"Guess what the leader will say to the police?"
"Hahahaha!"
"Stupid Asians."
The voices of the other three robbers echoed in Ping An's ears. Though soft, only audible to him, it was enough.
His kindness and foolish thought had allowed the real fourth robber to escape.
And with the fourth robber's "truthful report," the police would be even more convinced that he was the fourth robber.
"When we go back to the hostages in the restaurant later, keep your mouth shut, or I'll kill you first," one robber threatened. "Although it's troublesome, we can still find a 'accomplice' who will listen!"
Well, that was a threat.
"So exciting! Master, I can't believe you've experienced something like this. What happened next? I know your temper; being toyed with by robbers like this, you'd rather die, right?" Su Tang listened with great interest.
"Yes, I was trembling all over then. The robbers mistook it for fear, but actually, your Master had murderous intent!" Ping An said.
Indeed, after being played by the robbers, Ping An was furious but quickly adjusted his mindset. Because he knew that being kept as an "accomplice" must have some other purpose.
As expected, after their leader, who had been hiding in the restaurant from the start, was mistaken for a hostage and released by the police, another robber began a new move.
First, one of them shouted at the police, saying that it was the city's evening rush hour and escaping would not be smooth, so they would wait until eleven o'clock at night to leave. To show their sincerity, they were willing to release one hostage every 10 minutes.
One hostage had already left the restaurant, leaving 37. Oh, wait, not counting Ping An in the police's eyes, there were 36 remaining. It was five o'clock in the afternoon, and there were six hours until eleven o'clock at night. Releasing one every ten minutes meant six per hour, and by eleven o'clock, all 36 would be released.
It had to be said, these robbers were absolutely high-IQ.
"Master, they are really smart!" Su Tang, after a moment's thought, understood the robbers' intentions.
"Yes, by releasing one hostage every ten minutes, firstly, they would prevent the police from taking effective action – after all, hostages are constantly being released, and as long as the robbers don't break their word, the police won't act rashly," Ping An said. "By eleven o'clock at night, the robbers will come out with the last hostage, then drive away and release the hostage."
"But the robbers wouldn't be so kind, would they?" Su Tang asked with a smile.
The robbers would naturally not be so kind. Such sincere hostage releases were actually for their own purposes.
As soon as five-ten arrived, the police outside the restaurant seemed like frightened donkeys.
Inside the restaurant, the robbers actually pushed a hostage out the door.
"The hostage is out, the hostage is out, don't shoot!"
"Stop, state your name and identity!"
Seeing the hostage come out, the police were somewhat surprised, but a voice suddenly rang out, demanding the hostage to prove their identity.
"My name is Ham, I'm a traffic policeman! I'm your colleague!"
The hostage who went out, seeing the police pointing a gun at him, said somewhat indignantly.
"Identity verified, it's a hostage!" a policeman replied loudly.
Afterward, Ping An learned that it was Adam who had demanded the hostage verification.
Inside the restaurant, seeing how trustworthy the robbers were, the hostages seemed to see hope and became more compliant with the robbers' demands.
"Sit there and enjoy your coffee!"
A robber patted Ping An, gesturing for him to sit at the same spot where he had been eating earlier.
"Please don't harm the hostages! Please remain calm!" the police shouted.
"We are being very restrained, don't interfere," the robber said, sounding a little flustered, and his eyes on Ping An grew even more vicious.
Very good, the robbers' attitude was the best answer. The robbers now feared their plan being disrupted. They perhaps needed order more than the police outside. They didn't dare to shoot now, let alone kill.
Taking a bold step, Ping An suddenly rushed towards the glass again. It was the same waiter, and he received another punch from Ping An.
"What's wrong with you? What do you want to do!" The robber was very angry this time, pulling Ping An away and preparing to strike him with the gun stock. However, another robber stopped his accomplice.
The unlucky waiter took a heavy blow this time, his eyes blackened, looking at Ping An with confusion.
The police outside the restaurant were also very curious about what was happening inside. Two brave policemen even crept closer.
"Time's up, you go out first!" the robber said fiercely, telling the waiter who had been beaten to go out first.
"No! He can't go out!" the leading robber suddenly blocked the waiter.
The other robber looked at the injuries on the waiter's face, nodded, and released a different hostage instead.
After the new hostage went out, the leading robber walked up to Ping An.
"Don't play any tricks, I don't mind tying you up, or sending you to hell with this rope," the leading robber said menacingly.
"I have conditions!" Ping An suddenly had an idea.
"What conditions?" the robber asked.
"Give me a share of what you stole. We'll cooperate. Once we're out, I'll smuggle myself back to my country – you can then peacefully, without killing anyone, take the blame for me!" Ping An said.
Ping An was gambling, betting that these people with status and jobs wouldn't want to kill anyone!
"I'm a foreigner..." Ping An knew the robbers were tempted.