The floodgates of memory burst open, and the images of Rong Zhaonan's plane crash that day surged forth like a tidal wave, violently assaulting Ning Yuan's senses.
Ning Yuan's face turned deathly pale instantly, her mind went blank, and her stomach churned violently.
Her face turned deathly pale instantly. She gripped the gun tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning white, and her vision became blurry and indistinct.
The world before her eyes began to distort, and the sound of the Flying Tigers helicopter rotors seemed to pierce her brain like a demonic chant, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
"Xiao Ning! Xiao Ning! What's wrong?" Aheng noticed Ning Yuan's unusual behavior and asked anxiously.
Ning Yuan didn't answer, only mechanically shook her head, closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, said hoarsely, "Nothing, drive..."
But the next moment, in that daze, her gaze inadvertently swept over the Flying Tigers helicopter not far away, from which several fully armed team members jumped out one after another.
The last figure, dressed in a black leather jacket, tall and imposing, commanded with composure amidst the firelight and gunfire.
The firelight in the warehouse illuminated the man's profile, revealing a high, straight nose and strikingly handsome features...
Ning Yuan felt in a daze that the face was so familiar, so much like the person in her memory.
Ning Yuan could hardly believe her eyes. She involuntarily gripped the car window, desperately trying to see the figure clearly.
That face...
Was it a dream? Or a hallucination...?
Impossible! He clearly already...
The firelight and the darkness of night made it difficult for her to see clearly.
The hustle and bustle of the dock and the sound of gunfire faded into the distance behind her, but her heart pounded faster and faster, as if it were about to burst out of her chest.
"Stop the car! Ah Heng, stop the car!" Ning Yuan suddenly shouted, her voice sharp and somewhat shrill.
Ah Heng was startled and slammed on the brakes. The car braked suddenly, making a screeching sound.
She shouted angrily, "Xiao Ning, are you crazy! It's dangerous here!"
"Stop the car! Ah Heng, I see Rong Zhaonan! I see him!" Ning Yuan's voice trembled violently, as if she had grasped at a lifeline, or as if she was afraid that the lifeline would break at any moment.
Her face was deathly pale, but her eyes shone with an eerie light, as if she were possessed.
Ah Heng quickly glanced at the rearview mirror. Gunshots, shouts, and sirens were all mixed together. The Flying Tigers and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) had begun to control the scene.
There was indeed a tall, imposing man in a black leather jacket standing next to the helicopter, directing his team members.
But Ah Heng didn't recognize that face; it definitely wasn't Rong Zhaonan.
Frustrated, Aheng turned the steering wheel again and slammed on the accelerator, sending the car shooting off like an arrow.
"Wake up! That's not my brother, you must be mistaken! The situation is urgent, we have to get out of here as soon as possible! We have cargo in the truck, and the guys in the back are also risking their lives to drive with the cargo!"
"No! It's him! I can't be wrong!" Ning Yuan turned around abruptly, even sticking her head out of the window, desperately trying to see the figure clearly.
"Xiao Ning! Danger! Don't peek out!" Ah Heng was terrified and could only shout angrily.
Ning Yuan ignored her and saw flames shooting into the sky and people bustling about on the dock again.
The Flying Tigers members were moving quickly in front of the helicopter.
However, the person directing traffic at the helicopter cabin door was an unfamiliar plainclothes police officer in a black leather jacket, not the familiar figure of Rong Zhaonan she remembered.
Hope... has been shattered once again.
Ning Yuan froze in disbelief, then was roughly pulled back to her seat by Aheng.
She leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed, her body ice-cold.
It's a hallucination... Could it be another hallucination...?
In that fleeting glimpse, that familiar figure, that upright posture and profile, looked exactly like Rong Zhaonan, making her almost feel as if time had reversed, returning to the day his plane crashed.
However, reality slapped her hard in the face.
Time and again, hope was dashed, and time and again, she was exhausted, both physically and mentally.
Ning Yuan wearily covered her face, the wind howling in from the window, and hot tears seeped through her fingers...
Where are you...?
...
The car sped off, finally shaking off the police car behind it.
Ah Heng drove to an electronics factory warehouse in the Heart of the Era before stopping the car and letting out a long sigh of relief: "Xiao Ning, are you alright?"
Ning Yuan shook her head, her face pale and her lips bloodless: "I'm fine..."
Seeing her so distraught, Ah Heng felt a pang of sympathy and said in a low voice—
“Xiao Ning, I know you’re in pain, but you can’t go on like this. Whether my brother lives or dies, he wouldn’t want to see you like this.”
"You still have children and many things to do. You can't act impulsively like you did today!"
Ning Yuan closed her eyes and after a long while, she slowly said in a hoarse voice, "Aheng, thank you. We should now take stock of the goods and the extent of the damage."
After saying that, she pushed open the door and got out of the car.
Looking at her slender figure, Ah Heng couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Ning Yuan has always appeared so resilient; perhaps it was just that the very similar scene just now reminded her of her past pain?
After getting off the car, a night breeze blew, and Ning Yuan felt her muddled mind finally clear up a bit.
She rubbed her temples, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, regaining her composure, and began to direct everyone to count the number of people and the goods.
"Take stock of the losses! Check if the men are alright! How's the cargo?"
Ah Heng also came over to help. She held the goods list in her hand and checked it with Ning Yuan.
Fortunately, although a third of the antiques were lost, most of them were saved.
Apart from a few brothers who suffered minor injuries, the others were fine.
Just then, a truck wobbled in, its body riddled with dents and dents, as if it had just been through a fierce battle.
Ah Kun jumped out of the driver's seat, his face grave, followed by two men who were supporting an unconscious man.
It was Qin Changsheng. In the dim light, his face was as pale as paper, and his eyes were tightly closed.
Upon seeing Ning Yuan, Ah Kun cried out urgently, as if grasping at a straw, "Help! Miss Ning... Brother Sheng... please save him!"
Ning Yuan looked at Qin Changsheng with a complicated expression.
Seeing that she didn't move, Ah Kun became anxious and knelt down with a "plop".
This tall, burly man, at this moment, resembled a child who had made a mistake, his head bowed, his tone almost pleading—
“Miss Ning, no, Mr. Ning, I was ignorant and offended you before. Please forgive me! This has nothing to do with Brother Sheng; it was all my own doing…”
Ning Yuan frowned slightly. This Ah Kun was quite a man.
Qin Changsheng's subordinates also knelt down, pleading, "President Ning, please save Brother Sheng!"
Ning Yuan frowned as she looked at the group of burly men in front of her, who were bowing and scraping and pleading with her in a low voice.
A strange sense of irritation welled up inside her, and she said calmly, "Get up, there's no need for this. He was injured saving me, so of course I'll save him."
As he spoke, he gestured to his men to carry Qin Changsheng into the factory's medical room, and then called the Ning family's private doctor to come over.
...
The dock was in a mess, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood.
Under the dim streetlights, a tall man stood with a black leather jacket casually draped over his arm. His slightly long bangs obscured his handsome features, adding to his cold and sinister aura.
He casually held a cigarette between his fingers, the scarlet flame flickering.
An officer from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) strode up to the man, stood at attention, and saluted.
"Sir, the area has been cleared. Seventeen people from the 14K and Sun Yee On triads have been arrested, and firearms, knives, and a batch of antiques of unknown origin have been seized."
"Antiques?" The man exhaled a smoke ring and said lazily in fluent Cantonese, "Dismiss the team, return to the police station, and notify the Commercial Crime Bureau and Customs."
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