Chapter 365 You Owe Me a Life: Her fate should, of course, be in her own hands.
The air trembled, as if the sky were on fire. (Note ①)
When gunfire erupted in the canteen, the snipers lying prone behind cover also began their operation. Each flash of their scopes in the twilight was accompanied by the whistling of a cold bullet.
What followed was a series of screams.
Those kidnappers who were guarding the cafeteria entrance and on the third floor, having lost the shield of the hostage, could only become sacrifices to the Grim Reaper's scythe, their eyes wide with resentment, before collapsing to the ground with a thud.
The hostages in the canteen were terrified. The sudden gunshots and screams, as well as the darkness brought by the sudden blackout of the canteen lights, strongly stimulated everyone's fragile nerves.
People occasionally let out sharp screams and instinctively ran away.
"Shut up! All of you stop right there!" Wang Xiao roared through a megaphone.
She had finally managed to deal with the kidnappers. If the hostages hadn't been killed by the Chechen militants but instead died in a stampede, that would have been utterly ridiculous.
"Line up! Everyone, line up properly and come downstairs one by one. Anyone who tries to run, throw them out the window!"
The crowd, startled by the chaos, finally calmed down and obediently followed the line that had somehow formed, heading towards the stairwell.
Suddenly, someone snapped out of their daze and instinctively looked around, searching for a definite answer: "Are we rescued?"
Good heavens! How were they rescued? What happened to the Chechen kidnappers? What happened to those Chechen kidnappers who were pointing their guns at them?
But no one answered his question.
Everyone lowered their heads and hurried forward, using the faint twilight light filtering through the curtain that hadn't been drawn.
The person who asked the question looked at the Chechen kidnapper, or rather the kidnapper's corpse, lying limply on the marble floor, and immediately covered his mouth in fright, not daring to utter another sound.
In the deathly silence of darkness, only the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard.
A few scattered emergency lights downstairs cast pale, flickering beams of light, cold and devoid of warmth; yet, at this moment, they were the warmth of human life for them, guiding them toward the hope of light.
Wang Xiao, holding Ivanov's hand, mingled with the group and went downstairs together.
After descending the stairs, she encountered masked Alpha Special Forces soldiers and politely thanked them, saying, "Thank you, warriors, thank you for saving our lives."
They completely ignored how bewildered the special forces soldiers were.
Haha, actually, they have no idea what's going on inside the cafeteria.
They haven't even reached the kidnappers' command center on the second floor yet, so how would they know what's going on?
But the next second, Wang Xiao's gratitude was no longer meaningless.
Because it was unclear which corpse on the second floor wasn't quite dead, someone actually threw down a grenade.
"Get down!" With a shout from the special forces soldier, the grenade was kicked into the open space of the first-floor lobby with lightning speed.
A muffled explosion, like thunder, shook the ground.
A blast of air, carrying scorching heat and debris, swept in. The moment Wang Xiao was thrown to the ground, only one thought crossed her mind: Sure enough, she knew things wouldn't go so smoothly.
A sharp pain shot through her right shoulder, causing her vision to go black. She wished she had fainted on the spot.
At least I passed out, so the pain wasn't so bad anymore.
"Ivan, Ivan, where are you?"
In the chaos, she was lifted up like a burlap sack and hurriedly put onto a stretcher.
Wang Xiao struggled and continued searching: "Ivan, where is Ivan? He's your boss, go find him quickly!"
“I’m here.” Ivanov became another burlap sack, slumped limply on another stretcher, his leg injured and his face pale.
Fortunately, no blood was gushing out, and he could still speak.
So there's a high probability they'll all survive.
The stretcher was hurriedly pushed forward, and Wang Xiao saw one light after another, including streetlights and emergency lights, casting halos of light, like the starry night in Van Gogh's paintings.
The halo of light made her head spin, and the surrounding sounds were filtered into the sound of ocean waves, one after another.
But she couldn't make out what they were saying.
Until the screams and cries pierced her eardrums: "I didn't, I don't know him, I really don't know him! You have to believe me."
Wang Xiao slightly raised his eyelids and recognized the woman who was crying and begging for mercy.
Earlier in the cafeteria, she suddenly shouted that the man who was supposed to replace her wasn't her husband, which almost ruined the whole plan.
At this very moment, her real husband, the man who had cowered at the crucial moment and abandoned her in the cafeteria, was arrogantly displaying his authority as the master.
He kicked her in the stomach: "Go to hell, you filthy bitch! Don't think I don't know! You dare to cheat on me with other women behind my back?! Damn it, if it weren't for your lover, would he have died for you?"
The woman's crying gave Wang Xiao a headache.
She raised her still-movable fingers and weakly ordered, "Hit him."
Without saying a word, Xiao Zhao immediately rushed forward and punched the man to the ground.
Damn it, now he's all high and mighty? Where was he pretending to be dead when his wife was trapped in the cafeteria?
People around were whistling and clapping.
Well done! What kind of hero beats his wife when he's so spineless in a pinch?
The woman who was beaten went berserk, suddenly rushing towards Xiao Zhao, kicking and punching him: "Why did you hit my man?"
Caught off guard, Xiao Zhao could only retreat repeatedly.
Medical staff were taking Wang Xiao's blood pressure and pulse when she finally managed to get a chance to point and say two weak words: "Hit her."
Lyuba took the lead, rushed forward, and delivered two swift and decisive slaps, silencing the crazed woman.
The latter covered his face, staring wide-eyed in terror, and remained silent.
A stretcher was carried past her, and on it lay a man with a plump, white face and wide-open eyes; under the streetlight, his pupils were dilated.
It was that man, the chubby white man who jumped out and said Wang Xiao was the owner of the container market, pushing her in front of the Chechen kidnappers.
All the hostages were safe and sound; they were only affected by the explosion of the last grenade.
He was the only one who died in the cafeteria and had to be carried out.
The fear of death gripped the woman's throat, causing her to desperately cover her mouth, afraid to utter another sound.
Xiao Zhao glanced indifferently at the corpse on the stretcher.
Isn't it normal for kidnappers to fight back and shoot the hostage when attacked?
As for why it was such a coincidence that the bullet hit this man? Don't ask.
The answer is that everything was an accident, a coincidence.
The rescued hostages stared in shock at the bodies on the stretchers, then at Wang Xiao, who was also lying there, yet remained calm and composed, even directing his men to beat people.
The red and blue flashing lights of the police car were the most dazzling light source in the night, spinning wildly and cutting Wang Xiao's face into fragmented and eerie blocks of color.
Like a demon.
She can lead them to safety from purgatory, and she can also condemn them to eternal damnation.
Everyone quietly averted their gaze and tightly pursed their lips.
Xiao Zhao was still lecturing the couple: "If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll beat you every time."
The couple were beaten so badly they squatted on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
Taking advantage of this moment, the counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Russia rushed to Wang Xiao, pretending not to have seen the scene of the beating.
What can he do when he sees this? It's their family matter; he can't interfere.
If he really intervenes, what if that woman grabs him and starts crying and making a scene?
His current concern was for Wang Xiao: "Mr. Wang, how are you feeling?"
Wang Xiao forced a smile: "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, boss."
The consul really can't spend all his time on her; the other injured citizens and the hostages who have died all need the embassy's coordination and handling.
He nodded quickly: "Then if you need anything, please contact the embassy anytime."
After the doctor finished the initial examination, Wang Xiao was lifted into the ambulance.
According to basic principles, an ambulance should only transport one patient, especially when they are so badly injured.
But Ivanov insisted: "No, I want to be with the King. I can sit in a wheelchair."
Wang Xiao struggled to get up: "You lie down, I'll sit. My shoulder hurts, it's uncomfortable for me to lie down."
Punonin rushed over and, seeing the scene, angrily shouted, "Ivan, can't you just shut up and cooperate with the doctor?"
Yura, standing nearby, tried to comfort her friend like a child, saying earnestly, "Alright, Ivan, the king won't disappear."
Can't he even separate from her on such a short distance to the hospital?
Ivanov pursed his lips, turned his head away, and remained silent.
The Russians are indeed a fighting nation, and doctors are no exception.
I don't know how he assessed it, but he actually agreed to let Ivanov get on the ambulance in a wheelchair.
As the doctor filled out the form to contact the hospital, Wang Xiao looked at Punoning and suddenly blurted out, "Vlamikil, you owe me a life."
Yura, confused, instinctively said, "Wasn't the rescue already successful? God, Miss Wang, you only injured your shoulder, you didn't die! Why are you still blaming me?"
"Alright!" Punoning interrupted him hastily, looking at Wang Xiao, his voice dry, "I know."
If he mishandles today's hostage crisis, resulting in the deaths of many hostages or other serious consequences, there is no doubt that his political career is over.
From the moment he received this assignment, he knew perfectly well that he was the scapegoat. No matter which side he satisfied, the other side would pin all the blame on him.
The only reason he was chosen was because the Ministry of Internal Affairs troops performed exceptionally well on the Chechen front.
All the decapitation operations to date that have left Chechen militants leaderless have been orchestrated by the Ministry of the Interior.
As the commander, he became the greatest contributor to the victory, and naturally, he also became a target of suspicion from the Kremlin.
It is said that every Russian has a Slavic girl living in their heart who needs a strong and powerful father to rely on and admire.
His outstanding performance on the battlefield undoubtedly met this strong and powerful standard, which is perfectly normal for it to trigger the president's already serious paranoia.
He became a thorn in the president's side, and the hostage crisis was the Kremlin's best tool to suppress him.
This is politics, despicable politics, the kind of politics that makes him want to punch them and smash them to pieces.
Ivanov suddenly spoke in a low voice: "Vlamikil, you know everything, don't you? You've been hiding everything from me too."
Yes, he's a complete idiot.
Punonin was filled with resentment: "What do I know? I only found out at the very end, and only because I had to give the order!"
Who else could be more legitimate as the on-site commander?
He glared at Ivanov fiercely: "Let me tell you, do I even have a chance? I haven't even turned my head yet, and you're already fucking on the excavator! I told you to get down, and I told you we're trying to figure something out, would you listen to me? You always ignore what I say!"
Ivan turned his head away, no longer looking at him, his voice muffled: "Yes, we don't include me."
He's such a fool.
Wang Xiao slowly exhaled. The pain had left her listless, and she could barely speak. She stretched out her free arm to reach for Ivanov's shoulder: "Ivanov, you fool, how could I bear to let you take such a risk?"
Ivanov grasped her hand and pressed it against his face, his eyes filled with sorrow: "Your Majesty, without you, I will die, I really will die, I cannot live alone."
Yura wanted to gouge his own eyes out. Why was he here? God, it was so offensive.
Don't they find it disgusting?
Wang Xiao didn't think so at all; she even had the energy to care about people: "Let's cover him with a blanket, isn't he cold?"
Ivanov was only wearing a pair of shorts; the temperature in Moscow on Children's Day was quite palpable.
The person being cared for smiled, blinking their beautiful peach blossom eyes, their voice low and gentle: "I knew it, you don't want others to see my body."
My God!
Yura jumped out of the ambulance without hesitation. If he could be this disgusting, then Ivan probably wouldn't die anytime soon.
If he stays any longer, he'll be disgusted to death.
Yura was about to complain to Punonin, who was standing outside the ambulance, but the latter didn't have time to pay attention to him.
Because the tax police major general had an extra piece of paper in his hand, which Wang Xiao's assistant had just brought.
The paper contained a report on this operation.
According to the report, the successful hostage rescue operation was entirely due to retired members of the former paratroopers from the container market and police officers from the Ministry of the Interior.
Because they infiltrated the hostages and acted as inside agents, they were able to coordinate with the special forces to eliminate all the kidnappers.
Yura craned her neck to look, her eyes widening as she stared: "Is that so? Something feels off to me."
In fact, to this day, he still doesn't understand how these hostages were rescued.
How did the vicious Chechen kidnappers suddenly lose their ability to act?
Punonin's face twitched, but he said firmly, "Didn't you see? That's how we were rescued."
He nodded to Wang Xiao in the ambulance: "I understand."
Wang Xiao gave a pale smile: "Yes, I saw it. The sniper hit the kidnapper leader with one shot, through the window, and then fired another shot."
Punonin gave Wang Xiao a deep look. She really knew how to curry favor, giving the credit to the special forces.
But it doesn't matter anymore, the important thing is to get this matter resolved as soon as possible.
The doctor finally finished the call, confirmed the destination, and then sat in the passenger seat as the car sped towards the hospital.
The only people in the carriage, besides Wang Xiao lying on a stretcher and Ivanov in a wheelchair, were a group of bodyguards.
Among them, Lyuba and Nikola, who came from KGB, acted as nurses, in addition to protecting the boss's personal safety, they also had to pay attention to changes in the monitors.
Fortunately, they only had external injuries, and the data on the monitors didn't change much.
Wang Xiao sighed, using conversation to distract himself from the pain in his right shoulder: "They are veterans."
Ivanov let out a soft "ah" and his gaze fell on Wang Xiao's face.
"Do you remember Vladimir's crazy idea? He wanted to recruit mercenaries to go to the Chechen battlefield."
Ivanov did remember this incident; at the time, he also thought Vlamikl had gone mad.
Wang Xiao gasped again in pain: "I refused at the time, but I was afraid he would go crazy and actually do it."
If that were to happen, things would get out of control.
The fact that Chinese veterans are going to the Chechen battlefield is something no one can control how things will escalate.
Being accused of interfering in Russia's internal affairs was a major problem for the Chinese government in 1995.
Therefore, Wang Xiao made a decisive move and contacted the Chinese Embassy, which then warned the Chinese veterans who were making a living in Moscow not to become mercenaries.
Thank goodness, the veterans were quite disciplined, and no one messed up at this crucial moment.
It was precisely because of this that Wang Xiao grasped their basic situation.
"When the Chechens arrived, the canteen was in complete chaos. Captain Kosrov took the opportunity to run out and deliver a message."
She wanted to run away at that time too.
Don't overestimate her integrity. She's the kind of person who would rather die than see her fellow practitioners die, and she has absolutely no awareness of the need to stay and take charge.
But she was unlucky; sitting in the center surrounded by everyone made her too conspicuous. If she tried to run, she would likely be shot right there.
Therefore, she didn't dare to be stubborn.
Captain Kosrov was the former head of the paratrooper team at the container market.
In January, they marched into battle with great pride and high spirits.
In April, when they left the battlefield, only about half of the paratroopers remained. Captain Kosrov had been wounded in the leg and retired.
As agreed before the mission, he brought a group of willing retired paratroopers to the container market, where they became security guards.
Wang Xiao sighed, "I hope they can receive recognition from the federal government this time."
Soldiers wounded on the battlefield should receive more care from the state.
There's no need to go into the details after that; we simply found the veteran and explained the situation.
Then, each veteran who volunteered to risk their life to carry out a rescue operation in the mess hall would receive a reward of $100,000.
That's right, Wang Xiao is that simple and straightforward.
In her logic, no one has ever been obligated to sacrifice for anyone else.
Since they are risking their lives to do this, why shouldn't they get paid more?
Moreover, by doing this, they were destined not to receive any honor.
Because their existence will not be mentioned in the report.
Otherwise, if word got out that so many Chinese veterans had killed Chechen kidnappers and successfully rescued hostages, it would be a blatant slap in the face to the Russian government.
Oh, Russia's violent institutions are all dead, the military and police are just for show, do they need foreign veterans to rescue hostages and protect the personal safety of Russian citizens?
The Russian government will also become wary of them and might cause them trouble.
$100,000 is not a small amount with today's purchasing power; let's use it as compensation.
They found about 100 suitable veterans, then, posing as their "husbands," exchanged the women for hostages and successfully infiltrated the canteen.
It was around that time that Punonin received her notification, requiring him to command the Alpha Special Forces in coordination with the operations in the mess hall.
As for why Punoning was notified only at that time? Because if it had been notified earlier, the tax police major general might have hesitated and weighed the pros and cons, which could have led to the operation falling through.
Wang Xiao dared not place her hopes on him.
Only by acting first and informing later, forcing Punonin to cooperate, could she have a chance to escape.
Ivanov reached out and rubbed his face, exclaiming from the bottom of his heart, "Your Majesty, you are truly amazing."
No matter what predicament she finds herself in, she can always find a way out and then fight back without hesitation.
Unlike him, he's a complete fool. In fact, like the clown, he did absolutely nothing but attract attention.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wang Xiao touched his face with difficulty. "Do you know how happy I was when I saw you standing on the bucket, holding a megaphone and shouting loudly? You were like a peerless hero, a peerless hero more brilliant and great than Apollo, the sun god."
Ivanov felt embarrassed; the sun god was a famously handsome man in Greek mythology.
The monitor beeped, and the electrocardiogram showed that his heart rate had increased.
He blinked his beautiful, almond-shaped eyes: "Am I that handsome?"
"Extremely handsome!" Wang Xiao gave the highest praise. "I have never seen a more handsome man than you."
She had to admit that she was moved; no normal person could remain indifferent to life.
She thought her time travel must have been lucky.
At least in this lifetime, she had her parents and Ivanov, who were willing to give their lives for hers.
Although from Wang Xiao's perspective, this has no meaning.
But does everything in life have to have meaning?
No, she had to admit she was very happy.
Because of the pain, Wang Xiao's voice was almost a breath: "And do you know what? I originally planned to wait until late at night, when the kidnappers were exhausted, before making my move."
From a theoretical perspective, this would increase the probability of success.
"But these people are crazy, they are really perverted."
When the Chechen kidnappers tortured and killed the Ministry of the Interior police in front of the hostages, Wang Xiao was only glad that she was hungry, otherwise she would have vomited on the spot.
"If we really have to wait until late at night, they might kill hostages to threaten the federal government while we're waiting."
Wang Xiao smiled again, "And then you appeared. You rode on auspicious clouds, standing on the excavator bucket, attracting everyone's attention, including the kidnappers. That gave those soldiers the opportunity to make their move."
She sighed softly, "You have no idea how great you are. Everyone is crazy about you."
A suspicious blush appeared on Ivanov's face.
He cleared his throat and looked at Wang Xiao: "Including you? Would you go crazy for me?"
Wang Xiao smiled: "Of course."
Lyuba glanced at the monitor subconsciously. Miss Wang's heartbeat was normal, neither speeding up nor breaking any rhythm.
very good.
The bodyguard, who comes from a KGB background, expressed satisfaction, indicating that her job remains stable.
The car drove all the way to the hospital.
The reason for choosing a more distant option instead of the nearby container market hospital was twofold: firstly, the market hospital's facilities were too rudimentary to handle complex surgeries; secondly, for safety reasons, the security measures here were more comprehensive.
Wang Xiao wasn't one to compromise herself. She knew the conditions at the container market hospital well, and being able to receive treatment at a high-end hospital was the best thing that could happen.
She didn't want to become disabled; she needed a highly skilled doctor to perform surgery on her.
She was in so much pain, her shoulder was definitely ruined.
Even though the pain was so intense that she was about to faint, Wang Xiao still didn't dare to go into the operating room for anesthesia.
She was in so much pain that she was delirious and her speech was incoherent. Even when Ivanov tried to persuade her, she just mumbled something and refused to have surgery immediately.
Finally, Xiao Gao ran in, covered in sweat, and told the boss, "It's burned, it's all burned. The ashes were crushed and flushed down the drain."
Wang Xiao finally exhaled after taking a deep breath.
Very good! Only when all these IOUs are burned and the evidence is destroyed can she feel at ease.
Otherwise, if someone comes to her with an IOU and demands payment, wouldn't she be in big trouble?
She wouldn't plant that landmine for herself.
As the breath she had been holding in dissipated, Wang Xiao felt so much pain that her vision blurred with a kaleidoscope of colors, and she almost fainted.
"Hurry!" she weakly ordered the doctor, "Give me surgery immediately, I'm in so much pain!"
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[Lop-eared rabbit head] Good morning! Note ① This is a dialogue between underground workers using coded language in the Yugoslavian film *Valter brani Sarajevo* (1972). The full sentence is: "The air is trembling, as if the sky is burning. Yes, a storm is coming!"
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