Chapter 549: Chapter 545 Difficult Trade (2)

"You needn’t worry about that; they’re certainly still in this building," Ling Chen said.

Before the employees left, they all swiped their cards, and there were security department members assisting in the inspection; if any strangers appeared, they would have known.

"I couldn’t find their whereabouts in the surveillance. I guess they’re hiding somewhere."

"We need to find a way to force them out."

Ling Chen pondered for a moment before turning back to the security room, picking up the walkie-talkie, and connecting to the building’s PA system.

"Now it’s just you and me. Do you not even have the courage to face me?"

For a moment, Ling Chen’s voice echoed throughout the entire building.

"I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby on the first floor. I hope you won’t make me wait too long." After speaking, Ling Chen put down the walkie-talkie and walked into the lobby.

After waiting a few minutes, suddenly footsteps came from the security staircase of the lobby. Ling Chen turned to look just as the door was pushed open by a hand. Following that, a young man in casual clothing and of ordinary appearance walked out alone.

Looking at the young man approaching, Ling Chen slightly raised the corner of his mouth and said with a faint smile, "You finally decided to show up. Where are the others?"

"Just me is enough," the young man spoke. "Our target this time isn’t you, so we have no interest in fighting you."

"Not me?" Ling Chen narrowed his eyes and asked, "Then who is your target?"

"Ling Chen, you’re a smart man. Some things I don’t need to spell out; I trust you can guess," the young man said, then his tone shifted playfully, "I heard Nanrong Wanqing is your girlfriend?"

"Is there a problem?"

"It’s not that there’s a problem, just that... I quite envy you."

"Envious that I found a rich and beautiful girlfriend?"

"No!" the young man said. "I just envy your luck with women. Ling Chen, you haven’t forgotten about Liu Xiyao, have you? Unfortunately, you’re safe now, but her fate is not as good as yours."

Hearing this, Ling Chen’s gaze hardened as he said in a deep voice, "What have you done to her?"

"When in the base, Liu Xiyao betrayed Mr. Lin and let you escape; what do you think her treatment would be? You should know, the God Organization never shows mercy to traitors. I heard Mr. Lin has locked her up in a cell, planning to let his men enjoy her as a treat. Tsk tsk! Such a top-quality beauty; one would be willing to die ten years early for a taste. Don’t you think so, Ling Chen?"

Ling Chen’s expression turned icy as he pressed, "Where is she now?"

With a cold laugh, the young man said, "Why should I tell you? How about this? Hand over Nanrong Wanqing, and I’ll immediately have someone bring Liu Xiyao to you, unharmed. What do you say?"

"Don’t even think about it," Ling Chen flatly refused the offer.

"If that’s the case, then we have nothing further to discuss," the young man said, pulling out his mobile phone from his pocket and pointing the screen at Ling Chen. Suddenly, Liu Xiyao appeared on the screen, dressed simply with what appeared to be whip marks all over her body, covered in numerous scars, looking pitifully heart-wrenching.

At that moment, apart from Liu Xiyao, two muscular men with bare upper bodies also appeared in the video.

Seeing the two men approaching, a look of fear immediately covered Liu Xiyao’s face as she continuously stepped backwards, her back pressed against the wall as she said in a panicked voice, "What... what do you want to do?"

"Miss Liu, don’t worry; we won’t do anything, just coming over to have some fun with you," a man chuckled sinisterly.

"No... don’t!" Liu Xiyao shook her head, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, pleading desperately, "Please, I beg you, let me go."

"Sorry, Miss Liu, your words are useless to us unless Mr. Lin is willing to let you go."

Watching the two men closing in, ignoring Liu Xiyao’s resistance as they grabbed her arms and forcefully pushed her to the ground, Ling Chen’s rage boiled over as he roared, "Stop! Tell them to stop!"

"Ah! How pitiful." The young man feigned sadness and sighed, "Miss Liu is risking her own safety to save you, but you do nothing to help. If she finds out, who knows if she will regret her initial decision."

"Shut up!" Ling Chen’s face was livid as he said, "Let her go. I can agree to anything except handing over Wanqing."

"Nanrong Wanqing is the only condition; if you can’t accept that, then we have nothing to discuss."

Hearing Liu Xiyao’s screams emanating from the phone, Ling Chen clenched his fists, veins throbbing on his forehead in anger, wishing he could kill the other party. Taking a deep breath, he struggled to control his fury, and after a moment of contemplation, he finally made up his mind.

"Fine, I agree to your terms; just get those people to stop now."

"Haha!" The young man laughed triumphantly. "Ling Chen, it seems you do have a conscience. Here’s the deal: tomorrow night, I’ll call you with the location. Bring Nanrong Wanqing along, remember, just the two of you. If I find out you’ve been tampering secretly, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

"Let’s go!" As the young man’s words fell, four people successively exited through the emergency passage.

Watching them disappear from sight, Ling Chen frowned in puzzlement, somewhat perplexed. He originally thought that the God Organization sent these people to snatch the hard drive, but it now seemed that was not the case.

He couldn’t understand: was the God Organization not worried about the contents of the hard drive being leaked?

And also, why did they kidnap Nanrong Wanqing? Could it be for... At this thought, something clicked in Ling Chen’s mind, realizing the crucial point.

Previously, Mr. Yun, who is Nanrong Yuan, had told him that Nanrong Wanqing was key. According to him, Nanrong Yuan had developed a new technology that the God Organization feared, hence they were determined to eliminate him at any cost.

Ling Chen had been speculating, could the tip from Nanrong Yuan mean that his new technology was related to Nanrong Wanqing?

Now that the God Organization had decided to take action against Nanrong Wanqing, they must have grasped certain intelligence. Or perhaps, they already knew that Nanrong Wanqing was Mr. Yun’s daughter.

After pondering for a while, Ling Chen set aside these miscellaneous thoughts. For him, the most important thing now was to rescue Liu Xiyao. Given that Liu Xiyao was captured because of him, he couldn’t stand idly by.

Returning to Wealthy Manor, when Nanrong Wanqing saw Ling Chen entering, she stood up and walked over, asking, "Is everything alright with the company?"

Ling Chen managed a smile. "You can rest assured about my handling."

Noticing Ling Chen’s preoccupied appearance, the perceptive Nanrong Wanqing asked with concern, "What’s wrong? Are you troubled by something?"

"There’s nothing, maybe just too tired. I’m going to take a shower first." After speaking, Ling Chen went into the bedroom alone.

Closing the door, Ling Chen leaned against it. Thinking about the transaction the next night, he couldn’t bring himself to feel happy.