A transaction or a request?

The bald man stared at the small black dot in the sky, his mouth agape as if he could swallow an egg whole. He couldn't believe that someone would attempt a rescue from the air. He himself wouldn't have imagined that he would land in a helicopter at the kidnappers' location to rescue them. It shouldn't be a clandestine rescue from somewhere they couldn't see. The bald man rubbed his big head. At least it wasn't a blatant parachute landing.

The blind man, having lost one eye, couldn't see what was happening above, but the rumbling sound was enough to tell him everything: someone had come to rescue the woman, and in such a loud and noisy vehicle. He wondered to himself, "Could it be an airplane?"

You don't know what others are thinking, but looking at that black dot in the sky growing bigger and bigger, you have a lot of thoughts, really big thoughts. You stare wide-eyed, your heart screaming, but your face remains expressionless. Who told me to cooperate with him in this act? Is this kind of scene also part of the act? Do you want him to die first?

Regardless, the roar of airplanes above the building grew louder and louder. Chen Peiyuan pulled up his parachute mid-air, shouting, "Lanlan, I'm here to save you!" as he landed smoothly. No way! If you hadn't pulled him up in time, he would have been sliding down the same distance as you. He slumped to the ground in a sorry state, looking like he'd been through a close call and was thankfully safe. You couldn't help but inwardly groan and rub your forehead. What a stupid way to do it! What a stupid expression!

The next second, Chen Peiyuan immediately stood up, pulled you aside, and shielded you behind him. He warily watched the group in front of them, glancing back at you when they weren't looking. His eyes suddenly widened, and he glared at them fiercely, saying, "You dare hurt her? Who was it? Or were you all involved? Fine, fine, you'll learn your lesson for touching my woman!"

If he was speechless because he was shocked by his actions just now, he was now speechless because he was provoked by his baseless accusation. The dark face of the man standing in the middle deepened to two shades more.

Upon hearing this, the bald man was the first to object. He took three steps forward and angrily pointed at him, saying, "You brat, you look decent enough, yet you spout nonsense. This is simply alarmist talk."

The blind man stopped laughing at his misuse of idioms and, unusually, agreed with him, scoffing, "That's right, he looks like a human but speaks in a completely different way."

Chen Peiyuan sneered, "I haven't seen any of you four decent people do anything earth-shattering. All you do is kidnap innocent women. How much better are you than me?"

You patted his hand from behind, "It's okay, they didn't do anything to me."

He immediately turned around, his eyes filled with tears, and pitifully pointed to the red mark on your wrist, saying with heartache, "Lanlan, you're still taking their side. Look at this mark on your arm, they must have hit you with a stick, right? My heart aches whenever I think about that scene."

As he spoke, two tear tracks appeared on his face. You were deeply shocked by how quickly he could burst into tears and were speechless for a moment.

The bald man and his companions were equally shocked. The bald man, with his round face, pointed at him with a trembling finger and said, "A grown man, how could he just start crying like that?"

You gave him a deep look, sighed, put your hand on Chen Peiyuan's shoulder, and slowly forced a smile onto your lips.

"Stop, Chen Peiyuan, halt."

-

Reception Room

You and Chen Peiyuan were sitting on the sofa when a woman who called herself Xiaoman handed you two cups of hot tea. You thanked her, accepted the tea, but didn't drink it; you just put it aside. Xiaoman glanced at it, chuckled, and left.

Ignoring Xiaoman's inexplicable behavior, you looked around and were surprised to find that the seemingly abandoned building had hidden such a hidden basement. Judging from its condition, you could tell that they had been living there for quite some time.

Thinking this, you couldn't help but glance at the silent man sitting not far from you, his hands propped up. He was still covered by a black cloth, giving off a mysterious aura of ruthlessness and taciturnity. You wondered what kind of deal he wanted to make with you.

"What's with the mystery?" Chen Peiyuan picked up his cup and, while pretending to drink water, secretly muttered to himself.

The sound was just loud enough for everyone present to hear, and the room fell silent again.

You silently raised your hand, clenched it into a fist, and coughed softly, trying to pretend you hadn't heard what Chen Peiyuan said, even though that's what you thought too.

"Tell me your purpose." You looked up at him.

The man then lowered his left hand, which had been supporting his chin, and switched to his right. His profile, covered by a black cloth, slowly turned towards you. A sense of helplessness welled up inside you, and you reasonably suspected he was faking it, but you couldn't quite put your finger on what he was faking. Strangely, the two people who had been chattering away earlier, I think their names were Baldy and Blind, had been so quiet for so long. You glanced at them discreetly, and what you saw made you realize that the two of them were fast asleep on the ground, completely oblivious to what others thought. You felt a twitch in the corner of your eye and silently told yourself not to look anymore; it was better for both of them.

“I know about the troubles you’ve been going through lately, and I know who’s causing you trouble, but I won’t tell you for no reason. If you want to know, I can tell you, and I can even help you find him.” The man said, picking up his drink from the table and taking a sip.

"but."

But what? He deliberately starts the conversation, but then stops at the right point. Actually, you're annoyed because you hate people who only say half of what they mean.

Chen Peiyuan placed the teacup on the saucer. Due to the speed and force, the water in the cup splashed out slightly with a 'thud,' blooming like a flower around the saucer. He smiled and looked at the other person.

"This roundabout way of speaking doesn't seem to be suitable for the current situation. Regarding what you said, I think it wouldn't be a problem if there were enough time. Now that you are asking us for help, please show the corresponding attitude and posture. Don't think that just because you have important information, you can order people around at will."

Chen Peiyuan is angry. You are a little surprised. Once he adopts this tone and smile when dealing with visitors, it means that the other party has offended him in some way or with their speech. In that case, you should be careful because he may dig a pit for the other party to fall into in the future.

Thinking about this, you think again, "They really are mortal enemies. You know him better than he knows himself, and he knows you just as well." For a moment, you feel a little confused. Are all mortal enemies in the world like the two of you, or is it just the two of you?

The man seemed speechless at Chen Peiyuan's words. He remained silent for a long time. Xiaoman, who was standing next to him, patted his shoulder and said, "Speak, Qiang."

A-Qiang looked at Xiao-Man, who was patting his shoulder. Her eyes were gleaming with a gentle light, urging him to speak up. He gritted his teeth and said, "That's right. If you continue to investigate, you will be able to find out who the other party is. We do need your help. This matter is a bit complicated."

"Let's keep it simple." Chen Peiyuan didn't even look up. He casually picked up your hand and played with it. Then, he pulled out a box of ointment from somewhere and carefully applied it to the exposed wounds. He already knew that you weren't hurt as he had imagined. He was angry at himself for finding your location so late. He couldn't bear to think about the inhuman torture you had suffered during those long six hours. Fortunately, you were unharmed, otherwise he wouldn't forgive himself.

Ah Qiang lowered his head, looked at his hands, and said with a bitter smile, "This is what happened. The four of us were originally tools used by that person to handle dirty things. We shouldn't have been exposed to people or light. But that day, I saw a girl. We were about to take the body when I found her hiding in the closet. She looked at me with a look of terror on her face. I... I chose to hide it and didn't report it to my superiors. I don't know why I did that."

"I fell in love with her, that wonderful girl. I know I'm not good enough for her, but I can't control myself." As A-Qiang finished speaking, he buried his face in his hands in pain, his voice breaking. Even the bald man and the blind man lying in the corner sat up silently and stared at him.

“But,” he raised his head, his eyes red, bulging, filled with hatred, the black cloth hanging precariously on his face making him look even more ferocious, he had indeed killed people, “they still found her, they humiliated her in front of me.”

As he spoke, he seemed to be back in that scene, his face contorted with rage, veins bulging from his forehead, his hands outstretched straight forward. If Xiaoman hadn't been holding him tightly, he would have jumped off the chair and rescued his beloved girl.

Chen Peiyuan immediately covered your eyes the moment he suddenly changed his expression, but it was too late. Through the gap, you saw A-Qiang's ferocious face, his regret for not being able to save his beloved girl, and his hatred for those scumbags.

You closed your eyes, feeling a little sad. You couldn't explain why, but you just felt really bad.

"I want to kill them, I want to kill them, even if it costs me my life." Ah Qiang's voice was filled with hatred, like a venomous snake hiding in a corner, its tongue lolling out, its eyes fixed on its prey. It would pounce on its prey the moment it relaxed, and then bite down hard on its throat to strangle it.

"So, why are you looking for us?"

Ah Qiang glared at you fiercely and said, word by word, "I need your help. I'm going to kill them."

Behind him stood three people: Xiaoman, who was smiling but inexplicably cold; and the bald man and the blind man, who had somehow appeared behind Aqiang. Their faces were devoid of smiles.

The four of them stared at you silently, their black eyes fixed on you without moving, their gazes gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Chen Peiyuan gripped your hand tightly and snorted coldly.