Chapter 98 Bodyguard
Xie Chen's heart skipped a beat. Could the hostage be in this room?
After confirming that the surroundings were temporarily safe, he took out a wire and tried to use it to probe the door crack to unlock it. After several attempts, he found that the lock cylinder had a complex pattern and he could not unlock it quickly without sounding an alarm.
Without further hesitation, he took a step back and kicked the door open.
The door opened with a click. The room was small, a temporary storage room inside the speedboat. There were no lights, and the air was filled with the smell of salt and a very faint scent of blood.
The source of the bloody aura was a pool of dried blood on the ground, and the blood trail formed by dragging stretched from Mu Yan's body to Xie Chen's feet.
Mu Yan curled up on the dirty floor, his hands tied behind his back with the ropes so tight they dug deep into his flesh and chafed him. The black cloth wrapped around his eyes was soaked with tears and blood from his forehead.
Hearing someone come in, he instinctively trembled, his lips moved as if to ask for help, but no sound came out.
Xie Chen did a preliminary examination and found that he was seriously injured, but fortunately, the injuries were all caused by direct beatings and there was no major bleeding, shock, or leg injuries, which would be the worst-case scenario.
Xie Chen calmly cut the ropes binding his hands with his military knife, and then removed the blindfold.
He remembered that Mu Yan originally had a beauty mark at the corner of his right eye, but now it was invisible because of the bloodstains.
When Xie Chen first met Mu Yan, a fallen leaf from the old ginkgo tree at Yunlin Temple landed on his hair. Xie Chen looked over and saw the beta youth standing under the ginkgo tree with his friends, waiting for him to come down the steps so they could go in to offer incense.
As they passed each other, he was about to point out a ginkgo leaf that had fallen into the person's hair when he unexpectedly noticed that the person had a beauty mark at the corner of their right eye that was exactly the same as He Qingyun's.
The color is very light, just like He Qingyun's, and you can't notice it unless you look closely. The position is also almost identical.
Viewed from the side, his eyebrows and eyes even bear a resemblance to He Qingyun in her younger days.
Xie Chen came to Yunlin Temple to offer incense, ostensibly to pray for his poisoned father, Xie Chengjun, but in reality, he did not believe in ghosts or gods.
However, when he knelt before the temple, he still made a wish to the gods and Buddhas, wishing that He Qingyun could find her child who had been lost for many years as soon as possible.
He Qingyun rarely mentioned the child to Xie Chen, but he knew that if the child could not be found, He Qingyun might never forgive herself.
He Qingyun's life was full of hardship. She gave birth to two children, but neither of them grew up by her side. Xie Chen was not her biological child, yet he enjoyed all of her care and love.
Xie Chen knew it was useless to think about these things now, but he still couldn't help feeling regretful. If he had investigated more carefully and thoroughly back then, things wouldn't be like this now.
No matter what, he will bring He Qingyun's child back safely this time.
Mu Yan clearly didn't recall their previous encounter. Upon seeing the newcomer, his body instinctively shrank back, his lips trembling slightly, but he was too terrified to utter a sound. (Lege)
He heard gunshots and the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground outside, knowing that a fierce battle had just taken place.
He looked at the man kneeling in front of him, trying to help him up. The man had a cold and stern look in his eyes, and the smell of blood on his body was frightening, but there were no obvious wounds on his body. It should all be the blood of the mercenaries outside.
The man didn't hurt her. Mu Yan knew that the man must have come to save her. She wanted to ask him who he was, but she couldn't make a sound.
"Don't be afraid, I am..." Xie Chen paused, about to give a brief self-introduction, when he remembered that he was no longer a Marine Corps soldier. "Bodyguard, Mr. He Fan's bodyguard."
Upon hearing He Fan's name, Mu Yan's tense body immediately relaxed. Xie Chen knew that Mu Yan should no longer disbelieve him, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stand behind me, keeping half a step away. You can grab the hem of my shirt. When I tell you to squat down, squat down immediately and put your hands behind your head. Can you do that?"
Mu Yan nodded, then pointed to his throat, indicating that he couldn't speak.
"I know that losing your voice is a normal reaction. Just go back, rest, and take some medicine. Don't worry."
After finding Mu Yan, Xie Chen decisively abandoned the cockpit and led Mu Yan towards the stern deck.
Something's not right...
Holding a hostage alone with only seven combatants—is this just waiting for the hostage to cut the ropes and run away?
After a moment's thought, Xie Chen quickly guessed the situation.
Xie Rong had dealt with the lookout immediately, so he hadn't received any news. He only knew that someone had invaded, so he naturally assumed that the person who came was He Fan.
So he hid Mu Yan here, planted explosives on this speedboat, and now plans to leave in a lifeboat, letting Mu Yan and He Fan be blown up on this ship.
It was a pretty perfect plan; Xie Rong probably didn't have the brains for it. It was probably the mercenaries who came up with it.
There was only one lifeboat on the ship. If he went to the bridge as planned to take control of the entire ship, by the time he discovered the bomb, they would have already left in the only lifeboat.
At that point, whether he and Mu Yan chose to stay on the ship or jump into the sea, they would have almost no chance of survival.
Mu Yan was already very nervous. Xie Chen had checked a lot of information about him and knew that he had a heart problem. Xie Chen hardened his heart and did not tell him about the explosives.
Normally, a time bomb can be set for at least 30 minutes. Only 12 minutes had passed since he rappelled down, and Xie Chen believed he could get Mu Yan away before then. There was no need to make Mu Yan feel any more fear.
Of all the hostages Xie Chen had rescued, Mu Yan was truly obedient and well-behaved. Even though he was so frightened that he lost his voice, he still didn't do anything unnecessary and simply obediently held onto Xie Chen's clothes and followed behind him.
Xie Chen was thinking about the explosives and walked very fast without saying a word. Xie Chen only realized this when he found that he had to jog to keep up with him.
His heart felt like it was being squeezed, but he had no time to comfort Mu Yan. The exit to the deck was just ahead. Xie Chen, hiding in the shadows, saw that Xie Rong had already boarded the lifeboat, while two mercenaries were untying the lifeboat's cover ropes.
This position offers an advantage in a gunfight due to its superior visibility, but if you're not quick enough to eliminate both mercenaries simultaneously, you risk revealing your location and putting Mu Yan in danger.
He made a quick decision and turned to look at Mu Yan.
"Crouch down and wait here for me. Don't come out no matter what noise you hear. Only come out when I call you."
Mu Yan had already started to rely on him. When she saw that he was about to leave her, she involuntarily shrank back, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.
But he still nodded obediently, loosened his grip on Xie Chen's clothes, and squatted down.
Xie Chen knew how scared he was, and calming the hostage was an important part of their mission, but there wasn't much time left for him.
He extended a hand wearing a half-finger glove and gently grasped Mu Yan's hand, which was hanging by his side.
Mu Yan was startled and subconsciously looked up at him.
The man's palms had calluses from years of holding a gun, unlike any other alpha he had ever met.
"You've done a great job, you've been very brave and cooperative, we'll be safe soon."
He took off the pendant from his neck with one hand, placed it in Mu Yan's palm, and gently closed his knuckles.
“This is what my mother left me before she passed away,” Xie Chen paused, “I certainly wouldn’t abandon you, please keep it for me. I’ll be right back.”
When Mu Yan heard that it was left to him by his mother, he initially wanted to refuse. He shook his head vigorously, but he hesitated and nodded when Xie Chen offered to keep it for him.
"Good girl."
Xie Chen didn't say anything more. He lowered his body, held his breath, and crept stealthily behind the shadow of a cargo box on the deck, staring intently at the two mercenaries who were untying the ropes.
The lifeboat jolted violently as the anchor rope on one side came loose.
Xie Chen, positioned in the shadows of the corner, raised his hand and pulled the trigger. At this distance, he didn't even need to aim.
One mercenary fell to the ground without even having time to react. The other reacted extremely quickly, rolling behind the railing while raising his hand to fire, the bullet instantly landing not far from Xie Chen.
Xie Chen glanced at Mu Yan not far away. He was terrified of gunshots and was curled up on the ground, trembling slightly.
Xie Chen directly exposed his position and rushed out on his own initiative.
The two sides grappled at the edge of the deck, bullets sparking as they whizzed between the metal and the seawater, the wind and waves roaring as if adding to the excitement.
"Xie Chen?" Xie Rong shouted in terror from the lifeboat. "How could it be you? Why didn't that beast Xie Fan come? Wasn't he very concerned about this beta...?"
No one responded to him.
Xie Chen and another mercenary were locked in a fierce battle that had entered its final stage. They had run out of bullets, and neither of them could stop to change magazines at this point.
Xie Chenfei stepped forward, kicked the opponent to the ground, and swiftly slashed the side of the neck with his tactical dagger, sealing the throat in one stroke.
The surroundings were deathly silent. While Xie Rong was still standing there in a daze, Xie Chen cocked his gun in three seconds and then pointed it at Xie Rong on the lifeboat.
Xie Rong finally realized what he was about to face: he had kidnapped dozens of people and killed some.
Xie Chen was quite tolerant of his younger siblings, but the one red line that could not be crossed was causing someone's death.
Xie Chen looked at his half-brother, whose hands trembled slightly due to continuous high-precision shooting and an old shoulder injury.
But he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Crimson blood bloomed from his forehead, and Xie Rong fell forward onto the lifeboat. Xie Chen stepped onto the lifeboat and kicked his body into the sea without hesitation.
He called out to Mu Yan, urging him to come out of the cabin, and reached out his hand to pull him onto the lifeboat.
The lifeboat was some distance from the ship's side. The moment Mu Yan stepped onto the lifeboat, her legs went weak and she collapsed into the man's arms.
With only one side of the securing rope still attached, Mu Yan knew the man was probably in a hurry to untie it, so she immediately struggled to stand up from his arms so as not to cause him any trouble.
The man, still in that position, lifted Mu Yan by his legs and carried him like a child, placing him on a chair in the back row.
[Author's Note]
Yan Yan thought Xie Chen looked at her for the first time because of Shang Qiyue's pheromones, but actually Xie Chen was staring at her face.
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