Chapter 690

Now in an absolutely safe environment, Chu Muyu finally relaxed the taut nerve he had held for so long; his drowsiness was no less than the others', but he had been forcing himself to stay awake out of unease.

The moment he let go, the drowsiness and exhaustion crashed over him like a mountain, fierce and inescapable—he barely touched his arm with his head before closing his eyes and falling asleep instantly.

The police officer watched helplessly as these people immediately fell asleep; he found the situation tricky, for this matter was truly absurd.

Everyone knows what Cangbei is like; over the years, though China has attempted to rescue compatriots trapped there, too many remain stranded, and many have vanished without a trace—even if one wanted to save them, there was no way to begin.

The duty officer's colleague arrived soon after; upon learning the situation, he was just as stunned as the duty officer, and upon hearing these people were resting in the duty room, he pushed the door open and glanced inside.

The instant the door opened, Ning Chen's eyes snapped open; his gaze sharpened toward the door, and when he saw the newcomer was another officer in uniform, his entire body instantly relaxed, collapsing back into sleep with startling speed.

This ability to fall asleep so quickly left the officer awestruck; he clicked his tongue and turned to ask his colleague: "How long have they been sleeping here?"

The duty officer replied: "Half an hour, before I called you, Captain."

The captain nodded, opened the door wider, letting in the outside air—and only then noticed the smell inside the room.

After all, Ning Chen and the others had fled all the way from the corporation to the national border; their bodies were caked with blood, sweat, and dirt—the odor was far from pleasant.

The captain raised his hand and waved it beneath his nose, then ignored the smell entirely, stepping inside and grabbing the curly-haired man closest to the door.

When the curly-haired man opened his eyes, they were filled with confusion; he looked up at the captain, as if unable to process what was happening.

The captain stared at him in silence for a moment, then said: "You have two minutes to wake the others."

The curly-haired man blinked, then stood up; though still groggy, he knew exactly who this man in uniform was.

He nodded, first tapped Xiao Ling on the shoulder, then pushed Chu Muyu; Chu Muyu slept too deeply, and after several pushes with no response, he slapped him.

The last to wake was Ning Chen; after sitting up, he paused for a few seconds, then his eyes cleared—he looked at the captain at the door and said: "You're here to take our statements? Go ahead."

The captain sized Ning Chen up at a glance and immediately sensed this man was no ordinary person; his tone grew more courteous: "You must come with me."

Ning Chen didn't hesitate; he stood and walked to the door, Chu Muyu followed, then the curly-haired man and Xiao Ling.

The captain hadn't expected Ning Chen to be so cooperative; even as he led them to the interrogation room, it felt unreal—but soon he sat down before the four, notebook and pen in hand.

What followed was a question-and-answer session.

"I heard you escaped from Cangbei? What were you doing there?"

Ning Chen did not answer; Chu Muyu, the dominant figure among the three, replied: "We were tricked into Cangbei, like most people—but we were imprisoned in a company, forced to conduct research for them."

"Research?" The captain frowned. "What kind of research?"

"Medical," Chu Muyu said. "We were made to study chemical drugs and develop new ones for the company's profit."

"Did you get paid?"

"No," Chu Muyu shook his head. "In fact, we were held under constant confinement, received no wages, and went hungry every other day."

The captain realized the severity of the situation: "Didn't you try contacting your relatives in China?"

"No," Chu Muyu said. "They knew my immediate family's information, and I knew they had influence in China too. We did try contacting them—but the consequences were always terrible."

As he spoke these words, Chu Muyu's eyes unconsciously flicked to his ankle.

He was a high-IQ talent; he had tried using every available communication device to reach his family—but the moment he dialed, company staff would immediately cut the line. To make an example, they even broke one of Chu Muyu's legs.

Jia Yi also knew the cost of breaking Chu Muyu's leg was too high, so he eventually sent a doctor to reattach it.

584 Statement, Interrogation

After that, no one in the lab dared try contacting family again; no one wanted to be the next example.

So for a time, the lab remained silent, save for the experiments and occasional idle chatter.

They didn't even dare think about planning an escape—never mind actually planning one.

The captain's eyes softened with pity: "You've suffered. How did you escape?"

Chu Muyu tilted his chin toward Ning Chen: "He brought us back. He's our savior."

The captain turned to Ning Chen.

Ning Chen showed no expression—as if rescuing these people meant nothing to him. Sensing the officer's gaze, he nodded and replied: "Yes, it was me. Do you have more questions?"

"How did you get them out? According to this officer's account, your company was heavily guarded—extracting three people couldn't have been easy."

Ning Chen sighed and corrected him: "Not three. Six. But during the escape, with so many people, carrying them all would have meant death for everyone in Cangbei—I abandoned three… Does that sound cold-blooded to you?"

The captain paused, then quickly shook his head: "It's understandable—if you couldn't fight, abandoning them in necessity is unavoidable… But I must know the identities of the three dead, to notify their families."

Ning Chen and Chu Muyu exchanged a glance; Ning Chen then said: "One of the dead was the driver I hired—I don't know his full identity, only that his surname was Li."

Ning Chen's expression grew somber; Li's death weighed heavily on him—he hadn't wanted to abandon Li, but at the time, he simply had no power to save him, and that was why the man died.

And not just Li—two others he had "left behind" haunted him; each time he thought of them, grief welled up uncontrollably.

The captain studied Ning Chen's eyes, as if reading something within them, and said nothing, only wrote a few more lines.

After finishing, he asked: "Who held you captive? Which company has such power?"

This question could easily be answered by Chu Muyu himself; Ning Chen leaned back, chin in hand, while Chu Muyu replied: "You've heard of it—Bu Gu Corporation."

The captain's expression changed: "Bu Gu Corporation is based in Cangbei? No wonder it rose to such power in just a few years—it all makes sense now!"

A good company most lacks talent; high-level Chinese talents like Chu Muyu would never accept low pay—but Bu Gu had just been founded, desperate for funds, and its founder Jia Yi somehow spent vast sums to buy scientists from China—something nearly impossible.

Cangbei was already chaotic, with scams common; Jia Yi devised twisted schemes to lure people like the curly-haired man.

But someone like Chu Muyu was hard to deceive; Jia Yi used every trick—threats, bribes, pressure—to finally trick him in.

After that, it spiraled out of control—and Jia Yi had high standards, believing only those of Chu Muyu's caliber deserved to work for his company.

After learning the facts, the captain wrote down the interview roughly as it happened—but these details alone weren't enough; the captain's true concern lay elsewhere.

The captain looked at Ning Chen: "How did you get them out?"

Ning Chen had already prepared his story; he replied: "It took some effort. I trained in martial arts and knew the area well—I led them hiding and dodging, managed to stay concealed, and escaped."

"That's it?" The captain didn't believe him.

Ning Chen sighed: "We spent nearly a full day fleeing. If you want the full details, I can tell you."

The captain frowned at the thought of a day-long account: "Forget it. Clean up your language—I don't want a rambling version. Condense it and tell me again."

Ning Chen spent one minute structuring his words in his mind, then spoke: "Before entering Cangbei, I arranged a car—Li, the driver. I had him wait to pick us up. Jia Yi started chasing us, sending many men—I led everyone off the highway, into a river."

Did Ning Chen thought for a moment again: "We jumped into the river right in front of them, so before we got ashore, three companions were unfortunately hit. We were lucky enough to escape, hid in a forest, avoided the plane attacks there, and finally ran beyond the national border, while people from Huaguo also came to meet us inside the country."

Did Ning Chen spoke not complicatedly, sounding as plain as chatting about what to eat today.

But if one feels carefully, one can discover that not a single word Did Ning Chen said lacks hidden significance; among them lies much danger. Just by looking at their clothes, one knows the journey must have been extremely tortuous.

The captain fell silent for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, I basically understand. I will have someone verify this matter. I just think that group probably won't let it go so easily. You will be safer staying at the Jingju Society. After leaving the Jingju Society, you must still be extra careful."

Did Ning Chen made an "Hmm" sound, then asked: "So can we go back to sleep now?"

The corner of the captain's mouth twitched. Looking at Did Ning Chen's face, he finally nodded.

"Go sleep in the duty room instead. It's a pity there's no place to bathe here," the captain said while bowing his head to organize the signing pen and the interrogation record. "Alright, I'll go get busy first. I must verify whether what you said is correct."

Did Ning Chen knew this was a necessary procedure, so he said nothing. He directly pushed open the door, and the three people behind him walked into the duty room one by one.

The moment they walked into the duty room, Did Ning Chen felt he was no longer a walking corpse. Falling into a deep sleep after exhaustion was absolutely the best way to relax.

And this sleep, they slept for a full six hours.

The duty room had no bed, only hard stools. Several people slept crookedly. Only Xiao Ling had Gu Ji, sleeping leaning against the wall, not like the other few.

What the people in the duty room did not know was that the police outside were also busy to the point of being at their wits' end because of their matter, for this truly could not be counted as a small matter; it had to be reported to other leaders for verification.

Verification was not an easy thing. They sought confirmation from many sides and finally found some clues.

Finally, they contacted the police station closest to the national border.

585 Departure, Home

When the captain made the call, the person on the other end picked up after a while.

The captain spoke first: "Is this the Border Police Station? I want to ask you something."

The female police officer who answered the phone, hearing the person on the other end ask this, replied: "Yes, may I ask who you are?"

The captain told the other side the name of the police station where he was located, then explained his purpose: "Four people came to our side, saying they escaped from Cangbei. After hearing their description, I found it somewhat strange, so I wanted to ask you."

"Ask what?"

"At the edge of the national border, did anything similar to fighter jets appear?"

The female police officer on the other end, hearing the question from the opposite side, paused for a few seconds, then finally spoke: "... We saw them."

Although the captain had already prepared himself mentally, when he heard the person on the other end say this, he was still somewhat shocked.

It was truly quite outrageous. The captain did not believe anyone could really run back from Cangbei, although Did Ning Chen did indeed look like he had some skills.

Only when receiving the accurate answer at this moment did the captain say: "So it really is like this... I understand. Thank you."

After saying this, he hung up the phone.

This matter was no small affair. According to the rules, it should be told to the leaders, but at this time Did Ning Chen and the others were still here. Compared to reporting it, perhaps investigating the ins and outs of this matter clearly was the most important.

So in the end, the captain let them rest for half a day. Only when the few people's stomachs were hungry and they had to get up to eat could the captain communicate with the few people.

564. Life and Death on a Thin Line (11)