Lin Xingwan had no idea where she was being taken. At this moment, she felt as if she were caught between fire and water, an unbearable sensation that threatened to engulf her.
Meanwhile, on the helicopter, Zhou Jinbai stood beside Nord Moses, his expression grave. Moses's face was as dark as water as he spoke, "This is the largest stronghold of those terrorists at the border between the two countries. Relying on the mountainous terrain of the surrounding hundred thousand mountains, they capture people and bring them here. Even if there's a chance to escape, without sufficient food, they'll either be recaptured and beaten to death alive, or eaten by wild beasts in the mountains."
Mr. Moses was all too familiar with the actions of these people.
Their certainty of arriving at this location today was also due to investigations based on various pieces of evidence.
After all, Helian Diejin held the most power in this area; to be precise, she was the one in charge of managing this place, assigned by the terrorists.
Zhou Jinbai's eyes were like a bottomless, pitch-black abyss. A chillingly cold smile, utterly out of place, curved his lips. "Then let's start dealing with it from the periphery. Until they're at their wit's end, Helian Diejin won't let Xingwan go."
Although Zhou Jinbai hadn't interacted much with Helian Diejin, he knew that such a narrow-minded, ungrateful woman would never do something like that if she intended to kill Xingwan.
"Alright." Moses raised no objections. He greatly admired this young man beside him.
Moreover, his wife was currently in the hands of others, so he absolutely couldn't take any risks.
Thus, dozens of helicopters surrounded the mountain. Then, small explosives were accurately launched at buildings around the area that were confirmed to be uninhabited. For a time, the sound of explosions echoed incessantly throughout the mountain peak.
And the buildings that were blown up were merely the lackeys of these terrorists!
The people who were truly captured were all kept together in one place and managed like livestock.
Helian Diejin and her group were constantly retreating, as if an invisible eye were monitoring them. Wherever Helian Diejin and her group were, the surrounding area would soon explode.
"We absolutely cannot continue to keep this woman with us. She's a curse. If we keep her, we'll also be killed by her. The best course of action is to kill her immediately."
Helian Diejin's subordinates began to advise her, and after speaking, they cast looks of disgust at Lin Xingwan.
Although this woman was beautiful, beauty was of little use in this place. These people had defiled thousands of beautiful women every year.
They lusted after Lin Xingwan, but compared to their own lives, beauty seemed insignificant.
Helian Diejin looked at Lin Xingwan, who was already disoriented. If it had been at the beginning, she would have killed Lin Xingwan without hesitation.
But she had lost so much money and so many subordinates because of this woman. This woman absolutely could not die so easily; they had to settle this score properly.
"Take her with us!" Helian Diejin commanded. Her subordinates exchanged glances. Although they were very dissatisfied with Helian Diejin's actions, they knew her temper after working under her for so many years, given her ruthless nature. In the end, they endured it and continued to flee forward.
Finally, Helian Diejin led the group directly to the basement. It was safer in the basement than above, and the entrance to the basement was very well hidden. She didn't believe Zhou Jinbai and the others would enter immediately.
While they were searching, she could use this opportunity to escape directly.
However, to Helian Diejin's surprise, shortly after they entered the basement, before they could even catch their breath, Zhou Jinbai and his group appeared behind them.
Helian Diejin was utterly shocked. Before anyone could react to what was happening, she immediately pulled out the gun she carried, grabbed Lin Xingwan by the neck, and roared at Zhou Jinbai and the others, "Don't come any closer, or I'll make this bitch's head explode."
Helian Diejin couldn't understand how Zhou Jinbai and his group had discovered the biggest secret here so easily.
It was as if they had found it as easily as opening the door to their home.
"If you kill Mrs. Dongfang, I'll kill you next, Helian Diejin. If you have the guts, kill her, and let's see what leverage you have left!"
Seeing Helian Diejin, Nord Moses's disgust was beyond words.
This woman was clearly so beautiful, yet why was she so cruel?
If he didn't have to care about Lin Xingwan's life, Moses would have already taken a machine gun and mowed Helian Diejin down, ensuring every bullet avoided a vital spot, making her live in agony for the rest of her life as penance.
Helian Diejin knew Moses was right. Although she was using Lin Xingwan to hold Zhou Jinbai and the others back, she also knew that if she lost her last trump card, death would await her.
"If you let me leave, I can guarantee this bitch will live. Otherwise, even if I die, I'll drag this bitch down to hell with me."
After speaking, Helian Diejin tightened her grip.
Lin Xingwan's chaotic mind cleared a little due to the pain.
In her blurry vision, she saw Zhou Jinbai's figure.
"Zhou... Zhou Jinbai..." Lin Xingwan weakly called out the man's name.
For Lin Xingwan, seeing Zhou Jinbai at this moment felt like a hallucination brought on by her intense longing for him.
Otherwise, how could Zhou Jinbai be here? And this place seemed so hidden.
But it was fine. To see this man before her death would be without regret.
Zhou Jinbai looked at Lin Xingwan, his cold eyes filled with worry. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
She was in great pain, but he wasn't much better. He could only appear indifferent to her, to make Helian Diejin let down her guard, so he could strike a fatal blow.
"Zhou Jinbai, do you see? Do you see your woman in such pain? Do you want to see another tragedy like Helian Lingruo happen? If you let me go, I promise I won't torment Lin Xingwan. Otherwise, it will be you who kills this bitch Lin Xingwan in the end, not me."
Helian Diejin was skilled at moral blackmail. After all, making a man lose the woman he loved, especially when she was killed by his hand, would make him live in pain for his entire life.
Zhou Jinbai smiled slightly, playing with a delicate black pistol in his hand with gentlemanly grace. Then, a sharp gaze shot towards Helian Diejin. "Let her go, and I can give you a swift death. Otherwise, you will live a long life to atone for your sins."
The words 'long life' would be a blessing from anyone else.
But spoken from Zhou Jinbai's lips, coupled with the demonic aura emanating from him, it was not a blessing but the cruelest curse.
Helian Diejin's heart pounded like a drum, but she maintained a facade of bargaining with a tiger. "Zhou Jinbai, you are not qualified to... negotiate with me..."
Bang—
Before Helian Diejin could even react to what had happened, she heard a gunshot. Immediately, she felt a sharp pain in the wrist of the hand holding the gun.
The bullet had come from behind her, meaning someone had secretly infiltrated the area and lured them into a trap.
Realizing what was happening, Helian Diejin wanted to kill Lin Xingwan, but the numb sensation from the injured area began to spread, and eventually, her entire arm lost feeling.
The bullet contained anesthetic!
If she hesitated any longer, she would become fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others!
Helian Diejin used her other hand to tightly grip Lin Xingwan, and with a vicious, evil smile directed at the people before her, she said, "Even if I die, I won't die at your hands. I will make this bitch Lin Xingwan accompany me to hell."
Just as Helian Diejin finished speaking, Zhou Jinbai seemed to have discovered something. "Be careful, this woman is trying to trick you!"
Almost as soon as Zhou Jinbai finished speaking, the entire underground chamber began to shake violently.
And the area centered around Helian Diejin cracked open.
Lin Xingwan and Helian Diejin both fell into the fissure.
"No—" Zhou Jinbai rushed forward, but Xuan Yin and Xuan Zhu, standing beside him, immediately restrained him.
What a joke! That fissure was so dark and bottomless. If they fell in, no one knew if the outcome would be being smashed to pieces or becoming a meat patty.
"Let go of me... let me go..."
Zhou Jinbai struggled desperately, his face filled with anxiety.
He had no idea what switch had been triggered in the basement to cause such a commotion. In other words, they had underestimated the capabilities of Helian Diejin and her group.
"Young Master, if anyone is to go and check, it will be us. You wait here," Xuan Zhu said to Zhou Jinbai.
These personal bodyguards had only one belief instilled in them since childhood: they would sacrifice themselves for Zhou Jinbai.
They would never stand by and watch their master take risks in front of them, unless they had fallen and could no longer get up.
"Let go of me—" Zhou Jinbai's eyes held a dangerous warning. The authority emanating from him was terrifying. As Xuan Zhu and Xuan Yin hesitated, unsure whether to release him, Moses appeared by the fissure at some point.
He exclaimed with surprise, "Below this fissure is a river! That's great, Mrs. Dongfang should still be alive. Let's go find her quickly. As long as we find her in time, everything will be fine."
Moses's words were like a shot of adrenaline for everyone.
Zhou Jinbai immediately ran to Moses's side and looked down into the fissure.
Indeed, from their previous position, they could only see a dark fissure due to the angle. Now, with Moses shining a flashlight, they could see that below the fissure was an underground river.
No wonder that woman Helian Diejin had jumped down so readily.
"Split up and search! Where does this underground river flow to!"
Zhou Jinbai gave the order, and his subordinates immediately split up.
They searched for the entire night, but still hadn't found anything.
It was in the early morning that Lin Xingwan woke up from the cold.
She weakly opened her eyes and was startled by the unfamiliar scene before her.
A full moon hung high in the sky, as if illuminating everything. Lin Xingwan's legs were submerged in river water, while her upper body was draped over a tree trunk.
When she moved slightly, she felt as if the tree trunk were about to break.
Lin Xingwan was so scared that she immediately stopped moving. She looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and wondered why she was here!
She remembered being captured by Helian Diejin. This woman had drugged her to torment her, and then she had hallucinated that Zhou Jinbai had come to save her.
After some words were exchanged, Lin Xingwan felt her body falling, followed by a suffocating sensation, and then she lost consciousness.
Even the effects of the drug on her had disappeared because she had passed out.
Lin Xingwan immediately thought of Helian Diejin. Where was that woman?
Hadn't she fallen down with her?
Lin Xingwan's expression immediately became alert. Just then, a man's excited voice sounded from nearby.
"She's here, right here."
Upon hearing this voice, Lin Xingwan's terrified gaze fell on the source of the sound.
Several dark figures appeared in her sight.
She couldn't make out the appearance of these figures, but she saw them rowing a boat and approaching her.
Could these people be Helian Diejin's subordinates?
Lin Xingwan's entire body turned cold at this possibility. She nervously looked around, trying to figure out where she could escape to survive.
However, Lin Xingwan had no idea where she could go in the vast darkness of the night.
Just as Lin Xingwan was filled with despair, something even more desperate happened.
Lin Xingwan's shoulder was grasped with brute force, and then a man's voice rang out, "Here, we've caught her."