Chapter 165: Only thirty-six hours left

*Xin Lei*

Duan Deming suddenly laughed out loud. "Who was it? Are you asking me?" He looked at him in disbelief. "Why would I tell you and betray my gang? Are you out of your mind, ex-soldier?"

I rolled my eyes. I didn't know whether to feel angry or pitiful for him.

Bai Li chuckled. "Betray? Are you talking about betrayal? Oh, I see. Are you still living in your illusion that they are going to rescue you? The IB has caught one of their precious members. They must be racking their brains to save you, right?"

Bai Li paused.

"Like how they did for Rodey. Like how they helped him escape outside the court."

Duan Deming said, "Why not?"

"Are you sure they would come to save you or...kill you to keep your mouth shut?"

Now, Duan Deming seemed a little anxious, but he didn't bend at all. "I know these are your pathetic tricks, Bai Li, to make me go against them. But they are not going to work."

Luo Zhiqiang said, "Don't make a fool out of yourself, Duan Deming. You are not valuable to them as much as you are thinking."

I typed. "And if you help us, then obviously we will help you to lighten your punishment. By now, you should already know what awaits you in the court after the truth of the brutal killings will come out. Of course, you know my Dad. He will do his best."

Naturally, that was a lie. After knowing how Duan Deming was a part of those brutal killings, like hell, we would do anything to lighten his punishment!

We were already itching to kill him in the worst way possible!

Duan Deming sneered. "You cannot bribe me with that because sooner or later, I would be a free man. I wouldn't need your 'kind' help because I would never be in jail."

His confidence...I fail to understand from where does he get it?

Bai Li slowly stepped forward and grabbed his neck. He kept pressing on it so hard that Duan Deming gasped and started coughing. "Somebody from the army is with you, right?"

Duan Deming seemed in pain, but he was smiling like a maniac. "Indeed, there is somebody from the army who is with us. He shot Tan Ye, and he helped Rodey escape. But I will never tell you who he is," and then he started laughing again, "Or maybe I will...if you let me go."

Damn! As if letting him go was any option!

"And if you think that you can force me to tell his identity by torturing me, then you are wrong. I will never bend to your torture."

I believed him. People like him were really stubborn. He looked as if he had lost it. His trust in them was so unshakeable that he wouldn't betray them.

Bai Li harshly shook him away and smiled. "You will tell sooner or later. Trust me."

We left him in his cell.

I typed. "What now?"

Bai Li said, "Don't worry. We will figure something out. I will also ask Su Weiyuan to check if he gets any clue. Right now, we should leave for Dongcheng."

I nodded.

Suddenly, one of the IB employees came rushing. "Sir."

Luo Zhiqiang asked, "Hm? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Qi Qiang has some urgent news to say!"

We exchanged surprised glances and quickly ran. Shi Ruiling and Bro were already there with grim expressions on their faces. She was pressing the space between her brows.

I quickly typed. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Liao Huifang said, "Yeah, why is the atmosphere so tense…?"

Qi Qiang was on the monitor, and he seemed troubled too.

Bai Li asked, "I am not getting a good feeling. What is it?"

"Bro...I was searching for any information about that man who is helping Zhang Xiulan when I heard a message tone on FriendsChat. When I checked it, I saw that the chat was quite busy in some discussions. When I read through it, I saw that...that…"

Ugh...I was getting anxious now.

"That they have kidnapped another woman this time."

I froze. My whole body felt numb to me.

Another kidnapping?

"What!?" Liao Huifang exclaimed. "They kidnapped a woman?"

Qi Qiang nodded. "Yes. Everybody is happy and celebrating in the chat…"

I typed. "But why? What was the need? They have already kidnapped Chu Jie!"

I anxiously looked at Bai Li, who had not spoken anything for a while now. He had the same look as my brother.

Then he slowly asked, "Qi Qiang. What are they talking about?"

Qi Qiang was scrolling through the chat, and he displayed it on the screen.

Bloodygame : Have you heard? Finally, we got someone else! Yay!

Nittyoicky : Oh finally! I was wondering how long it would take to bring another fucking person.

Ilikeascars : Oh I know. It's a woman. Gosh, I am so excited. Women are always way fun to play with than men.

Ditzybitzy : I soooo agree. They are so pathetic. Cry after we only cut them once. ONCE!

Injuredxx : Now we don't have to wait three days more for that fucking teenager~~ Until that day comes, we will have fun with this woman. Hahaha!

Nittyoicky : But I heard it was going to be two women. Somebody else came with her for that fake interview too. But she managed to escape. Tsk.

Bloodygame : What, seriously? Man, that's such a shame! Tch! Two women...ah, you broke my fantasy!

Ilikeascars : No, kidding! We could have had twice the fun!

CrimsonInstinct enters the chat.

"Boss!"

CrimsonInstinct : I see everyone is already talking about our new fun *chuckles*

Injuredxx : Yo, boss! 

Bloodygame : I cannot wait! 

CrimsonInstinct : Patience, guys. She is not here yet. My able men will be bringing her any time.

"Boooo…"

Nittyoicky : By the way, I heard that she is not among the targets we had selected.

Ilikeascars : Oh, yes! There were two women in the five pictures, but this woman was not among them. Why change to a completely different person?

Ditzybitzy : Hm...that is a good question. This has never happened before…

CrimsonInstinct : Don't worry. I have already checked it. Our friend, Risfun, suggested that. Apparently, that woman pissed him off in the bar while he and our other friends were having a meeting with Rodey. So, he wanted her to be the target to have revenge *sighs* As long as we get somebody, I didn't mind this change.

Nittyoicky : Oooooooooo…

Ilikeascars : This would be more fun then. Risfun is pissed off, huh? 

Injuredxx : But we won't fall in any trouble, right? 

Bloodygame : Haha, have we ever? You are such a coward.

Injuredxx : Idiot! I meant we haven't done any background check on her. All our previous targets were carefully selected. That's why we never got into any problem.

CrimsonInstinct : That is a valid concern. But I have done my part. That woman only has a mother and lives with her aunt and cousin. The aunt and cousin don't care much about her, and what would her lone, widow mother do? So we are safe.

Ditzybitzy : Ahahahaha! Boss is the best! Everything is sorted out now.

Injuredxx : Then, I am relieved. I don't have any problem then.

Bloodygame : Well, we can enjoy to our heart's content now.

Ilikeascars : I wonder what Risfun would do to that woman. I am curious about his revenge…

Injuredxx : Isn't it?

We watched the chat unfold in silence. 

Now it was Bai Li's turn to press the space in between his brows.

Shi Ruiling exclaimed. "I cannot believe that they kidnapped another woman because they cannot wait for Chu Jie! How insane are these bastards!"

I collapsed on the couch in disbelief.

"They want to satisfy themselves until Chu Jie's turn comes! Fucking bastards!"

"Calm down, Ruiling." Bro's stern voice came. "It's not good for you."

"But Zhen!"

He shook his head. 

Bai Li said, "I am an idiot! I should have seen that coming. They were not allowed to do anything to Chu Jie and Cocoa. But that didn't mean they cannot find another victim for their 'fun.'"

Bro snorted. "No need to feel guilty. Even if you had figured that out, it would have been difficult to track the victim. We wouldn't have known who they would have chosen. In the chat forum, I didn't see them mention any details or disclosure of them."

Qi Qiang nodded. "They just talk about them here and there but not much about their identity. Like, they said that the woman lives with her mother, aunt, and cousin, but well...there could be many families like that in Beijing. We cannot track them like that. They didn't give any family name."

My hands trembled as I typed. "Now our time limit has reduced even further. We had three days to rescue Chu Jie and Cocoa but now to save that woman, we might have only half the time."

Bai Li seemed furious and frustrated. "They wouldn't keep her alive for much longer. We had seventy-two hours before. But now...we might have only thirty-six hours remaining to figure everything out and save her, Chu Jie and Cocoa."