Power and Wealth

Noon.

The seas.

A long hair middle-aged man is resting on a lounge chair in a moving yacht. He was drinking alcohol with a relaxed expression.

Ring… ring… ring… the phone rang.

The middle-aged man answered. “Yes?”

A man said anxiously. “Liu Ye.”

The middle-aged man slowly replied. “How are things going?”

That man replied cautiously. “It screwed up. Zhang Longjuan escaped.”

If Dong Xuebing and the rest were here, they would recognize that man’s voice. He was the one who made those threats.

“Escaped? How did she escape?”

“We had cordoned them off, but they drove towards us. Xiao Hu got scared and avoided them. They also crashed their truck.”

“Oh? Zhang Longjuan is quite bold.”

“It was a young man who drove the car. I have not seen him before.”

“A bodyguard? Haha… this is interesting.”

“Liu Ye, what should we do next?”

“She has three bodyguards now, right?”

“Yes. The twins are her bodyguards too.”

“Where are they now? Have you found out?”

“Yes. They are in a commercial district. Should I bring our men over?”

“Get her quietly. We must not make things difficult for the higher-ups.”

“Yes…”

“Just monitor them for now.”

“My men are watching them now.”

“Ok. They will leave for meals or other things. Zhang Longjuan cannot escape. Don’t be anxious.”

“Yes, Liu Ye. We understand.”

“Go and do your job.”

Afternoon.

Commercial district.

Inside the hotel suite.

More than forty minutes passed, and Shen Xiaomei was not back yet. Although Dong Xuebing was not bleeding a lot, he needed to stitch it to stop the bleeding.

“How long has Xiaomei been out?”

“It is more than forty minutes. Are there no pharmacies nearby?”

“There should be one nearby, but I am not sure.”

“I will call her and ask where she is.”

The elder sister, Shen Xiaoyan, called, but no one answered.

A few minutes later.

Shen Xiaoyan called again, and her phone was switched off.

Shen Xiaoyan’s face changed. “Something happened to Xiaomei.”

Zhang Longjuan frowned. “Is her phone’s battery flat?”

Shen Xiaoyan was anxious. “Ms. Zhang, we are professionals. We remain contactable at all hours unless we are on a mission. Xiaomei was only going to buy a first aid box, and her phone was switched off. She must be in trouble.” They were sisters, and she could not stay calm.

Zhang Longjuan looked at her. “Let’s go and find her.”

“No. We cannot go.” Shen Xiaoyan stopped herself from going out to look for her sister.

“Why?”

“I know my sister’s skills, and she is armed. Three to five people are no match for her. The other party should be more than ten people, and they must be armed. There’s nothing we can do against so many people.” Shen Xiaoyan said.

Zhang Longjuan narrowed her eyes. “But we cannot wait anymore.”

Shen Xiaoyan took a deep breath. “Let me think… let me think…”

Dong Xuebing was looking terrible too. Shen Xiaomei had gone out to get medicine for him, and he felt guilty.

Suddenly…

Ring… ring… ring… the mobile phone rang.

Zhang Longjuan looked at the number. “It’s them.”

Shen Xiaoyan and Dong Xuebing looked at her.

Zhang Longjuan answered. “Hello?”

“Haha, Ms. Zhang. I got a piece of bad news for you.” It was the same guy who called.

“What is it?”

“One of your twin bodyguards is in our hands.”

Although everyone had expected this, their hearts skipped a beat when they heard it.

Zhang Longjuan asked coldly. “Where is she now?”

“Don’t worry. She is safe except for some injuries. We did not kill her. But your bodyguard is quite skillful. Five of our guys were hurt by her, and she carried a gun. Ms. Zhang, you arrived in Hong Kong for a few days. How did you find such professional bodyguards? I am impressed.”

Shen Xiaoyan asked coldly. “Where is my sister?”

The man said. “You will see her. I will send you an address. Come here within twenty minutes, or that woman will be killed.”

Zhang Longjuan said. “Let me speak to her.”

“Why? You don’t believe us?” That man replied.

“I need to confirm her safety. Put her on the phone.” Zhang Longjuan said.

“Haha. Fine. Wait a minute.” The phone went quiet.

A while later, Shen Xiaomei said over the phone. “Sis.”

Shen Xiaoyan asked. “How are you? Are you hurt?”

Shen Xiaomei replied. “I am fine except for a twisted ankle. Don’t come. Just ignore me.” The background had some knocking noises, and it was noisy.

That man took the phone away from Shen Xiaomei. “You have confirmed. I will be sending you an address. I am only giving you twenty minutes. I cannot promise she will still be alive if you cannot arrive within twenty minutes. Ms. Zhang, you all missed our appointment once, and I don’t want it to happen again.”

The line was cut.

Zhang Longjuan received an address by SMS immediately.

It is a warehouse in a secluded area.

Shen Xiaoyan frowned. “Xiaomei asked us not to go there. They have twenty men and five guns. But I don’t know what type of guns.”

Dong Xuebing asked. “How do you know?”

Shen Xiaomei had not mentioned anything over the phone earlier.

Shen Xiaoyan replied. “That knocking noise is from her tongue clicking. It is similar to Morse code, which we use when speaking. Most people will not notice.”

Zhang Longjuan said. “Twenty people…”

Shen Xiaoyan said. “Yes. Even if they are not armed, I cannot handle so many of them.”

“What should we do?”

“Ms. Zhang, I must request backup from the higher-ups. I cannot sacrifice my sister even if we are exposed. She is a woman and is now in their hands…”

“I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t say that. It happened because both of you are protecting me. I also don’t want anything to happen to Xiaomei.”

Shen Xiaoyan went into the room to make a call.

She returned after two minutes. “The higher-ups say backup can arrive after one day. We got to think of a way ourselves.”

“One day later?”

“Yes.”

“It will be too late.”

The other party had only given them twenty minutes.

Zhang Longjuan and Shen Xiaomei went quiet.

Dong Xuebing got up slowly and wore a dark coat to cover his bloody shirt. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” Shen Xiaoyan looked at Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing replied. “Go and save her.”

Shen Xiaoyan said. “There are too many of them, and I cannot win against them.”

Dong Xuebing calmly replied. “I am around.”

Shen Xiaoyan said. “I am not looking down on you. But you are severely injured, and you cannot even walk properly. Moreover, your wound had opened up and should not be moving.”

Dong Xuebing shrugged his shoulders. “I am fine.”

Shen Xiaoyan said. “Thank you for your offer, but…”

“Xiao Dong, you are still bleeding.” Zhang Longjuan tried to stop him.

Dong Xuebing laughed. “This bleeding is nothing to me. Don’t worry, Sis Zhang. I know my limits. Let’s go and save her now.”

Zhang Longjuan looked at him. “Are you sure?”

Dong Xuebing nodded. “No problem.”

Zhang Longjuan thought for a few seconds and said. “Let’s go to the warehouse first. Xiaoyan will think of a solution. If she fails, we will pay them.”

Shen Xiaoyan asked. “But the money…”

Zhang Longjuan said. “Her life is more important. It would be best if it could be settled with money.” She looked at Dong Xuebing. “You can go, but you must promise me. You must not do anything unless necessary. I worry about your injuries.”

“I am fine…”

“Promise me or don’t go.”

“All right. I promise you.”

“Ok. Let’s get the cash from the hotel first.”

They went downstairs. Zhang Longjuan called that man to tell him they were getting the money and might be late.

That man agreed and gave them one hour.

Twenty minutes was to pressure Zhang Longjuan. He agreed, as their main goal was money.

They returned to the presidential suite, and Zhang Longjuan opened a safe inside. Dong Xuebing saw five million USD inside and wondered what mission they were doing.

Dong Xuebing did not ask.

Zhang Longjuan packed two million USD into a suitcase, and she exchanged looks with Shen Xiaoyan. They nodded and quickly left the hotel. They drove straight to the warehouse. They did not care about the threats previously, but the situation changed. They caught Shen Xiaomei, and they must follow their orders now.

Inside the car.

Dong Xuebing closed his eyes to rest. His hand was pressing against the wound on his chest.

Blood was still flowing from his wound. Zhang Longjuan looked at Dong Xuebing and said. “Xiaoyan, drive faster. Xiao Dong cannot last for too long.”

“All right.” Shen Xiaoyan knew this was urgent and drove faster.