"Hey! It's not time to serve the food yet!" The white-haired celebrity emcee finally got annoyed; a series of chaotic events had disrupted the plan.
I gasped!
The dozen or so people dressed as waiters who pushed the food cart in all had blank and gloomy expressions; they were clearly not waiters at all!
These guys all moved with agility, and each of them exuded a gloomy aura... even carrying a hint of death!
I know. Only someone who has truly struggled on the brink of life and death can exude such murderous intent!
The white-haired celebrity host, still confused, frowned and looked back at the audience, shouting, "Where's the on-site coordinator? Get these people out..." He kept gesturing...
Then he turned around, looked at the crowd below the stage, and forced a smile: "Well, it seems there's been a problem with the event management here... Oh God, are we supposed to eat mille-feuille while looking at diamonds worth tens of millions?"
He was still joking and laughing. But then, suddenly...
Bang!
Before the eyes of hundreds of people in the audience, a bullet pierced his head! It went in from the left, and a burst of blood immediately erupted from the right! He collapsed to the ground with a thud, dead! Crimson blood and white brain matter gushed out! The microphone in his hand rolled to the ground, emitting a buzzing, piercing sound...
The hundreds of people present were initially shocked! Probably no one expected such a sudden turn of events! A second later:
"ah……!!!"
It's unclear which woman started the scream first! Then, countless piercing screams and gasps erupted from the crowd! People panicked and began pushing and shoving, trying to escape…
Most people ran toward the elevator, but soon the reality that the elevator was not working shattered everyone's hopes. Some people rushed toward the surrounding entrances and exits, only to find that almost all of the doors were locked from the inside!
I was the only one holding Yang Wei tightly, with Lei Xiaohu and Jessica, who was half-stunned by fright, beside me. The four of us didn't move, and in the chaos around us, no one noticed us.
Finally, a person dressed in a white waiter's uniform walked onto the stage.
This person had beautiful brown skin, large eyes, and a face that even carried a hint of kindness, but his eyes were very, very cold...
He was holding a gun in one hand; clearly, he was the one who had just shot and killed the host! After walking onto the stage, he casually bent down and picked up the microphone from the ground. He even wiped the bloodstains on the microphone with his pristine white waiter's uniform, then tapped the microphone twice to test the sound before speaking.
His voice was calm, even in standard American English:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to have disturbed your enjoyment of this beautiful evening... However, on behalf of my team, I regret to inform you that tonight's party..." He even had a gloomy smile on his face: "...is ending early."
With a wave of his hand, the waiters standing next to the food carts took off their white waiter uniforms, revealing black clothes underneath... and each of them was wearing a bulletproof vest!
They immediately opened the lids of various foods on the food cart next to them...
Soon, all the beautifully prepared food on the food cart—the huge roasts, cakes, salad platters, cheese, cheese cubes… and so on—was smashed open! Then, these people magically produced all sorts of weapons from the food!
The pistols and bullets were all wrapped in a layer of transparent plastic. They quickly tore the plastic open, grabbed the guns, and loaded the bullets...
I even saw someone pull several black parts out of the bellies of several huge roasted chickens and then quickly assemble them into a submachine gun...
And those grenades hidden in the ice bucket...
Good heavens! These dozen or so food trucks combined are practically a small light weapons arsenal!!
The crowd was still in disarray, but the thugs had already rushed to the surrounding area, punching, kicking, and firing shots to intimidate, quickly bringing the crowd under control! They were maneuvering everyone towards the center…
"Ladies and gentlemen..." The man on the stage was clearly the leader. He looked at everyone, bowed slightly, and said in a very elegant manner, "Welcome to Hell."
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter 141: The Shocking Heist (Part Two)
A dozen armed thugs gathered all two hundred guests in the middle of the hall. The four of us mingled in the crowd. I gestured to Lei Xiaohu with my eyes, signaling him not to make any rash moves and to wait for an opportunity.
Everyone was ordered to gather together, hands behind their heads, and squat on the ground. Among the crowd were some uniformed security guards; some tried to resist but were immediately knocked to the ground. The remaining guards were then individually removed, each carrying some weapons. Although firearms were not permitted in this situation, walkie-talkies and all other equipment, including batons, were confiscated from the guards. The guards were then ordered to squat in a line facing the wall, hands pressed against it.
Some of the ladies among the guests began to sob quietly, but their cries had no effect on the cold-faced bandits.
Two film company investors were squatting next to me, and two famous Hollywood male stars were behind me on my left, one of whom often played a "superhero" on the big screen. At this moment, they were all squatting obediently on the ground, although their eyes were obviously filled with anger, but they did not dare to move.
"Oh, dear guests." The bandit leader was still dressed in a white waiter's uniform, but his expression was calm, always carrying a peculiar composure. For someone undertaking such a significant undertaking, his calmness was somewhat unexpected. Because of his men, although everyone wore a cold expression, their eyes betrayed a degree of tension; they were clearly nervous too.
And this person... his eyes were very calm.
Could it be...?
A sense of unease arose in my heart.
A minute later, three more people walked in through the side doors. This time, they were all white, the same three I had seen killing people in the makeshift kitchen. The three men came in, swapped their plastic-cased pistols for real ones, and then one of them smiled at the leader and said, "Hey, looks like you're doing a good job controlling it."
The leader glanced at him and said in a flat tone, "My dear Jack, how's it going?"
"Everything's going well." The guy named Jack grinned, then suddenly yanked his hair back, throwing it on the ground. It turned out he was wearing a wig, revealing his bald head. "Oh. Wearing this thing must be so suffocating."
“Oh, Jack, the next level is full of our best Hollywood actresses. You’d better treat them well… They’re our first line of defense. And our best hostages.” The leader shrugged. “Get the network set up.”
His men dragged several objects that looked like laptop parts from the food truck and began frantically assembling them, with a camera attached. A minute later, they had assembled a laptop. The leader spoke a few words into a headset and walkie-talkie, then nodded.
After the laptop was turned on, the screen flickered but there was no image. The leader said calmly, "Be careful, these are satellite-connected instruments, they are very expensive."
“Oh, after tonight, it won’t be expensive for us anymore.” Jack, the white man, licked his lips and glanced greedily at the jewelry displayed in the transparent glass showcase.
"Connected!" one of the subordinates shouted. Sure enough, the computer screen flickered and an image appeared. The image was initially blurry and had some ghosting, but it quickly became clear.
"Hi!" The leader walked up to the screen.
The angle from which I crouched allowed me to see the screen from the side, and the scene displayed on the screen was roughly the floor below ours.
The ground floor was also rented by the organizers for tonight's exhibition. As planned, some of Hollywood's biggest female stars, makeup artists, models, fashion designers, and staff who were specially invited tonight were resting downstairs. They would then take the main elevator directly up from downstairs to the exhibition hall, which faced the display stands inside the lobby. The plan was for the invited top female stars and models to walk into the main venue wearing the latest designs from the world's top brands for a fashion show, followed by a live display of the exquisite jewelry on display.
Legend has it that the world's most expensive dress, woven from diamonds and worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, will be worn and displayed on-site by a Hollywood actress... However, for the sake of creating hype, the identity of who will actually wear the dress has not been announced.
The top floor we were on was the 62nd floor, while the 61st floor below was used as a lounge and makeup area.
But judging from the screen, it seems that the 61st floor below has also been taken over by these armed bandits! Because on the screen, a burly man with long hair and a thick beard said "OK" expressionlessly.
In the video, there were shadowy figures behind him, just like here. I saw many people squatting on the ground gathered together, with armed personnel nearby.
“Alright, get on with your work, Okan.” The leader smiled faintly, then looked away from the computer screen and glanced at his subordinate: “Now, we can call the police. Turn off the cell phone jamming devices outside.”
He walked up to us with a gentle smile, as if he were a well-mannered guest, and said softly, "Oh, excuse me, could someone please lend me their cell phone?"
He spoke so politely, but three of his men immediately surrounded him, took out a bag, and searched each guest for their phone.
"I hope everyone will cooperate and hand over your phones obediently. Otherwise, I'm afraid my men will take some impolite actions."
Under this seemingly mild intimidation, everyone handed over their phones. Although many were unwilling, after some hesitation, they complied. The thugs with bags walked up to us. I didn't move, and Jessica gave me a helpless look. I nodded, and she reluctantly threw her phone into her bag as well.
Soon, the three thugs' pockets were filled with all sorts of expensive new mobile phones.
"Alright, now let's have a proper talk with the police." The leader's casual remark immediately made the white man named Jack's face change color: "Lamuch! Are you kidding me! We've got the situation under control! We should grab the jewelry and leave! And take a dozen of the wealthiest people here as hostages!! That's our plan!"
That's when I learned that the leader's name was Ramuchi, which seemed to be a typical Middle Eastern name.
Lamouchi looked at Jack with pity, then sighed softly, "My dear friend, you want the jewels? Fine, I'll show you..."
He suddenly raised his pistol and casually pointed it at me and Yang Wei next to me!
To be precise, it was aimed at a display shelf in front of Yang Wei! And Yang Wei happened to be crouching behind a square glass cabinet containing a huge diamond necklace...
I was startled. Instinctively, I moved forward and quickly pulled Yang Wei behind me, using my body to shield her.
Bang!!
Bang bang!!
Amidst the screams of alarmed guests, three gunshots rang out in quick succession. My scalp tingled, and facing the gun barrel aimed directly at me, I couldn't help but close my eyes... But then Yang Wei gently tugged at me from behind. I felt her hand slip into my palm and squeeze me hard. Only then did I open my eyes. Yang Wei was looking at me with a complex expression, seemingly both excited and grateful.
The glass cabinet containing the diamonds that had been blocking the way between me and Lamouchi remained completely undamaged!
Even after being shot, there wasn't a single bullet mark! The glass surface remained perfectly smooth!
"See that?" Ramuch glanced at me, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, probably drawn by my instinctive action of shielding the woman. However, he quickly turned his gaze to the white man named Jack. "See that? This is the best bulletproof and blast-proof glass!! Don't even mention bullets, even if you had a rocket launcher, you couldn't break through it!"
"Damn it!" Jack froze for a moment, then suddenly charged forward like a madman, grabbed the microphone stand from the table, carried it to the nearest glass cabinet, and smashed it down with all his might. He pounded on it several times, but the glass cabinet remained intact. Finally, he cursed in exasperation, "Fuck!!"
Then the man glared angrily at Lamuch: "Did you foresee all this? But our original plan wasn't like this!"
"Plans are always subject to change," Ramucci said calmly. Although his tone was soft, it carried an undeniable air of authority.
Jack, the white man, was clearly annoyed, and the other two white men beside him were equally dissatisfied; the three of them stood together…
Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter 142: The Shocking Heist (Part Three)
I understand now. It seems that these bandits are not all of the same group, but rather divided into two factions. One faction consists of the three white men, and the other faction is led by Ramouche and his group.
As I was pondering, Yang Wei tugged at me, and I felt her gently tracing lines in my palm. I then realized she was writing!
"Differentiation." Yang Wei wrote these two words in my hand, then glanced at the three white men.
Lamouchi's men acted very efficiently. They used grenades to sever the cables in the elevator without hesitation, and also cut the steel cable... Afterwards, they completely sealed the elevator doors.
"The fire exit is blocked." After one of his men came to report, the three white men, especially Jack, looked even more grim.
He suddenly glared furiously at Lamouchi: "What exactly do you want! You've blocked all the way out, how are we supposed to get out of here!"
“Darling, use your brain!” Ramuch smiled faintly and pointed the gun at the rooftop: “There’s a helicopter landing pad up there.”
“A helicopter? Where are we going to get a helicopter?!” Jack demanded.
“Them,” Ramouchi pointed to the more than two hundred hostages present, “If all of these people die here, then tomorrow, the American film industry will completely collapse! Set back at least thirty years! The film economy will collapse… Do you think the government will allow such a thing to happen? Similarly, we don’t need to figure out how to open these blast-proof glass cases ourselves. Because we have these hostages!” Ramouchi smiled confidently, then walked to Jack’s side and patted him on the shoulder: “Alright, now. Take your men and go to the rooftop to guard the door. I don’t want the police SWAT teams to come down from the rooftop.”
Jack glared at Lamouchi for a moment, then said, "You're a madman! Damn it!"
He was somewhat unwilling, but he shouted and rushed out, followed by his two men.
“Alright, I need a friend’s help now.” After Jack left, Ramouchi walked over with a smile, looked at everyone, and said, “Mr. Wilsnecker, I think I need your help.”
After I asked him a question, I noticed that the expression on the face of a middle-aged white man squatting behind me suddenly changed, and then the muscles in his face contorted. I saw that he was even trembling.
“Mr. Will Snake.” Lamouchi casually pulled a photograph from his pocket. He glanced at it, then scanned the crowd, his gaze settling on the white man behind me.
“Oh, Mr. Snake.” He waved his hand, and two armed men rushed forward, grabbing the middle-aged white man behind me from either side.
“Mr. Will Snake, Chief Consultant of the Security Electronics Expert Group. I suppose these exhibits here tonight… well… you must have the code to get open these damn bulletproof glass, right?”
“I… I didn’t.” Snake’s eyes were tense. He seemed to want to explain and was about to say something, but Ramucci smiled and suddenly raised his gun. Bang!
Snake screamed in agony as a bullet pierced his left thigh, causing him to stagger. His face contorted with rage as he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Damn it! I really don't know... Ah!!"
Bang!!
Another shot! Without hesitation, Lamouchi fired, piercing his other leg!