novelhk Chapter 104 Central Bank
Chapter 104 Central Bank
"Reputation, reputation!"
Gao Le roared and kicked the metal of the carriage.
The metal sheet made a loud clanging sound that echoed through the empty station, lingering for a long time.
"The reputation we've built up is gone just like that."
After being reborn, I'm just an ordinary person, not even as good as a street thug! But I'm not willing to give up like this!
He bent down, picked up a rusty iron bar from beside the rails, and slammed it hard against the iron frame next to him.
The iron rod bent into an arc, and rusty slag fell off the iron frame in a rustling sound.
"There's definitely something wrong with Batman. He always seems to know our location in advance."
But I still have no clue where the problem lies.
If I find out who's behind all this, I'll skin them alive sooner or later!
He Mang stood up and walked to Gao Le's side.
His gaze swept across the entire abandoned station, the railway tracks stretching into the darkness, with no end in sight.
"I'm not reconciled either."
His fingertips clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood.
Blood droplets fell onto the rusty railway tracks, spreading out in a small red patch.
"But if it comes to a direct confrontation, we're no match for that bat. The police are also very meticulous and difficult to deal with."
Gao Le turned to look at He Mang, the madness in his eyes had not faded, but a hint of ruthlessness had appeared.
"In that case, let's do one last job with him."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, slapping his hand on the iron frame, his hand covered in rust.
"Find the most lucrative targets and take on the most impactful cases!"
The banks in the city center have the tightest security and are frequented by Gotham's elite.
For us, it was also the most lucrative place.
If we succeed, we can gain enough reputation to restore our strength.
This time we need to find a good place to hide. As long as that stinky bat doesn't find us this time, Gotham will be ours again sooner or later.
"The last vote."
He Mang repeated these four words, the hesitation in his eyes gradually fading, leaving only determination.
"Okay, let's go and do one last job for him."
Even if we fail, it won't be worse than the current situation.
If we fail again, we can simply give up completely and find other ways to utilize our subordinates.
"It's settled then."
Gao Le raised his hand and bumped fists with He Mang.
The two men's knuckles touched, producing a dull sound.
"I'll inform them in a bit that we'll start the operation at 11 p.m. tonight."
"Gotham City Centre Bank, this time we'll find a good spot. I refuse to believe that stinky bat will find us again!"
He Mang nodded, turned around and walked into the dilapidated carriage behind him.
Under one of the seats, there was a tattered blanket.
If you don't look closely, it's easy to mistake this for trash.
He lifted the felt blanket, revealing a hidden compartment underneath.
It's more accurate to call it a hole under the seat than a hidden compartment.
The room was neatly filled with weapons and a stack of red hoods.
The hood was wrapped in a transparent plastic bag, which was covered in dust.
He raised his hand and patted it, raising dust that floated in the light.
"Fortunately, we were prepared in advance and prepared these supplies."
There was a hint of smugness in his voice, "If I hadn't planned ahead, we probably wouldn't even have had the resources to pull off one last heist."
What He Mang said was true. Although the players in their organization were fearless of death, they were truly out of supplies.
The supplies used by the players under their command were all arranged by He Mang in advance.
Although he had stockpiled a lot of supplies, these were now his last supplies.
If they run out of resources and still haven't gained enough prestige, they don't even dare to think about what to do next.
As for buying supplies on the black market after robbing money, there was absolutely no need for them to do so in their plan.
Gao Le took the hood, clutched it in his hand, and the fabric crumpled into a ball.
The wind at the station grew stronger, and the howling wind scattered their conversation among the dark railway tracks.
Like invisible, poisonous threads, they coiled towards downtown Gotham.
As night fell at Hope Home, the children returned to their rooms, and warm yellow light shone through the windows.
Li Wei leaned against the railing at the gate of the courtyard, watching Gordon's car drive away. The headlights turned a corner in the alley and disappeared.
Batman also leaped onto the ancient tung tree, his black figure flashing before disappearing into the night.
Only a faint sentence remained in the air, carried by the whistling wind.
"I'm leaving now. Contact me via communicator if you need anything."
Li Wei nodded and turned to walk into the courtyard.
For some reason, he couldn't help but shiver when he reached the living room door.
Li Wei didn't know how to describe that feeling. If he really had to put it into words, it was like being stared at by a poisonous snake.
Just as Li Wei was wondering why this was happening, his cell phone rang sharply in his pocket.
Gordon's name flashed on the phone screen, and the sudden ringtone was particularly jarring in the quiet courtyard, startling a few sparrows that were perched on the sycamore tree.
He raised his hand to answer the phone, and Gordon's voice was like a thunderclap.
It came through the receiver, filled with extreme urgency and disbelief.
"Leeway! Hurry to the downtown bank in Gotham City!"
Red Hoods! It's those damned bastards again! Thirteen of them!
They were fully armed and had already stormed in.
There are still hundreds of customers and employees inside; the situation is critical!
On the other end of the phone, sirens, gunshots, and screams mingled together.
The loud noise came through the receiver, so clear it sounded like it was right next to my ear.
Li Wei's knuckles clenched instantly, and the plastic-cased phone deformed slightly from the force.
He immediately started running towards the pickup truck outside the yard.
The soles of my shoes made a soft, rustling sound as they stepped on the grass.
"I'll be right there."
Li Wei's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness, signaling Gordon to hold on a little longer.
After hanging up the phone, Li Wei opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.
The pickup truck's engine roared as the key was inserted into the lock and turned.
The wheels rolled over the cobblestones of the alley, making a screeching sound.
Li Wei gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
He floored the accelerator, and the old pickup truck groaned under the strain.
Just as Li Wei felt he was about to step on the gas, the pickup truck roared to life.
It sped off like an arrow, heading straight for Gotham City Centre Bank in the city center.
The streetlights at the alley entrance flashed past the car window, their light and shadow intertwining and reflecting on his face, revealing a somber expression.
Li Wei's fingertips rested on the edge of the steering wheel, the cool touch making his mind even clearer.
Marcus hasn't sent any messages, which suggests there might be something wrong.
Based on past experience, Marcus's text message should have been sent to his phone long ago.
Judging from this, Gao Le and He Mang have indeed not given up. This time, they are going all in.
He raised his hand and pressed the communicator on his wrist, which Batman had given him so he could contact him anytime.
Batman's voice came through the communicator quickly, tinged with a hint of languor, clearly indicating that the guy had just returned home.
"What's wrong?"
Batman's magnetic voice came through the speaker, along with the sound of running water coming from the communicator, indicating that he was taking a shower.
"Gotham City Centre Bank, the Red Hoods strike again, thirteen men."
Li Wei's voice came through the communicator, mixed with the sound of the pickup truck's engine.
"This situation is a bit special. I haven't received any intelligence yet about where the mastermind is hiding."
"I see."
Batman's voice came through, and the sound of water coming from the communicator suddenly stopped.
Clearly, he has stopped taking showers.
"You and Gordon guard the bank and focus on rescuing the hostages. As for the mastermind behind it all, leave that to me."
Bruce Wayne hung up the call after speaking, wrapped himself in a bath towel, and went directly into the basement from the elevator.
Although he said that, he still didn't know what to do.
After all, the reason he was able to quickly locate those two guys was because Li Wei directly told him the specific address.
But this time he lacked the confidence he had before. For him, finding these two guys in the entire Gotham City was like finding a needle in a haystack.
But no matter what, we should go and meet up with Li Wei and the others first...
Li Wei hung up the communicator, and the pickup truck drove straight into the main road in the city center.
In the direction of the bank in downtown Gotham City, the firelight flickered faintly, and the red police lights stretched out, turning the night sky a dark red.
Vehicles on the street swerved to avoid it, while the pickup truck went against the flow, driving over the puddles on the road.
Two arcs of water splashed up, drawing a resolute trajectory in the night.
Yellow police tape has been put up outside a bank in downtown Gotham City.
The officers crouched behind their police cars, guns pointed at the bank's entrance.
Their fingers were on the triggers, their knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
Gordon leaned against the door of a police car, gripping the walkie-talkie tightly, his veins bulging on his hands.
"You're here, buddy. I really didn't want to bother you, but it's urgent..."
His voice was hoarse from shouting, and blood seeped from the cracks at the corners of his mouth.
Seeing Gordon's apologetic face, Levi reached out and punched him in the chest.
"What are you talking about, buddy? I'm part of the police force, fighting crime is my job."
Upon hearing Li Wei's words, Gordon smiled, but then his expression turned into a wry smile.
"There are hundreds of hostages inside, trapped next to the vault in the lobby."
"There are explosives at the entrance; our men dare not charge in!"
Gordon's hoarse voice, mixed with the gunshots from inside the bank, drifted intermittently into Levi's ears.
"They were even more insane this time than before. They didn't negotiate at all and just opened fire, killing more than a dozen hostages!"
The key issue is that this situation is somewhat tricky; among the hostages are two city councilors and their wives...
Gordon frowned and began to explain the situation inside to Levi.
In just a few words, Li Wei already understood the difficulty of the matter.
To put it bluntly, these guys have brazenly taken control of the bank. If we disregard casualties, taking them down would be easy.
However, this time is different from the previous ones in that the identities of the hostages trapped in the bank this time are different from any of the previous times.
If anything happens to the hostages, the pressure on the city police department will be immense.
Li Wei looked towards the bank, and a strong smell of gunpowder and blood hit him, making his throat tight.
He followed Gordon's gaze into the bank, where thick black smoke billowed out from the shattered glass doors.
In the smoke, red hoods were faintly visible, and flashes of gun muzzle light occasionally illuminated crazed faces.
A series of loud crashes echoed as heavy objects collapsed, accompanied by the cracking sound of shattering glass.
The hostage's screams pierced the night sky, causing a stir among the surrounding crowd.
After being sternly ordered to stop by the police, the crowd retreated back behind the police line, their faces filled with fear and curiosity.
Seeing the crowd of onlookers, Li Wei couldn't help but think of the people of his previous life, who all loved watching a spectacle.
Li Wei took a submachine gun from a police officer and checked the magazine.
The cool metallic touch from his fingertips completely calmed him down.
He pulled back the bolt, making a crisp sound.
My gaze swept around the bank; the main entrance was guarded by people wearing red hoods.
Through the bank's internal surveillance system, two guards can be seen at each of the side and back doors.
Moreover, these guys went so far as to plant explosives to prevent the police from storming in.
The fuse of the explosive was exposed, and the pull rope was tied to the red-hooded body.
Given how crazy these guys are, they'd probably detonate the explosives as soon as they charged in.
"Didn't they make any demands?"
Li Wei turned to Gordon and asked the question that had been on his mind.
"They made one request: they wanted all the news media in Gotham to come and broadcast their actions to the entire city..."
Gordon recalled the events and then stated their demands.
In his opinion, these Red Hoods were probably all a little mentally unstable.
The guys who commit crimes in Gotham don't try to hide their true information as much as possible.
Only these guys standing in the bank right now actually want to publicize their actions.
Are they out of their minds, thinking that appearing on TV makes them heroes?
Looking at Gordon's gloomy face, Levi knew he hadn't figured it out.
However, if he weren't a fellow player, Li Wei probably wouldn't have been able to figure out why these guys in the bank were doing this, even if he racked his brains.
Even knowing they were after prestige, Levi couldn't possibly tell Gordon the truth.
"Dude, keep negotiating with them!"
Li Wei looked at Gordon and said decisively.
"Believe me, media coverage is important to them, and we can use that as leverage to start negotiations with them."
Are you sure?
Gordon's tone carried a hint of doubt, but seeing the determination in Li Wei's eyes, he immediately understood.
"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to start negotiations with them right away."
Watching Gordon's hurried departure, Li Wei knew he had to do something quickly.
If he's right, the moment the media gets into position will be the moment the hostages are executed.
"How's it going inside?"
Just as Li Wei was lost in thought, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
Seeing Batman emerge from the shadows, Levi gave him an annoyed look.
"You idiot, couldn't you have given me a heads-up before you showed up so I could have been mentally prepared?"
"I already warned you beforehand, so stop acting like a girl."
Batman's words left Li Wei speechless for a moment. Just then, a crisp gunshot rang out in the hall, immediately attracting the attention of the two men.
"The situation is very bad. I haven't received any relevant information yet, and I don't know where the person behind this is hiding..."
Moreover, the situation with the hostages this time is somewhat special, and we cannot allow them to be put in danger...