Although Haikou boasted like that, in reality, Miss Lane herself had always been a modern woman who stayed far away from the kitchen. However, as far as she knew, Lily often helped her mother cook at home, and James Parker also seemed to know a thing or two about cooking, so she felt confident. Once the tasks were divided, she went out to gather firewood and start the fire, James Parker rinsed the rice, and Lily picked the vegetables. Everything went fairly smoothly. After a short while, the fire was blazing, the pot was set, and they just had to wait for the rice to cook. It was just that Miss Lane brought back a few poisonous mushrooms, which gave James Parker quite a scare.

After dealing with the poisonous mushrooms, James Parker placed the radio on the lawn to listen to the broadcast. The three of them sat there, watching a few pampered kids busily running around, while Sarah Lane and Lily pointed and laughed arrogantly at them. William Harris ran to the pond to rinse the rice, but ended up dumping the whole pot of rice into the water, causing everyone nearby to burst out laughing.

The team leader quickly brought more rice to fix the situation. Young Master Harris ditched the chore and strutted over to Emily Bolton, who was tending the fire, complaining loudly about how boring it was here, like playing house with little kids, and bragging endlessly about how things were at home. Emily Bolton listened, her face turning bright red, clearly wishing she could crawl into a hole to show, "I don't know him."

After this bout of chaos, Lily probably thought of going to the woods to relieve herself and got up to leave. At that moment, the radio was broadcasting a news report: "At around 11 a.m. today, two armed robbers held up a rural branch of the Agricultural Bank on the outskirts of Jianghai City, making off with about 67,000 yuan in cash, and then fled in a car toward Highway 42..."

James Parker was just standing up to stretch when he heard Lily cry out in pain. She had just reached the edge of the woods when a middle-aged man burst out and knocked her over. The man had a scar on his face and a travel bag on his back, looking like someone out hiking or camping. Hot on his heels, a man with slanted eyes also rushed out, cursing under his breath. Seeing so many people looking over, both men froze on the spot.

Lily got up, clutching her aching forehead. James Parker looked at the two men, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. In that moment, Emily Bolton was the first to run over: "Little girl, are you okay? How can you walk like that..."

She stood up, speaking righteously. But the two men were both staring at the radio James Parker had left on the ground, which was still broadcasting.

"...According to eyewitnesses, one of the two men is about thirty-five or thirty-six, of sturdy build, with a scar on his left cheek. The other is about twenty-eight or twenty-nine, thinner. Both are armed and considered extremely dangerous. We urge all citizens..."

At some point, everything had gone completely silent, everyone staring at each other. Emily Bolton tried to pull Lily away, but with a sudden shout, the scar-faced man grabbed her, pressing a Type 54 pistol to the back of her head: "Nobody move!" As he shouted, the slant-eyed man grabbed Lily by the shoulder, holding a homemade double-barreled shotgun in his hand.

At that moment, the radio switched to Luo Dayou's "Love Song 1990." The contrast was jarring. The two men seemed intent on escaping into the mountains, dragging one older and one younger girl with them as they backed away. Over twenty people by the pond raised their hands and stared wide-eyed, not daring to speak. Lily, pulled by the slant-eyed man, was trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at James Parker, but she didn't dare make a sound.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay." James Parker mouthed the words. After spending so much time together, she could understand the simple message, but it only made her cry harder. Then, James Parker raised his hands and slowly walked toward the four of them.

"Stop! What are you doing!? Do you want to die?" the scar-faced man shouted. Seeing it was just a kid approaching, he didn't seem too nervous. Behind him, Sarah Lane called out tearfully, " James Parker, come back! James Parker, come back..."

Taking a deep breath, James Parker tried his best to look frightened.

"I... Uncle, I just... I want to trade places with them, is that okay..."

Section Eight: Exchange

"Uncle... I want to trade places with them, is that okay?"

As soon as he said this, everyone—robbers, hostages, and bystanders alike—stared wide-eyed in disbelief. After a moment, both the scar-faced man and the slant-eyed man burst out laughing: "Ha! We ran into a real hero today! Kid, what are you up to? Trying to play the hero and save the damsels at your age? Don't come any closer!"

James Parker stopped, first pointing at Emily Bolton: "Because she's my sister, and she..." He hesitated as he pointed at Lily, blushing before finally saying, "She's my girlfriend. I can't let anything happen to them, so... Uncle, if you need hostages, take me instead, please..."

Although he deliberately mumbled the words "girlfriend," everyone still heard it clearly. Lily's eyes seemed to light up, and then she choked out, "James Parker, don't come over..."