Back To The 80s-Chapter 618: Extra Two: Controllable Range Target Lock Two_1

The criminals inside the building were hastily discussing how to escape.

Outside, the police had already set up a tight cordon, with snipers occupying all vantage points, waiting for the criminals to emerge.

Instructions from above allowed for the criminals to be shot dead, provided no hostages were harmed.

The leader among the three criminals was furiously smashing the counter, glared at the sluggish bank employees, yelling, "Do you have a death wish? Hurry up." He then turned to his accomplice and instructed, "Take a hostage out and negotiate with them. Demand a car, a car filled with gas. Make them retreat by a kilometer and clear the snipers off the roofs."

The second in command took a look around, reached out to grab Chen Lu. Chen Lu burst into tears, clutching onto Jiujiu’s arm without letting go.

Jiujiu, in her fear, trembled as she said to the criminal, "I’ll go with you." As she stood up, her legs began to shake uncontrollably.

Noticing that this girl was much stronger than the crybaby, the second in command grabbed Jiujiu’s arm, shielding himself with her as he forced her towards the exit.

Upon recognizing Jiujiu through his sniper scope, Li Duo was taken aback. Jiujiu had grown taller and matured. With her fair little face and large eyes wide as a startled deer, he could even see the suspended teardrops on her lashes.

Li Duo composed himself. This child was a hero’s descendant; he could not let anything happen to her.

Furthermore, he remembered Jiujiu saying once, "Grandma has a leg pain; I want to study medicine. I am afraid it might be too late." His impressions of the girl were profound since he had once said similar words to his bedridden mother: "I want to grow up quickly and protect you, I’m afraid it might be too late."

The police were still trying to handle the criminals, trying to ensure the safety of each hostage.

Jiujiu was terrified of dying at that moment, for she had many things undone. She had not yet had the chance to take care of her grandparents and mother, and she knew how heartbroken they would be if she died. Jiujiu bit her lips, trying to stay silent to avoid arousing the irascible criminal behind her.

The police complied with all of the criminal’s demands, even driving over a van filled with fuel, hoping to draw the remaining two criminals out.

As the ringleader emerged holding a bag of money, with another man dragging along a hostage, Jiujiu glanced at the sobbing Chen Lu, her heart sighed, they couldn’t escape after all.

The criminals were not stupid; they were keen on using as many hostages as possible to escape. They were shouting at the police to retreat while carefully watching their surroundings for any sign of snipers.

The police were anxious, if the criminals got into the van with the hostages, a rescue operation would be challenging and potentially harm the hostages.

Li Duo exchanged silent signals with the snipers positioned at two other points, planning to act as soon as the criminals tried to get into the car. They needed to ensure a coordinated three-shot execution.

As the three criminals were getting ready to board the van with the three hostages, Chen Lu suddenly slumped to the ground, crying. Overwhelmed with fear, she wondered whether she could survive if she got into the car with the criminals.

Chen Lu’s sudden breakdown had momentarily distracted the criminals. In that brief instance of distraction, bullets from three different directions hit each criminal in the forehead.

Fortunately, the robbers were merely imitating robbery scenes from Hong Kong films and their weapons were homemade, thus limiting the danger to the hostages when Chen Lu caused the commotion.

The police deployed a psychological counselor to help the three hostages process their trauma, especially after witnessing the death of the three criminals.

Chen Lu was scared and continually crying, insisting on going home. Therefore, all Jiujiu could do was sit at the side, hold Chen Lu’s hand and gently comfort her.

As Li Duo and his team were preparing to leave, he took one last glance at Jiujiu sitting in the hall. As if sensing his gaze, Jiujiu turned to look out the window and saw Li Duo. A moment of joy was quickly replaced by a sense of inferiority as she lowered her gaze. The pain was overwhelming, stirring a memory she thought she had buried. Now, as she was face-to-face with him, she realized that she had not forgotten, but had remembered each detail more intensely.

Li Duo found it strange that even after noticing him, Jiujiu did not call out to him enthusiastically as she used to when she was young. Instead, she lowered her head as if she didn’t recognize him. Upon reflection, Li Duo suspected, she might have forgotten him.

Jiujiu, supporting a sobbing Chen Lu, returned to their dorm. Chen Lu kept complaining all the way, "Jin Ming, aren’t we so unlucky? We need to take a bath immediately to wash off this bad luck."

Jiujiu hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. Ever since they entered college, the school baths were communal with large open rooms. Every time she bathed, it was as packed as the New Year’s Eve dumpling feast, with three or four girls standing under each showerhead.

Jiujiu usually sneaked into an empty corner, facing the wall, washed quickly, and left, for fear of someone seeing her scar. This was the first time she had gone to the bath with her dorm mates.

Returning to the dorm, Chen Lu chattered continuously, grabbing her toiletries, pulled Jiujiu into the bathroom.

Jiujiu hesitated for a long while but didn’t remove her tank top. She followed the naked Chen Lu into the bath.

"Why don’t you take off your top? How can you clean yourself? Hurry up and take it off," Chen Lu urged.

Jiujiu hesitated, then braced herself and took off her top. The sight of the hideous scar on her chest made Chen Lu exclaim loudly: "Oh my God, what happened here? Why is there such an ugly scar?"

Jiujiu felt like a sledgehammer had slammed into her heart; the pain was suffocating. She lowered her head, walked to the showerhead, and silently began washing herself. She knew that no one would like her scar, especially when it was on her chest.

Chen Lu’s shout diverted the attention of the other girls in the bath, who looked over with a mix of curiosity and sympathy.

Realizing she had done harm to Jiujiu by her exaggerated reaction, Chen Lu quickly rushed over and desperately explained: "Jin Ming, I didn’t mean anything by that, I was just curious. Please don’t be angry."

Jiujiu shook her head and softly responded, "It’s okay." But her eyes couldn’t hold back the tears. Thanks to the running water, her tears were quickly washed away. How could she not care? She too, wished for perfection, so that she could stop humbly loving someone in her heart.

Unexpectedly, one night was all it took for the entire class of girls to learn about Jiujiu’s scar. She couldn’t help but think that everyone was secretly discussing her and would suddenly stop whispering when she came near.

After school that afternoon, Jiujiu went straight back to the dorm and lay on her bed without eating dinner.

Chen Lu and their dormmate, Li Fei, entered the dorm without noticing Jiujiu lying on the upper berth, engrossed in their chatter.

Chen Lu dramatically stated, "You didn’t see it; it’s truly terrifying. A scar as big as a small soup bowl, half her breast is collapsed."

Li Fei expressed in surprise, "Really? Won’t that affect breastfeeding in the future?"

Chen Lu speculated, "You tell me, any man who sees that will be scared off. Who’d dare to marry her..."

Up in her bed, Jiujiu’s tears fell silently from the corner of her eyes, unable to stop them from soaking her pillow.