While the bandits were asleep, he risked climbing to the adjacent mine. After several twists and turns, he finally found Brother Long's location, hoping to find an opportunity to steal the key.
But Brother Long was exceptionally vigilant; even in his sleep, he seemed to retain a sliver of awareness, keeping his keys tightly fastened to his waist.
His hand would unconsciously press on it from time to time, giving Shen Huaichuan no chance to take advantage of him.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Shen Huaichuan realized that forcibly taking it wouldn't work.
Their only hope lay in the arrival of the ransom and Brother Long's personal arrival to unlock the door.
Fortunately, the ransom arrived much faster than the two of them had expected, and even faster than Brother Long and his group had anticipated!
Around noon, Hui Zi, who was in charge of running errands, had just delivered the second letter of peace that Zhou Qiqi had written as required.
He scrambled back to the cave, panting, and reported the news:
"Brother Long! News has come from down the mountain! Money! Fifty thousand yuan! They...they've got it ready! It's in that abandoned mining truck we specified!"
"What?!"
Brother Long suddenly stood up, his face filled with disbelief, and repeated, "..."
"Fifty thousand yuan! You raised it in just a day and a half?! So fast?!"
He had originally calculated that with such a large sum of money, even if the other party sold everything they owned, it would take at least two or three days to resolve, and they might even have to haggle and delay.
However, to everyone's surprise, the other party acted unpredictably and was incredibly efficient, completing the task half a day ahead of schedule.
He immediately sent Skinny Monkey with a few trusted men to quickly use a winch to lift the mine cart up.
The heavy wheelbarrow was pulled up with a clang, and inside was an old canvas bag.
It was bulging and full; when you opened it, it was stuffed full of money!
Besides the brand-new large unity notes, there were also many crumpled small bills and cent notes, which looked like they had been hastily pieced together.
Brother Long was extremely excited and hurriedly said, "Quick! Give me some!"
Most of these bandits were illiterate, but they were incredibly skilled at counting money, their fingers spitting as they counted it rapidly.
Finally, the skinny monkey's eyes lit up, and he excitedly announced:
"Brother Long! It really is fifty thousand yuan! Not a penny less!"
His eyes lit up as he leaned closer to Brother Long and suggested:
"Brother Long, these guys raised the money so quickly, did we... ask for too little? Or... should we ask for another 50,000?"
A fleeting thought of greed crossed Brother Long's mind, but for some reason, a strange sense of unease suddenly welled up within him.
He was a seasoned veteran; suppressing his greed, he decisively waved his hand and said:
"Let's call it a day! We can't stay here any longer! Brothers, grab your weapons and get ready to leave!"
Most of the bandits had been looking forward to splitting the loot and running away, and upon hearing the order, they immediately began packing their belongings in a chaotic frenzy.
However, Brother Long himself stood still and didn't move.
His eyes were sinister as he glanced in the direction of Zhou Qiqi, who was locked up, and waved his hand to give orders to Skinny Monkey and the others:
"You guys, pack your things and go keep watch at the cave entrance and the passage. Be alert and don't let the police sneak up. I still have some old scores to settle with this woman."
Skinny Monkey and his gang were taken aback at first, then revealed knowing, lewd smiles on their faces.
They chuckled and obediently retreated to the passage outside the cave, leaving that space to Brother Long.
Brother Long, holding the bag of money, walked step by step to Zhou Qiqi, who was chained up, and threw the canvas bag aside.
He crouched down, took out the bunch of brass keys from his waist, and weighed them in his hand.
Seeing his appearance, Zhou Qiqi still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that once he got the money, he would finally keep his promise and let her go.
But Brother Long just waved the key in front of her without unlocking it.
Instead, under Zhou Qiqi's gaze, he slowly put the key back on his waist.
His fleshy face twitched, revealing a ferocious smile. Looking at Zhou Qiqi's delicate face, he laughed:
"You bitch, you've given me a hard time the whole way here! I've put up with it all for the money! Now that I have the money, let's see what you're got to be so arrogant about!"
He spat and continued with a cold snort, "I'm going to have some fun with you today!"
As he spoke, he reached out and roughly grabbed Zhou Qiqi's collar.
To vent his dissatisfaction, he continued to mutter vulgarities to himself:
"Isn't Shen Huaichuan supposed to be incredibly capable? Isn't he a king of soldiers? He forced me to run away like a mouse hiding in a mountain cave! Today I'll sleep with his woman! I'll make him wear a green hat!"
"What kind of war hero! I think he's just a bastard! He took the money and slept with the women. If word gets out, he'll be a laughing stock!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke.
He's been in the underworld for over a decade; how could he possibly tolerate such humiliation?
He laughed wildly as he approached Zhou Qiqi, his filthy hand about to touch her body.
At that very moment,
"Bang!"
A dark shadow suddenly shot out from the shadows beside the cliff cave entrance!
The person moved so fast that they left only a blur!
A swift and deadly chop, incredibly sharp, struck Brother Long's outstretched wrist with perfect precision!
Click!
It made a crisp sound!
"ah--!"
Caught off guard, Brother Long let out a shrill scream as a piercing pain shot through his wrist, causing his entire arm to droop limply in an instant!
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