Zhou Ziwei rubbed his temples, looking troubled, downed the coffee the waiter had just brought him in one gulp, then tossed down a hundred-yuan bill and left without another word.
Now that we know who the homeowner is, there's no point in arguing with this auntie who always likes to flirt with everyone. We should think about how to discuss this with Gu Dongfeng!
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 116: Time Bomb
Since Zhou Ziwei knew that the price of jadeite rough was fluctuating and that all the major jadeite middlemen in Tengchong were closing their doors and waiting for prices to rise, he naturally lost the mood to go around making money. He left the coffee shop and returned to the hotel in frustration, intending to find Li Yifeng first.
As for the jade buried under that small building, Zhou Ziwei was not so easily convinced. However, he also knew that he had just hurt Liu Xiaofei's feelings, so it would be inappropriate to go to Gu Dongfeng to ask to buy that small building right now. He decided to wait a couple of days before making a decision.
As soon as Zhou Ziwei entered the hotel, he saw Li Yifeng leaning over the service counter, chatting animatedly with the hotel receptionist.
"Life... is truly as lonely as snow! Back then, I faced twelve smugglers with my bare hands, and without even flinching, I raised my hand and fired three shots, instantly killing four of them..."
Upon hearing this, the baby-faced waitress inside immediately pouted and said disdainfully, "Are you bragging? Killing four people with three shots! Don't tell me you killed two with one of your shots... Hmph, I've heard that your police don't use very powerful guns because they're afraid of accidentally injuring civilians. It's simply impossible to shoot through two people with one shot!"
Li Yifeng hadn't expected this girl to know so much, so he gave an awkward smile and said, "You're right. My three shots were only meant to kill three people, but... one of them had his head blown off by that shot. Blood... brain matter... white and red splattered all over the guy next to him. That guy was too timid. He peed his pants when he heard the gunshot, and then his accomplice's brain matter sprayed all over him... he was scared to death! You didn't see it... his face turned as green as a turtle shell, he was obviously terrified!"
Upon hearing this, the two waiters covered their mouths and pretended to vomit, giving Li Yifeng a disapproving look and saying, "Ugh... how could you say something so disgusting! Humph... bragging... we don't believe you..."
Zhou Ziwei walked over and patted Li Yifeng hard on the shoulder, saying, "Alright, buddy, stop teasing the girl. Come on... let's have a couple of drinks."
Li Yifeng was chatting animatedly with the two waitresses, but upon seeing Zhou Ziwei's less-than-pleasant expression, he immediately suppressed his lustful thoughts, nodded, and said, "Alright... Something bothering you? No problem, I'll keep you company... So, where do you want to go?"
"Anywhere is fine, as long as there's alcohol..."
"Alright... then let's not go anywhere. You just wait in the room! I'll go out and buy some food and drinks, and then we'll drink in the room. If we get drunk, we can just pass out right there... that'll save you trouble!"
Zhou Ziwei naturally had no objections. As for the money for the food and drinks, Zhou Ziwei didn't insist on paying for it himself. Although Li Yifeng's situation wasn't very good, the money for food and drinks wasn't a burden. If Zhou Ziwei insisted on paying, Li Yifeng would probably be unhappy.
As soon as Zhou Ziwei returned to his room, he released the ladybug, letting it fly out the window to play. The hotel's backyard was relatively quiet, so Zhou Ziwei wasn't worried about it being in any danger.
After lying in bed for a short while, Li Yifeng returned carrying a whole case of beer and a large bag of miscellaneous cooked food.
Li Yifeng didn't ask Zhou Ziwei what was bothering him. He just opened seven or eight cans of beer and sat on the floor with Zhou Ziwei, drinking heartily.
This scene reminded Zhou Ziwei of the weekends he spent in his dorm with his three roommates in his previous life, and he couldn't help but feel particularly nostalgic.
The two drank until night, finishing off an entire case of beer before calling it a day. During this time, Li Yifeng went to Liu Xiaofei's room twice. Seeing that Liu Xiaofei hadn't returned all day, he became a little worried and asked Zhou Ziwei. Zhou Ziwei only said that Liu Xiaofei might have gone to her cousin's house and that she should be fine, so Li Yifeng didn't ask any more questions.
Before he had even finished a case of beer, Li Yifeng was already completely drunk and unconscious. Just as he said, he fell backward and sprawled on the floor, fast asleep.
Zhou Ziwei's alcohol tolerance in his previous life was far inferior to Li Yifeng's. However, although the body he inherited in this life was a bit weak, he was a natural heavy drinker. He had drunk most of a case of beer and was only seven or eight tenths drunk. But he was too lazy to move. Anyway, the weather was hot, and it would be cool to sleep on the floor. So he lay down next to Li Yifeng and fell into a deep sleep...
Around midnight, it started raining heavily outside, and suddenly the phone in the guest room rang urgently.
Zhou Ziwei sat up abruptly. In reality, he was worried about replenishing the ladybug's soul power before dawn to prolong its life, so he hadn't been sleeping soundly at all.
Zhou Ziwei rubbed his eyes and realized it was the phone ringing, so he frowned in annoyance.
The night before, shortly after he moved in, he received several harassing phone calls from prostitutes, which annoyed him so much that he unplugged the phone line. He only plugged it back in the morning.
However, he and Li Yifeng were so drunk last night that they forgot about this. Could it be that some prostitutes are coming to their door to sell their wares in the middle of the night?
Zhou Ziwei got up and walked to the coffee table. He initially intended to unplug the phone, but after hesitating for a moment, he answered it first. A gloomy voice then came through the receiver...
"The woman surnamed Liu is in my hands. If you don't want her to die, come out here alone right now... If you dare to call the police... then you can wait to collect her corpse!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziwei was instantly wide awake. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where are you now?"
"You don't need to know where I am. Just do as I say: turn your phone on immediately, tell me your phone number, and then leave the hotel alone... Remember, don't call the police, and don't try any tricks. If you resist even the slightest bit, well... hmph, I'll shoot her dead right now!"
Zhou Ziwei paused for a moment, then said, "Okay! My phone number is 13XXXXXXXXX, and it's on now. But... before I go out, I want her to say something to me first, otherwise how will I know if she's really in your hands!"
There was no immediate reply. After a few seconds, Liu Xiaofei's anxious voice suddenly came through the receiver: "Zhou Ziwei, don't come! There are so many of them... and they all have guns..."
Before Liu Xiaofei could finish her sentence, everything went blurry; clearly, someone had covered her mouth.
Then, that sinister voice rang out again: "Did you hear that? There are many of us... and we have guns... Hehehe... If you're scared, then don't come. Wait until tomorrow morning to collect her corpse! Hmm, but we can't bear to just shoot such a beautiful woman. I'll have her serve each of us seven or eight times, and then end her beautiful life while she's in ecstasy..."
A surge of anger rose in Zhou Ziwei's heart, but he didn't show it at all. He replied in a calm voice, "Alright... I know you're not kidnappers. Your target is just me, Zhou Ziwei. I will do as you say. Don't make things difficult for her... Perhaps you already know that she's a police officer, and her background is not simple. If you really kill her, it will be very troublesome."
After Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, he immediately hung up the phone, waved to beckon the ladybug to fly over and land on him, then glanced at Li Yifeng, who was still sleeping like a log, but did not wake him up. He then dressed and left the room by himself.
He knew very well that since these people had never mentioned money, they were obviously not ordinary kidnappers.
Zhou Ziwei guessed that these people were either sent by the organization of the assassin who had previously tried to assassinate him, or they were terrorists who had escaped from the hijacking.
Of these, the second possibility seems to be more likely.
Although he requested that the police keep his information completely confidential, there are no secrets in this world. When Zhou Ziwei displayed his prowess and killed so many terrorists, there were about a hundred passengers in the cabin. Even though they had promised Zhou Ziwei not to tell anyone and had even been ordered by the police to keep it a secret, the possibility of the information being leaked was still too great.
So it's not surprising that someone comes knocking on your door at this time.
Zhou Ziwei understood that he couldn't avoid this matter. Even if he could harden his heart and ignore Liu Xiaofei's life or death, since those desperados were determined to take revenge on him, he couldn't escape it forever. Only by killing all those scumbags could he completely solve this problem.
As soon as Zhou Ziwei stepped out of the hotel, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and looked at it, but there was no number displayed. Clearly, the other party had made preparations in advance and would not leave any clues on the phone.
Pressing the answer button, the sinister voice immediately came through the phone: "See that taxi thirty meters to the left of the hotel? Go over there, get in that car, and he'll take you here. Hmm... I have to warn you first, I know you're good at fighting, but that driver is just an outsider in our organization. He knows very little. Even if you control him, it won't matter. We don't care if he lives or dies. And if you dare to lay a hand on him, then... you'll never see your girlfriend again!"
After saying that, the other party hung up the phone again.
Without any hesitation, Zhou Ziwei strode towards the taxi in the drizzle.
When Zhou Ziwei was still some distance away from the car, he had already released his soul power and conducted a rough scan of the entire vehicle.
After all, the other party's goal was likely simply to kill Zhou Ziwei. If they planted a bomb in the car beforehand and detonated it after Zhou Ziwei got in, wouldn't that solve everything? At most, they would only have to sacrifice the driver. If the driver was really just an insignificant peripheral member, this possibility was quite high. Zhou Ziwei naturally dared not be careless.
Fortunately, the scan did not find anything dangerous in the car.
This might be because the other party was absolutely certain they could kill him, which is why they didn't make that move.
Or perhaps because time bombs aren't as common as cabbages and can't be obtained easily, these terrorists, who rushed to Tengchong, probably didn't have that many prepared.
After confirming it was safe, Zhou Ziwei immediately quickened his pace and walked to the front of the car. He first went to the passenger side and tried to pull the door open, but it wouldn't budge.
Then the driver turned around, pointed to the back, and gestured for Zhou Ziwei to sit in the back.
Zhou Ziwei turned around expressionlessly, opened the back door of the car, and got in. The driver immediately started the car without saying a word and sped off into the vast rain and fog.
This is a common riot control taxi in the south. There is a layer of riot control glass between the front and back seats, which can effectively prevent robbers who intend to hijack the car from attacking the driver from behind.
However, such measures can only stop ordinary bandits. If Zhou Ziwei really wanted to deal with that driver, he had many ways to do so. But before seeing Liu Xiaofei, he didn't dare to make any rash moves.
Zhou Ziwei didn't care where the car was going or whether it was going in circles. It was his first time in Tengchong, and he didn't even know which way was north, south, east, or west. Besides, he didn't call the police, so it didn't matter where the car took him.
However, before getting into the car, he released the ladybug and let it land on the roof. Ladybugs have an instinctive sense of direction, and no matter how far they run, they can always find their way back. Therefore, Zhou Ziwei didn't need to worry about getting lost.
At this moment, Zhou Ziwei released his soul power once again, scanning the driver in front of him through the bulletproof glass.
Due to time constraints, Zhou Ziwei only checked the car for explosives and did not thoroughly scan the driver. Now, upon closer inspection, he discovered that the driver did not have a single gun on him, only a finely crafted dagger hidden on his waist.
He also had a small, long-range wireless eavesdropping device on his person.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Ziwei still managed to capture the other party's dagger and create a small, independent soul inside it.
Although such a simple independent soul can only survive for a very short time, it is estimated that the independent soul in the dagger will dissipate before it reaches its destination.
However, even if the independent soul dissipates, it will leave a soul mark on the dagger. If needed, Zhou Ziwei can revive the independent soul in just one second using the soul mark.
Moreover, even if the dagger is in motion, it will not have a significant impact on Zhou Ziwei.
As for the miniature listening device, Zhou Ziwei ignored it. Although he could cut off the remote surveillance at any time after capturing the device, that would only provoke the other party to take desperate measures, and they might even kill Liu Xiaofei. If that happened, Zhou Ziwei would feel guilty for the rest of his life.
The taxi quickly drove out of the county town and turned onto a dirt road leading into the mountains. After bumping along for more than half an hour, it finally stopped in front of an abandoned timber warehouse.
"We're here... Get out!" The driver in front wiped away a cold sweat, turned around and glared fiercely at Zhou Ziwei. He clearly knew that the person in his car was no ordinary person and was afraid that this guy might suddenly attack him on the way. So he had been driving in fear all the way. Now that they had arrived at their destination, he was naturally no longer afraid.
"Ugh... wait a minute... damn it, what kind of lousy road is this! It's so bumpy, my whole body feels like it's going to fall apart..." Zhou Ziwei said, rubbing his lower back, refusing to get off the bus.
In reality, before the car even stopped, he had already sent the ladybug that had landed on the roof of the car to fly into the lumber warehouse ahead.
As Sun Tzu said: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
Zhou Ziwei didn't want to become someone's target the moment he got off the bus, only to be riddled with bullets like Xu Wenqiang in Shanghai. That would be a terrible injustice! So, he had to send the ladybug to scout ahead first. If there was no danger, he would then make his move.
The parking spot was quite far from the timber warehouse, exceeding the scanning range of Zhou Ziwei's soul power. Fortunately, the ladybug, as long as it was within a hundred meters of him, acted like another pair of eyes and ears, making it perfect for scouting enemy positions.
The ladybug flies extremely fast and is a tiny target. The abandoned lumber warehouse was full of holes, so the ladybug didn't have to exert any effort and quickly darted inside without anyone noticing.
Through the ladybug's eyes and ears, Zhou Ziwei could clearly see that there were six people inside the warehouse, two of whom were lying on the wall through a hole, each holding a pistol and aiming at the taxi outside.
The other four people also stood behind the broken window, gazing out into the distance, their faces contorted with rage and excitement.
The ladybug flew around the empty, dilapidated warehouse again before finally finding Liu Xiaofei, who was tied to a pillar.
Liu Xiaofei looked quite disheveled, with her scalp disheveled and her face covered in mud and tears. However, her clothes were still relatively intact, suggesting that she had not yet been raped by the bandits.
Zhou Ziwei had just breathed a sigh of relief when, through the ladybug's unique perspective, he discovered that Liu Xiaofei's clothes contained a row of detonator-like objects connected to a miniature electronic device. The device had a small display screen showing the time as nine minutes and thirty-five seconds, then nine minutes and thirty-four seconds, thirty-three seconds...
Zhou Ziwei then realized that the bandits weren't unable to obtain bombs, but rather that they had used them on Liu Xiaofei...
Damn it... these scumbags!
Volume 1, Rebirth of a Prodigy, Chapter 117: One Step to Heaven, One Step to Hell
If Zhou Ziwei can get close enough to the time bomb, he can capture the timer on the bomb, and then the bomb will no longer pose any threat to him.
But now that he was being held at gunpoint by the two guns in the warehouse, Zhou Ziwei didn't dare to get out of the taxi easily. Otherwise, he would be directly exposed to the guns, and even if he reacted quickly, he wouldn't be absolutely sure he could dodge the flying bullets.
But how long could he dawdle in this car? Even if the thugs in the warehouse let him dawdle, the time bomb strapped to Liu Xiaofei would explode in a little over nine minutes. Was Zhou Ziwei just going to stand there and watch Liu Xiaofei turn to ashes in front of him?
"Damn it... what's that kid doing in the car? Why isn't he getting out?!"
Just as Zhou Ziwei was caught in a dilemma, he overheard through the ladybug's eyes that a gunman lying there aiming at the outside couldn't help but angrily curse, "If the hell doesn't come out, I'll just shoot that car and smash it to pieces!"
You fucking dare!
Upon hearing this, a thug standing at the window, sporting two large buck teeth, turned around and cursed angrily, saying, "Hey, Little Six, listen to me! That bastard won't let me die so easily. Damn it, he killed so many of my good brothers, and... and my girl! If I don't torture him to the point of ecstasy today, I'm not called Bucktooth Dragon! If any of you dare to shoot him without my orders, I'll kill you all too!"
The bandits were clearly terrified of the fanged dragon. Upon hearing its words, they fell silent and dared not utter another complaint.
The fanged dragon was clearly getting impatient, so it immediately grabbed a cell phone and dialed Zhou Ziwei's number. Once the call connected, it roared, "Kid... what are you dawdling for? I'm giving you five more seconds. If you don't get out of the car after five seconds, then I'll..."
Before he could finish his harsh words, Zhou Ziwei had already turned off his phone, then pushed open the car door and swaggered out.
Now that he knew the other side wouldn't fire easily, Zhou Ziwei naturally had nothing to fear. What he feared most was the other side firing indiscriminately without any regard for the situation. In that case, no matter how skilled Zhou Ziwei was, he would be useless at such a distance.
The fanged dragon wanted to have some fun with him, which suited Zhou Ziwei's wishes perfectly.
If Zhou Ziwei is given the opportunity to get within ten meters of those people and reach the range of his soul power, he will have a chance to capture all their weapons. At that point, these people will no longer pose any threat to him.