Chapter 348 - Inside Job

Two of the men brought the bank manager to the vault and as soon as it opened, they instructed one other staff to help fill up the bag with cash. 

"Move to this side! Move!" One of the masked men yelled as he directed. "I said move!"

The said man asked everyone else to stay in one corner where it was easier for them to watch over. As the crowd moved, Hanxi and Stefano acted the same; they both tried to cover Isabella, always guiding her behind their backs. 

One of the female staff was already howling in tears, agitating one of the robbers.  He came to the woman and struck her with the handgun, shouting, "Quiet you, bitch! If you keep at it, I swear, I will f**k you!"

The woman bled and fell unconscious. 

The sight of the assault made Hanxi's blood boil. He was not sure how long he could take it. As his eyes studied the unknown men, he noticed one of the masked men kept staring at Isabella. His face may have been covered but his eyes were clearly focused on her. 

He clenched his hands into a fist, thinking of the possibility. When they entered the bank, he had left his weapon in the car as the bank did not allow it. Should it come to a fight, his only advantages were his hands and his intellect. 

Hanxi studied their proximity to each other. There were four men in total. Two were at the vault and two, pointing their weapons at them. What confused Hanxi the most was how they never took the security's weapons. He asked himself, 'Do they not know how to use a rifle?'

"Look down at the floor!" Instructed one robber, pointing the gun at Hanxi, seeing he was carefully analyzing their movements. 

Hanxi could feel Isabella shivering from behind him. He reached out his hand to her as assurance that everything will be fine. He squeezed her hand, immediately feeling her sweaty and cold palms. Soon he felt her hug his waist. He knew this was reliving her bad experience, and it pained him. 

When the leader of the group saw the bag was filled, he yelled, "Let's go! Let's go!" 

"Boss!" The same man who struck one of the female staff called. Pointing the gun at Hanxi's direction, he added, "I want to take the blonde."

Another man came and added, "Yeah, she would do well after we celebrate."

The leader was hesitant but soon gave in, "Okay. Grab her!"

"No! Don't take my daughter!" Stefano cried out loud while Isabella whimpered behind Hanxi. 

The moment the man came to grab Isabella, Hanxi stood up, his eyes already firing in anger. He said, "Dare to touch a strand of her hair and you will regret it."

"Look boy! We don't have time to play with you!" said the man as he tried to strike Hanxi down with his arm that held the gun. 

Unfortunately for him, Hanxi was quick to hold his wrist, grab his gun and twist his arm, making him turn to the other direction and groaning in pain. "Ahh! F**k!" 

Hanxi remained to hold his arm, pressing the man's body against him. In case his colleagues would fire at him, he had a shield to use. 

In a heartbeat, Hanxi pointed the gun at the man's head, saying, "The bank is supposed to be open now. You've already caused suspicion. I suggest you take your money and leave this one behind."

"F**k you! Who are you to tell me what to do!" Yelled the leader of the group. He grabbed the bank manager instead and added, "Let go or I will shoot him!"

"If you promise not to take my girlfriend, I will let him go," replied Hanxi. 

"Please! Please, just go and take the money. Don't hurt anyone!" The bank manager pleaded. 

"Yeah, F**k! Whatever. We will leave your bitch," replied the leader. 

Hanxi let go of the man, but the assailant had other plans. The moment the man was free from Hanxi's hold, he threw a punch with his other hand but was quickly caught by Hanxi. Once again, his arm was twisted, but this time, Hanxi spared no mercy. He broke his arm as he made his move. 

"Ahh! F**k! F**k!"

The bank manager slowly made his way to the other side as the leader had let go and became distracted. 

Hanxi noticed the man before him was pointing the gun at him, so Hanxi pulled up his companion, protecting himself from the shot. 

The robber's leader shot his comrade to the chest, immobilizing him, and while in a state of shock, Hanxi held up the gun that was in his possession. He fired at him twice. One bullet to the leg and the other in the hand. 

In a split second, he also promptly fired at the other two robbers but they earlier moved to take cover. He walked towards the leader as he continued to shoot, hoping they would be too afraid to fire back at him. Surprisingly, the gun was not loaded with enough bullets.

Reaching their leader, Hanxi exchanged the firearms and made use of the other. He fired more shots while gesturing Isabella and Stefano to take cover. Everyone in the same crowd did so as Hanxi suggested. 

"Give up right now or your colleague will get the next bullet!" Announced Hanxi as his hands moved between the two columns where the remaining robbers hid. 

"You F**k! We'd rather kill him than to go to prison!" One of the masked men announced before stepping out of cover to shoot at Hanxi. 

To protect the crowd from the bullet exchange, Hanxi ran as fast as he could in another direction, trying to divert the remaining robber's attention.

The two remaining robbers fired at him, but Hanxi was faster. He managed to take cover. They went at it again, but soon the robbers' next attempt to shoot was a fail and Hanxi only heard a clicking sound, suggesting their magazines were also empty. 

"Looks like you are out of ammo!" Shouted Hanxi. He stepped out of hiding seeing one man in plain sight but when he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. He too was out of bullets. 

Hanxi sped to the door where the security team's weapons were placed but those were also empty. Reality hit him and he muttered, "F**k. This is an inside job."

The two criminals tried to get away with the money seeing that Hanxi ran to the other side. However, Hanxi quickly caught up with one and punched him on the face. He came at him strongly that the robber fell to the ground face down. 

Sensing that Hanxi was not about to let him go, the other man came at him, throwing punches.  Hanxi caught his fist and pulled him closer. He then struck the man with his left knee once and twice while both his arms held down his head. His right leg climbed up to the man's shoulders, wrapping it around the neck, putting him unconscious as they both fell to the floor.

The man, who was earlier punched, witnessed Hanxi's powerful blows and was already having second thoughts before striking again. The moment he took a step, Hanxi already turned his body, throwing a kick at him. He fell down once again, this time, he was utterly out of it. 

One of the tellers triggered the alarm and because there was no rope to tie down the robbers, Hanxi carried them inside the vault one by one. With the help of the bank manager, they locked the unknown men inside. 

Sensing that they were out of danger, one female staff came to Hanxi and thanked him, saying, "Wow! You are so great!" She hugged him out of relief, unconsciously awakening Isabella's senses. 

Isabella quickly came up to Hanxi and pulled the girl away, saying nothing. She merely wrapped her arms around Hanxi's neck and buried her face to his chest.