North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 231 Because he met me.

"What were you talking about just now?"

As soon as Luo Xia returned to the hostage group, the female clerk with her hair in a bun couldn't contain her curiosity and asked, "Those people are all ruthless killers, how dare you talk to them?"

Luo Xia explained calmly, "They're just here to rob, not to kill. What's there to be afraid of? Besides, they seem like pretty nice people."

"Everyone is good?"

Caitlin frowned, completely unable to understand Rorschach's criteria for judgment.

These thugs opened fire as soon as they entered, even using grenades; they were hardly the kind of people who could be considered "good people."

Luo Xia moved closer to the girl and whispered in her ear, "By the way, I still don't know your name?"

“Caitlyn,” she answered softly.

“Caitlyn? That’s a good name. That’s me.”

“Logan Goodman, you just said that,” Caitlin interrupted.

"All right."

Luo Xia shrugged, then gestured with his chin toward the counter. "Is that your workstation over there? Why is there an unopened gift box there?"

"It was a gift from my fiancé."

A sweet light shone in Caitlin's eyes. "He's German, and he's very traditional. For the thirty days leading up to our wedding, he would send us a gift every day without fail."

"That's it"

Luo Xia nodded thoughtfully, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

At the same time, he turned his head seemingly casually to glance at the hostages behind him, his gaze lingering on the three of them for a moment:
A pot-bellied, bald bank manager, a middle-aged technician with curly hair, and a blonde woman who is over 175 centimeters tall and has long, beautiful legs that rival Anna's.

Only the manager and technicians should know the specific timing of the bank's security system upgrade.

As for the blonde woman
She remained remarkably calm throughout, even casually lighting a cigarette.

Her calm and composed demeanor made one think she was the mastermind behind the robbery.

Meanwhile, Harold had successfully implanted the virus into the World Bank's data system and breached the firewall at an astonishing speed, successfully transferring more than 10 billion dollars of money laundering funds from the federal government.

"call"

Harold let out a long sigh and raised his hand to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead.

There wasn't much tension; Rorschach and I had planned it beforehand: one of us would create chaos, and the other would be responsible for transferring the money.

Unexpectedly, the "chaos" didn't even require them to lift a finger; the two groups of robbers who suddenly broke in started fighting each other on their own.

Staring at the successful transfer notification on the screen, even the usually composed Harold couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

US$10.5 billion in cash
Globally, the number of billionaires who can mobilize such a large amount of cash flow at once can be counted on one hand.

Of course, this excludes those shady bigwigs who deal in drugs and launder money.

But then again, having mountains of cash isn't really that interesting.
Harold shook his head, putting aside his pointless reflections, and was about to get up when he was blocked by the Jewish second brother who had raised a gun to block his way.

"Is your daughter's illness very serious?" the other person suddenly asked.

“Daughter?” Harold was taken aback, then shook his head. “Thank you for your concern, she’s fine now. The medical bills have all been paid, it was just a minor issue.”

The Jewish man stared at him for a long time before suddenly lowering his voice and saying, "If the surgery fee isn't enough, you can get hundreds of thousands when the vault opens. I'll secretly let you in."

"."

Harold subtly tugged at the corners of his mouth, offering a polite smile as he declined: "No need, the child has already been discharged from the hospital."

The second Jewish man didn't insist any further.

The person in front of me exudes an air of sophistication from head to toe; he certainly doesn't seem like someone who's short of money.

He suppressed his sudden act of kindness and, with a stern face, herded Harold back into the hostage pile.

But just as things calmed down here, Luo Xia, wearing sunglasses, came over again.

"Shet!"

The Jewish man's temples throbbed. "You really think I wouldn't dare kill an FBI agent? Back when I was in the South, I've slaughtered entire squads of state troopers!"

Luo Xia glanced at the pure white mist above his head, too lazy to expose his blustering words, and said seriously, "Don't get excited, friend. There's something I'd like to ask you."

"What the hell are you asking! Can't you even figure out who you are? You're a hostage! Do you understand what a hostage is?!" The Jewish man stomped his feet in anger, veins popping out on his forehead.

He had never seen such an arrogant hostage in his life. She acted like she knew everyone from beginning to end, and was even more relaxed and at ease than the kidnappers.

But Rorschach seemed not to hear him. Instead, he affectionately put his arm around his shoulder and asked in a low voice, "Brother, don't you think this is a bit strange?"

"What do you mean?" The second Jewish man, who was about to push his hand away, suddenly stopped.

"The World Bank isn't a commercial bank with large cash reserves like Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, or HSBC. How could it be such a coincidence that you and another group of robbers suddenly appeared at exactly 10:45 AM? And look over there—"

Rorschach's gaze shifted to the ATM, where Peanut Butter and Jelly were standing amidst a pile of banknote ashes, telling vulgar jokes.

The implication couldn't be clearer.

Two incredibly stupid fools ended up operating on the same day as this group of at least somewhat professional robbers.

The Jewish second son had a fiery temper, but he was quick-witted.

He squinted: "Someone did send me a fax about the bank's security system upgrade, but that was an inside line I bribed."

"is it?"

Luo Xia looked meaningfully at the pile of hostages: "I bet it was that curly-haired technician who sold you the information, right?"

"Ok?"

The Jewish man hesitated for a moment, then readily admitted, "That's right, that guy took fifty thousand dollars from me. Arrest him if you want after it's over, but don't even think about catching us!"

He glared fiercely at Luo Xia, forcefully shook off the hand on his shoulder, and turned to leave.

at this time--

"boom!"

A loud explosion suddenly came from the direction of the vault.

The second Jewish man, no longer bothered with Rorschach, grabbed his submachine gun and charged toward the vault.

The peanut butter brothers, who were counting money in front of the ATM, exchanged a glance and followed him stealthily.

Rorschach winked at Harold, and although he didn't understand why, Harold followed him toward the direction from which the explosion had come.

The hostages, who had been under "strict" guard, suddenly became restless, with many whispering among themselves and showing signs of wanting to make a move.

Inside the vault, the smoke of gunpowder had not yet dissipated.

The vault door, which already had a large hole melted by the high temperature, was now twisted and deformed by the explosion. Dust filled the entire space, and the pungent smell of gunpowder made people cough.

The second Jewish man waved his hand to disperse the smoke and dust in front of him, and roared angrily, "Didn't we agree to use tools to pick the lock? Why the hell did you use explosives?"

"Damn it! How dare you say that!"

The third white man exploded upon hearing this: "The information you gave me is completely wrong! There isn't just one lock inside, there are three! With the crappy tools we brought, we wouldn't be able to open it even next year!"

"Is the intelligence incorrect?"

The second son's face instantly darkened, and his gaze unconsciously drifted towards the outside of the vault.

He bought all this intelligence from that technician at a high price. Could he have been tricked?
Just as the black leader was about to break up the fight, he suddenly caught sight of the Peanut Butter Brothers and Rorschach's group peeking in through the doorway, and immediately flew into a rage: "What the hell?! Who let you in?!"

He suddenly raised the muzzle of his gun, the dark barrel pointing directly at the men's foreheads.

But the Peanut Butter Brothers remained completely unfazed.

After spending half an hour together, they had already figured him out.

These robbers looked fierce and menacing, but in reality, they wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken.

If it were a real desperado, given what had happened before, they should have killed someone to establish their authority long ago.

Hey buddy

Peanut Butter pointed to the old explosive packaging with Japanese markings on the ground, rubbing his fingers together with a grin, "If I'm not mistaken, you're using our explosives, aren't you?"

“That’s right!” Jelly said confidently, hands on her hips. “So we deserve credit for opening this vault, and we should get a share of the money inside!”

"What???"

The black leader looked utterly bewildered. He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to smash the butts of his rifles into the two idiots, and instead turned his fiery gaze toward Rorschach and Harold.

"What's going on with you two?! Who gave you permission to run around like this?!"

Rorschach raised his hands in a gesture of surrender: "Don't get agitated, buddy. I just feel the lobby isn't safe right now. The mastermind behind the car crash between your two groups of hijackers might be mixed in with the hostages, so..."

He shrugged, his tone chillingly sincere: "I think it's safer to stay with you professional robbers."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

The boss was so angry he almost lost his temper, but just then, screams suddenly came from the direction of the hall.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of hostages rushed into the vault area like a flock of frightened sheep, and the originally spacious area instantly became extremely crowded.

Before the black gang leader could react, Caitlin screamed in terror, "People are dead! Two people are dead in the hall!"

"what?!"

The robbers, who were counting the money, froze on the spot.

Through the gaps in the crowd, one could see that in the center of the hall, the curly-haired bank technician and the blonde woman lay in pools of blood in bizarre poses, each with several bullet holes in their bodies.

"Holy fucking shit"

The gang leader was so frightened that he took three steps back, and his two accomplices also looked serious.

As for the Peanut Butter Brothers, they both coincidentally wore masks of pain.

"What a pity, it was a beautiful woman who died."

"Yes, if that ugly girl dies, it means her life was a failure to begin with, and death might be a relief for her."

Hearing this familiar fallacy, Luo Xia couldn't help but smile; he felt like he had heard something similar somewhere before.

His gaze shifted from the corpse, and he looked thoughtfully toward the circular corridor on the second floor.

The entire second floor of the bank is structured like an ancient Roman amphitheater, surrounding the high-ceilinged lobby and surrounded by exquisite mahogany walls.

Caitlin explained, trembling, "After you went into the vault, many people were so nervous that they needed to use the restroom. When the crowd dispersed, I came out of the restroom and saw..."

She gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her face filled with genuine fear, and she didn't seem to be lying at all.

Peanut Butter clutched his head dramatically: "So, this lousy bank is hiding a serial killer? Fuck! What kind of plot is this?!"

"Yeah, it's definitely a mess, but it's none of our business anymore."

The black leader's cold gaze swept across the crowd.

Since there was no one guarding them, more than a dozen hostages were missing. It's obvious they must have taken the opportunity to hide.

He snorted coldly and walked towards the vault without looking back.

Their only goal is money. As for dead people? Well, there are so many witnesses who can prove they're just robbers, not murderers.

"Did you figure it out?" Harold suddenly asked in a low voice.

Luo Xia nodded slightly and lowered his voice: "A silenced pistol. Judging from the trajectory, it was fired from the second floor. The marksmanship is excellent, and the action is very cautious, but..."

He chuckled knowingly, "This guy made a stupid mistake."

"How to say?"

"He's too hasty. Now that everyone's gathered together, if he wants to continue killing, he'll have to find a more risky method."

As he spoke, Rorschach turned his gaze toward the vault.

The black leader, along with two accomplices, was dragging bags of travel money stuffed into the building.

Twenty million US dollars may not sound like much, but if you calculate it at ten thousand US dollars per stack, that's a total of two thousand stacks!

How much can a regular travel bag hold, no matter how big? Even if six large bags were filled, there would still be more than ten million left in the vault that couldn't be taken away.

"Fake."

The three robbers looked at each other in bewilderment.

This is the first time I've handled such a big deal. Who would have thought that 20 million in cash would be so much that it couldn't be packed into six bags?
Noticing the Peanut Butter Brothers' expectant gazes, the black gang leader waved his hand impatiently: "Alright, stop looking at me like that. Take as much money as you can, I don't care."

"Fakye!"

The Peanut Butter Brothers clapped and cheered excitedly, then rushed into the vault.

Unlike other robbers, these two clowns didn't prepare any luggage bags at all. They simply piled up stacks of banknotes on the floor of the lobby and then searched the entire bank for any tool they could use to hold the money.

Before long, a small mountain of banknotes had been piled up in the center of the hall.

But you can't blame them for that—after all, these two guys originally only wanted to rob a few hundred thousand, who would have thought they would be facing so much money?

Having achieved their objective, the three thieves in the vault picked up their heavy travel bags and prepared to leave.

Luo Xia suddenly spoke up to stop them: "If I were you, I would definitely not choose to leave now."

He gestured with his chin toward the black leader: "The front door is sealed off. Nobody can get in, and you can't get out. The police are probably on their way—even if the bank security didn't call the police, closing the door for so long should have been enough to attract their attention. So you're planning to sneak out the back door, aren't you?"

The third white man cursed angrily, "None of your business! I've already shown you mercy by sparing your lives. Don't meddle in things that aren't your concern!"

Luo Xia casually adjusted his cuffs. "To be honest, I wouldn't have bothered with whether you lived or died. But..."

He glanced at the second Jewish man and said, "The thing this guy said about my friend just now makes me think you guys are at least better than the ones who are dead on the ground and the ones who are going to appear later."

Before the words were even finished, the entire bank was plunged into darkness!
The power has been cut off!

The hall erupted in chaos, filled with screams and the sound of tables and chairs being overturned.

Immediately afterwards——

"Chirp!"

The muffled thud of a silenced pistol!
Almost inaudible in a noisy environment, but clear as thunder to Rorschach's ears.

He tilted his head slightly, and a bullet grazed his hair and embedded itself in the wall behind him.

"what"

Luo Xia sneered. This guy ignored the robbers and instead targeted him first?

He shoved Harold behind the solid wood counter and yelled at the five robbers who were firing wildly at the second floor, "Stop wasting your bullets! They're wearing night vision goggles! You guys better spread out and take cover, this guy is obviously after you five!"

"How do you know?" the Jewish man shouted as he changed the magazine.

"nonsense."

Luo Xia easily dodged bullets fired at him and said calmly, "Both of you groups were lured here by the same fax. Although the true identity of the mastermind is still unknown, it is clear that he intends to wipe you all out."

"Why? What grudge do we have against him?" The black gang leader leaned against the vault door, his voice trembling.

"if not?"

Rorschach scoffed. "That blonde is most likely a senior accountant for a money laundering ring, and the technician is a hacker. They're both in cahoots with that guy in the shadows. As for the Peanut Butter Brothers..."

He gestured towards the two lively people, "They probably saw that person's true face by chance. As for the three of you, you probably had some kind of cooperation with that guy before, and maybe you angered him back then."

"Fuck. We've never worked with anyone before, etc."

The black leader suddenly shuddered, frozen in place as if struck by lightning: "Wait! Could it be..."

The Jewish second son and the white third son simultaneously realized something, their faces turning pale, and they exclaimed in unison, "Dren?!"

"You guys worked with Dren too?" the Peanut Butter Brothers interjected excitedly. "We did a job with him in Austria! That guy posted online that he needed bait, so we went!"

The five robbers looked at each other in bewilderment, and the air seemed to freeze.

Who is Deren?

A legendary figure on the international list of top 100 thieves, a big shot in the world of theft.

Just thinking about the name made their legs tremble.

But Rorschach calmly curled the corners of his lips: "Dren? Sounds like someone. Too bad."

He deliberately dragged out the words, "He really had bad luck."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Rorschach slowly removed his sunglasses, striking a pose like a movie star: "Because he met me."

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Rorschach maintained his cool pose, but the expected gasps and worship never came.

Harold, hiding behind the counter, sighed and facepalmed.

Has this guy forgotten that the hall is completely dark and no one can see his face clearly?
(End of this chapter)