11: Chapter 11 Is this some kind of calisthenics? No, this is an ancient Roman battle formation!

The sky grew dark, the setting sun like blood.

The once bustling commercial district was now like a ghost town. Aside from the flashing red and blue police lights, there was only the whistling of the wind.

Inside the bank hall, as the last rays of sunlight vanished, the temperature began to plummet.

The central air conditioning had been cut off half an hour ago.

"Click."

A soft sound.

As if it were some kind of signal, the lights of the entire bank building went out at the same moment.

Darkness surged in like a tide, instantly swallowing everyone's vision.

"Ah—!"

An uncontrollable scream erupted from the crowd. For ordinary people, darkness often meant unknown fear, let alone in a standoff with live ammunition.

"Shut up."

In the darkness, a low voice rang out.

The voice wasn't loud, and there was no megaphone to amplify it, yet it clearly entered everyone's ears.

It carried a cold, metallic quality.

The crowd fell silent instantly, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing and teeth chattering.

Qin Feng stood at the second-floor railing, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

It was pitch black, so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

"Playing dirty now, are we? Cutting off water, power, and food. If it weren't for me, anyone with weaker mental fortitude would have collapsed by now."

Qin Feng complained inwardly, and then his thoughts shifted slightly.

[Ding! Ambient light detected below threshold.]

[Passive skill triggered: Dark Night Hunter (Item: Panoramic Tactical Night Vision Goggles loaded).]

Buzz—

Qin Feng's vision changed instantly.

The world that was once pitch black now turned into a clear, green fluorescent image.

It was like a God's-eye view with a full-map hack.

He could clearly see Manager Zhou Wenyuan shivering in a corner downstairs, a young mother holding her child and trying to cover its mouth, and even the dust floating in the air.

"B-Big Brother..."

A rustling sound came from beside him.

Gui Jianchou fumbled and grabbed the corner of Qin Feng's clothes, his voice shaking like a leaf: "It's dark! It's completely dark! Are they... are they going to storm in?"

As a former hardened bandit, Gui Jianchou knew this routine all too well.

Cutting the power was to disable infrared equipment (though it wouldn't work in this case), but more importantly, to create panic and coordinate with the SWAT Team's night vision gear for a one-sided massacre.

"Don't panic."

Qin Feng reached out and patted the hand clutching his clothes.

The movement was gentle, yet it carried a reassuring strength.

"The show has only just begun."

Qin Feng said indifferently.

In reality, he was thinking: Thank goodness I have a hack, otherwise I'd really be fumbling in the dark.

But to Gui Jianchou's ears, it was the domineering aura of someone strategizing within a tent to win a battle a thousand miles away!

Big Brother expected this long ago!

Big Brother was even looking forward to this moment!

Is this the composure of a top-tier bandit? I love it!

...

Meanwhile.

Although the bank building was dark, the large screen in the police command center was a glowing green.

Several drones equipped with military-grade infrared thermal imagers were circling the bank's windows, transmitting real-time footage of the interior.

"Reporting to the Chief! Target Qin Feng is at the second-floor railing!"

"The hostages are concentrated in the center of the first-floor hall!"

"Wait... what are they doing?"

The technician's voice suddenly turned strange as he pointed at the screen, his face full of disbelief.

Zhao Shanhe and Xiahou Dun immediately leaned in.

On the screen.

The hostages, who had been huddling together like frightened quails, were now all standing up.

Furthermore, they were arranged in an extremely orderly formation.

Qin Feng stood on the second floor, holding a conductor's baton (actually a telescopic rod) removed from a curtain, waving it rhythmically.

Following his lead, the hostages below performed movements in unison.

Arms raised.

Bending over.

Kicking legs.

Twisting bodies.

"What... what kind of ritual is this?" Zhao Shanhe's brow furrowed deeply, and he poured out two more fast-acting heart-saving pills.

"No!"

SWAT Captain Xiahou Dun suddenly narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the constantly changing thermal map of human bodies on the screen.

As a tactical master, the world in his eyes was different from that of ordinary people.

"Chief, look at this move!"

Xiahou Dun pointed to the screen showing the hostages doing "chest expansion exercises," his voice trembling with excitement: "Arms extended, chest wide open! This isn't a simple chest expansion; this is a modified opening move for the 'Spartan Phalanx'!"

"Through these large-scale limb movements, they are confirming the distance between teammates to form a dynamic defensive chain!"

"And this!"

Xiahou Dun moved his finger down, pointing to the "body twisting exercise": "Waist twisting, eyes scanning the rear! This is to guard against our backstab attacks! It's called 'Omnidirectional Alertness'!"

"These aren't just some random movements at all!"

Xiahou Dun took a deep breath, his tone decisive and even carrying a hint of awe for his opponent: "This is the long-lost Ancient Roman Infantry Phalanx! He is using the hostages to construct a living meat shield wall!"

"The moment we launch a full assault, this wall will turn into a meat grinder under Qin Feng's command!"

The command hall erupted in an uproar.

All the police officers looked at the elderly men and women on the screen doing radio gymnastics, their gazes instantly becoming incredibly solemn.

So that's it!

No wonder this Qin Feng has been so fearless!

He actually managed to train a group of weak ordinary people into a disciplined tactical phalanx in just a few hours?

Such leadership is truly terrifying!

...

Second floor.

Qin Feng yawned, waved the rod in his hand, and shouted lazily, "One, two, three, four... two, two, three, four... Make the movements bigger! You, the fat guy in the suit, don't be lazy! Twist it!"

"It's too cold. Everyone, keep moving so you don't catch a cold."

"If you catch a cold, I'll have to ask the production team for medical reimbursement later. What a hassle."

This was Qin Feng's actual thought.

The power was out, the heating had stopped, and these hostages weren't wearing much. If something happened to them from the cold, whose fault would it be?

To save himself some trouble, he could only return to his old ways and bring out the skills he had as a physical education representative in middle school.

"The Eighth Set of Radio Gymnastics begins now—"

Downstairs.

Zhou Wenyuan was desperately doing jumping jacks while his nose ran, feeling incredibly bitter inside.

This kidnapper is so freaking perverted!

It's bad enough he won't let us use the bathroom, but he wants us to do exercises at a time like this?

Is this the legendary... physical abuse?

Meanwhile, in the livestream room, the bullet chats were laughing so hard they could barely function.

"Hahaha! What kind of 'Ancient Roman Battle Formation' is that? That's clearly 'The Era is Calling'!"

"Captain Xia talking nonsense with such a straight face is just too cute!"

"Qin Feng: I'm afraid they'll freeze to death. Police: He's training troops! He's building defensive fortifications!"

"That fat manager's dancing is so mesmerizing; this is definitely a weight-loss boot camp!"

"Is this a world-class misunderstanding? I'm laughing so hard I'm getting abs!"

...

Outside the command vehicle.

Zhao Shanhe didn't know the truth; he only believed Xiahou Dun's judgment.

"We can't wait any longer!"

Zhao Shanhe glanced at the tactical watch on his wrist; the second hand was ticking away mercilessly.

The threat of that "flour thermobaric bomb" was still there, and now Qin Feng had created a human phalanx. If they delayed any longer, who knows what other trouble this madman would stir up!

"Orders!"

Zhao Shanhe grabbed the walkie-talkie, his voice cold as a blade:

"Assault Team One, breach the back door with explosives. Feint to draw attention!"

"Assault Team Two, use window breakers to storm the left windows on the second floor!"

"Assault Team Three, rappel from the rooftop and head straight for the VIP room!"

"Snipers, everyone pre-aim! If there's a shot window, fire immediately!"

"Action!"

...

"Boom!"

A loud blast shattered the silence of the night.

The alloy security door at the bank's back entrance was blown open by a directional charge, the firelight instantly illuminating half the block.

This was followed by the ear-piercing sound of glass shattering.

"Crash—"

Several SWAT officers in black tactical gear descended from the sky like ghosts, swinging into the second-floor windows.

It all happened too fast.

So fast that the hostages downstairs doing stretching exercises hadn't even reacted yet.

But in Qin Feng's eyes.

As early as ten seconds ago.

[Ding! Extremely high-risk tactical strike detected.]

[Passive skill: Perfect Crime Intuition triggered.]

In Qin Feng's mind, three giant crimson arrows suddenly appeared on the green night-vision display.

They pointed toward the back door, the left window, and the ceiling respectively.

That needle-like sense of crisis made the hair all over his body stand on end in an instant.

"They're here."

Qin Feng didn't panic.

Or rather, in this state where the system managed part of his bodily functions, he didn't even have the right to panic.

He just calmly turned around, his gaze locking onto the direction of the back door.

That was the feint point.

But it was also the only loophole.

If he let them rush in, this show wouldn't be able to continue.

Qin Feng lightly flicked his toe.

The bag of doctored flour originally placed at the door flew through the air like an obedient soccer ball, tracing a perfect parabola.

His movements were light and casual.

Like kicking away a stray slipper after coming home from work.

But the landing point had been precisely calculated by the system thousands of times.

It landed exactly at the vent where the air was rushing in after the back door was blown open.

"Pop."

The flour bag hit the ground and burst.

The fierce wind swept in.

The white powder was instantly torn apart by the airflow, turning into a massive cloud of white mist that filled the entire back door passage.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The SWAT officers of Assault Team One, who had just rushed in, were hit in the face by this high-concentration cloud of flour before they could see anything inside.

Although it didn't explode.

But the dust flying everywhere instantly obscured all vision.

Even the beams of their tactical flashlights couldn't penetrate this layer of white mist.

"Report! Encountered 'biochemical' smoke resistance! Visibility zero! Unable to advance!"

The SWAT Captain roared into the walkie-talkie, his voice full of terror.

Is this the precursor to the thermobaric bomb Lei Wanjun mentioned?!

With this dust concentration... just a single spark and they're all finished!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly! Put the riot shields in front!"

...

Second floor.

Qin Feng looked at the chaotic mess at the back door below, his mouth twitching helplessly under his mask.

"Is that really necessary?"

"I just kicked up some dust, and look how scared these kids are."

He shook his head and turned to deal with the group coming through the window.

Just then.

A pair of soft little hands, trembling yet unusually firm, hugged his waist from behind.

Su Tang had somehow sneaked up.

In the darkness, her body pressed tightly against Qin Feng's back, her whole being shivering.

It was an instinctive fear of the sound of gunfire and explosions.

Yet, beside this man, she seemed to find a sliver of safety.

"Brother..."

Su Tang's tearful voice sounded in Qin Feng's ear: "Am I... going to die?"

Qin Feng's body stiffened.

Why hasn't this girl run away? Didn't I tell the hostages to get down earlier?

He looked down at the fair arms wrapped around his waist.

He glanced at the approaching SWAT rappelling ropes.

Qin Feng sighed.

He reached back and gripped Su Tang's hand, applying a bit of pressure.

Through the tactical gloves, the rough friction caused Su Tang's heart to skip a beat.

Qin Feng didn't look back.

He continued to stare at the red threat arrows, his voice calm yet carrying a domineering tone that made one want to kneel in submission:

"Hold on tight."

"With me here, even the King of Hell wouldn't dare take you."

Boom—

Su Tang felt as if fireworks had exploded in her mind.

Outside was a hail of bullets.

Beside her was a peerless bandit.

At this moment, she was so happy she was about to faint.

How was this a bank robbery?

This was clearly a live-action version of "The Overbearing Godfather Falls for Me"!

Livestream bullet chat:

"?????"

"I took my pants off and you show me this?"

"The SWAT Team is risking their lives, and you're falling in love?"

"Bandit Bro: This is a high-tier game, what's wrong with carrying a girl?"

"Su Tang totally won this round! I want a hug too!"