Chapter 12:20 AM

At 12:20 AM late at night, the regulatory commission hostage crisis finally broke the ice after several hours of negotiations.

The Chi Army agreed to release eighty percent of the hostages and withdraw from Dragon City. In exchange, the municipal command center would provide a ransom of thirty million, plus the release of eighty percent of the Chi Army soldiers captured off the coast of Sinaloa.

With negotiations concluded, the Chi Army prepared to withdraw.

Inside the second floor of the banquet hall, Zhao Weihu put his mask back on and strode quickly down the hallway, saying, "Follow the planned A-plan for withdrawal. All soldiers withdraw from their defensive positions in an orderly manner. Let the sentries outside Dragon City also pay attention to the situation along the withdrawal route. The moment the Dragon City garrison, SWAT team, or special forces move, we kill hostages.”

"Yes!" Zhu Bajie nodded.

"Has Secretary-General Lu returned?" Zhao Weihu asked.

"He's back. We have him under control."

"Good!" Zhao Weihu nodded slowly.

...

In the main hall on the first floor, most of the hostages had already been released, with fewer than thirty still being held. Most of them were high-ranking officials from Dragon City government departments, mainly white people.

Secretary-General Lu, who had just been asked to return by the bandits, stood in the center of the hostages, his expression extremely ugly as he surveyed the surrounding situation.

Behind him, a white man asked in confusion, "Oh, Lu, weren't you released? Why did you come back? Is it to ensure our safety?"

Secretary-General Lu glanced at him with a complex expression. "Of course. It's my duty."

"Oh, God, you're such an idiot!" The other man, who was also of a high rank and familiar with Secretary-General Lu, cursed without reservation. "If I were you, I would never come back to this damned place."

"..." Secretary-General Lu was speechless.

...

About an hour earlier, when the Chi Army released the first batch of hostages, Su Tianyu and Yu Mingyuan had a conversation in the back corridor.

"Damn it, are you stupid?! You can leave now, why aren't you going?" Yu Mingyuan asked anxiously. "What are you staying for?"

"The mayor hasn't left yet. This is an opportunity for us," Su Tianyu replied in a low voice. "I have an agreement with Zhao Weihu. As long as the Chi Army can escape smoothly, he will hand over the mayor to me. We need connections now, big connections. This is worth a shot. If we succeed, we can take advantage of the situation and latch onto a powerful patron."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Yu Mingyuan firmly opposed. "What if the Chi Army goes back on its word? What if they kidnap Mayor Li to Sinaloa and demand another hundred million in ransom?! Our relationship with the Chi Army is too shallow. You can't trust them! We can use the garrison's connections to blend in with the hostages and be released. Wouldn't it be better to ensure our own safety first?"

Su Tianyu waved his hand. "No, listen to me. First of all, I don't think Zhao Weihu has any reason to kill Li Mingsheng unless absolutely necessary. He has already achieved his goal. As long as he retreats safely, that's a success. But if he kills Old Li, or goes too far and takes him to Sinaloa to demand a ransom, that would be too much. Think about it, Old Li is the mayor of the city, equivalent to the local emperor of the autonomous region. He has countless political connections behind him. There's no need for Zhao Weihu to make enemies of these people. It's not in his best interest. That's why Old Li dared to come in the first place."

Yu Mingyuan was silent.

"We have a close relationship with the garrison, and the garrison can talk to the Chi Army. That's our advantage!" Su Tianyu continued in a low voice. "If the Chi Army wants to do someone a favor, the best choice is us. What's more, even if Zhao Weihu really has a brain cramp and wants to mess with Li Mingsheng again, at worst I'll just be released and return to Dragon City. There's no real danger to my life, right? He doesn't need to kill me, does he?"

"Why are you so damn brave!" Yu Mingyuan replied helplessly.

"I was caught in the middle and almost lost my life. If I don't take a gamble, I'll have wasted this bullet!" Su Tianyu lowered his voice. "Actually, I had no choice. During the first forced rescue attempt by the command headquarters, I was the only one who knew the approximate time of the operation, but in the end, the Chi Army reacted in advance, causing the plan to fail. The command center probably already suspects that I leaked the plan to the Chi Army, so... the best way for me to clear my name is at this crucial point."

Yu Mingyuan let out a long breath. "Then I'll go with you."

"No need. You go out and control the perimeter. I'll find a way to contact you midway," Su Tianyu waved his hand directly. "It's no use you going, and your status is higher than mine. If something happens, your risk is greater than mine."

Yu Mingyuan pondered for a moment, then reached out and grabbed Su Tianyu's arm. "Then be careful!"

"It's okay. I'm tough. I specialize in bringing bad luck to others, not myself," Su Tianyu gritted his teeth and replied.

The two looked at each other, and neither spoke again.

After a while, Yu Mingyuan was released among the first batch of hostages, and Su Tianyu was escorted back to the hostage hall on the first floor.

...

Late at night, around 12:40 AM, the Chi Army, which had been holed up in the banquet hall building, began to appear in the courtyard in batches, holding many hostages with black hoods over their heads.

The Chi Army soldiers were in a relatively concentrated formation. More than thirty people in front were carrying expandable riot shields and guns, gathered at the entrance of the courtyard. The soldiers responsible for escorting the hostages covered their heads and the heads of the hostages with curtains torn down from inside, moving and boarding the vehicles in a unified manner.

In this way, from the perspective of the aerial drones, there were only a few large pieces of stretched curtains moving in the courtyard below. It was impossible to observe the soldiers and hostages underneath, and it was not clear which vehicles contained hostages and which contained soldiers.

After a large number of Chi Army personnel got into the vehicles, they sealed all the windows on both sides with paper to prevent outsiders from observing the situation inside the vehicles.

In this way, six batches of people rushed out of the building and got into cars one after another. Su Tianyu, mixed in with the crowd, suddenly discovered that Jing Yan was also taken into the lead car, and there were only Chi Army soldiers around him. He didn't see Gu Baishun.

Seeing this scene, Su Tianyu frowned.

Before the city command center launched the attack, Su Tianyu had a private conversation with Zhao Weihu. He claimed at the time that he had a piece of information that could save the Chi Army's life, and the condition was that the Chi Army had to kill Jing Yan and Gu Baishun!

Su Tianyu wanted to use the Chi Army's hand to get rid of these two people, intending to avenge Yu Jinrong and disrupt the Ma Gong Association, so that Wei Xiangzuo could come up as soon as possible.

But he didn't expect Zhao Weihu, who had always kept his word, to break his promise on this matter!

Jing Yan wasn't dead?

Gu Baishun was missing?

What the hell was going on?!