"Shut up."

The robber on the other end of the phone rebuked.

The hall fell silent again, and the robber said into the phone, "Are you satisfied now? Hm.

Starting now, the countdown begins again. In half an hour, I'll kill another person.

I'll say it again, I don't need a negotiator, my word is an order.

Don't call again until you're ready with what I want!"

The call was hung up once more.

"Fuck!"

Anthony pounded the car hard. "These damned thugs!

Where's the electrical expert? Bring him over immediately."

"Sir, he's on his way," an FBI agent replied.

Anthony took a deep breath and said to Luke beside him, "Tell your men to get ready, we're going in in 30 minutes."

The FBI had taken over the scene, and with hostages being killed, the FBI was to bear the brunt of the responsibility, increasing the pressure on Anthony.

"No problem." Luke also felt regretful, knowing full well that the suspect was killing people inside the bank less than a hundred meters away, yet he was powerless to do anything.

Luke called his team back and had them pack up their gear, ready for assault.

He donned a bulletproof vest himself and equipped a pistol, M4 rifle, stun grenades, hand grenades, two pairs of handcuffs, and other gear.

After getting ready, Luke looked around. More and more TV reporters were showing up.

Anthony and a group of FBI agents were discussing something.

This was Luke's first time being involved in a bank robbery investigation, and he approached it with a learning mindset.

However, compared to the imminent assault, he was more adept at analyzing cases.

The robber was using a voice changer and was deadly decisive. It was very likely not his first crime.

The robber had claimed to be Martin, and although it might not be his real name, since it was a lead, Luke felt it necessary to check it out.

Luke immediately called his deputy and asked him to check if there was a person named Martin among the ex-cons who had robbed banks.

Also, the demand for 12.56 million in ransom—what did that number mean?

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from inside the bank, deafening and filling the air with dust.

"Ah!" Another scream came from the bank, but it quickly quieted down.

Anthony also came over with furrowed brows, "Did those bastards blow open the vault? Could any hostages have been hurt?"

He really wanted to make a call to check on the safety of the hostages and whether they needed medical supplies, but he eventually gave up the idea.

A call could mean another death.

An FBI agent approached and said, "Sir, the electrical system expert has arrived."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Bring him over," Anthony ordered.

Soon, a middle-aged Caucasian man carrying a toolbox was called over.

Anthony asked, "I'm FBI Supervisor Anthony, what's your name?"

"Raul."

"Raul, this is the floor plan of the bank. All the doors are electronically controlled bulletproof glass ones. I need you to cut off the bank's electricity, including the backup systems," Anthony instructed.

Raul put on his glasses and bent over to check, nodding, "I'll need some time to study this."

Glancing at his watch, Anthony said, "Time is tight, I can only give you five minutes." then turned to Luke and added, "In ten minutes, you lead the assault from the rear."

"Stay in touch," Luke acknowledged, then gathered his men to prepare to move around to the back door from the east side of the bank.

As one squad moved to the east side of the bank, Luke noticed that a manhole cover had been lifted off. He stopped in his tracks.

The manhole cover was less than ten meters away from the east wall of the bank, not too near yet not too far.

Black noticed Luke's gaze, "It must have been the force of the explosion that blew it off."

Black's explanation seemed reasonable at first—the explosion had indeed been powerful—but on second thought, something felt off.

If the explosion had been to open the vault, there surely wouldn't be a sewer near the vault; sewers are usually found in bathrooms, and vaults typically aren't built close to restrooms, so an explosion wouldn't have such a big impact.

Therefore, the explosion might not have been meant to blow open the vault doors.

The more Luke thought about it, the more it made sense. The robbers had been inside the bank for over an hour; if they wanted to blast open the vault, they wouldn't have waited until now. Moreover, the bank manager should have been able to open the vault—unless there were special circumstances, there usually wouldn't be a need to blast it open.

If Luke's speculation was correct and there was a sewer nearby the bank, the explosion might have been to blow open the bank's sewer, allowing the suspects to escape through it.

This would explain all the previously puzzling aspects.

The kidnapper's demands were merely to buy time and distract the police.

The reason they didn't want the police making proactive calls was for fear of being detected after their escape.

Feeling more and more certain, Luke believed the robbers might have already fled the bank.

However, since the FBI had taken over the scene, Luke couldn't make the call on his own, so he relayed his suspicions via radio to Anthony.

Now it was Anthony's turn to be in a dilemma. On one hand, he felt that Luke's reasoning made sense.

On the other hand, he didn't dare to barge into the bank recklessly. The kidnappers had warned that if the FBI and police approached within thirty meters of the bank, they would kill a hostage.

After much hesitation, Anthony finally made up his mind to call the kidnappers. If the kidnapper answered, he would lie, saying that the cash, helicopter, and school bus were all ready for the kidnapper's use at any moment.

Then, they would cut the power off and storm in.

If no one answered the call, it would mean the robbers had truly run away, so they could directly rush into the bank to rescue the hostages.

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