It felt as if Gan Lin had woken from a nightmare, only to realize the dream hadn't ended. Fortunately, she saw Wang Zhuo.

“Kid, you can’t get away now. Hand over the weapon and surrender,” a voice taunted.

“Don’t think you’re the only one with a gun. We have them too.” The thugs shouted from the hallway into the room.

Their words sounded like poorly written movie dialogue, yet they were far from funny. Wang Zhuo remained alert, reaching out to smooth Gan Lin’s messy bangs.

His encouraging gaze brought the girl strength and courage, as if he could hold up the sky for her, letting her lean on him. Calming down slightly, Gan Lin whispered, “Where did you get the gun?” Wang Zhuo offered her a slight smile.

This girl was always so sharp. She hadn't asked what those men were or why she was captured.

Her mind must be swimming with questions, yet she focused only on the most crucial one. “The police uncle lent it to me,” Wang Zhuo boasted with mock pride.

Though the situation was critical, doing this helped ease Gan Lin’s anxiety. Gan Lin managed a bitter smile; it was clearly a joke.

How could the police lend a gun to a civilian? The vulnerability in the girl’s smile was heart-wrenching.

Wang Zhuo lowered his head and kissed her lightly on the forehead. He then drew another gun from his waist, smiling as he said, “Just finished military training, what I learned is coming in handy.

Do you dare take one?” Gan Lin hesitated for a moment, then resolutely took the pistol Wang Zhuo offered her, which had three rounds left. To Wang Zhuo’s surprise, she actually checked the bullets and the safety mechanism.

Noticing his expression of surprise, Gan Lin explained, “I have an aunt who is an anti-drug officer. She’s very good to me.” Wang Zhuo nodded in realization and asked, “Are your legs numb yet?

Shall we go?” “Aren’t we waiting here for the police to arrive?” Gan Lin asked, clearly taken aback. Wang Zhuo could only offer a wry smile.

“I’m afraid we can’t wait. Trust me, we have to save ourselves.” He dared not tell Gan Lin that the police and the thugs were likely working together, fearing it would terrify her.

“I’ll follow your lead,” Gan Lin nodded firmly, glancing at the woman beside them. She asked Wang Zhuo, “Should we save her?” Wang Zhuo hesitated for a moment, truly unable to refuse such a plea, and gritted his teeth as he nodded.

This woman had only just been captured and hadn't yet been harmed. In contrast, the other women held on this floor were either disabled, near death, or completely out of their minds.

Even if Wang Zhuo wanted to save them all, he simply didn't have the strength. The two of them fumbled to remove the woman’s restraints.

Wang Zhuo said in a low voice, “If you want to live, come with us. Understand?” The woman nodded repeatedly, like a chicken pecking grain, struggling to move her limbs, which were stiff from being tied for so long.

Wang Zhuo activated his (X-ray vision) to look outside. In just two minutes, over twenty men had gathered in the back courtyard, two of whom were carrying Type 54 pistols.

The elevator entrance was heavily surrounded. “Hey kid, if you don’t come out now, we’re coming in!” “Bullets don’t have eyes.

If we blow your family jewels off, don’t blame us.” “You’re quite handsome. You’ve got potential to be a kept man.

Don’t make a mistake.” “Hurry up and toss the gun out. Bro will introduce you to a rich lady.

If you serve her well, a villa or a sports car is no problem.” “Exactly, you should surrender quickly. Otherwise, if your ‘family jewels’ really get blown off, you won't even have a chance to be kept; even selling yourself will be an issue.” The stream of vulgar shouts came incessantly from the corridor.

Wang Zhuo sneered, unmoved. Gan Lin’s pretty face flushed crimson.

The newly freed woman wiped her face with her sleeve, revealing a lovely countenance, and nervously glanced around. “Stay behind me.” Wang Zhuo beckoned to the two women and strode toward the door.

Bang! A gunshot rang out.

The deterrent effect of the Liu Si Xiao Zha Pao (a small-caliber firearm) was significant, after all, it was a gun. The thugs retreated like a tide.

Wang Zhuo stood before them fearlessly, gun in hand, his eyes locked on the bald man holding the hunting rifle, ready to fire at any moment. “Kid, don’t think just because you have a gun, we’re afraid of you.” Xue Guangtou (Baldy Xue) said fiercely, showing no fear.

“Put the gun down immediately, and we’ll spare your dog life. Otherwise, you know the consequences.” “Consequences?” Wang Zhuo let out a cold laugh, thinking that he had already disregarded consequences when he assaulted a police officer and seized a gun.

If he couldn't even protect his own woman, what kind of man was he? Today, even if mountains of knives and seas of fire lay ahead, he would face them.

He raised the gun slightly, and the thugs instinctively ducked and covered their heads, their movements uniform, even more synchronized than if they had practiced. Wang Zhuo snorted with laughter, teasing, “Look at you cowards.

Is this what you call not being afraid of me?” Xue Guangtou became enraged and slapped one of his underlings hard on the head, shouting at Wang Zhuo, “This is the seventh floor, and there’s only one elevator down. Don't think that just because you can get past us, you can walk out of the Red House’s backyard.” “Get lost!” Wang Zhuo suddenly raised his gun and fired with incredible accuracy, hitting the hunting rifle in Xue Guangtou’s hand.

The bullet immediately ricocheted off the gun’s body, struck the wall twice, and kicked up a shower of dust. Everyone was startled.

No one expected Wang Zhuo to suddenly shoot at a person’s body. Xue Guangtou thought Wang Zhuo intended to kill him, and a cold sweat instantly broke out.

Wang Zhuo was also startled because he hadn't anticipated the bullet retaining significant force after ricocheting—this was uncontrollable. He realized he needed to be more cautious.

“Back off!” Wang Zhuo roared, and the thugs immediately retreated. They didn't realize he was actually addressing the two women.

After shouting, he himself began to step backward. “Be careful, he only has one bullet left,” Xue Guangtou whispered to his men from behind a tall figure.

They understood immediately. Some of the hot-headed ones were already considering charging in, willing to take a bullet if it meant gaining merit.

Xue Guangtou bit his lip hard. Being threatened by a gun wasn't a first for him, but being shot at was definitely the first.

He was determined now, planning to take Wang Zhuo down with one shot. The three retreated to the end of the corridor.

Wang Zhuo kicked open the door of a room and gestured for Gan Lin and the other woman to go inside. The thugs slowly followed.

Wang Zhuo brandished his gun at them, then entered the room behind the woman, turning back to close the door from the inside. “What is he doing?

That room is a dead end; they can’t escape.” “Brother Xue, what do we do now?” “You little brat, daring to be arrogant when you’re cornered! Wait till I teach him a lesson later.” “Brother Xue, why don’t we just rush in?

It’s just one bullet; at worst, we’ll spend a few days in the hospital.” “Yeah, Brother Xue, let us go!” Xue Guangtou spat, about to agree, when Chang Lian (Long Face) suddenly said, “Wait a minute, we can’t charge in.” “What?” Xue Guangtou glared at him with sharp eyes. Someone backing down at a time like this—if Chang Lian didn’t hold some status, he would have kicked him already.

Chang Lian asked seriously, “Didn’t you see? That woman has a gun too.” Xue Guangtou froze.

“Which woman?” “I think I saw one too, in that big sister’s hand,” Shan Yazi (Mountain Duck) said. A second gun, really?

Xue Guangtou sucked in a sharp breath. “Damn it, what are you afraid of?

Just a little girl. Does she really dare to shoot?” a fat thug yelled.

“You know nothing!” Chang Lian glared back. “Two guns mean fourteen rounds.

If they have holsters, that’s five rounds each, totaling twenty-four rounds. Enough to turn you into a sieve.” The fat thug instantly shut up.

He was bold, but he wasn't eager to die. The thugs also fell silent.

If the opponents only had one gun, they might not have spare ammunition. But since there was a second, perhaps they had even more—maybe a pocketful.

In fact, Chang Lian was right. Wang Zhuo did have several spare rounds taken from his holster, which he had already loaded into the chamber.

Inside the room, Gan Lin and the other woman were stunned by the scene before them. The entire room was separated in the middle by iron bars, behind which sat two women in tattered clothes, their expressions vacant—clearly mentally unstable.

As soon as Wang Zhuo entered, he headed straight for a sofa in the room, placing his gun on the coffee table and straining to move the sofa. “What are you doing?” Gan Lin asked, thinking of helping, but Wang Zhuo quickly stopped her.

“You guard the door with the gun.” The other woman rushed forward to help. She was surprisingly strong, and together with Wang Zhuo, they managed to shift the sofa.

“Push it over, use it to barricade the door.” The sofa was heavy, but once it blocked the door, Gan Lin and the other woman breathed a temporary sigh of relief. They still thought Wang Zhuo was trying to buy time until the police arrived to rescue them.

“Damn it, he said Brother Wu called! That kid has three guns!” Xue Guangtou cursed loudly in the corridor after answering his phone.

“Brother Wu from the precinct?” Chang Lian asked, astonished. “What’s going on?” “Who knows what the hell is going on,” Xue Guangtou snapped.

“That kid was only about 200 meters from our Red House just now; he beat up four cops and snatched all three of their sidearms. He did it all by himself.” “What were those cops eating?” “Those useless bastards, pigs!” “What kind of world is this?

The police can’t even clean up their own waste, and we have to clean their asses for them.” The thugs were furious, cursing the uniformed riffraff in a torrent of complaints. “This time, the trouble is huge.

Three people with three guns. Damn it.” Chang Lian swung his arm violently, wishing he could land the blow on the faces of those four officers.

Just then, a loud boom echoed from the room where Wang Zhuo and the two women were hiding—a muffled sound, like something heavy colliding. “What was that?” Xue Guangtou looked at his companions in confusion.

“Shit, we’re screwed!” one thug slapped his thigh. “Brother Xue, that room is adjacent to the front building.

The partition wall is made of thin lumber and gypsum board. They must have broken through that wall.” Xue Guangtou immediately sensed trouble and urgently asked, “What’s behind the wall?” “Behind the wall is the ladies’ cafeteria.

From there, you can get down to the guest room area and the fish tank area.” Xue Guangtou felt the world spinning. This was truly a major catastrophe.

If three people with guns managed to burst into the front building, not even an immortal could save him now. At this point, he didn’t even fear the gun anymore.

He rushed forward to ram the door, and several strong thugs immediately helped. With a few powerful hits, they splintered the door, creating a gap a foot wide.

Through the crack, Xue Guangtou could clearly see a woman about half a meter tall escaping toward the opposite side. His eyes turned bloodshot.

He shoved the men aside, raised his gun, and pulled the trigger several times, but there was no response. He looked down and saw a distinct dent on the gun’s body—it had been damaged by that earlier shot from the other side.

There will be more later, possibly a bit late, currently writing M.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.