CHAPTER 1571: CHAPTER 1623: HOSTAGE

After silently dealing with two Vulture Organization members in succession, Li Yifei finally reached the second floor. The space on the second floor was vast, with several rooms. Li Yifei sensed a Vulture Organization member armed with a gun on both the left and right, guarding against anyone breaking in from the second floor. He held a bullet casing in his hand, flicked his fingers, and the casing flew out, hitting the wall and bouncing back.

The attention of the two armed men was immediately drawn to it. Taking advantage of their turning heads, Li Yifei moved like a gecko, his body sticking to the ceiling, quickly moving past them, and slipped into a nearby room. This position was very close to the two gunmen.

The two were aiming their guns to check the source of the sound. Upon seeing it was a bullet casing, they exchanged glances and both looked towards the stairs. One of them tilted his head and whispered, "It’s coming from above..."

The two tacitly moved quietly towards the stairs. They had only taken three or four steps when their bodies suddenly stiffened, motionless.

Li Yifei appeared behind them, having just withdrawn his hand. He directly hit their acupoints, and just like before, with a bit of effort, he twisted their necks, laying them down on the ground.

At that moment, a shout came from downstairs: "Hey, how’s it going up there?"

All four people upstairs had been dealt with, so there was no response. The person downstairs waited a few seconds and then decided to go up and check, speaking as he went: "The boss said not to fire easily; we should preserve our strength as much as possible to see if we can find a way to safety."

The person was halfway up when a broadcast sounded outside, applying pressure on these terrorists, causing him to stop and quickly ask the leader, "Boss, what should we do? Should we respond?"

The leader frowned, holding a submachine gun in his hand, hesitated for a while, and said: "Let’s wait and see; the other side hasn’t mentioned their intentions yet."

In case they aren’t coming to rescue but simply to capture them, then the woman hostage’s value diminishes. Conversely, the woman becomes an extremely good shield.

Thus delayed, the person didn’t go upstairs and waited below. Li Yifei calculated the numbers mentally, realizing there were only six to eight hostages downstairs. He approached the staircase, closed his eyes, and released a strong presence to determine the number of people downstairs: eight in one corner, three in the other, while the rest were spread out and not together.

Soon, Li Yifei heard a child crying and a woman’s voice from the direction of the seven people, indicating these seven were likely hostages.

With the reconnaissance complete, Li Yifei had a mental map of the downstairs layout. Dealing with so many individuals indeed posed a challenge.

However, Li Yifei had demonstrated to Sarama a miraculous rapid fire during the day, so firing continuously within seconds wasn’t too difficult for him.

Taking advantage of the outside shouting distracting the terrorists downstairs, Li Yifei set down the submachine gun slung over his shoulder and instead held two handguns, slightly bent his waist, and leaned forward, ready to rush out at any moment.

His foot on the stairs, Li Yifei placed a CD picked up randomly at the corner, using it to reflect the situation downstairs. He gently rotated it, and much of the ground floor became visible. Li Yifei didn’t see the seven hostages; instead, he saw Wu Shuwei sitting on a box, her hands placed in front, eyes looking towards the window, unclear what she was seeing. Thankfully, she seemed unharmed and even appeared quite spirited.

Li Yifei also saw two Japanese looking worried and smirked silently.

At that moment, the leader suddenly seemed to remember something and said to the underling from before: "Go upstairs and check, tell them to prevent the opponent from breaking through the roof."

The underling nodded quickly, "I’ll go check right away!"

Check? Too late! Li Yifei suddenly leaped out, landing a foot on the wall, his body refracting mid-air, instantly jumping to the first floor. Having already evaluated the positions of these people, Li Yifei had long set the route in his mind. Therefore, while airborne, the guns in his hands began firing continuously.

The sudden burst of gunfire startled everyone in the room, eliciting terrified cries from the seven hostages who, not understanding the situation, thought the terrorists were killing.

The terrorists’ first reaction was not to counterattack but to crouch or hide behind cover.

But it was too late; Li Yifei’s bullets seemed to have eyes, hitting them with bang, bang, bang in succession. His third shot targeted the leader, but the leader was very fortunate, pulling the underling beside him to take two bullets for him.

By then, Li Yifei had already landed, rolling once on the ground before getting up immediately, aiming his two guns at two ends as if he had eyes in the back of his head. A terrorist, wounded but not fatally, attempted to retaliate, but Li Yifei shot him again, hitting him in the forehead, where he could no longer move.

The two Japanese yelped instantly, clasping their heads with both hands and squatting down. As for Wu Shuwei, her gaze shifted from outside the window to the staircase. Everyone else in the room was terrified, except her. Not only was she unafraid, but she even beamed with a smile, like a budding flower. True to her thoughts, she knew Li Yifei would come to rescue her, surely would come.

When the gunfire rang out, she knew it was Li Yifei, fearing nothing, not needing to hide or avoid, just sitting there, waiting for Li Yifei to come for her.

Such confidence, if Li Yifei knew, he might very well call her an idiot: what’s the point of playing romantic and cool at a time like this?

Li Yifei did not eliminate all the enemies in the room at once; the leader was unharmed, as were two other terrorists hiding behind cover, while Li Yifei was exposed. His gun aimed at either side, ready to shoot if they showed any sign of movement.

The leader knelt on the ground, hands and feet on the floor, struggling to lift his head. He didn’t know who charged out shooting or why the opponent was shooting, but... he knew he and his people were doomed this time.

Originally hoping to take hostages and surrender for leniency, at least not be executed directly if captured, but now, the opponent gave no chance for negotiation, driving him to despair. In despair, one seeks to cause as much destruction as possible.

So, he laid eyes on Wu Shuwei.

By then, Wu Shuwei just stood up, smiling, looking at Li Yifei six or seven meters away.

At this moment, Wu Shuwei forgot past unhappiness and wanted to run to Li Yifei, saying, "I knew you would come."

Li Yifei frowned; this woman’s state of mind was impressive. Even now, she could still manage a smile. Hearing noise behind, Li Yifei immediately turned and fired a shot. A bullet penetrated the wooden furniture, striking a terrorist behind it, who let out a miserable cry. Sounds of struggle emanated from behind the furniture, but it ceased after a few seconds.

Another terrorist couldn’t help but stand up with a machine gun, attempting to shoot Li Yifei. Before his finger could squeeze the trigger, Li Yifei swiftly shot him down.

Wu Shuwei wanted to applaud and praise him but suddenly, a person appeared before her. Her face changed drastically as she retreated, but it was too late. A large hand clamped around her neck, and a black muzzle pointed at her head. At the same time, an eerie voice rang out: "Don’t move, or I’ll kill her!"

Li Yifei spun around abruptly, his gaze as sharp as a blade, seemingly shooting a chilling light. He didn’t blame Wu Shuwei for being careless, as the situation had already unfolded; it was his oversight, believing he had dealt with this person.

Taking two steps forward, the Vulture Organization leader hiding behind Wu Shuwei felt an immense threat approaching. Controlling Wu Shuwei, he also stepped back, saying, "Drop your gun, don’t come any closer."

"Alright," Li Yifei casually dropped the two guns on the ground without hesitation.

The leader sighed in relief, considering the Huaxia man before him to be a monster, silently killing off several guards upstairs and then suddenly wiping out his downstairs subordinates.

So what if you’re a good shot? Without guns, what are you? At a safe distance, the leader felt confident in his safety, not to mention having a hostage nearby.

Just then, a series of smashing sounds rang out as several soldiers used their guns to smash the windows open, dark muzzles sticking in, aiming inside. Seeing the situation within, someone quickly reported to Sarama.

Sarama soon ran over, seeing Li Yifei unarmed, confronting a terrorist who used Wu Shuwei as a shield, pointing a gun at Wu Shuwei’s head. But... why was Wu Shuwei smiling? At such a time, wasn’t she afraid?

Li Yifei’s eyes were also on Wu Shuwei, finding it amusing. This woman kept smiling; even with a gun at her temple, was she not afraid?

Li Yifei didn’t ask; he seemed to understand from Wu Shuwei’s gaze. He realized that because he was there, she was unafraid. This kind of unconditional trust – it was truly rare. Apart from his wives giving him such trust, there were likely very few, if any, others in the world who would.

Hence, Wu Shuwei’s trust intrigued and touched Li Yifei, prompting him to tell himself, "Since you trust me so much, I will not let you down. Thus, the one who kidnapped you must die."

Just as he finished thinking, the leader spoke up, loudly demanding, "Have your people withdraw immediately. Not a single one can stay."