Chapter 480: Coordinates Locked, Stalling Time

The coordinate signal had been sent out for less than a minute when Lu Si, a mercenary, seemed to sense something, slowly opened his eyes in the darkness, fished a small detector out of his work‑pants pocket, and a beeping sound began.

Lu Si was fully awake and walked step by step toward Gu Sen and Song Shiwei.

The crushed stones crackled underfoot, his footsteps halted at Gu Sen's ear, and suddenly a flashlight's harsh beam blazed onto his face.

Even though he kept his eyes closed, he wasn't asleep; the instant the light pierced, his pupils reacted, rolling twice beneath his lids.

Smack!

Lu Si slapped Gu Sen across the face, growled a curse, and then kicked Gu Sen.

Gu Sen staggered, and when he activated the liquid‑touch signal marker he had anticipated the consequence of being discovered; even after a slap and a kick he remained silent.

It did wake Song Shiwei and Gu Yinxue.

Gu Yinxue hurried over and asked, "What happened?"

"Damn, there's still a locator!" Lu Si crouched, grabbed Gu Sen's collar with one hand, and resumed scanning mode.

Gu Yinxue frowned, "Haven't you already searched?"

Lu Si roared, "There are so many micro‑locators on the market, how many have never shown up? I don't know them all. Find it, crush it, and let's go!"

This time we can't avoid the pier; we have to go to the pier.

Gu Yinxue also crouched to search his body, but found nothing; each extra second they lingered increased the risk of being found.

Gu Yinxue grew frantic, pressed a dagger to Gu Sen's throat and demanded, "Speak! Where is the locator hidden?"

The bright flashlight lay on the ground, its rays radiating outward; using its light they could see each other's faces clearly.

Gu Sen stared at his grim‑faced adopted daughter, felt sorrow, and stubbornly said, "There's no locator; you've already searched me."

From behind the pillar came a rustling sound, Song Shiwei's frantic attempts to speak and wriggle free of the ropes after hearing her husband being beaten, her legs kicking the ground nonstop.

Song Shiwei's tears had dried, a dense web of red veins spread across her eyes, and her teeth were on the verge of breaking.

No one paid attention to her harmless little movement.

Lu Si noticed Gu Sen's cuff was dirtier than anywhere else, covered in abrasion marks; he drew his dagger and sliced the entire sleeve off.

The sharp dagger cut a wound across Gu Sen's thick forearm; he winced in pain, fresh blood gushed, droplets fell to the ground, and the air filled with a metallic scent.

Gu Sen lifted his other hand slightly to press the wound and stem the bleeding.

"That's the little thing." Lu Si found the shattered liquid‑touch signal marker, flashed a smug grin, then his expression shifted as he recognized it, urging Gu Yinxue, "We leave right now!"

Gu Yinxue glanced at Gu Sen's bleeding arm and immediately agreed.

Lu Si bound Gu Sen with rope, one end in his hand, while his other hand pressed against the back of Song Shiwei's neck, forcing her to follow his pace forward.

Song Shiwei staggered, dizzy and reeling, fell to the ground then was mercilessly hauled up, her face smeared with snot and tears.

By contrast, Gu Sen was only a bit unsteady from being dragged, far less disheveled than Song Shiwei.

Song Shiwei's eyes bore fiercely into Gu Yinxue's profile.

Gu Yinxue ignored it, her mind fixed on leaving the area quickly to escape the disaster.

Gu Sen deliberately slowed his steps; even an elderly man still had enough strength to contest Lu Si.

Lu Si yanked hard, shouting, "Move faster!"

Gu Sen also stumbled; Gu Yinxue looked down and exposed him, "Don't think you can deliberately stall time."

She then bent over to help him up.

Gu Sen gritted his teeth against the pain, and as always spoke gently of the past: "When I found you, you were by a trash can in an alley, the umbilical cord still uncut, your eyes never opened…"

Gu Yinxue's steps faltered; she knew Gu Sen was buying time, yet the memory lodged in her heart.

When she learned she was a fake heiress, taken in by her father, she guessed it—she and Jiang Lai were both children abandoned by their parents.

Her father's words made it clear she was a girl abandoned by her birth mother; the uncut cord and unopened eyes showed she wasn't born in a hospital.

Her birth mother deliberately gave birth beside the alley's trash can, then logically left her there.

She was as pitiful as Jiang Lai.

Gu Yinxue said nothing.

Gu Sen continued, "Back then I couldn't find Jiang Lai, and I came across you. I thought perhaps it was fate. I didn't initially plan to take you in as a replacement for my daughter; I was afraid you'd freeze to death in the heavy snow, so I would definitely take you away—whether to send you to the orphanage or find someone to adopt you. I wondered if my kindness would move the heavens and help me find my daughter. Later, when I still couldn't find her, I thought that if possible, my daughter could meet a soft‑hearted person who would treat her well."

Director Tang truly was a soft‑hearted man, allowing his daughter to grow up safe and healthy. He was grateful to Director Tang; the more grateful he was, the more he hated himself, hated Song Shiwei, hated the Gu family.

Gu Yinxue scolded, "Stop talking!"

Gu Sen insisted, "I carried you to the hospital, found a trustworthy nurse who cleaned you, wrapped you in a blanket and lifted you. Later I brought you back to the Gu household; during the two years when Zhi Yan's mother was mentally unstable, only Zhi Yan and I could care for you. You disliked nannies; the more a nanny held you, the more you cried. We changed nannies many times, yet you were the same. Once you fainted from crying, we discovered you had a congenital heart defect; a minute's delay getting you to the hospital could have killed you… Fortunately you later grew up healthy…"

"Stop it!!!" Gu Yinxue, in a fury, swung her dagger, intending to plunge it into Gu Sen's body so he could no longer speak of the past, but she halted abruptly, strode ahead, opened the mud‑splattered used car and got in.

Lu Si shoved Song Shiwei into the back seat and forced Gu Sen into the trunk.

Song Shiwei snarled and flailed, but was brutally slapped; a rush of blood‑metallic taste filled her mouth, and when she opened her mouth a tooth fell out.

Song Shiwei clutched the armrest, trembling continuously.

"Lu Si, what are you doing!" Gu Yinxue snapped impatiently, turning to glare at Lu Si.

Lu Si gave her a sidelong glance, looked at Gu Sen in the trunk and said, "He's too much of a distraction. If you want to survive, don't be distracted. As for that woman, even mute she's still noisy."

Gu Yinxue thought Lu Si was right, but as the trunk lid slammed shut she added, "Your priority is to keep me safe! If I get into trouble you won't get the remaining half of the money."

Lu Si bent over, climbed into the car, kicked the door shut with a bang, his sharp gaze fixed on Gu Yinxue's back, "To the pier."

Gu Yinxue started the engine; barely a hundred meters after they drove off, police had surrounded their car.

"How did they arrive so fast!" Gu Yinxue's eyes widened instantly.

Lu Si's dagger pressed again against Song Shiwei's neck, he glanced roughly at the surrounding police and said coldly, "Not many, they just sent a few nearby units; ram them!"

"Hurry!" Lu Si urged, "Otherwise when the main force arrives we'll be trapped with no escape."