Xu Laidi left, while Song Wei and Lin Zhen stayed behind, continuing to track the two kidnappers.
After all, there were already police officers following Xu Laidi’s trail.
Song Wei hid herself well, though her expression was tinged with regret- what a pity she couldn’t stay and watch the drama unfold at the Lin family.
The two kidnappers meandered through the winding paths and eventually entered an abandoned hunter’s cabin deep in the mountains.
A quick glance showed four or five burly men outside, and faint sounds of children crying and girls screaming came from inside the cabin.
Lin Zhen’s face darkened.
However, the two of them didn’t act rashly and waited for the right opportunity.
“Three of you, go meet up with that woman,” the leader instructed.
One subordinate asked, “Boss, after we get the kids, are we keeping the woman?”
Another chimed in, “She’s greedy, stupid, and ugly-why bother keeping her around?”
The leader exhaled a puff of smoke.
“Hmph, she’s a bit ugly, but these days, there are plenty of bachelors who can’t find wives. They’ll trade something for a wife-even if it’s just grain. She’s still worth something.”
The first subordinate asked, “Boss, we’re not keeping her to scam others anymore?”
The leader took another drag from his cigarette. “An idiot like her will only mess things up if we keep her around.”
Xu Laidi could never have imagined that while she was scheming to profit off the kidnappers, they were planning to sell her off for profit as well.
Three men left, and the remaining group began to relax, clearly lacking any sense of discipline. The men outside quickly started smoking, playing cards, and gambling.
Taking advantage of their lax vigilance, Song Wei and Lin Zhen slipped in through a broken window.
As soon as they landed, they were spotted by a kidnapper who was about to assault a woman in the room.
“You…”
Before the man could finish his sentence, Song Wei darted forward and struck him on the neck with a hand chop.
Lin Zhen took care of another kidnapper leaning against the door.
Their actions were quiet enough not to alert the men outside, who were engrossed in their games, though the children and a few women inside were frightened.
The woman who had narrowly escaped assault looked terrified and instinctively opened her mouth to scream. Song Wei crouched down and covered her mouth.
“Shh, don’t alert the people outside,” she whispered.
The woman trembled, tears streaming down her face, and nodded frantically.
The other children stared at them in fear.
“Don’t make a sound. We’re here to save you,” Song Wei reassured them.
The children bit their lips, nodded, and silently wept, their large, innocent eyes fixed on Song Wei and Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen stood guard at the door while Song Wei began untying the captives.
Once freed, the group clung to Song Wei in fear, unwilling to let her out of their sight.
“Qiangzi, don’t go overboard. You can play around, but don’t ruin them-dirty goods won’t sell for much…”
A man holding a cigarette walked in mid-sentence, immediately noticing something was wrong. As he turned to call for help, Lin Zhen swiftly struck him on the neck and dragged him inside.
In the next second, Lin Zhen searched the three kidnappers they had subdued and found weapons on them-including guns.
Considering there were still many men outside, escaping with so many people would be too dangerous.
Song Wei searched the room and eventually found a cellar under a broken kang bed.
The cellar smelled moldy and damp, but it was spacious enough.
Song Wei lifted the cellar lid, coughing as the dust hit her face. After letting the air circulate, she motioned for everyone to climb inside.
The recently freed captives were still terrified, clinging to Song Wei and Lin Zhen for reassurance and reluctant to go into the cellar.
Song Wei explained, “They have guns. It’s safer in here. If we try to escape with you, someone could easily get killed. Once we catch the kidnappers, we’ll let you out.”
Her reasoning convinced them. One girl gritted her teeth and took the lead, climbing into the cellar.
“Thank you,” she sobbed as she descended.
With her example, the others followed obediently.
After covering the cellar entrance to make it look undisturbed, Song Wei took the dagger Lin Zhen handed her.
“Perfect. Time for the hunt to begin.”
The two began scouting out the kidnappers.
In the outer hall, a group of core members sat around discussing their next steps. Among them were two women.
Before Song Wei and Lin Zhen could act, the sound of gunfire suddenly erupted outside.
Everyone in the hall jumped to their feet.
“What’s going on? Have we been discovered?!”
“Retreat!”
At the first sign of trouble, this group’s instinct was to flee with their “cargo.”
As for the men who had gone outside earlier, they cared about them-but not much.
The group quickly moved toward the room where their “cargo” was kept, only to freeze in shock upon entering.
“Where are they?!”
“This is bad!”
Realizing too late that someone had infiltrated, the leader instinctively reached for his gun.
A long, slender leg swung toward him, and before he could draw his weapon, he was sent flying.
“Bang! Bang!”
The others pulled out their guns, but Lin Zhen reacted swiftly, grabbing one man’s arm and forcing his shots into the air. The man was then kicked aside.
Song Wei also disarmed another man, nearly breaking his wrist in the process.
Screams filled the room.
The two women in the group saw their chance and bolted. The younger one even fired a shot at them but missed.
“Quick, there are cops inside!” one shouted, assuming their attackers were law enforcement.
Reinforcements rushed in from outside, but no matter their size, none were a match for Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
The duo fired at their attackers, aiming for legs and arms to incapacitate them.
“These people are all yours. I’ll go after the two women,” Song Wei said, reloading her weapon before sprinting out.
Lin Zhen, trusting her skills, quickly tied up the injured and screaming kidnappers.
This fight had exhilarated him. Even on the battlefield, he hadn’t experienced such seamless teamwork.
As Lin Zhen bound their enemies, a faint smile played on his lips.
Meanwhile, Song Wei had already caught up with the two women. She fired a shot, and the younger woman pulled the older one in front of her as a shield.
The older woman was shot in the leg and collapsed, screaming in pain.
Song Wei didn’t stop to check on her, continuing to pursue the younger woman.
“What do you want? Don’t kill me! I’ll give you money-whatever you want!” the younger woman pleaded, her eyes filled with hatred even as she cried pitifully.
“I had no choice! I was kidnapped by them too! I used to be an innocent girl, but they said they’d kill me if I didn’t obey!”
Song Wei raised her gun and aimed at her. “Oh, really?”
Seeing her chance, the woman’s eyes gleamed with calculation. She knew women were the easiest to manipulate.
“It’s true! On my first day, they… violated me. I had no choice but to play along to survive!”
Song Wei wiped at her nonexistent tears. “So pitiful. Come here-I’ll explain everything to the police. Tell them all their crimes, and they’ll go easy on you.”
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