of him!
Instinctively, he raised his gun at me! At that moment, Lei Xiaohu descended from the sky! He flipped over and jumped onto the terrorist's shoulder, straddling his neck, then grabbed his head with both hands and twisted it forcefully…
Click!
The terrorist collapsed without uttering a sound!
When I got up from the ground, the unfortunate guy underneath had been crushed unconscious; I didn't know if he was dead or not. I picked up his gun from the debris, and without caring whether he was dead or not, I pulled a dagger from his boot and slashed his neck, ending his life.
Lei Xiaohu also picked up his gun, but he seemed a little uneasy, as if this was his first time killing someone, and he couldn't help but look at me. I stared at him and said in a low voice, "What are you looking at! Now is not the time to be soft-hearted!"
The others jumped down one after another. I had already opened the ventilation ducts so they could climb inside.
"Hurry! Hurry! If you don't want to die, get in now!" I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the last people enter the ventilation duct.
The walkie-talkies on the two dead terrorists on the ground had been talking, but there was no reply. Now I can hear people running towards us from outside!
This was a small tea room, with walls and doors made of simple boards or glass. There was simply no way to hold it together.
Fortunately, Xiao Hu and I have finally gotten two guns!
"Yang Wei and the others are climbing north! We'll head south!"
I grabbed Lei Xiaohu and rushed out of the room. As soon as we stepped out, a burst of bullets grazed my scalp!
I immediately rolled on the spot, and without getting up, I raised my hand and fired two shots!
Bang! A bullet struck a terrorist charging towards them! But he was wearing a bulletproof vest, and although he was knocked down by the impact, he was only slightly swayed. Someone then dragged him back.
"Little Tiger! Check those two corpses inside again, see if they have any grenades!" I shouted as I turned around, while simultaneously slipping into a corner and hiding behind the wall.
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter 149: Little Tiger Unleashes His Power
"We'd better think of something," Lei Xiaohu called out to me from behind, tossing me a grenade and gesturing that it was the last one he had.
Without hesitation, I threw out the last grenade, then crouched down and darted to his side in one breath: "Quick, let's go back!"
We had deliberately headed in the opposite direction from the ventilation duct that Yang Wei and the others had taken, trying to attract the attention of the bandits on this floor. Unfortunately, we only ran a few steps before realizing we couldn't get through. There was a submachine gun directly in front of us, and a burst of fire kept us pinned down. I was also worried that they might have sent someone to flank us from behind, and if we stayed in place, we'd probably be surrounded.
Lei Xiaohu immediately ran back, but after only two steps, he heard gunshots behind him. I quickly kicked open a door next to me and dragged him inside. We heard banging sounds coming from the door behind us; the wooden door had been shot through.
"Where am I?" I got up from the ground.
The room had several rows of clothes racks, but they were clearly full of performance costumes. There were also a lot of strange little props on a rack next to it, probably all of them for performances.
I fired two shots towards the door behind me, emptying the magazine. I threw the gun on the ground and noticed several outlandish weapons hanging on the wall: a long-handled battle axe, a medieval knight's lance, and even a longsword...
I immediately ran and grabbed the longsword on the wall, then swiftly climbed up the door. Above the door was a small platform where several trophies had originally been displayed; I was hanging upside down on this small platform, my body dangling precariously.
Lei Xiaohu immediately dodged into the rows of clothes racks. The racks were full of clothes, and the kid plunged in, hiding his body among the pile of clothes.
The footsteps outside grew closer, and the door was just kicked open as a terrorist rushed in, gun in hand, searching the room. I initially held my ground, remaining suspended, sword raised in both hands. When the second terrorist entered, I made sure no one else was behind me before suddenly jumping down and landing behind him!
The guy in front of me only had time to turn halfway around before I swung my longsword down at his head. He only had time to raise his arm to block it...
Snap!
The gleaming cross-shaped longsword struck his arm, but instead of the bloody carnage I had anticipated, I heard a snapping sound... This seemingly sharp, extravagantly designed weapon broke into three pieces right off the blade!
It turned out that although this thing felt quite sturdy in my hand, the outer layer of cold gleam and metallic color was just paint applied on! The actual structure inside was just wood! With my chop, the wood immediately broke into three pieces, and although I didn't cut off the terrorist's arm, I heard the sound of his bones breaking. Presumably, such a powerful chop had broken his arm bones!
This guy was incredibly tough. Although his arm was injured by my sudden attack, he only let out a scream and instead of retreating, he charged forward! With a roar, he lunged into my arms! His shoulder slammed into me. The force that erupted from his pain actually made me stagger! I fell backward and crashed into the door behind me, smashing it open with a crash!
The first terrorist to enter, seeing his comrade attacked by me, turned around and raised his gun to fire! Just then, Lei Xiaohu jumped out from behind the row of clothes racks, tossing something into his hand. It hit the terrorist squarely on the back of the head, causing him to stagger and nearly pass out! With a thud, the object fell to the ground—it was a crystal chandelier that Lei Xiaohu had apparently taken from some lamp!
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, I lunged forward and wrestled with the missing-arm terrorist… This guy was incredibly strong; I almost couldn't pin him down, and he flipped me over, pinning me beneath him. However, his missing arm affected him, so he could only use one arm to choke me. I desperately rammed my knee into his stomach!
I pushed really hard, but this guy seemed to have gone mad! We were so close together, I could even see his eyes were bloodshot and filled with madness! He was screaming like a crazed beast!
After I kneed him a few times, although his strength didn't diminish, he started spitting out blood!
At such close range, the blood in his mouth sprayed all over my face—hot and fishy! I've never met such a fearless madman! And I could clearly feel that I had injured his internal organs, yet he was in this state, as if he wanted to die with me!