Qiming Chapter 80

Chapter 80

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Having stayed up all night and now faced with climbing over eighteen floors, more than sixty meters vertically, it was really too painful for Xu Chengyue.

By the time he finally dragged his nearly exhausted legs to push open the door to the eighteenth floor, Gu Yunfeng had already made a round and informed him that Fang Xing was not on this floor.

The window in the corridor was open, allowing the wind to gust inside, rushing into the sealed corridor and creating a whistling sound.

"Let's keep climbing," Gu Yunfeng said, pointing to the stairs while gripping his loaded handgun tightly.

When they reached the twenty-first floor, Gu Yunfeng's expression noticeably grew more serious. He glanced at the time, six-thirty in the morning. Only half an hour remained.

Wei Han was the property manager of this office building, so the best place to imprison Fang Xing would likely be a storage room or a utility room that Wei Han had easy access to. Such places wouldn't be disturbed by the usual office workers and were convenient for keeping things hidden.

The twenty-first floor appeared particularly deserted. Through the window glass, several offices could be seen, clean and without any personal belongings, clearly not yet rented or used.

"This floor seems so empty, but there's a smell," Gu Yunfeng noted, touching his nose. "The smell of food."

The scent likely came from the break room, a mixture of coffee and milk, indicating that someone had been there not long ago.

Looking up, he noticed a security camera in the corner, its light blinking. The surveillance system here was intact and fully operational.

Gu Yunfeng sighed, thinking about how Wei Han was just an average, small-time thug, reckless and lacking any counter-surveillance skills. His every move had likely been recorded, leaving him with no chance of escape.

Straightening his back, Gu Yunfeng pressed himself against the wall, moving lightly and quietly along the corridor on the twenty-first floor. The office windows reflected their tired and tense faces, each expression magnified.

As they approached the storage room door, Gu Yunfeng crouched down, the butt of his gun tapping against the wall, creating a sharp noise in the quiet air. He gripped the door handle tightly, frowned, and gently knocked on the storage room door three times.

Ten seconds later, they heard a faint male voice from inside.

There was no doubt, this was the place!

Instinctively, Gu Yunfeng turned the handle, but the door was locked. He quickly retrieved a colourful paper clip from an unlocked office nearby, straightened it out, and inserted the painted wire into the lock, skilfully opening it.

The moment the door opened, a stifling, musty smell hit them.

Fang Xing's hands and feet were tied up with thick ropes. His left cheek was bruised, a pair of socks had been stuffed into his mouth, and he was bound to a pillar. When he saw the two of them, he initially curled up in the corner in fear, but upon recognising Xu Chengyue, his eyes, filled with despair, suddenly lit up with hope, and he incoherently begged for help.

Gu Yunfeng quickly sent a text to Qin Wei, instructing him to increase security at all exits of the building to prevent the suspect from escaping. By this time, Old Qin had finally woken up and responded with a quick "OK."

Then, Gu Yunfeng rushed over, pulled the socks out of Fang Xing's mouth, and covered his mouth with his hand before Fang Xing could scream in relief, giving him a stern look and saying, "Don't make a sound."

He glanced at the last battery bar on his phone, knelt down on one knee, and pulled up a photo of Wei Han, showing it to Fang Xing. "Is this the person who kidnapped you?" In the photo, Wei Han had a buzz cut and was glaring menacingly at the camera. The scar on his forehead had not fully healed, looking quite gruesome.

After a few seconds of recognition, Fang Xing quickly nodded and quietly confirmed, "That's the guy." His sallow face looked somewhat haggard, his eyes were vacant, and his thoughts were still in a state of drifting disarray.

"Do you know who he is?" Gu Yunfeng took out a folding knife he carried with him and helped cut the ropes, freeing Fang Xing's movements.

Fang Xing shook his hands and shook his head, saying that he had never seen this person before and had no idea why he had been kidnapped. The man had punched him in the face but hadn't harmed him excessively. He had even provided him with food and water, but Fang Xing was in such a foul mood that he couldn't eat or sleep.

He had been tied up like this for two or three days. It was only yesterday morning that he found the right moment to call the police. Although he was caught in the act, the man hadn't done anything to him after that.

"I don't even know why he kidnapped me." Fang Xing, in a departure from his usual arrogance, took the water handed to him, drank a few sips, and lowered his head, his face filled with doubt and confusion.

"Then when did he leave? Where did he go?"

"He was still here half an hour ago, but I don't know where he went." Fang Xing was helped to his feet, his custom-made suit jacket wrinkled into a mess, and his legs were trembling.

But Fang Xing was, after all, one of the founders of a company who had experienced countless great storms and waves, and under pressure, his mental state was still relatively stable. The moment he straightened his back, he pinched his numb limbs. A moment later, he finally snapped out of his daze.

His face was filled with the words–

I was actually kidnapped?

I was kidnapped by some street thug?

Fang Xing's eyes were filled with anger, the kind that comes from being humiliated, and his emotions suddenly surged. He grabbed Gu Yunfeng's arm with both hands, his voice hoarse as he shouted, "You're a police officer, right? Hurry up and get me out of this hellhole!"

But in the next breath, he immediately changed his mind, "No, maybe we don't need to leave. You've got a gun, right? That kid doesn't have any weapons, so we don't need to leave. We'll just wait here for him, I'd like to see what he thinks he can do alone!"

"I'll fucking..." Before he could finish, Xu Chengyue covered his mouth from behind.

"Mr. Fang, please keep quiet."

"Your safety is the top priority. We've already arranged police forces in the area, he won't escape," Gu Yunfeng reassured him. He glanced at the time, it was five minutes to seven. He estimated that Wei Han would return at exactly seven, and if Fang Xing was still in that storeroom, he might have been executed on the spot.

Fortunately, everything had come to a screeching halt with their arrival. Gu Yunfeng pushed open the storeroom door, and together with Xu Chengyue, they supported the exhausted and unfed Fang Xing towards the stairwell.

Despite his physical weakness, Fang Xing adjusted himself, calming his emotions and trying his best to straighten his back, not losing an ounce of his dignity. This aura of authority seemed to be ingrained in his very bones, and even after a brief loss of control and outburst, he managed to maintain his composure and dignity.

"Are we going down the stairs?" Seeing the two of them lead him towards the emergency exit, cold sweat broke out on Fang Xing's forehead. He knew that at this hour, they couldn't take the elevator – before business hours, any movement in the elevator would signal his escape.

But they couldn't avoid Wei Han. As the building's property manager, Wei Han would definitely see them on the surveillance cameras. Every move they made was in his sights, and taking the emergency exit would result in them being caught.

After a brief internal struggle, Fang Xing stopped. He broke free from their hold, turned, and walked to the elevator, intending to press the down button.

Unexpectedly, before Fang Xing could press the button, the elevator had already started ascending.

Five, six, seven...

Twelve, fifteen, sixteen...

"He's already coming up," Fang Xing said in a low tone, his hand against the wall supporting his entire body.

"Why don't you guys just stay here and catch him?" Fang Xing made a new decision, lowering his head. He stared at the gun in Gu Yunfeng's hand, smoothed out the wrinkles in his custom-made high-end suit jacket, and walked a few steps forward, passing by the two men as he pushed open the door to the emergency stairwell.

According to his prediction, a few seconds later, the elevator doors would open, and Wei Han in the elevator would be subdued by Gu Yunfeng. Even if Gu Yunfeng failed, it wouldn't matter, they would fight and delay enough time for him to escape through the stairwell.

However, what Fang Xing didn't know was that the elevator had briefly stopped on the twentieth floor before continuing to ascend to the twenty-first floor.

Ding – the elevator doors opened, the usual advertisement music played, and the elevator was empty.

Meanwhile, Fang Xing pushed the emergency stairwell door open forcefully, but upon seeing the scene, he instinctively took a few steps back, stunned.

Click.

A young man in a black hooded sweatshirt stood in front of him, smiling faintly. He removed his hood, revealing a scar on his forehead.

His smile carried a hint of death, with extremely short hair, a face with sharp features, and a drawn knife in his hand that gleamed in the light, poised to land on Fang Xing's neck in the next second.

At the same time, Gu Yunfeng raised his gun, the muzzle pointed directly at Wei Han's forehead. The air seemed to spark with tension, silent yet deafening, and the sound of hearts pounding wildly could almost be heard.

Their eyes met, blade against gun.

"Young man, don't be impulsive..." Fang Xing's eyes glanced at the sharp knife tip near his carotid artery, then levelled his gaze at the empty muzzle of the gun, his hands trembling uncontrollably, and he didn't dare to breathe too hard.

Wei Han had complete control over him, sweat trickling down Fang Xing's face as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Shut up, you old fool!" Wei Han kicked him in the calf, causing Fang Xing's legs to buckle, and the knife nearly pierced his artery. The blade nicked his skin, and blood seeped from the capillaries and dripped down his neck onto the collar of his T-shirt.

"Wei Han, calm down," Xu Chengyue made a calming gesture and closed the elevator door behind him.

"What do you want? We'll try our best to meet your demands."

As he spoke, he played the recording of Wei Han's earlier call to Fang Yuejia–

"There are twenty hours left. If the police find me, I'll automatically surrender. If they don't, Fang Xing will make the last revelation himself. If he doesn't, I'll kill him in front of everyone."

"We've found you within the twenty hours," Gu Yunfeng said, "So keep your word and surrender."

"Sorry, you just found me now." Wei Han took out a pocket watch, letting it swing back and forth from his hand, teetering on the edge.

"It's seven o'one now, the time has passed."

Damn. Isn't this just twisting the truth? Wei Han had been hiding from them, so naturally, they wouldn't have searched for him first.

Gu Yunfeng shot him an impatient look. "So you want him to reveal the last thing you intend to expose? Who the hell knows what you're thinking."

"He definitely knows." Wei Han lifted his head, and the knife in his hand inched another millimetre closer to Fang Xing's neck.

"Officers, these are my demands, first, lock down this building. It's only two hours until work starts, and I'm kind-hearted enough not to want anyone else to get hurt."

"Second, call the media. I've posted so much, and yet those bastards have deleted everything. I want them to report it, they must report it, or I'll kill him."

His bloodshot eyes scanned the surroundings, finally fixing on Gu Yunfeng–

"Also, put down your gun."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: September 6, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 5, 2024 by Angel