194: Chapter 194 Shaman? A Perverted Comic Fan!

"Let's blow up this bunch of Flying Cats!"

The Boss fired a shot into the air.

Bang!

Hundreds of people in the banquet hall simultaneously cowered.

Some covered their ears.

Some buried their heads in their knees.

Another wealthy man let his phone slip from his hand, and a terrorist beside him swung his rifle butt at him.

"Keep entering the key!"

"Don't stop!"

Li Li stood by the door, shoulders slumped, his gun hidden inside his jacket.

Flying Cats.

If the Flying Tigers heard that, they could open another case file tonight.

The Boss pointed his gun at him.

"You, come here."

Li Li walked inside slowly.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

He scanned the banquet hall.

The wall on the left had been blown open, with rebar sticking out and wind rushing in from outside, mixed with the smell of smoke and seawater.

Outside the hole was Victoria Harbour.

On the water, the nose of that boeing 777 was still visible, with rescue boat lights circling around it.

If not for the guns, bombs, kidnappers, and over a hundred hostages, this view would be worth selling tickets for.

Li Li had even thought of a title.

"Night View of Hong Kong, Terrorist Service Fee Included."

The Boss also glanced outside and laughed.

"Stop looking."

"That guy is the real hero; he saved hundreds of lives with that emergency landing."

He patted his own chest.

"We're just terrorists."

The Caucasian beside him nodded while holding a wine glass.

"Professional gap."

Li Li almost couldn't keep a straight face.

Your line of work certainly has self-awareness.

The Boss pressed the muzzle of his gun against Li Li's chest.

"What did you come up here for?"

Li Li lowered his voice, speaking in slurred, Hong Kong-style English.

"Team 2 Leader told me to come up and watch the transfer."

"Everything below the third floor is finished."

"The Flying Tigers have already entered the lobby."

The Caucasian immediately turned his head.

"Where is Team 2 Leader?"

"He went down."

Li Li wiped the dust off his face.

"He said to follow your instructions."

The Boss didn't rush to respond.

He walked halfway around Li Li, his shoe soles crunching over broken glass.

Li Li kept his head down, back hunched, his hand resting on his gun strap.

If this guy moved half a step closer, he could pin him against the bar.

But this wasn't a one-on-one fight.

This was the hostage room.

The Boss suddenly cursed in Arabic.

"Still want to split our money? None of his damn business."

Li Li didn't move.

I heard you, bro.

The Caucasian understood and smiled while holding his glass.

The few masked amateurs didn't understand, but they still tried to act professional.

The wealthy people crouching in the middle didn't understand either.

In the banquet hall, only Li Li stood among the enemies, listening to them discuss their accounts to their faces.

It felt pretty good.

But he couldn't show it.

It was easy to blow his cover.

The Boss initially raised his hand to shoo him away.

"Get lost!"

Halfway through, he scanned the room again.

Five on patrol. One The Caucasian. One operating the computer. Plus himself.

The Flying Tigers were already coming up from downstairs, and the 25th floor was indeed short-handed.

He changed his mind.

"Forget it."

"You stay."

"Go to the small private room in the front and see how much longer Team 1 Leader's prayer ceremony will take."

Li Li looked up.

"Prayer ceremony?"

The Boss pointed his gun toward the hidden door at the back of the banquet hall.

"Yes."

"Once he's done, we'll start the next step."

The Caucasian put down his glass.

"You're not going in?"

The Boss switched to Arabic.

"Why go in there?"

"That old ghost is always acting all mystical and brings a bunch of tools; it's annoying to watch."

The Caucasian also spoke in Arabic.

"Then you're sending this kid?"

The Boss snorted.

"It makes sense."

"If he gets scared to death, that's one less person to split the money with."

Li Li walked toward that door, pausing for a moment.

It wasn't fear. It was speechlessness.

Terrorists do internal elimination too?

Are you here to kidnap or to conduct performance reviews?

A blue system message popped up.

[Detected conflict over loot splitting among enemies.]

[Current team status: Harboring ulterior motives.]

[Suggestion: Host should continue to listen in, and keep a record if necessary.]

Li Li ignored it.

The Boss tilted his head to look at him.

The meaning was clear. Go. If you come back alive, count yourself lucky.

Li Li reached out and pushed the door.

It wasn't locked. He stepped inside.

Dark. Very dark.

The lights from outside were blocked by the door, and only a single candle was lit at the end of the room.

The flame wasn't big.

As soon as he entered, a sentence in English exploded from within.

"Who told you to come in!"

The voice was very young. Sharp. And it had a Japanese accent.

Li Li closed the door behind him. Click. The latch snapped back.

The room got darker.

Li Li didn't walk forward.

This kind of place was the easiest to hide things in.

He probed the floor with his toes.

Wooden floor. No wires.

There was a cabinet on the left. A small door on the right.

The air smelled of wax, alcohol, blood, and spices.

Chaotic.

"What is it?"

The person by the candle spoke.

Li Li lowered his voice.

"The Boss is asking how much longer the prayer ceremony will take."

The person laughed twice.

"Prayer ceremony? Those idiots outside only know how to use that word."

Li Li didn't respond.

It was a good thing that the other party was willing to insult his teammates. The more he cursed, the more he would leak.

"Tell him the ritual is complete. They can begin."

Li Li turned to leave. The person spoke again.

"Wait. The small room to the right behind the door. There's a sacrifice on the floor. Drag it out and give it to them. They'll understand when they see it."

Li Li didn't move.

The person continued.

"I have another ritual here. Tell The Boss that I have a way to leave once I'm done. They can withdraw first."

Li Li replied, "Received."

He felt along the wall to the right. His fingertips touched a doorframe. The small room was half-open. There was no light inside.

He crouched down and prodded the floor with his gun barrel. No reaction. He probed further forward. He touched a shoe. A leg. The person was already unresponsive.

Li Li paused for half a second. He didn't need to look to know. Dead. And not a normal death.

This wasn't a prayer ceremony. This was a lunatic finding a sense of ritual for himself.

He grabbed both legs and dragged the person out. The floor made a dull thud. Once. Twice. Three times.

The door opened. The banquet hall lights flooded in.

Li Li dragged the corpse out. His left wrist hurt a bit, so he rotated it to relieve the pain.

When the hostages saw Li Li dragging the corpse over, there was silence at first. The next second, screams became uncontrollable.

"Ah!" "Don't look!" "Oh my god!"

Li Li dragged the body to the center of the banquet hall.

A woman. Her clothes were destroyed, her abdomen bulging, carved with strange patterns, and her face was covered in paint, making her original appearance unrecognizable.

Li Li looked down for two seconds. Damn it.

This isn't a sacrifice. Is this a seal for a Tailed Beast?

This is just a perverted fan making trouble for a manga author.

He scanned the side of her face again. It was slightly familiar. But with the blood, paint, and scratches mixed together, he couldn't recognize her.

There was no time to recognize her now.

The Boss had already walked over. He crouched down to take a look and clapped his hands twice. "Good!"

The Caucasian put down his wine glass. "The Old Ghost finished?" "Finished."

The Boss kicked aside the piece of cloth next to the corpse. "Let's go. Downstairs to start our performance."

The banquet hall erupted. The hostages crowded backward.

A middle-aged woman covered her child's ears, her body shaking uncontrollably.

The cold wallet in Zhou Hui's hand dropped to his leg. He wanted to pick it up but didn't dare move, sweat dripping down his chin.

The few wealthy men who had wanted to delay the transfer just moments ago were now all obedient.

Money wasn't as important as their lives. They finally realized that this group wasn't just after money. They were truly insane.

The terrorist side wasn't stable either.

One with yellow shoelaces took half a step back, his gun muzzle drooping.

Another rubbed his rifle butt twice, his Adam's apple bobbing several times.

They came to split money. Not to be assistants to a pervert.

The Boss raised his gun and fired another shot into the air. "Stand still! Whoever moves again, I'll send you down first!"

The amateurs immediately stood straight. But the fear was already uncontrollable.

The female bartender behind the bar dropped her ice tongs. Ice cubes rolled all over the floor.

She had only wanted to survive until her shift ended. Now she was working overtime in a cult crime scene.

Li Li stood next to the corpse, still keeping his head down. He quickly went through everything in his mind.

Team 1 Leader is in the private room. The Boss wants to retreat. The "performance" they mentioned is likely an explosion.

The Flying Tigers are already pushing up from downstairs. The outside world doesn't know the true situation on the 25th floor yet.

This corpse isn't just to scare people. It's a signal. Or it's the activation condition for the next step.

More troublesome is that the Old Ghost said he had a way to leave.

If he has a way to leave, it means there are other escape routes here. Ropes. Pipes. Pre-set explosive points. Or something else.

The Boss looked at Li Li. "You." Li Li stopped immediately. "Here." "Come with us."

He couldn't go down. Going down would easily get him shot by the Flying Tigers as an enemy. More importantly, Team 1 Leader was still inside.

"The Old Ghost asked me to guard the door for him." Li Li lowered his voice. "He said there's another ritual."

The Boss looked at him, then at the door. After a moment, he let out a laugh. "Fine. You stay. Leave two more to transfer the money. Before the money is transferred, nobody is allowed to leave."

The Caucasian walked to the military computer and tapped the operator's shoulder with his gun. "Progress."

The terrorist in front of the computer turned back. "Twenty-three transactions. More are still in the queue."

The Boss waved his hand. "Hurry up. The Flying Cats won't wait for us to eat midnight snacks."

The Caucasian corrected him. "Flying Tigers."

The Boss turned his head. "I don't care what they fly. They're all going to be blown up in a while."

When Li Li heard "blown up," his footsteps paused. Where are the bombs? The lobby? The stairs? The elevator shaft? Or is it this corpse?

He scanned the corpse. No obvious devices were visible from the outside. He couldn't rule out things hidden inside the body. But he couldn't check now.

The Boss had already turned around. "Bring the sacrifice."

The two with yellow shoelaces froze in place. One of them pointed at himself. "Me?"

The Boss raised his gun. "You."

That person bent down to drag the corpse, but as soon as his hand touched it, he recoiled. "Boss, this thing..." "Drag it!"

The one with yellow shoelaces had no choice but to grit his teeth and do it. When the corpse passed through the hostage area, it triggered another wave of sobbing.

To make them speed up, Li Li helped carry it to the stairwell, then turned back to the banquet hall.

He deliberately walked slowly. When passing the military computer, he glanced at the screen. Wallet addresses. Several transfer records. The amounts were huge.

He only looked for two seconds, memorizing the first six and last six digits. That was enough. After getting out, he would hand them over to the authorities to track. The premise was that he could get out.

A blue system message popped up. [On-chain address fragments recorded.] [Note: Warm greetings are not as good as freezing huge funds.]

Li Li replied in his heart. Sensible.

The Boss walked to the door and looked back at the hostages. "Gentlemen, thank you for the sponsorship. Tonight's fireworks in Hong Kong are on your tab."

No one dared to respond. Only one old wealthy man raised his hand, his voice trembling. "After we transfer the money, can we leave?"

The Boss looked at The Caucasian. The Caucasian shrugged. The Boss laughed out loud. "Of course. We do business with integrity."

Li Li almost rolled his eyes. Integrity? You even used your teammate to scout the path. Integrity itself would want to call the police if it heard that.

The Boss pushed the door open. The smoke in the hallway was thicker. Gunshots rang out from downstairs. Short bursts. Followed by a flashbang explosion. The Flying Tigers were already pushing up.

The Boss, conversely, became excited. He raised his hand. "Quick. Let them see what an international performance is."

The Caucasian followed behind. "The Old Ghost said he could leave on his own?" "He said so."

The Boss cursed in Arabic. "He better be able to. If he drags me down, I'll blow him up too."

Li Li listened very carefully. This group was crazy, greedy, and backstabbing. They had combat power. But they weren't united. If there's a crack, it can be pried open.

Just as the five-man team reached the stairwell, the roar of Team 2 Leader came through the headset again. "25th floor, do you hear me! The Flying Tigers are already at the 10th floor! What on earth are you doing!"

The Boss pressed his headset. "Shut up. We're coming down."

Team 2 Leader was anxious. "Are you crazy? What about the hostages? What about the money? It hasn't finished transferring yet!"

The Boss switched to Arabic. "The money is enough. You have to be alive to spend it."

Li Li noted this down. The Boss was preparing to retreat. He wasn't planning to hold out until the end. The so-called performance was to blow up the building, the Flying Tigers, and create chaos before retreating.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The gunshots downstairs rang out again. The Boss raised his pistol and waved toward the stairs below. "Let's go. Downstairs to start our performance."