Outside Mingri High School, the SWAT team had arrived, but they dared not make any rash moves because the hostages were under the terrorists’ control.
What made the situation even more alarming was that this was a high school, and the hostages were a group of senior students preparing to graduate.
Among them could be the city’s top scorer—or even the province’s.
It was easy to imagine the public outrage this incident would cause.
If large numbers of hostages were killed or injured, it would not only shake all of China but also attract worldwide attention, affecting the country’s international reputation.
“What’s the situation inside?” the mayor of Jiangnan asked grimly outside the school, his body trembling with anger.
Even if today’s crisis ended successfully, he knew his political career would likely go no further.
He might even be suspended from office.
“The number of terrorists has been confirmed,” the SWAT captain replied seriously.
“There are four in total. Three are controlling the hostages, while one is hiding somewhere out of sight. We can’t rule out the possibility that there are additional accomplices stationed elsewhere to provide support.”
“Who are these terrorists?” the police chief demanded.
“This was clearly planned well in advance!”
“They’re believed to be from an overseas organization. Their exact identity hasn’t been confirmed yet, but their operation is highly coordinated and carefully planned. They also possess advanced hacking capabilities. We can’t rule out the possibility that they’re foreign intelligence agents.”
The SWAT captain added,
“This could very well be a suicide terrorist attack. However, the kidnappers haven’t acted yet, so their objective remains unclear.”
“Our officers have already surrounded the school building, and snipers are in position, ready to engage at any moment.”
“Keep negotiating with them. Stall for time while we formulate a rescue plan,” the police chief ordered coldly.
He then turned toward Ye Cunxin and the other two women, who had only recently arrived, and spoke politely.
“Please contact the Fire Phoenix Special Operations Unit in Donghai City immediately and request their assistance.”
“I’m afraid there isn’t enough time,” An Ran replied anxiously.
None of the three women had expected to encounter a situation like this.
What worried them most was that Lu Yun was still inside.
“Give us weapons,” Ye Cunxin said calmly.
“We’ll go in and assess the situation.”
“Understood.”
The SWAT captain nodded without hesitation.
He knew these three women were elite special forces soldiers—far more capable than ordinary SWAT officers.
After receiving their weapons, Ye Cunxin turned to He Lu.
“You stay outside and be ready to provide support. An Ran and I will go in.”
“Be careful,” He Lu warned.
Behind the school building, a seven-man SWAT team quietly infiltrated the campus, advancing cautiously toward the auditorium.
Among them were two beautiful young women with serious expressions, moving carefully one behind the other.
Ye Cunxin lowered her voice.
“This terrorist group is probably a foreign special operations suicide squad carrying out a targeted attack.”
An Ran nodded.
“But why haven’t they acted immediately? Could they have another objective?”
Ye Cunxin clenched her teeth.
“I’m afraid rescuing all the hostages won’t be easy.”
“We’ll do our best to stall them until reinforcements arrive,” An Ran said.
“If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to act ourselves.”
She sighed softly.
“Lu Yun is inside too. I wonder if he’ll be able to help.”
Ye Cunxin glanced at her.
“You’re actually counting on him? At a time like this, he’s probably scared out of his mind.”
After thinking about it, An Ran could only shake her head helplessly.
“Stay alert,” Ye Cunxin said.
“Let’s head to the auditorium first.”
Inside the auditorium, three terrorists were walking among the students, occasionally kicking one to the ground and inspecting them closely.
It seemed they were searching for someone.
“Boss, we haven’t found the target,” one of the terrorists reported over his radio in English.
“Keep looking,” came the reply, also in English.
“You have ten more minutes. Once the time is up, complete the mission. Kill every hostage.”
“Understood.”
On the second floor, hidden in the shadows, Lu Yun watched everything unfold.
He frowned.
It was now clear that these terrorists had another objective, but regardless of what it was, they intended to eliminate all the hostages afterward.
“Xiaoyu… please be safe.”
His eyes searched the crowd until they found Lu Yu.
She was sitting near the center of the students, blending into the crowd and fortunately hadn’t attracted the terrorists’ attention. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Lu Yun had no intention of retreating.
He had to save his little sister.
“I don’t have a gun,” he thought, “but if I can find a bow and arrows, I should still be able to kill them.”
“Besides, even with a pistol, I probably couldn’t match their firepower.”
As for relying on the police outside…
Lu Yun simply didn’t trust them enough.
Silently, he withdrew and hurried toward the restroom.
He remembered passing a storage room earlier.
There might be sports equipment inside—perhaps even bows and arrows.
Moments later, he reached the storage room.
To his surprise, the long-haired woman was hiding inside.
Frowning, Lu Yun said,
“The auditorium has been taken over by terrorists. Stay here and don’t go outside. There may be others hiding nearby. Don’t let them see you.”
He himself didn’t dare leave the area recklessly, fearing another terrorist might be guarding the exits.
That was also why he hadn’t tried to borrow a firearm from the police.
“O-Okay…”
The woman nodded hurriedly, her face pale.
Ignoring her after that, Lu Yun rushed to a pile of miscellaneous equipment and began searching.
Soon, he found several old wooden bows and arrows covered in dust, obviously unused for a long time.
“There really are some. Great!”
Lu Yun’s eyes lit up.
In his previous life, he had tried archery during high school, so he had come here hoping to find some equipment.
To his delight, he had been right.
The bows were ordinary recurve bows, each with a draw weight of around thirty pounds.
Their power was limited, and even an average student could draw them.
After searching a little longer, he finally found a sixty-pound longbow.
An ordinary person would struggle to draw it, and drawing it to a full moon would be nearly impossible for most people.
Its killing power was considerably greater, though unless it struck a vital point, it still wouldn’t be enough to kill an enemy with a single arrow.
“This is the one.”
Lu Yun picked up the longbow and weighed it in his hand.
The moment he gripped it, it felt as though the bow had become an extension of his arm—like it was connected to him by blood, perfectly natural and completely under his control.