Chapter 38: Water Breaks It was late at night, and the villa was still...
It was late at night, but the lights in the villa were still brightly lit.
Fu Jingchuan leaned back on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed, his hands massaging his rock-hard abdomen over and over again. The drug was still working, but the contractions were becoming more frequent, each one tighter and harder.
Assistant Amy reported the fund-raising progress in a low voice, "Mr. Fu, the 500 million old banknotes have been counted and bagged simultaneously in three bank vaults. The armed escort convoy is on standby, and we expect them all to arrive at the designated safe house before 4:00 AM."
"I understand." Fu Jingchuan opened his eyes, leaned on the armrest of the sofa, and tried to sit up straighter. Suddenly, his abdomen began to ache again. He groaned and his body swayed.
"Mr. Fu!" Amy and Aunt Wang supported him at the same time.
Fu Jingchuan waved his hand, suppressing the fishy-sweet feeling in his throat. "I can hold on. Captain, what I need you to do is use the time I have to negotiate. Based on the approximate range where the last signal disappeared, combined with the terrain, traffic conditions, and the abandoned factory buildings, prioritize checking the most likely locations for hiding people. It's highly likely that Shutong has been moved, but there may be traces left at the initial detention center. Focus on searching for signs of recent activity: tire tracks, fresh food packaging, household garbage... Don't miss any clues."
The captain nodded. "Understood. We've already sent a plainclothes team into the area to conduct a covert investigation, but it will take time."
"We don't have much time." Fu Jingchuan looked at the night outside the window. The little guy in his belly seemed to feel the pressure from his father and moved anxiously, making his internal organs seem to be shifted.
For the next few hours, Fu Jingchuan practically fought against his body's instincts. The frequency and intensity of his contractions fluctuated, forcing the doctor to inject him with a tiny dose of medication, repeatedly warning him that this was his limit and that he must avoid emotional agitation and physical exertion.
Fu Jingchuan forced himself to eat some liquid food, but because of his nervous tension and the pressure from the child, he vomited it out quickly. The vomiting pulled the abdominal muscles, causing more intense contractions. The pain was so severe that he blacked out and curled up on the sofa for a long time, unable to recover.
Aunt Wang was secretly wiping away her tears. Amy was extremely anxious but could do nothing.
At four o'clock in the morning, news came that all the funds were in place.
At five in the morning, Fu Jingchuan changed into a loose, dark sports suit. He refused help from others and slowly got into the driver's seat. The seat was adjusted to the back, barely accommodating his taut, drum-like stomach. Even so, the bottom edge of the steering wheel still pressed against his abdomen, causing a sense of pressure.
"Mr. Fu, communicator..." The captain handed over an extremely concealed miniature headset. "We will always be on the channel, but as you said, we will not contact you unless it is absolutely necessary. You just need to press the alarm button and we will rush in."
Fu Jingchuan took it, but did not put it on immediately: "Where is the signal transmitter?"
"As you requested, they have been placed in the interlayers of several cash bags. The signal is weak and requires close proximity to detect, minimizing the possibility of detection."
"Okay." Fu Jingchuan carefully hid the headset but did not put it in his ears. "I can't wear this. They will most likely search me, and any electronic device will arouse suspicion. I believe in your control capabilities." This was his decision after weighing the risks, putting himself completely isolated and helpless, just to maximize Shen Shutong's safety.
He started the car, rolled down the window, and finally told everyone: "Shutong's safety comes first."
As the car entered the early morning streets, Fu Jingchuan's mind was intensely focused. He carefully controlled the speed and steering, striving for stability, but every slight bump was clearly transmitted to his abdomen, causing a stirring of discomfort. He could feel the child's head as if deeply embedded in his pelvis. The dull pain of falling continued, forcing him to unconsciously spread his legs slightly to relieve some of the pressure on his pelvis.
The contractions seemed to be getting more frequent due to the prolonged sitting posture and intense tension. At first, they were about ten minutes apart, then gradually shortened to seven or eight minutes. With each contraction, my uterus hardened like a rock, tightly gripping the fetus and squeezing his internal organs. The pain spread from my lower back throughout my abdomen, even reaching my thighs.
At the peak of a particularly intense contraction, he instinctively eased off the accelerator, gliding the car to a stop on the side of the road. He gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, leaned his head back against the headrest, and took deep breaths, trying to use the methods he'd learned in prenatal class to fight the pain. After a moment's pause, he gently rubbed his hand back and forth over his hardened belly, murmuring softly, "Be good... hold on a little longer... you'll be able to get Mommy soon... don't make a fuss..."
The child seemed disturbed by the violent contraction, thrashing and kicking restlessly inside him, its tiny feet jabbing at his ribs, causing him to cough and nearly vomit. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, checking that the next contraction hadn't arrived yet, before re-gripping the steering wheel and pressing the accelerator.
The outline of the abandoned wharf in the eastern suburbs gradually emerged in the morning light.
Fu Jingchuan followed the instructions and drove the car to the huge iron gate of Warehouse No. 7. The door was ajar and it was dark inside.
He parked the car, leaned back in his chair, and took a few quick breaths, waiting for another contraction to pass. His palms were covered in cold sweat and his body was shaking with pain.
A few minutes later, after the contraction passed, she dragged her extremely heavy body out of the car.
He stood on the empty dock and shouted towards the warehouse:
"I brought the money. Where are the people?"
Deep in the warehouse, several blurry figures appeared.
They all wore ski masks that covered most of their faces. The leader, a tall man, was toying with a dagger in his hand. He was the leader on the phone.
"Where's the money?"
"In the car." Fu Jingchuan bent down slightly, enduring another wave of contractions, "I want to see my wife first."
The chief looked at him with some surprise. He guessed from his employer's words that this was a pregnant man, but he didn't expect that he was a man who was obviously about to give birth. Judging from his discomfort, he might even have entered the labor process.
"You're quite a bit of a jerk." The leader sneered and winked at an accomplice next to him. The man quickly walked to the car driven by Fu Jingchuan, carefully checked the inside of the car, and then nodded to the leader, indicating that the money was indeed there.
"Where's the person?" Fu Jingchuan repeated through gritted teeth. The child was making a lot of noise in his stomach, pressing against his ribs and internal organs, making him feel nauseous and vomiting.
The leader confirmed the money was correct, relaxed his vigilance slightly, and gestured deeper into the warehouse.
Another person walked out from behind a pile of tall wooden boxes, roughly pushing a figure with her hands tied behind her back and her eyes blindfolded—it was Shen Shutong! Her mouth was sealed with tape, her hair was messy, and her clothes were covered in dust.
"Shutong!" Fu Jingchuan subconsciously wanted to step forward, but was pointed at by the leader with a dagger.
"Stand still!" the leader shouted coldly, "You see the man, he's alive, with all his limbs intact. Now, throw me the car keys."
Fu Jingchuan pinched himself hard to calm himself down.
He slowly raised his hand, indicating that he would not act rashly.
"I can give you the keys. But how can I ensure that you will release her after I hand over the keys? I want you to release her first and let her walk over to me. Then you drive away and we will never stop you."
The leader seemed to have heard something funny: "Mr. Fu, do you think this is a movie? Still bargaining? The initiative is in my hands now." He shook the dagger and stepped closer. "Throw the key over here, don't force me to do it. You and your wife can't stand it now."
The threat in these words was self-evident. Fu Jingchuan had no doubt that if he resisted, these people would not hesitate to use violence against him and Shu Tong. In his current physical condition, any impact could have terrible consequences.
Another contraction came, stronger than the previous one. Fu Jingchuan groaned, his body shaking uncontrollably, and his face turned even paler. He had to reach out his other hand to hold onto an abandoned iron frame next to him, barely able to support himself.
Shen Shutong seemed to hear his groan of pain, and an anxious whimper came from his throat.
The leader and his accomplice exchanged glances, and seemed to feel that Fu Jingchuan's threat had been reduced to the lowest level.
"Tsk, seeing how you're doing, you'd better behave yourself." The leader seemed to have lost his patience and gestured to another accomplice, "Go, get his keys."
The accomplice approached Fu Jingchuan cautiously.
Fu Jingchuan's mind raced. A head-on attack was absolutely not an option. He had to stall for time, or create chaos to give the police outside an opportunity, or... at least get Shu Tong out of the immediate danger zone.
Just as the accomplice was about to touch him, Fu Jingchuan's body suddenly softened and he slowly slid down the iron frame, groaning in pain: "Ugh... It hurts..."
He curled up his body, holding his abdomen tightly with both hands, and huddled into a ball, his face pale as paper, cold sweat dripping down, and his breathing was rapid. His performance was extremely realistic because at least half of it was real pain - the continuous contractions were driving him crazy.
This sudden change stunned everyone, including the approaching kidnapper.
"Damn it! What's going on?" The leader frowned and cursed, but out of caution did not step forward immediately.
"Boss, he... he seems to be giving birth?" The kidnapper who was close to Fu Jingchuan turned around and shouted helplessly. Fu Jingchuan's appearance at the moment was too deceptive. Anyone who saw him holding his big belly in pain would think that he was about to give birth.
When Shen Shutong heard the noise, he was extremely anxious, but he was held down by the kidnapper behind him.
"You useless bastard! Go check it out!" the leader cursed. Their orders were to collect the money and ensure safe evacuation, and they didn't want to get involved in a murder case, especially one involving a pregnant man.
The kidnapper had no choice but to squat down and try to check on Fu Jingchuan: "Hey! How are you?"
Just when he got closer and lowered his head!
Fu Jingchuan, who was originally curled up in seemingly great pain, gathered all his strength and took advantage of the moment when the other party's attention was attracted and his vigilance was at its lowest, and suddenly hit the other party's face with his forehead!
"Bang!" A muffled sound!
"Ah--!" The kidnapper had not expected this at all. He was hit hard on the nose and screamed miserably. His eyes went black and blood gushed out of his nose instantly.
Almost at the same time, Fu Jingchuan suddenly shouted towards Shen Shutong: "Shutong! Get down!!"
And immediately pressed the small remote control that was quietly held in his hand!
A shrill alarm suddenly erupted from the car outside!
"Fuck!" The leader realized instantly that he had fallen into a trap. He was shocked and angry. "Damn it! Kill him!"
He rushed towards Fu Jingchuan who was lying on the ground, waving a dagger!
The other kidnapper who was controlling Shen Shutong was also distracted for a moment!
At this lightning moment!
"Bang!!!"
A broken window high up in the warehouse suddenly shattered! A precise sniper bullet whizzed through the dust and hit the wrist of the knife-wielding leader who was rushing towards Fu Jingchuan!
"Ah!" The leader screamed, the dagger fell to the ground with a clang, and he squatted down in pain, covering his wrist.
"Police! Don't move! Put down your weapons!" The roar of the loudspeaker came from all directions outside the warehouse! The dense footsteps quickly approached from afar!
The police, stationed outside, were closely monitoring the warehouse using high-powered binoculars and thermal imaging cameras. Fu Jingchuan's "sudden incident" initially had their nerves in their throats, but the experienced commanders immediately realized this might be creating an opportunity. When Fu Jingchuan suddenly launched his attack and gave the signal, and the kidnappers, distracted and displaying their weapons, the snipers were immediately authorized to open fire!
The kidnapper who controlled Shen Shutong panicked when he saw his leader being knocked down and the police had surrounded him. He subconsciously wanted to pull Shen Shutong in front of him as a hostage!
But it's too late!
"Whoosh!" Another slight sound of breaking through the air! An anesthetic needle accurately hit his neck! His body stiffened, his eyes quickly blurred, and he fell limply.
Shen Shutong felt that the force that was holding her had disappeared, and she immediately staggered towards Fu Jingchuan based on her feeling!
"Jingchuan!"
Fu Jingchuan saw the leader being knocked down, and his extremely tense nerves finally relaxed. He could no longer hold on, his eyes went black, and he lost consciousness. A pool of warm water slowly spread under him...
My water broke.
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