Chapter 545: Petty

"After the plane lands, hand over Little Hua immediately. If anything happens to her, none of you will live."

The man hurriedly said, "Mr. Ling, rest assured, I can guarantee that Little Hua is very well and has not been mistreated." He paused. "I know that our plan wasn't thorough enough this time, and I hope you won't take it to heart."

"I hate being used by others the most. Your Secret Society has investigated my background, so you should understand my character. This is the first and the last time; if anything similar happens again, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Now, you two had better disappear from my sight. I don't want to see you again."

The two men exchanged glances, shook their heads helplessly, and got up to leave.

In the rear cabin's resting room, a middle-aged man and a girl wearing a mask were sitting on the sofa, chatting softly.

When his two subordinates entered, the middle-aged man asked, "Did you make things clear to them?"

"Mr. Ling, I did tell them, but... Ling Chen seemed very unhappy. He said he doesn’t like being used. I’m worried that this operation might cause him to reject the Secret Society."

The girl spoke up, "That's just the way Ling Chen is. Once he knows our identities later, I believe he won’t mind what happened before."

"Mr. Ling, why don’t you tell him your identities directly?"

The middle-aged man shook his head. "It’s not time yet." With a slight smile, he continued, "Wouldn't have thought the kid had quite a personality. Well, let him have his way for now. After all, we were in the wrong this time. As soon as we arrive, take Little Hua to him, then send the three of them back to East Sea City."

"Yes!"

...

Waking up, Ling Chen rubbed his eyes and looked out the window to find that the airplane had already reached the airport and was descending.

Once the plane stopped in the hangar, Ling Chen and He Ziyun disembarked, only to see a Cadillac slowly driving up. When the car came to a halt, a man dressed in a suit and wearing sunglasses jumped out from the passenger side and opened the back door.

Then, Little Hua jumped out of the back seat.

"Little Hua!"

Ling Chen's eyes lit up and he waved, calling out.

"Big Brother!"

Seeing Ling Chen and He Ziyun, Little Hua’s face burst into joyful smiles as she bounced over and hugged Ling Chen’s arm affectionately.

He Ziyun couldn’t help laughing. "You girl, do you even remember I’m your master?"

"Master," Little Hua said sweetly, "you can rest assured, I haven’t forgotten you."

Ling Chen habitually stroked Little Hua’s little head and asked with a smile, "They didn’t give you a hard time, did they?"

Hearing this, Little Hua pouted, her face full of grievance. "They locked me in a dark room and didn’t give me anything to eat. I’ve been hungry for days."

"Is that so?" Ling Chen’s expression turned cold. He turned to look at the two men who had just come down from the plane, his sharp eyes like a freshly unsheathed blade, revealing its edge.

Feeling the murderous gaze, the two men felt a chill down their spines as if a cold breeze had swept over them.

"What's the matter... Mr. Ling?"

"How could you have the face to ask me?" Ling Chen hummed coldly and suddenly raised his fist, smashing it into the man’s nose. Immediately, blood gushed out, and the nose bridge was broken.

The man screamed in pain, holding his bleeding nose with both hands, tears welling up.

"Mr. Ling, what are you...?" The other man looked at Ling Chen, terrified, and involuntarily stepped back, fearing he might be the next victim.

Ling Chen coldly commanded, "Didn’t you say Little Hua would be well taken care of? But what I’m hearing from her seems quite different from what you told me."

"This... Mr. Ling, I assure you there’s no such thing. Could there be some misunderstanding?"

"I don’t believe it’s a misunderstanding. She’s right here; you can ask her if you don’t believe me." After saying this, Ling Chen looked at Little Hua and said, "Tell them what you’ve experienced these past few days." He winked at Little Hua subtly.

Smart as Little Hua was, how could she not understand Ling Chen’s intention? She immediately began to complain, "They locked me in a dark room and didn’t give me any food."

Ling Chen stared coldly at the man. "Did you hear that?"

The man hastily explained, "Misunderstanding, Mr. Ling, it must be a misunderstanding, I... ow!" Before he could finish, Ling Chen had kicked him in the abdomen, knocking him to the ground. Writhing in intense pain, the man’s face turned pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead.

"Remember, I won’t pursue it this time, but there won’t be another. Let's go!"

Holding Little Hua’s hand, Ling Chen walked out of the hangar with He Ziyun.

When Ling Chen and the others were gone, the middle-aged man and the girl came down from the plane.

Looking at the sorry state of his two subordinates, the middle-aged man chuckled bitterly and asked, "Are you guys alright?"

"Mr. Ling, he is making things up. We never mistreated the girl," one man complained.

"I know," the middle-aged man said helplessly. "He just wanted to find an excuse to vent his dissatisfaction. This kid, he really holds a grudge over the smallest things. Forget it, don’t take it too personally. I apologize to you on his behalf."

"Please don’t say that, sir; we’re not worthy of such an apology from you."

"Alright, you two go and rest for a bit. There’s still important business to handle later."

Once the two men left, the middle-aged man turned to the girl beside him and said, "You should manage him better in the future and correct this bad habit of his."

"Master, it’s not like he’s without anyone to discipline him."

"Apart from you, I doubt anyone else could handle him."

...

At three o’clock in the afternoon, Ling Chen and his party finally arrived at East Sea International Airport.

After taking He Ziyun and Little Hua to Qingyun Martial Arts Hall, Ling Chen didn’t stay long and went straight to the Old City in a car.

Arriving at the courier company, Ling Chen saw Hu Fei busy working in the office. Besides Hu Fei, Ling Chen was surprised to find that the office now included several young and pretty women, all in their early twenties, with sweet appearances and graceful figures – if not top class, they were certainly among the best.

"Fatty, what's this about?" Ling Chen asked.

Grinning from ear to ear, Hu Fei said, "Didn’t you promise me last time to let me recruit some people? Here they are."

Hearing this, if not for the presence of the ladies, Ling Chen truly wanted to give him the middle finger. This damn guy actually used the money to bring in so many women, it was unclear whether it was for work or for pleasure.

Muttering a few words, Ling Chen pulled out a hard drive from his pocket, placed it in front of Hu Fei, and said, "Help me decrypt this and see what kind of data is inside."