Chapter 31 – Escaping
Novel Title: 龙血 (Dragon Blood)
Author：水千丞 (Shui Qian Cheng)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 单鸣 (Shan Ming -MC), 沈长泽 (Shen Changze -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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The police yelled through a loudspeaker outside the hotel, demanding to speak to the terrorists.
The leader told the conditions for hostage release and it was really aimed at Jason Otali’s company. Firstly, they asked the company to cancel the arms contract with the Nigerian government army and deliver the goods to the port. Their people would take over the goods. Secondly, they asked for 200 million U.S. dollars in cash, ready to be put in the vehicle for their people to take away. He said he sent half of the men to the port with money and weapons and the rest stayed in the hotel. They would release the hostages only after the weapons, cash and people were on board. The leader also said that from now on, one hostage will be shot every hour until sunrise the next day. If their demands are not met, they will blow up the entire hotel.
Pell looked at her watch. It was past ten o’clock at night. There are only six to seven hours until sunrise.
Many people in the banquet hall cried softly. Shen Changze also cried and called out to his mother. He then retracted into Pell’s arms. The terrorists took a look at him and were not suspicious of a child.
Pell leaned against the corner and held him in her arms. Shen Changze didn’t have long enough hair to cover an earpiece so he could only carry it in his pocket. Now, he couldn’t take it out. He buried his head between her neck and whispered, “What did Baba say?”
Pell touched his head, pretending to comfort him. She said in a very low voice, “Let’s not act rashly. There may be spies of the terrorists among the hostages. We should be on the look-out.”
Shen Changze said in a low voice, “I think it’s very unlikely. These people didn’t intend to leave alive at all. Their actions were unplanned. It was simple and rough. For them to hide their own people among the hostages to find a way out if the mission failed… They look like they didn’t even think about leaving. If it is like that, half of the people who stayed in the hotel had almost no hope of survival.”
Pell gave a soft “hmm” to the child. “It makes sense. But you can’t be negligent.”
Since the terrorists and the police were confronting each other, everyone in the banquet hall was panicking. Meanwhile, Ayer and Shan Ming were drawing up a battle plan.
Ayer received some information about the terrorists from Jushi and Koski. Except for a few people who were killed by Kali and the others at the door, there were about twenty-seven people in the banquet hall. The only heavy weapon was an M249 machine gun in the hands of the leader. The other standard equipment is the AK47. Judging from the gun that Jushi picked up from a corpse, it is still the worst Romanian copycat version of AK. This thing jumps out of the barrel when it is used to shoot. Its aiming is also very poor. It seems that the terrorists were ill-prepared and poor. However, they hung a lot of grenades on their bodies and it was estimated that there were other bombs in their backpacks. But Jushi didn’t have enough time to check for more or even to take the backpack from the corpse. Now, he and Koski are hiding in a hidden place in the lobby. If they move recklessly, there is the danger of being discovered by the terrorists guarding the entrance of the banquet hall on the second floor.
Zouhuo was still hidden in the exhaust pipe. He was very close to the terrorists but his vision was limited. He didn’t dare to move around for fear of making any noise and would be directly shot at.
The police were talking to the terrorists and asked them not to harm the hostages. Shan Ming and Ayer led some people to meet on the third floor. They wanted to go down to the room department on the second floor without alerting the terrorists.
There are three passages from the third floor to the second floor. One is through the elevator. The next one is the rescue passage. And the last one is a luxurious wooden staircase with a width of more than two metres. It was situated in the centre of the banquet hall. The last one is too conspicuous so it will definitely not work. But the elevator and the rescue passage have also been blocked by the terrorists.
Since the subject they wanted to protect is the main target of these terrorists and the number of terrorists is quite large, it is difficult to face them head on. It will force the terrorists to take extreme measures and kill Orais. So, being inside the hotel is basically similar to waiting for a death sentence. In order to solve the problem, they must find a way to trick most of the terrorists out of the hotel and kill them there.
Just at this time, the person in charge of the company contacted Ayer. Ayer explained his plan by asking him to persuade the government to cooperate with them by preparing money and transport vehicles to the terrorists and lure half of the terrorists into the vehicles outside the hotel.
The person in charge of the company heard his plan and felt that the attack was going to be too dangerous. He also asked them to ensure the safety of the other hostages.
Ayer got angry. “What do you mean you want us to ensure the lives of the other hostages?”
“The people present are all famous figures in New York. It will be very troublesome for anything to go wrong.”
Ayer said coldly: “This is not within the scope of our mission. We are only responsible for protecting Orais alone. We are not angels here to save all of mankind.”
In desperation, the person in charge asked them to cooperate with the police in rescuing the hostages. At the moment, the SWAT team is climbing into the hotel from the outside of the building. If they can cooperate with them, the company is willing to increase the commission.
Due to the desperate situation, Ayer had no choice but to agree. So he could only make a new plan with Shan Ming.
Since the sniping position has been controlled by the ‘Peregrine Falcon’, the SWAT team climbed into the building without much effort. The SWAT team came up with seven or eight people and they met on the third floor. Although this time, a coordinated operation was required, the SWAT team took the presence of the mercenaries into account. The mercenaries, Shan Ming and the others look at the SWAT team condescendingly. The atmosphere between the two parties is not very good.
The captain of the SWAT team is a former special forces soldier in his forties. He has eagle-like eyes and a broad nose. He looks very imposing. He wanted to command Ayer and the others as soon as he came up.
Ayer ignored him. He contacted Pell, Slingshot, and Heibaiji through their earpiece instead, asking them to be ready. Once they receive the order, they must do their best to cover Orais away from the muzzle of the terrorists. Meanwhile, they will find a way to approach the banquet hall so they must wait for the opportunity to act.
The more troublesome thing now is that Jushi cannot obtain heavy weapons. Jushi is their firepower player. With his huge size and amazing strength, he has always played the role of holding the firepower. He is the only one who can hold a Gatling six-barreled machine gun. It would cause everyone to be so shocked that their jaws dropped until their teeth were bleeding. They desperately needed such a person to suppress the opponent’s machine gun.
After hearing their plan, the SWAT captain felt that it was feasible. So he took the initiative to recommend one of his own team members.
Once the few people drew up a plan, they began to assign personnels; those responsible for attacking the elevator entrance and those who would be at the rescue passage.
The SWAT team tied a pinhole camera to a stick and hung it from the third floor to the window on the second floor. Because this thing was small, no one noticed it. They saw the situation inside from the window. The hostages were all squatting and huddled in the corner by the window. Some of the terrorists were standing and some were also squatting. It seemed that they were not low on vigilance.
An hour soon passed and the government did not reply for a long time. The terrorists’ leader pulled a middle-aged man from the ground and pushed him out of the banquet hall, “You can go.”
The man trembled in fright and looked at him as if he didn’t understand what was going on.
He yelled, “Go!”
The man ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He was about to rush out the gate as if he was desperate for his life. The policeman outside the gate shouted at him, “Get down!”
But it was too late. A bullet passed through his head and the blood was instantly splashed on the expensive handmade floor booth. It dyed the elegant beige into the colour of blood red. The man twitched a few times on the carpet and died.
The emotions of the guests became even more out of control. There was quite a commotion. The leader pointed the gun barrel at them and they held back their crying.
“One hour,” the leader yelled.
Orais had turned blue with fright. Although he didn’t realise it, he couldn’t stop looking in Pell’s direction.
His actions finally attracted the leader’s attention. The leader pushed him with the barrel of the gun, “Mr. Orais, what are you looking in this direction for?” The leader followed his gaze and saw a stunning beauty with a frightened child curled up in her arms.
The leader raised his chin in the direction of Pell. Someone immediately stepped forward and pulled the two of them out of the crowd.
Pell scolded Orais for being an idiot in her heart. He was as stupid as his daughter. Maybe it was her years of mercenary career that made her forget about fear and dependence. She forgot that when ordinary people are too frightened, they will definitely look for things or people who can give them a sense of security. It was no wonder Orais kept looking at her.
The leader pinched Pell’s chin, “Who are you?”
Pell pretended to be afraid. “I’m his girlfriend.”
“What about this kid?” The leader lifted Shen Changze’s head up and saw that he was an Asian.
“He is his adopted child.”
Shen Changze threw himself on Orais all at once, “Father!”
Everyone was stunned for a moment but they didn’t react too much.
The leader had someone tie Pell and Orais’ daughter together. After tying Pell, the man wanted to find a rope to tie Shen Changze but the leader waved his hand and showed a bloody smile, “No need. The next to die is him.”
Shen Changze and Orais were chest-to-chest. He quickly said “don’t move” in Orais’ ear. Orais was a fat man who could block Shen Changze from the back. Shen Changze quietly put his hand into his suit and pulled out a multi-tool pliers.
Since the terrorists had the upper hand, they tied Orais very roughly. He tied his hands up to his chest. Shen Changze was just curled up in his arms so he quietly sawed his rope, leaving only a few millimetres of fibre connected.
Orais felt his movements but he didn’t dare to move or bow his head for fear of being discovered by the terrorists.
With the threat of killing the hostages just now, the government finally had to temporarily agree to the terrorists’ request. They put the prepared weapons and cash in a vehicle as required. At the same time, they asked the terrorists to show their sincerity. After getting in the vehicle, they should release some of the hostages first.
The terrorists began to draw lots. Only half of them could leave with ten hostages. They will go to the port to board a ship and return to their own country with a full load of goods. The fate of the rest was already determined.
Thirteen people were quickly selected by lots. Those who were not drawn had determination and fearlessness on their faces. They were ready to die.
Thirteen of these terrorists selected ten hostages. They carried them through the lobby and boarded the vehicle. Pell was relieved because most of the hostages they selected were women and elderly people. It would be troublesome if Slingshot or Heibaiji were taken away.
After the vehicle drove away, the terrorists released forty hostages. Heibaiji happened to be in the middle of that group of hostages and had to follow them away.
In an instant, half of the terrorists and half of the hostages were reduced in the banquet hall. The space was much larger and it was easier for the sniper to lock on target.
A single voice came from Pell’s radio headset, “Pay attention to the window. Take Orais to the guest room as soon as the gun fires. Don’t go to the lobby. There are too many targets.” Pell gave Shen Changze and Slingshot a look to confirm that they received the order.
Shen Changze quietly held the pocket pistol in his arms and his heart beat like a drum. This was the first time he had performed a real mission and dealt with a real enemy. Maybe he was about to kill someone. Can he protect his client? Can he be as good as his father? The child’s hands trembled slightly.
The terrorists at the exit of the safe passage were silently killed and the SWAT team deliberately made a gunshot at the elevator entrance to distract the attention of all the terrorists.
Just as they were going to check the elevator, the SWAT captain who was holding a modified M134 Gatling quick-fire machine gun and wearing body armour went directly from the third floor to the window on the second floor. 300 rounds per minute were shot. The shooting speed is not something normal humans can bear. But this tall and mighty SWAT captain carried this big guy on his back and began to frantically sweep the terrorists standing in the banquet hall through the glass.
As early as when Pell saw the captain’s marching boots, she had already mouthed exaggeratedly “get down” to the group of guests facing her.
The attention of the terrorists was all attracted by the gunshots at the elevator entrance. When they realised that something was wrong, the gunshots had already rang out and many terrorists’ bodies had already been shot with several bloody holes.
The guests who were squatting on the ground were all sprawled on the ground and some were screaming along with the sounds of broken glass. But none of them dared to get up.
Shen Changze tore off Orais’ rope and threw him to the ground.
The ‘Peregrine Falcon’ and the SWAT team suddenly rushed out from all directions of the banquet hall, encircling the terrorists in the middle.
Knowing that the situation was over, the leader of the terrorists turned over on the ground and tried to point his gun at Orais.
Shen Changze fired a shot at him and hit his upper arm. The leader endured the pain and tried to raise the barrel again. Shen Changze had already rushed to him at an astonishing speed and pulled out the gun from his waist. With a yell, he pierced the leader’s arm with his Tiger Tooth sabre and kicked off the machine gun from his hand.
Arterial blood sprayed Shen Changze’s face warmly and he couldn’t stop trembling in his heart. But at the same time, there was a kind of wildness breaking out of the cage and being completely released.
He then pulled out the sabre in front of his chest. The child supported himself using the leader’s head with his hands. He did a backflip and jumped onto the leader’s back.
No one thought that a child would have such speed and reflexes. It was too late for the leader to turn around and he was stabbed.
The moment the child raised the sabre, in that slip seconds, he remembered the time when he confronted Jim in the forest two years ago. At that time, he did not stab the knife because of hesitation, which caused himself to get hurt and he was almost strangled to death.
This time… Shen Changze’s eyes became deep and cold. He stabbed the leader’s lung from bottom to top.
Once the sabre made such a cut, the leader couldn’t move anymore. His eyes grew bigger and he couldn’t make a sound. He couldn’t die immediately so he could only roll on the ground in pain.
The child looked at the despair and pain in his eyes. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Fortunately, Pell’s cry brought him back to his senses.
Pell had already untied the rope and dragged Orais to the room department. The banquet hall had turned into a bloody slaughterhouse with dead terrorists and implicated guests lying everywhere.
Some clueless guests followed them to the room, which was a good sign. Even if there were terrorists with the ability to kill, it would be difficult to target Orais.
Two of ‘Peregrine Falcon’ members were guarding the route. They ran smoothly into the narrow corridor of the guest room department.
Slingshot shouted from behind them, “Go to the top floor. The company sent a helicopter.”
Orais subconsciously wanted to run to the elevator.
Shen Changze quickly pushed him, “Take the stairs!”
Orais trembled: “This building has more than thirty floors.”
Shen Changze said incredulously, “Stairs!”
Orais was overwhelmed by his momentum and helped his daughter to run towards the safe passage.
There were more than a dozen guests following behind them and they all took them as life-saving buoys. They followed them into the safe passage and began to climb the stairs.
These capitalists, who usually lacked exercise, were exhausted and out of breath. Orais was almost dragged up by Pell and Shen Changze.
The more guests went up, the more guests fell behind. In the end, only a few young and strong men were left to keep up with them.
Seeing that he was about to climb to the top floor, suddenly, Shen Changze felt a familiar palpitation, which was his intuition of danger. He had been in the battlefield full of murderous aura just now and he wondered if he hadn’t come out of that state yet. But he still felt something was wrong. He turned his head abruptly.
He saw a white male following them. He was taking something out of his arms.
The position they were in happened to be between two flights of stairs up and down. It was easy for the men downstairs to aim at Orais but it was difficult for Shen Changze to aim at him.
Pell turned her head and shot the man quickly. But they were at a bad angle so the shot missed. The ashes on the wall flew around. The man fired at Orais once.
Shen Changze kicked Orais and Orais rolled down the stairs. The bullet grazed his body, leaving a cracked bullet hole on the wall.
Relying on his short body, Shen Changze climbed over the guardrail and passed through the obstructive guests. He jumped onto the man.
He rolled down the stairs with the man in his arms. He grabbed the man’s wrist and slammed it hard on the concrete floor, trying to knock his gun off.
Unexpectedly, this man looked gentle but he was not easy to deal with. He waved his hand and hit Shen Changze on the head with the butt of the gun.
Shen Changze’s forehead was bleeding profusely but he still wanted to grab his gun. He held the gun tightly in one hand while his other hand tried to pinch the child’s neck. He kept rolling on the ground with the child’s body.
Such a roll made Pell unable to aim at all.
The child wanted to stab at the man with the sabre in his hand but the man grabbed his wrist. The tip of the sabre was only four to five centimetres away from his eyes. The two gritted their teeth and competed fiercely.
The man raised his leg and kicked Shen Changze with a strong force on the back of the head. Feeling the wind behind him, the child rolled over and kicked the man in the stomach.
The man’s pistol was about to be pointed at Shen Changze again but Shen Changze kicked his hand away. When his chest was wide open, he slammed into his arms fiercely and the Tiger Tooth sabre in his hand pierced into his crotch precisely.
The entire fighting process lasted only ten seconds and the man had already swallowed his last breath.
Everyone was shocked and terrified to see this ten-year-old child. How calm and courageous he was to deal with an abnormal life-and-death struggle and made his final decision.
Shen Changze pulled out his Tiger Tooth and looked at the person lying in the pool of blood. The bright red colour stung his eyes but he could no longer feel the tension and guilt of killing people. He trembled because the blood in his body was boiling and there was a strong desire rolling in his body. He couldn’t tell what kind of feeling it was. But… it made him afraid.
The child took off the tattered suit jacket and walked back to the stairs with the knife in his hand. He glanced at Pell.
Pell touched his head, narrowed her eyes and smiled, “You did a good job.”
The child pursed his lips and helped Orais up from the ground, “Go quickly.”
Orais didn’t dare to see him as a child anymore. The way he looked at him changed.
Shan Ming and a few others followed them and ran up through the safe passage. They had some injuries but they were not serious.
Sure enough, the helicopter sent by the company had already parked on the top floor. Shen Changze and Pell dragged Orais towards safety.
Suddenly, the child stepped into the floor tiles on the ground and the floor tiles were slightly dented downwards. This was only an extremely small change but the child felt a pang in his chest, forcing himself not to lift the footsteps that were about to be lifted up. He slowly pressed it back down.
Pell glanced at him, “What’s wrong?”
The child glanced at his feet. He was not sure but he had experienced the same strange feeling in several exercises.
Cold sweat broke out on the child’s forehead in an instant and he said, “You guys go first.”
Pell pushed Orais, “Get on the plane.” She then squatted down. She touched the floor tiles under Shen Changze’s feet, feeling carefully with her fingertips. There was a gap in the sunken floor tiles. It was not narrow but it was quite dim so she couldn’t see what was inside. But with enough experience, Pell can be sure that the child had stepped on a pressure-sensitive bomb.
This kind of bomb will be activated the moment a person steps on it and it will explode as soon as the foot is lifted. This device can only sense the pressure that triggers it. At present, there is no condition on the battlefield to measure how much impact the pressure of a child’s foot could give to the sensor device. So there is nothing else to replace the pressure. Pell felt her heart beat fast. She comforted the child: “Don’t move. Don’t be afraid.”
Shen Changze said: “Hurry up and help Orais get on the plane. I will rush downstairs once the guests are gone. It should be safe.”
At this time, Shan Ming and Slingshot, who were behind them, also rushed up. They saw the scene in front of them at a glance.
Shen Changze turned around and shouted, “Don’t come here!!”
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Next update: 2023.–.–
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