Chapter 276: Song Jinhe Saves the Day

"Listen up, people inside! You are already surrounded. If you don't want to die, come out and surrender!"

Ouyang Long's rough voice came through the loudspeaker. Chen Che cursed under his breath and quickly returned to Ding Yuan's room.

Inside the room, Su Xiao was in the middle of breaking Ding Yuan's arms. Seeing Chen Che return, she said with an angry look, "It was my negligence; he was the one who tipped them off!"

Ding Yuan's face was covered in blood, and all four of his limbs were broken; he had truly passed out.

Chen Che thought quickly and said, "I'll go buy some time. You go and comfort the other children; I expect they've all been scared awake."

"What are you going to do?"

Su Xiao asked, looking worried.

Chen Che grabbed Ding Yuan, clutching his broken wrist. Ding Yuan let out a howl and woke up, looking at Chen Che and Su Xiao with trembling fear, not daring to say a word.

"Go, quickly!"

Chen Che did not answer Su Xiao's question, but instead spoke in a commanding tone.

Su Xiao frowned, then had no choice but to nod.

Chen Che dragged Ding Yuan out of the room and into the courtyard of the Welfare Institute.

Just then, Ouyang Long had already ordered his men to tear down the main gate, and the walls had been forcefully knocked over by armored vehicles.

Chen Che stood in the center of the courtyard, forced Ding Yuan to his knees facing Ouyang Long, gripped the back of Ding Yuan's neck with his right hand, looked at Ouyang Long, and said, "Let us leave, or he won't survive."

Ouyang Long glanced at Ding Yuan, who had wet his pants in fear, and sneered dismissively, "Do you think you can threaten me with him?"

"Both the Ding Family and the Ouyang Family are working for the Gu Family. If he dies, the Ouyang Family will definitely offend the Ding Family."

Chen Che said.

"The Ouyang Family only takes orders from the Gu Family. What happens to the Ding Family has nothing to do with me."

Ouyang Long narrowed his eyes and said, "How about this: tell me your identity and how you found out about this place. If you tell the truth, I might reluctantly consider leaving you with an intact corpse."

Chen Che did not reply. He stared at Ouyang Long, his hand gripping Ding Yuan's neck tightening slightly.

Ding Yuan's breathing hitched, and he begged, "Brother Ouyang, save me! Our two families are old friends! If you save my life, I will be eternally grateful!"

Ouyang Long ignored Ding Yuan's plea for help and instead asked, "What did you tell him?"

"I..."

Ding Yuan's body shook, and he was left speechless.

Chen Che frowned deeply, sensing something was wrong.

The matters regarding the Welfare Institute and the Botanical Garden were taboos. Now that he knew about them, it was absolutely impossible for Ouyang Long to let him leave. As for Ding Yuan leaking the secret, he deserved to die; even if he survived, the Gu Family would not let him go.

Things went as Chen Che had anticipated. Ouyang Long's expression changed, and he sighed, "Ding Yuan, I should have known you were spineless. Then, I'm sorry."

"Bang!"

Before the words had even faded, Ouyang Long quickly drew his pistol and fired decisively.

The bullet entered Ding Yuan's skull, killing him on the spot.

Chen Che let go in astonishment, and Ding Yuan slumped to the ground like a limp noodle.

The hostage was gone; he could no longer buy any more time.

"Since you already know so much, your identity doesn't matter whether you say it or not. Go to hell."

Ouyang Long gave the order, shouting, "Flatten the Welfare Institute along with him! Fire!"

Five armored vehicles aimed their cannons at the Welfare Institute from five directions. Ouyang Long wanted to destroy the evidence and minimize the impact.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Before Chen Che could react, all five shells were fired. Chen Che quickly formed hand seals, the Array Diagram unfolded, and several Earth Walls rose from the ground, surrounding the entire Welfare Institute.

However, the Earth Walls could not hold for even a second against the True Qi shells. The shells pierced through the walls, and the True Qi shattered the walls into dust.

The five shells flew toward the Welfare Institute at the speed of a sonic boom. Chen Che had no time to cast another Artisan Technique to block them, and even if he could, the explosive power of the ammunition, carrying such fierce True Qi, could easily destroy any defense brought by an Artisan Technique.

Yet, Chen Che still turned and rushed toward the Welfare Institute. At this moment, he wasn't thinking about whether he could escape, but about the children inside the Welfare Institute!

Those innocent, pitiful orphans who were cruelly being used as fertilizer and sacrifices!

Su Xiao also saw the situation in the courtyard. She did not hesitate for a moment and instantly released her full strength. Cold Ice True Qi spread rapidly, wrapping the entire building in a layer of solid ice.

Even though she knew it was useless against the shells, she held the same thought as Chen Che: even if she were to be smashed to pieces in the next second, she would give it her all!

"Boom—boom——boom———"

The explosion swept outward. The solid ice wrapping the building cracked with fine lines like a tortoise shell under the force of the shockwave, but miraculously, the Welfare Institute was preserved.

Chen Che narrowly missed the shells and was blown away by the intense shockwave, only to crash into a warm, soft, and elastic chest.

Chen Che looked up abruptly and discovered that he—no, the entire Welfare Institute—was inside a three-dimensional Mysterious Array!

"You brat, you didn't bring me along for a fight! Did you not think of me as one of your own?!"

A soft, coquettish voice of feigned anger came from behind. Chen Che turned his head, and what met his eyes was a fox mask.

"Fourth Senior Sister!"

Chen Che was both surprised and delighted as he called out.

Song Jinhe curled her red lips and smiled, "Still not getting up? Is Senior Sister's embrace that comfortable?"

Chen Che was stunned. Only then did he realize his back was still pressed against Song Jinhe's chest, that pair of elastic assets pressing against his back, feeling quite comfortable.

"It is quite comfortable."

Chen Che smiled and stood up straight.

"You brat!"

Song Jinhe's fair, slender hand patted his head, her smile charming.

The smoke and dust from the explosion dissipated, and Chen Che saw clearly that it wasn't the Welfare Institute that had exploded, but the location where Ouyang Long and his men were.

The barrels of the five armored vehicles were all twisted, and their tracks were broken. These massive, highly lethal machines had now turned into scrap metal.

As for Ouyang Long and his men, they were sprawled on the ground, wailing. Parts of their bodies were missing, leaving only dripping blood and exposed red flesh and white bone.

"Senior Sister, how did you do that?"

Chen Che was still filled with the joy of surviving a disaster as he asked.

Song Jinhe explained, "It's very simple; I just used an Array Diagram to distort space and turn the shells around."

"That amazing?!"

Chen Che exclaimed.

Song Jinhe smiled with a hint of pride, "That's right, your Fourth Senior Sister is a renowned Strange Gate Dunjia Master. I certainly can't win in a head-on fight, but turning around this many missiles is something I can manage."

"So that's how it is!"

Chen Che said sincerely, "If I had known, I would have brought you along, Senior Sister."

"Don't even start, why didn't you call me?"

Song Jinhe glared at Chen Che; her tone was accusatory, but her expression was filled with coquettishness.

"Didn't you say before that you were in seclusion researching Arrays and didn't want anyone to disturb you?"

Chen Che explained.

"That depends on the situation. It's fortunate I asked Shen Qi a question while eating today, otherwise you would have met your end here today."

Song Jinhe pinched Chen Che's ear, "Tell me, how will you thank me?"

"I'll climb a mountain of blades and descend into a sea of fire, I would not refuse even if it meant death!"

Chen Che said with a straight face.

"Tch, you're just spouting nonsense!"

Song Jinhe gave him an annoyed look and let go of his ear.

At this moment, Su Xiao flashed over.

"The children were a bit frightened, but they have stabilized; at the very least, they won't run around."

As Su Xiao spoke, she glanced quietly at Song Jinhe.

Chen Che nodded, leaped into the air, and arrived in front of Ouyang Long.

Ouyang Long was currently lying on the ground, stretching his arm out and struggling to reach the satellite phone in front of him, like a bug crawling with great difficulty.

Having reaped what he sowed, his limbs were not blown off, but his internal organs had been shattered, to the point where he didn't even have the strength to stand up now, and blood kept flowing from his mouth, ears, and nose with his movements.

Ouyang Long finally reached the satellite phone, but before he could even feel happy, his hand was stepped on by Chen Che.

Ouyang Long used all his strength to tilt his head up to look at Chen Che, and Chen Che looked down at him in return.

"You... urgh—"

"Crack!"

Just as Ouyang Long spat out a word, Chen Che exerted sudden force under his foot, crushing the satellite phone into smithereens along with the bones in Ouyang Long's palm.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat..."

At this moment, the sound of helicopter rotors came from the sky, like a giant metal fan waving rapidly, emitting a sharp and continuous cutting sound.

As the helicopter descended, the searchlight shone down, scanning and searching at will.

The wind it whipped up was strong and powerful, as if an invisible giant hand were sweeping up the dust and leaves on the ground, sending them drifting into the air.

"It's a plane from the Justice Patrol Bureau."

Su Xiao recognized the emblem on the helicopter and said.

"It's Xue Zhangming, let's go."

Chen Che glanced at the helicopter, then disappeared from the Welfare Institute with Su Xiao and Song Jinhe.