Chapter 214
Renee knitted her brows tightly and grabbed a woman who was running away. “What’s going on?”
“A–A crazy man kidnapped a girl in the hall on the first floor. He’s a suicide bomber!”
“A girl?” Renee felt sick to her stomach, and quickly asked the lady, “Is that girl around five to six years old and wearing a yellow dress?”
The lady looked bewildered, but nodded slowly.“I think so! You both should leave… Everyone in this mall will die if that bomb goes off!”
After that, she hurried away, along with many others from the first floor.
Renee immediately wanted to go downstairs, but Stefan stopped her. “What are you doing?”
Renee looked at him desperately. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to save her! A madman kidnapped Jane. If I don’t save her, she’ll die!”
Stefan pointed at the emergency exit that everyone was rushing to, then said urgently, “It’s too dangerous here. Go to the emergency exit with the others and leave this place.”
After that, he pushed past the panicked people, running towards the scene without turning around.
Renee watched his tall and resolute frame move through the crowd, slightly stunned. She hated that scumbag so much, but right now, his selflessness was oddly moving.
Almost all the civilians had evacuated the first floor, leaving only the armed police officers.
A middle–aged man was standing in the centre of the mall with a large knife in his hand. He held it against Jane’s neck and barked at the negotiator, “Don’t try to persuade me. I’ve made up my mind! I don’t want to live, and I want all of you to die with me!”
He wore a series of string bombs around his waist. If he even yanked at the string slightly, the explosion would be enough to destroy the entire mall. It was a critical situation, and everyone there was scared.
The negotiator tried to reason with him. “Sir, please calm down. You can’t resolve anything this way. Just tell us if you’re facing any problems, and we’ll help you.”
“No, you can’t help me. All of you are crooks!” The man yelled, then added piteously, “My house was forcefully snatched away to build a mall. Both my wife and child were reluctant to leave, so they were buried in the ruins. I couldn’t even find their bodies…”
The man’s eyes turned wild with rage. “You all love this mall very much, don’t you? Blood for blood!”
The middle–aged man nearly cut Jane’s skin with his knife because he was so worked up.
Jane was terrified, and she sobbed helplessly, “Sir, please don’t hurt me. Just let me go, okay? Please…”
The man looked down at Jane, sadness clouding his gaze. “This world is so unfair… My daughter was around your age when she died. She had a difficult life from a young age, but you’re very different from her. You have an easy life, and your parents are honourable and rich. You grew up in a nice environment…”
His eyes turned steely as he sneered, “I saw you and your parents just now. I truly understood how pitiful my family was when I saw your family so happy together… My poor daughter was buried alive, so you can go join her soon. You can serve her and let her enjoy a good life.
Suddenly, Stefan approached the man and said coldly, “You pretend to be righteous, but you actually just want money, don’t you? Such a thing can be easily resolved.”
“Money?” The man was infuriated by Stefan’s words, and scoffed, “Back then, I did want money to give my family a better life but there’s no point now. They’re all dead, so there’s no need for money. I just want all of you to suffer the same fate as them!”
“You can kill us…” Renee’s soft voice came from another corner as she slowly walked towards the man and Jane.
Seeing her, Stefan knitted his brows tightly and uttered icily, “I asked you to go. Didn’t you hear me?”
However, she ignored Stefan and said to the man seriously. “But do you know what kind of consequences you’ll face if you hurt that girl?”
