What if there really was a bomb?That was a death trap.
But they had to risk their lives!
What if there was no bomb?
If so, what exactly… did Brother Steel want to do?
"They won"t do this without reason… A bomb should be tied on Xie Wanwan, I"m certain of it."
"I think they want all of us to die here…"
"D*rn, this group of b*stards, I"ll tear them apart…"
The voices of discussion were low and cold as though their murmurings were the breeze from the lake when one heard, it felt like knives sc.r.a.ping on their heart.
"There"s something not right!" Xiang Wan suddenly blurted.
Bai Muchuan turned to her. "What is it?"
Xiang Wan got up slowly and limped as she walked over calmly. "What time was it when you entered Vulture"s Mouth?" She looked at them.
"Around two to three in the afternoon—"
"At that time, Xie Wanwan just left Nanmu Hotel," Xiang Wan said as she asked another question, "are all of you certain that while you were dealing with Brother Steel, none of you saw Xie Wanwan?"
"… No."
While Bai Muchuan and his men were playing guerilla warfare with Brother Steel and his lackeys, they were very certain that there was not a single woman amongst Brother Steel"s men.
On the contrary, Bai Muchuan and his team had Lima with them. They were sort of restrained and were unable to go head to head against Brother Steel, and could only play the waiting game…
"Maybe that person is not Xie Wanwan?" Tang Yuanchu"s tone sounded a little hopeful. "Captain Quan, could you have seen wrongly?"
"Nope—" Quan Shaoteng thought for a while. "I"m very sure that that woman is Xie Wanwan."
Quan Shaoteng was not someone who made irresponsible remarks.
If he said yes, then it must be a yes…
Xiang Wan contemplated for a moment. "So, Xie Wanwan was sent in here much later."
Everyone looked at her.
"That means," she a.n.a.lyzed calmly, "when we are trapped here, Brother Steel has been maintaining contact with his accomplices outside the forest… Hence, I feel that there"s a place that we have not reached yet. That place might be their base. More importantly, they also have a way where they could get out of here freely…"
Xiang Wan"s capabilities to come up with logical a.n.a.lyses played an important part in such a nervous and tense moment.
Her calm inference based on the situation impressed the rest of the group.
"Teacher Xiang is right, but why did they tie up Xie Wanwan there?"
Xiang Wan"s grim gaze went slowly toward Bai Muchuan.
"I feel that this must be the purpose why they abducted Xie Wanwan from Nanmu to Vulture"s Mouth."
"…"
There was a momentary silence.
Xiang Wan continued, "They did not want the 50 million yuan of ransom. They wanted—our lives."
"…"
If these people wanted their lives, that meant Quan Shaoteng"s judgment was correct.
Then, there must really be a bomb…
"D*mmit!" Tang Yuanchu threw his gun holster. "Tsk!"
He was infuriated and the gun together with the holster hit his toe directly.
Ouch!
It was so painful that he growled with his teeth.
It was so painful that he nearly shed a tear!
Somehow, he felt bitter, hurt, and twisted.
It was not only physical pain he was feeling. There was also emotional pain.
It had hurt so much that he was also gnas.h.i.+ng his teeth as he spoke, "Who exactly has Xie Wanwan offended for her to be treated like this?"
This woman was already pitiful enough!
Why did they still treat her like that?
As if it was not enough that they abducted her…
In such a cold weather, they even tied her by the lake to withstand the cold winds.
As if it was not enough that they tied her up…
They even behaved like perverts and removed her clothing…
And humiliating her!
Why was it that she was being humiliated every time!?
"This world is so unfair to her!"
Tang Yuanchu"s low pitched bellows accompanied by the howling of the winds were mournful and bitter. However, no one answered him.
"These people should go to h.e.l.l, they must go to h.e.l.l!"
Although he was swearing, there was a sobbing tone in his voice he did not even notice.
"Captain Bai, let"s move! I"m worried that—she couldn"t handle the cold!"
He had already wanted to rush over!
However, he knew that he must wait for Bai Muchuan"s order.
As he struggled, he looked straight at Bai Muchuan who was now deliberating their next move.
"We must save her… we must save her!"
Under Bai Muchuan"s calm expression, his gaze had a tinge of warning as he looked at him.
Tang Yuanchu"s agitated mood was too obvious!
In such a situation, no matter what they chose, it was not easy to stay calm.
That was a big taboo for this sort of mission!
"…" Tang Yuanchu did not dare say anything more.
Bai Muchuan eyeballed everyone expressionlessly.
"Everyone, listen to my command now! Cheng Zheng and his support team will follow the earlier route, fall back 200 meters and wait for further instructions!"
Prior to coming over, they had divided into small teams.
Cheng Zheng was undoubtedly the most suitable person to take care of support.
He had no objection to such an arrangement. "Got it!"
Bai Muchuan turned to Quan Shaoteng, there was trust in his eyes. "Laowu! You"re in charge of the security within 200 meters from the lake. Do not allow anyone to come near. I don"t want anyone to interrupt during this rescue operation—"
He paused for a while and stared at Quan Shaoteng seriously.
"If anything goes wrong, you"ll have to lead everyone out of Vulture"s Mouth and return to Nanmu safely."
"…"
It was suddenly quiet all of a sudden.
About three seconds later, they heard Quan Shaoteng"s response in a laughing tone.
"Are you telling me your last wishes this time? Well, Bai Muchuan, what do you bleeping mean by this? You"re putting yourself in danger and you would just let me wait here like a chicken?"
Bai Muchuan swept a glance at him. "This is an order!"
After that, he turned to Tang Yuanchu coldly.
"Both you and Salimu follow me!"
"Yes, Sir!" Tang Yuanchu replied swiftly.
"… Me?" Salimu was stunned for an instant. He seemed a little surprised that he was chosen. "Yes, Sir!"
Seeing that, Quan Shaoteng was the first to voice his dissatisfaction. "Ain"t I the professional in such missions? Including you—Little Bai, it"s not that I want to argue with you, but how many bleeping years have you not undergone such missions? If there"s really a bomb, are you going to disarm it?"
"Shut up!" Bai Muchuan glared at him. On his cold face, there was a valiant aura, but his voice felt cold like ice p.r.i.c.ks which made them felt chilly. "I"m your superior!"
"…"
Just one sentence was enough to make Quan Shaoteng speechless.
A good while later, he asked in a much softer tone. "We have the same rank, though."
"Hur! So?" Bai Muchuan swept a glance over.
If they talked about rank, they were both Captains. However, if they were to talk about Serious Crime Division One, it was a fact that he had to report to Bai Muchuan.
"D*rn!" Quan Shaoteng"s face felt dark like the charcoal. "Fine! If you say so!"
After yelling that, he started to brief his team on how to perform the security and vigilance work around the lake.
Bai Muchuan turned quietly to look at Xiang Wan.
She had been standing behind him, with a limping leg.
She did not utter a single word but stood there quietly all these while.
Bai Muchuan felt his heart tightening a little, his gaze started to turn gentle, as well as his tone.
"You"ll follow Cheng Zheng"s team. Stay with them and wait for me to come back."
Xiang Wan looked at him quietly.
At this moment, it felt as though it was quiet all around.
The surrounding looked like it was staring at the pair of lovers.
Quan Shaoteng was staring at Xiang Wan. He was hoping that she would stop Bai Muchuan from performing the dangerous mission himself…
Nonetheless, after a brief moment of silence, she actually nodded her head.
"Mm, I"ll wait for you!"
Their gazes were on each other.
If one observed carefully, there was even a tinge of grat.i.tude.
The grat.i.tude that only Xiang Wan understood…
Xiang Wan furrowed her brows, but her voice had a gleeful tone. "Well, I have a condition."
"Mm?" Bai Muchuan started to check his attire and equipment. He did not turn back to look at her.
"Can this be the last time?" Xiang Wan asked softly.
Bai Muchuan paused and turned his head to look at her.
"I don"t want to be the one who is always waiting." Xiang Wan looked at him, a smile hanging on her lips, which made Bai Muchuan"s uneasy nerves relaxed again. "I"ve waited enough. This is the last time, alright?"
"Alright, just this once," he said.
"Really?" Xiang Wan asked.
"Really." Bai Muchuan walked closer.
Gently, he patted her head again and chuckled.
"Nothing could be further from the truth!"
…
Salimu took all his stuff while Tang Yuanchu refilled the bullets in his gun. Quan Shaoteng did a headcount check again. Cheng Zheng started to get his team to carry their ill teammates…
Everyone was moving according to orders.
Only Xiang Wan was standing quietly, looking at Bai Muchuan.
In this place where the oxygen levels were low, when she frequently had to gasp for air, her heart was not as peaceful as her appearance.
She was trying to take a deep breath… so she could relieve herself from all the nervousness.
A bomb!
Was the popular plot in dramas going to take place?
Maybe Bai Muchuan would bring Xie Wanwan back in no time.
Maybe, all of them would be blown into pieces…
If it was the latter, Bai Muchuan… would die together with Xie Wanwan.
There was a moment where Xiang Wan was even thinking, that if the circ.u.mstances ended up like this, would Xie Wanwan… be more willing to die?
By now, Bai Muchuan was ready. He was now holding his rifle and turned to look at Xiang Wan.
"Two hundred meters, it won"t take long—"
"Mm." Xiang Wan nodded her head as she remained calm.
There was a strong feeling of reluctance in his eyes.
He was unwilling to leave her alone in the dense forest that the cold winds terrorized. He was unwilling to let her walk on her own with her injured leg.
But as the police, he had to go.
Bai Muchuan composed himself and took a deep breath.
"We"ll leave now!"
Quan Shaoteng took a look at Bai Muchuan"s arm. His injury bugged him. "Little Bai, let me go on your behalf, please!"
Bai Muchuan turned to look at him and said loudly. "This is an order!"
…