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墨書 Inktalez
K handed the pistol to Zhang Qiu with the muzzle pointed inward. After receiving it, Zhang Qiu skillfully checked the firearm. K kept a close watch on Zhang Qiu's movements, feeling both surprised and relieved by Zhang Qiu's proficiency. K said, "Be careful, don't fire it recklessly; we still need it!" With that, K tossed the AK-47 behind him and gripped the dagger tightly in his hand.
"Are we really going to kill them?" Zhang Qiu asked, seeing K's readiness for action. The situation downstairs was unclear, and the enemy was armed. If a firefight broke out, the consequences would be dire. Three people with two guns couldn't possibly confront fully armed soldiers.
K turned to Zhang Qiu and said, "No, I will go down and kill them." After finishing his sentence, K began to undress, taking off his outer clothing and pants. Zhang Qiu and Lucia stared at K in confusion, unsure of what he was doing. K offered no explanation; after removing his clothes, he stuffed them into a bag and pulled out a camouflage uniform from inside. He wore a black wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his face, covered with a black scarf that left only his eyes exposed.
Zhang Qiu seemed to guess K's intentions and pressed him down as he stood up. "Don't be impulsive; the best strategy right now is to stay on the rooftop."
"This won't work. Once they secure the first and second floors, they'll come up to the rooftop to look for their companions. I’ll disguise myself as one of them to avoid raising suspicion while gathering information. You and Lucia stay on the rooftop and wait for my return. If things go south, don’t worry about me; just leave immediately."
K set down his backpack and handed it to Zhang Qiu. "Take this; it has compressed biscuits, medicine, and water inside. It could save your life if necessary."
"Be careful."
"Don't worry; I excel in disguise and reconnaissance."
K stood up, brushed off his rain-soaked clothes, and headed downstairs with the AK-47. Zhang Qiu and Lucia remained on the rooftop when they heard someone asking below, "What’s going on?"
K mumbled indistinctly that they had run away.
"What should we do?" Lucia asked Zhang Qiu.
"Let’s see if there’s anywhere we can escape," Zhang Qiu replied as he slung K's camouflage bag over his shoulder, thinking how well-prepared K was—truly a soldier—with food, medicine, and water packed inside.
The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping; instead, it intensified, with large droplets hitting their faces painfully. Zhang Qiu found a piece of broken wood in a corner to hold over his head for shelter from the rain. Although it provided little protection, it was better than nothing. The two circled around the rooftop but found no suitable escape routes. The Ematien Hotel was surrounded by dense trees but lacked other buildings for climbing or jumping.
Lucia looked despairingly at the sky and sighed, "Are we trapped here?"
"No, it won't happen!" At this moment, Zhang Qiu hoped that K would bring good news. K had been downstairs for over ten minutes, and there hadn't been a single gunshot. Zhang Qiu considered two possible scenarios: the people downstairs had no intention of harming civilians and had not discovered K, meaning K did not need to confront them. The other, more dangerous possibility was that K had already taken action. Perhaps, at this moment on the second floor, apart from the panicking civilians, only K remained.
Zhang Qiu did not wait for K; instead, the captive tied next to the water barrel woke up first. It was Lucia who noticed first, almost screaming when she saw a pair of black eyes staring at her. The captive was trying to break free from the bindings, but unfortunately, K had tied them too securely; no matter how hard the captive struggled, it was futile. With their own socks stuffed in their mouth, the captive made muffled sounds. Zhang Qiu squatted opposite the captive and could smell a nauseating odor; K really went too far with this.
"How about we knock him out?" Lucia suggested.
"But do you know how to knock someone out?"
"I don't know, but I've seen it in movies; we can give it a try."
"Forget it." Zhang Qiu was worried that they might accidentally kill him. He whispered to the captive, "Listen, we won't kill you, but you need to behave. No struggling, no resisting, and no making noise; otherwise..." Zhang Qiu pressed the gun against the captive's head. "If you understand, nod your head."
The captive widened their eyes and nodded vigorously. Zhang Qiu put away the handgun and looked at Lucia. "I have a plan."
"What do you want to do with him?"
"That's not what I'm thinking about; I figured out how to get out of here."
Lucia looked around in confusion. Just moments ago, she and Zhang Qiu had searched together and found nothing. Could it be that Zhang Qiu's suggestion was to jump down? Although they were on the second floor, if they weren't careful and twisted an ankle, it would really be over.
"Follow me."
Zhang Qiu pulled Lucia toward the edge of the building. Lucia looked at Zhang Qiu in shock and asked, "You don't mean you're going to jump down from here, right?"
"Of course not." Zhang Qiu leaned over to look downstairs, choosing a spot he deemed suitable. He set down his backpack and began pulling out K's clothes one by one to throw them to Lucia. "Stop dawdling and tear them apart."
Zhang Qiu demonstrated personally before saying to Lucia, "Just tear them like this; got it?"
Lucia nodded and tore the pants in her hand, accompanied by a ripping sound. Lucia understood what Zhang Qiu intended to do and asked, "Do you mean to make a rope out of it?"
"Smart," Zhang Qiu replied with a smile, continuing his actions while silently apologizing to K. Zhang Qiu's inspiration came from when the War Maniacs surrounded the White Day Fire in the capital; they had escaped through the curtains from the second floor. Now, on the other side of the Earth in Africa, Zhang Qiu was going to use the same trick again.
Zhang Qiu and Lucia quickly tore K's clothes into shreds. When Zhang Qiu pulled out the last piece from inside, he was surprised to find a bundle of hemp rope pressed underneath. He awkwardly looked at Lucia and stopped his movements. Lucia took the clothes from Zhang Qiu and was about to tear them again when Zhang Qiu hurriedly stopped her. Lucia asked, "Have you torn enough?"
"It's not that I've torn enough; it's that we don't need to anymore."
"Then how are we going down?"
"With this."
Zhang Qiu pulled a bundle of hemp rope from his Camouflage Bag, leaving Lucia stunned before bursting into laughter. Zhang Qiu couldn't help but laugh as well, but they had to keep their voices down. The two of them covered their mouths and bent over, laughing uncontrollably, when suddenly a voice came from behind them: "What are you laughing at?"
A chill ran down Zhang Qiu's back; fortunately, it was K who approached them. If it had been someone else, it could have been very dangerous. Zhang Qiu and Lucia stood up to face K, and Zhang Qiu showed him the torn fabric in his hand, saying, "Sorry about that."
"What is this?" In the darkness, K did not recognize the handiwork of Zhang Qiu and Lucia.
"It's your clothes," Lucia replied.
"What?" K was taken aback. "Why did you tear my clothes?"
"We wanted to get down from here."
"I have a big bundle of rope in my bag; it's enough for many descents."
"But we only saw it after tearing everything apart."
K was speechless and could only accept reality. Zhang Qiu asked, "What’s the situation?"
"The armed personnel downstairs are indeed soldiers. They are searching for the so-called mob, which should be the public in front of the palace. These people searched through the hotel and took away two locals they suspected to be part of the mob. Even though the waiter showed them their registration information, the soldiers still took them away, claiming that these two were dressed neatly and must have gone to the palace to protest, returning to the hotel after the chaos without changing their clothes."
"That's ridiculous!"
"So, have they already left?" Zhang Qiu asked.
"Yes, they have left."
"Then... didn't they notice someone was missing?"
"I was in the car when they left. I jumped out and rolled into the bushes when they turned a corner; no one noticed me. However, they will eventually realize someone is missing. We can't stay here any longer; we need to leave immediately!"
K looked at the scattered rags on the ground and shook his head, shouldering his camouflage bag. "Let's not take the stairs; we'll go down from here."
"What about this person?" Zhang Qiu pointed at the captive tied behind a barrel.
K glanced at him, drew a dagger from his waist, and walked over. The captive looked at K as he approached, futilely kicking his legs with wide-open eyes. K squatted down in front of him and said coldly, "Don't blame me; this is war. It's either you die or I die."
With a swift motion, K slashed with the dagger, and the man let out a muffled groan, his body shaking violently. Zhang Qiu thought K was going to kill him, but when K stood up, the captive was still struggling. When K walked back over, Zhang Qiu asked, "What did you do to him?"
"He’s blind now."
Zhang Qiu was surprised by K's calm tone; it seemed that blinding someone was just a trivial matter to him. Lucia disapproved of K's actions and pressed, "Don't you think that's cruel?"
"I could have killed him, but I didn't. Letting him live is the greatest mercy. He can identify each of us; once his companions find him, they'll be out in full force looking for us, and we would be in a very passive position."
Zhang Qiu had to admit that K made sense, but he still couldn't adapt to such bloody and cruel methods. Once again, he reminded himself that the rules of the civilized world no longer applied in this place.
"Stop looking. We need to leave immediately."
K secured the rope with the strongest knot to the eaves and then said to Zhang Qiu and Lucia, "I'll go down first to protect you. Climbing without any safety measures means you must hold onto the rope tightly."
With that, K leaped out of the building and reached the ground in a few seconds.
Zhang Qiu turned to Lucia and said, "You go down first; I'll cover you."
Lucia nodded, stepping to the edge of the rooftop and looking down, her legs trembling.
"Don't be afraid. Hold my hand, come on."
Zhang Qiu extended his hand, and Lucia grasped it tightly as they slowly moved to the edge. One hand held onto the rope while the other held onto Zhang Qiu. Gradually, both hands found their grip on the rope, and she closed her eyes, moving downward slowly. Zhang Qiu took one last glance at the stairway before following down the rope. Once on the ground, he gently patted Lucia's shoulder and smiled, "Alright, we're on solid ground now."
Lucia kept her hands on the rope and opened her eyes, looking at Zhang Qiu with surprise.
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