Chapter 00048: What Can Be Endured, What Cannot Be Endured
# What Can Be Endured, What Cannot Be Endured
Chapter 48
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 48: What Can Be Endured, What Cannot Be Endured
Li Chengxi clearly had no experience being a hostage (then again, that’s not the kind of experience anyone usually has), but he obediently squatted facing the wall, which fortunately didn’t attract too much attention from the robbers.
But to be honest, everything had happened so fast just now that Li Chengxi’s mind was still in a daze—he didn’t even get a clear look at how many robbers there were.
Not to mention, these guys were holding guns, and he was facing away from them.
That made him feel extremely unsafe.
Luckily, the Ring of the Demon King hadn’t been taken—apparently viewed as some worthless trinket.
Li Chengxi quietly turned the ring, pressing the cats-eye gem into his palm.
In an instant, his vision detached from his body and soared into the air.
The sensation was very much like the eagle vision from a certain "Assassin’s Creed" game.
He could clearly see there were six robbers.
Two were keeping watch outside the bank, two were watching the hostages facing the wall, and the last two were threatening the bank staff.
With a thought, he zoomed the view in a bit.
He could now see clearly that the guns in the robbers’ hands had a very plastic look to them.
They really did seem like toy models.
But with the lime powder strewn across the bank floor and that loud bang earlier, it seemed likely that these model guns had been modified.
Definitely not as reliable as real firearms, but still more than capable of taking lives.
Then Li Chengxi saw one of the robbers threatening the bank staff move towards the employee-only passage at the counter.
But instead of forcing someone inside to open the door, the man just reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.
These guys don’t actually believe their homemade keys can open a bank vault, do they?
Even if the bank door looked kind of like a regular security door from outside, the materials and locking mechanism were custom-made.
The difficulty of unlocking it wasn’t even comparable to an average home lock.
Li Chengxi expected the guy to fly into a rage when the key didn’t work… but the key went in with a click, and the door opened just like that.
Even the second inner door opened with ease.
The robbers effortlessly entered the back area of the bank and pulled out a large woven sack, ordering the staff to fill it with money.
For security reasons, the bank had designed the two inner doors to never open at the same time.
And what kind of place only uses one key for both?
Where did these guys get the key? Is there a mole inside the bank?
Seriously, robbing a small branch like this… What are they thinking?
Banks never keep much cash on hand, let alone this little branch office.
Even if they cleaned it out, it might not total more than 100,000 yuan.
Risking being shot just for this?
Bro, you’d make more money working on a construction site hauling bricks, wouldn’t you?
Of course, Li Chengxi could only keep these complaints to himself—saying them out loud would probably get him shot.
As he continued scanning the scene using the Ring of the Demon King’s aerial view, he suddenly felt someone grab his hand.
Judging by the touch, it was a woman’s hand.
Then, he heard:
“Big brother, I’m scared.”
A sweet voice, trembling slightly.
It was probably Lei Lei.
Even though his vision was flying above, every other sense remained normal.
Only his sight had lifted into the sky.
A young girl encountering a gang of violent robbers at the bank, with only one vaguely familiar person to depend on—of course she’d lean on him.
Li Chengxi could understand that.
As for Lei Lei? Her thoughts were more along the lines of “I’m giving such a convincing performance, you’d better at least react.”
Maybe show some mystical power and knock the robbers down with divine art or overwhelmed them with martial prowess—three punches, two kicks, that kind of thing.
What she really wanted was for Li Chengxi to make a move.
No matter how well he played the role of a mild-mannered man, once he fought back, something would slip through.
Then she heard Li Chengxi whisper:
“Don’t worry, don’t be afraid. I’m here. As long as we wait, the police will arrive and take care of everything.”
Inside, Lei Lei quietly cursed.
Seriously, bro? You can hold it in even in this situation?
A poor girl just told you she’s terrified, and that’s all you've got?
Do something! Take them out already!
Naturally, all those thoughts stayed inside her head.
And not far from them, another man secretly watching the two of them was also praying in his heart.
Praying for the police to arrive quickly.
Praying that no one—absolutely no one—would act rashly.
Cleaning things up afterward was a hassle.
Quite a few coworkers had gained great strength but also lost all their hair.
He still wanted to keep enough to style.
So here’s the situation: one person is genuinely scared and frozen.
One is pretending to be scared, waiting for a chance to act.
And one is quietly begging the other two not to act at all.
Meanwhile, the pitifully clueless robbers went on with their robbery plan.
What a mess.
Just then, the wail of police sirens echoed from outside the bank.
They weren’t quite at the door yet, but they were close.
The robbers in the bank instantly shouted at the staff:
“Was it you who called the cops?!”
The young cashier girl was almost crying in fear, shaking her head frantically.
“The cops are coming too fast! Don’t worry about them—get that security shutter down, now!”
The bank had transparent glass walls.
If they didn’t close the shutter, the police could see each robber’s position from outside.
In a few minutes, the SWAT team’s snipers would wipe them out.
So the robbers weren’t completely brainless.
But… how exactly did they plan to escape?
They didn't seriously think no one would alert the police, did they?
Despite all this, Li Chengxi mostly kept a calm, spectator-like mindset.
After all, the robbers were only after money.
As long as he behaved, they probably wouldn’t shoot him.
But that “as long as nothing goes wrong” sort of hope? Yeah, not happening.
Just then, a baby’s cry split through the bank’s tense silence—probably startled awake by the police sirens outside.
From his Demon King Ring's overhead view, Li Chengxi clearly saw a young mother holding a stroller in his front-left.
Hearing her child cry, she quickly picked up the baby and tried to soothe him.
But the child just wouldn’t cooperate and cried even louder.
“Everyone inside! You're surrounded! Lay down your weapons and surrender at once for leniency!”
A loudspeaker outside began the official police negotiation.
Whether it affected the robbers or not remained to be seen—but it definitely made the baby cry even louder.
“That damn brat's giving me a headache! Shut him up!”
One of the robbers walked over, cocking his handgun with a loud click that made the young mother start sobbing as well.
“Sis, let me try.”
At that moment, Lei Lei raised her hands and stood up.
When the robbers made no move to stop her, she stepped forward and picked up the baby.
Miraculously, the baby stopped crying as soon as he was in her arms, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t that she had some special child-soothing trick.
Rather, as she picked up the baby, she secretly transferred a stream of steady, harmonious spiritual energy into the child’s body, calming his mind.
At this moment, the robbers who had been filling the sack with money returned from the bank's back room, herding the staff out with them.
“What do we do now?”
“Take a hostage. Pull someone easy to manage.”
The robbers looked toward Lei Lei and the baby in her arms.
Compared to a grown man like Li Chengxi, this high school girl and infant were obviously easier to control—and more effective as human shields against the police.
“Give me the kid. You come with us.”
Lei Lei hadn’t spoken yet, but the child’s mother broke down.
“He’s only two years old! I’m begging you, don’t take him!”
“Let go! Or I’ll shoot!”
The mother and robber began struggling over the baby—right next to where Li Chengxi had been squatting.
One turn of his head and they were in full view.
Through the Demon King Ring, he could clearly see the robber’s finger was on the trigger.
His eyes were twitching.
He looked just about ready to snap.
Damn it.
You can tolerate some things, but others you just can’t.
Li Chengxi canceled the Ring of the Demon King's vision mode and spun around, springing into action.
The robber never saw it coming.
Maybe it was adrenaline, but Li Chengxi felt stronger than usual.
He grabbed the man's gun-holding hands and raised them up high.
—Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
The man's weapon went off, the bullet lodging in the ceiling, dislodging a cloud of lime powder.
The other robbers all turned and aimed their guns at Li Chengxi, who was now tussling with their buddy.
Fortunately, they didn’t shoot immediately—he was too close to their man.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Chengxi gathered every ounce of strength and kicked the man hard in the gut.
But he was just an average guy.
Aside from throwing some wild punches, he had zero combat training.
So this misjudged kick turned out to be a mistake.
With no one holding him anymore, the robber regained control and could now shoot freely.
Li Chengxi realized this as soon as he made his move.
When those barrels swung toward him, cold sweat stood the hairs on the back of his neck straight up.
Fortunately, he wasn’t one to freeze when things got dangerous.
Teeth gritted, he launched into a forward dash and followed with a slide, diving for cover behind the bank’s central column.
While he fled, he could hear gunshots ringing out, feel the pressure of bullets slicing the air above him.
He didn’t even know if he’d been hit or not—he couldn’t feel any pain.
Meanwhile, the rest of the hostages screamed hysterically.
And while all the robbers were focused on Li Chengxi, the man who had been secretly watching him and Lei Lei finally moved.
He surged forward, sweeping the legs out from the nearest robber with a spinning kick—and followed up with a punch to another’s nose.
Naturally, guns beat fists at seven steps.
Inside that distance, the guns are fast and precise.
Fighting six robbers with your bare hands? Unless you’re a Hollywood action hero, forget it.
After knocking down two, the others quickly realized someone was hitting them from behind.
But just then, police heard the bursts of gunfire.
Fearing for the hostages’ lives, a squadron of heavily armored SWAT officers charged in with shields raised.
The robbers had just turned around when a hail of bullets dropped them to the floor.
It sounds like a lot, but everything happened within seconds.
By the time the SWAT team stormed in, Li Chengxi had only been hiding behind the column for a couple of seconds.
Peeking out, he saw hostages crouched defensively with hands over their heads, and a swarm of SWAT officers verifying the robbers’ vitals.
Li Chengxi let out a long, relieved sigh—but there was one more issue.
He really needed to go to the bathroom...
Man, that was terrifying.
(End of Chapter)