Chapter 273: Multi-party Coordination
The engine sound went up the ramp.
Liancheng, holding onto the wall, returned to the intersection. Feng Shien was covered in blood, his hands and feet bound, strapped into the driver’s seat. Broken glass from the car window was embedded in his brow, bleeding profusely. He was still conscious and saw Liancheng, “Are you alright?”
“I protected my head, I’m fine,” Liancheng said, suppressing dizziness as she searched for knots to untie.
West Kowloon was a new district developed through land reclamation in Hong Kong. It wasn’t crowded, and this villa area was even more secluded.
Such a long time after the car accident, and no one had discovered it.
“What about you?” Liancheng observed his hands and feet, “Can you move?”
The collision came without warning. The van directly impacted the side, almost hitting the driver’s seat.
The hood was deeply dented. In the few seconds it took to untie the ropes, the smell of gasoline intensified, threatening to ignite at any moment.
“I can move, let’s go,” Feng Shien, once freed, pulled Liancheng eastward.
“Those people said they brought weapons, likely guns. Liang Chaosu’s bodyguards can’t hold them off for long. We need to get to the intersection to flag down a car as soon as possible.”
Liancheng suddenly stopped, “Guns?”
Feng Shien nodded.
Liancheng abruptly looked back. That group knew her situation in detail. The van had stopped at Liang Chaosu’s villa entrance, and they had broken into Liang Chaosu’s villa.
Xiao Da was on the opposite side at this moment. The collision was so loud, he couldn’t have not heard it.
Yet, both villas were silent, and the group made no sound, likely searching cautiously.
But Xiao Da hadn’t appeared either, not even to check earlier.
Gun ownership was prohibited in Huaxia. When those people mentioned weapons, Feng Shien was certain they meant guns. Perhaps he had seen something earlier, did Xiao Da guess it?
“Are you worried about the safety of Liang Chaosu’s subordinates?”
Liancheng’s head felt even more dizzy, and her legs grew weak. She forced herself to stand, “If it’s guns, people could die.”
Feng Shien gripped her arm tightly, “Going back now won’t help.”
“I know,” Liancheng wasn’t stupid, “You call the police.”
She decisively strode forward and removed Xiao Da from the blacklist.
Text messages and missed call alerts flooded in. Liancheng, unable to look at them, directly created a new message and told him the side gate code.
This was a villa area after all, and seclusion would inevitably have a police booth. Moreover, Hong Kong wasn’t large, and with the financial forum summit, many wealthy and powerful figures were in town. With armed assailants involved, a helicopter response would be the minimum, and it would take no more than ten minutes at the latest.
That was enough time for Xiao Da to retreat quietly.
Feng Shien helped her across the intersection. From the alley to their left behind them, footsteps suddenly arrived, hurried and deliberately light.
Feng Shien became alert and immediately pulled Liancheng to hide behind a tree.
At the same moment, up the ramp not far away, hurried voices were heard, “Damn it, we were tricked. Go to the other side.”
Liancheng’s scalp tensed for a split second, and her brain felt a sharp, constricting pain.
The next second, the footsteps at the intersection also stopped.
Her phone screen lit up. It was Xiao Da’s reply, “We’ve already circled to the alley. Where are you, are you injured?”
Liancheng’s tension suddenly released.
Humans were more fragile than bullets, and lives were more precious than diamonds. Ten lives were heavier than Mount Tai. To be lost for her sake was unreasonable and immoral.
She gestured for Feng Shien to leave in the opposite direction.
She pointed to the east, closest to the main road, and told Xiao Da, “I’m at the east main entrance, I’m not injured.”
The footsteps didn’t leave immediately. Liancheng gripped her phone, her chest tightening again.
Feng Shien noticed her tension and raised his hand as if to comfort her. His hand brushed past her shoulder, then went into his pocket, and he pulled out a handkerchief.
It was neatly folded, light blue, not made of expensive silk or satin, but simple, fluffy cotton, carrying the fresh scent of laundry detergent, almost reaching her nose tip.
Liancheng instinctively leaned back, looking at him with confusion.
Feng Shien pointed to his nose and cheek, “Rub this on before we go through security later.”
The thick branches and leaves of the large tree blocked the sunlight. Feng Shien was also backlit and bowed his head, making his amber eyes seem to ripple with depth, like a mirror reflecting her disheveled and embarrassed state.
Liancheng, still shaken, couldn’t manage a smile. She pushed the handkerchief back, “Your left cheek needs it more.”
She wiped her face haphazardly with her sleeve. The priority now was to leave as quickly as possible.
A gust of wind swept through the large tree they had left and onto the ramp.
At courtyard number 178, Shi Daya suddenly stopped. The air was filled with the pungent smell of gasoline and burning rubber. He suddenly remembered the wrecked front of Feng Shien’s car.
If the fuel tank exploded, it would cause a huge disturbance.
……………………………………
It was almost five o’clock. Su Chenghuai accompanied Liang Chaosu out of a teahouse at Victoria Harbour.
He hadn’t returned to the mainland. Tonight, Lin Lanfeng would make a move, and Mo Shicheng’s failure would inevitably lead him to seek revenge on Liancheng.
Liang Chaosu’s connections in Hong Kong weren’t extensive. To arrange for the police to provide armed protection for the villa area in advance without causing a stir that would alert Mo Shicheng and make Liancheng resent him would require considerable effort, detours, and coordination.
The cold wind after the rain carried a fishy scent from the water. A middle-aged man fastened his suit button and walked forward, extending his hand to Liang Chaosu.
“How about it? With this powerful figure’s nod, the police immediately agreed to armed protection for your wife’s safety.”
Liang Chaosu took a step forward and shook his hand, “I appreciate your help.”
He paused, “My presence in Hong Kong also needs to be kept from the Lin family; their internal affairs are not clean.”
The middle-aged man often traveled to the mainland for business and observation, and he had long heard of his reputation. When dealing with the government, he was polite, possessed good demeanor, showed respect, and was serious, but never smiled, never drank, never flattered, and never fawned.
Yet today, after three invitations and four meetings, at tea gatherings and banquets, he accepted them all. Although he spoke little, every word struck a chord. He wasn’t begging for a favor, but his stance was sufficient.
To cultivate a city of cherry blossoms at any cost, and then set aside his pride for his wife, he didn’t rely on favors from mainland bureau chiefs, but he would help those in love, regardless.
However, the grudges between the Lin family’s eldest daughter and Singapore’s Mo family were almost common knowledge in upper-class circles since Mo Shifu transferred to Hong Kong.
It involved events spanning over twenty years, complex and thorny.
Since the Lin family reported the case, the police had not had a moment’s peace. Lin Lanfeng had united various levels of pressure and influence, using both soft and hard tactics, and had already coordinated with the police force.
It was possible to keep it from the Lin family, but not from Lin Lanfeng.
“Your wife is associated with the Lin family.” The middle-aged man was professionally cautious; the outcome was not yet determined, so he didn’t pry. “Their relationship is not superficial. If Mr. Lin knew—”
The middle-aged man’s phone rang. The caller ID showed the mainland police. He started; at this time, every contact undoubtedly meant a major development.
Looking again, Liang Chaosu’s expression also turned cold, like ice.
“Our cyber police suddenly detected that someone is disseminating the kidnapper’s location of the Lin Xianzi case online. The planned arrest for tonight needs to be moved up.”
Liang Chaosu abruptly turned around. The middle-aged man didn’t have time to greet him and strode down the steps, heading straight for the parking lot.
The kidnappers were seasoned professionals with prior records. Their whereabouts being exposed online only indicated that Mo Shicheng’s people had noticed something was wrong and had leaked the information themselves.
He had still overestimated Lin Lanfeng. Regardless of whether his whereabouts were exposed or the Lin family leaked the information, Mo Shicheng’s desperate counterattack had already begun. Instead of directly killing Lin Xianzi, he was drawing the police to rescue her.
It was by no means Mo Shicheng going mad and openly provoking Huaxia by demanding Lin Xianzi’s life in front of the police.
Instead, it was to attract attention, buy time, and then strike at the root by holding Liancheng hostage to force Lin Xianzi into submission.
From the moment Lin Xianzi, disregarding the situation, risked defying orders to acknowledge Liancheng, Liang Chaosu had anticipated this moment.
The more she showed she cared, the more Mo Shicheng would value Liancheng, eventually seeing her as a trump card.
Su Chenghuai floored the accelerator as soon as he started, speeding towards the villa.
Liang Chaosu hadn’t even dialed the number when Xiao Da’s call came in, “Mr. Liang, the Madam and Feng Shien have left.”
