Chapter 691

The captain ordered takeout, and the dishes filled the table; everyone woke up because of the smell of the food.

After Curly left the duty room, he didn't act like a guest—he plopped down on a chair, nodded to the captain sitting directly across from him, and said, "I'll start eating then."

The captain frowned: "Wait, wake the others up, let them all eat together—I have a few things to ask you."

After hearing this, Curly nodded, pushed open the door of the duty room listlessly, and woke each person inside one by one.

After escaping for their lives, they felt they couldn't recover their energy without resting three or four days, but eating was important too; when Ning Chen heard the words "eat," he opened his eyes on his own.

After sleeping so long, his back and waist really ached; Ning Chen stood up, stretched his limbs, walked over to Curly, and asked him: "You said another cop is here too?"

Curly said: "Yes, he wants to ask us something. I didn't want to handle it alone, so he told me to wake you all up."

Ning Chen said nothing in response, patted Curly's shoulder, and at the same time, Chu Muyu and Xiao Ling caught up.

Ning Chen looked out the police station's window and realized it was already night—he must have slept this long.

When all four had arrived, the captain knew they were hungry; he said nothing before they picked up their chopsticks, waiting until everyone had finished eating before speaking: "I've communicated with the nearest police station to the national border—they confirmed your account matches theirs. But I don't have the authority to handle this matter for you; I must report it to my superior."

Ning Chen had only eaten half and wasn't full, but he stopped eating to speak with the captain: "Whether you handle it or not doesn't matter—I came here just to find a place to rest, and I never expected you to help me."

The captain's eyebrow twitched at this; though what he said wasn't wrong, it sounded unpleasant. Fortunately, he wasn't the type to dwell on small matters, so he asked: "It'll take some time to escalate this to our superiors from here—where do you plan to go next? You probably won't wait for our reply."

Ning Chen nodded; he wasn't surprised by this outcome—he knew police officers well, and Xu Si was one of them. He trusted Xu Si and Hua Ping's efficiency far more than this unfamiliar cop's.

"Next step?" Ning Chen rested his chin on his hand and thought: "Of course, going home. They haven't returned in a long time—it'd be good to let their families know they're safe."

At this, Chu Muyu frowned slightly, then quickly lowered his head without speaking.

Ning Chen sharply noticed Chu Muyu's small gesture; he glanced at Chu Muyu thoughtfully but said nothing.

The system had been silent for so long, offering no updates to Ning Chen; though he'd already rescued the people, the system hadn't appeared at all.

Ning Chen didn't want to seek out the system either—they weren't fully settled yet, and someone might come after them at any moment.

Gayibu isn't the type to give up easily; Ning Chen preferred to wait until all three were completely settled before approaching the system, otherwise this mission wouldn't be complete.

Hearing Ning Chen say this, the captain nodded: "You should go back—after all, those three have been trapped in Cangbei for so long."

Ning Chen stood up from his stool, looked around, and asked: "Do you have a phone? I need to make a call."

The captain glanced at him and handed Ning Chen his phone; Ning Chen took it, nodded, and said, "Thank you."

Ning Chen took the phone, pushed open the door, and stepped outside, leaning against the doorframe as he dialed a number.

It was Xu Si's number.

The other side took a long time to answer, but it was Xu Si's familiar voice: "Who is it?"

Ning Chen paused: "It's Ning Chen."

"Huh?" Xu Si sounded utterly shocked: "You're Ning Chen?"

Ning Chen said: "Yes, it's me. I'll arrive at your police station in two days—notify Hua Ping."

Xu Si had too many questions burning inside him; after hearing this, he rushed to say: "Okay okay, I got it. Where have you been these days? Are you still in Cangbei?"

Ning Chen said: "I've already returned."

Xu Si finally exhaled in relief: "I couldn't reach you at all—I thought something had happened to you. Though I never thought anyone could kill you…"

Ning Chen let out a laugh: "Don't worry—I can't die. This time back, I brought back a few top students, all lured or kidnapped to Cangbei; they nearly died on the way."

Xu Si opened his mouth: "... Really? You went to Cangbei to rescue people?"

Ning Chen said: "Yes, don't look so shocked. What else did you think I went there for? Tell Hua Ping soon—some of the dead need their identities confirmed."

Xu Si was still on duty; he immediately picked up another phone and said: "It's so late already… but it doesn't matter—I'll contact Hua Ping right away. What's a few hours less sleep? You're more important."

Ning Chen heard this and found it strangely off; he kept frowning: "Then go ahead—I'm in a hurry on my end."

586's contact with Xu Si

Xu Si replied twice, then asked: "Anything else? Should I send someone to pick you up? Where are you now?"

Xu Si asked three questions in a row, making Ning Chen too lazy to answer: "Don't ask so much—it's still far from your place. But I won't stay long—I'll have to check in soon."

Hearing this, Xu Si suddenly remembered: "Come to think of it, you haven't shown up in ages—I haven't seen you on the livestream."

Bringing this up made Ning Chen feel dizzy again; his original reason for checking in was to save Si Shiya, but he'd been on missions nonstop since then. Though the system had assured him Si Shiya wouldn't be harmed during this time, he still feared for her.

So Ning Chen stretched: "I'll check in once I get back—it's inevitable."

Xu Si sighed, realizing he had nothing more to say: "I'll contact Director Hua right away. Come as soon as possible—if you need it, I'll send someone to pick you up. The people you've angered this time might be as hard to deal with as the Bay Family."

Ning Chen didn't think so: "They're easier to handle than the Bay Family. The problem is I have to protect the other three… Never mind—I'll get ready. See you in two days."

Xu Si sensed Ning Chen's hesitation and gave him a brief farewell.

Ning Chen walked back in, returned the phone to the captain, and said: "We'll stay here tonight—we'll hit the road first thing tomorrow."

The captain didn't mind at all; he nodded and let them go.

Ning Chen didn't contact a new driver; returning home with a full escort was undoubtedly the safest option.

Ning Chen told Cha Ge to wait in advance at the police station entrance, but to be careful not to let anyone inside notice him; then he led the others to the duty room and went to sleep with the other three.

The next morning, Ning Chen woke everyone up; Chu Muyu was the first to open his eyes—he was the most alert among them.

After being trapped in Cangbei for so long, the three naturally longed to return home; what troubled Ning Chen was that Chu Muyu, Curly, and Xiao Ling all came from different provinces—if he sent them all home, it would take too much time on the road.

So Ning Chen explained in advance: "I definitely can't send you home right now—Gayibu might still come after you; he won't give up. For now, come stay with me—I have people who can protect you."

Curly, who valued his life, immediately nodded: "Great! I knew Gayibu wouldn't just let us walk away—staying with you might let me survive a few more days."

"What are you talking about?" Xiao Ling glared at him. "This is still Huaguo—how easy is it for something to happen here?"

"That's uncertain," Chu Muyu spoke up, gazing out the window. "There are plenty who kill for money."

Xiao Ling said: "I've thought of that too, but this isn't Cangbei—even if they want to kill us, they'll still have some restraint."

"That's true," Ning Chen said. "But no matter what, you won't be able to go home these days. Stay here—once it's confirmed safe, I'll let you go."

After hearing this, no one dared speak. Ning Chen told the officer on duty outside, then led the three out.

The car was already waiting at the entrance; to avoid drawing attention, Cha Ge hadn't brought any of his men—he came alone.

Ning Chen was slightly surprised; he looked around and noticed no one in the front passenger seat, so he naturally sat down there, while Chu Muyu and the others got in one after another. Ning Chen closed the door and turned his head to look at Cha Ge.

Brother Cha gripped the steering wheel, noticed Ning Chen's gaze, turned his head, and asked, "What?"

Ning Chen jerked his chin toward the window outside the car, "Where are your brothers?"

"Waiting for us ahead. This is a police station; I wouldn't dare be so reckless." Brother Cha glanced at the police station entrance, then abruptly withdrew his gaze.

Ning Chen let out a "pfft" of laughter, "Were you caught by the police before?"

Hearing this, Brother Cha's expression became somewhat unnatural, "Not exactly caught... we haven't done anything illegal. Mainly, when too many of us gather, we look like some kind of criminal gang. Plus, someone caused trouble, a few of my brothers couldn't help but teach them a lesson, and as a result, we got dragged to the police station for tea."

Ning Chen listened while trying not to laugh, "Were you all caught?"

"Yeah," Brother Cha sighed and pressed the accelerator, "All of us."

Ning Chen felt amused inside; since he had rested well last night, he wasn't sleepy now, so he propped his head up and looked out the window.

Brother Cha was actually a man of few words; if Ning Chen didn't speak to him, Brother Cha would never initiate conversation. Back and forth, Ning Chen grew too lazy to speak, rolled down the window a bit, and simply let the wind from the journey blow through.

Chu Muyu wasn't asleep; his energy had always been quite abundant. Xiao Ling wasn't asleep either, probably having already slept enough.

But the curly-haired one was different. He fell asleep as soon as he got in the car; last night, he had been the deepest sleeper among the group. However, whether he was awake or not didn't matter now, since under the protection of Ning Chen and the others, the interior of the car was very safe.

After driving another kilometer, they finally spotted Brother Cha's subordinates. Just like before, they were waiting in their cars for them to arrive, then would continue to follow.

As for the side of Jia Yi.

Jia Yi knew that Ning Chen and Chu Muyu had escaped back to the Hua Kingdom; naturally, he flew into a rage.

But even with his anger, there was nothing he could do. Having his subordinate die to atone was unnecessary, but issuing a warning was still very important.

So Jia Yi attributed the failure of this operation to his subordinates not doing their utmost. He picked out a few lucky ones and shot them dead in public, leaving no room for mercy. After they died, no one cleaned up the bodies; they were simply thrown into a mass grave.

This time, Jia Yi killed five people.

For a moment, panic spread through the entire Bugu Group. Jia Yi pulled up the surveillance footage from that night when Ning Chen broke into the Bugu Company and watched every single action Ning Chen took after entering the company.

Subsequently, Jia Yi realized that the people he had sent to guard the Bugu Group were useless. Moreover, the main reason Ning Chen could come and go freely within the company, moving through it like a no-man's land, was primarily because he had an ID badge and employee clothing on him.

Jia Yi was so angry he slapped his own thigh hard, staring fixedly at Ning Chen's figure in the surveillance footage.

Now that the group's key research personnel were gone, it meant the new drug Jia Yi had spent a fortune trying to develop was ruined. Furthermore, Chu Muyu had once told Jia Yi that this research project was already halfway done.

Chu Muyu and the others had also invested a great deal of effort, and when Jia Yi originally selected the personnel, he had put in a lot of thought, with the aim of finding a batch of suitable and excellent research scientists for his laboratory to develop new drugs for him.

Now that the people were gone, Jia Yi was naturally extremely furious, but no matter how much he resented it, it was useless. The people had already left, taking the research results with them; Jia Yi had suffered a massive loss with no gain.

But the wood was already made into a boat; no matter how much Jia Yi hated it, it was useless. Having held a high position for so many years, he naturally knew how to adjust his mindset, so Jia Yi went to find Jia Da.

After Jia Da was rescued by Jia Yi's subordinates, he had always been grateful. Jia Yi had given him many benefits in the past, so out of both sentiment and reason, he had to visit the Deng Sect to express his thanks.

However, the act of "visiting the Deng Sect" was, in Jia Yi's case, a time-wasting measure. After Jia Da was taken away by Jia Yi's men, he was placed in a location and well settled; no one was allowed to go out, yet every day's meals were carefully prepared and delivered to Jia Da to eat.

This made Jia Da feel somewhat overwhelmed by the favor, since in Jia Da's previous decades of life, he had never eaten such a meticulous lunch.

The moment Jia Yi and Jia Da met, Jia Da walked over and embraced Jia Yi.

It was very brief, done purely to thank the other party. Jia Yi was not the type to make a fuss; seeing Jia Da hug him, he simply patted the other's back in a reassuring manner.