Combat Uses of the Little Red Star

"Smith, I think taking one hostage as a precaution is enough. Let the others go—they'll only be dead weight!"

The robber up front clearly understood what his boss was thinking and made a fairly reasonable suggestion.

Smith considered it for a moment, then nodded and began picking from among the children on the School Bus.

Teacher Bailey, with Smith's gun trained on her, saw this and raised her hand tremblingly.

"Use me as the hostage. They're all children. If you keep them with you and they start crying, they'll be hard to calm down!"

Teacher Bailey stammered as she spoke, clearly terrified inside.

Meanwhile, the driver, Paul, lowered his head even further in his seat. He had children, a wife, and parents to support. Though he felt guilty, he was unwilling to step forward.

"Mm, that makes sense!"

Clearly, Smith had been persuaded by Teacher Bailey's words.

Taking a child hostage meant not having to worry about resistance, but if the child started crying and making a fuss, it would be troublesome. They only needed a hostage in case the police caught their trail again, and killing one outright would not be ideal either.

"Smith, I think that's a great suggestion!"

The two robbers in the back looked at Teacher Bailey's fairly pretty features and curvaceous figure, and immediately revealed lecherous smiles.

Teacher Bailey's body trembled at the sight, but in the end, she said nothing more and obediently stood up beside Smith.

"Ah."

Jerry, who had been sitting in the back and observing the situation, could not help sighing. Then he slowly rose from his seat.

"I think I'd be the most suitable hostage. My father is the police chief of Queens. He might be the one commanding the pursuit later. Besides, I'm just a kid. I have no ability to resist, and I'm very obedient!"

Teacher Bailey was a responsible and caring teacher. Jerry did not want her to fall into the hands of those robbers.

More importantly, if he left with the robbers, he would have no more reservations and could act freely. That was why he had stepped forward on his own.

"Jerry, what are you saying? Sit down, now! Mr. Paul will take you all home later!"

Bailey's expression immediately changed when she saw Jerry stand up.

Jerry was a famously good student at school. Not only were his grades among the best, but he also excelled in both character and academics. He was one of her favorite students.

Seeing him offer to take her place as a hostage left her both touched and anxious.

Smith, on the other hand, immediately turned to look at Jerry when he heard that he was the police chief's son.

Holding a police chief's son hostage would certainly make the police more wary than holding an ordinary elementary school teacher. And compared to an adult woman capable of resisting, a child was obviously much safer.

"Bring him over!"

Smith ordered one of the robbers beside him.

"Smith, I think this woman is more suitable!"

The robber mumbled with his mouth full, clearly having other ideas.

Smith knew his subordinate well and kicked him without hesitation.

"Once we have money, what woman can't we get? Bring the police chief's kid. We need to get out of here!"

"Brother!"

When Elsa saw the robber walking toward her brother Jerry, she realized something was wrong and fearfully grabbed one of Jerry's hands.

She might have had a bit of a chuunibyou streak and been rather scatterbrained, but she was not stupid. She already understood that if her brother was taken away, something bad might happen to him.

"Elsa, I'm going to send these little demons back to hell. I'll be back soon. Listen to Teacher Bailey, okay? Don't worry. Your brother is the Demon Lord!"

Jerry removed Elsa's hand, winked at her, and then walked toward the robber of his own accord.

"You little bastard, behave yourself on the way, or I'll blow your head off!"

As they got off the School Bus, the robber from earlier angrily kicked at Jerry's butt, but Jerry cleverly leaped forward and dodged it.

The robber wanted to kick him again, but Smith barked at him from behind.

After the four robbers took Jerry off the School Bus, they used their rifles to shoot out all four tires before heading into the small woods by the roadside.

Before long, they arrived at a black SUV that had been prepared in advance.

They really came prepared.

Jerry sat in the back seat of the SUV, sandwiched between two burly robbers, and silently sighed.

The SUV started up. After making several turns through the woods, it emerged onto a very secluded path. After driving a little farther, it entered the main road and vanished into the traffic.

An hour later, a black SUV slowly came to a stop in front of a rundown Warehouse in the suburbs.

The four robbers carried a large bag full of U.S. dollars from the bank and marched Jerry into the Warehouse.

Click!

Jerry watched the robber lock the wooden door and muttered quietly to himself.

Looks like they never intended to leave anyone alive. Then don't blame me!

The moment he entered the Warehouse, he saw the four robbers take off their masks at the same time. At that point, he knew that they had probably already unconsciously decided on the same fate for him.

For now, though, the four robbers were still basking in the joy of successfully escaping pursuit and stealing a huge amount of money.

But once they came to their senses, it would probably be time for him to die.

"As the saying goes, strike first and gain the upper hand; strike late and suffer. If I don't act now, when will I?"

Hearing the four robbers outside laughing loudly over the huge bag of U.S. dollars, Jerry knew this was when their guard was at its lowest—and the best time for him to make his move.

Verdimillious!

Pulling out the wand tucked into his pants, Jerry first cast the Transfiguration Charm on a broken chair leg he found in the room.

He turned it into a sharp Dagger.

At his current level with the Transfiguration Charm, the Dagger should last around ten minutes. That would barely be enough.

Alohomora!

He pointed his wand at the tightly locked wooden door, and the lock opened. With his wand in his left hand and the Dagger in his right, Jerry carefully pushed open the door and stealthily slipped outside.

The rundown Warehouse was piled with useless trash and clutter, giving Jerry plenty of cover to hide behind.

In the center of the Warehouse, the four bandits happily drank beer while counting the Cash in the large bag. They were clearly enjoying the pleasant process of dividing the spoils.

Use Little Red Star!

Instead of casting a spell on the four bandits, Jerry first activated the panel's "Refresh and Focus" function.

By doing good deeds in town every night, along with stopping a robbery on the last night, he had successfully accumulated more than fifty Little Red Stars.

More than fifty Little Red Stars meant that activating the "Refresh and Focus" function could last for at least fifty minutes.