Chapter Seventy-Five: Watching a Good Show...

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Was Zhuo Nan a lecher? Of course, he was. In such a perilous moment, who else but him could have his mind filled with nothing but mischief? Lan Qian’s face was flushed with embarrassment as she nodded slightly, but Zhuo Nan didn’t move his hand further. Instead, with a teasing tone, he said, “Sis, you look so alluring right now…”

“You’re impossible…” Lan Qian raised her hand to hit him after being teased, but halfway through, she stopped and stared at Zhuo Nan coquettishly. “Fine, I’m alluring, I admit it. What are you going to do about it?”

A chill ran down Zhuo Nan’s spine. Women in love truly seemed to lose a bit of their intelligence. “Sis, be careful…” Zhuo Nan had no intention of pursuing this topic further; after all, there was still grave danger below.

Lan Qian realized she had taken things a bit too far. Flirting could wait; as long as they survived today, there would be plenty of time for that in the future.

She nodded solemnly and took the lead, running down the stairs. Meanwhile, Zhuo Nan began asking his brain, “How many are there below? Where are they positioned? What kind of firepower do they have?”

Even the brain seemed nervous at this moment. “See for yourself…” And with that, it projected the situation below into Zhuo Nan’s mind as images.

There were five men, all concealed behind concrete pillars in the underground garage. Dongfang Zhiyi and the others were crouched in the open right in front of the exit. Each of the five assassins held a submachine gun, ready to kill the hostages at any sign of trouble…

Zhuo Nan frowned. The situation was not ideal. Judging by the killers’ positions, it would be impossible for him to take them all out at once. Taking down one, or even two, would be no problem, but would the remaining three simply wait to die? He was certain that the moment he fired, the hostages would be riddled with bullets. Although their objective was to capture him and Dongfang Zhiyi, plans never kept up with changes. Who could guarantee these killers didn’t have a backup plan? If they couldn’t capture him, would they simply eliminate him and Dongfang Zhiyi instead?

“Sis, wait a moment…” Zhuo Nan called out to Lan Qian. Given the current circumstances, even if Lan Qian rushed out as a live target, it wouldn’t end well.

Lan Qian, who had been prepared to die, was suddenly called back. Her expression froze, but joy quickly bubbled up within her. “He’s still reluctant to lose me…” She stopped in her tracks, looking expectantly to Zhuo Nan for the next move.

“Sis, we’re going back the way we came…” Lan Qian was clearly taken aback. Why retreat now?

“Little brother, didn’t you say it was dangerous below and we needed to save them?” she asked, puzzled.

With a serious expression, Zhuo Nan replied, “Exactly because it’s dangerous that we can’t go down.”

Lan Qian knew Zhuo Nan wasn’t afraid of death, so she kept silent, listening for what he would say next. “Sis, let’s go upstairs and call for reinforcements.”

“Reinforcements?” Lan Qian repeated.

“Yes, reinforcements… Come on, Sis, I’ll take you.” He grabbed Lan Qian’s hand with his right hand, and together they headed back.

Zhuo Nan’s right arm was still bleeding, and Lan Qian asked with concern, “Does it hurt, little brother?”

“No, it doesn’t…” Zhuo Nan smiled, though the pain of a bullet wound could hardly be denied.

As they retreated, his brain projected the situation upstairs. Four killers were lying in wait at the exit. It seemed the other side was well prepared. From the start of the gunfight to now, about seven minutes had passed. The police would need at least fifteen minutes from receiving the call to arriving on the scene, which meant the killers had to retreat within that time frame. Zhuo Nan had only eight minutes left…

He confirmed the killers’ positions again: two at the emergency exit, two at the stairwell, watching their movements.

Time was of the essence. Zhuo Nan moved swiftly, three steps at a time, racing upstairs. The killers at the stairwell noticed something was off, but it was too late to react. In moments of life and death, the better prepared survives. Knowing the enemy and oneself is the key to victory. With his super brain, Zhuo Nan practically had a mini surveillance satellite inside his head.

He could predict all their possible moves and reactions. “Bang! Bang!” Two shots rang out, and the two men at the stairwell collapsed instantly. The gunfire alerted the other two at the emergency exit. Exchanging glances, they raised their guns and charged into the corridor, firing as they went.

Bullets struck the wall beside Zhuo Nan, but he held Lan Qian tightly in his arms. His brain scanned their positions; the killers couldn’t see him, but Zhuo Nan could see them clearly. This was his advantage.

After a burst of fire, the killers stopped shooting and cautiously began descending the steps, still on high alert.

In Zhuo Nan’s eyes, unless those two were armored head to toe, nothing exposed, he had a dozen ways to shoot through them. And that’s precisely what he did. Lan Qian stared at Zhuo Nan in disbelief. If she once thought he could fight, now he had surpassed all her previous notions.

“Leaping across rooftops”—the phrase flashed through Lan Qian’s mind. She watched as Zhuo Nan pushed off the wall, launching himself upwards at an angle—not jumping, not running, but flying. He soared over the stair railing, kicked off the wall again, and rose once more. Then, two sharp gunshots echoed in the stairwell.

“Sis, hurry up!” Clearly, Zhuo Nan had handled everything. Lan Qian shook her head in amazement. What was that just now? Lightness skill? Did such martial arts really exist in this world? How did Zhuo Nan learn it? A flurry of questions raced through her mind.

Zhuo Nan stood there, composed and unflustered, as though the entire feat had cost him nothing. Lan Qian could only wonder how many secrets her little brother still held. She resolved to dig deeper when she had the chance.

Zhuo Nan retrieved a phone from one of the bodies. “Little brother, call the police quickly…” But Zhuo Nan thought to himself, ‘Call the police? If the police were reliable, pigs would climb trees.’ Ignoring her suggestion, he dialed Ghostman Chao instead. “Ghostman Chao? It’s Zhuo Nan. I have something for you to do.”

Ghostman Chao shivered as soon as he heard Zhuo Nan’s voice, instantly serious. “Brother Nan, it’s me. Just give the word.”

“I’m at People’s Hospital. How many men do you have nearby?” Zhuo Nan asked.

Ghostman Chao thought for a moment. “Brother Nan, about eighty or so…”

Damn, what power. No wonder the underworld can thrive; there are more brothers here than police officers. “You have five minutes. Gather all your men and block the exit to the hospital’s underground garage.”

What kind of order was this? Was Brother Nan planning to raze the hospital to the ground? That was Ghostman Chao’s first thought. But if that was the plan, he’d storm the main entrance, not just block the garage. Still, questions or not, orders were orders. “Brother Nan, I’ll have all the brothers in the area there as soon as possible. Those farther away may take a bit longer.”

“Good. Within five minutes, I want a hundred men here. Block the garage exit with big trucks. In ten minutes, get five hundred men to surround the hospital. Any problems?” Zhuo Nan’s tone brooked no refusal.

Mobilizing five hundred men was nothing for Ghostman Chao. “Rest assured, Brother Nan, I’ll see to it.”

“Good. I’m hanging up.” Zhuo Nan ended the call as Lan Qian looked at him in confusion. But Zhuo Nan had no time to explain. He immediately dialed Long Kun. “Long Kun, it’s Zhuo Nan. Rally all the brothers to the underground garage exit at People’s Hospital. Bring weapons. Go now!”

Long Kun’s first reaction was that Brother Nan was in trouble. He hung up and barked at Pai Gu, “Hurry, tell everyone to grab their weapons and head to the hospital garage exit!”

“But Kun, we don’t have enough vehicles,” Pai Gu said.

“No vehicles? Run, damn it! Run! Brother Nan is in trouble! Move, move, move!” Long Kun roared, yanking a machete from beneath his desk.

Seeing Long Kun so agitated, Pai Gu knew it was serious. “I’m on it!” he replied immediately.

The twenty-odd brothers in the bar, together with the waiters—more than thirty men—followed Long Kun, charging out like madmen. Pai Gu was still contacting others to join.

“Why not call the police?” Lan Qian had guessed Zhuo Nan’s intentions and asked anxiously.

“Sis, there’s no time. By the time the police arrive, the killers will be long gone. And do you really think the police can handle them? They’d probably get outgunned. That’s why I’m calling everyone in—to make sure they can’t escape.” Zhuo Nan explained with a smile.

“But won’t this cause public panic…” Lan Qian began, but then realized how foolish that sounded. The gunfight in the hospital had already terrified the doctors and patients.

Zhuo Nan smiled and shook his head. “Come on, Sis. Let’s go watch the show.” With that, he took her hand and led her downstairs once again, this time with an air of complete ease.