Chapter 26
Three people came in: a Latino man dressed as a bodyguard, nearly two meters tall, with an old scar on his throat from a horizontal cut.
A secretary approached from behind him to the right. He wore thin-rimmed glasses, an Italian-style suit, and his hair was neatly styled. Finally, closely guarded by the two men, stood an all-too-familiar figure—Shan Li.
He shouldn't be here.
At this moment, Pei Huai was hanging outside with one hand, grasping the metal bar, and the half-read USB flash drive was put back into his pocket. The only support on his body was his right arm, his body hanging in the air, with no support under his feet.
His expression remained unchanged, every muscle in his arms and wrists tense. Using his phone screen, he began observing the situation in the room: three people entered the office. Shan Li stroked the metal ornaments on his desk and walked behind it. The other two self-consciously checked corners, under the desk, and in the side cabinets.
——It was obvious that the missing security guard had caused these people to sound the alarm.
Pei Huai gripped the railing firmly and looked down. Several security guards were already pouring in from the entrance below. If even one of them looked up, he would be instantly exposed, hanging on the outer wall.
The risk factor is greater than expected.
While I was thinking with my eyes downcast, someone in the office across the window started the conversation first.
"The surveillance has been hacked. I knew that some people have been making such a big noise recently, it would be strange if they were not targeted." The screen showed the face of the speaker, it was the secretary, "We have to move as soon as possible, it will be very troublesome if we are exposed to the rats." After saying that, he glanced meaningfully at the silent Latin man beside him.
Pei Huai quickly realized that they were talking about the car accident.
The secretary continued to persuade the two: "Judging from the financial reports of the past few months, the company is doing well. There's no need to deal with those broke people anymore. Some of them hide their family situations, and those with families are the most dangerous. We've already suffered losses."
"Then don't leave it to me," the fierce-looking Latin man finally spoke. He spoke Mandarin well, though he struggled slightly with the initial consonants. "I've helped you collect students, dishonest people, beggars, and bankrupts, using every possible means to control them. And now I have to listen to this nonsense from you?"
"I'm also planning for the company's long-term future."
"Long-term? That sounds nice, but who is playing the good cop in front of others all day long?"
"That's enough." A hand, pushing open a pen cap, interrupted the interminable argument. Shan Lichen sank into a chair, the pen spinning in a circular arc at his fingertips. "Listen to Xie Jingzhou and stop. Cink, you've been really roughing things up lately, and you haven't cleaned up the mess properly."
The man called Cink struck the side of his leg, lowered his head, and quickly retracted the warning edge on his body: "Yes."
"Move as soon as possible." Shan Li slowly stood up, dragged the chair legs back, and walked towards the bay window. "I'll give you two hours. Remember, don't leave any handle for others with that guy in the basement. Do it quickly." Hearing the approaching tapping sound, Pei Huai was stunned and stretched out his foot to hook the air conditioner bracket on the right.
It was about waist-level, not far away. If the situation really changed, he had enough confidence to penetrate the windowsill. In a second, no, just half a second, Shan Li's throat would be under his knife.
The handle creaked and twisted downwards fifteen degrees. He supported himself with one arm, straining his tendons to the limit. Simultaneously, the scorpion claw slipped out of the cuff of his dominant hand and slipped onto his index finger.
It took only a few seconds from gathering strength, drawing the knife, jumping to the hijacking, when there was a loud bang and someone slammed the office door open: "Boss." The man gasped, "There's a trouble at the door, at the door." Pei Huai's face sank slightly, his index finger bent, and his whole body was fixed in a knife-holding posture.
His body maintained a strange balance, as if only five fingers were enough to move the entire body.
"Who?" Shan Li turned around. The window had unknowingly opened a crack—but this was definitely not the right time to alert the enemy.
"I think you'd better go and take a look." The other party hesitated, "We don't dare..." Unfortunately, the second half of the sentence was in dialect. Pei Huai couldn't make it out.
Upon hearing this, Shan Li finally took action. It was unclear what touched him. Fortunately, the other two didn't delve into it and quickly followed him out.
After confirming the sound of the door closing, Pei Huai lifted his legs to his abdomen, swung upwards, and with a push of his knuckles, he flipped over and onto the balcony.
When he put his hand on the window and looked towards the gate, he finally understood what had happened: he saw Xiang Mingqi being held at a checkpoint by two bodyguards, with his hands on his hips, pointing at someone and making a fuss, attracting a large number of onlookers.
Pei Huai understood and without further ado, he reinserted the USB drive, smashed the drawer lock with a punch, and took out a thick stack of documents.
Just as he picked up the last page, his peripheral vision fell squarely on the innermost corner.
There, a bouquet of rich red roses in full bloom, with a ribbon tied around the stems, gilded with a line.
——Everlasting love, To my princess.
-
He did not go to find Xiang Mingqi immediately. After obtaining the information, Pei Huai chose to go to the "underground" that Shan Li mentioned at the end.
It's not difficult to find. Just be careful along the way and you will find the secret underground iron door - it is disguised as a safe passage.
The door was unlocked and opened easily. Therefore, Pei Huai was certain someone was inside. He quietly entered and came to a corridor shimmering with a cold iron light.
It was somewhat surprising. Within this seven-story company, there was an undecorated underground space, with the walls and floor remaining in their original state. Judging by the debris piled around it, it was likely used as a warehouse.
Pei Huai tightened the claw knife on his index finger, raising the beak-shaped blade a few centimeters.
The door to the inner room was also unlocked. He used his elbow to pry it open a little, then leaned sideways into the dark corner, observing intently.
The room was dark, lit only by a small lamp. It had not been decorated much and looked like it was still in its rough state.
"Damn it, this is so annoying." A portly figure, with his back to the main entrance, paced back and forth in front of a chair, tying a rope around someone's neck, cursing. "The higher-ups send me to deal with this kind of shitty stuff every day... Can you please stop yelling?"
Apart from the vague crying and cursing, Pei Huai didn't hear much.
"——Why pick this time when there's no other time? Damn, damn, damn, this guy has so much valuable stuff in his belly. Shit, I haven't even contacted the buyer yet, how come..."
Pei Huai leaned forward slightly to ensure a good view, and observed the figure on the seat as carefully as possible for a while.
The boy, looking no more than eleven or twelve, was so frightened that his face was completely pale. He sobbed, tears welling up in his eyes. "You promised me, you promised me. I even borrowed the money. Why are you doing this? I can't die. My mom, my mom can't stay in the hospital alone. She needs someone to take care of her. She can't be alone. She really can't. Please, please..."
"Shut up!" the man yelled and slapped him on the cheek.
The slap was so hard and fierce that it loosened the child's teeth, and half of his bloody face swelled up, and his shoulder tilted sharply. It was during this tilt that he accidentally met Pei Huai's eyes at the door.
The boy looked at him blankly, opened his mouth, and seemed to be mumbling something, but tears suddenly welled up in his eyes.
He barely had time to lip-sync before the rope around his neck suddenly tightened. His eyes rolled up, bloodshot, and foam spurted from his lips. His feet kicked relentlessly, his temples swollen to the point of bursting. Just as consciousness was about to leave his brain—
The rope around his neck loosened a little.
It's not an illusion.
It was definitely not an illusion: a trace of air filled the damaged trachea, causing his chest to heave violently and he gasped desperately, one breath after another.
My vision gradually came into focus, and the burning sensation in my throat subsided.
A hand with strong joints grabbed the man's shoulder from behind, increasing the force and making a crackling sound.
The boy vaguely heard someone screaming and the cabinet in the corner banging loudly. Then, the rope around his neck was cut with a knife.
Strong and steady arms came over and hugged him tightly. Along with that embrace, a strand of itchy hair with a dry, soapy scent touched his cheek.
"Hold me tight." The sweet voice lingered in his ears.
The boy nodded desperately, buried his head in the other's shoulder, and tears fell one after another.
——Even when the work was about to end, the pace of this commission was not disrupted by unexpected events.
For some unknown reason, Xiang Mingqi had turned off his headset in advance, preventing Pei Huai from understanding the situation on his end. But based on his physical sensations along the way, he was certain that Xiang Mingqi was making a big fuss at the door.
Almost all the security personnel in the company were gathered in the square. Only a dozen or so people remained that he had to deal with personally.
This was not a good thing, he thought. Xiang Mingqi was too young and could not be allowed to take over this mess alone for too long.
Pei Huai held the dying boy in one hand, letting him wrap his arms around him. The side door was unmanned, as if it was reserved for them.
After leaving the house, Pei Huai immediately searched the crowd for Xiang Mingqi. Xiang Mingqi was dressed quite conspicuously today; all he needed to remember was his signature beige scarf.
After confirming the location and looking at each other, he lowered the brim of his hat, raised his index finger, and prepared to return the same way.
Receiving his senior's gesture, Xiang Mingqi obediently subdued his arrogance and gave an "OK" sign. He deliberately exposed his weakness, allowing the security guard to drag him by his elbows and throw him out. Pei Huai was about to leave when he heard a cry of surprise from the bustling crowd. He only had time to look back.
—A terrible, dull sound, as if bones were cracking, shattering, or cartilage being bruised.
At some point, Shan Li appeared in the square with his men.
The one who attacked was the bodyguard named Cink next to him. He punched Xiang Mingqi in the face, knocking him to the ground with a bright red mark under his nose.
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