Chapter 173 Part 1: Friends?
Chapter 173 Part 1: Friends?
“In other words, you do not know anything?”
Chen Xiaolian helped to prop up Yu Jiajia. After considering it, he pulled out a piece of tissue to wipe the tears and dust off her face.
Yu Jiajia was still trembling. She subconsciously reached out to hug Chen Xiaolian’s arm. She shook her head vigorously. “I do not know… I was knocked unconscious. They, they wanted to kill Da Gang… Da Gang! Where is Da Gang?”
“Nothing happened, nothing happened,” Chen Xiaolian patted Yu Jiajia’s back. “Nothing happened to Da Gang. He is fine, only unconscious like you.”
“Really?” Yu Jiajia raised her head and looked at Chen Xiaolian with a dubious expression.
Roddy who was by her side laughed and pulled up Da Gang who was lying on the ground. He then patted Da Gang’s cheeks and said. “Look here Yu Jiajia. He is fine, nothing happened to him.”
“Then, then why… how did…” Yu Jiajia’s eyes were filled with confusion. “I… clearly saw… they were going to kill Da Gang… and…”
“Don’t rush it, calm down,” Chen Xiaolian handed over a bottle of water to Yu Jiajia and slowly continued. “Slowly tell me everything that happened to you. Do not be afraid, everything is fine now.”
Yu Jiajia finally calmed down. She took two gulps of water and coughed for a moment. Then, she held back her tears and slowly said. “All I remember is, after they took over the car, they knocked Da Gang unconscious. There were four of them, four of them entered the car but two of them died. The remaining two started the car… and drove here. They met up with some people here. Those people were all armed with guns. En, one of them was a woman with a bow and arrows…”
Yu Jiajia tried her best to recall the details. “They… their target appears to be me. I… I do not know why either… I do not recognize these people.”
“And then?” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes glinted. “Then, what happened?”
“They wanted to kill Da Gang and I tried to stop them. Then… I fainted,” Yu Jiajia broke into tears again.
Chen Xiaolian exchanged glances with Roddy and they silently shook their heads.
The situation… was too peculiar!
By the time they arrived here, the warehouse was almost devoid of any living person. Corpses were laid sprawling on the ground.
One thing they were able to confirm was that those corpses belonged to ordinary gun-toting people who worked as mercenaries.
As for the others… the Awakened ones had disappeared.
…
Chen Xiaolian and Roddy did not find the corpses of Ma Da and his Seventh Bro.
Thus, they were left in the dark as to whether those two kidnappers had escaped or died.
For them, this situation was incredibly strange. The kidnappers kidnapped their targets and had them tied up here. Then, the kidnappers led them here. However, once they arrived… all they saw was a warehouse full of dead kidnappers while the captives were unharmed!
“Could it be… did someone step forward to help out?” Roddy scratched his head. “Bloody Hell, this matter is too abnormal.”
Chen Xiaolian inspected the surroundings and did his best to gather his thoughts.
“When we were moving over here, the radar showed three green dots. In other words, there should be three Awakened ones here.”
Chen Xiaolian slowly continued. “According to Yu Jiajia – among the four kidnappers we encountered, two had died in the car. Then, the remaining two drove here and… met up with their accomplices here. And one of them is an Awakened – thus, we have three green dots on the radar.”
“Yes,” Roddy nodded.
“Next, something strange happened on the radar,” Chen Xiaolian slowly said. “Another green dot appeared here, totalling up to four green dots!”
Chen Xiaolian kneaded his eyebrows. “A fight must have broken out between the four green dots. Because three of those green dots then disappeared! Then, according to the radar, the one remaining green dot quickly ran off before we arrived.”
“You mean, an Awakened appeared and killed these kidnappers before quickly leaving?” Roddy smiled wryly. “If that person came to save Yu Jiajia, why did that person not take her together? Why leave her behind? Did that person purposely left her behind for us?”
Chen Xiaolian shook his head.
He too, was feeling perplexed. This whole thing was not making sense.
Assuming that the Awakened was sent by Qiao Yifeng… why would the Awakened leave Yu Jiajia after killing off the kidnappers?
If not, then who was the one who saved them? Why run away after killing off the kidnappers?
Naturally, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy were not aware about Da Gang’s situation.
The most important part was that Da Gang had obtained a Concealment Card from the corpse of Ma Da. The item could be used to conceal one’s identity and coordinates. After using it, it would temporarily stop the radar from revealing his coordinates. Thus, Da Gang’s green dot disappeared from the radar.
This had misled Chen Xiaolian and Roddy.
They mistook the green dot from the woman who ran off as the one who helped save the captives.
After pondering upon it a little longer to no avail, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy looked at each other and sighed.
“Regardless, what is important is that they are fine,” Chen Xiaolian gave a strained smile. “Let’s leave this place quickly. We should not linger in such a dangerous place.”
Roddy agreed.
Roddy propped up Da Gang while Chen Xiaolian carried Yu Jiajia. The four of them then left the warehouse. Finding a car on the outside, they quickly left the factory.
Roddy was in charge of driving. On the way, Chen Xiaolian took off his jacket and placed it over Yu Jiajia.
Yu Jiajia then took out her mobile phone and made a call.
After the call was picked up, Yu Jiajia cried out into the phone. “I… I was kidnapped…”
After that, she started to cry non-stop.
Seeing as Yu Jiajia was crying to the point where she was no longer able to say anything coherent, Chen Xiaolian took the mobile phone from her. Listening to the mobile phone, he immediately recognized Qiao Yifeng’s voice.
“Mr. Qiao, it is me.”
“It’s you?” Qiao Yifeng’s voice became louder. “Chen Xiaolian, why are you…”
“Yu Jiajia was kidnapped, I am bringing her back,” Chen Xiaolian said slowly.
“… … …” Qiao Yifeng calmed down. A few seconds later, he said. “Where are you?”
…
One hour later, their car drove back into the city area and stopped at a certain spot within the city centre.
A few minutes later, two sedan cars came over and parked by the side of the street. A group of men alighted from the cars. Chen Xiaolian recognized the one in the lead position; it was none other than Qiao Yifeng’s bodyguard – the Awakened.
The man was still wearing the black coloured suit. Walking over, he nodded to Chen Xiaolian. Chen Xiaolian then moved to the side and pulled open the back door.
The man in black looked at Yu Jiajia who was sitting behind. “Miss Yu, I am here to pick you up.”
Yu Jiajia’s eyes were bloodshot and she cast a complex expression at Chen Xiaolian.
“Go home, get a good rest and you will get well soon,” Chen Xiaolian said with a warm smile.
There was an apparent unwillingness in Yu Jiajia’s expression. However, she still got off the car. Then, she left while being flanked by the group of men in black.
Before leaving, the man in black secretly made eye contact with Chen Xiaolian. Understanding what he meant, Chen Xiaolian moved together with him to the side of the street where they exchanged words.
“I will be taking Miss Yu Jiajia.”
“En
“Did you find out who the kidnappers were?” The man in black asked.
“There were four Awakened kidnappers. They also had accomplices who met up with them, a group of gunmen led by an Awakened. The strange thing was, when we arrived, Yu Jiajia had already been saved. The one who saved her should be an Awakened. However, we did not meet that person. That person killed off all the kidnappers and left before we arrived at the scene,” Chen Xiaolian told the man in black about what happened in the warehouse. “I originally thought that Mr. Qiao had sent someone to save her.”
The man in black was stunned for a moment; however, he did not say anything. He only looked at Chen Xiaolian. “On behalf of Mr. Qiao, I thank you.”
“There is no need… truth is, we did not do anything,” Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly.
The man in black nodded his head. “We will take over from here and handle it.”
Chen Xiaolian considered it and said. “I want to talk with Mr. Qiao. There is something important I need to talk to him. It is about…”
“I do not know anything about Miss Qiao Qiao’s matter,” The man in black seemed to have guessed what Chen Xiaolian wanted to say. Then, he bowed toward Chen Xiaolian and said his farewell.
“Wait a minute,” Chen Xiaolian called out to him. “Please tell Mr. Qiao that this is a very important matter! I need to discuss it with him!”
The man in black stopped. He then turned around and sighed as he looked at Chen Xiaolian.
He appeared hesitant for a moment. Then, he slowly walked forward again.
“I have some words to say, consider it as an advice,” The man in black said softly. “You and your companion is pretty good – considering that you are newbies, I believe that you are Awakened ones with good potential. However… compared to our guild, your strength is presently far from enough. Thus… it may be best to leave Miss Qiao Qiao with us. This would be better for her.”
“Things are not that simple!” Chen Xiaolian’s face became heavy.
“Young people would always prioritize the matters of love above all else,” The man in black smiled softly. “Perhaps, after a few more years, you will no longer think that way – assuming of course, that you get to live that long.”
Chen Xiaolian’s face twisted. “You should know this; Qiao Qiao is still a member of our guild! The fact that she has not left our guild means that you people are now holding her by force! Moreover… you should understand as well, once the next instance dungeon is issued, my guild members must participate in the instance dungeon. If they do not participate, they will receive punishment!”
“Mr. Qiao will properly consider this matter. After all, he is Miss Qiao Qiao’s father, isn’t he?” The man in black frowned.
“He might want his daughter to die! And then be refreshed back into an ordinary person!” Chen Xiaolian said coldly.
The man in black frowned. He maintained his silence and coldly regarded Chen Xiaolian.
“Mr. Qiao is someone who had been refreshed before… he no longer has his memories from his Awakened days. From his point of view, he might believe that Awakened ones have two lives! After dying once, they can be resurrected back as an ordinary person! However…” Chen Xiaolian said coolly. “You are an Awakened. Surely, you must have heard of this theory…”
“What?” The man in black’s face appeared disturbed.
“An Awakened who died… will be refreshed back to become an ordinary person… however, the person who is refreshed, is that person still the original person? Or… just a back-up copy of the code?” Chen Xiaoian said coldly. “Even if the back-up copy looks the same as the original… is it really the same person?”