Dr. Tao nearly collapsed to the ground. "Zhao... Zhao Lei?"
The man chuckled softly. "That's right, it's me! I told you to stay here with me. Where are you going? Are you planning to leave me?"
Dr. Tao tried desperately to break free from his grasp, but due to the disparity in strength between men and women, she couldn't escape no matter what she did.
Another half hour passed, and almost everyone had escaped from the basement. However, Qiu Mang still hadn't seen Dr. Tao.
She grabbed the last woman who had climbed up, her voice trembling, "Where's Dr. Tao! Have you seen Dr. Tao?"
The woman was already quite frightened, and when Qiu Mang asked her this, she shook her head repeatedly, "I don't know! I really don't know!"
At this moment, Chen Xin arrived with a group of people, and the small steel factory was surrounded.
He shouted through a megaphone, "Attention, you inside! You're surrounded! We have guns. If you don't want to die, surrender!"
There were about a hundred people inside the steel mill, including the victim, some staff, and bodyguards.
The victims trembled with fear upon hearing Chen Xin's voice, after all, many of them had been captured by Chen Xin!
Chen Xin's voice was like a demon to them!
The staff and bodyguards looked at each other, hesitated for a moment. They didn't want to die. If they surrendered, they could still live. Several of them stood up eagerly.
Seeing the commotion in the crowd, Lü Chen said, "Everyone, don't worry! We have enough strength to protect you! You can wait here in peace! We'll handle the rest!"
Outside the bulletproof glass door, Chen Xin's men stood watchful, while inside, everyone held their breath, their heartbeats ringing out clearly in the deathly silence.
"What should we do? They have guns! I don't want to die!" a woman screamed in despair, her emotions instantly igniting panic among the crowd.
"I want to get out! I want to live!" Another figure suddenly rushed towards the door.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out, and the bullet whizzed past the man's feet, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lu Yanting holstered his gun, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Didn't you understand what I just said? So eager to die?"
The woman's face turned deathly pale, as if she were nailed to the spot, no longer daring to move an inch.
Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Zhao Lei's voice came from outside the door, accompanied by a fake smile.
"Lu Chen! We're practically from the same hometown, and I have no grudge against you. I really don't understand why you're targeting me! If you're jealous of my profits, I can give you some shares! There's no need to act like we're enemies!"
Lu Chen spat, "You old lecher! Who said we're from the same village! Don't bring shame to Huangtu Village! Let me tell you, I'm not envious of the dirty money you make, I just can't stand seeing you persecute so many young girls! I'm going to act on behalf of Heaven!"
Zhao Lei shook his head helplessly, waved his hand behind him, and several men escorted "Lu Yanting" forward.
"Lu Chen, you came here with Lu Yanting this time, right? I've checked, you two are high school classmates and have a very close relationship, so you're here to help him, right?"
The man, whose hands and feet were bound, was kicked in the back of the knee by the person behind him, and he immediately knelt on the ground. He looked at everything in front of him and kept making "woo woo woo woo..." sounds.
Since they already couldn't communicate due to the language barrier, after taking a pill, the "Lu Yanting" in front of him was even more speechless with bitterness.
Lu Chen suppressed the urge to laugh, then suddenly put on a very worried expression and said in a pretentious tone, "No, no, no! You can't hurt Yan Ting! Let's talk things out... we can discuss anything."
Seeing this, Zhao Lei smiled contemptuously, "Then open the door! Otherwise, I'll break one of his legs!"
Lu Chen panicked, "No, no, no! Don't hurt him, but let me think about it. After all, I have over a hundred lives here. It's really not worth it to trade one person for you!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lei immediately picked up a knife and stabbed "Lu Yanting" in the leg. Blood splattered more than a meter high, and the man kneeling on the ground turned pale instantly, with large beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Lu Chen looked worried, but he was secretly laughing inside. He was happy to see them fight like dogs, and even better, a few more stabs!
"Mr. Zhao... Mr. Zhao... please, please don't hurt Yan Ting!" Lu Chen cried out, feigning sadness.
Just then, Qiu Mang suddenly grabbed Lü Chen's sleeve and said in a low, urgent voice, "Dr. Tao is in their hands!"
Looking over, Lü Chen indeed saw a woman with her wrists bound behind Zhao Lei. His eyes flashed slightly, and he shouted loudly, "Mr. Zhao! We have many wounded here. Please send a doctor in to treat them before we consider opening the door!"
"Tell me terms? You think you're worthy?" Zhao Lei squinted at him. "Do you know that Lu Yanting's life is in my hands right now? If I'm unhappy, I can kill him anytime!"
As Zhao Lei spoke, he plunged the knife into the leg of the man who had just been injured, causing the man's face to contort in pain.
Lu Chen smiled and pulled Lu Yanting, who had been hidden in the crowd, along with one hand.
This Lu Yanting, however, had Kim Hwan-wook's face on his head. His hands were tied, his hair was messy, and he looked quite disheveled.
Lu Chen pressed the gun against Zhao Lei's head, then smirked at him, "Mr. Zhao, how about this? Do I deserve to negotiate with you?"
When Zhao Lei saw Jin Huanxu's face, he was completely stunned. He hadn't found him underground and thought he had run away on his own. He never expected that he would fall into Lu Chen's hands!
At this moment, the real Jin Huanxu, who was kneeling beside Zhao Lei, suddenly became agitated. He looked at the man opposite him, his eyes filled with resentment.
"President Zhao, you must save me! I don't want to die. Everyone in our company knows I came to China to find you. If I die, they won't let you off the hook!" Lu Yanting shouted at Zhao Lei.
Zhao Lei stared at the man opposite him, then glanced at Dr. Tao beside him, and pursed his lips.
He was naturally reluctant to let Dr. Tao go, but if he didn't do that, Jin Huanxu would be in danger, and if something really happened to him, he would probably be finished!
Dr. Tao knew Zhao Lei all too well. She sneered, "Zhao Lei, let me pass! I'm not that important to you!"
“Xiao Hui…” Zhao Lei’s jawline snapped into a straight line.
Dr. Tao looked up and met Zhao Lei's gaze. "Don't worry! Even if they send me to the other side, they won't necessarily do anything to me. The most vicious person here is you!"
Zhao Lei's tightly clenched hand trembled slightly, and he lowered his head in disappointment, making a gesture.
The bodyguard understood and was about to step forward to escort Dr. Tao over.
"Wait!"
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