Xu Ershao immediately looked anxious, leaned over, kindly raised his hand to touch her forehead, and asked with concern, "Ah! Are you feeling unwell? Are you sick?"
Bai Cai blushed when Xu Ershao touched her forehead, but managed to glare at him.
"That's roughly what happened." Bai Cai sighed finally. "It's amazing, but if I told people, they'd think I was a monster. So... even my parents don't know that today... if we hadn't encountered such a dangerous situation, I wouldn't have..."
After a pause, Bai Cai smiled wryly and said, "Besides, this ability has no practical use—unless I become a thief, what use is invisibility?"
Uh... that's true, but...
The car bumped along for a long time. It took almost an hour before it finally stopped.
The three people in the car immediately tensed up, just as they heard the container door open and someone outside opened the door.
"We've arrived. Please get off the bus, all three children."
Alice stood under the truck, smiling as she looked at the three young people inside the container. The woman with the fox-like face immediately displeased upon seeing her, forcefully turning her head away and letting out a loud snort.
"Wow, these young girls these days are so unique." A cold glint flashed in Alice's eyes, but a mocking smile appeared on her lips.
Chen Xiao and Xu Ershao helped each other jump down from the container, and then carried the cabbage girl down from it.
This is a huge factory. The car has already driven into the factory. The surrounding area is completely empty; the factory is just an open space, with only some discarded wooden crates and building materials scattered in a corner.
The factory was filled with a damp, musty smell. Based on this, Chen Xiao vaguely guessed that it might be located in a low-lying area. The factory walls were rusty and mottled. The metal window frames of the row of windows on the roof were also broken and dilapidated. Judging by appearance, the factory building was probably about ten years old.
In K City, these old and vacant factories can only be found in the far southern suburbs.
"Alice, you're late."
A figure suddenly appeared on the pile of wooden crates in the corner. Upon closer inspection, Chen Xiao recognized it as Qiu Yun, whom he had seen before!
The guy seemed to be sitting on a wooden box, a cigarette between his fingers in his right hand, exhaling wisps of bluish smoke with a melancholy expression. At the same time, he was fiddling with a metal lighter in his left hand.
Chen Xiao felt a little strange when he saw the lighter: "A lighter again… Last time this guy fought me, he threw out ton after ton of lighters to explode. Just how many lighters does Qiu Yun usually carry around?!"
"Hmph. Ask Tyrannosaurus Rex! That guy only knows how to act recklessly!" Alice said, somewhat annoyed.
Qiu Yun glanced at the Tyrannosaurus Rex that emerged from another container on the truck—at its nearly three-meter height, it could only hide inside the container; it certainly couldn't fit in the driver's cab.
Qiu Yun frowned, glancing at him only once. He immediately sensed that there was something amiss between his two subordinates. Tyrannosaurus Rex had always been somewhat displeased with Alice's higher status than him, and Alice... this woman was far too narrow-minded.
However, this was not the time to resolve internal conflicts. Qiu Yun simply gave the two of them a warning look before slowly walking up to the three young men. He glanced at Chen Xiao first, then nodded as a greeting: "We meet again."
Chen Xiao glanced at the expert who had once severely injured him, his expression indifferent, and remained silent.
Qiu Yun's gaze then bypassed the cabbage and landed directly on Xu Ershao: "Xu Yifan?"
“It’s me.” Young Master Xu stared at Qiu Yun warily.
"I'm sorry to have to invite you here in this way." Qiu Yun actually smiled, a smile without a trace of menace. "I can assure you that we are an organization that values integrity. As long as the business cooperation goes smoothly, your safety will not be threatened in any way."
Young Master Xu, being the scion of a wealthy family, had experienced kidnappings and similar situations before. He had also received training in dealing with such situations, so he didn't make a fuss or get angry, simply smiling calmly: "Hmm. Then I'll just focus on being a hostage, is that alright?"
“I hope so. That way, we can both avoid some trouble.” Qiu Yun smiled. “I personally don’t like to mistreat prisoners. So, as long as you behave yourself, I can leave you untied. You can move around freely in this house. But please remember, don’t mistake my leniency for unlimited tolerance.”
Suddenly, the girl next to her, nicknamed "Cabbage," retorted angrily, "Hmph, what a nice way to talk! What preferential treatment?! Of course they wouldn't dare touch our land before they get the ransom! Xu Yifan, don't listen to his sweet talk!"
After a pause, Bai Cai glared at Qiu Yun: "If you have the guts, kill us!"
Young Master Xu's face immediately fell: "Please, Miss... just talk about me. Don't keep bringing up 'us,' okay?"
Bai Cai paused for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Hmph! Coward!"
Young Master Xu wasn't angry. He said leisurely, "Knowing full well that it's like an egg hitting a rock, yet still stubborn. That's not called bravery, that's called foolishness. Bai MM, let's rest for a bit and recharge our energy."
At this moment, Young Master Xu seemed to have suddenly become a different person, his eyes filled with calmness. He seemed to have no fear whatsoever, and he no longer had the deliberately ingratiating smile he wore when facing Bai Cai at home. In fact, his expression subtly revealed a bit of the composed demeanor of Old Master Xu.
“Sir,” Young Master Xu was still smiling, “consider it satisfying my curiosity… Could you answer one question for me? I’m just curious—why me? Although I am a son of the Xu family, my father has more than one son, and judging from your actions, people like you shouldn’t be simply after money. Why me as your target?”
"It's simple. For now, your father has protection. We don't want a direct confrontation." Qiu Yun glanced at Chen Xiao beside him. Chen Xiao was still stiff from being poisoned by the poisonous woman and could only look at Qiu Yun helplessly.
“We are not afraid of the Service Society, but we will not recklessly engage in a firefight.” Qiu Yun frowned. “Alice, let’s detoxify our guest. This kid is, after all, one of the Service Society’s people. Torturing prisoners is not a good habit in the world of superpowers.”
Alice approached Chen Xiao with a smile, and Chen Xiao immediately blushed. The girl next to her, Cabbage, was furious but could only glare at Alice with murderous intent.
"Little one." Alice leaned close to Chen Xiao's ear, deliberately blowing a breath into it, and asked softly in a sweet voice, "Tell me. Was our... first kiss? If so, I'll be very happy."
Chen Xiao's eyes widened slightly in embarrassment, but he quickly regained his composure, glanced at Alice, and coughed, "No... senior. Don't you know? A man's first kiss is usually given to a cigarette. I'm sorry, you're too late."
Chapter Sixty-Five: Devouring? Purifying?
"What!!!"
Old Xu slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his once refined face now filled with rage. He glared at his panicked subordinates and roared, "What are you good for! Dozens of men were watching, and you still let Yifan get arrested!!! Are all the bodyguards you hired useless?!"
One of his subordinates was covered in sweat and stammered, unable to speak.
This was an ordinary room in a seemingly unremarkable three-star hotel in K City. The ashtray in front of Old Xu was full of cigarette butts, which fell to the ground when he slapped it.
Inside the room, three other men in black uniforms stood with grave expressions. They stood ramrod straight, exuding an air of competence, one near the door and the other by the window. One of them, standing closer to Old Man Xu, frowned upon hearing this and said, “Mr. Xu, now is not the time to rush. Your son has been kidnapped; the kidnappers will definitely contact us, and we…”
Old Xu was seething with anger. He glanced at the man, then finally took a deep breath and sat down. After all, the three men in black uniforms beside him were special agents assigned to protect him. Given their different statuses, he couldn't very well argue with them. He simply said in a deep voice, "You protected me. But now my son has been arrested. I don't care what they demand; all I care about is my son's life!"
The leader of the three men in black uniforms hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "We will investigate this matter. A team has already gone to your home. Please be patient."
"Can I go home and visit?" Old Xu frowned.
The man immediately shook his head: "No! The situation is unclear, and the other side's methods are very arrogant. We can't risk letting you show yourself." The special agent also showed anger: "These people are so blatant in their crimes, humph!"