Chapter 87

Hu Xiaoniu had spent a lot of time at legal shooting ranges in Haicheng, so he had seen this kind of thing before and had even heard the range instructors explain it.

Regardless of how these criminals got their guns, the key was that it was extremely difficult to secretly obtain silencers in the country, and even smugglers rarely dealt in such items.

Moreover, after most firearms were equipped with silencers, they were not as silent as in the movies; at most, the noise level dropped from 140 decibels to 120 decibels, which did not make a substantial difference.

Silencers had always been mythologized in films and TV shows.

However, a few firearms, when paired with subsonic ammunition, could indeed reduce the sound of gunfire to a minimum.

The Glock 34 in the hands of the criminals was one of them.

Hu Xiaoniu suddenly realized that the other party was extremely professional and might even have a background as a foreign mercenary.

Liu Dezhu was utterly despairing; this turn of events was too sudden. The boss had only warned him about the criminals but had not mentioned that they would change into police uniforms!

Hu Xiaoniu took a deep breath and said, "Do as they say."

The three of them were pushed back into the courtyard at gunpoint.

At the same time, five more people with guns were holding the staff, the owner, and two members of Kunlun hostage, and they walked out of the hotel building.

These people were even faster than Qingchen had anticipated, having already scoped out the area thoroughly before midnight. They only took action after returning.

They chose to act after returning precisely to prevent the Kunlun members from leaking information in the inner world, thereby buying enough time.

A few girls let out screams on the spot.

One of the criminals immediately pulled the trigger, and the bullet cleanly hit a Kunlun member's calf.

The Kunlun member fell to the ground but tightly shut his mouth, not uttering a single cry of pain.

The criminal then turned the gun toward Hu Xiaoniu and Liu Dezhu and said coldly, "Shut up, or your classmates will die, and many innocent people outside the inn will die. Look, this Kunlun comrade is very smart; he knows that his cries will attract people from outside, but no one on this Laojun Mountain can save you. Attracting people from outside will only unnecessarily increase the casualties."

"Moreover, he is very clear that the fastest anyone who can save you will take at least six hours to arrive. So, everyone, please be quiet and don't cause trouble for yourselves."

The Kunlun member lying on the ground closed his eyes silently, the intense pain causing a layer of sweat to form on his forehead, but he remained silent.

At this moment, a man in a black windbreaker stood in front of the students and said with a smile, "I'm glad to see everyone here on Laojun Mountain, but don't panic. I'm not interested in ordinary people. Once I find all the time travelers among you, I will take them away. So, please cooperate, okay? If everyone cooperates, it will be over soon."

In the crowd, Wang Yun suddenly said, "Everyone, don't panic, don't get Hu Xiaoniu and the others killed."

Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen exchanged a glance, not sure what to think.

Liu Dezhu had only one thought in his mind: the criminals were more than five, and the boss's information was wrong.

At this moment, the students were extremely frightened, but the fear of firearms and the threat to their classmates' lives made them maintain some rationality, only sobbing quietly with their hands over their mouths.

The screams from the Yunshang Inn seemed to have already alarmed the people outside the courtyard.

The owner of a nearby guesthouse, who was preparing ingredients for the next day, wiped his hands on his apron and walked out of the courtyard.

He stood on the road in front of the door and looked over to the neighboring entrance.

He saw a man in a police uniform standing at the door, seemingly on duty.

Driven by curiosity, the owner approached and asked, "Comrade police officer, what's going on next door?"

The middle-aged man in the police uniform replied, "There's a drunk causing trouble. Don't gather around, go back."

"Okay, okay, got it," the owner nodded and planned to return to his own guesthouse.

As he walked, he felt something was off. The owner quietly tightened his grip on his phone in his pocket, intending to call the police as soon as he got back to the guesthouse.

But before he could reach his own guesthouse, he felt a cold dagger pierce his heart and lungs from the side of his ribs.

A hand in a black glove tightly covered his mouth, dragging him into the Yunshang Inn.

Then, the criminal in the police uniform walked back out, closed the door of the Yunshang Inn tightly from the outside, and stood guard at the entrance without moving.

His hand remained on his waist.

At this moment, everyone in the Yunshang Inn was gathered in the courtyard. The students were trembling and hugging each other tightly, while the criminals were confiscating their phones with two black plastic bags.

Before throwing the phones into the plastic bags, the criminals carefully turned them off one by one.

Liu Dezhu, Hu Xiaoniu, and Zhang Tianzhen were also pushed back. A criminal with a scar on his face came to them and silently opened a black plastic bag with both hands.

The three of them reluctantly took out their phones, but the criminal did not leave, continuing to stare at Hu Xiaoniu expressionlessly.

Hu Xiaoniu sighed inwardly and took out another phone from his left pocket and threw it into the plastic bag.

The criminal sneered and pushed the three of them back into the crowd.

The man in the black windbreaker came to Liu Dezhu and said with a smile, "I'll give you a chance. Tell me, why did you suddenly discover our operation after returning, and how did you know precisely that we were surrounding this place?"

Liu Dezhu trembled and remained silent, unusually stubborn.

The criminal smiled, "You're not going to talk, are you? Let me guess... outside this Yunshang Inn, you have other time traveler companions, right?"

Liu Dezhu suddenly realized that even if the other party guessed the truth, they did not seem panicked.

Could it be that the other party had other cards up their sleeve? Or perhaps the criminals were still not all here.

...

At this moment, Qingchen stood silently in the room, holding the switchblade he had brought back, with Jiang Xue, who had just returned, behind him.

Qingchen heard a faint mechanical sound but did not know it was from a silenced pistol.

However, the owner of their guesthouse had not returned after going out.

The woman, seeing the knife in his hand, understood, "Xichen, what are you going to do?"

Qingchen took off his shoes and turned to leave, "Aunt Jiang Xue, stay here with Xiaoyun, lock the door and don't go out. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Jiang Xue said from behind, "Maybe I can help you, I have a mechanical arm!"

Qingchen suddenly turned to look at her directly, "But you don't have combat experience. Trust me, I'll come back."

With that, he disappeared out the door.