Just as Wang An was carefully observing the bandits, pondering when it would be most appropriate to open fire, Wang Li suddenly whispered to him
"Fourth Brother, why aren't they scattering? If they stay clumped together, won't they all be wiped out in a moment?"
Hearing this, Wang An replied in a low voice without looking back
"In a desolate place like this where even birds don't shit, and in the dead of night, if you were here alone, where would you run?"
After a pause, Wang An continued
"Setting aside whether there are police chasing them, just consider this freezing weather that could kill a person, and the wolves and tigers in the wild. Could you handle it alone?"
Wang Li looked around and hurriedly shook his head
"Doubtful. I'm not confident."
Wang An said casually
"You're a mountain guide and you're carrying a gun, yet you're not confident. There are nine of them with only three guns in total; wouldn't they die even faster if they scattered?"
Wang Li nodded and fell silent.
In truth, there was another very important reason why the bandits didn't immediately scatter and flee, but Wang An couldn't be bothered to mention it.
It was that people of this era, due to eating too little meat and having poor nutrition, had night blindness in over eighty percent of the population, and these bandits were naturally no exception.
They might have looked grand and wealthy while robbing, but in reality, their lives were difficult. They spent their days hiding, never knowing where their next meal would come from; it was, quite frankly, a miserable existence.
Put simply, anyone who had enough money to eat their fill every meal wouldn't do something so heinous, immoral, and heartless that could get their head chopped off at any moment.
As for night blindness, it meant that once darkness fell, the eyes could see nothing, or everything appeared as a large black shadow.
Of course, while night blindness was common at this time, it became very rare in later generations.
Soon, Wang An and the other saw several police officers jumping down from the windows of other carriages; some police officers came down directly from the carriage doors.
However, the number was a bit too small. Including the officer who had jumped off with Wang An, there were only six police officers outside the train in total.
After thinking for a moment, Wang An turned to Wang Li and whispered
"They definitely won't scatter in a moment. You start shooting from the left, and I'll start from the right. Each of us give them one bullet first. It's best if they're wounded; if they're killed, it's a damn shame. Understand?"
Wang Li nodded while looking at the Type 54 in his hand and said
"If only I had a Type 56 semi-automatic, I could take them all down here by myself."
Wang An rolled his eyes at him
"Why are you always so damn fussy? If we had a Type 56, would they even need you?"
Suddenly, Wang An and the other saw the bandits inside the carriage throw two sacks outside. Two bandits outside immediately slung the sacks over their shoulders.
Wang Li said to Wang An
"Fourth Brother, do you think those two sacks are full of good stuff?"
Wang An nodded
"Definitely. These bastards are truly bold, taking things right under the noses of the police."
Wang Li's eyes lit up as he said
"Fourth Brother, how about we play 'black eat black' and swipe those two sacks? What do you think?"
Hearing this, Wang An was instantly tempted.
The main reason was that while there was a fair amount of money and valuables in the sack back in the compartment, Wang An could not possibly touch those things under the gaze of so many people.
Regardless of how valuable they were, they all had a common name: evidence, or rather, stolen goods!
Thus, Wang An thought for a moment and said
"We'll see how it goes. A few police officers have come down; if they don't see us, we'll swipe those two sacks."
While the two brothers were plotting their mischief, the nine bandits finally all jumped down.
After jumping, the nine bandits didn't delay and walked straight into the brush. Wang An had originally wanted to fire, but thinking of those two sacks, he hesitated for a moment.
Then, Wang An glanced toward the police and saw that several officers were already running this way.
If he didn't fire now, he might accidentally hit the officers. Therefore, Wang An stopped hesitating and whispered to Wang Li
"Don't shoot the two carrying the sacks yet. Hit the other seven first."
As he spoke, Wang An and Wang Li began pulling their triggers, firing shot after shot at the gang of bandits.
Two sharpshooters at such a close distance—even though the light was extremely dim—hardly wasted any bullets. The three carrying guns were the first to be greeted by Wang An and the other.
Inevitably, the person with a gun is always the most dangerous.
As the gunshots rang out, screams of agony followed one after another.
Because the bandits had just entered the darkness and hadn't adapted, and the police officers—having exited the train later—were even less adapted.
Although two officers had flashlights, holding a flashlight made one a living target, which meant they didn't dare turn them on.
Wang An and the other, however, had fully adapted.
Thus, upon hearing the gunshots, the police officers who hadn't adapted to the dark all hit the ground. The bandits, however, like headless flies, began to wail and flee in panic.
Especially the two carrying the sacks; since they only heard gunshots but didn't feel bullets hitting them, they bolted incredibly fast.
Actually, if these bandits had just hit the ground, they would have been much safer, as there was wild grass everywhere. Unfortunately, they were already panicked and were suddenly fired upon; anyone who could still run ran even harder.
Soon, Wang An and Wang Li's magazines were empty.
The two didn't rush to get up and chase. After reloading new magazines, Wang An looked at the retreating figures of the two bandits carrying the sacks, then shouted to the police
"Comrades, we are also public security! Comrade Xu asked us for help. Several bandits have been wounded and can no longer resist; please handle them carefully. We'll go chase the two who got away."
Just as Wang An turned to leave, one of the officers shouted to him
"Comrade Xiao Wang, I have a flashlight, why don't you take it?"
From the voice, it was clear that the person offering the flashlight was the slightly shorter officer who had previously gone to find the driver to stop the train.
As he spoke, the short officer ran toward Wang An.
Wang An took the flashlight and said
"Give us five minutes; they won't get far."
With that, Wang An took the flashlight and, together with Wang Li, chased after the two black shadows that had already run some distance.
When running in the mountains, Wang An truly feared no one.
Mainly because it was pitch black and the two bandits were running clumsily, their speed not being fast at all.