Chapter 40 - 1#
Yu Zhen woke up with a splitting headache, the air around him thick with a pungent, fishy smell that was hard to bear.
“Cough, cough!”
“Yu Zhen? You awake?”
“…”
A low voice came from nearby, familiar.
Yu Zhen forced himself to push through the physical pain and, in the dim light, made out the face in front of him. “Jing, Jing Shun?”
Jing Shun lifted his bound hands and made a shushing gesture. “Keep your voice down. How are you feeling?”
“Huh?”
Yu Zhen only then realized his hands and feet were tied. He sat up, leaning weakly against the metal wall of the truck, and whispered back, “What’s going on?”
Jing Shun was succinct. “We’ve been kidnapped. All our communication devices were taken. Can’t contact the outside world for now.”
“…”
Yu Zhen vaguely recalled that after using the restroom and stepping out, two burly men had come at him without a word and grabbed him.
He had wanted to shout a warning to Jing Shun, but it was too late.
Yu Zhen’s temples were pounding, and his mouth and nose still stung with the chemical smell of the drug. “How long was I out? Are we… in the kidnappers’ truck now?”
Jing Shun nodded. “I inhaled less of the anesthetic than you, so I woke up a bit earlier. From what I could tell, these people have already switched trucks three times.”
“Each transfer happened on a road with barely any traffic, probably avoiding surveillance cameras too.”
“If we count from around six when we were taken, it’s probably past nine by now.”
Without an accurate timepiece, Jing Shun could only estimate roughly.
“…”
Yu Zhen didn’t rush to respond. He started analyzing instead. “So these guys aren’t amateurs. Switching cars so frequently in a short time—is that to throw off traffic surveillance?”
Jing Shun nodded. That was likely.
In the dimness, his gaze hesitated over Yu Zhen’s face. “Yu Zhen, I want to ask you something. It might be a bit forward, but please answer me honestly.”
The fishy smell in the truck was making Yu Zhen sick, but he still nodded seriously. “Go ahead.”
Jing Shun chose his words carefully to avoid offense. “Is your partner… the current head of the Qin family, Qin Ye?”
Yu Zhen’s eyes widened instantly, but he didn’t hide it. “How… how did you know?”
His relationship with Qin Ye had gone through many ups and downs, including life-threatening incidents.
To protect his lover, Qin Ye had kept Yu Zhen “hidden” thoroughly, almost never bringing him to any high-society events where his identity might be exposed.
Even with his closest friends—the crown princes of Aokong—Qin Ye had only ever given vague hints about Yu Zhen.
So it was hard for most people to dig up Yu Zhen’s background.
Jing Shun quickly responded, “Yu Zhen, don’t misunderstand. I never deliberately tried to find out.”
Given the situation, Jing Shun had no choice but to come clean. “My nominal partner is Chi Gui, the current head of the Chi family in Haishi. A few days after we arrived in Aoshi, we were invited to a yacht party hosted by Ji Tianheng, the second young master of the Ji family.”
Yu Zhen believed in Jing Shun’s character, and hearing this, he understood. “You know Qin Ye?”
“Yeah, we crossed paths on the yacht.”
Jing Shun continued, “Qin Ye won a ceramic pony at the yacht auction. The first day I met you, I think I saw it on a display shelf in your living room.”
“Also, on the yacht, I heard that Qin Ye had a lover. A while back, someone cheated at his casino and harassed the dealer at the table. Qin Ye was pretty upset about it.”
Normally, a man of Qin Ye’s status wouldn’t bother sticking up for a mere dealer—unless that person was special.
Later, as he got to know Yu Zhen better, Yu Zhen mentioned his profession.
Naturally, Jing Shun had made the connection, but he knew this was Yu Zhen’s private matter—
Since Yu Zhen hadn’t brought it up, Jing Shun had kept his speculation to himself.
After all, they were just friends; he didn’t need to know every detail about his friend’s partner. If not for this sudden crisis, Jing Shun would never have asked.
“Yu Zhen, has Qin Ye made any enemies lately? Or has he mentioned any conflicts between the Qin family and another family?”
When it came to power in Aokong, the Qin family was a major player, and the Qin casino handled enormous sums of money every day, which could easily breed grudges.
Yu Zhen understood why Jing Shun was pressing, but he shook his head. “Probably not? The Qin family has been pretty peaceful these past two years, and most people don’t know about my identity.”
And those who did know had already been dealt with quietly by Qin Ye.
Of course, Yu Zhen didn’t say that last part.
Jing Shun confirmed the answer and sighed inwardly. “Then it seems these people are after the Chi family and me. I dragged you into this.”
Yu Zhen frowned. “But you’ve only been in Aoshi for a short time. How could you have offended anyone?”
He paused, then realized, “Jing Shun, do you have a guess?”
“Yes.”
At a critical moment like this, Jing Shun had nothing to hide.
“The Chi family has been competing with the former chairman of the Zhang family, Zhang Aode, over a project. Now everything is settled, and tomorrow is the Chi family’s project launch.”
Before Yu Zhen woke up, Jing Shun had already figured out all the suspicious points—
These people were clearly prepared, going to great lengths to kidnap a disabled outsider like him.
Besides Zhang Aode, who had a grudge against Chi Gui, he couldn’t think of anyone else.
“Zhang Aode? Him again?”
Yu Zhen’s expression shifted slightly, clearly recognizing—and disliking—that name.
Before their conversation could continue, the swaying truck came to another stop.
Jing Shun acted instantly. “Shh! Play dead!”
It wasn’t the final moment yet; feigning unconsciousness or helplessness would only lower the kidnappers’ guard and protect them from further harm.
“Huh?”
Yu Zhen was startled, then quickly dropped back to the floor. “Oh!”
Jing Shun shifted himself further back and continued to lie still, pretending to be unconscious.
Within thirty seconds, the rear door of the truck opened again. Fresh air rushed in, dispelling the accumulated stench inside.
The thug who opened the door wrinkled his nose at the smell. “Stinks! Where the hell did Old Three find a seafood truck?”
“Enough chatter! Hurry up and switch vehicles!”
“Got it.”
The thug approaching glanced at the still “unconscious” Jing Shun and Yu Zhen. “What’s with these two? Did we knock them out too hard with that new dose?”
“Don’t tell me we offed them with those scrawny limbs of theirs.”
“Nah. If they’re still out when we arrive, we’ll just splash cold water on them.”
“…”
Within five minutes, the truck’s rear door was locked again.
As the truck started moving once more, both Jing Shun and Yu Zhen opened their eyes and sat up.
“Another switch? Thank goodness this compartment doesn’t stink.” Yu Zhen sighed in relief. “I heard that thug say they don’t plan to kill us?”
Jing Shun nodded. “And we’re probably close to where they actually intend to hold us.”
“Yu Zhen, you’re caught up in this because of me. They’re after me and the Chi family, so I can’t easily escape. If there’s a chance, I’ll try to help you get away first!”
Yu Zhen disagreed. “What are you talking about? What about you?”
Without his wheelchair, Jing Shun had no hope of escaping on his own.
Jing Shun knew his own situation was more complicated. Suppressing the fear deep inside, he simply said, “I trust Chi Gui. He’ll find me.”
“You trust yours, and I trust mine!” Yu Zhen quickly added. “Good thing they didn’t separate us. I forgot to mention it earlier.”
“What?”
Yu Zhen lowered his voice to a whisper. “There’s a tiny locator in the inner pocket of my jacket. Really small, really thin.”
“I had a similar accident two years ago, and after that, Qin Ye had it custom-made for me. I thought he was being paranoid, but now it’s actually come in handy.”
Yu Zhen showed no sign of panic, looking on the bright side. “As long as this thing is still on me, and as long as we’re not separated, Qin Ye and your guy will definitely find us.”
Hearing this, Jing Shun felt a little more at ease. “Mm.”
He could figure out Yu Zhen’s relationship with Qin Ye, and Chi Gui had probably already sniffed it out. Now that something had happened, Chi Gui would surely seek Qin Ye’s help.
At first, Jing Shun had worried that all this changing of trucks would confuse the search party’s direction.
But now, as long as the final location was clear, it was only a matter of time before they were found.
…
Inside a spacious, extended heavy-duty SUV, the atmosphere was grim.
Chi Gui and Qin Ye, seated in the back, had both been stone-faced since they met and compared notes.
An hour ago, the police had found the final location of Jing Shun’s watch—in a ditch on Lanshan Road—and discovered the decoy truck in a low forest less than a hundred meters away. It had fake plates.
Every vehicle transfer in the past three hours had been in surveillance blind spots.
Even though the police had identified suspicious vehicles as quickly as possible and found the target, the kidnappers would switch cars again in another blind spot and keep escaping.
It was like they were deliberately stalling for time, playing them all for fools!
Wei Di, sitting in the front, turned around and handed a tablet to Chi Gui. “Sir! An unknown email arrived in the inbox!”
Chi Gui took the tablet quickly, scanned the email in a single glance, and barely contained the storm brewing in his eyes.
Qin Ye noticed. “That old bastard Zhang Aode?”
“Who else could it be?”
Chi Gui handed the tablet over without the slightest pretense—
The sender used a virtual email address, revealing no identity.
The message demanded that at the press conference, the Chi family must announce the abandonment of the 0202 Pier project—essentially making them lose face publicly. Additionally, the Chi family had to end their private cooperation with Zhang Yazhi.
If they failed to comply, they couldn’t guarantee the safety of certain individuals!
Chi Gui felt a hint of apology toward the man beside him. “Sorry. I’m afraid Yu Zhen was inadvertently dragged into this.”
Qin Ye’s eyes were icy. The tip of another cigarette burned down to his fingertip, the ember stinging his skin, but he paid no attention.
“Chi Gui, I know who’s at fault.”
“Xiao Zhen told me he was really happy to have made a friend like Jing Shun. The weekend outing was his idea to take Jing Shun out. Of course, the fault is never with either of them.”
Right now, nothing was more important than finding Jing Shun and Yu Zhen.
As for the mastermind behind it all—they would have plenty of time to settle the score.
“Wei Di, don’t reply to the email yet. Have the project team prepare to postpone the press conference. Wait for my notice before nine tomorrow morning.”
Chi Gui didn’t dare gamble with Jing Shun’s safety, even if it meant risking the company’s reputation. “If we still can’t find Jing Shun by then, we’ll follow the email’s instructions.”
But he had to find Jing Shun—and make the perpetrator pay.
“Mr. Qin!” an assistant nearby called out. “The tracker has stopped moving!”
Chi Gui and Qin Ye spoke simultaneously. “Where?”
The tracker could only pinpoint a general area. The assistant named a zone. “In the Shabang South District!”
…