"Bang!"
"Ugh!"
The sound of gunfire and a scream erupted almost simultaneously. Everyone turned to look back, and Dr. Erdel had already been shot and fallen to the ground.
"Damn it!" Amanda cursed angrily and shouted, "Forget about him, keep charging forward!"
The group followed orders, leaving Dr. Erdel behind. Shiller glanced back at him; he was clutching his abdomen with a pained expression, seemingly unable to handle the gunshot wound.
Shiller turned his head to look ahead. At this moment, Amanda was rushing at the forefront, followed closely by Damian, who was about the same speed as Steve. The Allen couple's speed was similar to his, while Bruce was at the back.
In just that moment of observation, Shiller heard a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sound nearby. Instinctively, he rolled to the side, and another scream came from beside him: "Ah! My leg!!!"
He turned to look and saw Mrs. Allen fallen on the ground, clutching her calf in agony and convulsing. Mr. Allen hurried to grab her, only to be shot and fall to the ground himself.
Shiller shook his head discreetly; they were truly a motley crew.
Amanda continued to charge on foolishly, expecting to lead such a ragtag group inside—it was nothing short of a pipe dream.
The team lacked real professionals. The Allen couple were scientists with no military training. Although they could barely handle a pistol, they were not very accurate.
Dr. Erdel was a pure academic, weak and frail, having rarely handled a gun in his life and completely unaware of how to exert force properly. Even with better physical fitness than before, he was still weak in movement.
Those who had never undergone military training, when faced with danger, looked as if they were paralyzed with fear, but they were simply aware of the danger but didn't know how to evade it, so they froze.
When they first ran inside, the ones leading crouched low and ran quickly, one hand holding a gun and the other against the wall, as if moving through a trench. In contrast, Dr. Erdel and the Allen couple ran as if on a treadmill, with their bodies upright and their arms swinging. They passed by two hospital windows this way.
Sure enough, they were shot down by the police aiming from outside through the windows. Fortunately, the distance was far enough, and the police's aim wasn't accurate enough to hit their heads, or else they would have been dead on the spot.
The most professional among them should be Damian. He had undergone training by Batman, had combat experience, and often engaged in street battles. Whether it was assault or infiltration, he was an expert.
Steve was not bad either. Despite being a pilot, in that era, pilots were selected from ordinary soldiers. Whether as a pilot or infantryman, he was excellent, with impeccable tactical stances.
The problem was, both of them were absent-minded. Normally, when running through a trench or transferring during a team skirmish, someone should lead, someone should bring up the rear, or they should observe or protect from advantageous positions.
But both of them had their minds completely shut off. Amanda shouted "charge," and they just charged forward, oblivious to their teammates behind them. Damian, with his small build, slipped along the wall. Steve, although stronger, was adept at trench running and also vanished quickly. Thus, the entirely inexperienced Dr. Erdel and the Allen couple suffered, getting knocked down immediately.
It's not impossible to take new soldiers into a street battle, but Amanda had no experience with this either. In the past, when she led troops, all the agents had been battle-hardened, even the greenest among them had been academy graduates who practiced tactical moves countless times. At worst, mimicking their predecessors wouldn't have led to such quick defeat.
Therefore, Amanda felt that leading a team into a street skirmish was like playing a game: you send a signal, and everyone crosses over. She never imagined that completely inexperienced ordinary people wouldn't even get past the first level.
Reaching the stairway, Amanda looked back and realized half of her team was already down. She was furious, wanting to blame someone but not knowing whom. One thing she was sure of: she wouldn't take any blame. She couldn't possibly blame the police for being too accurate with their gunfire, could she?
She gritted her teeth and cursed, then waved and shouted, "Break in from the second floor exterior!"
Indeed, the stairway was blocked, and the second-floor door was locked—they certainly couldn't get in. They could only smash the second-floor windows and enter from the outside, a common breach method.
Amanda was the first to break the glass, leaning out sideways, hooking the upstairs drainpipe bracket with a grappling hook, then jumped out and maneuvered while climbing, swinging the hook higher as she ascended. The police below surprisingly failed to hit her.
Upon reaching the second-floor window, she looked back to find many helicopters surrounding them, including military gunships and television choppers. Amanda sneered, "These media people are relentless."
She dashed through the window onto the second floor, followed by Damian. But he had no intention of wasting effort dodging bullets. He simply leapt out, flipping mid-air, shot the powerful hook, grabbed onto the hospital rooftop, and with a swift reel-in, soared onto the rooftop terrace.
After Amanda jumped in, she realized Damian hadn't followed. She turned to look out the window and saw Damian dashing upwards with a "whoosh." She cursed, "Bastard, I told you to go to the second floor!!!"
At this moment, the surrounding police realized their intention and started converging toward their location. Steve glanced outside, shook his head, and said, "No, we can't jump, or we'll be shot to a sieve. Let's use the other way."
Shiller and Bruce had no objections. Steve exited the stairway again, and before the police could catch up, he ran in another direction, with them following behind.
Arriving at the stairway on the other side of the lobby, they found it blocked as well, but there was a ventilation duct above. Steve climbed onto the staircase handrail, stepping on it to remove the vent cover, then crawled inside directly.
Although pilots are strong, they generally have a smaller build because being too tall or bulky makes it hard to fit into a plane. So, Steve didn't have much trouble squeezing in. Only Shiller and Bruce were left in the stairwell.
"What do we do now?" Bruce asked, "I knew it would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this messy. Am I, a central figure, just going to be tossed aside like this?"
Shiller was also a bit helpless. Although this was exactly the effect he and Batman wanted, wasn't it a bit too effective?
They tricked Damian overnight, of course not just to trouble him, but because they were worried Damian was too professional, which might lead to a smooth penetration operation.
Damian was the most experienced and professional among them. He would be very clear that Amanda's plan wouldn't work. So, if he remained rational, he would definitely argue logically, and then arrange a more reasonable battle plan—Amanda might not be able to out-argue him.
If Damian were to become the team leader, then the police and agents involved in defending the hospital might suffer casualties, while this team could reach the president almost unscathed, and the subsequent plans could not proceed.
Conversely, by first sidelining Damian's soul and giving Amanda absolute control, things would turn out like now—two people knocked out at the start, with the rest fighting individually without even seeing the shadow of the president, and the team already scattered.
Shiller gestured to Bruce and led him upstairs. At the blocked stairway entrance, he simply knocked on the door and said, "It's me, open the door."
After a moment, the door opened slightly. The person inside saw it was Shiller, sighed in relief, opened the door to let them in, and said, "That woman has already rushed to the door. That kid is breaking through from above. The rest are nowhere to be found."
"It's okay. Don't clash with them, relax the defense a bit. It's best to avoid any casualties, or the president will be on my case."
"Don't worry, I've already instructed them. Just shoot without showing faces, run if you can, hide if you can, we won't be in trouble."
"According to the plan, retreat once you get my signal, don't forget."
"Got it."
Shiller nodded, openly leading Bruce, armed with a big gun, toward the president's ward.
After turning a corner, they finally arrived at the ward entrance. Gunfire "bang-bang-bang" echoed from the opposite corridor, indicating Amanda was about to break through the siege. Just then, Steve also appeared around the corner, and Damian pried open the elevator doors and jumped out from the top of the car.
They finally convened at the entrance. But they knew another fierce battle awaited, because the president's ward was not an ordinary ward where you just open the door to see someone; it was a luxury suite, and there must be even stronger defensive forces inside.
Amanda ran over, panting. Shiller sized her up, not seeing any blood on her, indicating that although the fight had sounded intense, it was just for show.
Shiller glanced at his phone, frowned, and stopped Amanda just as she was about to rush in, saying, "Wait, the Justice League might be in there."
"What? Weren't they supposed to not be here yet?"
"We're a bit late, or rather, they were a bit fast. It seems the president is indeed very important to them, otherwise, they wouldn't have returned to guard so quickly. We have to hurry, if Batman shows up..."
Amanda's face also showed a grave expression. Batman doesn't strike often, but when he does, he instantly defeats the Savage Wolf, making everyone nervous. Amanda took a deep breath and pushed open the ward door.
Expecting guards at the entrance, she found no one after pushing it open. Shiller lowered his voice and said, "With the Justice League, there's no need for ordinary people to stand guard."
Amanda nodded. This was a good thing, allowing her to infiltrate to the closest possible distance quickly, as long as the distance was close enough...
She turned to Bruce and said, "Later, Damian and I will create an opportunity for you to shoot. Remember, you must succeed, failure is not an option."
Bruce nodded, picked up his gun. They moved inside together. After passing the screen and entering the living room, they saw Wonder Woman and others. Diana was suddenly shocked, picking up the nearby shield and Fire God Sword instantly, while Arthur also assumed a combat stance.
Seeing the two of them, Amanda felt relieved. Luckily, these two were the easiest to handle within the Justice League. She charged straight at Diana, and Shiller raised an eyebrow.
Diana raised her shield to block, not sure of the depth, she only symbolically blocked, but found herself being pushed back.
"Alright, alright, so you're not pretending anymore." Diana sneered inside coldly, raising her sword to counterattack, but in an instant, she was entangled by Damian's hook. Arthur also closed in, engaging them in battle.
Shiller watched from the side, no wonder these people dared to charge the Justice League's formation, they indeed had superpowers. It's just that they haven't fully exposed them yet, only appearing stronger.
So, taking advantage of the intense battle, Shiller retreated to the corner and pressed a button on his phone. Before long, with a "boom," half of the hospital collapsed from an explosion.