Chapter 50: Bloodthirsty
"Settle down. Don't get ahead of yourselves. The person we've kidnapped isn't just some nobody."
As the three of them were cursing up a storm, a rough voice suddenly cut in. A moment later, a man in a leather jacket walked in.
"Boss, what should we do now? Should we just off the hostage and be done with it?"
One of the younger men asked, his tone savage.
The man in the leather jacket heard him, and a bloodthirsty smirk crept onto his face.
"Off the hostage? Heh, are you stupid? Did you forget what we're here for?"
"To get money, of course. Otherwise, why the hell would we be in this shitty mall?"
The other two goons asked, confused.
"Haha, with brains that stupid, no wonder you're just grunts!"
The man in the leather jacket couldn't help but scoff.
This wasn't a simple kidnapping for ransom. They were after Li Minde.
Everyone knew Li Minde possessed assets worth tens of billions and controlled a vast business empire. Most of his wealth was hidden, so no one knew his true net worth.
That kind of massive fortune was bound to attract vultures.
And on the surface, this was a kidnapping, but their true target all along was Li Minde's daughter, Li Shiqi.
"If you little shit hadn't gotten horny, would we be trapped here by the Administration Bureau?!"
His anger boiling over as he spoke, the burly man slapped one of the younger men squarely across the face.
The slap sent the young man flying, and he face-planted on the ground.
But he wasn't angry. Instead, he clutched his swelling, red face and didn't make a sound.
Seeing this, the other goons were scared silent.
Clearly, the burly man commanded immense respect within the group.
"This fucking job was supposed to set us up for life! And now, just to avoid exposing *that person*, we have to pretend to be common robbers!"
"Boss, should we just kill them to shut them up for good? That's the only way to be sure they won't talk!"
One of the goons suggested.
"If you fucking want to die, go do it yourself! Don't drag me down with you! Do you have any idea who this Li girl is? You think you can withstand the Li Family's insane retaliation?!"
With that, the burly man kicked the goon beside him.
"Boss, so what should we do now? We can't just waste our time here for nothing," another goon chimed in.
"You think I want to be stuck here? It's because *that person* gave the order! If I don't bring Li Shiqi back, we probably won't live to see tomorrow's sunrise!"
As he spoke, the burly man's gaze fell on the three beautiful young women, their hands and feet bound, huddled in a corner. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
Li Shiqi was in a full-blown panic.
It wasn't that she'd never been in a kidnapping situation before, but her bodyguards had always fought off the attackers.
This time was different. She and her two best friends were just strolling through the shopping district when four or five armed thugs suddenly appeared and abducted them.
She had just started to struggle when someone slapped duct tape over her mouth.
She struggled with all her might, but the more she fought, the tighter the ropes became.
"Shi Qi, don't be afraid. I'll protect you."
The pretty girl beside her offered what comfort she could in a soft voice.
"It's okay, Yawen," Li Shiqi replied. "My father will definitely send someone to save me. It'll be fine!"
Although Li Shiqi herself was terrified, she still forced a smile to comfort her two friends, hoping to give them a bit of courage.
"Yeah, Shi Qi, don't worry. My dad knows people at the Administration Bureau, too. He'll definitely come save me!"
The other girl, who looked slightly younger, also clenched her small fists, trying to encourage Li Shiqi.
They knew full well that the Administration Bureau had already surrounded the mall. But they had to cling to hope. If they let fear paralyze them, they knew they would be in real danger.
Just as they were trying to bolster each other's spirits, they suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.
"Who's there?!"
The burly man had just stopped his tirade, and the footsteps sounded exceptionally clear in the empty mall.
The only people left in the mall were them and their three hostages, and all the kidnappers were in this room.
So, who did those mysterious footsteps belong to?
With this question hanging in the air, the burly man shot his crew a look. They instantly understood, raising their pistols to aim at the only entrance.
Just then, the heavy iron door was slowly pushed open, and a figure walked in from outside.
In the dim light, they finally got a clear look at the newcomer.
The person who came in was a slender young man, who was even wearing slippers. He looked like someone who had just wandered in by mistake.
When the bound Li Shiqi saw the newcomer, her eyes shot wide open!
'H-He's Lin Feng?'
Her impression of this man was incredibly deep. She had only met him once, but he was someone her father respected immensely, and the one who had knocked her unconscious with a single touch of his finger.
'Did Father send him to save me?!'
'But how did he find this place?'
In an instant, Li Shiqi's thoughts began to whirl.
"Hmph! Where did this little bastard crawl out from? What, you wanna play the hero and save the damsel in distress?!"
The burly leader was stunned for a moment when he saw Lin Feng enter, then he spoke with a sinister sneer.
Lin Feng gave the people in the room a cool glance, his gaze finally settling on the young woman tied to a pillar.
This young woman was the very person he was looking for tonight: Li Shiqi. He looked her up and down; thankfully, her clothes were still neat, and she didn't seem to be injured.
Completely ignoring the numerous robbers pointing their guns at him, Lin Feng started walking toward the three hostages.
"You... What do you think you're doing? Stop! One more step and I'll blow your fucking head off!"
Furious that Lin Feng was ignoring them, the burly man leveled his gun at him and shouted his threat.
But Lin Feng seemed not to notice, continuing to walk forward at a brisk pace.
"You're fucking asking for it!"
Enraged, the burly man yanked the trigger and fired a shot at Lin Feng.
But Lin Feng remained fearless, continuing his advance as if the gunshot posed no threat to him whatsoever.
BANG!
The smell of gunpowder filled the air, but in the next moment, everyone froze, utterly stunned.
They watched as Lin Feng's body shifted back three inches, just enough to dodge the bullet!
This scene stunned everyone, including a dumbfounded Li Shiqi, whose face was a mask of utter shock!
"He... he dodged it?!"
Unlike the others who were merely shocked, the burly man was utterly enraged. He raised his gun and fired two or three more shots in quick succession.
He was no pushover. Relying on a few tricks he'd learned, he had survived in the underworld for nearly twenty years and had made something of a name for himself.