America: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 229 Curtain Call

Bailey, who was in the bank lobby, heard the gunshot and immediately dropped all pretense.

Blitz said into his headset, "Start!!"

Pele stood up abruptly, walked to the bank entrance, took out a chain and locked it from the inside, then turned around and took off his thick trench coat.

He revealed a black backpack slung across his shoulder, a level 3 body armor vest, and rows of grenades, smoke grenades, gas grenades, and clay explosives.

He pulled a Remington shotgun out of his backpack, cocked it with two quick clicks, and fired two shots at the ceiling above his head!

Hearing the continuous gunshots and seeing plaster falling from the ceiling, everyone was startled. Turning around, they saw a masked thug standing in the hall, holding a long gun.

Bailey yelled at everyone present, "Hey! Ladies and gentlemen! I'm announcing that this bank is closing early! Please cooperate with each other, line up in the corner, don't push! Don't make noise! ​​Don't trample! Squat down, hands behind your heads! Let me see your hands!!"

"Ah!!! Sarilang!!" The black woman covered her head and let out a screeching sound like a groundhog.

"Shut up! I told you! Don't make a sound!" Bailey yelled, then fired two shots directly at the floor beneath his feet! The black woman was completely terrified.

"No! Sir! Please don't hurt me!!" The white woman quickly grabbed her child and ran to a corner, where she wisely squatted down.

"Damn it! Where are the bank's security personnel? Why didn't they conduct a routine check on the thug who came in?"

One customer broke down emotionally, hiding in a corner with his head in his hands, and angrily accused the bank staff of negligence.

"I'm sorry, sir, the security personnel are on leave today and won't be back until the afternoon. We didn't expect this kind of accident to happen." The staff member was also stunned. He quickly closed the glass window, hid inside, pressed the one-button alarm, and took out his phone to call the bank's senior management.

Pele remained completely calm upon seeing this, and grinned as he listened to the conversation coming through his earpiece.

Meanwhile, at a gathering at the Palm Valley Ocean Hotel, bank executives and shareholders who were chatting and laughing with the local police chief suddenly received their own phone calls. They went to the side to answer them, listened to the reports from their employees, and acknowledged that they understood.

"Looks like I'm in for another busy day! I can't believe it, it's the 21st century now, and there are still ruthless criminals robbing banks? And your Wells Fargo no less!" Chief Palm Valley said incredulously, his body language exaggerated.

"These ruthless bandits are despicable! Sir, you must bring them to justice!!" The Wells Fargo executives were both shocked and furious.

"I will! I'll take care of it right now! Hey! Bieber, quickly notify Borent at the police station and have him take a team out!" The chief immediately shouted to the side and began to gather manpower.

Sheriff Bieber strode over and was also taken aback upon hearing this.

Seeing the group of unhurried bank shareholders and executives, he was also very perceptive and honestly said, "Sir, apart from the ordinary patrol officers, our senior officers and sergeants are basically all here. The police cars and helicopters have also been sent for maintenance as you requested. Bolent even drove you here."

"Oh! Shit! I almost forgot! This is really terrible!!" The director held his head in his hands, incredulous, his acting skills were so good that he could go to Hollywood and win an Oscar.

The chief then issued an order, half in anger and half in authority, "Then why aren't you back at the station right now to get your men and go out on a call?!"

"Yes, sir!" Sheriff Bieber gave a serious salute and immediately turned to call for his men.

But the Ocean Hotel was just too big. He spent a full three minutes just running around up and down the hotel and making phone calls to find people!

When I opened the door to room 305, I saw a respectable police chief riding a horse with a beautiful hotel waitress.

"Shit! Stop playing around! Something's happened! Get back to the police station right away and get ready to go!" Bieber said immediately and seriously. His colleagues also hurriedly put on their clothes.

Before leaving, Sheriff Bieber took the opportunity to admire the waitress's figure and said enthusiastically, "Hey, miss, would it be convenient to exchange contact information?"

"Of course, officer." The waitress breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

Abby, a wealthy man standing nearby, was chatting and laughing with her daughter and other business tycoons. Seeing the spectacular performance, she also stepped aside to report the news.

Well, out of ten people, eight are traitors. The rest are either lining their own pockets or on their way to doing so. Can you imagine how rotten this place is?!

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo's plan is still proceeding as scheduled.

Zhang Ailun, holding the bruised and battered, miserable-looking vault manager hostage, led him into the lobby. Looking at the 'NPCs' huddled in the corners, their behavior was exactly the same as in the online world—perfectly cooperative.

A compliment: "Well done! You've controlled the situation perfectly!"

Pele gave a thumbs up upon hearing this.

"Hand over the vault combination, and I might consider sparing your life." Old Jack patted the vault manager on the shoulder, then waved to the staff inside the glass case. "Hey! See how pathetic he looks? If you don't cooperate, I guarantee your fate will be even worse than his!!"

The treasury manager was filled with grief and indignation. Had he known they would be so ruthless, he should have asked the shareholders for more bonuses and dividends.

The masked thug's punch made him see stars, and he even saw his great-grandmother.

If the other party hadn't given the code, he would have thought it was a group of real bandits!

While in some ways that is indeed true...

"Okay, okay, I can give you the password." The vault manager resigned himself to his fate. Since this had happened, he was just a scapegoat, so he simply cooperated and revealed the vault password in front of everyone.

"Alright, to prevent you from running around, I need you to keep quiet now!" Old Jack, ruthless and taciturn, pulled out some clay explosives and stuck them to the entrance gate, laughing heartily, "If any police officers come by, remember to remind them not to get too close! And don't even think about running around, otherwise... BOOM!!

The hostages were terrified; they had never seen such a ruthless and fearless person before.

"Three minutes have already been wasted. Hurry up and get the money from the vault." Zhang Ailun told Bailey to stay in the lobby on the first floor to keep watch, while he took Sieg and the vault manager hostage to the second floor, with Old Jack following closely behind.

They quickly and easily reached the fingerprint lock security door. The vault manager tremblingly reached out to unlock it, but after a few attempts, he failed because he was sweating too much.

Old Jack, growing impatient, stepped forward and shoved the man aside. "Get up! You're too slow!"

He pulled out some clay explosives, stuck them on, installed the detonator and detonator, then quickly turned and ran behind some distant obstacles, warning, "It's going to explode soon! Remember to take cover!!"

The vault manager was dumbfounded when he saw this.

No, is it really that serious?

Are you here to rob us or to bomb the bank? Did it do something to you?

Did you do it on purpose or by accident?

Zhang Ailun, along with the hostages, squatted in a corner with Sieg.

Old Jack didn't care about anything else and pressed the detonator directly. Accompanied by a pleasant beeping sound and a countdown, the next second there was a loud bang! Flames shot into the sky, and dust rose everywhere.

"Cough cough cough..." The vault manager choked and his eyes welled up with tears.

Looking at the blown-open security door with a disheveled face, he exclaimed in shock and anger, "Shit! The bank's losses this time are enormous!!"

"What are you talking about? We're here for the money in the vault. How could your losses be small? Did you think we came here for a drive?"

Zhang Ailun said irritably, picked the person up, and walked through the blasted road corridor. A minute later, they arrived at the vault door.

The vault manager saw the familiar door and breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that his mission was coming to an end; if the bleeding hadn't stopped, he felt he would have been in excruciating pain.

He quickly entered the password manually, circled it three times to the left and three times to the right, and with a click, the vault door unlocked. A relieved smile spread across his face. "Okay, gentlemen, the vault is open..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Ailun punched him squarely in the jawbone. The vault manager's vision went black, his eyes rolled back, and he lay cleanly on the ground.

"Okay! Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Supervisor. You can log off now." Zhang Ailun flexed his wrists, grabbed the doorknob, and forcefully pulled open the vault door, revealing the gleaming silver interior.

I went inside and took a look. I found that the vault decoration was very different from that of the Little Rock Casino. It was not glittering at all, and there was cold steel everywhere.

He looked at the stacks of banknotes displayed on the counter—five million US dollars, neatly arranged! Right there!

The glass lockers weren't even installed, and all the security doors and safes were open and basically empty. Valuable items had already been taken by the bank's executives, such as private documents and share contracts, which were unlikely to be left to them.

Zhang Ailun was speechless.

Sig also remarked, "The mission wasn't particularly difficult at all. I felt like the bank didn't show me any respect for my identity as a ruthless criminal!"

"Buddy, do you want to experience the hellish difficulty of Lancaster City? You're lucky if you make any money." Old Jack only had money in his eyes and didn't care about anything else.

He slung the gun over his shoulder, grabbed his bag, and pounced on the money, frantically scooping it out.

He laughed loudly, "Take as much as you can! All this money is ours!!"

Sig was also very interested and soon joined the sweeping battle.

The leader of the gang also joined the sweeping operation, carrying a bag. The three of them scooped up handfuls of banknotes and stuffed them into the bag. The bag, like an inflated balloon, visibly swelled up until it was bulging.

After filling several backpacks, Zhang Ailun used the trolley in the vault to take out several inflatable handbags and put the money bags on them, piling up what looked like more than a dozen.

"From the outside, it looks like something worth tens of millions of dollars!" After all, it's about carrying 5000 million dollars worth of gold, so how could it be just a few backpacks that you can just carry away?

Details determine success or failure!

Old Jack gave him a thumbs up, "I didn't even think of that detail. Young man, you're so observant!"

"I'm 9 inches, thicker than an eggplant. Who are you talking about?" The leader retorted, clearly annoyed.

"I know you're very capable. But you shouldn't use your abilities to bicker with an old man like me. Perhaps you could try to win over my distant cousin's daughter?" Old Jack said, his lips twitching.

Zhang Ailun gave him the middle finger, saying, "You old lecher."

"I've conquered it. I earned $2000!"

With a helping hand, the group worked together to move the five million dollars in cash from the vault. Blitz also sent a notification: "The Palm Valley Police Department has dispatched patrol cars to provide support."

Realizing that this place was not safe to stay any longer, Zhang Ailun immediately ordered a retreat, with Sieg diligently pulling the cart as a laborer.

They quickly left the vault. As they passed the door, the vault manager slowly woke up. Seeing the three of them preparing to leave, before he could even sit up and say anything, the leader turned around and punched him in the face again!

With a thud, he lay back on the floor again, perfectly still. The vault manager wore a smile, his sleep as restful as a baby's.

The three of them took the elevator to the first floor.

The moment they entered through the door, they immediately pushed the cart straight to the back door, calling to Bailey, "Let's retreat!!"

Before leaving, Old Jack pulled out smoke grenades and gas bombs, pulled the pins, and tossed them into the lobby on the first floor, laughing heartily: "Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your cooperation! If I never see you again, then good morning, good afternoon, and good night!!"

After finishing his sentence, he made a grand exit and immediately turned and disappeared into the smoke. He left the dumbfounded guests behind, coughing violently and choking until tears streamed down their faces.

As the thugs left, the crowd erupted in chaos.

"Oh shit! They took so much money!!"

"Whose money is that? Is it from the bank?"

"Nonsense! How could a bank have money? That's all our money! It's ours!!!"

Zhang Ailun and his men quickly ran out of the bank's back door, working together to load the heavy bundles onto the back of the van, including the empty bundles used for decoration. They quickly loaded everything onto the van.

With a snap, Zhang Ailun slammed the car door shut, fastened his seatbelt, and started the car from the driver's seat. Old Jack, Bailey, and Sieg were in another car.

Blitz had been waiting for a long time. He glanced at the signal source on the screen, which was covered with tiny red dots, at least dozens of them.

He exclaimed, "If you had come out two minutes later, they would have surrounded us from the surrounding neighborhoods."

"The timing is perfect."

Zhang Ailun glanced at it, then immediately reversed out of the parking space. "Remember to plan your route carefully."

"I've hacked into the traffic management department's backend and controlled the traffic lights. The entire Palm Valley will be plagued by traffic jams and congestion, while we'll have a smooth ride!"

"Okay. Let's begin the retreat."

Zhang Ailun stepped on the gas and sped off through the streets, with Old Jack following closely behind.

Two vans started racing in the city, weaving and swerving. When they encountered a traffic light, it suddenly turned green, and after they quickly passed through, it quickly turned red again.

The private car drivers waiting in line were stunned for a moment, rubbed their eyes, and looked at the flashing red light. What was that thing that whizzed past?

Did the light just turn green?

Oh! It really is a green light!

The driver had just started the vehicle and was halfway through the intersection when the light turned red again.

"WTF!?"

Everyone was dumbfounded by the erratic flashing of the traffic lights.

Are you having a disco party here? Should I leave or not?

The sirens of police cars echoed through the streets as they sped recklessly through the downtown area of ​​Palm Valley. They quickly locked onto two vans and began to pursue them relentlessly, even using the radio to notify the dispatch center and control tower.

But after waiting for a long time, no police helicopters were dispatched to provide support or tracking.

Don't ask, the answer is that it's being maintained.

Relying solely on the speed of police cars on the road was clearly insufficient. With Blitz's planned route and the insane interference of traffic lights, many vehicles dared not proceed at intersections and were left behind after only a dozen or so intersections. The police successfully lost track of their target.

The police officer was also puzzled, feeling that nothing was going right today.

"Did someone pull out my engine valves? Why can't I press the accelerator today?!"

Oh no, the police car was taken to a repair shop for maintenance, and the engine got damaged in the process.

Not only did the car break down, but even the traffic lights started acting up!

(End of this chapter)