Chapter 246: Chapter 246 Murder
Translator: Doggotranslation
After a long version of the birthday song, the cake trolley was pushed to the center of the hall and stopped next to the crystal champagne glass tower. They must have rehearsed it so many times before that they were able to push the trolley to the center of the hall at the moment the song finished. A beam of silver light fell from the top, and everyone knew that the most important person of the party was about to make a grand appearance. There was thunderous applause, and the lively atmosphere reached the peak.
The silver beam of light wandered around in the hall as if it was looking for the most important person, and then it was suddenly drawn to the top of the stairs on the second floor. Without anyone noticing it, there were already several people standing there. Standing in the middle was an old man who was supported by a boy and a girl. This old man was obviously Long Xiaotian, the most important person at this party.
Looking at Long Xiaotian’s appearance, one could really hardly believe that he was over eighty years old. This person had a wide and plump body and an amiable smiling face. Although his hair was gray, he still had many hairs. Under his slicked-back hair, there weren’t that many wrinkles on his smooth forehead. It made me wonder if it was because he had a good state of mind, or it was because he lived a great life.
There were only a handful of people behind Long Xiaotian, but each of them had an extraordinary bearing. Since he personally accompanied them before appearing, it meant that those people must be very important guests. Originally, I wanted to ask Mo Fei if the person who had helped her to ask Long Xiaotian to let Ku’er and her grandma go was one of them, but I then heard Long Xiaotian cleared his throat. All the people in the hall immediately stopped talking. Everyone knew that Long Xiaotian was about to give a speech.
Seeing this, Long Xiaotian smiled slightly. The intoxicated expression of self-satisfaction made me nauseous for a while, because of what happened to Ku’er and her grandma, I always found it difficult to feel good about him.
“Today is my 80th birthday. My children insisted on hosting a birthday banquet for me, hoping that I would have a lively and happy birthday. But I really did not expect that tonight, so many good friends would come to my small manor. It really made me feel flattered. . .”
This old guy was really thick-skinned. He had obviously invited people to come to his manor, but he pretended to be surprised. The way he said it sounded like everyone remembered his birthday and took the initiative to come to this party. From the way he indirectly flaunted himself, it could be seen that it was a man with excessive pride. It seemed like the rumor about him having a bad interpersonal relationship in the business world was not false.
Long Xiaotian’s voice was a bit hoarse, but it had a very unique characteristic. Although he said it with a soothing tone, every word was sonorous and forceful, giving people a calm, yet oppressing feeling. This was probably the so-called aura? Just speaking, he revealed the unique demeanor of someone from the upper class. Although his reputation was not good, he was indeed an extraordinary man.
“Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedule to celebrate my birthday. . .”
“It’s not to celebrate your birthday, but to attend your funeral!”
A voice came out from nowhere and interrupted Long Xiaotian. Out of courtesy, when Long Xiaotian spoke, the venue was unusually quiet, so this discordant voice seemed particularly harsh and clear, like a thunderstorm on a sunny day.
Before everyone could even react, a loud bang came, and everyone was stunned. On the stairs, the shocked and angry expression of Long Xiaotian froze on his face forever. A blood-colored flower bloomed on his forehead, and I could clearly see it even from far away. A bloody hole has appeared on his forehead.
Gun. . . Shot?!
Long Xiaotian’s fat body collapsed weakly, fell out of the light beam, and rolled down the stairs. After the people nearby confirmed that the leading tycoon of the real estate industry in Beit Tan City had become a lifeless corpse and let out ear-piercing screams, I suddenly recovered from the shock.
‘The threatening letter is real! Long Xiaotian is dead! He was killed by a gun! You gotta be kidding me!’
I couldn’t believe what happened at this moment. A few seconds ago, Long Xiaotian was still standing on the second floor and talking. How could he fall onto the carpet on the first floor in the blink of an eye? ! I have lived for twenty-four years. But it was the first time for me to see a dead person. And it was the person who was killed before my eyes.
I thought I was the person who feared the most, but when I came back to my senses, I found that Dong Xiaoye, a policewoman, was even worse than me. She was like Mo Fei, grabbing my sleeve, her face was pale with horror, and her whole body was trembling. She also couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“Run. . . Everyone run!” I could only think of this reaction. I held Mo Fei with one hand and Dong Xiaoye with the other. While the panic had not yet formed, I took advantage of the darkness in the hall and rushed towards the door.
God damn it, I didn’t expect that I would encounter this kind of thing. For fuck sake, this kind of event was even rarer than winning the lottery, alright?!
God knew where the gunman fired the shot, but there was one thing that I was sure of. He was inside this hall. So the best choice was to leave first. Fortunately, the place we were standing was near the exit.
Dong Xiaoye was dragged by me toward the exit. After running four or five steps, she finally reacted and suddenly stopped. Trying to shake my hand away, she shouted, “Let go of me, Chu Nan! Calm down, don’t panic, I am the police. . .”
“Don’t shout!” I hurriedly covered her mouth. Was she stupid! Since the gunman dared to shoot, it proved that he was not afraid of the police at all. She didn’t even know his location, but she wanted to expose herself. Did she want to get herself killed?
“Bang!” There was another shot, and a voice not far away from us shouted loudly, “Everyone stays on the ground, I’m the police, turn on the light, everyone stays on the ground! Don’t panic. . . Ah!”
Before he even finished speaking, I heard a painful scream from the man who fired the warning shot, and then the lights came on. Next to Long Xiaotian’s body, another person fell in a pool of blood, and beside him, there was a guy in a mask. The man was wearing a black suit, dressed as a guest. In his hand, there was a gun with a wisp of smoke coming from the muzzle.
Great! That lunatic was far away from us. We had to leave while we still had a chance. I was not a superman so I didn’t want to become a hero. I couldn’t even stop my own legs from shaking in fear let alone trying to save other people. I didn’t know where I got my strength. I held Dong Xiaoye under my armpit like a pillow, grabbed Mo Fei using the other hand, and ran towards the door. But at this time, the exit was already crowded.
‘Huh? The door is closed. When did it close?’ My heart sank.
If the person who sent the threatening letter to Long Xiaotian and the person who sent the report letter to the police were the same person, then this lunatic was obviously a desperate murderer, and he probably didn’t even think about getting out of the manor alive. Who could guarantee that his lunatic wouldn’t start a killing spree? People were selfish when facing a life-threatening situation. I didn’t expect a hero to appear, so I just wanted to run away with Mo Fei and Dong Xiaoye.
I was not a policeman, so why would I care if other people were going to be killed?
“Bang!”
The sound of a gunshot at the door made everyone, including me, fall into despair. There was more than one lunatic.
“Don’t panic, our distinguished guests, the banquet has just begun. Why do you want to leave in a hurry? You’d better listen to the officer earlier and stay on the ground. Otherwise, you will bleed.”
The man who was shot held his thigh in front of the door and screamed painfully. As I looked at him carefully, I found out that I actually knew the man. He was the director of the Tulip Fishing Resort, Tang Lian! This guy has also come to Long Xiaotian’s birthday banquet. If he hadn’t been shot by a lunatic, I would probably not have noticed him.
But in the next moment, my heart tightened. Tang Lian worked for Dongfang Lianren’s family. So if he was here, then. . . Could it be that Dongfang Lianren’s family also received Long Xiaotian’s invitation? Was Dongfang that brat also inside this hall? !
The people who had been squeezing towards the exit scattered backward like frightened birds. Desperate screams and crying filled the magnificent hall. I also carefully stepped back a few steps, put down Dong Xiaoye, and pulled her and Mo Fei to squat down.
Dong Xiaoye glared at me fiercely, “Chu Nan, are you crazy? I’m a police officer, don’t you know? !”
“I’m not crazy, I think you are crazy. The situation is not clear, so what do you think you are doing?!” I hissed at her, “If it weren’t for me to pull you, the one that was shot would have been you!”
The only thing that could be determined now was that there was definitely more than one gunman. Dong Xiaoye also knew that she was really too impulsive, and her face turned red from embarrassment. Even if she was the police, she was still too young. She probably had never encountered this kind of case before, right? It was understandable that she lacked experience, but she still refused to accept it. She argued in an annoyed tone, “Are you trying to remind me to calm down? You wanted to escape! ”
“No shit. I’m not a policeman, so is it wrong to escape?”
“If you want to run, why do you want to pull me away? !”
“I like to. It is none of your business.” I had no intention of arguing with Dong Xiaoye anymore, and said dejectedly, “Now I can’t run away even if I want to. You can look at the situation yourself. How many people have been held hostages? With just you, can you save them all?”
“I. . .” Dong Xiaoye looked at the lunatic guarding the door and couldn’t refute me.
What shocked me was that this lunatic was actually the waiter who just passed by me with a drink earlier! He stomped on Tang Lian’s wounded thigh, causing Tang Lian to scream in pain. Hearing the scream, everyone was shrinking their bodies while crouching down in fear. No one wanted to become the next target.
We have become hostages of lunatics.
Mo Fei sat slumped on the ground in fear, her legs already lost strength, and she hugged my arm tightly, “Chu Nan. . .”
“Don’t be afraid, it’s okay.” I comforted Mo Fei while keeping my eyes on Dong Xiaoye. My mind was moving fast. If there was only one person, then he may be a desperate lunatic, but the situation now was. . .
There were still three people who didn’t squat down. One of them was slim and dressed as a waiter, and the other two guys, one tall and one strong, both were dressed as guests. They all held firearms, blocking two windows and the door that Long Yifan and others came out from. Plus the one on the stairway and the one at the main entrance, the five people almost blocked all possible escape routes. If it were not a coincidence, it would only prove that it had been planned beforehand. But. . . I was a little puzzled. Why did they want to inform the police? Could it be that these maniacs were confident that they would be able to escape under the siege of the police? Did they want to make a name for themselves in the underworld?
What was their purpose? Was it for money? Then why did they want to kill Long Xiaotian? Revenge? Then why were they taking hostages? This was obviously contradictory, and. . . Some were dressed up as employees, and some were dressed up as guests. How did these guys get in? Were the Long family and the police idiots? There were too many places that did not make any sense. . .
The people who appeared on the second floor with Long Xiaotian were also shocked by what had just happened. Completely ignoring the two children who were scared silly, they immediately turned around and wanted to run away. But what they saw next was a gun being pointed at them. Somehow, behind them, there was already a man with a mask. Ironically, that mask was the hero of justice -Ultraman. . .