Chapter 122: Guilt

The gang leader was still negotiating with Captain Li. Though calling it a negotiation was a stretch, as both parties had their own hidden agendas.

Captain Li was aiming to buy time and lower the robbers’ guard, thereby creating an opportunity for Lin Xiao.

On the other hand, the gang leader kept probing Captain Li’s psychological limits with his words, revealing his own resolve to bring everything down if he must, aiming to make the police hesitant to act.

In the back-and-forth verbal sparring between the two, ten minutes quickly passed by.

Accompanied by the whirring sound, a civilian helicopter approached from a distance.

A glimmer of joy flashed through the eyes of the gang leader.

“Well, it seems you didn’t lie,” he said, smirking at Captain Li as if mocking him and exuding overconfidence. No longer interested in wasting words, he walked deeper into the mall and returned to the hostages.

He casually tossed a middle-aged man into the crowd of hostages and began pacing around, his excitement barely contained.

This excitement was also mirrored in his subordinate, Old Seventh. His eyes kept darting toward the box filled with cash, the entire reason for their current situation. He did not attempt to hide the greed that glimmered in his eyes.

“Old Seventh, go check on Old Forth,” the gang leader said. “Then head down to the first floor and tell Old Fifth and Old Ninth to stop guarding there. Have them come up immediately. We’re preparing to retreat.”

“I understand, Boss,” Old Seventh responded, eager to carry out the orders.

Old Second, who was already there keeping the hostages in line, asked with an excited voice, “We did it?”

“We fucking did it,” said the gang leader.

Old Seventh walked toward another hostage holding point not far from here, which was in the women’s store where Huang Caixing had previously changed.

Soon, Lin Xiao arrived at the holding point.

Most of the hostages in the store and huddled in the changing room were women. Dozens of female hostages and several mall employees were squatting on the ground, their faces filled with panic.

On the ground lay a middle-aged woman, around her forties, with a large bloodstain on her chest. She had already lost her life.

A burly man wearing a face mask and wielding an assault rifle was standing, his foot on a black box, as he scanned the hostages with menacing eyes. Under his gaze, all the hostages were shivering, filled with dread and unease.

Hearing footsteps, the burly guard immediately aimed his gun in the direction of the sound. However, upon seeing who it was, he relaxed.

“Old Seventh, what just happened outside? I heard a gunshot a while back.”

“Don’t even mention it. I got a bit trigger-happy and killed a hostage, only to get a harsh scolding from the Boss.” Old Seventh sighed in frustration. “How’s it going on your end, Old Forth?”

“These little brats are actually pretty well-behaved, you scared shitless earlier,” Old Forth chuckled, swinging his assault rifle nonchalantly as he cast lecherous glances at a few pretty young girls. “There are some good-looking ones in here, what a pity it’s not the time. Otherwise, I’d definitely have some fun with them.”

The young girls paled at his words.

“You’re always thinking about women. After we pull off this heist, we’ll have all the money we want. What type of woman won’t be within our reach then?” Old Seventh jokingly scolded, “Since you’re good here, I’ll go check on Old Fifth and Old Ninth. The helicopter will be here in a few minutes. Get ready, you can take a few hostages with us when we go. You choose who.”

“Hahahaha, excellent! Take your time,” Old Forth’s eyes instantly grew fervent, and the way he looked at the young girls turned exceedingly lecherous.

Old Seventh waved his hand and left the third-floor mall, walking quickly toward the stairs. After their earlier skirmish with the police, they had lost their walkie-talkies, forcing him to personally deliver the message.

But just as he turned the stairwell corner, an arm suddenly extended from his blind spot. Five fingers hooked onto his throat like claws.

Old Seventh didn’t expect anyone to ambush him from a hidden spot. He didn’t even have time to dodge before being caught squarely by the arm.

The strength in that arm was terrifyingly powerful. The five fingers clenched like a vice, lifting him off the ground while completely blocking any sound he might have made in his throat.

Faced with the threat of death, Old Seventh’s body suddenly erupted with a strength several times greater than usual, struggling wildly and kicking his legs in a frenzy. At the same time, his hand reached for the pistol hanging at his waist, intending to draw it and shoot the person choking him.

Snap!

With a crisp sound, Old Seventh’s arm was completely broken and hung limp at his side. His eyes bulged out, his face beneath the mask turning beet red, veins popping on his neck, as his struggle grew increasingly intense.

Despite his desperate struggles, the iron grip around his throat remained unyielding, tightening even further.

A chilling gurgle escaped Old Third’s throat. His eyes began to glaze over, and his breathing became increasingly shallow. The frenetic energy that had propelled his body to fight back dwindled, leaving him twitching on the spot like a fish gasping for air.

In a grim turn of events, this hardened criminal, with a history of countless violent acts, was ignominiously choked to death, meeting a frustrating and suffocating end.

With a muted thud, Old Seventh’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground. Slowly, a figure stepped out from behind the corner.

Who else could it be but Lin Xiao?

Even after having just killed a hardened criminal, Lin Xiao’s face remained devoid of emotion, his eyes as placid as an ancient well. It was as if he had merely squashed an ant under his thumb.

Peeling off Old Seventh’s face mask, Lin Xiao revealed a face in its early thirties, twisted in a grimace of agony. Perhaps due to the manner of his death, Old Seventh’s expression looked particularly horrifying, his eyes wide and bloodshot.

“Those who kill will be killed,” Lin Xiao murmured, gently closing Old Seventh’s lifeless eyes. “You’ve met your end at my hands, you can consider it a fitting end.”

Then, Lin Xiao stripped the camouflage uniform from Old Seventh’s body and put it on himself. He donned the face mask, picked up the assault rifle and pistol, and in an instant, his eyes turned icy cold and ruthless.

His body visibly enlarged, emanating a fearsome and wild aura. At that moment, Lin Xiao looked even more like a criminal than the criminals themselves.

Lin Xiao walked with deliberate strides into the store where the hostages were kept, seamlessly adopting the swagger of a seasoned criminal.

“Old Seventh, why are you back?” Old Fourth, still caught up in his excitement, looked puzzledly at Lin Xiao.

He ignored Old Fourth’s question entirely, closing the distance between them.

“Old Seventh, what’s going on?” Old Fourth asked, his voice betraying the confusion settled in his eyes. Still, no alarm bells went off in his mind.

Lin Xiao stopped just inches away from Old Fourth, his eyes icy cold.

“I just remembered something I forgot to tell you,” he said, his voice laced with chilling finality.

Old Fourth’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Something was off. The voice didn’t match. His hand shot out toward his assault rifle, his lips parting to yell a warning.

But Lin Xiao was faster. Much faster.

In a blur of motion, one of Lin Xiao’s hands gripped Old Fourth’s outstretched arm, stopping him from reaching his weapon. Simultaneously, his other hand shot out, fingers curved into a vice-like grip, seizing Old Fourth’s neck. Without a moment’s hesitation, he twisted sharply.

“You can die now.”

The crunch of vertebrae snapping was almost drowned out by the hush that followed. Old Fourth’s eyes went wide, then dull, his body collapsing lifelessly onto the ground.

Killing as if snuffing out a candle flame, Lin Xiao perfectly embodied the ruthless efficiency of death itself.

The women in the dressing room looked on, eyes wide in disbelief, as two men who had appeared to be allies inexplicably turned on each other.

Their fear crescendoed to an almost unbearable pitch, especially for those who were closest to the unfolding drama. A stifling silence gave way to a chorus of ear-splitting screams that echoed through the store.

“Aaah!”

The shrill screams made Lin Xiao briefly furrow his brow. He realized he had no time to waste, so he sprinted toward the other hostage location.

The hostages’ piercing cries would undoubtedly alert the remaining robbers who were guarding additional captives nearby. Even if these criminals were unsure of what had just transpired, it would jolt them into high alert. Time was of the essence.

Meanwhile, back in the dressing room, the atmosphere began to settle. The women slowly regained their composure after Lin Xiao’s abrupt exit. A young woman, striking in appearance, watched Lin Xiao leave, a flicker of confusion crossing her eyes.

“The man who just left… Wasn’t he the one who warned us about the robbers earlier?” she ventured cautiously.

“What?”

The room stirred at her words, tension igniting anew.

Initially, they had brushed Lin Xiao off, dismissing him as a man of no consequence. They had even assumed his warning about robbers was a flimsy excuse for some ulterior motive.

However, the harsh reality dawned on them when the robbers did indeed appear. Lin Xiao had told the truth, and they had misjudged him.

The sentiment of regret hung heavy in the room, but what was done was done. Lin Xiao had left an indelible impression on them all.

“Yes, it was him!” A woman in her twenties affirmed resolutely, finally placing his distinctive voice.

As they contemplated Lin Xiao’s receding figure, a collective feeling of remorse washed over them. They had prematurely labeled him a menace, yet he had proven to be their savior.