96: The shocking robbery is in progress

“Bank robbery?”

“Gao Ze, do you know what you’re saying?”

On the other end of the phone, Gao Ze could clearly hear Director Zhao Mingsheng’s voice become tense and highly agitated, losing all politeness.

“Director Zhao, I know what a bank robbery means!”

“I’m not joking at all. I’ve already observed a criminal gang planning to rob Xingsheng Bank.”

Gao Ze had already stood up from the coffee shop and was walking towards Xingsheng Bank, his peripheral vision catching a glimpse of the Jetta SUV in the distance, from which five men in casual clothes were disembarking.

Two were very young, appearing to be in their twenties, while the others were middle-aged, unshaven, unkempt, and carrying canvas bags.

“Which Xingsheng Bank in Donghai City?”

As the top leader of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Director Zhao Mingsheng, who rose from the grassroots and had twenty to thirty years of frontline criminal experience, immediately grasped the key points and inquired:

“How many robbers do you estimate there are, and are they armed?”

“Xingsheng Bank on Chunhua Road, Jinghai District!”

Gao Ze said, “I estimate at least ten people. They are all carrying heavy canvas bags, which I suspect contain firearms, and possibly even explosives!”

Boom!

Director Zhao Mingsheng instantly felt his mind buzz and tremble.

A bank robbery by around ten armed robbers meant that this incident could not be a small-scale affair involving a few million, but rather targeting a medium to large-sized bank, aiming to steal at least tens of millions or even over a hundred million.

The main concern was not the loss of money.

It was the casualties caused during the robbery; if several or even dozens of people died, his career would definitely come to an abrupt halt.

Moreover, a robbery of this scale would certainly trend on social media, attracting widespread public discussion in Donghai City and beyond.

“How dare they? Do they all want to die?”

Immense anger and worry surged, and Director Zhao Mingsheng slammed his desk, but then quickly calmed down and asked, “Gao Ze, have the robbers started the robbery yet?”

“How far along is the robbery, and can our Police intervene and stop it in time?”

“I’m afraid it’s too late!”

Gao Ze looked at the two additional SUVs that had pulled up next to the Jetta SUV and said,

“They are already carrying canvas bags and entering Xingsheng Bank. Our Police won’t be able to stop them in time. We can only deploy our forces as quickly as possible to contain them inside the bank and eliminate them all.”

“I am also entering Xingsheng Bank now, in plain clothes. When Director Zhao seals off the bank, I will cooperate from inside and do my best to protect the safety of the citizens.”

“Gao Ze…”

Director Zhao Mingsheng on the other end of the phone wanted to dissuade him but fell silent.

“Thank you for your hard work, please be careful!”

Director Zhao knew how dangerous it would be for Gao Ze to enter the bank and face more than ten vicious armed criminals.

He knew how selfless Gao Ze’s decision was, practically disregarding his own life.

There was a ninety-nine percent chance that Gao Ze would not make it back.

It was a sorrowful and regrettable thing for such a promising Police elite to sacrifice himself in a case.

“I am immediately heading to Xingsheng Bank on Chunhua Road. The Donghai City Armed Police, the nearest Jinghai District Criminal Police, and all Donghai departments will cooperate with your actions.”

“We will never let that group of robbers escape!”

In an instant, Gao Ze gained more confidence in eliminating the robbers.

Contacting Director Zhao Mingsheng was indeed the right choice; only a high-ranking leader like him could quickly respond and mobilize the Police forces of Donghai City, even the Armed Police, a branch with numerous high-intensity firearms, would obey his orders.

After this robbery incident, Director Zhao Mingsheng would also be grateful to him!

However, now was not the time to think about these things.

Gao Ze entered Xingsheng Bank first, pretending to be a passerby conducting deposit and withdrawal transactions, and sat on a rest chair in Xingsheng Bank, taking a number to queue.

He glanced around and saw two security guards casually standing at the bank’s main entrance, looking relaxed and unaware of the unusual behavior of the young and middle-aged men successively carrying canvas bags.

“Loose security, no wonder it got robbed!”

Gao Ze shook his head slightly, his eyes looking towards the bank’s back door passage.

During his first reconnaissance of Xingsheng Bank, he had carefully observed that Xingsheng Bank had a back door to the north, allowing internal bank staff to enter and exit.

At the same time, the second, third, and fourth floors of the bank also housed bank employees, and he often saw men and women in suits and office attire taking the elevator down, carrying large stacks of paper documents.

“Number 952!”

“Number 952!”

The bank’s internal broadcast system announced the queue number. It took two repetitions for Gao Ze to realize it was his turn. He walked to the bulletproof glass counter, where he was greeted by a beautiful young woman in a light blue uniform, who looked like she had just graduated from university.

A private bank was indeed a private bank; most bank tellers were young and pretty.

“Sir, what service do you require?”

“Deposit or withdrawal, or are you a financial client of our bank?”

The crisp, sweet voice did not attract any attention from Gao Ze. He didn’t even have a bank card for Xingsheng Bank, so how could he deposit or withdraw money? His eyes were fixed on the robbers.

After entering the bank, they didn’t seem to be in a hurry to rob the money.

Instead, four or five of them took the elevator up to the second, third, and fourth floors of the bank, while the others sat quietly on the rest chairs, craning their necks and looking around, vigilant for any unusual movements.

“Sir, sir!”

The bank teller called out multiple times before Gao Ze finally turned his head.

“Sir, what service do you need at our bank? Are you depositing money?”

“Do you have any investment products at your bank?”

Gao Ze didn’t have a bank card, so he could only try to strike up a conversation with the bank teller in front of him.

“Of course, we do. Xingsheng Bank has many investment products, but I’m not in charge of investment projects. You can speak to our manager.”

“Where is your manager?”

“Our manager is handling business on the second floor of the bank. If you need to, I can notify him!”

“Not necessary for now!”

To avoid raising suspicion, Gao Ze got up from the glass counter and left, but he hadn’t gone far when he heard a trembling voice behind him,

“Lu Ling, turn off the security alarm inside the glass door!”

“Manager Shen, why do we need to turn off the security alarm? It’s not closing time yet, is it?”

The pretty young teller who had just served Gao Ze looked at the manager in confusion, gradually realizing something was wrong. Her manager’s face was pale, and his body was trembling, with a middle-aged man closely following behind him.

“Are you going to turn it off or not?”

“If you don’t turn off the security alarm, your manager and the bank president will all die!”

Gao Ze had already ducked to the side and saw the middle-aged bearded man behind the suited bank manager pull out a dark pistol from behind him and aim it at the bank manager’s temple.

At the same time.

Three young robbers silently walked up to the two security guards, suddenly launched an attack, pulled out daggers, and stabbed them in the back.

They didn’t even let out a scream.

The two security guards were dragged away, and then the robbers pulled down the bank’s anti-theft steel door, preventing outsiders from entering.

This series of actions was swift and clean, without any hesitation, clearly indicating they had been rehearsed many times.

The twenty-three customers who had entered the bank saw these scenes and immediately screamed in terror, but when two or three robbers pulled out gleaming, cold pistols from their canvas bags, they instantly became silent as chickens with their throats choked.

Gao Ze hid among these people, feeling no worry.

Currently, these robbers were executing their robbery plan, aiming to complete the robbery silently without alarming the Police. They had only injured people, not killed them, and dared not fire easily.

If a loud gunshot were to go off, it would quickly arouse suspicion and lead to the Police being called from outside the bank.

“Mr. Gao, you’re actually here!”

Just as he was contemplating the robbers’ plan, Gao Ze felt someone tugging at his right sleeve. He turned around and saw a beautiful, radiant woman with her head bowed behind him.

It was Lili, Jiang Qianyu’s client manager from the bar.

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