The Police's Decision / The Robbers' Plan

"Did you hear those voices? I advise you to hurry up. If it's been more than an hour and I haven't heard from you that you've released Yashima Kunio, their lives will also be in danger."

The thug glared menacingly at the person who had shouted the loudest, "If the police don't release him, I'll start with you."

From his seat, Jiang Hang looked at the two armed thugs.

He had Tranquilizer Dart installed in both of his Hidden Blade, but both thugs were wearing heavy down jackets and sunglasses, so the Tranquilizer Dart probably wouldn't be very effective.

Shock bombs and sleeping gas are certainly usable, but these two thugs are standing right next to the driver. Using such area-of-effect weapons might injure the driver, and if another car accident occurs, it could cause an even more serious situation. Therefore, we can only use physical means to take them down.

Of course, Jiang Hang was certain that if he really wanted to take action, it would only take him a few seconds to deal with the two of them. Even if they reacted and tried to fire, it wouldn't be difficult for him to dodge the bullets, given his Mind's Eye.

The only thing to worry about is that if the thugs shoot at him and he manages to dodge, it might harm the passengers behind him.

Jiang Hang glanced at the four people sitting behind him.

We can ignore Jodie Starling and Shuichi Akai, those two FBI agents. Even if they can't dodge bullets, they should be able to avoid vital organs. To be honest, Jiang Hang has never used his basic first aid skills, even after he upgraded them to intermediate level with a skill book.

The other one is the mole among the criminals, but that's fine too. If those criminals shoot and kill their own accomplices, Jiang Hang won't feel any psychological pressure.

In other words, Jiang Hang needs to pay attention to the last ordinary passenger.

After considering these matters, Jiang Hang, feeling that everything was still under control, remained seated, wanting to see if Jodie Starling and Shuichi Akai would make any moves.

However, neither of them made any move yet, and Jiang Hang turned to look at Vermouth beside him. Her expression was quite calm, as if to say that Jiang Hang should just keep watching.

Since Vermouth wasn't in a hurry, Jiang Hang naturally felt even less nervous.

Jiang Hang wasn't nervous at all; in fact, he was waiting to see what the criminals would do next. But at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the entire investigation team was sweating bullets because of this sudden hostage situation.

"This is Wataru Takagi, this is point E. I see the hijacked bus. It is heading towards Beika and is maintaining a speed of about 50 kilometers per hour."

Takagi Wataru, who had just passed the Assistant Inspector exam a few days ago and was promoted and received a raise, was using binoculars on a nearby street to report the situation of the hijacked bus to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

"There were two criminals, but because they were wearing hats and sunglasses, we couldn't see their faces clearly, but they did have handguns in their hands."

"It should be a member of Yashima Kunio's gang who was arrested. However, according to our intelligence, there should still be three people in that gang who haven't been arrested yet. I wonder if the other thug is in the car."

Takagi Wataru quickly reported what he had seen.

He is currently confirming the information of the passengers who were taken hostage inside the vehicle.

"There are about ten to fifteen passengers in the car, Inspector Megure. What should we do now?"

Inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Inspector Megure responded with a grim expression, "The negotiation expert just said that he heard gunshots during his communication with the perpetrators, which they used to scare the passengers."

"The higher-ups are still urgently discussing how to handle this incident, but as it stands, that bus is still aimlessly circling the city. You'll just have to stay put and wait."

Inspector Megure gave Takagi Wataru these instructions, and at that moment, Takagi Wataru suddenly exclaimed in surprise on the other end of the phone.

"Huh!?—"

Upon hearing Takagi Wataru's exclamation, Inspector Megure immediately inquired, "Wataru Takagi, did those thugs do anything to harm the passengers inside the vehicle?"

"No, no, I... I saw Jiang Hang on that bus!" Takagi Wataru a complicated tone.

"Brother Jiang Hang?" Upon receiving this news, Inspector Megure was immediately stunned. "How did he end up on that bus too?"

Chapter 340: Chapter 338: The Police's Decision

When Inspector Megure and Takagi Wataru discovered that Jiang Hang was actually on that bus, their first thoughts were actually different.

Inspector Megure was thinking how unlucky Jiang Hang was to run into something like this.

"Jiang Hang was on that bus too. This is troublesome," Inspector Megure muttered to himself.

Having known Jiang Hang for so long, although Jiang Hang himself never mentions these things, he still knows a bit about Jiang Hang's background through hints from the higher-ups in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The sole heir to a massive foreign conglomerate came to Japan to become a detective simply out of personal interest.

If anything were to happen to Jiang Hang, it would involve very serious diplomatic issues, a responsibility that these police officers could not possibly bear.

Inspector Megure certainly knew that Jiang Hang was very skilled, but in his mind, no matter how good a person's skills were, they wouldn't be of much use when facing an armed criminal, especially in the confined space of a bus.

Importantly, based on Inspector Megure's understanding of Yashima Kunio's gang, they were a group specializing in jewelry robberies and had used bombs to blow up safes in previous crimes.

If the perpetrators were carrying bombs, the situation on that hijacked bus was probably worse than they thought.

Inspector Megure was already thinking about how to quickly report this to the higher-ups at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and see how they would react.

On the other hand, Takagi Wataru thought the exact opposite.

Given Jiang Hang's personality, even if it's inconvenient for him to use his own car, even if it's only one stop away, if he doesn't want to walk, he should choose to take a taxi, right? Why did he suddenly choose to take the bus?

This is completely out of character for Jiang Hang, a nouveau riche.

Could it be that Jiang Hang had noticed these people's movements beforehand, and that's why he deliberately followed them onto the bus?

When Takagi Wataru thought about this possibility, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Because his exclamation was not simply because he saw Jiang Hang through the telescope.

To be precise, the instant he saw Jiang Hang the bus through his binoculars, their eyes met.

At that moment, he even felt that Jiang Hang was smiling at him, as if he didn't care at all that the bus he was riding was being hijacked by two fierce armed robbers.

Clearly, Jiang Hang, with his extremely keen observation skills, had already discovered his whereabouts and greeted him in this special way.

Having known Jiang Hang for so long, Takagi Wataru naturally knew that when Jiang Hang showed that kind of smile, it was usually when he was very confident.

As for Jiang Hang's skills, Takagi Wataru, who had actually sparred with Jiang Hang in private, had a much deeper understanding of them than Inspector Megure.

As a police officer in the Investigation Division One, Takagi Wataru, who deals with desperate criminals every day, is naturally quite skilled. Although he can't compare to Miike Sato, who is skilled in judo, he is still much stronger than most ordinary people.

While he could hold his own against Miike Sato, he was defeated by Jiang Hang in just half an hour by Jiang Hang using nearly twenty different fighting techniques. Each exchange lasted less than a second and no more than ten seconds.

Moreover, after being thoroughly humiliated during that sparring session, Takagi Wataru decided that he would never fight Jiang Hang again in his life. Jiang Hang then demonstrated a technique of using a Hidden Blade to cut BB pellets.

No matter how far away Takagi Wataru was, and how he used various methods to shoot at Jiang Hang with his air gun, in the end, the bullets he fired were either easily dodged by Jiang Hang, or casually blocked or even sliced open by him with his Hidden Blade.

This action completely stunned Takagi Wataru at the time.

It was after that encounter that Takagi Wataru began to blindly trust Jiang Hang.

Even though Jiang Hang's opponents are two armed thugs, after seeing Jiang Hang's smile, Takagi Wataru seems to think that he can leave this matter to Jiang Hang to handle.

He originally wanted to suggest to Inspector Megure that they try to create an opportunity for Jiang Hang to take care of the two thugs over the phone, but as a police officer, Takagi Wataru obviously couldn't bring himself to say that.

After Inspector Megure confirmed several times that he was not mistaken and that Jiang Hang was indeed on the bus, Inspector Megure told him to stay put while he went to explain the situation to his superiors.

The Metropolitan Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's upper management, who were initially hesitant about whether to grant the two criminals' demands or try to stabilize their emotions, decided almost immediately, upon learning of the incident, to prioritize the safety of the hostages in the vehicle and release Yashima Kunio was originally in custody.

After confirming that all the hostages in the car are safe and sound, then we will try to control and capture these criminals.

After the matter was discussed and clarified by the higher-ups at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the negotiation experts there quickly informed the two criminals on the bus about the incident.

Of course, to ensure Jiang Hang's safety, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department did not leak any information related to Jiang Hang. They only told the two criminals that they would release Yashima Kunio immediately and that they should not kill the passengers on the bus.

Knowing that the police had given in, the two thugs looked quite satisfied. "Remember to have Yajima call this phone an hour after he comes out. Once we confirm it with him personally, I will release a few hostages. As long as you do as you say, we won't kill anyone indiscriminately. Of course, the premise is that you don't try anything funny."

After the contact ended, one of the two criminals kept an eye on the driver and the passengers in the bus, while the other placed his backpack in the middle of the bus.

Seeing the actions of the two thugs, Jiang Hang was pretty much certain of what had happened.

These two guys probably knew that the police had been watching them for a long time, and that once they achieved their goal, regardless of whether they released the hostages or not, they would likely still be pursued by the police.

So they probably never intended to release the people; instead, they wanted to blow up the car with a bomb and send all the passengers to their deaths!

What Jiang Hang was still concerned about was, even if they blew up the car, what method did they plan to use to escape the police's pursuit?

Chapter 341: Chapter 339: The Robbers' Plan

Unbeknownst to them, the group of criminals had been holding the bus hostage for more than an hour.

With no message coming from the phone in the assailant's hand, the ordinary passengers in the car grew increasingly worried with each passing minute.

Especially the one who had shouted the loudest before, the one the thugs said they would kill first, was now clutching his clothes tightly, his eyes closed, muttering something as if he were praying.

Jiang Hang was using his Eagle Eye to observe Shuichi Akai and Jodie Starling behind him.

Shuichi Akai whole time, only coughing occasionally.

However, Jiang Hang noticed that every time Shuichi Akai coughed, Jodie Starling behind him would quickly make some subtle movements, which seemed to be some kind of pre-arranged signal.

Jiang Hang had no idea what kind of conversation the two FBI agents were having. Jodie Starling, on the other hand, suddenly leaned forward a little and asked Jiang Hang in a voice that only they could hear, whether he and Vermouth, who was disguised as Tomohaki Niide, had any ideas.

"If there are only two thugs, I think we can try to find an opportunity to subdue one of them first. What do you think?"

Vermouth, of course, continued to answer under the guise of Tomohaki Niide: "The other side has a handgun. The police have already agreed to their demands, so it's best to be on the safe side at this point."

"Who knows if what these thugs are saying is true? You should have noticed the two backpacks they left in the car, right? As robbers, they certainly wouldn't bring anything useless to rob. I think this is probably a backup plan they prepared to escape the police. If we continue to wait, none of us in the car might end up well."

"So at this point, we'd better try to take the initiative back," Jodie Starling said to Jiang Hang and Vermouth.

Hearing Jodie Starling's words, Jiang Hang's heart stirred. Jodie Starling and Shuichi Akai were indeed planning to take action, but he wondered if her sudden words to Vermouth were a test.

However, before Jiang Hang could respond, the thugs standing in front of the bus suddenly pointed a gun at Jodie Starling.

"What are you whispering about over there? Behave yourselves!"

Perhaps because time had passed and Yashima Kunio, who had been released by the police, had not yet responded, the already volatile thugs became even more aggressive.

When someone pointed a gun at her, Jodie Starling quickly raised her hands and apologized to the assailants in English, seemingly trying to lower their guard by using her less-than-fluent Japanese.

The thug cursed a few times, but their attention was drawn to the phone he was using to contact the police when it rang.

The person who called this time was Yashima Kunio had just been released by the police.

"What's the situation on your end? Are the police following you? If they are, should I kill someone to warn them?" He asked the other person with ill intent over the phone.

However, it seems that there was no police tracking him over there.

"I won't say much more over the phone. Be careful these next few days. We'll meet at the usual place in three days, and we'll talk then." After confirming that his request had been fulfilled by the police, the criminal seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Don't worry, you guys. Now that the police have fulfilled our demands, we'll keep our word and release you. But we've come this far, so I hope you'll continue to behave yourselves. I don't want any accidents to happen at this point. You should cooperate, right?"

As the assailant spoke, he scanned the entire car with his eyes.

After confirming that the passengers inside the bus wouldn't dare to object, he directly told the bus driver a direction and asked the driver to drive the bus in that direction.

As the car drove to another location they had designated, the police called to inquire about the hostage's release.

"You police officers, don't be in such a hurry. Do you think we don't know that several cars have been following us for the past half hour? I don't want to be caught up by you police officers as soon as I put the hostage out of the car."

"You'd better get rid of those cars following the bus right away. As long as you don't do anything funny, I'll release a few hostages as agreed."

After the two thugs said that, the several cars following the bus quickly disappeared.

Of course, everyone knew that the police would never give up the pursuit, but they were now driving more carefully and keeping a greater distance.

"Next is a tunnel. In the tunnel, slow down and don't exceed 30 km/h," one of the thugs instructed the driver.

Then another assailant began searching the car with a selective eye.

"You men, stand up and let me see you," he suddenly instructed the men in the car.

Several men, including Jiang Hang, Vermouth, and Shuichi Akai, stood up as the thug demanded.

Then the two thugs started comparing the physiques of the several people.

After some investigation, the two thugs pointed guns at Jiang Hang and Shuichi Akai.

"The man who keeps coughing, and the young man in black, come over here. The rest of you, sit down and don't move."

Seeing that Jiang Hang and Shuichi Akai were still standing there, one of the thugs even tried to put on a friendly smile, "Don't worry, we won't kill you. We just need your help. You probably want to finish this as soon as possible, right?"

After hearing what the thugs said, Jiang Hang glanced back at Shuichi Akai behind him, then turned back to look at the two thugs.

Upon seeing the thugs' actions, Jiang Hang had a pretty good idea of their plan.

The two thugs were of normal build, while the other was quite tall.

Inside the bus, the two people whose body types best matched those of the two men were Jiang Hang and Shuichi Akai.

If Jiang Hang wasn't mistaken, the criminals were probably trying to pull off a switcheroo.

They just told the police on the phone that they would release the hostages gradually.

They are probably trying to disguise themselves as hostages who have been released and get off the bus first.

Then, while the bus was stopped, the police detonated the bomb on the bus from outside, creating the illusion that the criminals had an accident on the bus and accidentally detonated the bomb.