Chapter 72: Chengnan Bookstore 19
The Viennese master was indeed extraordinary. The speed at which the suite spread was ample proof that not a single cent of AAA Professional Angler Xiao Wang’s money had been wasted! Zhuang Ningyu’s work efficiency doubled in his exclusive BGM. After work, he even went to an imported supermarket to buy a loaf of black bread to take home, planning to recreate the Holy Communion! Yi Ke stood at the stove helping him slice it. The serrated knife rubbing against the hard crust of the bread made a grating, metallic sound that made one’s teeth ache.
The originally planned sesame sauce wontons, cold-tossed spinach, and wasabi shrimp balls were temporarily cancelled. Yi Ke, resigned yet not resigned, sprayed the bread with water and put it in the oven to reheat. He then layered it with tuna, cucumber slices, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and chopped red chili, creating a lavish hard-bread sandwich with rich contents. He also made a grilled beef and vegetable salad, and finally paired it with a refreshing rosé wine, forcibly pulling the dinner atmosphere from the religious philosophy of suffering and redemption to the sunny Provence in southern France.
Zhuang Ningyu: This is not the kind of meal where I wait for the light in depravity!
Yi Ke: What Viennese master, what brainwashing music, all blacklisted, blacklisted!
After a week of such antics, Zhuang Ningyu’s tastes finally returned to normal, and he temporarily let go of the sense of religious ritual. On the weekend, the two had originally planned to go to the guesthouse to drink the chicken soup his grandmother had stewed, but as soon as they left, Yi Ke’s phone rang—
Hou Junye had been kidnapped.
The car sped along as Zhuang Ningyu rapidly scrolled through the information on his phone. After the Zeus Grand Hotel rule zone incident, this beauty industry tycoon had begun to frequently and secretly travel to Jincheng. The police and the investigation team initially thought he was Ni Ruiling’s lover, then later believed the two were “colleagues” belonging to the same organization. A week ago, when the investigation team, based on Zhuang Ningyu’s speculation, began to investigate the connection between Ni Ruiling and the bombing case, the other party might have sensed something. Before the police could even summon her, she had disappeared without a trace.
“She made meticulous preparations before she ran, even arranging for a double at the beauty salon. We shouldn’t have found out so quickly,” the investigator in the passenger seat said. “But unfortunately for her, she took Hou Junye with her when she ran.”
It was currently uncertain in what manner Hou Junye had been taken, but it was certain that he was forced, and that his bodyguard and driver were in cahoots with Ni Ruiling. As for why he was said to be forced, it was because Hou Junye, upon realizing the danger, had immediately sent a text message to the Order Maintenance Department’s emergency number, 10101—SOS.
“Where is Ni Ruiling’s group’s car currently headed?” Zhuang Ningyu asked.
“G83 National Highway, about to enter Shiliu Mountain,” a colleague from the technical department replied.
Shiliu Mountain was originally called Shiliuwan (Sixteen Bends) Mountain. Because the mountain was vast and the road was rugged and difficult to navigate, it was full of turns. Ni Ruiling’s car had originally been heading towards the provincial exit highway, but for some unknown reason, it had turned onto the national highway midway. There was no way to leave the province via G83. Zhuang Ningyu said, “They should have the ability to replicate a rule zone in Shiliu Mountain.”
Only this could explain the convoy’s unusual route—it was highly likely that Ni Ruiling had discovered her tracks were exposed. In such a situation, it would be difficult to escape the net cast by the police, so she had to settle for the next best thing. After all, when there was no escape, a rule zone, especially a familiar one, was definitely another “gate of life” for criminals. This was also the long-standing research philosophy of the Invisible Giant: “to make rule zones a tool.”
“Brother Li, pull over ahead,” Zhuang Ningyu said before entering the mountain. “I’ll drive. I’m familiar with Shiliu Mountain. You and Xiao Li wait by the roadside. Brother Wu’s car will be here soon.”
The investigator and the driver were both kicked out of the car, but both were very cooperative. After all, Captain Zhuang’s authority in the Order Maintenance Department was second only to Director Huo’s, and could not be questioned! The only passenger left in the car was Yi Ke. He asked, “What’s the plan?”
“We’ll take another road,” Zhuang Ningyu stepped on the gas.
After the highway and high-speed rail tracks were built, this section of G83 was mostly used only by truck drivers. And since overloading was common for large trucks, even with regular maintenance by the road administration, the road surface was perennially covered with pits of various sizes. The potholes combined with sharp turns could make a person dizzy in no time, not to mention Hou Junye, who was currently bound with his hands tied behind his back, blindfolded, and his mouth taped shut.
Ni Ruiling sat right beside him.
“Sister Ni,” the driver said, “we’ll reach the target point in twenty minutes.”
Ni Ruiling was expressionless, her hands tightly gripping a silver-white case, about the size of two A4 sheets of paper. It looked delicate, but it contained one of the most advanced rule zone generators currently available, the “Cosmic Loom,” or EL09 for short. It could make this car completely disappear from the Order Maintenance Department’s surveillance in the shortest amount of time. Waiting to be rescued by the organization within a rule zone was far better than engaging in a life-or-death high-speed chase with the police on the highway.
Raindrops pattered against the car window. It didn’t actually rain much in Jincheng’s spring. Even when it did, it was usually just a light, scattered shower at night. It was rare to see muddy splatters in broad daylight like this. Who knew where the dust storm had blown in from in the north. The drone released by the driver was affected by the strong wind, muddy rain, and the mountain, causing its signal to be intermittent. Finally, it simply crashed headfirst into a tree, and the in-car screen immediately turned to static.
“Forget it,” Ni Ruiling said. “Hurry up.”
The driver stepped on the gas and rounded another mountain bend.
An action team member retracted his interference gun. The car’s wheels rolled over the road, crushing the drone to pieces.
After a dozen mountain bends, Hou Junye, at his age, really couldn’t stand this bumpy road and the sudden stops and starts. Soon, a strange sound came from his throat. Ni Ruiling glanced at him in disgust, opened the car window, ripped the tape off his mouth, and slammed his head out the window. After he had finished vomiting, she yanked him back in hard.
Hou Junye leaned back against the seat, limp and gasping for air. His already “human-like” features were even more unbearable to look at after this ordeal. Even the driver, after a glance in the rearview mirror, marveled to himself, “With that face, how on earth did Sister Ni manage to force herself to do it before?”
The blindfold had been blown away by the wind and rain. Hou Junye asked in a hoarse voice, “What exactly do you want?”
Ni Ruiling couldn’t be bothered to look at him. In fact, if it weren’t for his use as a “hostage,” she would have almost wanted to throw him off a cliff right now. After nearly a year of meticulous planning, she had been convinced she could pull this wealthy businessman into the organization. She never expected that after learning the truth, he would secretly make plans to withdraw. Compared to Hou Junye’s looks, Ni Ruiling actually found her blatant failure more unacceptable. So, she decisively raised her hand and punched him hard in the stomach.
Hou Junye cried out in pain.
“Sister Ni!” the bodyguard in the passenger seat said nervously. “There’s a car chasing us!”
Ni Ruiling was startled and whipped her head around. Sure enough, at the end of the road, she saw the familiar black silhouette. The modified black police armored vehicle often appeared in the news; it was a vehicle of the Order Maintenance Department. Without a word, the bodyguard pulled out his gun and stuck the upper half of his body out the window. But before the armored vehicle could reappear in his line of sight, a loud noise of airflow being cut came from above his head—
He quickly sensed the approaching danger and tried to pull his body back, but it was too late. Yi Ke remotely controlled the drone. The laser precisely severed half of his hand. The severed limb and the gun rolled onto the mountain road together, and blood instantly spurted from the wound! The bodyguard screamed and scrambled back into the car. The driver panicked for a moment upon seeing this. Ni Ruiling grabbed a piece of clothing and threw it at the bodyguard, telling him to deal with the wound himself, and yelled at the driver through gritted teeth, “Hurry!”
“Bang!” The Order Maintenance Department’s car rammed straight into them, seemingly trying to force the Mitsubishi to stop. Ni Ruiling forcefully pulled up Hou Junye beside her and pressed him against the rear window—the tycoon’s swollen face was pressed tightly against the glass, his features contorted, his eyes looking at the armored vehicle behind them in terror. After confirming there was a hostage in the car, the armored vehicle indeed slowed down. Ni Ruiling sneered and slightly relaxed her arm. However, before she could sit back down, a loud bang came from the front of the car—
“Thud!”
Relying on his familiarity with Shiliu Mountain, Zhuang Ningyu had overtaken Ni Ruiling via another small road and had been waiting at the ambush point for five minutes. The ones who had been chasing in the car just now were Qing Gang and Zhong Mu. At this moment, while the Mitsubishi driver’s attention was entirely on the rear, Yi Ke suddenly descended from a high place like a cheetah, landing steadily on the car’s hood. And before the driver could react, he shattered the modified bulletproof glass with one punch.
Caught by this sudden change, the driver’s mind went blank. He instinctively slammed on the brakes. Yi Ke gripped the car frame with both hands, using the inertia to clear the remaining glass. His hard-soled shoes dug deep grooves into the engine hood, and his body slid into the car. He first kicked the bodyguard in the passenger seat unconscious, then followed with a spinning kick, scissoring the driver’s neck with his legs, causing the man to lose consciousness within two seconds.
Ni Ruiling pulled the trigger, but the bullet grazed Yi Ke’s shoulder. Although his overall evolution level hadn’t reached S, his reaction speed was definitely the fastest in the entire academy. The next moment, Ni Ruiling’s entire arm was forcefully twisted. She felt as if her wrist was clamped by iron tongs. A sharp pain shot through her, forcing her to release the gun, and she flew straight into the front seat!
The out-of-control car swerved unsteadily towards the cliff. Ni Ruiling watched the thick, giant tree ahead getting closer and closer, her pupils dilating as she screamed and cursed, “You’re crazy!”
Yi Ke secured her in the passenger seat with handcuffs and a seatbelt, while simultaneously grabbing the steering wheel with one hand and yanking it. The crooked car straightened out, and he moved into the driver’s seat. The next moment, the armored vehicle from behind pulled up alongside them. The two cars drove side by side, and the Mitsubishi’s body was squeezed against the mountainside, creating a shower of sparks from the high-speed friction. Then, just before it was about to hit the guardrail, it came to a steady stop.
Hou Junye’s mouth gaped open as he collapsed limply onto the seat.
Yi Ke turned off the engine, glanced at the still-shaken and panting Ni Ruiling, opened the driver’s side door, and jumped out. He unfastened his seatbelt, pulled the bruised and swollen Hou Junye out from the back seat, and also grabbed the silver-white case.
Mission accomplished!
Police sirens echoed throughout the mountains.
…
Although Yi Ke had fought spectacularly in this operation, he was completely unscathed. This was the downside of being too durable; it wasn’t convenient for playing the victim. It took him until his shower that evening to finally find a small scrape on his arm, which he immediately held up to his wife like a treasured discovery. Zhuang Ningyu sat cross-legged on the bed, turned the light to its brightest, and leaned in to inspect it for a long time. “Does it need to be bandaged?” he asked.
Yi Ke said pitifully, “Mmm.”
You’re even saying ‘mmm’. Zhuang Ningyu got out of bed to get the first-aid kit and cooperatively applied a cute floral cartoon band-aid, completing the grand make-believe ceremony. “Hou Junye has woken up in the hospital,” he added. “He’s fine, just some external injuries.”
“Why did Ni Ruiling kidnap him?” Yi Ke asked.
“Because her attempt to recruit him failed,” Zhuang Ningyu said, closing the first-aid kit.
Hou Junye himself stated that at the beginning, he really thought he had found love. Although this love wasn’t enough to make the tycoon lose his head, and he would never abandon his wife and children for this “wildflower,” he did genuinely like Ni Ruiling. Upon hearing that she was trapped in the Zeus Grand Hotel, he had immediately rushed to Jincheng to comfort her. He also kept it a secret because Ni Ruiling wanted it that way.
Zhuang Ningyu continued, “She is indeed very good at brainwashing people. Whether it was her boyfriend in college or Hou Junye, they were all willing to do things completely out of character for this ‘love.’ Afterwards, they would describe it as ‘being possessed.’ This is probably why the Invisible Giant values her.”
But while Hou Junye’s love-addled brain was easy to wash, his business-oriented brain was not so easily invaded. According to Ni Ruiling’s original plan, this was supposed to be a rather long “campaign,” and it was far from time to reveal her hand and close the net. But for one thing, Hou Junye was not an ordinary person. After such a long period of intimate contact, it was impossible for him not to notice anything. For another, the police and the Order Maintenance Department had already begun to suspect Ni Ruiling’s connection to the bombing, so she couldn’t stay in Jincheng any longer and had to leave immediately.
Zhuang Ningyu said, “According to the driver’s confession, Ni Ruiling was indeed taking the EL09 to Shiliu Mountain to replicate a rule zone. The Cosmic Loom, a new product developed by the Invisible Giant, is now completely in our hands. You can count this as a meritorious service.”
Yi Ke immediately leaned his cheek over. I’ve performed a meritorious service, so my wife should give me a kiss.
Zhuang Ningyu tossed the first-aid kit aside. “No kisses. If you’re injured, you should rest well.”
I’m not injured! Yi Ke casually lifted his hand, and the cute floral cartoon band-aid immediately fluttered onto the carpet. He was instantly healed! Zhuang Ningyu was pushed down onto the pillows, asking in puzzlement, “As an A-level evolver, you just took down three people and a car during the day. Shouldn’t you be exhausted and unable to get up? Why are you still so energetic at night?”
“I don’t know either,” Yi Ke said, pressing down on him and giving him a series of pecks. He was just full of energy!
Zhuang Ningyu pushed his head away with both hands.
He couldn’t stand being licked.
