Chapter 68 The Gift Let's take a good look at the fate of the Zhao family.
"what happened?"
Listening to the screams that kept coming through his headphones, Old Zhao frowned in a somewhat agitated manner.
He knew the Sheng family must have made preparations, but this was China. The Zhao family was able to assemble such an armed mercenary force thanks to over a decade of accumulated resources. The Sheng family had no underworld connections and no access to firearms; how could they possibly mount a decent counterattack?
He raised his voice: "Report the situation! What exactly happened!"
Several seconds passed before a voice answered him: "Mr. Zhao, we have been attacked by something unknown. At least half of our men have passed out, most likely because they were anesthetized!"
"Unidentified...thing?"
Old Zhao felt like he didn't understand.
The other party explained, "It's too dark, there are no lights, and the infrared imager can't see anything. There are some in the sky, and some in the bushes on the ground! I guess it might be a drone or a robot!"
The person speaking to Old Zhao was a cautious mercenary.
The moment he sensed something was wrong, he hid in the bushes, like a mouse burrowing into a hole, afraid to make a sound. His comrades fell one after another, losing consciousness without even understanding what the enemy was. In just a few seconds, he was the only one left in his squad.
The mercenary reported the situation in a whisper while cautiously looking around.
All I could see was pitch blackness; even the infrared cameras couldn't detect my opponent.
It's so frustrating, so incredibly frustrating.
Suddenly, a bad feeling welled up in his heart, and he turned around abruptly to look behind him. What came into view was a pink bow floating in mid-air, which looked extremely eerie and startled him so much that he almost jumped up.
"Good heavens, what is this? A bow?!"
After a closer look, the mercenary finally realized that the bow wasn't floating; it was hanging from a black robotic dog. Because it was so dark, he hadn't seen the robot dog at first glance, only the bow.
A strange and absurd feeling welled up in his heart.
The enemy was indeed a robot dog, but why was it a robot dog wearing a bow tie?
What kind of bizarre hobby is this?
Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, as if something had pierced his skin.
The mercenary quickly lost consciousness, and before sinking into darkness, he silently thought that he would probably be traumatized by pink ribbons for the rest of his life...
Seeing that fewer and fewer people were responding to him, Old Zhao roared ruthlessly, "Stop hiding! Climb over the wall as soon as possible and break into the Sheng family! Everyone who gets in successfully will get an extra million!"
The hefty reward certainly attracted brave men. Several mercenaries who hadn't fallen for the trap were spurred on by the million-dollar reward and charged towards the wall with their weapons. They all carried professional climbing equipment, and with their excellent physical fitness, the three-meter-high wall was no obstacle at all for them.
The electric fence at the top of the wall has been specially treated and poses no threat.
Several lucky mercenaries dodged the combined attack of drones and robot dogs, successfully reached the wall, quickly retrieved their equipment, and desperately climbed up the wall.
The first mercenary to climb the wall couldn't help but let out a joyful shout.
He excitedly climbed the wall, took a step, and prepared to jump over.
The next moment, a slight numbness suddenly came from his leg, and then he seemed to lose all feeling in his leg.
The mercenary turned around and looked over, his pupils dilating suddenly.
Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the night sky.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
The same scene was playing out among other mercenaries who were using the circumvention tool.
A series of screams and cries erupted from Mr. Zhao's headphones, making his head buzz and almost causing him to rip the headphones off and throw them away.
He yelled, "What's going on? What happened?"
All I could hear in the headphones were all sorts of terrified screams.
Mr. Zhao: "..."
As expected of an international mercenary, he has a wide range of knowledge and even knows Chinese legends such as Yama, the King of Hell.
But that's just ridiculous!
He asked a couple more questions, and the mercenary seemed to be terrified, repeatedly shouting things like "Yama has appeared," "A hundred ghosts parade at night," and "Please forgive me."
Old Zhao's veins throbbed as he listened. He simply took off his headphones and asked the mercenary beside him with a stern face, "How many people actually came in? They can't all be crazy, can they?"
The mercenary beside him wore high-tech glasses that displayed a real-time map of the Sheng family manor and the status of all their personnel. The mercenary looked at it seriously for two seconds, then replied gravely, "No one has come in."
All the mercenaries outside the manor have now been wiped out.
Of the men who attacked the Sheng family this time, only these few remain.
Old Zhao couldn't believe it and gasped, "All of them? You're serious?!"
The mercenary nodded: "Yes, all of them."
They brought a total of fifty-seven people with them, and they all stayed outside the walls of the Sheng family manor.
Old Zhao frowned and cursed.
Time was of the essence, and there was no time to hesitate. He picked up his gun and signaled the mercenaries to rush into Xiaoming Building: "Never mind, let's go in!"
The rest of the Sheng family can live, but Ling Shu must die!
"yes."
The mercenaries rushed forward, quickly kicked open the door of Xiaoming Building, and filed in.
Old Zhao was walking at the very back.
Having just heard firsthand the horrific scene of the mercenaries outside the Sheng family manor, the people who broke into Xiaoming Building were very cautious. They carefully looked around, carrying their guns and checking all possible corners and passages, without easily going upstairs.
A few seconds later, the lights in Xiaoming Building suddenly went out silently, and the group instantly disappeared into darkness. However, they had all been wearing night vision goggles before entering, so turning off the lights didn't seriously affect their vision; it only made them pause for a second or two.
A sudden sense of alarm arose in Old Zhao's heart. He subconsciously looked up and, through his night vision goggles, saw a figure descend silently from the ceiling like a ghost, heading straight for him.
Someone is going to attack him!
Old Zhao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately raised his gun to attack. However, the other man was faster. His fingers swept across Old Zhao's wrist, dislocating his wrist joint with extremely professional and calm techniques. Unable to exert any force, Old Zhao's carefully prepared MP5 submachine gun fell to the ground before it could be used.
"Ahh!"
A sharp pain shot through his wrist, and Old Zhao couldn't help but scream out in agony.
The mercenaries walking in front of him heard his voice and hurriedly turned around, pointing their guns at him. However, the men who attacked Old Zhao were prepared, hiding behind him, making the mercenaries hesitant to fire for fear of accidentally injuring Old Zhao.
The mercenary closest to Mr. Zhao could only threaten him verbally: "Release Mr. Zhao right now, or we'll shoot!"
As Mr. Zhao trembled in excruciating pain, he heard a woman's soft laughter beside him.
She replied calmly, "If you kill him, you won't get the money, and you won't be able to escape."
The mercenaries gritted their teeth, knowing she was right.
Old Zhao was sweating profusely, his voice hoarse: "You are... Ling Shu?!"
He recognized her voice, but he couldn't believe it.
The Zhao family had investigated Ling Shu's background. Old Zhao knew very well that she was just an ordinary girl who grew up in an orphanage in the countryside. Because of her introverted personality, she had never stood out from the crowd and could be said to have no presence at all.
How could such an inconspicuous woman possess such terrifying skills?
In the darkness, Ling Shu smiled slightly: "President Zhao, we meet again. You have come all this way without having had time to prepare anything to welcome us. I'm really sorry."
While they were talking, she remained vigilantly behind Old Zhao, keeping a firm grip on him with both hands, preventing the mercenaries from finding any opportunity to attack.
Old Zhao, enduring the pain, said haltingly, "I...I came here to kill Sheng Yunshen, I won't hurt you. Open the door and leave now, and I won't pursue the matter of you hurting me..."
"There are six people here. Even if you kill me, you won't escape... How about we each take a step back?"
"Not good."
Ling Shu's tone still held a smile, without the slightest hint of tension. Old Zhao even had a feeling that she was very relaxed, the kind of relaxation that could only be cultivated through countless life-and-death experiences.
"You're going to kill my husband, how could I stand idly by?"
In the pause between her answers, she tightened her grip on Old Zhao's neck, her murderous intent growing even more intense.
"husband……"
Old Zhao was a little puzzled. "He's just a vegetable, why do you care about him? I thought the Sheng family bribed you with money, could it be... that you like Sheng Yun Shen, so you're working for the Sheng family?"
He couldn't understand it at all.
Before Ling Shu married Sheng Yun Shen, the two had never even met. So where did their feelings for each other come from? How could Ling Shu remain calm and composed in the face of so many armed thugs without backing down?
With his mind racing, Old Zhao softened his voice: "I've confirmed it. Sheng Yun Shen is completely ruined and probably won't live for more than a few years. Ling Shu, with your great abilities, why waste your precious youth on a good-for-nothing..."
While uttering words of persuasion, Old Zhao subtly shifted his body, trying to make Ling Shu, who was hiding behind him, reveal a weakness.
His plan worked. Ling Shu seemed oblivious to his subtle movements, remaining motionless and listening intently to his words.
Overjoyed, Old Zhao, in a moment of persuasion, suddenly twisted his body to the side, exposing Ling Shu's abdomen behind him, and shouted hoarsely, "Do it!"
The two mercenaries reacted extremely quickly and opened fire simultaneously.
Old Zhao smirked, as if he could already see Ling Shu being shot and coughing up blood.
However, he felt Ling Shu's hand, which was controlling him, move slightly, and his body, which he had managed to twist away from, was adjusted back to its original position. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and he didn't even have time to resist.
The next moment, a burning pain shot through my abdomen.
Old Zhao screamed again, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.
Fortunately, he wasn't shot in a vital area, otherwise he probably wouldn't even have had a chance to scream.
Amidst the boundless pain, there was also a profound fear. Old Zhao realized that from the very beginning, Ling Shu had known all his plans. She knew he said these things only to sway her, and she knew even more that his true purpose was to use the opportunity to get the mercenaries to make their move.
She knew it was a trap, but pretended to fall into it while actually pushing him in hard.
Ling Shu is by no means a woman who has no presence.
On the contrary, she is the most terrifying one in the entire Sheng family.
Old Zhao's legs went weak, and he completely gave up the idea of resisting. He shouted, "Don't shoot! Put down your weapons! Stop shooting!"
If this continues, Ling Shu will be fine, but he will die first!
The mercenaries looked at each other, hesitating for a moment.
In that brief moment, Ling Shu released the seriously injured General Manager Zhao and struck again with lightning speed.
She was like a dancer in the dark, her movements elegant and swift, leaving no trace. Old Zhao didn't even see how it all happened.
By the time he realized what was happening, the five mercenaries who had come in with him were all lying on the ground, unconscious.
He was the only one still conscious.
Ling Shu stood amidst the crooked mercenaries, her back to him, her hands hanging loosely at her sides.
Her back view looked thin and frail, but Old Zhao felt as if he were seeing a demon crawling out of hell.
The team he painstakingly assembled was as fragile and powerless as a paper doll in front of Ling Shu.
No wonder she dismissed his threats so dismissively...
Amidst boundless fear, Old Zhao suddenly found a surge of courage.
The opponent is an evil spirit, and he's no good either. Even the most ferocious and terrifying evil spirit will die from underestimating its enemy!
The opportunity is now!
He endured the excruciating pain, quickly bent down, picked up the MP5 submachine gun that had just fallen to the ground, aimed it at Ling Shu, and viciously pulled the trigger!
"Go to hell!!!"
Ling Shu slowly turned around and looked at him.
The imagined scene of carnage did not occur. The MP5 submachine gun was completely silent. Old Zhao was stunned for a few seconds, then looked down and discovered that the magazine was nowhere to be found.
The magazine...when was the magazine removed?!
This realization left him completely stunned.
The continuous setbacks even overwhelmed the seasoned General Manager Zhao.
He slowly raised his head and stared blankly at Ling Shu who was walking towards him.
With a smile on her face, she raised her hand, and the magazine in her hand spun in a beautiful arc.
"Mr. Zhao has good taste. I like MP5s, so I'll gladly accept this gift."
As she spoke, she walked up to him, deftly took the MP5 from his hand, touched it carefully, and her smile deepened.
It seems she really likes it.
Old Zhao stared blankly at her, this time truly having lost the will to resist.
He said in a hoarse voice, "...Kill me, give me a quick death."
Ling Shu shook her head disapprovingly: "If I wanted to kill you, why would I go to such great lengths?"
Mr. Zhao: "..."
It seems like she didn't put in much effort to get things to this point!
Ling Shu casually placed the MP5 on the entryway next to her and nodded at him, saying, "Come on, follow me."
After saying that, she turned and walked towards the elevator.
Old Zhao glanced at the MP5 within his reach, gritted his teeth, and clenched and unclenched his fists.
He had a feeling that today was not the day he was hunting down the Sheng family; on the contrary, he was the prey who had fallen into the trap.
The mercenaries who had fainted on the ground should all have guns in their hands. Ling Shu seemed completely unguarded. If he could pick up a gun, he might still have a chance.
Does he really have a chance?
If Ling Shu could disarm him and remove the magazine from his gun in an instant, would she have missed the other guns?
She must have had the confidence to turn her back on him.
In the midst of endless agonizing, fear finally prevailed.
Old Zhao lowered his shoulders and followed silently.
Ling Shu led him into the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor.
While waiting for the elevator to go up, she looked up at him and asked casually, "Did you also kill Zhao Li'en?"
Old Zhao suddenly looked up and immediately denied it: "Of course not! Li'en is my most beloved daughter, how could I possibly hurt her?!"
His expression was one of intense emotion; he even forgot his fear of her and was determined to express his deep love for his daughter.
Ling Shu looked away, her expression meaningful: "Oh?"
With a "ding," we arrived at the third floor.
She didn't press further and walked out of the elevator.
The bright, warm light on the third floor bathed her, making her appear gentle, calm, and harmless. But Old Zhao knew perfectly well the terrifying power hidden within that body.
The third floor of Xiaoming Building is Sheng Yunshen's ward.
Old Zhao had no idea why Ling Shu had brought him here.
The victor is king, the loser is villain; one must accept defeat. Besides, he has nothing left to lose except his life, so he's doomed to die anyway.
Old Zhao followed with a deep gaze.
Walk through the corridor and enter the room.
The first thing that catches the eye is the handsome man lying on the bed. Heaven has truly favored Sheng Yun Shen to the extreme; even as a vegetable, he still possesses sharp and captivating features.
Old Zhao stood at the door, watching Ling Shu walk in, then sat down naturally on the edge of Sheng Yunshen's bed and took his hand.
Her posture was so familiar and intimate, as if she had done it a thousand times.
Old Zhao always felt it was somewhat absurd.
So Ling Shu really likes Sheng Yun Shen, that good-for-nothing?
Why?
Just because he's good-looking?
...Okay, she really is beautiful. Even if she were in a vegetative state, she would still be damnably beautiful.
"I've brought the person. Do whatever you want with him."
Old Zhao snapped out of his daze and instinctively replied, "What?"
What is Ling Shu saying?
Ling Shu turned to look at him, her gaze indifferent: "I wasn't talking to you, so be quiet."
If she wasn't talking to him, then who was she talking to?
Mr. Zhao was even more confused.
Surely it couldn't be with Sheng Yun Shen, who's lying in a hospital bed?
A jumble of thoughts swirled around me, only to be cleared away in an instant.
Suddenly, Sheng Yunshen's voice rang in Old Zhao's ears, as cold as the coldest snow in winter: "Take a good look at the fate of the Zhao family."
The next moment, an endless expanse of snow surged before his eyes, flying upwards and obscuring all vision.
When the heavy snow melted, the scene before Old Zhao's eyes changed, and he was once again in the courtyard of the Zhao family villa, standing at the entrance of the small garden.
He couldn't control his body, like an observer sealed inside a shell, watching helplessly as he raised his hand, seemingly about to open the gate to the small garden.
Suddenly, the old butler's terrified voice came from behind: "Mr. Zhao! The moon! Look at the moon in the sky!"
He stopped what he was doing, turned around, and looked at the old butler with a puzzled expression.
Having worked for the Zhao family for over a decade, the old butler had long since developed a calm and composed demeanor, capable of killing without batting an eye. But now, he seemed terrified, slumped to the ground, utterly disheveled, staring at the sky in utter fear.
The eaves of the small garden blocked the sky that the old housekeeper was looking at, so Old Zhao took a few steps to the side and looked up.
He saw scenery he had never experienced in any of his nightmares.
A huge, red moon hung in the sky, like a bloodshot eye, coldly and mercilessly overlooking the masses of people on earth. Half the sky was dyed blood red by the moonlight, and birds in the air took flight in fright, emitting sharp, mournful cries.
The moment his gaze fell upon the red moon, it felt as if sharp steel needles had pierced Old Zhao's mind, and countless muffled, hoarse screams echoed in his ears.
He finally understood why the old butler was so panicked.
In a nearby house, other members of the Zhao family also noticed the unusual red moon, and various exclamations arose, accompanied by the sharp cries of babies.
Old Zhao withdrew his gaze, gritted his teeth, and scolded the old housekeeper in a low voice: "What are you afraid of! It's just the moon, maybe even a supermoon or something! At your age, you can't be scared by the moon, you're a useless piece of trash!"
The old butler looked at him tremblingly: "Mr. Zhao, this moon... something's not right."
Old Zhao scoffed, "What does it matter to us if the moon in the sky is acting strangely? Let the astronomers worry about it. Has Xiao Bao been woken up? I'll go check on him."
Compared to Hongyue, he cared more about his beloved grandson whom he had been longing for.
Now that the Sheng family has fallen, the Zhao family has painstakingly seized many of the interests that originally belonged to the Sheng family, and is enjoying a golden age. Old Zhao is living a life of great success, and he dotes on his precious grandson, who was born during this auspicious time.
Moreover, the child was incredibly handsome and adorable, looking exactly like Li En when he was a child.
Even the timing of his birth was so coincidental, bringing him countless good fortunes.
Old Zhao was worried about his grandson, so he quickly stepped into the villa.
He scolded many panicked servants along the way. Just as he reached his eldest son's room, he ran into his youngest son, Zhao Liheng, who looked terrified.
Zhao Liheng was Old Zhao's favorite son. Seeing his fear, Old Zhao slowed his pace and softened his tone: "What are you afraid of? You're going to be a president, why are you afraid of this?"
"Dad, I just... I don't know why... I feel a little panicked."
Zhao Liheng clutched his chest, looking uneasy.
Old Zhao smiled and patted his son's shoulder: "You handled Jian Yicheng and Bai Yue's matter very well. You deserve the most credit for the downfall of the Sheng family. Son, remember, everything was for the glory of the Zhao family. When you take over my position, you will become stronger and stronger."
The son is still young, but his methods already have seven-tenths of his father's ruthlessness from back then.
It's okay, with more practice, you'll get better soon.
Under his comforting words, Zhao Liheng calmed down considerably, lowered his hand, and said with even greater determination, "Dad, I will definitely live up to your expectations."
"Okay." Old Zhao nodded in satisfaction. "I'll go check on Xiao Bao. You should go and get some rest."
Inside the room, the baby's shrill cries still echoed, as if it had been terribly frightened.
Zhao Liheng said, "I'll go take a look too."
Mr. Zhao nodded: "Okay, let's go together."
Zhao Liheng took the initiative to knock on the door, and after a while, his eldest son, Zhao Lixin, came over and opened the door.
Seeing his father and younger brother at the door, Zhao Lixin was taken aback for a moment: "Dad, little brother, you're still awake? Were you woken up by Xiaobao? By the way, the moon, have you seen the moon?"
Old Zhao's face darkened, and he couldn't help but scold, "Don't mention the moon!"
What a red moon! It sounds so unlucky.
He walked ahead, hurrying into the room.
Zhao Lixin stayed in a spacious suite with a separate small living room and dining room, and the bedroom was at the far end of the room.
Mr. Zhao rushed into the bedroom and saw his daughter-in-law holding and comforting the baby.
His expression softened, and he stepped forward to ask, "Xiao Bao, what's wrong? Are you hungry?"
The daughter-in-law shook her head frantically, seemingly helpless with the crying baby in her arms: "He won't eat, and I can't soothe him. I don't know what's wrong with him."
"I'll do it."
Mr. Zhao took the baby from his daughter-in-law, hesitantly weighed it in his hand, and tried to soothe it.
"Grandpa's here, Xiaobao, it's Grandpa! Don't be afraid, don't be afraid of anything..."
Zhao Lixin and Zhao Liheng walked in one after the other, standing around Old Zhao, looking at the crying baby with affection.
Blood-red moonlight streamed into the room through the nearby window, casting a crimson glow over everything. Old Zhao frowned unhappily and instructed his daughter-in-law to draw the curtains.
No wonder the child was crying; it must be the red moon's fault!
It's okay, just draw the curtains.
The daughter-in-law quickly drew the curtains shut, and the baby's crying seemed to subside a little.
A smile spread across Old Zhao's lips.
"Bang!!!"
The next moment, everyone in the room heard a loud bang.
The loud noise came from the garden downstairs, as if something had been knocked away and hit the wall, making a series of piercing sounds.
The baby, who had just been soothed, was startled by the loud noise and started crying again.
Old Zhao frowned irritably: "What's going on? What on earth is going on?!"
The room faced away from the garden, and the situation couldn't be seen through the window. He gestured to his eldest son to call the old housekeeper to inquire about the situation.
The call connected quickly, and the old butler's terrified voice came through the receiver, echoing in the room.
"Little Garden! Something's happened in Little Garden! No...no, don't come any closer, help, help!!!"
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