Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1628 - 782_2

"What’s with the rush and fuss? Is the sky falling?"

Zhong panted heavily, pointing at the wall-mounted TV, unable to utter a complete sentence:

"I... I can’t explain... Boss, turn on the news channel quickly!"

As he spoke, he grabbed the remote on the table and pressed the power button.

The TV screen lit up.

Zhong pressed the remote several times, quickly switching to the East City News Channel.

At this moment, two anchors were rapidly reporting an incident where armed assailants had seized the Golden City Resort.

The screen intermittently switched, showing the live footage of the hostage-taking scenario from earlier.

The camera panned over a group of staff and contestants crouched on the ground with their hands over their heads.

Zhou Yongnian’s gaze followed the camera.

Suddenly, his vision halted.

Beside a prop box in the hall’s corner, there crouched a girl in a light T-shirt.

Though it was just a brief glance, he recognized her instantly.

"Xiumei!"

Zhou Yongnian’s cheeks bulged, and he clenched his right fist tightly.

The plastic fork in his hand snapped into two.

He knew his daughter was at a singing competition’s boot camp at West Mountain these days.

Now, she’s being held at gunpoint by a group of vicious thugs.

Beside her, a hundred kilograms of explosive dynamite lay buried, ready to detonate at any moment.

How could he possibly remain calm!

Zhou Yongnian decisively pushed back his chair, striding toward the coat rack, yanking off his police utility belt.

With two clicks, his service pistol was swiftly fastened to his waist.

"Boss, where are you going?"

Zhong stood frozen in place.

"Prepare the car, to West Mountain!"

Zhou Yongnian grabbed the car keys and headed straight out the door.

"But, West Mountain is under the jurisdiction of the West Gate District Police Station. Isn’t it inappropriate for us to handle a cross-district case like this?"

"Quit wasting time. I’ll call the police operations center on the way to request special permission to join this operation."

Zhou Yongnian stormed out without looking back.

He cut through the busy hall, where officers paused their tasks, staring awestruck at their captain’s menacing presence.

Zhong followed closely, waving his hand at the people in the hall:

"Carry on with your tasks, I’m going on a case with the captain!"

Two minutes later.

A jeep blared its siren, its tires screeched harshly against the road.

The vehicle made a sharp turn, speeding out of the police station gates, merging into the surging traffic.

.........

The night at West Mountain was full of shifting shadows, with hidden undercurrents.

A gust of cold wind howled past, swirling up the dead branches and leaves on the ground.

Night Owl tightened his gray collared trench coat, crouching on the cliffside rock.

In the surrounding dense forest, over a dozen armed figures in black lurked in the shadows, maintaining surveillance.

Before him was a laptop glowing in the dark.

On the screen, a man with gold-rimmed glasses had just announced the conditions for releasing the hostages.

The screen switched back to the news studio.

Night Owl stared at the computer screen, his narrow eyes squinting.

His expression froze, surprise mingled with a hint of fury.

"What on earth are those guys up to?"

"Night Owl, didn’t you send them to orchestrate the bomb plot? Why are they holding a live broadcast now?"

The voices of Roger and Hai Pig questioned through the Spiritual Link.

Just now, they had shared Night Owl’s vision via the link, witnessing the live broadcast clearly.

Night Owl took a deep breath, muttering to himself:

"They want to break free of our control..."

"What do you mean?"

Roger pressed for more information.

Night Owl explained in the channel:

"The Red Demon Mercenary Corps doesn’t trust us. They want an escape route, so they’re deliberately adding drama, exposing their whereabouts, attracting more attention to the events at Golden City Resort."

"A crafty hare dies, the hound gets cooked."

Xiao Yuanwang’s deep voice chimed in:

"They believe the bigger the commotion, the more cautious we’ll be of official repercussions. This way, as hunting dogs, they’ll actually be safer."

"Exactly, they’re wary of us getting rid of them easily afterwards."

Night Owl gritted his teeth, a glint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"Cunning bastards!"

Hai Pig spat, cursing:

"The moment I saw that guy with glasses, I knew he was unreliable."

"Heh."

Roger then let out a cold laugh:

"Isn’t that what we planned? You just said, we might as well let this bunch die inside Naraka Gate, becoming nourishment for the array."

Hai Pig ignored his sarcasm and asked:

"What should we do now?"

Night Owl pondered briefly and made a decision:

"Let them be, now that there’s a live TV broadcast, I believe White Owl will soon be drawn in. Our task is to be patient and wait."

"Once White Owl shows up and gets into a stalemate with the Red Demon Mercenary Corps, we’ll immediately activate Naraka Gate and capture them all."

"But, didn’t you say earlier that Naraka Gate takes at least half an hour from activation to fully manifest?"

Hai Pig then raised a question:

"During this time, White Owl will likely sense danger and casually deal with those mercenaries."

"That’s why we need those mercenaries to use hostages to hold White Owl, and stall him for us."

Night Owl’s lips curled up, a cold glint flashed in his eyes:

"Besides, I have another card to play. Even if White Owl can deal with the Red Demon Mercenary Corps, he will have to obediently stay put and await his fate."

"What card?"

Hai Pig pursued the question.

Night Owl teased:

"I can’t tell you now, it won’t work if I say it out loud."

"Alright then."

Hai Pig impatiently responded:

"I just hope the plan goes as smoothly as you say, without backfiring."

"Amitabha Buddha, this karma should come to an end."

Roger murmured a Buddhist chant.

Xiao Yuanwang also let out a soft snort and didn’t speak again.

The spiritual channel returned to silence.

Night Owl moved his gaze away from the computer screen.

He stepped forward a couple of steps, stood at the very edge of the cliff and looked down the mountain.

West Mountain’s ridge stretched like a hibernating beast in the night.

The distant Golden City Resort was almost completely swallowed by darkness.

Only the auxiliary building standing in the night had glaringly bright lights.

The wind messed up his hair in front, he raised a hand to smooth it back, whispering to himself:

"White Owl, the stage is set, it’s your turn to perform. Don’t disappoint me..."

.........

Third auxiliary building, rehearsal hall.

Upon hearing about a hundred kilograms of explosives buried in the building’s pillars and passageways, the crowd erupted in a stifled cry of shock.

Several girls, whose psychological defenses collapsed, hugged their heads and started to cry out loud.

Many male contestants also had weak knees, their faces ashen as they slumped against the corners of the wall.

Panic spread like a tide throughout the hall, quickly showing signs of turning into a commotion.

Bang! Bang!

Kun raised the gun, pulling the trigger twice aimed at the ceiling.

Plaster fragments fell down chaotically.

"Everyone shut the hell up!"

Kun strode forward, kicking over the music stand nearby.

The iron stand crashed onto the floor, making a piercing clang.

"Anyone who makes a peep, I’m sending them to test the waters below!"

Instantly, the hall returned to a deathly silence.

Everyone immediately covered their mouths, only a few suppressed sobs remained.

"Shh—"

Pei Tianci raised an index finger to his lips, still displaying a gentlemanly smile:

"Everyone, please remain calm."

"I am a reasonable person, as long as you cooperate, I assure you all will go home alive tonight."

"But if anyone makes loud noises again..."

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with a bloodthirsty glint behind the lenses:

"I wouldn’t mind their head popping like a watermelon."

The crowd collectively lowered their heads, eyes fixated on the ground, no one dared make a sound.

In front of the prop box at the corner of the hall.

Old Wolf and Xiao Bei mingled among the crowd crouching with their heads in hand, brows furrowed.

The two exchanged a look, communicating silently.

They originally thought, tonight they’d just encounter a few vengeful mutant experts.

Unexpectedly, they were met by a group of desperadoes playing with explosives.