“Bang!”
Just as the head thug finished speaking, a loud crash echoed from behind him.
It turned out that another robber had swung an axe with force, smashing the glass of a service window. The women and children who had been crouching in the hall let out shrill screams once again.
“Damn it, why the hell did you break the glass?” The leader of the robbers grew furious.
“Boss, how else are we gonna get to the money?” one of the robbers retorted.
“That’s bulletproof glass! By the time you break it, the cops will be all over us!” The thug fired another shot towards the ceiling, his impatience growing. “Who’s the manager here? Step forward!”
Manager Newman trembled at the gunshot, but he didn’t dare move forward.
Among the thugs, the one wielding a machete scanned the crowd and quickly locked his gaze onto Manager Newman, who was wearing the bank’s uniform.
“You, stand up!” The machete-wielding thug pointed at Manager Newman.
With shaky legs, Manager Newman managed to stand up.
The thug glanced at his name badge and yelled, “Boss, this guy’s the manager!”
“Bring him over, make him open the door!” ordered the thug leader.
The machete-wielding thug gestured towards Manager Newman with his weapon. “Listen up! Get to that door and open it now, or I’ll break your leg!”
The scene was unlike anything Manager Newman had ever experienced in his many years in the industry. Trembling with fear, he began walking toward the door.
Once at the door, Manager Newman retrieved a key from his pocket.
Growing impatient at his slow movements, the thug leader snatched the key from him and kicked him to the ground.
The leader unlocked the door, checked his watch, and shouted, “Brothers, we’ve got five minutes left! Get the money into the bags and let’s get out of here!”
The machete-wielding thug remained in the hall as a show of force, while the other three robbers rushed inside, opening cabinets containing cash and stuffing bills into duffel bags.
Leo took note of the situation and compared these robbers to the previous ones. These were more skilled, all four of them tough men without any overweight accomplices.
Gradually, Leo rose from the ground.
“Hey, kid, didn’t I tell you to stay down? What part of that didn’t you understand? And now you’re trying to stand up?” The machete-wielding thug approached Leo.
“I was just here to take care of some bank business. Now that I’m done, I won’t get in your way. I’m heading out,” Leo said, moving towards the exit.
The thug was surprised by Leo’s audacity. He decided to teach him a lesson and swung his machete at Leo’s arm.
Leo reacted swiftly, dodging the attack and striking the thug’s waist with a precise movement of his hand.
A silver needle imbued with spiritual power penetrated a critical acupoint on the thug’s waist, instantly rendering him immobile.
The thug, frozen mid-swing, stared at Leo with wide eyes, attempting to move but finding himself unable.
Leo retrieved the machete from the thug’s hand and nonchalantly dropped it to the floor.
Among the crouching crowd, one man dressed as a shabby shirt cast a brief, knowing glance at Leo, his eyes flickering with a different light.
Compared to the others, this man stood out, showing no signs of fear on his face.
“Help me! For the love of God!” The immobilized thug may have lost his mobility, but his voice remained strong. He called out for assistance.
Hearing the cries, the thug who had previously wielded an axe rushed out.
In a swift move, the man wearing a shabby shirt rolled across the floor, seizing the dropped machete along the way. With a swift flicker of the blade, a wail of agony echoed as the thug wielding the axe collapsed to his knees.
The sight left Leo astonished. Amidst the chaos, he hadn’t expected to find someone with such fighting skills among the bystanders.
Seeing the disturbance outside, the other two robbers inside abandoned their task of stuffing money into bags and dashed out-one carrying a sack each. They then aimed their guns at that man.
Leo held two silver needles in his hand, and one was sent flying-a blur of silver light. In an instant, both gun-wielding thugs were struck at their waists, causing them to freeze in their tracks.
The leader of the robbers struggled to pull the trigger, only to discover his fingers wouldn’t obey.
This was getting seriously eerie!
With four robbers incapacitated, Leo emerged from the bank’s hall first.
Seeing Leo leaving without any block, the rest of the crowd realized something was amiss with the robbers and swiftly followed suit, fleeing the bank.
“Scott, that kid’s out!” a woman across the street yelled to her companion.
“This guy’s got some serious luck. He managed to slip away from those robbers,” Scott Stowe and his girlfriend continued watching from across the street. They had witnessed the four masked men in black rush into the bank.
“Scar and his crew have arrived. Let’s follow them and teach this guy a lesson he won’t forget,” Scott Stowe said, taking out his phone to communicate with Scar.
After exiting the bank, Leo strode purposefully towards a nearby parking lot.
However, he soon noticed a pair of eyes fixed on him.
A smirk curved Leo’s lips as he changed his direction, making his way into an alley on the other side.
By this point, the sound of police sirens was growing louder-a sign that law enforcement had arrived.
Three police cars and a SWAT vehicle quickly converged outside the bank’s entrance.
A female officer in uniform was the first to step out of one of the police cars, gripping her gun with a calm and authoritative expression.
For Madame Godwin, who had to deal with two violent bank robberies within a month, this was a puzzling occurrence. Was fate playing tricks on her, welcoming her promotion with a dubious “gift”?
“Martin, secure the scene immediately. Disperse the onlookers and maintain a fifty-meter perimeter around the police vehicles!” Madame Godwin’s gaze remained fixed on the bank’s entrance as she instructed a nearby officer.
“Yes, Captain!” Martin replied, promptly assigning three officers to cordon off the area.
“SWAT Unit One, position snipers. The rest of you, follow me towards the bank. If the robbers resist or threaten the hostages, use lethal force,” Madame Godwin ordered, raising her gun. Leading the way, she cautiously approached the bank’s entrance.
Her SWAT team followed suit.
Peering through the bank’s glass doors, Madame Godwin saw what appeared to be three individuals standing inside. One of the masked robbers near the entrance seemed to be poised for an attack, frozen in place. The other two were stationed near the service window, guns raised and similarly immobile.
This eerie sight triggered a sense of déjà vu in Madame Godwin, reminiscent of the previous bank robbery she had encountered. It was uncannily similar.
Madame Godwin advanced cautiously.
“Don’t move!” she called out loudly.
No one moved; the robbers merely cast sideways glances at her.