Zheng Libing glanced at his phone. "Despite all our attempts to persuade him, he’s only made a single demand."
"To see you in person!"
He quickly added, "Mr. Yan, please rest assured. Our superiors have given the order: we will only allow you to speak with him directly once we can guarantee your absolute safety."
Yan Feifan said righteously, "For the sake of rescuing those five innocent children and the wife, stepping forward is my undeniable duty."
"I just feel a little apprehensive because I have no idea what that man actually wants from me."
His words were full of heroic spirit, but he unconsciously tightened his grip on his sister’s hand.
Zheng Libing instructed, "Mr. Yan, if he makes a demand that’s within your power to fulfill, just agree to it for now."
"If it’s something you really can’t do, don’t reject it outright. Stall for time. Say you need to consider it or discuss it with the higher-ups."
"Mr. Yan, whatever you do, you must not provoke him."
"Once we know what he truly wants, we can come up with a targeted solution."
Yan Feifan nodded emphatically. "I understand. I’ve seen a few movies about negotiations between hostage-takers and the police..."
With sirens wailing, the police car carrying Yan Feifan and the Beetle following behind it had a clear path all the way to the crime scene.
Inside Prosperity District.
A residential building was cordoned off with police tape, and dozens of officers were maintaining order.
Downstairs and in the surrounding area, Yan Feifan saw numerous police cars, an armored vehicle marked with "Special Police," and several fire trucks and ambulances.
To Yan Feifan’s exasperation, he also saw a large crowd of onlookers, numbering two or three hundred people.
Led by Mr. Zheng, Yan Feifan and his sister passed smoothly through the police cordon.
However, Yu Suye and Wang Chuan, who got out of the Beetle, were stopped outside the police line.
Worrying was useless. The two of them could only watch helplessly as the Yan siblings followed Mr. Zheng and strode quickly into the building.
The Yan siblings and Zheng Libing took the elevator, getting off on the fourteenth floor.
As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, Yan Feifan saw Mr. Yi, the chief of the district bureau, several armed police officers, and a few firefighters.
At the same time, a middle-aged man in his fifties strode over from the stairwell.
He took the initiative to shake Yan Feifan’s hand. "Mr. Yan, I’m Zhang Yi, from the Municipal Bureau."
"On behalf of the Municipal Bureau, thank you for coming to help us in this crisis, despite the personal risk."
Now that he was here, even though he was still apprehensive, Yan Feifan knew he couldn’t back out at the last minute.
He was just about to say something to project a bit of heroic bravado when Zhang Yi waved his hand.
"Here, let’s get Mr. Yan into his gear first."
As he said this, someone came over and helped Yan Feifan into a thick, heavy, and stuffy suit.
It felt stuffy because the suit came with a bulky, airtight helmet.
"Mr. Yan, this is a bomb suit."
"Once you put this on, if the worst should happen, you’ll be protected from explosions and fire. It will effectively guarantee your safety..."