Chapter 39 - 2#
He had endured under the old man’s watchful eye for so many years, only managing to let loose and enjoy himself a little recently. Now, he couldn’t accept being trampled underfoot by his own biological daughter!
Zhang Mingxuan glanced at Zhang Aode on the sofa. For once, a rare moment of understanding passed between father and son.
His words were both a reminder and a hint. “Dad, didn’t Grandpa know a lot of people in the underworld when he was alive? If you step forward now, you should still be able to find a few reliable people to get things done, right?”
“Of course.”
…
In the blink of an eye, Sunday arrived.
Jing Shun sat on the lawn, watching Gou Bao frolic among the pack of dogs, and couldn’t help pulling out his phone to take a couple more pictures.
Zzzt.
A message alert suddenly came through on his smartwatch—it was from Chi Gui: “How’s it going? Almost done?”
“Not yet, but soon.” Jing Shun typed back. “We’re wrapping up at six, planning to eat nearby.”
There was a dog-friendly commercial area nearby.
Yu Zhen knew the way well and said he would take him.
Chi Gui’s reply came quickly. “Then send me the specific address later. I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
Jing Shun looked at the words in surprise. “You’re done with work today?”
Chi Gui replied, “The project launch is tomorrow morning. Everything that needed to be done is done.”
Jing Shun agreed readily. “Okay. I’ll send you the address later.”
Around six o’clock, the photographer took a group photo of the dogs, officially marking the end of this week’s gathering.
Yu Zhen walked back with the two dogs.
Jing Shun wheeled closer to Gou Bao and rubbed its little head. “Did you have fun?”
Having met so many new friends for the first time, Gou Bao ran up to Jing Shun, happily sticking out its tongue. “Woo~ Woo~”
Yu Zhen took out two water bowls and poured water for the two precious pups. “Of course he had fun, right?”
Jing Shun laughed along, then asked, “Yu Zhen, where are we eating later? Do we need to drive there? I’ll contact the driver in advance.”
The two had come together in the same car, with a driver arranged by Chi Gui.
Yu Zhen replied, “Yeah, it’s just a few minutes’ drive. Tell the driver to wait at the west gate of the pet park.”
“Okay.”
After pouring the water, Yu Zhen looked around at the pet parents who were gradually dispersing and leaned in to ask considerately, “Jing Shun, do you need to use the restroom? I checked earlier—”
“The restrooms here are pretty clean. They have accessible facilities.”
He pointed in a direction. “Over there. I was planning to go anyway and wash my hands.”
His implication was that he worried Jing Shun might have trouble alone in a public place, so he could go along to help.
Jing Shun understood Yu Zhen’s concern and didn’t refuse. “Alright, but if there are accessible facilities, I can manage on my own.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
It was dinnertime, so most people had already left the dog park. Eone and Gou Bao waited obediently outside.
The public restroom was indeed very clean, and there was a separate, thoughtfully designed accessible stall. Jing Shun glanced at the “Disability” sign on the door and entered without any aversion.
The moment he locked the door, Yu Zhen’s voice came from outside. “Call me if you need anything.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Shhh!
Warm water flowed from the automatic sensor faucet.
Jing Shun washed his hands slowly. Suddenly, he heard Yu Zhen’s voice from the next stall. “Jing Shun!”
A short, somewhat urgent call, cut off abruptly.
Afraid he had misheard, Jing Shun quickly maneuvered his wheelchair out of the stall. “Yu Zhen?”
…
The men’s restroom next door was silent. No response.
Jing Shun frowned slightly, instinctively wheeling in to check. “Yu Zhen!”
The next second, someone bumped into him from behind the wheelchair.
Jing Shun immediately went on high alert, reaching for the stun gun in the side pocket of his wheelchair as fast as he could. But the person behind him had clearly been waiting for this moment and was faster—pressing a cloth soaked in some chemical over his mouth and nose.
“Mmph!”
Jing Shun immediately held his breath, pretending to struggle for a few seconds before trying to fake a “faint.”
But he underestimated how cautious his assailant was, as well as the strength of the drug—
Within thirty seconds, his consciousness was forcibly pulled away despite his efforts.
…
Jing Shun woke up in darkness.
He fought off the dizziness and tried to make sense of his surroundings. It seemed to be the cargo area of a small truck; a slight vibration came from beneath him, indicating the vehicle was moving.
Suddenly, Jing Shun noticed another curled-up figure slumped unconscious in the cargo area.
“…Yu Zhen?”
Jing Shun tried to move, only to find both his hands and feet bound.
He didn’t dare alert the kidnappers. He struggled to touch his pocket—his phone was gone. They must have taken it while he was unconscious.
Luckily, his smartwatch was still there. They must have missed it during the search, or dismissed it as an ordinary watch.
Jing Shun quickly pulled himself together, carefully pressing the shortcut button on the edge of the watch with his fingertip. Two presses would dial his emergency contact.
Zzzzt.
A vibration sounded.
A faint ringtone echoed through the cargo area.
Jing Shun’s nerves were taut, afraid that no one would answer this emergency call.
Fortunately, within five seconds, a voice came through. “Hello, Jing Shun? Where are you?”
“Chi Gui! I…”
The moment Jing Shun spoke, the truck suddenly screeched to a halt.
There was movement from the front of the vehicle—someone seemed to have opened the door.
Jing Shun fell silent, pressing the watch against his chest to hide it, pretending he was still unconscious.
Within thirty seconds, the sealed cargo door was opened from the outside. A voice rang out: “Boss, they’re still out cold!”
“Move them to the other vehicle, now!”
…
Yu Zhen, who was closer to the door, was the first to be carried out. Jing Shun followed.
Jing Shun maintained his “unconscious” state.
During the transfer, he peeked through his eyelids to observe his surroundings. Then he was thrown into another, more rusted-smelling compartment.
Just as he thought he had escaped detection, the leader suddenly became wary. “Wait!”
Jing Shun’s heart shot into his throat. But these people were even more cautious than he had imagined—
Within five seconds, a sharp pain shot through his bound wrist. He immediately sensed the danger: Damn it!
“Fuck!”
The leader cursed and practically ripped the smartwatch off his wrist with brute force. “You idiots, how the hell do you do your checks?! If this screws things up, I’ll throw you all in the sea to feed the fish!”
“Quick, toss it in the last vehicle, then drive around a few times to throw them off.”
“Yes, boss!”
…
The danger Jing Shun had imagined never came.
The group didn’t seem to notice the emergency call or realize he had regained consciousness. They simply dumped his watch, then closed and locked the cargo door again.
The compartment plunged into complete darkness.
…
Elsewhere, the lights and shadows outside the car window rushed past Chi Gui’s face, illuminating his frosty expression.
Something had happened to Jing Shun!
Hearing the noise and conversation in that phone call, Chi Gui had clearly realized this fact. And when he heard the word “Wait,” he knew they might be discovered—
To ensure Jing Shun’s absolute safety, he decisively ended the call.
“Investigate! Immediately!” Chi Gui quickly opened the app on his phone linked to the watch for tracking, and asked in a low, cold voice, “What about the bodyguards assigned to protect Jing Shun? Where the hell are they?”
Wei Di, who had just received the news, quickly responded, “Sir, A-Zheng just reported that the park where Mr. Jing was had several entrances. They were keeping a distance the whole time.”
Until Jing Shun and Yu Zhen entered the public restroom.
In less than three minutes, they had gone inside to check!
There was a small side door behind the restroom, but the two had vanished. A-Zheng immediately reported to the other bodyguard.
“A-Lin, who was waiting in the car at the west gate, spotted suspicious people and a truck and immediately followed. But there were too many of them—this didn’t seem like a spur-of-the-moment job.”
When A-Lin’s vehicle reached an intersection, the kidnappers’ accomplices deliberately cut him off, forcing him to lose them.
…
The real-time location on the phone had stopped moving.
All health metric monitoring had also ceased recording.
It was very likely that Jing Shun’s watch had been discovered and discarded.
Realizing this, Chi Gui pressed his fingers against his throbbing temples, struggling to keep his cool. “Call the police. Request immediate access to surveillance footage inside and outside the park, as well as the surrounding area!”
He also sent the last known coordinates from the watch to Wei Di. “Check here too!”
Wei Di followed orders immediately.
Chi Gui took a deep breath, his tone still icy. “Was Jing Shun taken alone, or was Yu Zhen taken with him?”
Wei Di checked and replied, “According to the report, the friend who was with Mr. Jing is also missing. They were taken together!”
“…Yu Zhen was also taken?”
After confirming this, Chi Gui silently pulled out his phone and found Ji Tianheng’s contact info.
The call connected quickly.
On the other end, Ji Tianheng, unaware of the situation, said cheerfully, “Hello?”
Chi Gui had no time for pleasantries and asked directly, “Ji Er, do you have Qin Ye’s contact information?”