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"The copy is messing around there!" Ren Yifei muttered to himself as he raised his hands in surrender, pointing at the homemade guns pointing at them.
"In reality, who would dare to threaten the government with a homemade gun? Organizing prostitution like this would only get a few decades in prison, but carrying a gun and assaulting the police could easily get them the death penalty. It's not worth it."
These homemade guns were modified from assault rifles, and they look like a modified version of the famous AK47. The barrel is about 40 centimeters long, with a wooden stock, a detachable 30-round magazine, and a front sight and flash suppressor on the barrel.
However, these guns seemed to have been unused for a long time, with some rust on them, indicating that they had not been properly stored.
And these gunmen were incredibly clumsy; the wooden buttstocks weren't even bracing against their shoulders. If they were to fire, the recoil would knock them over.
Of the dozen or so armed men, only three or four had actually handled a gun; the rest were just there to make up the numbers.
However, Ren Yifei still dared not make any rash moves. Of course, even a child wielding a kitchen knife could be lethal.
A dozen or so homemade guns were pointed at them, and the students were either kneeling on the ground or squatting with their hands raised high; they were surrounded.
The students, naive and inexperienced, had lost all composure, trembling and weeping. They lived in a peaceful country and had never imagined such a thing could exist.
The players among the students were also a bit confused at this moment. This was a direction they had never thought of before. Was the dungeon about to start a killing mode?
This scene of being pointed at with a dozen homemade guns could probably only have happened in the 1990s before the complete ban on guns. Back then, there were a lot of these ruthless bandits, and society was in chaos.
The non-students in the crowd were relatively calm. They were able to slowly squat down, raising their hands to show their harmlessness while cautiously peeking at the bandits.
These bandits included both young and middle-aged men. They themselves seemed unprepared, holding rifles but not with their fingers on the triggers, and breathing unsteadily.
On the other side of the bridge, in a place they couldn't see clearly, there seemed to be some commotion. Ren Yifei noticed a fleeting look of annoyance on the old policeman's face, but he quickly regained his composure.
Ren Yifei guessed that not letting too many police officers come was a result of their discussion, in order not to provoke the bandits in the village.
However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, things still developed into the worst possible situation.
"Who's the police? Which one? Step forward!" The leading man shouted menacingly, brandishing his gun and banging it on each student's head.
"I am," the veteran officer stepped forward, his hand still raised. "Let's talk this out."
The young police officer also stepped forward, gritting his teeth and enduring the pain.
"search!"
Two young men rushed up and searched the pockets of the two police officers. They weren't carrying guns, but they did have other odds and ends on them.
"Uncle, the search is finished."
"Okay, bring it over."
The two police officers were brought in front of a middle-aged man, who appeared to be the one who held the power in the group.
"So it's you two, coming here to cause trouble?" the leader scoffed, stepping on his police cap and grinding it down.
Finally, he spat on the old police officer's clothes, pointing his rifle at him: "You're pretty tough, aren't you? You even dared to send those so-called evidence to the government. They're going to arrest us."
The veteran officer remained motionless. He knew the man had misunderstood, but he chose to protect his comrade.
The man in the lead looked to be in his forties or fifties, with yellow teeth, a pointed dagger at his waist, and a pistol hanging from his belt; he didn't look like a good person.
He was the absolute leader of this gang of thugs, because everyone else would look to him when they took action. Also, several of the younger men shared the same hooked nose as this middle-aged man, suggesting a blood relationship.
When he first looked at the background of Wutong Village, he did see that the village was originally formed by a family surnamed Feng who moved there.
In places like this, the power of the clan is stronger.
The veteran officer was actually a little puzzled. What impact would these people rushing out like this have on the final outcome? They were carrying guns and assaulting police officers, which made their crimes even more serious.
Just as I was wondering, I heard the sound of a car starting up in the village.
The veteran officer was taken aback, then realized what was going on: this group was sacrificing the pawn to save the king; they must know some back roads and have someone to meet them, and they were preparing to send the successor out now.
They chose to take the risk, probably thinking the police on the other side of the bridge were coming to raid them. It's unclear what information they received that made them so frightened.
Having grasped the deeper meaning behind the incident, the veteran officer was less worried. These people hoped the vehicles would leave safely and then escape the country through some illegal means, so they wouldn't easily kill anyone.
The veteran officer's only worry was about the children; they had never experienced anything like this before and might not be able to act out the script.
The veteran officer's concerns were not unfounded. The students were so frightened that they wet their pants, and some were even making incoherent statements, saying they knew nothing and begging them to release them: "I really don't know anything, let me go, I promise, I won't do anything."
The bandits, annoyed by his requests, actually raised their hands and shot him.
"Ah—" The student clutched his shot leg and rolled on the ground, making the others even more panicked.
The leader, pointing at the old police officer, fired three shots into the open space: "Shut up."
The students fell silent again, their cries fading into silence.
The student who had been shot was deathly pale with pain and kept groaning. Ren Yifei happened to be next to him, and Ren Yifei clearly saw that the bullet had hit the student's thigh muscle. On the bright side, at least it hadn't hit a major artery or bone.
People on the other side of the bridge noticed the commotion, but unable to cross, they sent a drone. The drone approached with a whooshing sound.
This further enraged the bandits. The leader fired at the drone, and after watching it crash to the ground, he sneered and pointed at the crowd: "If they want to watch, we'll take two people and make them stand in front of the bridge so they can watch to their heart's content."
Upon receiving their leader's instructions, they immediately pointed their guns at two students in the crowd who were covering their heads: "You, and you, come out."
As luck would have it, Jiang Min was the one chosen as a hostage. She looked up, her eyes wide with disbelief: "Why me?"
"Do you think this is a market where you haggle over prices?" The man pressed the gun to Jiang Min's forehead and sneered, "Come out."
The dark muzzle of a gun was pointed at her head. Jiang Min trembled all over, her eyes darting around, searching for a lifeline. Suddenly, she grabbed a boy next to her who had once expressed affection for her: "Save me, save me."
Tears streamed down her face; she looked so desperate. But the boy she was holding gritted his teeth and shoved her hand away.
Jiang Min stood there, seemingly unable to believe that this person could be so heartless.
"Put your hands behind your head and come out."
A cold shout from the bandit brought Jiang Min back to her senses. She silently shed tears again, looking at the bandit with pitiful eyes: "I'm just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family, they won't care about me. Go find them, they're rich people."
Jiang Min was crying when she was suddenly inspired. She turned her head sharply and looked at the classmates around her. Their bloodshot eyes were so cloudy and crazy.
Undoubtedly, the students who were being stared at by her were terrified, and they began to cry.
"Shut up!" the thug yelled, striking them on the head with his gun barrel. "All of you, shut the hell up! One more word and I'll kill you!"
The moment the death threat was announced, the students fell silent, terrified. They buried their heads in their hands, biting their lips and weeping silently.
The students buried their heads between their thighs, trying to isolate themselves from the world to gain a sense of security.
Jiang Min was different; her eyes were shining.
"That guy's parents are well-known entrepreneurs in the city. If you kidnap him, the police will definitely not dare to come!" Jiang Min pointed at one of the students, as if she had found a lifeline, her face a mixture of tears and laughter.
Saman, who was being pointed at, had mixed feelings. It was understandable that he could be caught in the crossfire even though he was standing so far away.
The young man holding the homemade gun was having a difficult choice. He looked at the leader and said, "Uncle, what do you think of this..."
The middle-aged man in the lead looked at the disheveled and frantic Jiang Min: "This little girl is interesting. Okay, change her. Take her to the bridge and let them take a clearer picture."
Just like that, after two sentences, the hostage became Jiang Shaobo.
"Hey, come out." The young man poked Saman with the butt of his gun, signaling him to walk toward the bridge with his hands raised.
Samantha glanced at the crowd. Jiang Min was hiding behind someone, her face obscured by her messy hair. After a moment's thought, he slowly stood up with his hands raised, and with a gun pressed against his lower back, he slowly walked towards the bridgehead.
Ren Yifei had been watching closely. He felt relieved when he saw the bandit pointing a gun at Saman's lower back. In that position, Saman could easily turn around and disarm the gun.
Guns are long-range weapons, and in the hands of someone who doesn't understand them, their deterrent effect is less than that of a knife.
One person has already passed by, but there's still one person missing. The one who was chosen earlier has fainted on the ground, and his pants are wet with urine.
"How about using me?" The photographer raised his hand tremblingly. He looked scared, but his eyes were clear and honest. "Although I'm not a big shot, I have published a few works."
The young man wasn't satisfied; he wanted something smaller and easier to control. But the others were already cowering on the ground, trembling with fear. If they were chosen as hostages, they might just faint from fright.
So, in the end, he still chose the photographer who seemed gentle and timid.
Once the two left, the hostages quieted down again. Jiang Min was ostracized because of her actions, but she didn't care and was even proud of herself for escaping danger through her cleverness.
She had a naive understanding that this thing was like a 'calamity,' and that once you got through it, everything would be smooth sailing.
But in reality, that wasn't the case.
"Bring that female student over." The leader's words reeked of staleness. His eyes were narrowed, revealing yellowed teeth, and his greasy hair clung to his forehead, making his smile particularly lewd.
Jiang Min was terrified, truly terrified this time. She struggled desperately, but was still dragged over and brought before the leader.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me!" Jiang Min cried as she rubbed her face with her muddy hands, making her face filthy and disgusting to look at.
The leader saw through her little trick at a glance, but he just sneered and threw down the dagger at his waist: "Give this old dog a stab, and I won't kill you."
Instructing students under police protection to injure police officers? This guy... he's completely unwilling to live; he's simply dragging people down to hell.
Jiang Min trembled with fear, but she still picked up the dagger and pointed the tip at the silent old police officer.
"I'm sorry, I was forced into this." As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Min raised the dagger and stabbed it into the old policeman's internal organs.
The veteran police officer clenched his fists, feeling an immense sorrow. He was prepared to bleed, but his subordinate couldn't bear it and kicked Jiang Min's hand.
"Ahhh—" Jiang Min flew out along with the dagger, collapsing to the ground in pain. It turned out that the dagger in her hand had pierced her face.
The wound stretched from her cheekbone all the way to the corner of her mouth, long and deep. Right now, the wound was filled with mud and tears, causing Jiang Min to tremble with pain.
She vaguely realized that she was about to be disfigured, and her expression went blank for a moment.
The leader's expression immediately darkened. He raised his rifle, pointed it at the junior officer, and cursed, "Kill this useless woman too."
"Wait a minute!" Jiang Min looked up, her face contorted with blood and dirt, "I know who brought these police here, I know! I saw everything last night!"