Chapter 114 Confrontation

"It's me." The two men inside the container were breathing evenly and heavily. Wen Chu got the phone that the man with the buzz cut hadn't had time to lock. The signal was intermittent, and after several attempts, she finally got through.

Upon hearing Lu Ming's voice, Wen Chu's initial panic gradually subsided.

She walked to the door, which was locked from the outside with a crude, primitive chain. She tiptoed and could only open it a crack. It was pitch black, with very little light; it was indeed a very remote wasteland.

An SUV was parked not far away, and five or six people were scattered around it, keeping a close watch on her. She had no chance of escaping on her own.

Lu Ming almost crushed the phone in his hand, but his tone was extremely soft, as if afraid of aggravating the fear of the person on the other end of the line: "How are you? Are you alright?"

Wen Chu comforted her, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Lu Ming did not relax in the slightest because of the woman's deliberately relaxed tone, because he could tell from her voice that she was still in trouble. It felt like a sharp knife was hanging over his heart, just millimeters away from penetrating it.

He tried to calm himself down and got down to business: "Do you know where you are right now? Your brother and I are trying to find you."

Wen Chu didn't waste any words: "I'm in an abandoned shipping container. It's full of reinforced concrete rubble, like an old factory warehouse. The terrain looks high, and there's jungle and weeds outside. You can see a lighthouse at the 10 o'clock position of the container, so I'm probably near the sea. I'm locked up, and there are two people watching me inside, and several more outside. I definitely can't leave. They're all wearing masks, so I can't tell who kidnapped me. If you ask me, you should just call the police. With their help, it'll be easier to find me."

Lu Ming flatly refused, saying, "No, if he finds out I contacted the police, you'll be in great danger. I can't take that risk."

Hearing the man's resolute tone, Wen Chu continued, "If you don't call the police, you'll have to send more people to look for me. Time is tight and it'll be difficult. If you still can't find me by the deadline, then do as he says and put the fake documents at the designated location. If they don't notice anything amiss and let me go, then everything will be fine. How about that?"

Lu Ming took a deep breath: "Not very good..."

"So what do you want to do? You can't really expect to exchange project materials with them. Judging from their behavior, even if you give them the real ones, they might not let me off the hook. The only way now is for you to find me before the agreed time. If you can't find me... then give them the fake ones. We can't lose both ways. The rest is up to me."

"What nonsense are you talking about! Do you know how dangerous your situation is right now? Is data more important than your life?!" Wen Heng finally couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up.

Lu Ming's breath trembled slightly: "Wen Chu, I don't care about the consequences... I just want you to come back..."

"Brother, Lu Ming, calm down. I don't mean you should abandon me, and I don't intend to abandon myself either. Can you trust me unconditionally just this once? If it's really discovered that I'm a fake, I still have a way, but don't interfere. I'll handle it myself. If you come, you might get into danger. After all, they're after Lu Ming. If we become each other's weaknesses, we might both fall into their hands."

"What can you do if you're all alone?" Wen Heng asked anxiously.

"I can't say for sure right now, but I have a plan, so I told you not to worry too much. Take a deep breath, relax, it's not a big problem, we can handle it. Okay?"

In Lu Ming's eyes, women are an enigma, and it's not easy to talk about trust.

He dared not believe anything but the tactile sensation of holding a person in his hand.

"Wen Chu, don't lie to me..." Lu Ming's tone was pleading. "Please protect yourself, don't provoke them, wait for me to find you. Nothing is more important to me than you, don't make decisions for me on your own..."

Wen Heng couldn't help but shove him away, saying, "Be smart! Let me tell you, you can earn money again, but once you lose your life, it's really over. Don't do anything reckless! If you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your mother!"

“I know, I’m aware of what I’m doing. I assure you, I have no intention of giving up on myself, and I’m confident in my abilities,” Wen Chu emphasized once again.

She covered her mouth and glanced at the two men in the distance after each sentence, afraid that they might suddenly wake up. She also had a self-defense card, but she had never used it before and didn't know if she could beat two muscular men. So she decided to avoid a direct confrontation with them unless absolutely necessary.

The bad luck card only lasts for one day. Once they find that getting close to her no longer brings bad luck, things could get a little dangerous.

She quickly observed the surrounding terrain again, telling Lu Ming and Wen Heng everything that was visible to the naked eye and all the details.

"Okay, do as I said? They're about to wake up, I'll hang up now, bye."

Wen Chu hung up the phone and then dialed 110.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to get through.

Now that things have come to this, the falseness of this world has been fully exposed to her. She has no time to think about whether the outcome would be different if Lu Ming had made the call. She can only angrily hang up the phone, delete the call history, tiptoe to the man with the buzz cut, and put her phone on the ground with the screen off.

The dark-skinned man rolled over, startling her.

She quickly sat back down, stuffed the towel haphazardly into her mouth, switched the ropes binding her hands and legs, concealing the broken rope marks on the inside of her thighs, and loosely tied her hands behind her back. As she was adjusting them, she suddenly heard a shout: "Behave yourself! What are you doing?"

The man with the buzz cut woke up.

The effects of A-grade items are indeed not very good.

Wen Chu was startled and her hands behind her back moved less, but she still silently tied the rope. Then she turned her face away, showing the arrogance of a rich young lady and a little timidity.

The man with the buzz cut said, "Don't struggle in vain. Even if you manage to break free of the ropes, you can't escape right under our noses. You're so precious, just behave yourself and wait for someone to come and redeem you."

Wen Chu then quieted down and stopped talking.

Seeing her like this, the man with the buzz cut didn't suspect anything and continued to look down at his phone.

On the other end of the line, the phone went dead. Lu Ming felt like a drowning man, breathing rapidly.

Seeing the man's frighteningly pale face, Wen Heng patted him on the shoulder: "We've gathered quite a few details. The fact that the lighthouse is visible at 10 o'clock is very important information. I'll immediately send people to investigate the coastal areas, especially the coast and harbor. Overthinking will only throw us into disarray. Although we don't know what tricks that brat has up her sleeve, she speaks with such confidence, finding her as soon as possible is the only thing we can do right now. After all, we have no idea who the other side is, and we can't be sure if she'll go back on her word and kill him once she gets what she wants."

Lu Ming's Adam's apple bobbed as he forced himself to calm down: "There is a lighthouse in the north and south of City A. The possibilities are too great. We should focus on investigating airports and seaports near the sea first. Once they get the money and the information, they will definitely leave the country as soon as possible."

They secretly sent a large number of people to search. For three days, Lu Ming hardly slept. The map of City A crisscrossed in his mind and he kept thinking about it. More and more places were marked with crosses.

The clock ticked away in an atmosphere of anxiety, slowly torturing the person on the tip of the needle.

Three days later, in the early morning, there were still 6 hours left until the time agreed upon by the kidnappers and Lu Ming.

Inside the container, Wen Chu leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to rest.

It was pitch black all around, with only a sliver of moonlight able to penetrate. Not far away, the man in black and the men with buzz cuts were together.

She's been behaving very well these past few days. They told her that Lu Ming had already transferred the money to them, so the dark-skinned man and the buzz-cut man have become much less aggressive and haven't done anything to her.

It was almost dawn, and Wen Chu wasn't surprised; finding her location in such a short time wouldn't be easy.

She only hoped that Lu Ming would believe her and do as she said.

Actually, she didn't have any special tricks up her sleeve; she was just fearless.

The rebirth card can take her back to any previous point in time.

During this time, the thought kept popping into her mind—should she activate the rebirth card for someone and stay in this world a little longer?

This was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst; her reason told her not to waver and to hurry home.

To die again requires even more courage.

She was also apprehensive and trembling when facing death.

But the scales in my heart continued to sway.

As she was thinking, she suddenly heard a noise outside, like something hitting steel with a dull thud.

Wen Chu immediately opened her eyes and looked towards the door.

The man in black narrowed his eyes warily: "What was that sound?"

The dark-skinned man didn't take it seriously: "Probably some idiot who bumped his head while going to the toilet in the dark again."

The surroundings quieted down again, and Wen Chu remained calm, only glancing towards the door from time to time.

Not long after, three muffled, rhythmic knocks came from outside the door.

Wen Chu's heart tightened. Lu Ming?

Did he really find this place?

Without a word, Wen Chu silently began to untie the ropes behind her back. But the man in black and the man with the buzz cut were both very alert, and had obviously noticed the unusual sounds in the environment besides the croaking of frogs and the chirping of birds.

The man with the buzz cut stood up with a cold expression and said, "I'll go out and take a look."

Just as he reached the door, he heard a loud bang as the container door was slammed shut, followed by the sound of chains snapping. The enormous noise was particularly jarring in the quiet environment. Before they could even react, the door was flung open, and a group of men dressed in black burst in and surrounded them.

The man with the buzz cut rushed forward to attack, but was kicked to the ground.

The man in black's expression beneath his mask changed drastically: "How is this possible?! How could they have found this place?!"

Lu Ming, dressed in a black shirt that blended into the night with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, appeared at the doorway in the moonlight, casting a shadow on the ground. He was filled with a murderous aura, and the veins on his hands were bulging.

Without hesitation, Wen Chu immediately removed the rope from her feet and ran outside the moment she saw who it was.

But she was still quite far from the door. After the dark-skinned man realized that she had already broken the rope, he cursed under his breath, rushed forward quickly, grabbed her arm, roughly pulled her to his side, grabbed her neck with his other hand, and looked at the uninvited guest who had rushed in with great vigilance.

"Ugh." Wen Chu felt a sharp pain in her throat and was immediately unable to move.

Seeing Wen Chu being treated so roughly, Lu Ming's face was so dark it was almost dripping ink: "Give her to me. I've already transferred the money to you. If you stop here, I won't hold anything against you."

Wen Heng dusted himself off and slowly walked in from the darkness: "The outside has been taken care of." Then, his dark eyes looked at the men holding Wen Chu with a gloomy expression: "You guys really have a lot of nerve, kidnapping me."

The man in black tensed up for a moment, but then he glanced at the hostage still in his hands and relaxed. He sneered, "Mr. Lu, are you going to break the contract?"

Lu Ming stared intently at Wen Chu in the dark-skinned man's hand and said coldly, "You should know that your wisest choice right now is to return her to me and leave immediately. I will not hold you responsible for anything."

The man in black gritted his teeth: "Boss, we've got the money. How about we compromise?"

The man in black glared at him fiercely from behind his mask. "If we don't get the project information, none of us will escape! Keep a close eye on her! As long as she's there, she's our biggest bargaining chip!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around, intending to negotiate with Lu Ming, but then he heard a heavy cry of pain behind him, followed by a crisp "smack"!

In an instant, Wen Chu broke free from the dark-skinned man's grasp and delivered a resounding slap, knocking him heavily to the ground.

Upon seeing this, both sides fell into an inexplicable silence for a moment.

Before the dark-skinned man could figure out what was happening, he felt a burning pain on his face and then collapsed to the ground. He was filled with shame and indignation and gritted his teeth as he tried to stand up, but Wen Chu immediately kicked him twice more, one of which landed squarely between his legs, causing him to clutch his groin and howl in agony.

Upon seeing this, Wen Heng gasped and glanced at Lu Ming.

The man in black's eyes widened slightly, but before he could utter a sound, the woman rushed towards him at lightning speed and slapped him as well. In an instant, he felt his vision go black, the world spin, his mind buzz, and pain spread throughout his body. Only then did he realize that he had also fallen to the ground.

The mask on his face also fell off.

Upon seeing the face beneath the mask, Wen Chu paused, "Director Yang?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Lu Ming's eyes: "Yang Binshi?"

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Author's Note: I will be updating daily until the story is complete.