Chapter 459: Chapter 459: Snatching the National Treasure

Zhao Nuan Yang noticed that every single one of them was injured.

By now, patrol officers had charged in with loaded weapons, searching floor by floor. The smoke inside, however, was too thick to see anything. Even with wet towels over their faces, they couldn’t see the path ahead.

Relying on his sharp senses, Zhao Nuan Yang made four trips back and forth, managing to rescue someone each time. He didn’t have time to check if they were dead or alive—his only focus was getting them downstairs.

"The national treasures! The national treasures!" Dean Xin cried. "Those men stole our national treasures...."

"You go down first. I’ll go after the treasures," Zhao Nuan Yang said as he lowered Dean Xin to safety.

But as Zhao Nuan Yang reached the fourth floor, he saw a person lying on the ground. Thinking it was a museum employee, he moved in to help. The moment he knelt, however, the person abruptly sprang to their feet and lashed out with a kick.

Caught off guard, Zhao Nuan Yang executed an emergency backflip, narrowly dodging the kick.

"Who are you?" Zhao Nuan Yang asked with a frown. Without waiting for a reply, he charged forward. ’These treasures mean the world to those old men. I can’t just let them be stolen.’

"My face is covered precisely so you don’t find out who we are," the man replied, surprisingly finding the time to talk. But his arrogance would be his undoing. At first, Zhao Nuan Yang was purely on the defensive, unable to counter-attack. He usually practiced his techniques alone and rarely fought others, so he lacked experience. After a few exchanges, however, he adapted. Drawing on his arduous training, he quickly subdued the man.

The sound of the fight had attracted the police. After subduing the man, Zhao Nuan Yang immediately tossed him out the window. It was a three-story drop, but there was grass and bushes below—he likely wouldn’t die from the fall.

"He’s one of the thieves who stole the national treasures! Arrest him!" Zhao Nuan Yang yelled, then vanished back inside from the window.

The personnel below had complete faith in the hero who had just rescued four people from the fire. They went to check the man he’d thrown down and confirmed he was not a museum employee.

Other rescuers had managed to save three more people, but the fire at the third-floor entrance was too intense to get through. Not everyone was as daring as Zhao Nuan Yang, who had charged straight through it.

Some of them turned back the way they came, while others tried to climb up from the second-story windows. Without tools, it was nearly impossible.

The most valuable national treasures were all on the fourth floor. The elderly scholars worked on the third, so they were likely attacked after noticing something was wrong.

Zhao Nuan Yang ran to the fourth floor. Inside, there were three people standing right where the safe was.

"Didn’t you say you already had the key to the safe?" one of them, his face covered by a black cloth, demanded impatiently.

"I do have it, I just didn’t expect there to be a second key," a man in his forties stammered, looking fearfully at the speaker and the knife in his hand.

Zhao Nuan Yang started at the sound of his voice. ’That voice is so familiar,’ he thought. ’He must work at the museum, but I can’t place him right now!’

"So what now?" the masked man said with a frown. "People will be up here soon. We only have three minutes. If you can’t open this safe, you...."

The man grew frantic, his forehead beaded with sweat. "I wasn’t trying to deceive you! We’ve worked together so many times! At least show some respect for our boss, even if you have none for me. For his sake, you can’t kill me!"

Another man kicked the middle-aged accomplice. "Hurry up!" he snarled. "We’re going to suffocate in here, and more people are showing up outside. If we don’t get that thing, I’ll kill you myself!"

They had caused such a huge scene; if they still couldn’t retrieve the item, all this effort would be for nothing. Worse, they would lose all face and standing with their client.

"I’ll try, I’ll try!" Ignoring the pain, the middle-aged man took out another bunch of keys and went back to trying to open the safe.

’There are three of them in there,’ Zhao Nuan Yang thought. ’If they’re unarmed, I could rush in and stall for time. But they’re robbing a museum; they’re probably carrying guns. I can’t go in recklessly.’

’Luckily, it doesn’t seem like they can open that safe anytime soon. I still have some time.’

Zhao Nuan Yang waited by the doorway, hoping for backup to arrive.

’They won’t be leaving right away. There are still a few minutes left.’

About two minutes later, figures began climbing in through the hallway window.

Zhao Nuan Yang put a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture, and the newcomers immediately slowed their steps.

However, the men inside had already noticed the arrival. The two thieves exchanged a look, a single thought passing between them: ’This is bad.’ ’Third Brother, the lookout, is probably done for.’

Forgetting about the treasure, the two of them bolted for the window.

Hearing the hurried footsteps, Zhao Nuan Yang immediately yelled, "They’re trying to escape!"

At the sound of Zhao Nuan Yang’s voice, the middle-aged man who had been at the safe immediately dropped to the floor and shouted, "They threatened me! I’m innocent...!"

But Zhao Nuan Yang didn’t believe a word of it. He had heard the man’s conversation with the other two. They were connected and had worked together often. ’They’ve probably stolen plenty of things from the museum before this,’ he realized.

But this wasn’t the time to deal with the accomplice. Zhao Nuan Yang charged after the man running for the window.

By then, the leader had already climbed onto the windowsill. Zhao Nuan Yang caught up and engaged the second man in a fight.

"Boss, you go! I’ll cover our retreat!" the second-in-command roared. ’Third Brother is probably caught already, and now I’m tied up with this kid. I’m not getting away either. But I have parents and children to think about. If all three of us fall here, who will support our families—our wives, kids, and parents?’

"Number Two, we leave together or not at all!" The leader, who had been halfway out the window, hastily scrambled back inside, unwilling to abandon his brother and escape alone.

"Just go! Take care of my family and Third Brother’s!" Number Two abandoned all defense, throwing everything he had into fighting Zhao Nuan Yang, doing whatever it took to block the others.

One of the men who had just climbed in had a gun. He found an opening, bypassed Number Two, and fired directly at the man they called the leader.

Seeing this, the leader knew it was now or never. If he didn’t leave, he would truly die here.

’Dying together might be the ultimate show of brotherhood, but we all have people depending on us. We can’t all die here. Just like Number Two said, I have to take care of his family and Third Brother’s.’

’If I die too, all three of our families will be left with no hope at all.’

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