Just as Saitama and Lin Mo were about to make their move, an unexpected change occurred.
"Whoosh—"
A signal flare, glowing red, shot into the sky and exploded into a small puff of smoke against the blue.
It came from a hidden corner across the street.
Almost at the same moment the flare went up, piercing police sirens approached the scene from a distance with extreme speed!
"Screech—!"
Four black-and-white police cars screeched to a halt from four different directions, precisely blocking all escape routes for the van in front of the bank.
The car doors "bang"ed open simultaneously, and dozens of special police officers, dressed in dark blue combat uniforms, wearing anti-riot helmets, and carrying anti-riot shields, filed out.
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, without the slightest hesitation.
Their formation instantly spread out, with several large anti-riot shields forming a line in front.
The officers behind them half-crouched, their tasers and tranquilizer guns already aimed at the target.
The entire process, from the appearance of the police cars to the completion of the tactical encirclement, took no more than ten seconds.
The bank robbers, who had been incredibly arrogant moments before, were now completely stunned.
They hadn't even had time to throw the last bag of money into the car before they were caught in this sudden dragnet.
"What... what's going on? How did the police get here so fast?!"
He shouted in astonishment, his voice becoming sharp with fear, and his hands trembled uncontrollably, making the money bag drop to the ground with a "thud."
Then, he glared with bloodshot eyes at his accomplices.
"Who... who called the police?! And who set off the signal flare?!"
In the crowd, Saitama also paused. His raised fist idly dropped back down and into his pocket.
"Oh? The police are here," he muttered softly, his expression returning to its usual indifference.
"Then I guess there's nothing for me to do."
Lin Mo remained silent, standing quietly in place.
But his newly activated Emperor Engine gradually quieted down after the police sirens sounded.
The suffocating Intimidation also subtly faded away.
"Listen up, inside! You are surrounded!" a police officer, who appeared to be the commander, stood behind the shield formation with a megaphone. His voice was steady and powerful, echoing throughout the entire block.
"Immediately put down your weapons and release the hostages! I repeat, immediately put down your weapons and surrender!"
The robbers were clearly terrified by this display.
They were just a disorganized group of people forced by circumstance, who thought they could take advantage of the recent frequent Monster disasters and the fact that most heroes were spread thin, to take a risk and make a quick fortune.
But they never expected to run into the police's elite special forces.
This was completely different from the script!
"Don't... don't come any closer! I have a hostage!"
One robber, with poorer psychological resilience, clearly panicked.
In his desperation, he grabbed a female bank employee who had already collapsed on the ground in fear, and pressed the muzzle of his gun firmly against her temple.
"Calm down! Do not harm the hostage! Any excessive action on your part will only worsen your crime!"
The commander's voice remained composed, but through his eyes, he had already given silent instructions to his team.
"Move!"
The moment the robber was distracted, the commander gave the order, and the already prepared special police officers moved.
"Bang! Bang!"
After slight muffled thuds, two flashbangs were precisely thrown at the robbers' feet from an unexpected angle.
Blinding white light and deafening roars instantly erupted, plunging the robbers into chaos.
"Team A cover, Team B breach!"
The command was precisely delivered via radio.
Team A, carrying shields, immediately advanced, forming a solid defensive line and drawing the robbers' attention.
Meanwhile, four members of Team B quietly cut in from the flank.
Their steps were light and swift, rapidly approaching the robbers.
One was responsible for vigilance, one quickly and professionally rescued the terrified hostage from the robber's grasp and escorted her to a safe area.
The other two, one on each side, struck the remaining two struggling robbers with their high-voltage stun batons almost simultaneously.
"Sizzle—!"
Accompanied by a flash of blue electrical arcs, the two robbers convulsed and fell to the ground, completely losing their ability to resist.
As for the leader who had held the hostage, he had barely recovered from the intense effects of the flashbang when he felt a sharp pain in his wrist, followed by numbness, and the gun in his hand involuntarily flew out.
Immediately after, a powerful takedown move pinned him firmly to the ground, and cold handcuffs "click"ed, locking his hands.
From the flashbang's explosion to all robbers being subdued, the entire process was clean, swift as lightning, and took no more than thirty seconds.
Not a single live round was fired, no hostage was injured, and even the robbers only temporarily lost their ability to move.
This was a perfect, textbook-style anti-terrorist raid.
The surrounding citizens, after a brief moment of panic and shock, quickly regained their composure.
Watching the police's efficient and professional actions, a long-lost sense of security welled up within them.
Many even applauded the brave and impressive police officers.
"Well done, officers!"
"So quick to react!"
"It's so reassuring to have you all here."
Amidst the applause and praise, the special police officers showed no pride or complacency.
They systematically began to process the scene:
The medical team immediately went forward to comfort and check the hostages' physical condition, the evidence collection team began to gather evidence with professional tools, and the remaining officers escorted the subdued robbers one by one into the police cars.
Everything appeared so orderly.
Saitama watched this scene, yawned, and said, "Alright, it's handled. Let's go, KING."
"Mm." Lin Mo nodded, and the two continued walking towards the subway station.
But Lin Mo's gaze lingered thoughtfully for a few extra seconds on the flashing police lights of the patrol cars.
"Speaking of which," Lin Mo said to Saitama beside him as if casually, "don't you think the police seem... much more capable than we imagined?"
"Really?" Saitama hadn't seriously considered that question.
"I guess so. But I've hardly ever seen them around."
"That's true," Lin Mo smiled, but deeper thoughts began to surface in his mind.
In this world, because of the unreasonable existence of "Monsters," the extraordinary profession of "Heroes" and the massive organization of the Hero Association were born.
It seemed to be a consensus that heroes were responsible for dealing with disasters far beyond the capabilities of conventional armed forces.
Over time, both ordinary citizens and the Hero Association itself seemed to have subconsciously formed the idea that maintaining order and fighting evil was the exclusive duty of heroes.
And the police, in turn, became a somewhat marginalized role, handling trivial matters.
But was that really the case?