Chapter 1180: Chapter 1178: Usage of the Passive Voice

The family of three in the house trembled in the basement, with the male head of the household continually comforting his wife and child that everything would be alright.

Since yesterday afternoon, they hadn’t eaten, nor had they drunk water, and no one came to check on them!

They were trapped here by those people, and even more frightening, they needed to relieve themselves, but they were tied up hand and foot, fixed to the pipes in the basement.

As parents, it was embarrassing, but they couldn’t control their bodily needs, so they soiled their pants, and the child did too, making them very uncomfortable.

Hunger, thirst, and the psychological blow they were suffering filled them with despair. It was nothing like on TV, where kidnapped people can go days and nights without eating, drinking, or needing the bathroom!

The door to the basement suddenly opened, and a slightly dark-skinned woman walked in. As soon as she entered the basement, she pinched her nose and waved her hand, full of disdain.

But knowing that the Darkstone people were not far away, she had to brace herself to go in. "Soon, I’ll need you to cooperate. If you do, your wife and child can survive. Do you understand me?"

The male head of the household was taken aback for a moment and nodded repeatedly, "I will cooperate, but... I need to clean up, and they need some water and food, and clean clothes."

The slightly dark-skinned woman walked over to the man to untie his ropes, "No problem, we don’t want to hurt anyone, we just need a place to rest temporarily."

"As long as you cooperate, once we leave, you’ll all be safe, and no one will get hurt in this matter. Understood?"

The man nodded repeatedly, "I will cooperate!"

Soon, the two went upstairs. In the bathroom, the man awkwardly took off his soiled clothes, while the slightly dark-skinned woman did not leave, constantly urging him in the bathroom.

"Don’t be shy like a woman. I’ve seen at least dozens of those things. You don’t need to be... ashamed. Hurry up and clean yourself up."

"Damn, your shitty look will definitely be the most memorable man for me!"

She complained, vented, and watched as the man washed himself and changed into clean clothes.

And she, in front of the man, also changed into his wife’s clothes, fortunately, there wasn’t a significant difference in body size between them.

The man ate bread and drank milk while listening to the slightly dark-skinned woman talk.

"We are a couple; I am an immigrant, we have no children, there are only the two of us in the house. It’s simple, right?"

"Don’t make any other mistakes. Once things are over, you’ll all be fine, don’t do anything you’ll regret!"

After giving a few simple instructions, they sat quietly in the living room waiting.

About ten minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

The slightly dark-skinned woman stood up and had the man walk in front. The two opened the door in the hallway.

As soon as the man opened the door, he felt something poking into his waist; he knew it had to be a gun.

This made him a bit nervous.

Outside the door stood three field agents in Darkstone uniforms, two holding weapons, gun barrels pointing down, and in a car parked on the roadside not far away, there were two police officers.

They were some kind of "overseers," with two officers responsible for inspecting the entire community, ensuring the legal enforcement of these Darkstone field agents.

The one standing at the front was a young man in his twenties, looking very spirited and likable.

"Good morning, sir, and ma’am, I assume you know why we’re here..."

The man felt the gun muzzle press against his waist, and he quickly nodded, "Yes, looking for someone..."

The young man looked up at him, smiled, and said, "No need to be nervous, sir..." He glanced into the room, "Is this your wife?"

The homeowner nodded, "Yes, my wife, an immigrant."

"And your child?"

"We... have no children."

"Alright, did you see anyone yesterday?", the young man quickly added some details, "someone who looked dangerous, one of them injured, in any case, not an ordinary person."

The homeowner shook his head, "No, I was at work all day yesterday, and only came back after finishing work in the evening." He turned his head slightly, as if to inquire from his "wife."

The slightly dark-skinned woman also shook her head, "Sorry, I was feeling unwell and was sleeping all day, didn’t notice anything."

The young man smiled a bit more, "Alright, thank you for your cooperation, sir, and ma’am. If there are any problems, just call the police immediately."

Just as the young man turned to leave and the homeowner began closing the door, the young man suddenly turned back and asked, "Did you watch last night’s game?"

The homeowner was caught off guard; he had watched part of the damn game, but at this time, to get the person to leave, he nodded and said, "Yes, it was very..." He didn’t provide further details, leaving some room.

The young man turned around again, gently closed the door, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The slightly dark-skinned woman also exhaled, "You did well, you and your family survived because of your choice!"

But they didn’t know they had already been exposed.

Last night’s game was delayed by the President’s speech, and if he had watched the game, he definitely wouldn’t have said "who to catch," but rather "catch the terrorists."

As the young man was leaving, he made a gesture towards the police car. The officer inside was momentarily stunned, then picked up the radio to call for backup. Nearby Darkstone field agents, police officers, and Security Committee special agents began to converge on the location.

The slightly dark-skinned woman surely didn’t know that these people had obtained the community service company’s resident information ahead of time while conducting their "sweep." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

In order to better serve the residents of the community, the service company records some simple family information that doesn’t invade privacy.

For instance, how many people live in a house, or whether they are a family—simple information like that.

According to this data, this family consists of three members, including one child, and this is also why the service company provides free milk to the residents.

There are also signs within the house indicating there is a child, like the ball in the yard—a family without children wouldn’t leave a ball in the yard to annoy themselves.

Adding the statement of an "immigrant wife" with "no children," it’s clear this household has issues.

No matter if the problem isn’t the one Darkstone Security wants to solve, they won’t ignore it.

Scarface emerged from the storage room, glanced at the timid man, and smiled a smile more unsettling than intimidation itself, "You’ve done well, gaining our initial trust. I hope we can become friends after this is over, what do you say?"

What else could the man say but "Yes"?

Scarface also realized that with such an intense manhunt outside, it would be difficult to escape, even if they left here.

It might be better to stay here for a while, wait for their comrades to heal, and then consider leaving.

During this time, they could continue interrogating Charlie (sister), trying to extract the information they wanted from her.

Even if they couldn’t get anything, they could still hand her over to Mr. Wycliffe for the final payment.

However, during their hidden stay here, necessities like food would become a big problem, even though other issues were easier to solve.

They couldn’t purchase groceries themselves and would need the homeowner to do it, thus necessitating easing tensions between both parties.

Scarface was silent for a moment, then looked at the woman, "Take his wife and child to have a bath and something to eat. We’re not bad people."

He then pulled out a wad of cash, about three to four hundred, and stuffed it into the man’s hand, "For now, you or your wife will buy us food. If someone asks, just say you’re planning a party, understood?"

Buying too much food at once might attract attention, and claiming to be hosting a party was a suitable excuse.

The car can go directly into the garage, so neighbors wouldn’t know how much they bought, hiding the fact there were many people living here.

The man looked at the money, unsure whether to take it.

"Take it, we need to trust each other," the woman added, perhaps because they worked well together just now, and the man ended up putting the money away.

This brought a more genuine smile to Scarface’s face. He clapped his hands, "Alright, the danger is lifted..."

Meanwhile, other residents outside were being quietly evacuated.

Thanks to the middle-class community’s pursuit of privacy, each household had vegetation blocking the view of one another’s, allowing them only a view of each other’s front yard lives but not a clear observation of backyards or house windows.

They couldn’t see that ordinary people were leaving through the backyard.

A few minutes later, in the house opposite where Scarface and his group were hiding, a small command center was set up.

Darkstone Security’s director, the Police Station’s lead, the Investigation Bureau’s deputy director, and the Security Committee’s manager were all present.

The "siege" was mainly led by Darkstone Security. Its employees were killed, threatening Darkstone Security’s reputation, so they had to take action.

Considering Mr. Lynch and the President, the military and Ministry of Defense had good relationships with them, plus Darkstone Security’s professionalism, the local government agreed to let Darkstone lead.

Now, the personnel was mostly in place, ready to launch an attack, but there was a problem—the ordinary people in that house.

According to the information sheet, a family of three lived there. Only the male owner had been seen so far, so undoubtedly the wife and child were captured.

If they attacked, those people might take the family as hostages.

If a hostage situation wasn’t quickly resolved and the media found out and reported it, things would look very bad.

The Darkstone Security chief on site, after a moment of silence, said, "I believe the family of three is already dead..."