Cha Meiling leaned against the door frame, and looked up in shock at the hellish scene outside the window.
Anderson followed closely behind, protecting her.
Several seconds passed before Cha Meiling finally found her voice: "What...what happened?! Has Zhou Yan's situation been resolved?"
She clutched her chest, her voice trembling slightly.
I feel so empty inside...
Was that man dead?
Ning Man'an's female secretary suddenly entered from outside, her face still bearing that icy expression, and reported to Ning Man'an—
"Young Miss, I've already sent people to check on the situation; we'll have news soon."
Then she left.
Cha Meiling stared at the raging flames with a complicated expression.
After a while, the shock and pain faded from her face, replaced by a cruel smile—
"If Zhou Yan is still alive, use Ning Yuan to lure him out. If he's injured, even better, cut off one of Ning Yuan's hands and send it to him as an appetizer!"
Ning Man'an slowly turned her head and gave Cha Meiling a cold glance: "What exactly is the relationship between Zhou Yan and Ning Yuan? And what is your relationship with them? Is it worth all this trouble? Why is he influenced by Ning Yuan?"
Cha Meiling avoided her gaze, tidied her wind-blown hair, and adopted a mysterious and enigmatic expression.
"Big sister, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. All you need to know is that you must keep your promise to my father!"
Ning Man'an said calmly, "That's right, but I also know that your father's money will never arrive, and your hand will be given to him."
Cha Meiling choked, her face turning pale.
About half an hour later, the female secretary walked in quickly from outside.
She reported efficiently—
"Miss, the situation has been basically ascertained. A fierce battle took place, the scene is a mess, and the casualties are heavy. It's impossible to tell who are police officers and who are Chen Jingsong or members of the 14K. Half of the villa area has been destroyed!"
Cha Meiling immediately pressed impatiently, "Where's Zhou Yan?! Is he dead?!"
The female secretary seemed not to hear her interruption, her gaze fixed solely on Ning Man'an, and continued her report—
“Our people found out that Superintendent Zhou led several of the most elite members of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau to intercept arms dealers and members of the 14K triad. The explosion... occurred centered on the building where they were at the time.”
"According to the statements of several injured 14K members, the special plastic explosives used by the US military that caused the explosion were in the hands of their leader, Qin Changsheng."
Ning Man'an raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes: "So, during the police's pursuit of Ning Bing'an and Qin Changsheng, someone detonated explosives?"
The female secretary nodded: "Yes, the people sent to investigate the site reported that the building at the center of the explosion, along with two or three other buildings next to it, has been completely razed to the ground."
"Even the stones were turned into sand by the high temperature, and many steel structures even showed signs of melting."
She stated a cruel fact in an icy tone—
"That kind of explosive is extremely powerful. If someone is in the very center of the blast... they probably won't even have their bones left."
"Moreover, the remaining Flying Tigers and Organized Crime and Triad Bureau officers are frantically searching around the ruins for their superior... Superintendent Chow, who is most likely dead."
The moment the female secretary finished speaking, Cha Meiling's heart skipped a beat.
A sudden, sharp pain struck without warning, making her vision blur for a moment.
Zhou Yan... is dead? His body has vanished without a trace?
This thought made her chest feel tight, and even breathing became somewhat difficult.
She seemed to see some blurry images flashing before her eyes, but she couldn't make them out clearly.
But the next moment, Cha Meiling forcibly suppressed that strange emotion, her face returning to its icy expression: "Without seeing the body, no one can be sure he's dead! What if he's lucky?!"
Ning Man'an grew impatient, a mocking smile playing on her lips: "So, what does Miss Cha want? To dig him out from the ground?"
Just then—
An angry and urgent question suddenly came from the room where Ning Yuan was being held!
"Open the door! What are you saying?! What happened to Zhou Yan?!"
The sound pierced through the heavy door panel, carrying an incredulous anger.
Upon hearing Ning Yuan's voice, Cha Meiling's inexplicably distressed heart suddenly calmed down considerably, and even a twisted sense of pleasure welled up within her.
She ordered decisively, "Of course we must investigate to the end! We must find the person alive, or... find their body!"
Ning Man'an looked at Cha Meiling, who was shocked, unwilling, and even with a hint of hidden pain, as she gave the order.
She asked slowly—
"You mean, you want my men to rush in and dig up the rubble for you when sirens are blaring, helicopters are circling, and a large number of police officers and firefighters are about to completely surround the ruins, to find a skeleton that may not even exist?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling mockery.
Cha Meiling felt uneasy under her gaze and clenched her fists tightly.
But her fear of Zhou Yan made her say in a deep voice, "Big sister, you have no idea how terrifying that man is! As long as he has a breath left, as long as we haven't seen his body with our own eyes, we will all be in danger!"
Ning Man'an coldly averted her gaze, as if even glancing at her was a waste of time. She then gave an order to her expressionless secretary beside her—
"Give Miss Seven an injection of a calming agent to quiet her down. The commotion outside is already loud enough. I don't want to hear any more unnecessary noise."
The female secretary bowed slightly: "Yes, Miss, I expect the police will be here to investigate soon, so we need to leave this morning."
Ning Manan nodded: "Mm."
Then, her indifferent gaze swept over Cha Meiling, whose face was pale: "If Miss Cha can't control her emotions, then give her an injection too!"
Cha Meiling's eyelids twitched violently, and anger almost overwhelmed her reason: "How dare you treat me like this!"
Ning Man'an smiled serenely, her tone carrying a calm disdain—
“Cha Meiling, you need to understand that Ning Yuan is an important bargaining chip here, while you are just another hostage that Chen Jingsong placed here to ensure his smooth escape and to ensure that the subsequent plans go smoothly.”
She paused for a moment: "Essentially, you're no different from Ning Yuan, who's locked in her room."
These words were like a resounding slap in the face to Cha Meiling.
Cha Meiling trembled with anger: "You..."
Ning Man'an interrupted her indifferently: "In my eyes, you are all the same 'goods'. So, Miss Cha had better recognize her place and stop pointing fingers at me."
Cha Meiling's face turned pale and then red, her chest heaving violently, but she managed to suppress her anger.
Ning Man'an ignored her and waved to A Xiang and the other bodyguards behind her: "Everyone, retreat."
She turned around and led her people out of the villa.
Cha Meiling watched her retreating figure, her eyes blazing with humiliation and anger.
Seeing that Ning Man'an was about to leave with her people, the two bodyguards instinctively tried to step forward, lift up Cha Meiling, and follow her.
Anderson instinctively stepped in front of her.
Cha Meiling's voice was icy as she forced a last shred of dignity: "Don't touch me! I can walk by myself!"
She forced herself to straighten her back and, together with Anderson who had been silently guarding her side, followed behind Nimman's people and left.
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