Chapter 321: Tian Jiajia

After rushing out of the internet cafe, Qin Tian headed toward the mall while dialing Xia Nuannuan's number several times in a row.

Without exception, they all indicated that her phone was powered off.

As for Tian Jiajia's phone, there was no need to guess; it must have been in her bag when it was snatched. Otherwise, Su Yan would surely have tried calling her as well.

Qin Tian felt even more anxious.

The possibility of the phone being out of battery was very low; Xia Nuannuan, like him, was in the habit of plugging her phone into the charger before going to sleep at night.

She had woken up quite late today and left the house with a full charge. She should have rarely looked at her phone while shopping, so it shouldn't have run out of power.

That meant it was highly likely she had encountered danger.

Seeing a taxi drive by on the other side of the road, Qin Tian hurriedly waved his hand.

The taxi stopped quickly, made a U-turn, and pulled up beside him.

Qin Tian opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

"Driver, take me to the Adidas store south of the mall. Please hurry; my girlfriend and her friend encountered a bag snatcher while shopping."

While fastening his seatbelt, he explained the situation concisely.

"What? Encountered a thief? Alright, hold on tight."

The middle-aged driver was a good man. Upon hearing this, his expression turned serious. He skillfully shifted gears and started the car, heading straight for the mall.

Qin Tian dialed Su Yan's number again, but it indicated the line was busy. He guessed she might be explaining the situation to the police.

Just as he hung up, his phone rang.

It was a call from Zhang Peng.

"Hello?"

"Brother Tian, Hao Ge and I are taking the scooters through the back alleys to get there. I just saw you get into a taxi; we should be able to arrive first. Do you know where they are?"

Zhang Peng asked urgently.

"I only know Su Yan is there reporting it to the police. I'm going to find her. You two go directly to the area behind the mall near those small shops and look for them. Pay special attention to places with fewer people; I suspect they might be in danger."

"What? Alright, we'll go find them."

"If they really are in danger, it might be a gang operation. Be careful, don't do anything reckless."

"Understood!"

After saying this, Qin Tian hung up and looked at the driver.

"Driver, please go a bit faster."

"Alright, alright, don't worry, young man. I will definitely get you there in the shortest time possible."

The driver nodded solemnly, maneuvering the car through the traffic.

Qin Tian was burning with anxiety and dialed Su Yan's number again.

Soon, the taxi arrived at the south side of the mall. Seeing Su Yan standing on the side of the road, Qin Tian immediately signaled the driver to pull over while handing him the twenty yuan he had prepared in advance.

"No need for the money, just consider it a favor."

The driver said, pulling the car to the curb.

"No, thank you for the trouble."

Qin Tian still handed over the money, then quickly opened the door and got out.

"Young man, it'll be fine, don't worry."

"Thank you!"

Qin Tian thanked him, closed the door, and shouted toward Su Yan.

"Qin Tian!"

Upon hearing his voice and seeing him, Su Yan immediately ran over.

"When you last saw them, which direction did they go?"

Qin Tian asked directly.

"That way!"

Su Yan pointed in a certain direction.

Qin Tian looked, his mood becoming even heavier.

Just as he had guessed, after entering from that opening, a large area consisted of the back streets of the mall.

Unlike the various specialty stores on the main street outside, that area was filled with small stalls and shops selling cheap clothing, as well as some "fly restaurants" and various snacks.

During holidays, this back street was extremely crowded, making it a prime spot for pickpockets.

In this area, people often had their bags slashed with knives, or lost phones and money.

"If things are lost, report it to the police first! Why did you two girls go chasing after them?"

Qin Tian complained with a frown.

"I said the same thing, but you know Jiajia's personality. She started shouting and chased after them. There were too many people inside, and the phone signal was bad. I searched a circle and couldn't find them, so I quickly came out to call you."

Su Yan said with a serious expression.

"I'm going to find them. Zhang Peng and the others should already be searching. You stay here and wait for the police."

Qin Tian instructed.

"Alright!"

Su Yan nodded in response.

"Then I'm going."

Qin Tian didn't waste any more words and ran toward the direction she had pointed.

Watching him enter the back street, Su Yan turned her head toward the bustling intersection with a face full of anxiety, hoping the police car would arrive soon.

……

……

Meanwhile, Zhang Peng and Xu Hao, who had arrived early, were already searching separately inside.

The back street had many winding paths and alleys; some places were quite secluded, while others were practically shoulder-to-shoulder with people.

Following Qin Tian's instructions, the two specifically searched in those more secluded alleys and corners.

In an alley with very little foot traffic, Tian Jiajia and Xia Nuannuan looked pale, their eyes filled with fear and unease as they looked at the three men blocking both exits of the alley.

All three men wore masks to hide their faces and held weapons. Two of them were holding Tian Jiajia's bag and Xia Nuannuan's phone, respectively.

"What do you want? We don't want the things anymore, you can take them. Just let us leave."

Tian Jiajia shielded Xia Nuannuan behind her, forcing herself to stay calm as she spoke loudly.

Clearly, she was extremely regretful now.

After her bag was snatched, she, having a rather bold personality, immediately shouted that someone had snatched her bag while chasing the thief.

However, none of the passersby ahead were willing to help; they even fearfully cleared a path.

Tian Jiajia hadn't noticed at the time that the thief had a gleaming folding knife in his other hand.

It wasn't until she chased into this alley and the thief ahead suddenly stopped and turned around that she realized the situation was wrong, but it was already too late.

Looking back, sure enough, another accomplice had appeared behind them, also holding a weapon.

Immediately after, Xia Nuannuan was driven into the alley by a third accomplice who had snatched her phone, with a knife pressed against her back.

"Do you think we're stupid? Saying you don't want it now is already too late."

The man holding Tian Jiajia's bag said with a cold laugh.

"You better think clearly. Our friends must have already called the police."

Tian Jiajia tried her best to remain calm and warned them in a deep voice.

"So what? It's just a snatched bag. The police won't mobilize many people. By the time they find this place, we'll have long since run away."

The man said with disdain.

The other two accomplices let out sinister laughs upon hearing this.

"Big brother, how long has it been since we had some fun? These two little chicks are quite pretty, especially the one in the back. That figure and face... tsk tsk... looking at them makes me fired up. Why don't we kidnap them? We can play with them for a few days and also extort a large sum of money from their families."

"Right, right. I'm tired of this petty theft. Let's pull off a big one, go to another city to live it up for a while, and then come back. Nothing will happen."

The two men spoke one after another, their eyes unscrupulously sizing up Xia Nuannuan and Tian Jiajia.

The man blocking the other side didn't speak, as if considering whether to support this proposal.

Xia Nuannuan and Tian Jiajia were so scared their faces turned deathly pale, their hearts filled with fear and unease.

"Nuannuan, I'm sorry, it's all my fault..."

Tian Jiajia's eyes were red, and she apologized with a face full of guilt. Then she lowered her voice and said, "Nuannuan, let's run toward the side where there is only one person. Let's rush together. I will desperately hold him back, and you take the opportunity to run out!"

"Don't, he has a knife!"

Xia Nuannuan rejected in terror.

"There's no other way. Don't worry, they won't dare to actually use the knife."

Tian Jiajia said through gritted teeth.

She could only gamble on this; otherwise, if they were really kidnapped by these three, she didn't dare to imagine the outcome.

This was all caused by her own stupidity, and no matter what, she had to let Xia Nuannuan escape. ===== CHAPTER 322 =====