"This vault is just one gigantic safe. Maybe we can't open the door right away, but we can just take the whole thing with us." Derek Cheng scrambled up from the ground. "Come on, we've still got time. Get those hooks ready, the helicopter will be here in five minutes!"
"Great plan!" Jill Young laughed and slapped Derek Cheng a high-five, then got to work installing gear on top of the vault. The surface was solid and slick, so they had to set up special equipment for the helicopter to lift it.
"Hey, what are you doing over there? Get over here and help!" Xiao Di called out to Amoeba, but Amoeba didn't budge. He took a couple steps back, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.
"Hello, is this the police? The Gunfire Angels are robbing Morningstar Bank, they're on the top floor, three people." Amoeba snapped his phone shut, glanced at the trio, then took off screaming, "Don’t kill me! I’m just a 'traitor with a sudden conscience'!"
Derek Cheng slapped his forehead, looking utterly exasperated.
Xiao Di's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped—her chin nearly slammed into the alloy ceiling of the vault.
Jill Young, on the other hand, burst out laughing, totally amused. She patted Xiao Di on the shoulder, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Surprised, huh? Now I think I deserve half the cut."
"That damned bastard!!" Xiao Di shrieked furiously, her voice echoing through the skies over Steelbullet City.
Time was ticking, every second counted. Based on Xiao Di’s experience, cops were usually slow to react to this sort of thing. If it was just a street shootout and both sides had paid them off, they’d turn a blind eye and wait until things quieted down before cleaning up. Normally, five minutes later the Gunfire Angels’ helicopter would show up, hook the vault, and the three of them would be home free. Within those five minutes, the police shouldn’t be making any big moves.
But today was clearly not like any other day. Not long after Amoeba made the call, the roar of helicopter blades chopping through the air grew louder. A red helicopter zipped over, hovered about sixty meters away, and began broadcasting: "Attention, criminals inside! Drop your weapons and cease all illegal activity immediately. If you resist, the police will take immediate action. I repeat, cease all illegal activity—"
Faced with the noisy helicopter, the trio’s answer was a hail of bullets. Seriously, with a fortune this close, their greed was burning hotter than ever—no way they’d drop their guns just because someone told them to.
Bullets rattled against the helicopter’s body, sparking off its surface, but this red chopper was seriously tough—it didn’t even wobble, just climbed higher and slipped out of range. "All units, attack, take them alive if possible. All units, attack, take them alive if possible!" With the order given, the roar of helicopter blades grew louder all around. Jill Young could tell at least five helicopters were circling.
Black ropes dropped down, and SWAT officers dressed like counterterrorism elites rappelled down, swinging in like Spider-Man and smashing through the windows. With a crash of shattering glass, more than thirty SWAT officers stormed the top-floor lobby.
"Quick! Hold them off for a minute, that’s all I need!" Xiao Di shouted. Jill Young and Derek Cheng exchanged a look, nodded, and leapt into action. In the cramped space, Jill preferred fists to guns. Left hook, right roundhouse, a heavy punch with both hands—she tore through the SWAT ranks. She grabbed one officer and used him as a shield, then snatched his gun and fired toward Derek Cheng’s side.
Rat-a-tat-tat! A SWAT officer trying to ambush Derek Cheng was sent flying by Jill Young—who knows if his bulletproof vest could save him. Meanwhile, Derek fired his big-caliber weapon with a bang. Jill glanced back to see a SWAT officer aiming at her, only to topple backward, crash through the glass, and scream as he fell.
"Nice teamwork." "No need to thank me."
Jill Young and Derek Cheng handled the SWAT officers crashing through the windows, while Xiao Di was sprawled on top of the vault, installing gear. Xiao Di’s spot was obvious and totally exposed, but she didn’t even look up—she trusted those two. Well, at least she trusted Derek Cheng. The SWAT officers were skilled, not much worse than Donald’s super-soldiers, and smarter too, with tactics and adaptability. Jill and Derek struggled, but just barely managed to hold the line for a minute.
Then came a rumbling sound. It was another helicopter, but this one sounded deeper and louder than the rest—totally different.
"What the heck is that now?" Jill Young looked up and saw another helicopter coming in. She’d seen plenty of choppers tonight, but this one made her eyes blur.
Just looking at the body, this helicopter was bigger and longer than a city bus. Its massive rotors spun into a blur, giving off the vibe of some ancient beast. Compared to this, the other helicopters looked like stunted runts—if this thing was armed, you could call it a super heavyweight. Of course, it was a transport helicopter, but still, you could call it Hercules.
"Our ride’s here!" Four massive cables dropped down, and Xiao Di hooked them to the vault’s corners. "Get up here!" she shouted, grabbing one of the cables and calling to the others. Jill Young and Derek Cheng were about to join her when another wave of SWAT officers smashed through the windows. At the same time, the transport helicopter above seemed to take some hits—it jerked up, hauling the vault skyward, clearly trying to get out fast.
"You go first, I’ve got this," Derek Cheng smiled at Jill Young, then charged into the SWAT ranks. Jill nodded and said nothing, leaping toward the vault hanging in midair. She jumped over five meters, Xiao Di crouched and grabbed her hand, hauling Jill up onto the vault where she grabbed another steel cable to steady herself.
Jill Young and Xiao Di stood side by side, firing bullets to cover Derek Cheng below. "Get up here!" Jill shouted, her voice booming over the gunfire and echoing through the hall. Derek took out the last cop and was about to join them when the vault suddenly shot upward again.
"Damn it!" Xiao Di cursed, but as the vault flew up through the hole in the ceiling, her face froze.
There were seven or eight police helicopters circling nearby, squads of SWAT officers landing on the roof of Morningstar Tower. Guns pointed everywhere—enemies above and below, all ready to tear them apart.
At this point, by all logic, escape was impossible.
The red helicopter came back, broadcasting again: "You’re completely surrounded. Put down the vault and surrender! There’s no way out!"
Xiao Di fell silent. The enemy’s forces far outmatched theirs, just like the cop said. SWAT had arrived so fast, and none of their backup had shown up—something was off about tonight. Maybe surrender was the only option?
"Surrender? You’ve got to be kidding!" someone snapped—it wasn’t Xiao Di, but Jill Young. Xiao Di turned to look and saw Jill’s right hand now held a ridiculously oversized, bizarre-looking gun instead of the SWAT submachine gun. Yesterday, on the long street, Jill had planned to use this weird gun to shoot down a helicopter. Even now, seeing it again, Xiao Di was still shaken by its sheer ferocity.
"You think you’ve got me cornered?" Jill Young raised the gun and aimed at the enemy. "Go to hell!" (Had to work overtime today—looks like tonight’s gonna be a rough one.)