Chapter 144: Taking The First Step To Escape
At this very moment.
Not far away, at the security guard booth, the radio crackled. After picking up the receiver, two or three guards drew their batons from their waists, grabbed riot shields, and rushed towards the entrance.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the entire museum was filled with sharp alarm bells.
Liancheng was stunned.
Old Ghost tilted his head smugly, “My friend is a professional. But Liang Chaosu doesn’t have a gun on him, so he won’t be able to fool them for long. Get in the car, and while they’re busy, we can get ten miles away.”
Liancheng swallowed the words at the tip of her tongue.
She wanted to say that Liang Chaosu wouldn’t let her go, but at this very moment, it seemed… there was a sliver of hope.
Liancheng got into the co-pilot seat. Before she could fasten her seatbelt, Old Ghost started the car and shot out like an arrow.
“Those bodyguards he hired secretly—”
“They’ve been stopped too,” Old Ghost said, one hand on the steering wheel and the other reaching into his pocket.
As Liancheng’s gaze withdrew from the rearview mirror, a gleaming small knife was held before her nose tip.
It was thin as a willow leaf, four fingers long. It wasn’t a common fruit knife. The blade was too narrow and thin, not resembling a weapon. It looked more like a miniature toy replica of a long sword.
Seeing her jump in surprise, Old Ghost sheepishly moved the blade away a bit. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to tell you that while they were gone, I slashed all their tires, including the spare. By the time they catch up, we’ll have almost made contact.”
Liancheng knitted her brows.
In the past, her escapes were always solitary efforts, small-scale and by the book. Now, she had Shen Lichuan, Old Ghost, and the assistance of a local gang.
And on top of all that, Old Ghost’s devilish maneuvers.
With frequent shooting incidents in Europe and America, reporting a mentally ill person carrying a gun in public was akin to reporting a major drug lord gathering for drug use in China.
It was truly a tricky angle, making it impossible to guard against. Being able to escape… the strength of a team was immense.
But a jolt in her heart remained, and it hadn’t subsided.
Old Ghost saw her somber complexion, her eyes anxious and confused, and was greatly puzzled. “What’s wrong? We’ve successfully taken the first step towards freedom, the stars and the sea are right before us. Even if you want to be cautious, you shouldn’t have this expression. You look like—”
He observed her for another moment before concluding, “You don’t have much faith in this operation of ours.”
Liancheng hadn’t even exhaled; she was very silent.
Old Ghost turned the steering wheel onto the highway. “Rest assured, your plan was so thorough: borrowing a knife to kill, using a clever stratagem to escape. President Shen also paid the gang for their services. Now the entire gang is working for you and this big business of yours. We’re bound to win.”
Liancheng couldn’t describe the unease in her heart. One thought after another was overturned and re-emerged, only to be overturned and re-emerge. They didn’t hold up, yet her heart couldn’t let go.
“Every time I think I have the upper hand, it’s always fate playing tricks on me.”
She looked at the rearview mirror; the road ahead was empty and peaceful, a long black path winding through the snowfield. “After seeing all the free scenery along the way, I end up being locked in a cage.”
Old Ghost was rough around the edges and couldn’t offer much wisdom, but after forty years of life, he had gained some experience.
“Fate is just like that,” he said, stepping on the accelerator and speeding up again. “I heard about your situation from President Shen. Damn, those wealthy families are truly beasts in human clothing. Of course, I repeat, you and President Shen are exceptions.”
“But think about it, they have money and power, they’re so formidable. Based on experience fighting enemies, the stronger the enemy, the less likely fate is to let you win easily, right? It’s definitely a test. You have to climb mountains, cross seas, race on the highway. As you pass each hurdle, you’ll gain enough experience, and victory will naturally come. Trading four years for seventy or eighty years of good food, drink, and freedom—this deal isn’t a loss for us.”
Liancheng accepted his kindness. “Thank you. I never expected to live that long before. But now that you mention it, I’ll strive to live past a hundred. Anything less than that would feel like a loss for enduring these four years.”
Old Ghost grinned. “That’s the spirit.”
He became quite animated in conversation. “When I was your age, I was running with Brother Dongcheng. Eating and drinking every day, collecting protection fees, fighting at night, guarding places. Life was incredibly boring. I felt like I’d lived to forty and that was enough, ready to kick the bucket.”
“Later, I met my wife, and then she gave me two little cotton-padded jackets. I realized that forty years wasn’t enough. I needed to borrow at least five hundred more years from heaven, and only when my granddaughter’s granddaughter’s granddaughter’s granddaughter is living peacefully will I be able to close my eyes.”
Liancheng was touched and lowered her head, looking at her lower abdomen, then raised her hand to caress it gently.
Since she hated Liang Chaosu, she shouldn’t have kept his child. Bai Ying’s theory about hormones was just something to listen to; it didn’t hold up.
Fundamentally, it was her own deficiency, her passive excavation of the Liang family from her heart, leaving a gaping hole.
And if, one day, she regained her freedom, Liancheng was very certain that she wouldn’t have the emotional capacity to meet another man and start a family.
In her life, she would only have this one child. If she lost it, she would be as free as the wind, as wandering as a dandelion seed, but unable to take root or stay anywhere.
Liancheng suddenly let out a breath and asked Old Ghost, “Can you contact the gang? I want to talk to them.”
Old Ghost spared a glance at her. “Talk about what?”
“I suspect there’s a trap, and I want to change the plan.”
Before the words were out, an old Ford driving towards them suddenly accelerated, changed lanes, and headed directly for their car’s front.
Old Ghost was caught off guard and could only wrench the steering wheel hard. The vehicle sped off the road, its wheels crushing the foundation stones at the roadside, causing a violent jolt.
Liancheng was held tightly to the seat by her seatbelt, and the airbag deployed in an instant.
Old Ghost, affected by the impact, lost control of the steering wheel, and the vehicle spun and swerved in an S-shape on the snowy surface.
Liancheng felt like she was being swung back and forth on a pendulum hammer, barely able to protect her lower abdomen. The car doors on both sides were suddenly subjected to violent impacts. The other party didn’t seem to intend harm, but rather to help stabilize their car.
With one final violent lurch, Liancheng’s head hit the airbag hard. She immediately became dizzy, her vision consumed by darkness.
She felt the car door being pulled open, and a man with a strong body odor leaned in, unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her arm, and dragged her out.
Liancheng lost sensation and control of her body. She couldn’t feel pain, only knew she was being dragged into another car.
That car immediately started. She wanted to shout for help for Old Ghost.
A point of light appeared before her eyes, its scope expanding. The fat face of a man with a red beard and white skin was inches away.
She reflexively leaned back, her back of the head hitting the seat, which caused another wave of dizziness.
Then her hearing returned.
Vaguely, she heard a man speaking in English, “Yes, we’ll take her to the hospital now.”
Domestically, Father Liang had just returned to the Liang residence.
Liang Chaosu had confirmed his return to the country today. Half of his plan had succeeded, and he could no longer wait to go home and see Mother Liang.
At this very moment, Mother Liang was looking for loungewear for him. Father Liang smiled slightly, “Currently, we have three teams working on this. Shen Lichuan’s people were quick-witted to push Chaosu into the police station. The hospital we originally contacted is far away. Given the urgency, you can find a hospital nearby.”
The man hesitated, “Although Iceland allows abortions within 22 weeks, the person must sign a statement. Yesterday, there was a large parade by Catholics in Huísaak, demanding a ban on abortion laws. The situation is too sensitive now. Other than that, the statement is crucial; otherwise, doctors won’t agree.”
A mother and child death could be attributed to an error, especially since the woman’s uterus had a deformity.
Without a statement, it would directly lead to the termination of a career and a 100% chance of prosecution and sentencing.
Doctors abroad are typically well-educated individuals from middle-class backgrounds. They are shrewd when it comes to weighing pros and cons.
