Chapter 30: Hostage

Thud!

The men in black suits slammed into the fire escape door but couldn’t break it open—only through the gap did they see the handle wrapped in a fire hose.

The lead suit sharply turned his head toward Wei Caiyan, who had his hands in his pockets, tilting his head and whistling as if none of this concerned him.

Tsk.

The suit spat in annoyance, signaled his men to step back, then stepped forward and kicked the door hard.

With strength far beyond human limits, the door flew off its hinges, rolling down the stairs with a clatter and rumble.

The loud noise caused many people on both sides of the corridor to push open their private room doors and peek out.

Who’s making all this noise?

Han Letian, still holding a microphone, frowned and stepped out—only to see a group of black-suited men sprinting up the fire escape, their backs disappearing into the stairwell.

Are these guys cosplaying The Matrix? By the way, where did Li Cheng and Shao Wangshu go?

The two he was muttering about had already reached the rooftop, pushed open the door, and stepped onto the building’s terrace.

The view here was wide and open, with a cool breeze blowing gently. An airplane traced a curved white line high in the sky, like a smiling face.

Tap-tap-tap-tap.

A dense rush of footsteps came from below; the black-suited men burst through the door, nearly colliding with each other.

Do you trust me?

Li Cheng turned to the girl and asked seriously.

Taking a deep breath, Shao Wangshu nodded firmly, “Mm!”

Then so be it.

Amid the girl’s startled cry, Li Cheng pulled her into his arms, scooping her up in a bridal carry, then pushed off the ground, sprinted forward, leapt over the low railing, and jumped off the rooftop.

The black-suited men felt blood rush to their heads; they rushed to the railing’s edge—only to see Li Cheng, still holding Shao Wangshu in a bridal carry, land lightly on the lower rooftop of the adjacent building, bending his knees sharply to absorb the impact.

He set Shao Wangshu down, waved at the black-suited men, then pulled her along, running down through the rooftop entrance—thanks to fire safety regulations, rooftops of high-rises are never allowed to be locked.

Damn it.

The lead suit slammed his hand against the railing, turned to Wei Caiyan with his hands in his pockets, and snapped, “Why didn’t you help stop them just now?”

As fellow Shao family guards, the suit’s supernatural power was too obvious—revealing it suddenly would mean calling the Special Affairs Bureau to erase surveillance footage and wipe civilian memories, a huge hassle.

But Wei Caiyan’s supernatural power was far more discreet.

“Me? I was afraid I’d mess up and hurt them.” She shrugged, indifferent.

“You—” The suit’s eyelid twitched; he suppressed his anger, sprinted downstairs, and ordered his subordinates via earpiece: “Miss Wangshu has been taken. Target male, seventeen, short hair, brown hoodie, blue jeans.”

Bang!

Li Cheng pushed open the building’s door, pulled Shao Wangshu onto a bicycle, turned around, and sped toward the west city district.

The black-suited men, belatedly realizing what had happened, either sped off in cars to chase behind or checked maps, trying to cut them off ahead.

Sitting on the back, Shao Wangshu’s lingering fear, anxiety, and guilt gradually dissolved under the evening wind brushing her face; unconsciously, she tightened her arms around Li Cheng’s waist.

Do you remember the drone I gave you?

Li Cheng tilted his head slightly, smiled, and pulled from his pocket a drone the size of a large power bank, pressed the power button, activated follow mode, and launched it into the air.

Then he put on one Bluetooth earpiece and dialed Yuan Zhixia.

“Hey? Help me out—I’m being chased and need directions.” Li Cheng spoke rapidly: “I’ve launched the drone, serial number xgazs1894651, password is—”

An engine roared ahead; an SUV suddenly cut out from a side intersection, blocking their path.

Li Cheng sharply turned, veering into a narrow alley.

“I’m busy too—I’m not a Doraemon you can call anytime.”

From the earpiece came the crisp crunching of Yuan Zhixia eating chips, and the slow click of her mouse moving left and right.

“Fine, I’ll keep skipping the school newspaper interviews.” Li Cheng sighed.

Deal.

Lying on her bed, laptop in hand and snacks beside her, Yuan Zhixia tossed aside the chip bag, licked her seasoned fingertips, and typed rapidly on the keyboard.

Connected to the drone, adjusted altitude, expanded field of view;

Hacked into surveillance cameras along the route, confirmed exact positions and number of pursuers;

Opened the map app, calculated real-time traffic congestion, plotted an escape route.

Ride forward two minutes, turn left at the second intersection—there’s a residential area with bollards at the entrance.

Yuan Zhixia spoke steadily: “One hundred meters ahead, a car blocks the road. Go past the bollards, turn right into the parking lot, exit at six o’clock, ride two more minutes, then enter under the bridge overpass.”

The black-suited men driving behind felt the bicycle ahead was like a slippery eel.

Every time they nearly caught up, it found a new path, using traffic lights, vehicles, and pedestrians as shields, constantly slipping out of encirclement—now nearly vanishing from sight.

In the passenger seat of one SUV, the lead suit’s eyelid kept twitching, flames flickering on his knuckles, barely igniting.

“Boss, should we open the Shadow Realm?” the driver asked weakly, seeing his expression.

“...” The suit’s face twisted in indecision.

Opening the Shadow Realm in the bustling downtown was especially dangerous—it would require reporting to the Special Affairs Bureau, filling out endless statements, and risk attracting something unclean.

Fortunately, the voice of the middle-aged man on the phone interrupted his hesitation: “Is the one who took Wangshu her classmate?”

“Yes.” The suit replied gravely. “She looked happy.”

“...”

The voice on the other end fell silent for a long while, then said: “I understand. Stop chasing. Just follow from behind.”

All vehicles slowed down simultaneously, trailing the bicycle at a leisurely pace.

“Not chasing anymore? Boring.”

Through the drone and street surveillance feeds, Yuan Zhixia saw the pursuers’ change in behavior and clicked her tongue in boredom—she’d just gotten interested, hadn’t even had fun yet.

Don’t forget to skip the next school newspaper event.

She gave the reminder, then commanded the drone to land, flying it back into the front basket of the bicycle.

The call ended; the Bluetooth earpiece automatically began playing music from a streaming app. Li Cheng hesitated, then handed the other earpiece to Shao Wangshu to wear.

Felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders

Feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders

Pressure to break or retreat at every turn

Pressure to break or retreat at every turn

Facing the fear that the truth had discovered

Facing the fear that the truth had been discovered

Not telling how, all these will work out

No one tells you how, all these will work out

But I’ve gone too far to go back now

But I’ve gone too far to go back now

I am looking for freedom

I am looking for freedom

Looking for freedom

Looking for freedom

The sun set; Li Cheng carried Shao Wangshu up a winding mountain road and stopped on a flat patch halfway up She Shan.

They dismounted, walked over to the pavilion, leaned against a stone pillar, and gazed at the distant city.

The sun sank slowly, gilding the steel forest. Dense traffic flowed along elevated roads, highways, and bridges—like red blood cells surging through the veins of a giant city, or like countless ants, laboring all day, returning to their nests.

Shhh—

A black car rolled slowly over gravel, stopped at a distance, and the black-suited men and Wei Caiyan stepped out in unison, watching from afar the two laughing and chatting ahead, not approaching.

Only when the sun had fully set and the roadside lights along the mountain road turned on did Shao Wangshu leave the pavilion, wave goodbye to Li Cheng, and get into the SUV.

The black-suited man stepped forward at the right moment, holding a pyramid-shaped device that projected a 3D hologram of a stern-faced middle-aged man—by voice, clearly Shao Wangshu’s father.

“You’re Wangshu’s classmate, right?” The middle-aged man studied Li Cheng, then suddenly said: “Thank you.”

Thank you for what? For helping the Shao family uncover a security flaw? Or for spending a happy day with Wangshu?

Li Cheng had no interest in small talk; he waved and watched the convoy drive away.

(End of chapter)