"Listen up, you inside! Huang Weiguo! You're surrounded! Lay down your weapons and release the hostages—that's your only way out!" The hawk-eyed man's calm yet extremely authoritative voice pierced through the door.
"A way out? Bullshit!" Huang Weiguo roared hysterically, grinding the gun barrel heavily against Mingzhao's temple in his agitation. "If I put down my gun, do I have any way out?! Get the hell out of my way! Or I'll kill her right now!"
A moment of silence fell outside the door. Clearly, the National Security personnel were urgently assessing the situation and discussing countermeasures.
Just then, another voice rang out, tinged with impatience and ruthlessness: "Captain! That little girl inside isn't any better! She was involved anyway! She's in cahoots with Huang Weiguo! Just shoot Huang Weiguo dead! That way he won't use the hostage to threaten us!"
This suggestion made Huang Weiguo stiffen, and a desperate madness flashed in his eyes.
"No!" A resolute and unquestionable voice immediately rang out!
It was Howard! He stood outside the bedroom door, his voice clearly coming through the door, carrying the deep, authoritative voice of a soldier and an undeniable sense of responsibility: "She was forced; and Mingzhao is now an innocent hostage! She is a victim! Protecting the lives and safety of the people is the top priority! We must not act rashly!"
Upon hearing this voice, Huang Weiguo was stunned for a moment, then looked down sharply as if struck by lightning, staring at Mingzhao, who was being held in front of his chest, her face pale and her eyes closed as if she had fainted from fright!
"It's you?! It's you, you mute girl?!" Huang Weiguo instantly understood everything! It must have been her doing on the way! Or something went wrong!!
An overwhelming sense of anger and betrayal instantly clouded his judgment!
"You bastard! I'll beat you to death!" Huang Weiguo completely lost his mind. He no longer thought about the strategy of taking hostages. He just felt a surge of violent anger in his chest with nowhere to vent it! He suddenly raised the hand holding the gun and used the hard butt of the gun to smash it hard down on Mingzhao's forehead!
"Bang!"
A muffled thud!
A sharp pain, accompanied by intense dizziness, struck instantly! Warm liquid slid down her forehead, blurring her vision. Mingzhao felt everything go black before her eyes, and her body went limp uncontrollably to the ground.
"Mingzhao!" Howard, who was outside the door, clearly heard the muffled sound and Mingzhao's suppressed groan of pain. He could no longer remain calm and roared angrily. At the same time, a "click" sounded as a bullet was chambered!
The muzzle of his gun, through the thin door panel, was firmly locked onto Huang Weiguo's possible location!
"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Huang Weiguo was startled by Howard's murderous roar and the sound of a bullet being chambered, instantly sobering him up a bit from his rage!
He saw the blood gushing from Mingzhao's forehead and felt the chilling killing intent outside the door, which was almost solidified!
He knew he would have a hard time escaping; the National Security officers were truly willing to shoot at any cost when arresting spies!
He doesn't want to die here!
Huang Weiguo looked at Mingzhao, who had collapsed to the ground and seemed to have lost consciousness, and a cruel calculation and a final madness flashed in his eyes.
He suddenly kicked away Mingzhao, who was half-conscious and blocking his way, no longer treating her as a hostage, but directly using her as a roadblock!
"Trying to catch me? In your next life!" he growled to bolster his courage, then quickly took a few steps back, no longer approaching the door, and lunged towards the bedside!
He roughly lifted the bed board and pulled out a bulging old canvas bag! It was something he had prepared long ago, stuffed with cash, gold bars, and some important "contact lists" that he had amassed over the years through various channels!
He hurriedly slung the bag over his shoulder, then rushed to a locked old wooden box in the corner, smashed the lock open with the butt of his gun, and grabbed several rolls of banknotes from inside, stuffing them into his pocket.
After doing all this, he remembered there was still someone on the ground. He glanced at Mingzhao, who was curled up by the door, bleeding from his forehead and seemingly lifeless. There was no pity in his eyes, only disgust and viciousness.
"Damn it, you almost killed me!" He cursed as he walked over, grabbed Mingzhao's limp arm, and roughly dragged her to the table leg in the center of the room.
He ripped the bedsheet off, tore it into strips, and roughly bound Mingzhao's hands behind her back, tightly binding them to the heavy solid wood table legs. The strips of cloth dug into the flesh of her wrists, causing excruciating pain.
"Stay put, you bastard!" he spat viciously, then turned to open the window, which was his planned escape route.
Just as he turned his back to Mingzhao, concentrating intently on unfastening the bolt on the old window.
On the ground, the girl, who seemed to have lost consciousness, trembled slightly with her tightly closed eyelashes.
Blood from her forehead flowed into her eyes, blurring her vision with a crimson haze. The pain from the rough cloth binding her wrists throbbed against her nerves. But the moment Huang Weiguo slammed down the gun handle, she forcefully broke free from her dizziness!
The rigorous self-rescue training of the interstellar era had long since ingrained in her the instinct to cope with extreme pain and dizziness into her very bones.
Reverse joint binding.
Table leg fixing points.
Estimation of fabric material and coefficient of friction.
Huang Weiguo's current location, posture, and focus of attention.
A series of data flashed through her mind in a fraction of a second, were calculated, and a conclusion was reached.
The bones in his wrist made a faint, teeth-grinding "crack" sound as they were forcibly twisted. More blood seeped from the lacerated wound, lubricating the rough strips of cloth.
Although her fingers were somewhat stiff from blood loss and previous weakness, she accurately found the weakest and most complex point where the cloth strip was knotted.
Huang Weiguo was forcefully pulling at the rusty window latch, producing a harsh metallic scraping sound. This noise perfectly masked the subtle rustling of cloth strips and the soft cracking of bones behind him.
It's done!
Mingzhao suddenly opened his eyes! In those blood-stained eyes, there was no fear, no hesitation, only a cold, burning killing intent with a resolute flame!
Like a cheetah that had been gathering its strength, she silently and swiftly broke free from its restraints! Her body swayed slightly from weakness and blood loss, but her goal was crystal clear!
Her gaze instantly locked onto the closest and most convenient weapon to her—the heavy, old-fashioned lamp with a ceramic base on the bedside table!
Without the slightest hesitation!
She lunged forward! With all the strength she had left, she grabbed the cold ceramic base with both hands and lifted it high! Using the momentum of her forward thrust, and with a ruthless, all-or-nothing force, she aimed at the back of Huang Weiguo's head, who was facing away from her and struggling with the rusty window!
Hard!
It smashed down!
Hit her, huh? Do you really think researchers are all weaklings? The Interstellar Alliance's self-defense training courses weren't for nothing.
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