Zhou Xuan reluctantly took out his phone and dialed Wei Haihong's number. The dial tone rang a few times before the call was connected.
The moment the call connected, Zhou Xuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Brother Hong was safe! "Brother Hong, are you... are you alright? Where are you?" Zhou Xuan asked anxiously as soon as the call connected.
"Hehehe, Wei Haihong, he's in my hands now. If you want him to be safe, hehe..." The voice coming from the phone wasn't Wei Haihong's, but a deep, unfamiliar male voice.
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly asked, "How much money do you want? Tell me!" The other party had gone to such lengths; it must be for money, right? If not money, what else could it be for? "Money, of course I want it, hehe, but I think it's not enough. Come out, I want you as a hostage, and I'll make you and Wei Haihong's family prepare more money!" These words stunned Zhou Xuan again. Wasn't Wei Haihong enough? If they only wanted money, even if it was just Wei Haihong, he could raise the money no matter how much they wanted. How could they say the hostage wasn't enough? However, Zhou Xuan didn't have time to think it over carefully and immediately replied, "Okay, okay, I'll come out right away, but you can't hurt Brother Hong, otherwise you won't get a single penny!"
Volume 1, Chapter 303: Perilous Situation
The whole thing was sudden and strange, but Zhou Xuan didn't have time to think about it! Zhou Xuan turned the corner and walked a few steps along the open space to his right.
Just as he stepped out from behind the corner, that same intense feeling of danger enveloped Zhou Xuan again! Zhou Xuan immediately realized that the sniper rifle was aimed at him again. Only in such direct danger could the icy energy be more strongly stimulated. And because this feeling was exactly the same as when he was shot earlier, Zhou Xuan knew that the gunman had pointed his gun at him again.
What I don't understand is whether this person will fire again? Probably not. I just spoke with him or someone from his group. As long as I follow their orders, he shouldn't fire immediately.
But Zhou Xuan was wrong. As he slowly walked forward, the sense of danger grew stronger and stronger. Even the hair on his head and body stood on end. Of course, only he himself could understand this feeling.
Then came another sharp screech. Before the sound even arrived, Zhou Xuan's icy aura had already come into contact with the powerful penetrating force of the bullet whizzing through the air! The bullet was too fast! For Zhou Xuan, transforming a bullet with his icy aura would be effortless, but when the aura made contact with the bullet thirty meters away, it hastily began to transform and absorb it. However, the bullet was too fast; the moment he mentally transmitted his command, the bullet had already struck his chest! The impact of the bullet collided with the protective function of the icy aura. When the bullet tip penetrated half an inch into his chest, Zhou Xuan's icy aura finally completely transformed and absorbed it. However, the shock to his entire body was immense. He opened his mouth, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and then collapsed backward! Zhou Xuan had suffered severe internal injuries. After falling to the ground, he dared not move, because his opponent was undoubtedly gripping his gun tightly, watching him intently. If he moved even slightly, his opponent would likely fire another shot! At this moment, Zhou Xuan was betting on the gunman's confidence in him, believing that the shot would be fatal. Although Zhou Xuan's eyes were closed and he was seriously injured, it was not as serious as it appeared, nor was it fatal. Therefore, the loss of his ice energy was not too great; what was consumed was only the gunshot wound on his right arm that had just healed.
The icy aura also detected that the bullet in his chest was aimed at his heart. If Zhou Xuan hadn't transformed and absorbed the bullet at the last moment, he would have been dead within three seconds of it penetrating his heart! The bullet penetrated half an inch into his skin before being neutralized by Zhou Xuan's icy aura. However, from the outside, it was clear that the bullet had created a hole in his chest, right in the heart. Such a wound would be fatal no matter what. The wound was also very obvious. The blood gushing from the muzzle wasn't too rapid, but it was still considerable, staining his chest a deep red. Without a detailed examination, it would be impossible to tell that the wound was only half an inch deep! Of course, his opponents were unaware of Zhou Xuan's abilities. Those closest to him might know that Zhou Xuan was somewhat peculiar, but they certainly didn't know what kind of abilities he possessed. The one who knew Zhou Xuan's abilities best was undoubtedly Fu Ying, but even Fu Ying didn't know the extent of Zhou Xuan's abilities. Currently, there were many abilities and levels of refinement that only Zhou Xuan himself understood.
The gunman definitely didn't understand, so Zhou Xuan was gambling on that. If he fired another shot regardless of whether Zhou Xuan was dead or alive, Zhou Xuan would definitely be dead! If he fired another shot, Zhou Xuan would no longer be able to neutralize the bullet. The previous shot had already severely depleted him. He could absorb and transform the bullet at close range, but he couldn't neutralize the fired bullet anymore! However, Zhou Xuan thought he had made the right gamble! Because the dangerous aura surrounding him had finally disappeared! This could only mean that the enemy's sniper rifle was no longer aimed at him, so the danger signal had also disappeared! At this moment, Zhou Xuan's ice energy had also diminished considerably, and his detection range could only reach seventeen or eighteen meters. He lay there motionless, not daring to heal his chest wound. Any slight abnormality might arouse the enemy's suspicion! Besides not daring to heal his chest wound, Zhou Xuan circulated his ice energy at full power, completely holding his breath. If the enemy checked based on his appearance and breathing, Zhou Xuan would definitely look like a dead man! Because of his ability to stop breathing, Zhou Xuan can hold his breath for up to half an hour. In an environment without underwater pressure, he can also secretly take a breath. So, the apparent cessation of breathing can last for at least an hour, which is more than enough to fool the other party.
About four or five minutes later, Zhou Xuan heard footsteps. There were two people, and the footsteps were quite heavy. Judging from the distance of the footsteps, they were about sixty or seventy meters away. The ice gas detection range could not reach that far. Even when the ice gas was at its best, Zhou Xuan could only reach a range of fifty meters around himself. Of course, if he used tools with good conductivity such as aluminum, copper, gold, or silver, the ice gas could reach more than a thousand meters.
But in this place, Zhou Xuan's icy aura could only detect a distance of seventeen or eighteen meters. When the footsteps reached within twenty meters, Zhou Xuan was suddenly startled! It turned out that there were not two people, but three! Zhou Xuan had a feeling that the person whose footsteps he couldn't hear was the one who had just fired the gun! This person was of medium build, in his thirties, and had an ordinary appearance. He would have been completely unremarkable in a crowd. However, Zhou Xuan's icy aura detected that this middle-aged man had a muscular physique under his clothes. You could tell from his bones that he was a martial arts expert. He walked without making a sound, and his feet were extremely light. That's why Zhou Xuan hadn't heard any footsteps.
But once they entered the range that Zhou Xuanbing could detect, they could no longer hide it from him.
The other two were ordinary people, insignificant, just thugs. Zhou Xuan focused all his attention on the middle-aged man, and at the same time held his breath, making no sound from any part of his body.
Having never done anything like this before, Zhou Xuan was unaware that using the ice energy had turned his entire body into a corpse, with his body temperature plummeting! Previously, at the bottom of the sinkhole, in the water, and in the sea, Zhou Xuan only needed to hold his breath and did not need to conceal any signs of life, so he was unaware that the ice energy had this effect.
The three men approached. The middle-aged man didn't take the sniper rifle he'd used to snipe Zhou Xuan; instead, he held a pistol. Upon getting closer, he cautiously checked Zhou Xuan first, using the barrel of the pistol to prop up Zhou Xuan's chin and then checking his pulse on his neck. Fortunately, Zhou Xuan's unique ability with his icy aura had suppressed his heartbeat; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hide it. This man was truly terrifying; even the obvious gunshot wound on Zhou Xuan's chest couldn't make him relax! If this man had absolute confidence in his marksmanship, judging from the gunshot wound right in front of his heart, Zhou Xuan was dead, beyond any doubt! After confirming the diagnosis, the middle-aged man ordered the other two, "Take him away!" At this point, Zhou Xuan was certain that this man had finally completely lowered his guard, treating him as a dead man. The other two bent down and lifted Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan was no longer worried at this point. Although the middle-aged man was terrifying, everything was now under Zhou Xuan's control. If Zhou Xuan made a move, he could instantly vaporize these three people, and the middle-aged man would have no chance to fire his gun again! However, Zhou Xuan would not make a move because he wanted to see where these people would take him and see if he could find out more about the secrets behind it all and who was planning it.
Zhou Xuan absolutely refused to believe this was a simple assault case. The other party had just told him on the phone that they wanted him as a hostage, but after luring him out, they abruptly killed him. This couldn't possibly be a simple case of money! If it were money, they certainly wouldn't have killed him; a dead body would render their ransom extortion ineffective! Who were these people? So ruthless, and a master at it! Zhou Xuan truly couldn't fathom it. He could only wait and see if he could uncover more of the truth. If these people were simply taking him to a place to dispose of the body, then it wouldn't be too late to act.
Three people walked in. The middle-aged man walked in front with a gloomy face, while his two subordinates carried Zhou Xuan behind him. They crossed a 500-meter-long street and entered a 20-story building on the right. It was an unfinished building with no decorations. On the first floor, in the large open space inside, Zhou Xuan heard the voices of seven or eight men, but they were too far away for the ice energy to detect.
Once they were within about twenty meters, Zhou Xuan quickly determined that besides the three men present, there were seven other men there. Apart from one who was tied up, none of the others were people Zhou Xuan recognized.
The one tied to the cement pillar was Wei Haihong. Wei Haihong was blindfolded and his mouth was taped shut.
Finding that Wei Haihong was alive and unharmed, Zhou Xuan felt somewhat relieved. He then prepared to listen to what these people had to say. Two men stepped forward and threw Zhou Xuan to the ground. Zhou Xuan's body lay there like a corpse, showing no signs of life.
The middle-aged man said in a deep voice to those present, "This man is dead!" One of the men stepped forward and kicked Zhou Xuan, then stomped on him, and chuckled, "Dead already? Everyone was making this guy sound like a god, how come he was killed so easily?" He added with a chuckle, "Looks like seeing is believing, Third Brother, notify the boss!" Zhou Xuan's heart tightened! So they really had a powerful backer. He wondered who their backer was, and whether they even knew Wei Haihong's identity. If they did, wouldn't they have any reservations? Then another man spoke into the walkie-talkie, "Boss, Zhou Xuan is dead. Shoot Brother Wei right in the chest!" "Understood!" A low male voice came from the walkie-talkie, followed by a "click" sound, as if the walkie-talkie had been switched off.
Zhou Xuan vaguely recognized the fleeting male voice, but the impression was faint, and he couldn't quite place it. He wondered if the man speaking on the walkie-talkie, the so-called boss, would show himself. While pondering this, Zhou Xuan also nervously observed everyone present. If necessary, he would definitely kill without hesitation; these people wouldn't show him mercy. However, he was currently on the more advantageous side.
Because the other party all regarded him as a dead man and had no sense of vigilance, and Zhou Xuan also detected that everyone present was within the range of his ice energy, he was confident that he could subdue them in an instant with the power of his ice energy.
It shouldn't be about subduing them, but rather rendering them incapable of fighting back. However, at that point, they could only be crippled or completely eliminated. Once the ice energy is used to transform them, they would either die or be maimed! Zhou Xuan wasn't disappointed. In less than two minutes, he heard the footsteps of two more people. However, the sound was still outside the range of his ice energy control, so he didn't know whether there were only two more people coming or more.
The two people walked very slowly. It wasn't until Zhou Xuan anxiously counted to twenty-five that they approached him and entered the range of his ice energy control.
This time there were only two people, and they were people Zhou Xuan actually knew! One was Zhuang Zhixian, and the other was Ma Shu! Zhou Xuan was secretly shocked. This Zhuang Zhixian was really crazy. He must know Wei Haihong's identity, right? Wasn't he worried about causing a big mess? Zhou Xuan was shocked because Zhuang Zhixian knew Wei Haihong's identity. Knowing that, he still did this. The consequences would be terrible. This Zhuang Zhixian had probably become a mad dog. A mad dog cannot be judged by normal reason! Zhuang Zhixian chuckled coldly and said, "Ma Shu, is this Zhou Xuan as powerful as you say? I think he only won one game of cards. No matter how powerful he is, he was still shot dead by Awei. Now he's like a dead dog, isn't he?" Ma Shu pondered for a moment, then bent down. Zhou Xuan thought he was going to check his heartbeat and pulse again, so he immediately used all his ice energy to stop his heart and completely cover up his pulse.
When Ma Shu reached for Zhou Xuan's neck, he didn't check his pulse. Instead, with a flick of his wrist, a syringe slid out of his sleeve.
Zhou Xuan was caught off guard, and in that instant, Ma Shu inserted the syringe into Zhou Xuan's neck, injecting the entire syringe of medicine.
Zhou Xuan was indeed careless! The potion was extremely potent; before he could even use his ice energy to neutralize it, it had already paralyzed his nerves and body, rendering him unable to move! The gunman named Awei was startled and quickly rushed forward, asking, "What happened?" Ma Shu chuckled coldly, "The gunshot wound is fake, and this Zhou Xuan is also faking his death. Check his heartbeat again now." Zhou Xuan immediately regretted his actions. He had calculated everything, but he still made a mistake! He had forgotten that Ma Shu could read minds. With his injury and greatly reduced ice energy, he hadn't noticed that Ma Shu had read his thoughts. He had acted convincingly in every way, but the thoughts in his mind had been exposed!
Volume 1, Chapter 304: The First Fear
After being injected with the drug by Ma Chen, Zhou Xuan's body was rapidly anesthetized. Apart from his thoughts, he couldn't move a single hair on his body!
However, he could still think. This feeling was very uncomfortable, and Zhou Xuan had never encountered this situation before. Even in the most dangerous situations in the past, his body had never been seriously injured. Unlike today, firstly, the gunman Brother Wei injured him and dared not recover from his injuries. Then, Ma Shu saw through him, and the injection of anesthetic made him completely lose the ability to move and use ice energy!
With his body completely frozen and numb, he naturally couldn't use the ice energy within his body. Without the control of the ice energy over his body, Zhou Xuan's life functions immediately became apparent.
When Wei saw Ma Shu's actions and words, he was startled for a moment. He rushed over to check on Zhou Xuan. Before he could even touch him, he could clearly see that Zhou Xuan's chest was rising and falling and his mouth was slightly open as he breathed. He was stunned for a moment!
Zhou Xuan was now being monitored automatically by his heartbeat, while his body was completely anesthetized and unable to move. This anesthetic was incredibly potent; even the ice energy couldn't make him move an inch!
Wei Ge was stunned for a moment, then stretched out his right hand and used his index finger to probe the gunshot wound on Zhou Xuan's chest. He immediately saw that the wound had only penetrated half an inch, and was just a minor cut to the flesh. The bullet had not penetrated at all, which puzzled him!
He clearly saw it through the binoculars of his sniper rifle; the shot hit the muzzle squarely. Could it be that he missed? Was it all an act by Zhou Xuan?
"This Zhou Xuan is truly terrifying," Wei thought to himself. "Maybe the shot didn't even hit the target. It's just Zhou Xuan putting on an act." But deep down, Wei didn't want to believe it; he trusted his own marksmanship.
But Zhou Xuan was the living evidence right in front of him, ruthlessly tearing his confidence to shreds!
Seeing Ma Shu's mocking gaze, Wei Ge suddenly broke out in a cold sweat!
His marksmanship was impeccable, but today his first shot inexplicably went astray. He aimed the first shot right at Zhou Xuan's heart, but Zhou Xuan inexplicably dodged it. Strange, sniper rifle bullets travel faster than pistol or submachine gun bullets, so there's no way for a person to dodge a bullet!
Humans are limited by their physical shape and abilities, and their speed cannot be faster than a bullet. So how did Zhou Xuan manage to dodge this extremely fast bullet right under his nose?
Ma Shubiao glanced at the cold-looking gunman, Wei Ge. He snorted, thinking, "This fool who only believes in his own marksmanship, your marksmanship is fine against ordinary people, but against someone like Zhou Xuan, if I hadn't pretended not to know and suddenly injected him with anesthesia, we'd all be in big trouble!"
Although Ma Shu didn't know what Zhou Xuan's special ability was, based on the previous incident with those thugs and bodyguards, he figured that Zhou Xuan probably had the ability to make objects disappear in secret. This was because the fingers of two of the bodyguards inexplicably broke off automatically, and apart from the two pistols that Zhou Xuan had taken, all the bullets for the other pistols were duds, which was obviously illogical!
Afterwards, Ma Shu retrieved all the bullets from everyone's pistols and examined them one by one. He discovered that the gunpowder in every single bullet was gone. The bullets were definitely original, unopened units, but why were the gunpowder missing?
Could it be a fake bullet, just with an outer shell? Ma Shu immediately dismissed the idea. The bullet was real; it had simply been made invisible by Zhou Xuan's ability. It seemed that Zhou Xuan's ability was to make objects disappear in secret, including living beings. This could be seen from the severed fingers of those two people. Just thinking about this made Ma Shu feel a chill of fear!