Dawn
“Young master, the jackals and wolves are in position.”
After passing through the Yeling Mountain Tunnel, you will reach the Wanghai Bridge, which connects Yeling Mountain and Chang Island. It has been completed and will officially open next month. Once you cross the bridge, you will leave the mainland and it will be even more difficult to pursue the culprits.
Taking advantage of the cover of night, a sniper climbed up the lighthouse near Yeling Mountain. The pitch-black barrel of the gun was aimed at the Wanghai Bridge.
A man’s voice came through the earpiece, faintly saying, “Hmm, make sure to eliminate them all, leaving no one behind.”
“What about the two kidnappers?”
The man chuckled, “Hmph, fifty thousand underworld coins—for you to spend in the netherworld.”
The call was cut.
The sniper opened the scope, and his view was intercepted by a white Audi that came into sight, plowing through a triangular warning sign on the bridge. It slid a great distance on the snow-wetted, slippery road before gradually coming to a stop in the middle of the way.
Song Yuhang got out of the car, lifting the folder in her hand, “What you want is here, now release her.”
Hearing her shout, the man emerged from behind a shipping container, pushing the child in front of him.
“Let me check the goods first.”
“How am I supposed to check them without a computer or speakers? Goddamn it,” Song Yuhang gritted her teeth, watching the man clutch Xiaowei’s neck, while the Xiaowei hung her head lifelessly, her face pale as death.
With one hand gripping Xiaowei, the man scraped a speaker off the shipping container and tossed it at her feet.
“Play it for me.”
The blue speaker rolled over her instep, but Song Yuhang didn’t pick it up.
“You’re f*cking with me, aren’t you? You said you’d release all three together.”
The man hesitated. In the night, Song Yuhang saw his lips move, but he said nothing.
Then the man said, “You play it first, and once I’ve confirmed it’s legit, I’ll naturally have my brothers release the others.”
She cocked her head, sizing up his face — a bristly beard, shifty eyes — it struck her as familiar.
Wasn’t this the human trafficker wanted by the police for kidnapping children at the train station not so long ago?
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Song Yuhang remained composed, and upon seeing Xiaowei, it was as if she had swallowed a calming pill.
What could be confirmed now was that Ji Jingxing and Mother Song were held somewhere else, not with Xiao Weiyi. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have paused to think about what to say.
The only variable now was Lin Yan. With her intelligence and wisdom, she should be able to guess that something had happened to her the moment she saw that text message. The only thing she couldn’t predict was how Lin Yan would act.
Would she get on a plane right away?
Will she save Ji Jingxing and Mother Song?
These doubts lingered in her heart only for a moment before she negated them.
Lin Yan would go.
Yet she felt a complex array of emotions—rescuing them would no doubt be a path strewn with danger. Song Yuhang hoped for her to stay out of harm’s way, yet she couldn’t bear the thought of her family being in jeopardy. This contradiction clenched her fists tight, her nails digging deep into her palms.
She knew her opportunities were scant. Her only chance was to play her hand—to stall for time, to get the enemy to lower their guard, and in a swift move, to subdue them and rescue Xiaowei.
“My family’s lives are in your hands. How could I possibly use fakes to deceive you? Since I’ve come here, it’s already shown my sincerity. I hope you can show some sincerity as well.”
She raised her hand and said, “Release the child first. I’m an unarmed woman, we can negotiate. I’ll go with you.”
The man swallowed his saliva, seemingly unsure of how to respond.
A furious roar came through the earpiece, “Idiot, she’s buying time. She’s not just an unarmed woman. Don’t let her get close to you!”
The man reached behind his waist and pulled out a gun, shouting at her, “Stay back! Otherwise, I’ll shoot!”
Song Yuhang stopped in her tracks. “Alright, alright, I won’t come any closer.”
She wasn’t confident she could take him down from this distance.
The dark muzzle of the gun was a severe threat to both her and Xiaowei. She had to figure out a way to neutralize it.
“Put your USB stick down where I can see it!”
An opportunity had arisen.
Song Yuhang bent down, picked up the blue speaker, opened it, and took out a black USB flash drive from a folder. Then, she casually threw the paper bag into the air, twirling, and it drifted into the sea.
The man watched as she opened the speaker, inserted the USB flash drive, and pressed play.
“I, Guo Xiaoguang, son of Zhu Yong, ID number…”
Song Yuhang pressed pause. “Can you release the child now?”
The man nodded. “Yes, place the speaker on the ground and kick it over.”
For some reason, Song Yuhang always felt that he was exceedingly stiff in his speech and actions, like a marionette being puppeteered, always needing a moment to collect himself, especially when speaking, halting at intervals.
She frowned, sensing that something was off, and slowly bent down, planning to place the speaker on the ground.
The man watched her movements unblinkingly, swallowing hard, his palm clutching the gun slick with sweat.
In the distance, the faint sound of a ship’s horn carried over the sea.
Song Yuhang’s eyes lit up: “My friends have come to find me!”
The man hastily turned around, but Song Yuhang raised her hand fiercely and threw the speaker at him. It struck him square on the forehead, causing his nose to bleed and the gun in his hand to fall to the ground. He staggered back a few steps.
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With a swift step, she lunged forward, but before she could pull Xiaowei behind her, a short and stout figure emerged from the shipping container and swung an iron rod at her.
Damn it, two people! Miscalculated!
She couldn’t evade in time and was ruthlessly struck on the back of her head. She fell to the ground, and as she reached out, her hand was covered in blood.
Song Yuhang quickly rolled to her feet, and she did a cunning and fierce whip kick. The short and stout man was sent flying and crashed into the shipping container, causing steel materials to scatter all over the ground.
The tall and thin kidnapper, sensing the unfavorable situation, lunged forward in an attempt to grab the gun on the ground. Song Yuhang swiftly sidestepped, knocking him down and kicking the gun far away in the process.
He then went to grab Xiaowei, who was lying on the ground. Song Yuhang rolled over while holding Xiaowei, narrowly avoiding the attack. The short and stout man climbed out from the pile of construction materials and swung a blow towards her back.
Song Yuhang spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, propping herself up with one hand and flipping over. With a single leg, she forcefully tripped him by hooking his leg. The man’s center of gravity shifted forward, and she bent down, delivering a powerful elbow strike to his face. Simultaneously, she grabbed his arm, twisted back, and struck his jaw with a fierce elbow joint. The impact was so strong that the sound of muscles and bones breaking could be heard.
Unlike Lin Yan, Song Yuhang compensated for her lack of strength by using her fists, her feet, her knees, and every joint in her body as her best weapons.
The man’s teeth were shattered, blood pouring from his mouth. Song Yuhang grabbed his arm and pushed him aside, causing him to collide with the guardrail and sit down heavily.
She turned around and picked up Xiao Wei, then ran.
“Xiaowei, Xiaowei, wake up!”
No matter how she called out, the child remained tightly shut-eyed, silent and still.
Tears welled up in Song Yuhang’s eyes as she bit her lip and choked, “Xiaowei…”
The tall and thin robber lunged forward and grabbed her leg, shouting at the stout man, “Get her! Fifty thousand dollars!”
At those words, Song Yuhang was jolted awake. She turned back and caught sight of the barely discernible wire hanging by his ear. A sense of alarm took her, and with a lift of her foot, she kicked the man, sending him flying away.
As she was about to turn back, the hefty man came at her again, brandishing an iron rod. Clutching Xiaowei, Song Yuhang found her movements restricted and could only dodge. Between the two assailants, she found herself at a disadvantage.
A mist began to rise over the sea, and still, no lights glimmered in the lofty mountains. On the eerily silent Wanghai Bridge, the only sounds were the thuds of sticks against flesh.
Song Yuhang, dazed from the blows and buzzing in her ears, still clutched Xiaowei tightly without letting go. Her gaze found a gun not too far away, and with gritted teeth, she crawled towards it.
The fat man stepped onto her hand, panting heavily: “Damn, this woman can fight.”
Those in desperate straits always have a few moves up their sleeves. Song Yuhang, protecting the child in her arms and unable to use them, relied solely on her legs to fight, making it quite the challenge for her assailants, both of whom had already taken some hits.
The skinny tall one wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and came over, trying to yank the child from her embrace.
“You know, this kid is pretty cute,” he remarked. “Could fetch a nice price in Southeast Asia.”
Watching his filthy hand touch the child’s face, Song Yuhang felt a surge of fury rush to her head, and with eyes blazing, she bellowed, “Don’t touch her!!!”
With a strength she didn’t know she had, the hand that was being stepped on clenched into a fist and pushed up forcefully. Her other hand grasped his knee, bringing him down with a wrestling move. A growl similar to that of a beast emanated from her throat as she sprang up and lunged at the skinny tall man.
“Madwoman, madwoman…” The tall and thin kidnapper retreated in fear, forgetting about grabbing the child. He fell to the ground and was suddenly lifted by his collar. A powerful right hook landed squarely on his chin, causing him to spew blood and not even recognize his own mother.
Song Yuhang didn’t give him a chance to catch his breath. She pressed his head down, smashing her elbow into the back of his neck. The man fell to his knees, spitting a mouthful of congealed blood onto the ground.
She delivered a knee strike to his jaw, forcing his head to tilt back as his nose sprayed blood. He clumsily tried to block, crying out for mercy.
Song Yuhang’s eyes turned bloodshot as she grabbed his collar and slammed him into the bridge pillar, leaving splatters of blood along the way.
The stout man gulped and picked up a handgun from the ground. The pitch-black barrel was aimed at her, his voice losing its authenticity due to fear, sounding somewhat shrill.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot!”
Song Yuhang remained unaffected, as if she hadn’t heard him. The man swallowed nervously, closed his eyes slightly, and slowly squeezed the trigger.
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Suddenly, the headlights of a car illuminated the area. Duan Cheng honked the horn frantically and rushed over like a bolt of lightning.
The stout man’s pupils contracted. The shot missed its mark after all. Fortunately, he dodged quickly, or else the wheels would have rolled over his leg.
Before the car came to a complete stop, Lin Yan opened the door and jumped out. With a single glance, she saw Xiaowei lying on the bridge surface. She rushed over in a swift stride, picked her up, and handed her to Duan Cheng.
“Take her away.”
Ji Jingxing and Zheng Chengrui stayed at the entrance of the bridge to cover the retreat for those who hadn’t made it across.
Duan Cheng gave a slight nod, scooped up the person, and immediately swung the car around.
The stout man tried to block them, but Lin Yan pulled out a retractable baton from her lower back, “snap” straightening it with a flick, and planted it in front of him.
“Your opponent is me.”
Song Yuhang’s rusty mind finally cleared up a bit at the sight of her, a gleam of affection surfacing in her eyes. Despite being covered in injuries and her face smeared with blood, she flashed a smile at her, a mix of reproach and relief.
“Why did you come?”
“If I hadn’t come, you’d be dead.”
“What about my mom?”
“She’s been taken to the hospital. She doesn’t have any serious issues.”
“And my sister-in-law?”
“She’s waiting in the back with Xiaowei.”
Lin Yan answered her questions one by one, holding a stick with a wary eye on the short, plump man, not giving an inch.
The man couldn’t size up her true strength, and he didn’t dare to shoot rashly.
Song Yuhang watched her figure, so frail, yet so unbreakable.
Both of them were more disheveled than the other.
Lin Yan’s fair face was smudged almost comically with soot, and her shoulder was wrapped in a bandage. What she loved dearly, her hair soft as seaweed, was burned and curled into singed clumps.
Song Yuhang choked out, “And my fiancée?”
Lin Yan tipped her chin up slightly, “Alive, right by your side.”