This Villain Was Pretty Smart, but Everything Was Getting Better... Right?

"Miss, I apologize to you on their behalf," said an imposing old man with white hair and an aged face, dressed in a long robe and mandarin jacket, as he stepped out of a room. "They may have been somewhat rude to a guest."

Su Yao secretly guessed that this was probably their boss. She did not mince words. "Cut the crap and hand everyone over."

"Miss, you've truly opened my eyes. They say a newborn calf fears no tiger. It seems I've fallen into your hands today."

The frail-looking old man glanced around at his subordinates lying on the ground, as though he had already resigned himself to his fate.

As he slowly stepped forward, he said, "I'm old, so it doesn't matter much for me. But if we hand over the hostages, could my men receive lighter sentences?"

"That isn't up to me, but voluntarily handing them over will most likely reduce your punishment."

Seeing the frail-looking old man slowly approach, Su Yao did not pay much attention to him.

What concerned her was the hostages' safety.

She did not know where the hostages were or how many guards were watching them.

If she gave them no hope at all and provoked them into fighting desperately, they might harm the hostages. That would be troublesome.

If they were pushed too far and did something reckless, killing the hostages, she did not dare imagine the consequences.

She could have investigated first and come to rescue them afterward.

But she worried that if she spent time investigating before rescuing them, it might already be too late.

Judging from the urgency of that plea-for-help text message, these people were not kindhearted individuals.

But as long as she was here, she believed they could only surrender helplessly.

Although she could defeat everyone here and take them away directly, she did not do so.

Instead, she offered them a little incentive.

They could not beat her, nor could they escape. If they surrendered, they could receive lighter sentences.

If they were arrested, the original consequence would only be prison.

But if they harmed the hostages, they might end up getting an injection or taking a bullet.

So, if they were not idiots, they had only one choice left: surrender.

It was an utterly straightforward scheme, built upon her overwhelming strength.

Su Yao was extremely confident.

"And I'll also do my best to put in a good word for you."

"Good! I believe you. You look like an honest person, miss!"

The old man stopped just over a dozen steps away from Su Yao. Then he rolled up his sleeves and clapped toward the rear.

Very soon, several burly men emerged from the room he had come out of, driving nearly ten hostages before them.

The hostages had their eyes blindfolded, mouths gagged, and hands and feet tied.

As Su Yao watched the hostages emerge one by one, delighted at the prospect of success—

Bang!

A deafening gunshot tore through the quiet night sky.

She turned toward the sound.

The shot had come from the old man beside her.

Damn it! She had let her guard down.

Normally, if someone concealed a gun on their body, there would be a noticeable bulge somewhere.

But she had not expected the old man's loose robe and mandarin jacket to conceal a pistol!

And his motion of rolling up his sleeves and waving had hidden the movement of shifting the gun.

On top of that, most crucially, the appearance of the hostages had diverted her attention!

Her focus had shifted away from the old man!

Fortunately, her body's instincts had allowed her to avoid a vital hit.

Only streams of blood flowed from her ear.

Only now did the pain arrive, belatedly.

Covering her ear, she rushed forward, raising a hand to chop the gun away.

Though the old man was not as strong as her, he was far from an opponent who could be defeated in a single blow.

Before she could get close enough to seize it, he fired another shot.

The distance was too close. Su Yao could not dodge in time.

"Ugh."

This time, she was hit in the abdomen.

After taking two shots in a row, Su Yao erupted with power. In fewer than three exchanges, she captured the old man.

Compared to the pain in her abdomen, the pain from her ear, packed with capillaries, was even worse.

Su Yao endured the pain and snapped, "Aren't you afraid I'll suddenly lash out and kill you?"

"Hmph! Since I've already been captured by you, kill me or torture me as you please. But if anything happens to me, those people might not live to see tomorrow's sun." The old man showed no fear at all; instead, he threatened her.

"You!"

Su Yao had no idea why this man had suddenly decided to fight to the death.

He only needed to surrender. Handing over the hostages could even reduce his sentence.

But she couldn't figure it out, and she had no time to think about it.

Right now, all she could do was try not to provoke them.

Otherwise, the hostages' safety...

Judging from his tone—

He was still afraid something might happen to him.

He was still afraid of death.

Then could she use him to exchange for the hostages?

It violated protocol, but it wasn't the first or second time she had broken the rules.

Besides, desperate times called for desperate measures.

She had no other options. All she could do now was take a dangerous gamble and try this method.

Having made up her mind, she forcibly overcame the slight dizziness caused by blood loss, drew a breath, and shouted at the underlings, "If you want your boss to be safe, bring the hostages over in exchange. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what might happen to him!"

"Aren't you a cop?" The underlings were startled by her words.

"I've been shot. Whether I'll live until tomorrow is still uncertain. Do you think those rules can restrain someone who's about to die?"

Su Yao's biggest problem right now was that the bleeding wouldn't stop, though she could still hold on and it wasn't life-threatening yet. But the other side didn't know that. She only needed to exaggerate her act a little. When people were facing death, they could do anything.

"Fine!" The other side seemed to agree without much discussion.

Su Yao hadn't expected them to be so decisive. It seemed the old man was quite respected in their eyes.

The two sides agreed that once the hostages had come over one by one, Su Yao would release him.

Second by second, the dizziness grew stronger, but she had no time to deal with it now and could only force herself to endure.

Yet even Su Yao herself hadn't expected that, unlike before, things seemed to be progressing smoothly.

After that "grand declaration" just now, the old man didn't speak again.

Young and old alike came over one after another. It was almost over.

Although there had been a minor mishap in the middle, she was still pretty capable after all.

Watching the last person walk behind her, Su Yao was just about to...