The man in the dog mask glanced at the man in the tiger mask, who then spoke as expected. "Big A, Big B! Alright, let's stick to the original plan."
"Understood!"
The two nodded and began to round up the hostages, shouting demands to those outside like any other common bank robber.
Their demands were standard fare: a steam transport vehicle from the police, which they would board with the hostages to make a clean getaway with the money.
Then, the man in the dog mask went into one of the bank's reception rooms and, with a couple of loud CLANGS, pried open a ventilation duct.
"You stay behind too!" the dog-masked man said, glancing at the man in the tiger mask. He then looked at Chu Bamboo, hesitating. "As for you..."
"I'm paying for this. I'm going with you!" Chu Bamboo stated flatly.
"...Fine!" Although the dog-masked man was still conflicted, he conceded since the client was paying. He turned back to the man in the tiger mask. "So, just stall them! In the end, you can leave the money somewhere as a diversion. Just hold out until we cause a scene somewhere else and force them to split their forces and come after us."
From the very beginning, the dog-masked leader had no intention of successfully escaping with the bank's cash and gold bars.
What he wanted was the massive fee promised by B2.
'How much could you really get from one bank?'
Not to mention, even if they did, they'd have to launder it. Except for the gold, all the banknotes had verification codes. Under the surveillance of the Ancient Relics controlled by the Officials, laundering money on a large scale was unimaginably difficult...
The payment from B2, however, was different. That was all clean money, ready to be spent.
"Big C, you're with us!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the dog-masked man crawled into the ventilation duct. Big C, wearing a bear mask, followed close behind, with Chu Bamboo taking up the rear.
The man in the tiger mask awkwardly fitted the pried-open vent cover back into place. After waiting a moment, estimating the others were far enough away, he pulled out his pistol and fired a shot at the cover. He then fired a few more shots at other spots in the reception room as a crude cover-up.
Then, the man in the tiger mask took a deep breath and walked back toward the bank lobby.
The ventilation system was a labyrinth, connecting directly to the second floor of the adjacent building. The area behind that building hadn't been cordoned off yet, so all they had to do was jump from a second-floor window. After all, the three of them weren't carrying much.
Once they were settled in the pre-arranged carriage, the man who had worn the dog mask finally breathed a sigh of relief. He took off the mask, revealing a simple, honest-looking face. He looked just like an old farmer.
Big C, the man in the bear mask, also took off his mask. His real face bore a striking resemblance to the character Vodka from a certain detective anime.
Under their sharp gazes, Chu Bamboo calmly removed his own fox mask. He sized them both up with great interest, an air of complete confidence about him.
The man who wore the dog mask stared hard at Chu Bamboo for a moment before finally looking away. He unbuttoned his outer coat and began changing into another set of clothes that were stored in the carriage. "Alright, B2," he said as he dressed, "you have the item now. About the commission..."
"Aren't you curious what it is?" Chu Bamboo asked lightly. "Zhang Kun."
"Curious?" Zhang Kun chuckled. "I've lived long enough to understand one thing perfectly... in this world, curiosity kills. The more you have, the faster you die!" His voice was flat.
This wasn't to say he wasn't surprised that Chu Bamboo knew his identity...
'It was just that B2 had demonstrated an astonishing intelligence-gathering capability during their previous communications. Even so... fine, it was still hard to swallow, but what could he do? The guy hadn't paid him yet. He'd just have to play along for now.'
"You will be," Chu Bamboo said leisurely. He unfolded a map and held it toward the left window. The Sun's rays filtered through the thin black gauze curtain, projecting a hidden route onto the map's surface. "Because the destination on this map is the place where Zhang Xun died!"
Zhang Kun's expression remained unchanged, though a flicker of confusion appeared in his eyes. Big C, however, suddenly lunged toward Chu Bamboo.
"Honestly!" Chu Bamboo sighed. "Did you really not think about why I felt safe enough to tell you this here?" He suddenly leaped and spun, a whip-like kick cracking across Big C's cheek and sending him slamming into the carriage seat with a THUD.
A vicious look flashed across Zhang Kun's face. He used the opportunity to pull a gun from behind his back and aim it at Chu Bamboo. "Checkmate!"
"My apologies." Chu Bamboo calmly straightened his clothes, then nonchalantly wiped his foot twice on the back of Big C, who was now sprawled facedown, ass in the air. Full of confidence, he said, "I bet your gun has no bullets! Oh, wait, wrong script. What I mean is, you won't shoot."
Zhang Kun: "?"
A mixture of disbelief, scorn, and speechlessness played across Zhang Kun's face. "I want information from you, so I won't kill you! But not shoot? Heh, there's no one else around..."
Zhang Kun trailed off as he saw Chu Bamboo hold a finger to his lips with a smile.
In that moment of confused silence, he looked through the thin black gauze of the carriage's rear window and saw several men in black tunic suits step out from around a corner about thirty meters away.
They first scanned their surroundings, confirming the area was clear, before walking over to the spot directly beneath the window they had jumped from. They huddled together, speaking for a moment.
The thin black gauze of the rear window didn't completely block the view for those inside... but it was very effective at preventing anyone outside from seeing in. 'This world's version of one-way glass, I guess?' Chu Bamboo mused.
Finally, the men finished their discussion. They all looked up, examining the open window.
The leader nodded, his face impassive. With a light tap of his toes, his body rose as if weightless, like a tuft of cotton on the wind, and he landed silently on the second-story ledge.
The others followed suit. The last man, however, scratched his head in frustration and muttered, "I can't fly... Dammit! I want to be part of the mission too."
"However..." The last man looked very young, not even twenty, his face still holding a boyish immaturity and a hint of peach fuzz.
He scanned his surroundings and quickly noticed the carriage. Since its rear was facing him, he couldn't see its sides or even if there was a driver. But just then, one of the horses snorted, catching his attention.
"Is someone there...?" the young man began to ask as he walked toward them. Before he could finish, however, Chu Bamboo grabbed the whip from the driver's seat and, with a loud SNAP, cracked it against the horses' rumps.
"Yah!"
The two startled horses whinnied and bolted. The entire carriage shot forward like an arrow from a bow, CLATTERING loudly as it went.