Chapter 648: With Him Here, Everything Will Be Fine
The middle-aged man bound with explosives sneered: "Whether anyone dies today depends on you!"
Two veins bulged on Jiangnan's forehead as he pulled the Blood-Drinking Halberd into his hand with one motion, his expression incredibly grim!
First Xiao Mila was taken, and now a human bomb?
Clearly, this was premeditated!
At this moment, Zhong Yingxue, Xia Yao, and the others had already entered combat readiness!
Their hearts were filled with immense anxiety; they never expected something like this would happen on that very day!
Just then, Nightingale suddenly appeared beside Jiangnan. Seeing this scene, she couldn't help but feel a headache.
She leaned close to Jiangnan's ear and whispered: "It's Dracula's people. Mila willingly went with them—probably as bait, trying to follow the trail and find the hideout of Dracula's remnants."
"These people are probably trying to hold you up."
Jiangnan sneered. They really hadn't learned their lesson last time, had they?
If Xiao Mila hadn't gone with them, who knows what else they might have stirred up?
This was a last-ditch effort, risking everything to fight him to the end?
"Eight? Not nearly enough."
With that, he leaned forward, ready to move.
The middle-aged man snarled: "Don't move! If you do, we'll all die!"
"We've all already pressed the detonators; they're controlled by my Shadow Demon. The moment we let go, the bombs on us will explode!"
"The blast yield is enough to level this entire square!"
Jiangnan froze, his expression dark.
He slammed the Blood-Drinking Halberd hard into the marble floor.
They were playing a dirty game. If he acted, the Shadow Demon would control the men to release the detonators.
Even he wasn't confident he could take out all eight without letting anyone release the triggers.
"Evacuate the crowd, set up a cordon, and check if there are any others in the crowd wearing bombs."
"We can't be sure they're only eight."
Wang Gang beside him stared fiercely at the eight people strapped with explosives, his expression twisted: "A bunch of scum!"
Then he snapped to attention and gave Jiangnan a standard military salute.
"Yes, sir!"
Jiangnan was startled: "Military?"
Wang Gang's expression grew stern: "03rd class retired veteran. If needed, always ready to serve the people. Duty calls, mission must be accomplished."
Jiangnan nodded heavily: "You're a huge help. Maintain order on-site until reinforcements arrive! Xiong Da, Xiong Er, go help!"
Wu Liang and Xiong Er nodded without hesitation at Jiangnan's orders.
Wang Gang turned and roared: "All members of the Meat Transformation Department, execute orders!"
The group of Muscle Devils instantly became the most reliable presence.
They helped evacuate the crowd. Once someone took the lead in organizing, the scene quickly gained some order.
The square was cleared rapidly to prevent bomb detonation.
Meanwhile, upon receiving the news, the stationed Dragon Abyss detachment in Jing Du and the security forces immediately dispatched large numbers toward the scene.
Within ten minutes, the Sunset Square would be surrounded airtight.
Yet the eight men just watched Jiangnan do all this, looking completely unafraid.
The Shadow Demon sneered: "I know what you're capable of, but you'd better not pull any tricks."
"These people aren't our men. I caught them off the street just this morning!"
"Hehehe, if anything goes wrong, I wonder how many you can save."
As he spoke, the black in the eyes of two of the eight faded.
Their originally calm expressions turned panicked and terrified—lips turning blue, tears streaming, their whole bodies shaking.
A middle-aged uncle was filled with fear: "Save me! Please, save me! I don't want to die! I have a wife and daughter!"
A long-haired girl looked down at the bombs strapped to her body, her legs trembling with fear as she sobbed.
"Wuwu... why me? Nan Shen! Nan Shen, please save me, okay? I don't want to die. I haven't even had today's class yet..."
Jiangnan's expression turned extremely sour. He forced a faint smile: "Don't panic. Stay where you are. I guarantee you'll be fine."
The girl's pupils turned black again, her expression turning ferocious: "What guarantee can you give? Her life is in my hands!"
The reason the Shadow Demon was so confident was that these bomb-carriers were his hostages.
You have humanity? Sorry, but he doesn't!
Even if they all blew up, his true body wouldn't be affected.
Jiangnan took a deep breath. His mind raced, but unfortunately he was too passive this time.
He didn't hold the initiative.
"What do you want?"
The Shadow Demon grinned. Jiangnan was yielding?
Excellent.
"I want you to stay here for one hour. A simple request. Not hard."
"After an hour, I'll let them go naturally."
"One for eight. Not a bad deal. You come out ahead."
Jiangnan smiled despite himself: "Fine. If you want to play, I'll play along."
Zhong Yingxue was frantic. She moved close to Jiangnan and whispered: "Are you really going to do what he says? We..."
Jiangnan sneered: "There's no way he'll let them go. I'm waiting for an opportunity."
Clearly, Dracula was using this method to buy time to move Xiao Mila out of Jing Du.
As time passed,
The Dragon Abyss squad and security forces that had arrived took over the scene.
They set up a cordon, sealed off the square, and moved the civilians to a safe distance.
After Wang Gang briefed the commander, they began checking the crowd for any hidden bomb-carriers.
And started formulating a rescue plan.
But the trouble was that the Shadow Demon controlled all the hostages simultaneously. If they acted and alerted him, unless they could ensure absolute success,
Anyone letting go of a detonator would cost a life. It was extremely frustrating.
Time ticked by. Crowds had gathered to watch.
Even news media, catching wind of the story, began filming from a distance with drones.
The longer this dragged on, the worse the impact.
The live footage broadcast by the media caused a storm online.
"Are these scumbags crazy? Causing trouble in Jing Du? Don't they know how to spell death?"
"I just hope nothing happens. Hey, isn't that figure in the center of the square a bit familiar?"
"It's Nan Shen! I live near Sunset Square, saw it with my own eyes."
"Phew... With Nan Shen there, it'll be okay."
Strangely, what should have been a terrifying event, but as soon as netizens saw Jiangnan present, it was like taking a calming pill.
Deep down, they believed that with Jiangnan there, everything would be fine.
Because that man had never let them down at critical moments.
At that moment, the training camp students who were enjoying their holiday and surfing the net were also shocked.
Wang Zhan: "What's going on? Is that Nan Shen at Sunset Square?"
"Gasp! Really! And Tutor Zhong is there too. My god, what happened now?"
The students who had slept overnight in the training room gathered around, watching the footage, their heads aching.
This was a tough situation!
Half an hour had passed. The Shadow Demon breathed a sigh of relief.
Saying one hour, but holding Jiangnan up for half an hour was enough. Then he could do whatever he wanted.
The Shadow Demon raised an eyebrow and gave a sinister smile: "Alright, we're old acquaintances. Let's play a game."
"Kneel down for me, kowtow once, and I'll release one person. How about that?"
"One head, one life. Still a win for you."
Jiangnan's eyes turned red: "Don't push it!"
The Shadow Demon sneered: "I'm pushing it? You were pretty impressive when you beat me in the Yulong Lingxu, weren't you?"
"Today, I'm going to make you kneel! You want to be a hero? I'll give you that chance!"
"Kneel down and kowtow to me right now, or I'll release a detonator. With so many people, guess which one I'll release? Hehehe, guess right and you win a prize!"
Hearing this, the crowd erupted, their eyes red with righteous indignation.
"Nan Shen, don't kneel! A man's knees are worth gold. Don't bow to this scum!"
"But those are human lives! How can he make a joke of this? Damn it, this bastard!"
"Don't kneel! He's humiliating you! If you give in, he'll only get worse!"
"Wuwu... Nan Shen, I can't bear to watch!"
The scene turned chaotic, with voices clamoring from all sides.
Jiangnan rolled his eyes. Such a cliché situation had to happen to him?
What the hell!
He turned to look at the Dragon Abyss commander.
The man gritted his teeth, nodded with difficulty, and gave Jiangnan a signal.
Jiangnan put his hands in his pockets, looking hesitant.
Meanwhile, Nightingale was startled, feeling someone writing on her palm.
She tensed. Was that Jiangnan extending his hand through a spatial wormhole?
She quickly focused to sense.
She felt Jiangnan writing on her palm:
"Put it on your middle finger, poke the body, three to the left. Can you do it?"
Nightingale's expression remained unchanged. She quietly put on the Paralysis Gold Ring Jiangnan had slipped her and nodded slightly.
Receiving Nightingale's confirmation, Jiangnan opened another spatial wormhole, his fingers landing on Xia Yao's hand.
"Middle hooded guy. Wolf Howl!"
Xia Yao's expression didn't change. She squeezed Jiangnan's finger.
The Shadow Demon roared: "Will you kneel or not? I'll give you three seconds!"
Jiangnan's face no longer hesitated. He smiled brightly: "It's just kneeling and kowtowing, right? Human lives are worth more than that. If you want it, I'll give it to you. But I'm afraid you can't handle it."
The Shadow Demon sneered: "Three! Two!..."
Jiangnan shrugged, leaning forward, his knees slowly bending.
At that moment, the watching crowd's eyes were all red, their noses stinging.
"Son of a ****! Nan Shen! Don't do it!"
"This bastard isn't worth you kneeling for! Damn it!"
"I just~%?…;#*'! If you've got guts, face Nan Shen head-on!"
Some couldn't bear to watch. The online comments flooded the screen. The training camp students gnashed their teeth in hatred.
Their eyes bloodshot, they stared at Jiangnan slowly lowering his body, wishing they could rush to the scene but powerless.
The Shadow Demon's face showed a proud smile: "Nan Shen? Hah, nothing more than..."
"Boom!"
Just as Jiangnan lowered his body, a ten-meter-wide crater exploded beneath him.
He had stomped the marble square to pieces!
Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates—Gate of Surprise—Open!
Blood Incineration: Emperor Engine—Activate!
Pushing his physical abilities to the limit, Jiangnan vanished instantly!
His face carried an unrivaled frenzy as he charged forward!
Vanishing along with him was Nightingale!