Chapter 256
The sea breeze, carrying a salty and fishy scent, poured into the pier. The rusty shipping containers looked like the teeth of a giant beast.
Duoduo was tucked under Scarface's arm. Her small face was deathly pale, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she bit her lip, not daring to cry out loud.
"Hurry up," He Cheng urged. "Stuff this wretched brat inside, and as soon as the ship arrives, we'll ship her out."
The door to a container was pulled open. Inside, it was pitch black, emitting the smell of mildew and engine oil.
Duoduo finally couldn't help but let out a sob. He Liuguang immediately covered her mouth and said viciously, "Make another sound and I'll throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"
Right at that moment—
"Bang—!"
The iron gate on the side of the pier was kicked open, and four figures rushed in against the glare of the searchlights.
It was Rong Yu, Ji Zhiyuan, Wen Yan, and Sheng Qingyan. As for Old Master Ji, he had been sent to the police station to report the crime.
Rong Yu's face was extremely gloomy.
He Liuguang had grown up eating the Ji family's food, living a pampered life in the Ji family for over twenty years. The education he received there was enough to benefit him for a lifetime. Yet, he had found a bunch of scumbags to kidnap Duoduo.
This gang was very experienced. They had been avoiding the surveillance cameras all along, and the car they drove was the most common white van on the road. When she tried to lock onto it in the surveillance system, tens of thousands of them appeared, heading in different directions, making it difficult to distinguish for a while.
Just when she was at her wits' end, she saw in the surveillance footage the gemstones reflecting light under the sun.
These gemstones were collectibles Yingbao had bought for her. She had little interest in them, so she gave them all to a designer to make a sparkling dress for Duoduo.
Duoduo had thrown the gemstones all along the road.
Therefore, they were able to successfully track them here. Fortunately, they were still in time.
"Let go of Duoduo," Ji Zhiyuan's voice was extremely hoarse.
His cold, heavy eyes stared intently at He Liuguang. "No matter what, you shouldn't have laid a hand on Duoduo. She called you Fourth Uncle for years."
"Cut the crap." Scarface sneered and pulled out a pistol, pressing it against Duoduo's temple. "Take one more step, and I'll kill her right now."
Ji Zhiyuan's eyes darkened.
The kidnappers were actually carrying firearms. The situation was trickier than he had imagined.
Wen Yan covered her lips in fright.
Logically speaking, as an outsider, she shouldn't have come to such a scene, but she couldn't control herself.
Seeing Duoduo trying so hard to hold back her tears, she almost cried too.
Rong Yu said in a low voice, "Dr. Wen, go guard the door. When the police arrive, bring them in to surround this place. Sorry to trouble you."
She turned her eyes to Sheng Qingyan, who had a very low presence, and pursed her lips. "Watch for the right moment and grab the gun. Do you understand?"
Sheng Qingyan's glass-like eyes showed a slight fluctuation when he looked at the black gun. His finger subconsciously made the motion of pulling a trigger.
Rong Yu felt a sense of relief in her chest.
Although he had lost a piece of his soul, his instincts were still there. He could fish, and he could use a gun.
She could use a gun too, of course, but after all, she wasn't a professional soldier, and her accuracy wasn't high.
And Ji Zheng, who had been in the military camp, was known as a sharpshooter, especially skilled at shooting moving targets, which was why he was always assigned special missions.
"Liuguang, you guys are just doing this for money. There's no need to take a life." Ji Zhiyuan raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Compared to Duoduo, I'm much more valuable. Swapping hostages would be more beneficial to you."
"Bullshit!" He Cheng spat out some saliva. "You're a grown man, we wouldn't be able to control you. Stop your fucking nonsense and transfer the money. Hurry up and transfer it! One hundred million, not a penny less!"
Ji Zhiyuan reached his hand toward his pocket.
The gun in Scarface's hand immediately changed direction, pointing at him: "Put your hands up! Don't reach into your pocket. Take off your clothes! Take them off now, or I'll shoot!"
"Do you think guns are that easy to get, that everyone can have one?" Ji Zhiyuan took out his phone from his pocket. "Don't you want money? Fine, I'll transfer it to you. But don't you dare touch Duoduo. If Duoduo loses even a single hair, I won't let any of you off!"
Scarface stared intently at his movements, afraid that the phone in his hand would suddenly turn into a weapon.
He Liuguang kept refreshing his overseas account. Soon, a massive sum of money arrived, and he hastily counted how many zeros there were.
"Step aside." He Cheng snatched the phone away. "Let me see if it's really one hundred million."
One hundred million was a massive fortune for anyone, even for He Liuguang, who was once the Fourth Young Master of the Ji family.
The four men were momentarily distracted.
Now's the chance—
Rong Yu suddenly hurled a fire axe at the oil drum to the left of the kidnappers. Amidst the loud crash, the kidnappers instinctively turned their heads toward the source of the sound.
Before Scarface could recover his wits, Rong Yu had already picked up a steel pipe and smashed it hard against his elbow. The pistol in his hand traced a parabola in the air and fell to the ground.
He Liuguang bent down to pick it up.
He was kicked away by Rong Yu.
Before the harsh sound of metal hitting the ground could dissipate, Sheng Qingyan had already moved.
Like a hunting cheetah, he lowered his body and sprinted forward. In the instant before He Liuguang's fingers could touch the gun handle, he snatched the pistol first. His movements were smooth and flowing, without a single wasted motion.
He Liuguang abruptly looked up, meeting Sheng Qingyan's cold eyes—pitch-black, indifferent, yet carrying a chilling sense of oppression.
"Don't move!" He Liuguang yanked Duoduo from Scarface's arms and held her in front of him as a shield, his hand gripping Duoduo's throat. "Throw the gun over! Or I'll snap her neck!"
The muzzle of Sheng Qingyan's gun remained perfectly still, his calm gaze landing on He Liuguang.
Ji Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat.
He knew that the eldest young master of the Sheng family had autism and had difficulty communicating with others. Often, when someone spoke ten sentences, he could only process one.
He was afraid that Sheng Qingyan would enrage the utterly inhumane He Liuguang.
"Throw the gun over! Now!" He Liuguang tightly pinched Duoduo's tender neck, his whole body shifting wildly as he spoke. "I'll kill her, I swear I'll kill her! Don't force me to commit murder!"
However—
Sheng Qingyan couldn't hear these voices at all.
The kidnapper's movement trajectory, the amplitude of the hostage's struggles, the speed of the bullet—all these variables were rapidly calculated in his mind, forming a clear trajectory.
The next second—
As the gunshot rang out, the bullet accurately brushed past Duoduo's ear and directly hit He Liuguang's shoulder. The impact of the bullet made He Liuguang stagger backward, and the hand gripping Duoduo suddenly let go.
Scarface cursed loudly and lunged forward to grab Duoduo.
"Bang!"
A bullet exploded on the ground, stopping Scarface in his tracks.
Scarface roared furiously, "There are only two bullets left! Since it's already come to this, let's go all out! Everyone, get them!"
Moving faster than he ever had in his life, Ji Zhiyuan reached out, pulled Duoduo toward him, and then pushed her toward the main gate. "Duoduo, run! Get out of here and hide..."
He Liuguang still tried to grab Duoduo.
But Rong Yu picked up the steel pipe and brought it down heavily onto his arm.
With a loud crack, He Liuguang heard his own bone seemingly shatter...