Chapter 122: [With Tears of Emotion] (Third Chapter Completed!)

The white van drove for over forty minutes, arriving at a remote neighborhood far from the downtown area. The surroundings were filled with old, dilapidated buildings. Weaving through various turns, the vehicle entered a narrow alley, which seemed to be the site of some small factory that appeared to have been abandoned for a long time.

The car drove into the courtyard, and accomplices immediately closed the heavy gates.

Once the vehicle stopped, the kidnappers pushed Chen Xiao and Ye Xiaonuo out of the car. Ye Xiaonuo's face was as pale as paper. Chen Xiao cautiously stayed close to her while carefully observing his surroundings, silently counting the number of kidnappers.

Indeed, there were accomplices stationed here. Including the one guarding the gate, there were a total of six visible now.

The two captives were escorted into the factory building. The interior was not very large, but it was completely empty, stripped of any production equipment. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, making it obvious that the place had not been used for ages.

Inside, two more men were waiting. One of them, a gaunt man wearing a wrinkled suit, sat on a wooden crate with his legs crossed, holding a beer bottle in his hand.

In front of him stood a slightly stocky man with shifty, triangular eyes, giving him an insidious appearance. On the crate between them sat seven or eight empty beer bottles, along with some leftover beef, roasted duck, and braised chicken. A chaotic mess of poultry bones was scattered on the floor nearby.

The two were eating and drinking. Seeing their subordinates return, the thin man immediately jumped to his feet, an excited expression on his face.

"Boss! We got it done! We brought the target back!"

The two kidnappers strode forward, eagerly trying to claim credit. The thin man glanced at Ye Xiaonuo, rubbed his chin with a greasy hand, and wore a malicious smile. "Hmph! Is this her? The daughter of that cop surnamed Xu? Hahahaha!"

Meanwhile, the stocky man with triangular eyes frowned at Chen Xiao, looking somewhat dissatisfied. "What's the deal with this kid? Didn't we tell you to grab the cop's daughter? Why is there an extra one? Could it be... I heard that cop Xu has a biological son. Is this him?"

The two kidnappers quickly explained, "No, no! Second Boss! We just happened to grab this kid along the way. He was with this chick, and we couldn't wait any longer for fear of missing our chance, so we just threw them both in the van. We originally thought about finding an empty spot to get rid of him, but the kid scared himself shitless and started bragging about how rich his family is... We figured, since we're just venting our anger this time, making a little extra cash on the side wouldn't hurt, so..."

"The son of a rich family?"

The thin man and the triangular-eyed man exchanged glances—these two were presumably the ringleaders of the gang.

A boss and a second-in-command.

Chen Xiao silently took note of this in his mind.

"Bring him over!" The boss, seemingly in high spirits at having captured Officer Xu's daughter, waved his hand. A subordinate immediately shoved Chen Xiao forward.

The boss sat back down cross-legged on the crate and stared coldly at Chen Xiao. "Kid, what's your name, and what does your family do? Better spell it out for me clearly! Since you're here, you'd better tell me the truth. Your life is in my hands now! If you lie and we don't get our money... Hehe."

Chen Xiao found it amusing inwardly, but immediately put on a loudly panicked facade. "Don't! My family really is rich, please don't hurt us, my family will pay the ransom! They definitely will!"

One of the kidnappers behind him stepped up and kicked Chen Xiao in the leg, cursing, "Who told you to blabber about that? The boss is asking where you're from! Your name, what your family does! So much unnecessary crap!"

Chen Xiao took the kick without getting angry. He merely spared the kidnapper a glance, thinking that he would return that kick later on.

"My name is Chen, and I'm a student at Kide Academy. My friend is the Second Young Master of the Xu family..."

"Kide Academy? Friends with the Second Young Master of the Xu family?"

Hearing this, the two leaders felt a mixture of joy and anxiety.

The joy was that they had indeed hooked a big fish! In City K, who didn't know that anyone studying at Kide Academy was either exceptionally wealthy or of noble birth? The anxiety was... friends with the Second Young Master of the Xu family? The Xu family were prominent tycoons in City K. Moreover, the eldest young master of the Xu family was known across the underworld as the "Little Red Robe," an absolute ruthless character. Crossing him was no game.

The boss grew somewhat hesitant.

"Boss, what are we afraid of?" The second-in-command suddenly puffed out his chest and sneered. "We're leaving City K for good right after this job anyway! We even dared to kidnap the cop's daughter, why should we be afraid of offending that Little Red Robe? Once we're gone, no matter how powerful he is, it won't matter to us."

"Right! Makes sense!" The boss's eyes lit up. "Good! We'll take this job!"

In high spirits, he patted the shoulders of his two subordinates. "Not bad, not bad! Looks like you guys actually have some skills! Going out to do a kidnapping and getting a buy-one-get-one-free deal! Good! You've got a bright future!"

With that, he turned his attention to Ye Xiaonuo, stepping forward to pinch her chin. Ye Xiaonuo tried to struggle, but how could she possibly overpower him?

"Bitch! I'm a man of my word! We didn't kidnap you for the money! Your old man gravely wronged me back then, we have a blood feud! Hmph! He got me thrown in prison back then, hitting me with a ten-year sentence! As a result, my gang scattered, and my woman ran off with another man! Now that I've broken out, I'm doing this for one reason only—to vent this anger! When I finish this job, the hatred between me and your father will be irreconcilable!!"

He gazed at Ye Xiaonuo, his eyes gradually taking on a lecherous gleam. Naturally, a sycophantic subordinate nearby chimed in to flatter him. "Boss, want to have some fun now? I think this cop's daughter is quite delicate and pretty..."

"Idiots! Brainless idiots who can't achieve anything major!" The boss's gaze suddenly cleared up, and he heavily knocked his subordinate over the head, roaring, "Getting business done comes first! Interrogate this kid we grabbed, shake his family down for money before anything else! Priorities first! This chick is in our hands anyway, do you think she can sprout wings and fly away? Hmph! Don't go weak at the knees the second you see a woman!! Once we have the money, what kind of woman can't we get?"

The others hurriedly fawned, "Yes, yes! The Boss is wise!"

The boss then put on a nauseating smile again. "Throw the chick into the back room first, and lock her up nice and tight for me. Hehe! Once we finish the real business, I'll have some fun first! And then... hahaha, all you brothers can line up and take turns! Since I'm eating the meat, you guys can at least share some soup! Haha, that cop surnamed Xu made our lives a living hell! Wasn't he arrogant? Today, the brothers are going to run a train on his daughter! Let's see if he can ever lift his head in City K again! Oh, and brothers, get the cameras ready! I'm going to star in my very own adult film today! Hahahaha!"

Everyone burst into lewd, boisterous laughter. Chen Xiao inwardly sneered repeatedly, but continued to exercise restraint.

He thought to himself: *Since I've waited until now, I might as well find out the full scope of things, see if these people have any other accomplices, and consider it a one-time favor to completely eradicate this root of trouble for Officer Xu and Ye Xiaonuo. Besides, if I want to leave, I can make a move whenever I please.* He had already ascertained one thing: these kidnappers were merely ordinary people.

"Kid! Tell me, how do we contact your family? Give me the phone number!"

"My name is Chen, Chen Xiao. My home contact number is XXXXXXXXX..." Chen Xiao put on a helpless expression.

"What does your family do? What kind of business?"

Chen Xiao thought for a moment and answered honestly, "Nothing much, really. We just developed a commercial street, about seven or eight hundred meters long with over two hundred shops..."

Hearing this, the kidnapper boss felt his heart race with excitement!

Developing a commercial street—what kind of concept was that? The family had to be worth hundreds of millions at least to pull off a business that big, right?

Only... he had no idea that what Chen Xiao was talking about was an abandoned, unfinished commercial street... It was true there were over two hundred shops, but only four of them were actually operational...

It was purely a case of a few eccentric immortals burning money to fence off a piece of land just to play around.

Right in front of Chen Xiao, the boss immediately dialed the number Chen Xiao had provided—which belonged to the cafe.

The call connected quickly.

"Say it yourself! Honestly, and no tricks! Otherwise, I'll let you taste a bullet whenever I feel like it!"

The boss pressed a gun against Chen Xiao's head, then brought the receiver close to Chen Xiao's ear.

After the call went through...

"Hello? Starbucks Cafe, who is this?"

Huh? Why was it the Second Young Master Xu's voice?

"It's me, Chen Xiao." Chen Xiao sighed. "Why are you at my place?"

"Haha, I'm playing mahjong with Old Master Tian and the others!" Over the phone, the faint sound of shuffling mahjong tiles could indeed be heard, along with Second Young Master Xu seemingly saying to someone nearby, "Yeah, it's Chen Xiao."

Faintly, Zhurong's voice could also be heard: "Tell him to let Champagne come back early..."

"Hey, Chen Xiao, you heard that, Big Sister Zhurong said—"

"Listen to me first." Chen Xiao glanced at the kidnapper boss holding the gun next to him. "I... have been kidnapped."

"..." On the other end of the line, Second Young Master Xu seemed to freeze. Then, a few seconds later, a burst of absurd laughter came through.

"Kidnapped? You got kidnapped? Hahahaha... You're killing me! Who on earth could possibly kidnap someone like you?? No way!"

"It's true, a gang of heavily armed desperadoes." Chen Xiao sighed. "Right now, someone is pointing a gun at my head."

On the other end, Second Young Master Xu was stunned.

Heavily armed desperadoes??

Are you kidding me! In this world, let alone heavily armed desperadoes, even terrorists from Al-Qaeda wouldn't have the capability to kidnap a monster like Chen Xiao, right?

Chen Xiao wanted to say more, but the impatient kidnapper snatched the receiver away and spoke coldly into the phone, "Hey! Listen up! This kid surnamed Chen is in our hands right now! If you want him alive, hehe, before dawn tomorrow, get three—uh, five million ready! I want cash!! Old banknotes, and no consecutive serial numbers!!"

On the other end, Second Young Master Xu was momentarily stunned by the sudden change of speaker...

*He actually got kidnapped? It's not a joke.*

However, he wasn't the least bit worried and chuckled heartily. "Oh? Sounds pretty professional! Want old banknotes, and they can't be consecutively numbered? My friend, looks like you're quite practiced at this."

"Cut the fucking crap! Are you this kid surnamed Chen's family? If you don't want him to die, you better obediently get the money ready!"

"Uh... I'm not his family." Second Young Master Xu laughed shamelessly. "I'm his friend, but it's the same whether you talk to me or him. I'm Xu Yifan."

Xu Yifan?

The kidnapper boss froze for a moment. Someone nearby who recognized the name hurriedly whispered a reminder: "That's the Second Young Master of the Xu family, the younger brother of Little Red Robe!"

In City K, you might not know who the mayor was, but absolutely no one didn't know the Xu family.

The kidnapper boss couldn't help but feel a little thrilled!

This kid wasn't lying! It seemed his family really did have close ties to the Xu family! With such a wealthy family, was asking for five million too little? Hmm, he should ask for more!

"From the Xu family? Hmph! Then get eight million ready... before dawn tomorrow..."

Before he could finish, Second Young Master Xu on the other end protested! He raised his voice and shouted into the phone,

"What did you say! Eight million? You want eight million?!!!!!!!!!"

Huh? Did he ask for too much? The kidnapper boss felt a bit puzzled.

But then, Second Young Master Xu's next words nearly made the boss's eyeballs pop out of his head!

They heard Second Young Master Xu exaggeratingly yelling over the phone:

"Only eight million?? Just that little?! Way too little! Damn it!! Thinking of my Xu family here in City K, our reputation is upheld by everyone, and our status in the underworld is granted by everyone! When my Xu family stomps our feet, City K shakes a few times! My best friend and sworn brother gets kidnapped, and he's only worth eight million?!! You! You! You! You are simply looking down on people too much!!"

Second Young Master Xu sounded righteously indignant as he roared, "No way! Given my status in the underworld, eight million—if word gets out, you might not lose face, but I certainly will! Eight million is way too little! It has to be at least twenty million! Otherwise, I'll have zero face left!! How about this, let's negotiate—no less than ten million at the absolute minimum! Otherwise, if word spreads, I won't be able to show my face in public!!"

The kidnapper boss was completely petrified and stunned.

He almost burst into tears of gratitude!!

Good god! What kind of world is this?!

In all his years in the kidnapping business, he had never encountered a victim who actively suggested raising the ransom!! If all business were this easy to do, how wonderful would that be!!

Has the world changed? Are businesses this easy to run now? Didn't people say there was a financial crisis going on?

"You... you... you said it yourself. Ten million! Ah no! Twenty million! Just twenty million!!"

The kidnapper boss clutched the receiver, trembling with excitement.

Right at that moment, on the other end of the line, Zhurong—growing impatient with the mahjong game—snatched the receiver right out of Second Young Master Xu's hand.

"Hello!" Zhurong's voice sounded extremely annoyed.

The kidnapper boss was momentarily stunned by the change of voice on the line and instinctively uttered a "Hello."

"Did you guys kidnap Chen Xiao?" Zhurong sounded thoroughly irritated.

"Yes! If you want him alive, bring the money! We just agreed on twenty million, first thing tomorrow morning—"

Before the kidnapper boss could finish...

"Why so much nonsense! Chen Xiao was kidnapped by you guys, right?" Zhurong asked impatiently.

"That's right!!" The kidnapper boss said smugly.

But then...

"Kill him or skin him, do as you please! Don't hold up our mahjong game!"

Kidnapper boss: "............"

What, what kind of people are these?!

Yet, on the other end, Zhurong suddenly raised her voice and roared at the top of her lungs,

"Chen Xiao! You brat, if you're done messing around, go home early! Don't overdo it."

Hearing Zhurong's lion's roar coming through the receiver, Chen Xiao let out a bitter laugh, nodded, and shouted loudly, "Got it, I'll head back by myself in a bit."

"Don't ruin my chance of winning a tile!"

Leaving behind those final words, Zhurong... *snap!!*

Hung up the phone!

The kidnapper boss gripped the receiver tightly, looking as though his brain had completely short-circuited.

What the actual fuck kind of people are these?!

A subordinate nearby, having heard the conversation through the phone, couldn't help but gently poke the boss and ask with a troubled expression,

"Boss? What do we do now? Do we rip up the ticket [kill the hostage], or do we not?"