At this moment, a long-haired young woman beside Captain Guan said softly: "Brother Guan, our arrival has already alerted Sanctuary's troops. They could arrive at any time. We need to leave the concession area quickly, or things will get bad."

  "I understand." Captain Guan nodded and looked at the Governor, saying: "You're the Governor of this concession area, right? My surname is Guan, and I'm their leader. If you release Mayor Qiao, we won't harm you and will let you leave safely. What do you think?"

  The Governor's eyes rolled around as he said, "That idea sounds fine. Alright then, put all your weapons on the ground and step back twenty paces."

  Captain Guan felt this proposal was extremely unreasonable and immediately refused: "No. You release him first. If you release him, I promise not to harm you and will let you leave safely."

  The Governor said eerily, "How do I know you won't trick me? If I release him and you shoot me, I'm finished."

  Captain Guan said, "What do you want then? Don't try to stall for time. If we can't leave, you definitely won't escape either."

  The Governor thought for a moment and said, "How about this: let me return to my vehicle. Once I'm in the vehicle, I'll immediately release this old man."

  "Your vehicle? Which vehicle?"

  "There, that black vehicle over there." The Governor nodded toward the black van parked on the roadside.

  Captain Guan began to think. He was worried that once the Governor got into the car, he would immediately drive away with Mayor Qiao, so he wasn't inclined to agree to the Governor's proposal.

  Seeing Captain Guan's hesitation, the Governor added, "If you don't agree, then forget about saving this old man. We might as well all die together!"

  As he spoke, the Governor tightened his grip, his right arm choking Mayor Qiao's neck. Under the Governor's immense strength, Mayor Qiao immediately felt difficulty breathing. His face showed an expression of pain as he let out a weak groan.

  "Don't do anything rash!" Captain Guan shouted at the Governor. He thought that if things continued to drag on, none of them would be able to leave. Now they could only take a risk, so he said, "Fine, I agree to your demand."

  "Very good." The Governor dragged Mayor Qiao slowly toward the black car, threatening as he walked, "Stay where you are. Don't make any moves, or I can kill him at any moment."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  "Everyone, don't act on your own." Out of concern for Mayor Qiao, Captain Guan ordered his subordinates not to take any rash actions. Meanwhile, Rulu also remained motionless, as he too had no confidence in rescuing the hostage Mayor Qiao. Rulu thought that if the Governor kept his word and released Mayor Qiao after returning to the car, it wouldn't matter if he escaped. As long as Mayor Qiao was safe, that would be enough.

  The Governor, holding Mayor Qiao, arrived beside the black van and opened the door. He put one foot inside the car when Captain Guan's voice rang out: "Release him now, or we'll shoot your car to pieces so you can't leave."

  "Don't rush, I'll release him right away..." A cold smile appeared on the Governor's face. He restrained Mayor Qiao's throat with his left hand so he couldn't make a sound, while his right hand secretly pulled out a dagger from behind. He suddenly stabbed the dagger into Mayor Qiao's lower back, then quickly withdrew it and hid it. Then he pushed Mayor Qiao's body away.

  With a thud, Mayor Qiao fell to the ground, motionless. Because the Governor's actions were performed behind Mayor Qiao, and Mayor Qiao fell with his back to the ground, no one present realized that Mayor Qiao had been stabbed.

  "Mayor Qiao, are you alright? Can you get up by yourself?" Captain Guan called out to Mayor Qiao, who showed no response, lying motionless on the ground without speaking. By now, the Governor had entered the car and closed the door.

  "Uncle Qiao was fine just now. Why isn't he moving?" Rulu felt something wasn't right. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a strong wind that blew against Mayor Qiao, pushing his body several dozens of centimeters to the side. At that moment, everyone noticed a large pool of bright red blood on the ground beside Mayor Qiao.

  "This is bad! Mayor Qiao has been attacked." Captain Guan realized the Governor had deceived him and quickly led his people toward Mayor Qiao.

  Suddenly, a grenade was thrown from the black car's window toward Captain Guan. Captain Guan and those near him quickly dove to the ground. With a "bang," the grenade exploded not far from Captain Guan. Several rebels who couldn't dodge in time were hit by shrapnel and fell to the ground.

  "Open fire! Full power!" Captain Guan roared. The rebels raised their guns and fired fiercely at the black van. Numerous bullets hit the black van, making "clanging" sounds.

  However, the car was bulletproof. Despite the rebels' strong firepower, bullets couldn't penetrate the car's shell and glass quickly enough to harm those inside.

  With a roar, the black van started up. The black van charged through the hail of bullets, roaring toward Rulu and Nana in the distance. Concerned that stray bullets might harm Mayor Qiao's family, Captain Guan quickly ordered everyone to cease fire.

  "Nana, run quickly!" Rulu pushed Nana beside him, wanting to use himself to attract the Governor's attention and cover Nana and Mrs. Qiao's escape. After a moment's hesitation, Nana fled toward the distance with her mother.

  "Go join that old man!" The Governor grinned maliciously, stepping hard on the accelerator and driving the car straight at Rulu.

  Rulu, either not reacting in time or for some other reason, stood motionless. The car sped toward him. It seemed Rulu wouldn't be able to escape.

  "Run, Rulu!" Seeing Rulu's life in imminent danger, Nana couldn't help but stop and cry out. At that moment, Rulu suddenly stomped both feet hard on the ground, and a howling gale formed around him, pushing downward.

  Using the propulsion of the gale, Rulu flew up with a whoosh, reaching four to five meters above the ground, easily passing over the black van without being hit.