Chapter 216 Telephone Ring

The American-made GMC truck was astonishingly fast, far surpassing ordinary trucks. The massive truck head, encased in sturdy bumpers, burst onto the street and quickly onto the highway.

Local residents had reported a group of armed bandits, but when the police asked for the license plate number, the caller realized that the two trucks seemed to have no plates at all!

They could only rely on the appearance of the large trucks for the search, but the efficiency was pitifully low. After all, immediately shutting down the city's highways wasn't something that could be done quickly, not to mention the resulting urban traffic congestion and economic losses, which the police department couldn't easily handle.

Inside the large container, Yang Chen and the other two took out their phones and found that there was barely any signal inside the vehicle. This indicated that the kidnappers were quite sophisticated; they had directly cut off the communication signals using some method.

"What should we do? Where are they taking us? They're not planning to kill us in the wilderness, are they?" Tang Tang, being a girl after all, despite her usual mischievousness, couldn't help but feel afraid in such a moment.

Yuan Ye comforted her, saying, "Don't be afraid, Tang Tang. I'll protect you. I won't let them harm you."

"How will you protect me? Didn't you see they have guns? Are you going to block bullets for me like a revolutionary martyr?" Tang Tang said dishearteningly.

In the dim light, Yuan Ye fell silent, looking somewhat helpless as he glanced at Yang Chen.

Tang Tang chuckled, "We'll have to rely on Uncle..."

Yuan Ye's face flushed red. He had spoken out of desperation, realizing his own inadequacy.

Yang Chen remained calm, "If they really make us get off the truck and feed us bullets, that would be them showing some mercy. I'm afraid the methods they'll use to kill us won't involve shooting at all."

Yuan Ye and Tang Tang asked in confusion, "Then what do they want to do?"

"For example, throwing the entire container into the middle of the sea with us inside, or throwing a few grenades into the container to blow us up. In that case, compared to being shot, it would be more direct and effective, leaving no traces." Yang Chen casually came up with two methods, saying, "In such a scenario, compared to being executed by firing squad, it's more efficient and leaves no evidence."

Yuan Ye and Tang Tang felt their scalps tingling. Yuan Ye slapped his thigh, "If only we had brought more bodyguards with us. I thought driving such an ordinary car wouldn't attract any attention."

"No, we won't die so easily. They must have other motives for capturing us. Besides, once we're missing, your family will definitely search for us. They won't let them succeed so easily!" Tang Tang calmed down slightly.

Yang Chen asked, "How many enemies do your families have? Tang Tang alone has been kidnapped and attacked twice. Does your Yuan family have enemies too?"

Yuan Ye shook his head, frowning, "If we're talking about enemies, there are quite a few. The Fang family where Uncle Fang belongs, they and our Yuan family have plenty of enemies who harbor deep hatred towards us in the South Sea. Even many families from other provinces have had disputes with us. But for someone to be so brazen and resort to such means to kidnap us, there are definitely not many families bold enough to do so. If they did, it would undoubtedly lead to all-out conflict. So I'm also puzzled about who is so impatient and resorting to such methods to abduct us."

"People with money sure don't have it easy," Yang Chen nodded in understanding.

As the three of them discussed intermittently, the car finally seemed to stop. After the iron door at the back of the container was lowered, several rough-looking gunmen gestured for Yang Chen and the others to open the car door and step out.

With several guns pointed at them, they naturally didn't make any unnecessary moves. They obediently got out of the car only to realize that the surroundings were an empty dockyard.

In coastal cities like Zhonghai, there were countless such small docks aside from those leading to the sea, most of them abandoned and unused, waiting for the government's unified plan to close them down.

"Where are we?" Yuan Ye asked Yang Chen.

"How would I know? I've only been back to the country for less than a year," Yang Chen said.

A gunman nudged Yuan Ye's back with his gun, "Quit the chatter! Move!"

Under the coercion of seven or eight gunmen, the three had no choice but to follow them to the dockside warehouse. There were several small speedboats moored by the sea, indicating that their preparations for the sea route were also quite meticulous.

The large iron door of the warehouse was pushed open from the inside, and similarly armed men immediately closed the door after everyone entered. No one was left outside to keep watch. From the outside, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Inside the spacious warehouse, due to years of disrepair, there was a musty smell everywhere, and the rusty patches on the metal made it seem like the entire structure could collapse at any moment.

Yang Chen noticed that there were about twenty or so criminals in the warehouse, all silent as if well-trained terrorists, standing in positions to monitor the surroundings of the warehouse.

The three were led to a corner of the warehouse, where a man in a suit and tie walked in through the door, followed by a burly man with a hunched back who was picking his nose as he walked.

Yang Chen looked closely, somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected it to be this pair, Xu Zhihong and Maoqiu!

That day, both Xu Zhihong and Zeng Xinlin were left penniless by Lin Ruoxi's schemes. The Zeng family withdrew from the power struggle in Zhonghai, and Xu Zhihong's East China Technology suffered heavy losses, completely losing its competitive edge in the future market with Yulei.

After that, Xu Zhihong seemed to have kept a low profile, and there hadn't been any news about him. Unexpectedly, now he appeared, orchestrating a street kidnapping drama.

As Xu Zhihong and Maoqiu approached, they also seemed surprised. Seeing Yuan Ye and Tang Tang was within their expectations, but Yang Chen sitting in the corner was definitely not what they had anticipated!

"Mr. Yang, nice to see you safe and sound," Xu Zhihong's eyes flashed with various emotions as he smiled insincerely, "I really didn't expect Mr. Yang to be invited here as a guest."

Yang Chen smiled faintly but didn't say anything.

Maoqiu burst into laughter, "Boss, it seems this kid is destined to fall into our hands. Even if we don't intend to catch him, he ends up being caught by us!"

"Shut up!" Xu Zhihong frowned and scolded, then turned to Yuan Ye and Tang Tang, saying, "Young Master Yuan, Miss Fang, I believe you both know who I am."

Yuan Ye glared angrily, "Xu Zhihong, your Xu family is also a prominent family in Zhonghai. By doing this, are you declaring war on both our Yuan family and the Fang family?!"

"No, no, no, the Yuan family and the Fang family, one is an economic leader and the other is a political giant. Our Xu family is sandwiched in between. How could we dare to declare war on your two elders?" Xu Zhihong quickly waved his hand to deny.

Although Tang Tang hadn't met Xu Zhihong many times, she was very clear about the major families in Zhonghai. Seeing the Xu family, which had no connection to her, suddenly kidnapping her, she shouted angrily, "Xu Zhihong, you coward! You can't win in the business world, nor can you rise in politics. You resort to such sneaky tactics and conspiracies. My dad and the others won't let you get away with this!"

Xu Zhihong was indifferent, sneering, "Miss Tang Tang, Mr. Yuan Ye, although what I'm going to say to you may sound like nonsense, but it seems you don't quite understand. Since I've personally come here and let you see me, then it's obvious that I have no intention of leaving any escape routes."

"What do you mean? Are you going to kill us?!" Yuan Ye asked nervously, instinctively moving closer to Tang Tang.

Tang Tang's eyes moistened slightly at Yuan Ye's almost instantaneous movement.

Xu Zhihong waved his hand dismissively, "Don't talk so grimly. I don't like to see bloodshed, personally. Of course, my subordinates might enjoy it. The reason for inviting you two over this time is mainly to celebrate Young Master Yuan's birthday. Both families' elders will sit together, and we don't need to separate to inform them. Also, the economy has been sluggish recently, and the policies are not very fair to us. So we plan to take this opportunity to have a good chat with your elders. With you two here, I believe your family elders will be willing to talk with us."

After speaking, Xu Zhihong had someone bring over a peculiar-looking cordless phone that seemed to have been modified in a special way.

"After the call connects, your elders will surely have a lot to ask you two. When the time comes, don't just cry, make sure to say a few more words," Xu Zhihong squinted, his gaze sharp as a cold blade.

Yuan Ye and Tang Tang were not fools; they immediately understood Xu Zhihong's general purpose. They glared fiercely at him, knowing that cursing him would be futile.

Yang Chen, on the other hand, was a bit puzzled. Since Xu Zhihong had already stepped forward, it was obvious that he intended to tear off the facade and wage war against the Yuan and Fang families. The reason was nothing but interests. It was likely that after East China Technology suffered from Lin Ruoxi's scheming, Xu Zhihong was in a difficult situation and thus resorted to desperate measures.

Yuan Ye was the only son of the Yuan family, and for the sake of Yuan Ye's safety, the Yuan family might have been taken advantage of by Xu Zhihong. Tang Tang was even more implicated, with her father being a secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, wielding great power.

However, if it were just the Xu family, Xu Zhihong was being too hasty. After all, once today's events unfolded, he would have no turning back. Regardless of whether Yuan Ye and Tang Tang were safe or not, he would face the joint attack of the two major families! Therefore, there must be someone cooperating with him, and their strength must be considerable. Who would it be to conduct activities in front of the Yuan and Fang families?

Just then, the specially modified phone rang.