Meanwhile, as Nicole and the other three struggled to eliminate the Dead End Butcher, a thrilling drama was unfolding outside the Hollow:
Hu Tao and Maotou held Perlman hostage at the tunnel exit after leaving the Hollow, while the other armed personnel at the monitoring point were forced to evacuate the tunnel, forming a thick semicircle with other armed personnel from the command center.
In front of the human wall stood a woman dressed as a secretary. Hu Tao recognized her at a glance; she was the one who answered questions for Perlman on TV back then.
Almost as soon as they formed ranks, the armed soldiers in the human wall couldn't help but start discussing: "What on earth is going on? How could Officer Perlman be kidnapped by a little girl and a man in black?"
"I don't know... but Officer Perlman is in their hands, so no one dares to act rashly."
"They said they wanted to see the person in charge here, so Miss Sarah has gone out to negotiate..."
At this moment, the secretary referred to as "Miss Sarah" finally lost her patience, turned around, stared at the loudest spot, and slowly said, "Shut up!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it immediately silenced everyone.
Upon seeing this, and combining it with her previous performance in the interview, Hu Tao immediately realized that her status with Perlman might be equal, or even reversed.
Hu Tao immediately whispered this discovery to Maotou, who, after hearing it, mumbled, "Damn it, the value of 'Perlman' as a bargaining chip doesn't seem to be as high as we imagined."
However, the die was cast, and the two could only continue to drag out the negotiations, hoping for Nicole and her team's successful operation.
Hu Tao slowly took a step forward, lowering her voice, "Are you the current person in charge here?"
Sarah nodded noncommittally: "That doesn't matter, state your demands."
This was clearly a provocation, but Hu Tao could only follow her lead: "Heh heh, our demand is simple. As long as Long View stops the demolition and rescues the trapped residents, I will return Perlman to you."
Then, she raised the phone in her left hand and threatened, "If you don't agree to my demands, I will immediately start a live broadcast and expose your crimes to the public!"
"How many people do you think will believe that you could assemble such a large group of heavily armed personnel in such a short time just because two unknown individuals kidnapped Perlman?"
Sarah sneered, "Heh, that's easy for you to say. If we really do as you say and cause such a huge scandal, how will our Vision Corporation explain it to the public?"
"Besides, I advise you to put your phone away – just now, I ordered someone to activate the signal jammer."
Hu Tao glanced out of the corner of her eye, and sure enough, her phone showed "no signal." She could only silently put it away.
Sarah's expression became even more contemptuous: "Although doing this means we can't contact the outside world either, it's more than enough to deal with the two of you."
"Besides, who are you two? What's the point of helping the poor people in Canvas Alley?"
At this moment, Maotou stepped forward, pulled out her Red Fang Gang identification, and said, "The identity of this person in black cannot be revealed, but I can tell you mine~"
"You can call me Maotou. To be honest, I'm from the Red Fang Gang."
Her words caused a slight stir among some of the armed personnel: "The Red Fang Gang seems to have originated in Canvas Alley... Could she be a vanguard sent by the Red Fang Gang?"
"Possibly, that token of hers seems to only be carried by the White Guy's personal guards."
Seeing that everyone's thoughts had guided themselves in the direction she expected, Maotou continued, "That's right, my people are already ambushed around the command post, and they've brought some civilians who don't know the truth."
"Once you have any thought of continuing the demolition plan, I guarantee that even without my order, they will rush in themselves to destroy the signal jammer."
"Next, they will naturally expose your disgraceful acts to the public – isn't it better for you to confess yourselves than to be exposed by others?"
Hearing Maotou's words, Sarah's expression stiffened slightly, which made Hu Tao and Maotou secretly breathe a sigh of relief: this 'creating something out of nothing' trick really worked.
However, from behind the crowd, a technician suddenly pushed through and said to Sarah, "Miss Sarah, none of the surveillance has found any suspicious activity other than our people. They are most likely lying."
Hearing the technician's report, Sarah smiled triumphantly again: "Hmph, you think your little tricks can fool me?"
Hu Tao and Maotou's hearts instantly sank to the bottom, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
Maotou also tightly held the knife across Perlman's neck, attempting a final effort: "Aren't you worried about his life?"
Seeing Maotou's action, Sarah said nothing, merely slowly raised her hands.
Just as the two thought Sarah had agreed to their demands, a whistling sound of bullets suddenly came from above the tunnel behind them!
Hu Tao inwardly cried out that something was wrong, quickly retreated two steps, wanting to raise the staff of homa to block, but it was still too late. A flash of light shot straight into Perlman's back neck. Perlman's eyes widened, and he slowly fell.
Hu Tao and Maotou were stunned; they hadn't expected Sarah to directly abandon Perlman.
Seeing their reactions, Sarah sneered, "I'm afraid Mr. Perlman isn't as useful to us as you imagine. Without a bargaining chip, what do you have to negotiate with me?"
Hearing this, Hu Tao slowly said, "It seems I was right. Perlman is just a puppet; you're the one who truly orchestrated the demolition!"
Sarah gave a slight sneer: "I said from the beginning—it doesn't matter. Alright, we've talked enough nonsense, it's time to get down to business."
Then, she pulled out the detonator button from her pocket and pressed it with lightning speed: "To those 'non-existent residents' in the demolition zone, I deeply regret it—farewell, everything for 'our' Long View."
Hu Tao and Maotou had no time to react, only watching helplessly as she pressed it.
However, just as everyone thought the demolition had succeeded, a sudden commotion came from inside the tunnel.
Everyone looked closely and saw Nicole and the other three, along with the stranded residents from Canvas Alley, emerging from the tunnel.
The situation instantly reversed, and the armed personnel looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
Sarah's face also turned somewhat grim. She hadn't expected that these two people's "accomplices" would actually be able to bring out the people from Canvas Alley.
However, she instantly regained her composure: "You expect to expose this by doing that? Heh heh, don't forget, only our people are here now."
Then, she quickly retreated among the armed personnel, waved her hand, and shouted to them, "Hear my command, open fire—"
This greatly alarmed the residents: she actually still wanted to kill them to silence them!
Just then, Hu Tao suddenly rushed forward and roared, "How dare you!"
Then, before Sarah and the others could react, she formed hand seals, releasing raging flames that instantly melted the muzzles of the front-row armed personnel's guns!
Afterward, she retreated a few steps, drawing an arc with both hands, causing fierce flames to burn in front of the people behind her, forming a scorching barrier.
Maotou and Nicole quickly coordinated. Maotou and Amber brandished their sharp blades, adopting defensive stances. Nicole picked up her portable cannon box, ready for battle.
Billy stood behind, wielding his dual pistols and accurately shooting at the bullets coming from the hidden spot above the tunnel.
Just as both sides were in a stalemate, a loud siren suddenly came from behind the Yuanjing Company people!
Immediately after, a large group of police cars and news vans streamed in, quickly surrounding everyone.
While Nicole and the others were still confused, Hu Tao had secretly breathed a sigh of relief: needless to say, Conrad must have contacted them in advance, secretly.
Amidst the flashing lights of numerous reporters, the Public Security Bureau forces swiftly destroyed the signal jammer and subdued those "unidentified individuals impersonating Officers" from Yuanjing Company.
However, in a place no one noticed, Sarah had already quietly left the scene through an extremely hidden passage.
Seeing that everyone from Canvas Alley was safe and sound, Maotou smiled contentedly, then turned to leave, only to bump into Amber.
Amber asked doubtfully, "Where are you going? Aren't you coming with us to the Public Security Bureau to make a statement?"
Maotou awkwardly scratched her head: "I... anyway, you guys solved the problem, it doesn't make much difference whether I'm there or not... Besides, I'm just a stray animal who lost her home..."
But Amber shook her head firmly and said, "No way, you are an important witness who can prove Yuanjing's crimes."
"More importantly, didn't we say when we were working together before? After this mission is completed, everyone will go out for a big meal—now, only your share of the money hasn't been paid."
Maotou was stunned, then bristled: "What? Share of the money? Did you ask for my opinion? Did I agree to go with you?!"
So, Amber extended her hand to Maotou and said, "Oh, then I officially ask you now, Maotou, do you want to come eat with us?"
Billy leaned in from behind Amber: "I just asked, the Ropemaker siblings and Hu Tao are coming too! And it's a buffet!"
Nicole also added, "That's right, unlimited mackerel!"
Maotou lowered her head: "I... I... that..."
When she looked up again, she was moved to tears: "Unlimited mackerel, right? Then I'll have to seriously consider it!"
...Several days later, at Ling and Zhe's video store—
"...Anyway, thanks to Maotou's connection with the Red Fang Gang, the Red Fang Gang is no longer bothering us, and our investigation has made progress:"
"No one knows the origin of the box... the mysterious client... how the box should be handled afterward, all unknown." Nicole said this to Ling, Zhe, and Hu Tao.
Ling interrupted, "Wait, did I hear that right? You call that progress? The Red Fang Gang clearly has no clue about the safe!"
Nicole said helplessly, "But that safe is really hard to investigate! And I also want to help those poor rescued residents who escaped death get their compensation as soon as possible..."
Zhe said, "Nicole, thank you for putting us on a moral high ground. We'll let you off the hook this time."
At this moment, Hu Tao asked from the side, "Speaking of which, what happened to Maotou later? I haven't seen her since that day."
Just then, Maotou, who was hiding by the door, jumped out: "Meow meow meow—the little kitten appears!"
Nicole proudly said, "Ahem, allow me to formally introduce, this is our new member of the Cunning Rabbit House—"
Maotou continued her sentence: "I'm Maotou Yōna, you can also call me Maotou. I currently work at the Cunning Rabbit House, and I ask for your continued guidance in the future!"
Hu Tao clapped happily: "Yay, congratulations on finding your own place!"
Maotou also smiled happily: "Hehe, thank you!"
At this moment, Nicole suddenly remembered something and asked Hu Tao with a gossipy expression, "Hey, Hu Tao, what do you think of your new title, 'Profound Flame Walker'?"
Hu Tao smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Haha... well..."