Teaching Building.
First-floor lobby.
The moment Dong Xuebin stepped inside, bang, the door abruptly shut behind him. Turning his head, he saw a very thin convict locking it. Once he was done, the convict looked Dong Xuebin up and down, curled his lip, and said, "Hands up." He then searched Dong Xuebin over and over. Finding no weapon or handcuff key on him, the convict expressionlessly shoved him and ordered him upstairs. Dong Xuebin said nothing, his peripheral vision rapidly scanning the surroundings.
On the second floor, two convicts, one tall and one short, were waiting there.
"This is a government official? Why's he so young? Is he fake?"
"Probably not. Didn't Old Xu hear someone call him Director Dong?"
"He's only in his twenties and already director of the Education Bureau? Looks like this kid has connections. That'll make it easier for us to get away."
"Xiao Wang, take him inside and lock him up with those people. You and Xiao Zhou keep watch together. Don't let anyone run."
The thin man who had brought Dong Xuebin immediately nodded. After walking forward a few steps, he pulled open the door to a classroom marked "Class 2, Grade 5" and shoved Dong Xuebin inside. Dong Xuebin staggered, crashed into a desk, and clutched his stomach as sweat broke out from the pain. Raising his eyes, he saw several people trembling in the corner of the classroom: three elementary school children around ten years old, two female teachers, and one male teacher.
The thin convict kicked Dong Xuebin and waved the knife in his hand. "Squat over there. Don't move!"
Another convict entered, holding a police-issued handgun. The two of them watched over the hostages together.
Several children were sobbing around the teachers. The female teachers were all right, with only