Chapter 299: A Glimmer of Hope

In an abandoned warehouse in East Sea City, three middle-aged men sat together, their words growing increasingly agitated.

"No way, I absolutely disagree." Guan Long waved his hand, radiating a sense of finality. "Zhou Lin, I agreed to join for the sake of making money, not to avenge your idiot son. I’ve become penniless and abandoned my former life. I don’t want to become a fugitive, running for my life everywhere. If you want to kill that woman, go ahead, as long as you put thirty million in cash in front of me. You can do whatever you want with her; I won't say a word."

The middle-aged man named Zhou Lin lowered his head, expressionless, his sharp eyes flashing a cold gleam. After a moment, he lifted his head and looked at Zhuang Qian beside him, asking, "What do you think?"

Zhuang Qian glanced at Guan Long and spoke, "Old Zhou, it’s not that we don’t understand you, but you have to consider our perspective as well. After this is over, it’s clear we can’t stay in this country. Right now, we’re penniless. You have to think about us."

Hearing this, Zhou Lin stood up and walked to the cluttered corner of the warehouse. Opening the door, Tang Shiyun sat tied up, ropes binding her hands and feet. Her white wrists were chafed, showing red blood marks, and her mouth was sealed with duct tape, preventing her from speaking.

Seeing Zhou Lin approaching, Tang Shiyun’s eyes filled with fear, her pale face looking pitiable.

Without a word, Zhou Lin walked up to her and pulled a dagger from his waist, the sharp blade gently caressing Tang Shiyun’s smooth cheek, his eyes merciless and sinister.

"Zhou Lin, what are you doing?" Guan Long and Zhuang Qian, following behind and seeing this, exclaimed in surprise and quickly stopped him.

"Give me the phone."

Guan Long and Zhuang Qian looked at each other, not understanding Zhou Lin’s intentions, but still handed over the phone.

...

Silver Star Entertainment Company headquarters.

In the conference room, everyone was immersed in a suppressive atmosphere, waiting patiently, silently praying for a turn of events.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang, and everyone’s gaze immediately centered on the phone, their breathing quickening.

Ling Chen gave Xia Mutong a look and then pressed the answer button, turning on the speakerphone. An icy voice immediately said, "Since you know she can’t survive, I won’t waste words with you. Prepare twenty million in half an hour. Remember, this money isn’t to buy her life, but to lessen her suffering. If you don’t agree, I will have a few men take good care of her, then I will cut her flesh off piece by piece and record a video to upload online, so everyone can appreciate it."

"Okay. How do we trade?" Ling Chen replied without hesitation. It wasn’t time to be angry or emotional; keeping absolutely calm was the only chance for a turn of events.

"Don’t rush; I’ll give you half an hour to get ready."

The call ended. Xia Mutong looked at Ling Chen and said, "It’s Zhou Lin."

Ling Chen nodded and said, "Right now, we can’t reject his demand; it’s the only lead we have."

"Captain Xia, I’ve made a discovery," the technician responsible for analyzing the call’s content spoke up.

Ling Chen and Xia Mutong immediately stood up and walked over to him. He said, "I’ve just filtered Zhou Lin’s voice and amplified the background sound. Listen." Saying that, he pressed the keyboard, and a muffled horn blared from the audio.

"That is..." Ling Chen raised his eyebrow, "A truck horn."

"Yes. I checked just now; it’s the horn of a heavy truck. East Sea City has strict regulations on heavy trucks; most roads are restricted, with only one ring route permitted for heavy truck passage. I’ve marked the route; their hideout should be near the ring road."

Xia Mutong slightly frowned and said, "That route is dozens of kilometers long; the scope is still too big. Can we further narrow it down?"

"Having a clue is better than none. Contact the traffic police department; get them to retrieve surveillance footage from this route to see if there’s a clue."

"Understood."

While they were talking, He Zhong suddenly pushed the door open from outside and whispered a few words in Yang Chengfeng’s ear.

"What?" Yang Chengfeng exclaimed.

"President Yang, what’s happened?"

Yang Chengfeng quickly walked to the window, pulled back the curtain to look outside the company’s main entrance, and said in a heavy voice, "More than ten media outlets know about Tang’s kidnapping; they’re now gathering at the entrance, wanting to interview us."

Xia Mutong said in astonishment, "How did the media find out? We haven’t announced the news publicly."

"It must be someone inside our company who sold the news to the media," Yang Chengfeng said, his face grim. "I will find out who’s responsible."

Zhu Yansong casually turned on the TV in the conference room and switched to a news station where a news channel was broadcasting a news flash, with a reporter standing outside the Silver Star Entertainment headquarters, reporting.

"Dear viewers, according to the latest information we’ve obtained, Tang Shiyun was abducted by kidnappers during a fan meet-and-greet, her whereabouts currently unknown, her life and death uncertain. The police are investigating, and specific details have not been disclosed. We will continue to monitor the development..."

"Forget about that for now," Ling Chen interrupted. He had no mood to investigate who leaked the information. Tang Shiyun was in imminent danger, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted.

...

Half an hour passed, and the kidnappers made another call.

"Put the money into two garbage bags, bring your cell phone, and head to Linxing Road. I will tell you what to do next once you get there. Remember, no tricks; only one person should come."

Without saying another word, Ling Chen took the phone and put it in his pocket. At the same time, Yang Chengfeng approached carrying two black garbage bags.

"Mr. Ling, all twenty million are in these bags. Be careful."

Ling Chen nodded silently and walked out of the conference room swiftly. Since there was media at the front entrance, to avoid them, Ling Chen went to the underground parking garage and drove out in Yang Chengfeng’s Mercedes-Benz, quickly heading toward Linxing Road.

Ten minutes later.

The cell phone rang, and Zhou Lin’s deep voice came from the earpiece, "Now head to Zhenghe Road."

Within moments, an hour passed, and under Zhou Lin’s guidance, Ling Chen circled around the city continuously. Ling Chen knew that the other party was testing to see if there were any police tracking him.

"That’s enough; stop the car. There’s a residential building on your left; go straight to the rooftop," Zhou Lin said.

Hearing this, Ling Chen looked through the car window, surveying the surrounding environment, filtering through the pedestrians on both sides of the street. From Zhou Lin’s words, it was clear they were secretly watching his movements.

"Officer Xia, I’ve arrived at the drop-off point." After reporting the situation, Ling Chen, carrying the bags filled with money, took the elevator all the way to the rooftop of the residential building.