“I believe Zaozao isn’t that fragile,” Zhan Yin said firmly. “She will definitely pull through and return to us safely!”
“Yes, this is indeed the only way out.” Qiao Wanwan frowned. “Only if he is poisoned to the point of collapse will he have a chance to come back sooner.”
......
Late at night, Zhan Jingting turned over and instinctively hugged the person next to him, only to find that he was hugging empty air.
He immediately opened his eyes and, sure enough, did not see Qiao Wanwan.
Zhan Jingting put on his bathrobe, got up, opened the door, and saw Qiao Wanwan preparing medicine in the living room.
"It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"How did you wake up?" Qiao Wanwan explained, "There wasn't enough time before, and the antidote wasn't developed thoroughly enough. I'll improve it a bit more to reduce the side effects. I'll give it to them as soon as Zaozao and the bodyguards get back."
“There’s no need to stay up all night.” Zhan Jingting stepped forward and said, “We can study it slowly when the others come back. You need to get plenty of rest now.”
"I know, I'm not very sleepy. I've only been busy for a little while. I'll go to sleep when I get tired." Qiao Wanwan smiled brightly at him. "Now is not the time to relax. I will take good care of myself."
Zhan Jingting patted her head and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Hmm." Qiao Wanwan remembered something. "I poisoned him because I was afraid he would be enraged and do something extreme. You must make sure to explain things properly to the capital."
"Don't worry, your brother is already working from home and hasn't gone out. Everyone is being very considerate, so there won't be any problems at home."
"That's good. Also, please be careful here."
"I know, it's all been planned long ago," Zhan Jingting said. "Stop working, go to sleep."
Qiao Wanwan couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she packed her things and went to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, a loud bang woke the two of them up!
Qiao Wanwan felt the bed shake and screamed in fright, "What's going on? An earthquake?"
"no."
Zhan Jingting immediately got up, turned on the light, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains to look outside.
Before dawn, an explosion occurred not far from the hotel, with flames shooting into the sky!
"What's wrong?" Qiao Wanwan also got up and came over, startled. "How could this happen!"
“Wanwan, you’re right,” Zhan Jingting said in a deep voice, his thin lips barely moving. “It seems he is indeed enraged and embarrassed…”
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
Qiao Wanwan went to open the door and saw Jiang Dong standing outside.
“Madam, Master Zhan,” Jiang Dong nodded and reported, “Just now, a child of about ten years old tried to sneak in, but fortunately we were well prepared and he didn’t succeed. He was carrying explosives.”
Qiao Wanwan frowned. "So the explosion just now was caused by a child?"
"yes."
"To actually use a child, that's absolutely outrageous!" Qiao Wanwan trembled with rage. "The explosion was quite severe, is the child gone?"
"Yes, the explosion was very powerful. The windows on the lower floors of the hotel were shattered. Not only the children, but also several police officers on duty at the cordon were injured on the spot."
Zhan Jingting seemed to have anticipated this, so he deployed defenses around the hotel and installed electric fences to prevent anyone from sneaking in. Instead of having his own bodyguards guard the only entrance and exit, he used his connections and money to have the local police send people to guard it. He never expected that something would happen so quickly.
“Jingting, I know why you arranged things this way before.” Qiao Wanwan suddenly realized, “Firstly, it was to protect our people. Secondly, now that there has been an explosion and local police officers are injured, the local police can’t ignore this matter. They will definitely do their best to catch the mastermind behind it, which is undoubtedly an asset to us!”
"Yes," Zhan Jingting praised, "Madam Zhan is very clever."
“With the help of the local police, and now that he’s poisoned, his actions will only become more difficult.” A cold glint flashed in Qiao Wanwan’s eyes. “This matter must end as soon as possible, otherwise who knows how many more innocent people will die…”
......
It took a whole morning to clear the explosion site.
In addition to the child carrying the explosives, three police officers were also killed.
The local police department took the matter very seriously, conducting an investigation while also imposing a citywide curfew and significantly increasing the number of police officers on the streets.
Qiao Wanwan received the call in the evening. Through tracking, the other party's location was the same as before, always moving.
Jiang Dong immediately contacted the police and provided the location. The police then arranged for nearby officers to pursue and apprehend the suspect.
Qiao Wanwan swiped to answer the call, "Hello?"
"Qiao Wanwan, you're lucky, this explosion didn't kill you..."
Qiao Wanwan smiled slightly, "Don't you know us well? You should be able to tell that we couldn't possibly be unprepared."
"Of course I made that connection, which is why I sent a child to test your strengths and weaknesses."
Qiao Wanwan's face turned cold. "That's a human life, and he's just a child!"
"Do you think everyone is like the noble Lady Zhan, able to have whatever they want?" the other person sneered. "In this place, many people struggle to even survive. If I give him a bite to eat, of course he has to do something for me, otherwise wouldn't I be supporting him for nothing?"
Qiao Wanwan closed her eyes briefly. "There's no point in talking to someone like you, and I have no intention of discussing human nature with you. You called me because you couldn't bear the pain from the poison, right?"
The other party remained noncommittal, saying, "Tell me, what do you want in return for the antidote?"
Qiao Wanwan smiled faintly, "Would you believe me if I stated the conditions?"
"Indeed, it's untrustworthy. The most poisonous heart is a woman's. Who knows if you'll poison me again while giving me the antidote? So I won't gamble that you'll let me go easily."
"I can keep this up, but I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it," Qiao Wanwan said with a smile. "You've already seen a doctor, right? There's no way to alleviate the symptoms, let alone detoxify, is there?"
"Qiao Wanwan, don't forget, your sister is in my hands. She's also been poisoned. If I'm not doing well, do you think she'll be?"
Qiao Wanwan said calmly, "No matter how bad things get, you wouldn't dare touch her. If she dies, you'll die with her. In your eyes, she's just an insignificant nobody. How could she possibly be worth risking your life for?"
"...You're ruthless! All you want is your sister, right? I'll grant your wish. We'll exchange the person for the antidote."
"Let me remind you," Qiao Wanwan said calmly, "In the current situation, I'm in charge."
"Then what do you want!"
"First and foremost, my sister and my bodyguard must return safely."
"If you want two people, you must give me back my people as well."
“That was possible,” Qiao Wanwan said coldly, “but you’ve killed four people today, and I’m not willing to accept that. The antidote will be exchanged for two people. As for He Songling, I have plenty of rooms here and will treat him well, so you don’t need to worry.”
"Qiao! Wan! Wan!"
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