“Tactics?” Jiang Jingwei’s eyes lit up as he propped his chin with his fingers, striking a thoughtful pose:
“Li Dongze is right—we do need to establish tactics. After all, we are an Official organization, not brainless Evil Classes. I have an idea.”
Despite how inappropriate the thought might be, everyone couldn’t help but think that even Evil Classes might have more brains than them.
Li Dongze asked, “You have an idea? Let’s hear it.”
Jiang Jingwei said, “We rush in, Teng Yuan and Primordial at the forefront, Guan Ya providing cover fire, and I’ll seize the opportunity for a sneak attack, divide and conquer.”
The tactic was so good it was as if there was no tactic at all. Zhang Yuanqing, who was preoccupied with the welfare of Jiang Yuer, urged, “Decurion, let’s not waste any more time.”
Li Dongze also realized he had been too naïve to actively ask a Fire Warrior for tactics.
He looked around at everyone and methodically stated:
“The kidnappers have hostages; we can’t just storm in. We need the Night Wandering Deity, who excels in stealth, to go in. But if Primordial goes alone, the odds are not in his favor. Guan Ya, contact Yuan Ting and ask him to come as fast as he can.”
“Okay!” Guan Ya pulled out her phone and walked aside.
Li Dongze continued:
“The Night Wandering Deity’s stealth duration is limited. Even if he infiltrates the hospital, he’ll be spotted by surveillance. So, Wang Tai, get ready to hack into the hospital’s security system.”
Wang Tai immediately opened his laptop, sat down, and started typing rapidly.
Li Dongze then turned to Jiang Jingwei and Teng Yuan, saying:
“Since we don’t have the ability to stealth, we’ll stay here to attract the attention of Li Xianzong and the other criminals. I’ll negotiate with Li Xianzong to buy us as much time as possible and divert his attention.”
At that moment, Guan Ya ended the call and quietly said, “Captain Yuan says he needs fifteen minutes.”
Fifteen minutes! Li Dongze frowned, glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, and said:
“We’ll try to stall until he arrives. Don’t act rashly; you alone can’t stand against those kidnappers.”
Teng Yuan, Wang Tai, and Jingwei all agreed.
The kidnappers were specifically targeting Primordial, their brazen attitude was both a provocation and a challenge. Given Primordial’s level, entering would be certain death. Although it was disheartening, it was also the truth.
It suddenly dawned on Guan Ya that Primordial’s aunt was an intern at Pingtai Hospital. He had mentioned it during their last investigation of the Spirit servant incident.
No wonder he was so anxious, Guan Ya thought to herself.
Zhang Yuanqing sat in the car, resting with his eyes closed, not objecting to Li Dongze. Although he felt rebellious, his colleagues’ concerns were valid.
They couldn’t just barge in, but that didn’t mean there were no other options.
At that moment, unbeknownst to everyone, a round and adorable Infant Spirit was deftly moving its limbs, crawling towards the hospital, towards the administrative building occupied by the kidnappers.
“Let the Little goof scout ahead and check on my aunt’s situation,”
Zhang Yuanqing had his own plans and ideas. In such a situation, the role of the Spirit servant became evident.
The surveillance cameras wouldn’t catch it, and most spirit realm walkers wouldn’t sense it, unless the kidnappers happened to include a Night Wandering Deity and an Illusionist.
But those Classes were too rare to be a coincidence. Even if it was such a coincidence, he wasn’t worried about the Little goof being detected, because this was a hospital.
Spirit Bodies abound in the hospital.
As time ticked by, in the eighth minute, Li Dongze grabbed the walkie-talkie, pressed the button, and said:
“Primordial will be here soon. It’s rush hour now, so there’s some traffic. Wait another three minutes.”
He repeated this three times.
Li Xianzong then responded, his arrogant voice mocking:
“Don’t play the time-delay game with me. I’ll kill one person per minute, and my word is my bond. You can also try to forcefully enter the hospital, and we’ll see if I’ll blow everyone up.”
Li Dongze’s expression turned grave. He put down the walkie-talkie and looked towards Teng Yuan, whispering:
“Get ready to impersonate Primordial and enter the hospital to stabilize the kidnappers.”
His previous words were not to negotiate or delay time, but to probe the kidnapper’s attitude.
Decurion Teng Yuan grunted in acknowledgment, “Primordial, let’s switch our disguises.”
His dressing style leaned towards that of a middle-aged man. Even though the identity information of Primordial Celestial Lord was kept strictly confidential, he did have interactions with Official Walkers, and rumors that “Primordial Celestial Lord” was a young man might have already spread.
Without clear knowledge of how much information the other party had, it was definitely right to match the real person as closely as possible.
Zhang Yuanqing could only temporarily divide his attention to quickly switch jackets with Teng Yuan. He also handed over his duckbill cap and mask to him.
Li Dongze picked up the walkie-talkie again, his voice stern:
“Li Xianzong, are you causing trouble in Songhai targeting Primordial Celestial Lord?”
Li Xianzong’s cheery voice came through:
“The Large-Scale Slaughter Instance is about to open, and I am quite poor. I’m using someone else’s head to exchange for a few Items to play with.”
Whether intentional or just his nature, the guy’s voice was defiant and casual, as if the Primordial Celestial Lord was a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, his provocativeness at full throttle.
Not just Zhang Yuanqing, but Guan Ya too felt a surge of anger upon hearing this, and the hot-tempered Jiang Jingwei was grinding his teeth, baring his little white teeth in rage.
Sure that they were targeting Primordial, Li Dongze stopped talking and put down the walkie-talkie.
Meanwhile, the Little goof was quickly crawling along, passing through walls, and soon entered the first-floor lobby.
In the lobby, several bodies lay strewn about, thick blood staining the floor tiles. Around the handrails of the escalator, the information desk, and other places, more than a hundred ordinary people were gathered, some crying softly, some trembling with fear, and some too angry to speak out.
Two armed thugs walked around the crowd, vigilant of their surroundings, occasionally letting out weird laughs as they touched a young woman.
There were only two people on the first floor, and if it wasn’t for an Earth Monster, I could instantly kill them in a surprise attack.
These guys really think they have me cornered? Making such a big scene, if you want to die, I’ll grant your wish. Zhang Yuanqing suppressed his anger, controlling Little goof to climb to the second floor.
Although it was still a sparsely haired infant, it was not slow at all. Upon reaching the second floor, the waiting room was filled with hostages.
The Little goof didn’t stop but went straight up the stairs. The third floor was empty, not knowing if they were herded to the second floor or had hidden during the chaos.
Finally, the Infant Spirit arrived on the fourth floor.
In the waiting hall of the fourth floor, a gaunt middle-aged man held a gun in his left hand and a short blade in his right, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd as he barked:
“Put your hands on your heads and squat down. Anyone who doesn’t cooperate, I’ll blow their head off with one shot.”
The hostages obediently held their heads, trembling with fear, their faces etched with terror.
Without Jiang Yuer in sight, Zhang Yuanqing carefully scanned the medical staff in the hall but didn’t find her. Suddenly, a series of screams emanated from the obstetrics and gynecology department.
There were two kidnappers on the fourth floor, and another was inside dragging people out.
Zhang Yuanqing’s heart sank, and he maneuvered Little goof to quickly crawl inside.
In the office, listening to the screams of her colleagues outside, Dr. Zhao’s face was ashen, and her slightly overweight body couldn’t stop trembling.
“They’re coming up,” Dr. Zhao said, panic-stricken.
She turned her head and saw Jiang Yuer, also pale, but cleverly pulled her down to crouch.
“Let’s hide under the desk.”
Dr. Zhao huddled under the desk, feeling a bit safer, and listened attentively to the sounds outside, anxiously saying:
“Why haven’t the security officers come? Are we going to be killed? Why aren’t they here yet?”
Jiang Yuer whispered, “It’s okay, someone will come to save us.”
Her calm tone and confident expression, although Dr. Zhao didn’t know where Jiang Yuer’s confidence came from, did indeed provide some comfort.
Just then, the office door was kicked open with a loud bang, startling Dr. Zhao so much that she shrank further under the desk, covering her mouth.
The man at the door paused for a few seconds, his voice gruff: “Come out, or I’ll shoot.”
Dr. Zhao was petrified, but suddenly she felt Jiang Yuer tap her shoulder, and then Jiang Yuer crawled out from under the desk.
The man at the door was bulky, with a crew cut, narrow eyes, and a fierce expression.
Surprised to see a woman crawling out from under the desk, his rugged face briefly showed astonishment. His eyes then lit up, and he shouted:
“Hey Xu, look what I found, haha, look what I found.”
“Did you find your mom giving birth in there?” a thug outside retorted with a curse.
“I found a top-quality chick.” The burly man rubbed his crew cut, his gaze lustful and excited: “Damn, to think this shabby hospital had such a fine chick. You keep watch outside; I’m gonna have some fun first.”
The woman was wearing a white lab coat, with round cheeks and delicate features that were stunning at first glance. The more one looked, the more lovely and beautiful she seemed, especially the teardrop mole at the corner of her right eye, which added a unique charm to her beauty.
“How top-quality?” the skinny thug outside piqued with curiosity.
“Just freaking top-quality,” the burly man evidently lacked education.
Jiang Yuer! Despair gripped Dr. Zhao’s heart. Who would come to save them now? Even if the security officers stormed in, it would be too late.
She couldn’t help but look up at Jiang Yuer, the usually delicate young woman who now squinted, her face devoid of any fear or panic.
But in the next moment, she suddenly changed her demeanor, fearfully retreating with tears in her eyes, clutching her chest, and pitifully said:
“You, you stay away from me.”
Damn it!
Outside the hospital, inside the business car, Zhang Yuanqing, through the eyes of Little goof, saw the scene unfolding in the office.
He straightened up and quickly said, “Decurion, my aunt is in danger, we need to move now! I will hold out until Yuan Ting arrives.”
Without waiting for Li Dongze and the others to react, he vanished from their sight.
In an instant, the atmosphere ignited like a lit fuse, tense and serious. Li Dongze swung his arm sharply, signaling Teng Yuan to enter the hospital, and then gestured with his eyes to Wang Tai, ready to hack into the surveillance system.
After issuing the orders, Li Dongze pressed the walkie-talkie button and said in a deep voice:
“He’s here, he’s entered the hospital. Don’t hurt the hostages, no matter what.”
Li Xianzong’s lazy voice came through the walkie-talkie: “Good! Let him go to the first-floor lobby. Make sure he doesn’t avoid the surveillance blind spots, or I can’t guarantee the absolute safety of the hostages.”
After ending the call, Li Xianzong in the monitoring room grabbed another walkie-talkie and said:
“The fish has taken the bait, everyone be on alert.”
In the obstetrics and gynecology office, hearing the voice from the walkie-talkie on his chest, he frowned, thought for a few seconds, snorted with disdain, and didn’t take it seriously.
He was not one of Li Xianzong’s subordinates. He chose to play this game purely to take revenge on society, not to hunt down the Primordial Celestial Lord.
Since he wasn’t going to live long anyway, why not indulge before death.
The burly man slid his handgun into his waistband and licked his lips as he approached Jiang Yuer: “I liked the expression you had just now; your fear is very enticing.”
Suddenly, he felt a chill on his shoulder, as if a block of ice had been placed there.
The burly man instinctively touched his shoulder but found nothing.
Two seconds later, he lost his vision.
Without any hesitation, while dodging blindly, the burly man let his body be covered in scorching flames and manipulated them to expand, turning them into a wave that swept through the office.
He did this to guard against a possible close-range sneak attack from an enemy.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, a clear sensation of his flesh being torn by something.
He was familiar with this pain; it was the feeling of bullets piercing his body, but he had not heard any gunshots.
The pain came again, bullets hitting his chest one after another, shredding his heart into pieces.
At this moment, the burly man’s “blindness” had disappeared, and he looked in astonishment toward the direction of the desk, where a young man stood. His face, hands, and chest bore black and red burn marks, and he was holding a large-caliber handgun with a dark red shell.
He stood in front of the female doctor, shielding her from the flames, and said coldly:
“I like the expression you have now; your dying look is also very enticing.”
“Tactics?” Jiang Jingwei’s eyes lit up as he propped his chin with his fingers, striking a thoughtful pose:
“Li Dongze is right—we do need to establish tactics. After all, we are an Official organization, not brainless Evil Classes. I have an idea.”
Despite how inappropriate the thought might be, everyone couldn’t help but think that even Evil Classes might have more brains than them.
Li Dongze asked, “You have an idea? Let’s hear it.”
Jiang Jingwei said, “We rush in, Teng Yuan and Primordial at the forefront, Guan Ya providing cover fire, and I’ll seize the opportunity for a sneak attack, divide and conquer.”
The tactic was so good it was as if there was no tactic at all. Zhang Yuanqing, who was preoccupied with the welfare of Jiang Yuer, urged, “Decurion, let’s not waste any more time.”
Li Dongze also realized he had been too naïve to actively ask a Fire Warrior for tactics.
He looked around at everyone and methodically stated:
“The kidnappers have hostages; we can’t just storm in. We need the Night Wandering Deity, who excels in stealth, to go in. But if Primordial goes alone, the odds are not in his favor. Guan Ya, contact Yuan Ting and ask him to come as fast as he can.”
“Okay!” Guan Ya pulled out her phone and walked aside.
Li Dongze continued:
“The Night Wandering Deity’s stealth duration is limited. Even if he infiltrates the hospital, he’ll be spotted by surveillance. So, Wang Tai, get ready to hack into the hospital’s security system.”
Wang Tai immediately opened his laptop, sat down, and started typing rapidly.
Li Dongze then turned to Jiang Jingwei and Teng Yuan, saying:
“Since we don’t have the ability to stealth, we’ll stay here to attract the attention of Li Xianzong and the other criminals. I’ll negotiate with Li Xianzong to buy us as much time as possible and divert his attention.”
At that moment, Guan Ya ended the call and quietly said, “Captain Yuan says he needs fifteen minutes.”
Fifteen minutes! Li Dongze frowned, glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, and said:
“We’ll try to stall until he arrives. Don’t act rashly; you alone can’t stand against those kidnappers.”
Teng Yuan, Wang Tai, and Jingwei all agreed.
The kidnappers were specifically targeting Primordial, their brazen attitude was both a provocation and a challenge. Given Primordial’s level, entering would be certain death. Although it was disheartening, it was also the truth.
It suddenly dawned on Guan Ya that Primordial’s aunt was an intern at Pingtai Hospital. He had mentioned it during their last investigation of the Spirit servant incident.
No wonder he was so anxious, Guan Ya thought to herself.
Zhang Yuanqing sat in the car, resting with his eyes closed, not objecting to Li Dongze. Although he felt rebellious, his colleagues’ concerns were valid.
They couldn’t just barge in, but that didn’t mean there were no other options.
At that moment, unbeknownst to everyone, a round and adorable Infant Spirit was deftly moving its limbs, crawling towards the hospital, towards the administrative building occupied by the kidnappers.
“Let the Little goof scout ahead and check on my aunt’s situation,”
Zhang Yuanqing had his own plans and ideas. In such a situation, the role of the Spirit servant became evident.
The surveillance cameras wouldn’t catch it, and most spirit realm walkers wouldn’t sense it, unless the kidnappers happened to include a Night Wandering Deity and an Illusionist.
But those Classes were too rare to be a coincidence. Even if it was such a coincidence, he wasn’t worried about the Little goof being detected, because this was a hospital.
Spirit Bodies abound in the hospital.
As time ticked by, in the eighth minute, Li Dongze grabbed the walkie-talkie, pressed the button, and said:
“Primordial will be here soon. It’s rush hour now, so there’s some traffic. Wait another three minutes.”
He repeated this three times.
Li Xianzong then responded, his arrogant voice mocking:
“Don’t play the time-delay game with me. I’ll kill one person per minute, and my word is my bond. You can also try to forcefully enter the hospital, and we’ll see if I’ll blow everyone up.”
Li Dongze’s expression turned grave. He put down the walkie-talkie and looked towards Teng Yuan, whispering:
“Get ready to impersonate Primordial and enter the hospital to stabilize the kidnappers.”
His previous words were not to negotiate or delay time, but to probe the kidnapper’s attitude.
Decurion Teng Yuan grunted in acknowledgment, “Primordial, let’s switch our disguises.”
His dressing style leaned towards that of a middle-aged man. Even though the identity information of Primordial Celestial Lord was kept strictly confidential, he did have interactions with Official Walkers, and rumors that “Primordial Celestial Lord” was a young man might have already spread.
Without clear knowledge of how much information the other party had, it was definitely right to match the real person as closely as possible.
Zhang Yuanqing could only temporarily divide his attention to quickly switch jackets with Teng Yuan. He also handed over his duckbill cap and mask to him.
Li Dongze picked up the walkie-talkie again, his voice stern:
“Li Xianzong, are you causing trouble in Songhai targeting Primordial Celestial Lord?”
Li Xianzong’s cheery voice came through:
“The Large-Scale Slaughter Instance is about to open, and I am quite poor. I’m using someone else’s head to exchange for a few Items to play with.”
Whether intentional or just his nature, the guy’s voice was defiant and casual, as if the Primordial Celestial Lord was a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered, his provocativeness at full throttle.
Not just Zhang Yuanqing, but Guan Ya too felt a surge of anger upon hearing this, and the hot-tempered Jiang Jingwei was grinding his teeth, baring his little white teeth in rage.
Sure that they were targeting Primordial, Li Dongze stopped talking and put down the walkie-talkie.
Meanwhile, the Little goof was quickly crawling along, passing through walls, and soon entered the first-floor lobby.
In the lobby, several bodies lay strewn about, thick blood staining the floor tiles. Around the handrails of the escalator, the information desk, and other places, more than a hundred ordinary people were gathered, some crying softly, some trembling with fear, and some too angry to speak out.
Two armed thugs walked around the crowd, vigilant of their surroundings, occasionally letting out weird laughs as they touched a young woman.
There were only two people on the first floor, and if it wasn’t for an Earth Monster, I could instantly kill them in a surprise attack.
These guys really think they have me cornered? Making such a big scene, if you want to die, I’ll grant your wish. Zhang Yuanqing suppressed his anger, controlling Little goof to climb to the second floor.
Although it was still a sparsely haired infant, it was not slow at all. Upon reaching the second floor, the waiting room was filled with hostages.
The Little goof didn’t stop but went straight up the stairs. The third floor was empty, not knowing if they were herded to the second floor or had hidden during the chaos.
Finally, the Infant Spirit arrived on the fourth floor.
In the waiting hall of the fourth floor, a gaunt middle-aged man held a gun in his left hand and a short blade in his right, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd as he barked:
“Put your hands on your heads and squat down. Anyone who doesn’t cooperate, I’ll blow their head off with one shot.”
The hostages obediently held their heads, trembling with fear, their faces etched with terror.
Without Jiang Yuer in sight, Zhang Yuanqing carefully scanned the medical staff in the hall but didn’t find her. Suddenly, a series of screams emanated from the obstetrics and gynecology department.
There were two kidnappers on the fourth floor, and another was inside dragging people out.
Zhang Yuanqing’s heart sank, and he maneuvered Little goof to quickly crawl inside.
In the office, listening to the screams of her colleagues outside, Dr. Zhao’s face was ashen, and her slightly overweight body couldn’t stop trembling.
“They’re coming up,” Dr. Zhao said, panic-stricken.
She turned her head and saw Jiang Yuer, also pale, but cleverly pulled her down to crouch.
“Let’s hide under the desk.”
Dr. Zhao huddled under the desk, feeling a bit safer, and listened attentively to the sounds outside, anxiously saying:
“Why haven’t the security officers come? Are we going to be killed? Why aren’t they here yet?”
Jiang Yuer whispered, “It’s okay, someone will come to save us.”
Her calm tone and confident expression, although Dr. Zhao didn’t know where Jiang Yuer’s confidence came from, did indeed provide some comfort.
Just then, the office door was kicked open with a loud bang, startling Dr. Zhao so much that she shrank further under the desk, covering her mouth.
The man at the door paused for a few seconds, his voice gruff: “Come out, or I’ll shoot.”
Dr. Zhao was petrified, but suddenly she felt Jiang Yuer tap her shoulder, and then Jiang Yuer crawled out from under the desk.
The man at the door was bulky, with a crew cut, narrow eyes, and a fierce expression.
Surprised to see a woman crawling out from under the desk, his rugged face briefly showed astonishment. His eyes then lit up, and he shouted:
“Hey Xu, look what I found, haha, look what I found.”
“Did you find your mom giving birth in there?” a thug outside retorted with a curse.
“I found a top-quality chick.” The burly man rubbed his crew cut, his gaze lustful and excited: “Damn, to think this shabby hospital had such a fine chick. You keep watch outside; I’m gonna have some fun first.”
The woman was wearing a white lab coat, with round cheeks and delicate features that were stunning at first glance. The more one looked, the more lovely and beautiful she seemed, especially the teardrop mole at the corner of her right eye, which added a unique charm to her beauty.
“How top-quality?” the skinny thug outside piqued with curiosity.
“Just freaking top-quality,” the burly man evidently lacked education.
Jiang Yuer! Despair gripped Dr. Zhao’s heart. Who would come to save them now? Even if the security officers stormed in, it would be too late.
She couldn’t help but look up at Jiang Yuer, the usually delicate young woman who now squinted, her face devoid of any fear or panic.
But in the next moment, she suddenly changed her demeanor, fearfully retreating with tears in her eyes, clutching her chest, and pitifully said:
“You, you stay away from me.”
Damn it!
Outside the hospital, inside the business car, Zhang Yuanqing, through the eyes of Little goof, saw the scene unfolding in the office.
He straightened up and quickly said, “Decurion, my aunt is in danger, we need to move now! I will hold out until Yuan Ting arrives.”
Without waiting for Li Dongze and the others to react, he vanished from their sight.
In an instant, the atmosphere ignited like a lit fuse, tense and serious. Li Dongze swung his arm sharply, signaling Teng Yuan to enter the hospital, and then gestured with his eyes to Wang Tai, ready to hack into the surveillance system.
After issuing the orders, Li Dongze pressed the walkie-talkie button and said in a deep voice:
“He’s here, he’s entered the hospital. Don’t hurt the hostages, no matter what.”
Li Xianzong’s lazy voice came through the walkie-talkie: “Good! Let him go to the first-floor lobby. Make sure he doesn’t avoid the surveillance blind spots, or I can’t guarantee the absolute safety of the hostages.”
After ending the call, Li Xianzong in the monitoring room grabbed another walkie-talkie and said:
“The fish has taken the bait, everyone be on alert.”
In the obstetrics and gynecology office, hearing the voice from the walkie-talkie on his chest, he frowned, thought for a few seconds, snorted with disdain, and didn’t take it seriously.
He was not one of Li Xianzong’s subordinates. He chose to play this game purely to take revenge on society, not to hunt down the Primordial Celestial Lord.
Since he wasn’t going to live long anyway, why not indulge before death.
The burly man slid his handgun into his waistband and licked his lips as he approached Jiang Yuer: “I liked the expression you had just now; your fear is very enticing.”
Suddenly, he felt a chill on his shoulder, as if a block of ice had been placed there.
The burly man instinctively touched his shoulder but found nothing.
Two seconds later, he lost his vision.
Without any hesitation, while dodging blindly, the burly man let his body be covered in scorching flames and manipulated them to expand, turning them into a wave that swept through the office.
He did this to guard against a possible close-range sneak attack from an enemy.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, a clear sensation of his flesh being torn by something.
He was familiar with this pain; it was the feeling of bullets piercing his body, but he had not heard any gunshots.
The pain came again, bullets hitting his chest one after another, shredding his heart into pieces.
At this moment, the burly man’s “blindness” had disappeared, and he looked in astonishment toward the direction of the desk, where a young man stood. His face, hands, and chest bore black and red burn marks, and he was holding a large-caliber handgun with a dark red shell.
He stood in front of the female doctor, shielding her from the flames, and said coldly:
“I like the expression you have now; your dying look is also very enticing.”
