Inside the hall, men and women in different styles of clothing sat on the cold tile floor, their hands tied tightly with ropes, black cloth wrapped around their eyes, and something like a handkerchief stuffed in their mouths.

I heard footsteps...

They shrank back in fear, fearing that the robbers would make an example of them.

Led by robber No. 3, Makoto Sakaki walked into the hall and saw the hostages.

After counting them one by one, there were exactly 17 people, just as the police reported.

This is the robbers' biggest trump card. As long as they have hostages, the police will not dare to act rashly.

The curtains were tightly closed, the hall was pitch black, the atmosphere was heavy, and the cold air from the air conditioner made people shudder.

This group of robbers was obviously well-trained. Although the newspaper said there were only five of them, one was guarding the gate, two were watching the hostages, and one was a free man...

There was still one person missing, presumably he went to guard the back door. The small team worked very well together.

Kara...

Robber No. 3, who served as the free man, brought a chair and placed it behind Sakaki Makoto, and said politely:

"Please take a seat. We may have to talk for a long time."

After Sakaki Makoto sat down, robber No. 3 walked behind the hostages, stood next to a robber who was crossing his legs, and whispered a few words to him.

"Sakaki Makoto... I've heard of you."

The robber nodded, and a sinister look shot out from behind his mask, full of murderous intent:

"It's not easy..."

"How dare you come to negotiate with us alone."

He held the gun handle with his hand, pointed the submachine gun at Sakaki Makoto's chest, and seemed to want to pull the trigger, but hesitated for a moment...

Put down the gun, and the murderous aura disappeared:

"Tea?"

"Need not."

Sakaki looked at the smoke alarm on the ceiling and asked:

"Can I smoke?"

"Of course, the alarm system is off, so..."

The robber smiled:

"Police outside, don't bother attacking the bank's security system anymore. The network cables have been unplugged, so it's all in vain no matter how hard you try."

The robbers did not take away Sakaki Makoto's wireless headphones, and brought him into the hall. They wanted to use Sakaki Makoto to tell the police outside about the situation of the hostages in their hands.

Like a fuse, the robbers want to make sure the police don't dare to act rashly.

Sakaki took out his cigarette case calmly, lit a cigarette, and stared at the clown mask:

"Are you the captain?"

“I guess so.”

Robber No. 1 kicked the empty large luggage bag on the ground and said calmly:

"Since it is a negotiation, we must have corresponding bargaining chips."

"I have 17 hostages, so it's not too much to ask for."

"Not too much, this is why I came here."

"Very well, first of all..."

Robber No. 1 talked freely:

"Let's talk about the vault password."

The other party's friendly attitude not only did not make Sakaki Makoto feel relieved, but instead doubled the pressure!

Being harmonious means that the opponent can control his emotions well and keep himself calm. Such an opponent...

Not easy to be seduced.

"Now that you have the gold, how are you going to get out?"

During the negotiation process, a very important point is not to be led by the other party, let alone fall into the other party's rhythm.

So Sakaki Makoto put himself in the robbers' shoes and asked the most vexing question:

"The SAT will be here soon. It will be difficult for you to fight your way out even if you are well-equipped."

"Are you urging us to surrender?"

"No..."

Seeing that the other party had fallen into his own rhythm, Sakaki Cheng held a cigarette in his mouth and smiled slightly:

"For you, surrender is impossible."

"Unless they are holding fire sticks, in which case the crime will be much less severe."

The latter sentence was just a joke. When Makoto Sakaki approached the bank, the robbers had already proved that they were using real weapons.

but...

Sakaki Makoto's purpose was to arouse the interest of the robbers.

This is also a typical interest effect method.

When people are interested in something, their motivation will increase and they will develop a positive attitude.

Once Robber No. 1 becomes interested in what Makoto Sakaki says, he will involuntarily ask more questions, and this way...

Before he knew it, the other party had fallen into Sakaki Makoto's rhythm.

"Since you know we won't surrender, why are you still saying this?"

As expected, the No. 1 robber behind the mask showed curiosity on his face:

"Are you going to provide us with a way to escape?"

Hearing this...

Sakaki Makoto suddenly noticed something strange.

The robbers knew that he was wearing wireless headphones, but still asked how to escape. This behavior was no different from a cow finding a hunter and saying that she didn't want to work hard anymore, so the hunter shot the cow and made it into filet mignon.

Sakaki wants to delay time, calm the robbers down, and tell them not to hurt the hostages, while waiting for SAT to arrive...

According to common sense, the robbers should be very angry and eager to get away at this time.

But the robbers' behavior was out of character...

Could it be...

Are they stalling too?

"Where is the way to escape?"

Sakaki Cheng shrugged and decided to try another way:

"Once the SATs arrive, they will surround this place and you won't be able to escape even if you have wings."

"The hermit has his own clever plan, so you don't need to worry about it."

Robber No. 1 said calmly:

"In short, we will not release the hostages without the vault password."

“That’s our first request.”

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!