Chapter 62: The Lightning Blitz of Internal and External Coordination

"Clack!"

At the same time, the robber holding the gold shop manager hostage finally opened the safe.

Looking at a whole case of gold emitting a brilliant, dazzling golden glow, the robber's eyes nearly popped out of his head!

Instead of rushing forward to pack up the gold bars, he kept his gun pressed against the manager's head and roared, "Hurry up and melt these gold bars for me into blocks without any markings!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Just a moment, I'll melt them right now."

The manager was already scared out of his wits by this brute. Daring not to make any excuses, he immediately reached under the counter for the blowtorch to get to work.

To increase efficiency, the robber also assigned a store clerk to assist him and speed up the process.

"Qi Tian, how is your situation over there? The local police officers have already arrived at the scene and are secretly evacuating the crowd in plain clothes!"

At that moment, Leng Qiangguo's voice sounded over the phone.

Qi Tian set aside the three screws he had finally managed to loosen and replied in a low voice:

"These robbers are meticulous. To make it easier to fence the stolen goods later, they are forcing the gold shop manager to melt down the gold and recast it. But this also buys us some time. Please have the regular police and SWAT team speed up their actions. I can jump down to assist them at any moment!"

"The SWAT team will be here immediately. Keep monitoring and report the situation to me at any time!"

With that, Leng Qiangguo urged the convoy of SWAT vehicles onward. Meanwhile, down below the gold shop in the northeast corner, the robber stationed there seemed to notice something amiss. He quietly pulled back the curtain and glanced outside:

"Boss, something's wrong! There are fewer and fewer shops open on this street. Have we been ratted out?"

"Damn it, you guys still aren't staying put?"

Hearing his accomplice's warning, the lead robber holding the submachine gun immediately raised his hand and aimed his weapon at the manager's head once again.

Terrified, the manager quickly raised both hands and pleaded, "It's not us! You guys rushed in through the back door, and we were controlled before we even realized what was happening. Even if we wanted to call the police, we didn't have the time!"

"Damn it, stop talking crap and get to work! I'll give you one hour. If you can't melt this gold in an hour, you're all dead!"

Seeming swayed by the manager's explanation, the lead robber roared at the two of them, then turned to his accomplice and barked:

"Keep a sharp eye out! We've made foolproof preparations for this operation, and there must not be a single slip-up!"

Five minutes later.

The SWAT convoy arrived, completely sealing off both sides of Songshan Road.

Every single shop along the street closed its doors, and hundreds of heavily armed SWAT officers carrying ballistic shields gradually approached the gold shop.

Seeing this, the robbers inside the gold shop panicked visibly: "How is this possible?!"

We rehearsed this beforehand. From the moment the gold shop alarm is tripped to the SWAT team arriving on Songshan Road during the morning rush hour, it should take at least two hours. Just to be safe, we even cut the security cameras last night—how could these SWAT officers possibly arrive so fast?!"

"Boss, could it really be these bastards who called the police?"

"It couldn't be them. We killed the guard the moment we broke through the door and pinned them right here. They couldn't possibly have reacted in time!"

"Then this..."

"Forget it! Our top priority right now is how to get out of Jiangnan alive through the SWAT encirclement. Fortunately, we still have hostages! Besides, I checked the alleyway when we came in—it's only wide enough for one person to pass through. The SWAT ballistic shields won't be able to block us in that alley. Today, we'll just have to see if our luck holds out!!"

The leader glared fiercely at the manager and the saleswoman who were still busy melting the gold bars.

Then he grabbed two other salesclerks and dragged them toward the thick glass of the gold shop's side door.

He viciously struck the saleswoman's head with the barrel of his submachine gun, the message unmistakable!

"Listen up, robbers inside! I am Feng Kang, deputy captain of the SWAT detachment. You're after money, not lives. You can take the gold bars, but do not harm the hostages!"

Even though the deputy captain had already learned from Leng Qiangguo that a hostage had already been killed inside, he acted as if he knew nothing, actively negotiating with the robbers while covertly drawing the attention of all five of them.

At that moment, Leng Qiangguo's voice sounded from the phone once again: "Qi Tian, report the robbers' positions."

"The leader is holding two salesclerks at the side door, while the other four are still guarding the four corners, holding their ground. However... there's something very strange. Earlier, when the leader was intimidating the manager, the manager looked like he was about to pee his pants from fear, but the salesclerk helping him only panicked for a split second."

"She might have just been scared out of her wits. Now isn't the time to worry about her psychological state." On the other end of the line, Leng Qiangguo drew a sharp breath and pressed on:

"The SWAT detachment is fully in place, but the alley is too narrow for ballistic shields, and a forced breach isn't realistic. Do you have a good rescue plan?"

"Fire!"

Qi Tian's gaze was locked tightly on the blowtorch in the manager's hand. He paused for a fraction of a second and replied to Leng Qiangguo:

"The robbers packed all the looted gold jewelry into nylon rolling suitcases, and for easy access, those suitcases are right behind the manager. I can use my phone to knock the blowtorch into the suitcases. The high heat will instantly ignite the nylon surface, and the robbers will inevitably panic. At that exact moment, the police can cut the power to obscure the robbers' vision, and the SWAT team must breach the door simultaneously. I can coordinate with them to eliminate these robbers within five seconds."

Qi Tian had already formulated this plan before the SWAT team arrived.

The robbers had clearly received training, firmly guarding the four corners of the gold shop and observing every surrounding detail.

The only way was to create chaos first and muddy the waters inside the gold shop.

Only then would Qi Tian have a chance to make a move, coordinating with the police and SWAT outside to take down all five robbers in one fell swoop!

Leng Qiangguo was never a man to hesitate. Hearing Qi Tian's plan and confirming it was viable, he immediately responded:

"Your plan is approved. Meanwhile, Commander Nie has synchronized the information with the police and SWAT commanders. The SWAT team is ready to breach, and the regular police are standing by at the power grid for the whole street. You will command the operation; the moment you give the order, both teams will move to assist you!"

"Understood!"

As he replied, Qi Tian unscrewed the final bolt of the iron mesh beneath him, quietly pulled it aside, and placed it next to him.

The phone used for the examination had now become Qi Tian's most crucial prop.

"Three, two, one!"

The final digit left his lips. Qi Tian took aim at the manager's wrist and hurled the phone without hesitation.

"Whoosh!"

A split second later, the phone struck the manager's wrist with pinpoint accuracy.

Caught completely off guard, the blowtorch was knocked backward behind him. With a metallic "clang," it directly ignited the two nylon rolling suitcases packed with gold jewelry!

"Damn it!"

One of the quicker-reacting robbers started to curse, only to see the lights inside the gold shop go out all at once.

The SWAT team, waiting patiently at the entrance, moved with lightning speed, instantly cutting away the top of the gold shop's rolling shutter door.

Then, hoisting their ballistic shields, they rushed into the gold shop en masse.

"Kill them! Slaughter the bastards!" Realizing the situation had completely spiraled out of control, the leader roared in fury, raising his gun to execute the two salesclerks beside him.

The very instant he cocked the trigger, a figure suddenly flashed behind him, wielding a section of iron mesh and swinging it fiercely toward his wrist!

"Crack!"

The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed sharply right beside the two salesclerks!