In less than ten minutes, two-thirds of the mall was empty. All those who failed to escape in time were taken hostage to the top floor by the bandits. Meanwhile, passengers who had not yet reached the top floor did not have a chance to scream before their bodies exploded like watermelons.

The blood and bits of flesh vanished completely before they hit the ground; they left not even the last trace of their existence.

On the top floor, the bandit, who had already connected with the sheriff via video, greeted him maliciously, "Dear Mr. Rox, are you satisfied with the gift we specially prepared for you?" As he spoke, he pointed the camera at the hostages who were huddled together with their heads in their hands. When Rox's expression changed slightly on the other end of the video, he raised his gun and shot the hostage closest to him dead.

He deliberately exposed the rapidly spreading bloodstains to the camera and threatened in a low voice, "Mr. Rox, you only have one hour. If you fail to meet my demands after one hour, I will kill a hostage every five minutes."

The group of hostages, who were already sobbing quietly, were so frightened by the information revealed by the bandits that they almost fainted. Chen Na, who couldn't understand what the bandits said, was even more panicked. Her beautifully manicured nails dug into Mo Shuwan's arm, and her teeth chattered incessantly: "What did he say?"

"Kill a hostage one hour and five minutes later."

Chen Na's pupils contracted sharply, her eyes filled with terror as she clung to Mo Shuwan, nearly collapsing. "What should we do? Our mission is to survive for two hours!"

Chen Na couldn't control the force in her hands while speaking, and soon she had scratched Mo Shuwan's arm until it bled. The pain in her arm brought Mo Shuwan's thoughts, which had drifted away after witnessing the bandits kill people, back to reality. She reached out and pried Chen Na's fingers off, pursing her lips and remaining silent.

The conversation between the criminals and the sheriff continued. The more Mo Shuwan listened to the stories of the explosives planted in the bustling street, the hundreds of hostages, the more chilled she became. These criminals were clearly well-prepared… No, perhaps they weren't even human…

Thinking of this, a sense of despair involuntarily rose in Mo Shuwan's heart.

Fortunately, this feeling didn't last long. Forcing herself to calm down, Mo Shuwan lowered her head and quickly thought of a way to survive. What should she do to live peacefully for the next two hours?

Before Mo Shuwan could figure out the problem, in the midst of the great panic, a hostage suddenly collapsed and lost consciousness. After a few gasps, the unconscious hostage was dragged out of the crowd by the bandits and killed without the slightest hesitation.

The ruthlessness of the bandits terrified the hostages, who had just felt uncomfortable and wanted to close their eyes, causing them to widen their eyes immediately. Some even pinched themselves hard, determined not to lose consciousness, otherwise they wouldn't even know how they died.

Squeezed in the crowd, Mo Shuwan wiped the cold sweat from her forehead with trembling hands, and looked away from the bright red bloodstain. The feeling of suffocation still followed her. She took several deep breaths with difficulty before she could barely suppress the urge to vomit.

As time passed, the bandits gradually relaxed their guard on the hostages. The temporary calm made all the hostages, including Mo Shuwan, breathe a sigh of relief. They thought that at least as long as the bandits did not break ties with the police, they were safe for the time being.

But this tranquility was quickly shattered by the bandits who entered the crowd. Every now and then, the bandits would use the barrel of their guns to lift the chins of some women, their scrutinizing gaze sending a chill down the spines of those around them. This process lasted less than two minutes before a slender young woman was dragged out of the crowd by her hair.

"No, please... save me... save me..." The girl's terrified cries gradually faded as the bandits dragged her down from the top floor. Soon after, the suppressed struggles and the bandits' heavy breathing faintly drifted up, the meaning of which was self-evident. The women in the crowd turned pale instantly, and tears flowed like a burst dam, unstoppable.

Compared to the petite Mo Shuwan, Chen Na, who had a pretty face and figure, was more terrified. Having narrowly escaped death, she had clearly come to rely on Mo Shuwan, trembling as she huddled closer to her. "What should we do now? What if... what if they..."

When they were brought up, there were already many hostages on the top floor, so Mo Shuwan and Chen Na were positioned quite far out, and the girl who had just been taken away was not far from them.

Mo Shuwan quietly touched her lower back, only feeling slightly relieved when her fingers touched the dagger. She didn't answer Chen Na's question; she didn't even know the answer herself, so how could she answer it?

But the kidnapping of the girl by the bandits was just the beginning.

"No, you can't do this... She's my wife! You..."

The hysterical crying abruptly stopped with the sound of gunfire. The woman, whose hair was being pulled by the bandits, raised her hand blankly to touch the blood splattered on her cheek. Her pupils contracted sharply, and then she suddenly let out a piercing scream. She turned around and pounced on the bandits, biting their shoulders tightly with tears streaming down her face.

The bandit couldn't get her to loosen her grip even when he grabbed the woman's neck, so he had no choice but to shoot her dead. He spat in annoyance, but this incident clearly didn't dampen his spirits. He quickly resumed selecting attractive women, and he got closer and closer to Mo Shuwan and Chen Na...

Mo Shuwan immediately raised her hand to brush her hair behind her ear, covering most of her face, but even so, her hands remained anxiously entangled. When her arm was suddenly yanked, Mo Shuwan's heart sank; she thought the thugs had attacked her. But then she heard Chen Na's loud cries, "No! I'm not as pretty as her! Grab her if you want!"

Mo Shuwan's face drained of color. She never expected to be betrayed by Chen Na. Perhaps the only thing she could be thankful for was that Chen Na didn't speak Mandarin. The thugs quickly carried her to the stairwell.

The thug who had been talking to Sheriff Rox at the top of the stairs frowned and said unhappily, "Behave yourself and don't forget our purpose."

The bandits, who were already itching to pick someone, quickly assured him, "The last one."

The disbelief gradually dissipated as the bandits approached. Mo Shuwan rested her chin on her knees, almost able to hear her own chaotic heartbeat. She dared not hesitate for a moment. After what had just happened with Chen Na, she finally hardened her heart. Fortunately, there were enough hostages, and she was petite enough that no one noticed when she pulled out the dagger from her lower back.

Using her hair as cover, Mo Shuwan quickly pulled out the scabbard, gritted her teeth, and slashed her left cheek. To her surprise, the dagger was extremely sharp, and even without much effort, a deep, bone-revealing wound appeared diagonally across her left cheek.