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Bonus chapter! Thank you to --- for the donation! ^^
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The handsome man now looked completely different from his wretched appearance in the alley earlier. Dressed in a black knee-length trench coat, he walked gracefully at the front, while the boss held an umbrella beside him like a bodyguard shielding his young master from the rain.
At this moment, the man exuded an air of superiority.
He wasn’t unscathed—his face had been cut by something, and thin trails of blood seeped from the wound, trickling down his striking features, adding a touch of sinister allure and indifference.
Coupled with the utter disregard for life in his eyes, it was easy to tell that this man was wicked beyond measure.
How could someone who had risen to power in their organization possibly have any moral limits? The members who had come to greet him all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Luo Qing also bowed his head, but unlike the others, he had done so the moment he recognized the man, terrified of being identified.
The sky had long since darkened, leaving only the factory lights to illuminate the area. However, the entrance was cast in shadow, making it impossible to clearly see the faces of those waiting to receive them.
Jiang Yan wasn’t interested in them anyway. He strode indifferently toward the factory’s interior, his mind entirely occupied by the slender, beautiful figure he had seen that afternoon.
Love at first sight—this must have been what it felt like.
Jiang Yan didn’t know whether he was simply captivated by that person’s face or by the person himself, but from the moment he had laid eyes on him in the car, his image had taken over his thoughts.
The desire in his heart had surged to its peak—he wanted to possess him.
That was what he had thought, and that was what he had acted upon. Unfortunately, the outcome hadn’t been what he wanted.
A flash of ruthlessness passed through Jiang Yan’s eyes as he recalled the events of the afternoon. If it hadn’t been for those reckless cops interfering, his target wouldn’t have escaped, and he wouldn’t have had to lower himself to hide in this wretched place.
The subordinates trailing behind him could only suffer in silence under their boss’s oppressive aura.
This wasn’t their territory, nor was it familiar ground. They had barely arrived before clashing head-on with the police—laying low was their only option.
Even a mighty dragon couldn’t crush a snake in its own lair, let alone when that "snake" was the police, an organization directly opposed to theirs.
The atmosphere inside the factory was tense. Once the welcoming party saw everyone enter, they quickly followed, but no one noticed that one person was missing.
That person was Luo Qing.
Luo Qing didn’t dare linger anywhere near that man. The moment no one was paying attention to him, he deliberately fell to the back of the group and eventually slipped away, hiding in a corner.
This important figure wasn’t here for an inspection—he had other purposes, ones unrelated to their human trafficking group.
Luo Qing breathed a sigh of relief after confirming this. The cages holding the victims were on the other side of the factory, separated by machinery and clutter, making them impossible to see from the rest area.
As long as no one deliberately went over there, they wouldn’t spot the people in the cages—or notice that the police had infiltrated them.
Even if someone did go over, the officer hidden in the iron cage would see them first and have time to conceal his face.
Not daring to linger outside, Luo Qing returned to his room after seeing the boss give up his own quarters for the VIP.
The abandoned factory wasn’t exactly livable. Everyone had to find their own sleeping spots, and compared to the others, the boss’s room was much better.
Luo Qing wasn’t surprised by this arrangement. His nerves eased slightly—his room was far enough from the boss’s that as long as he was careful, he wouldn’t run into that man.
And that’s exactly how it played out. The night passed without incident.
Luo Qing hadn’t dared to sleep at all. His dark circles worsened, and he looked even more haggard than before.
This life was unbearable. He couldn’t even remember how he used to fall asleep.
All he wanted was for this to end quickly. Even a twenty-year prison sentence would be better than this.
Slumping on his bed, Luo Qing rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off his exhaustion.
With no missions or urgent shipments these days, the boss wouldn’t care where his men were. Luo Qing stayed in his room the entire day, planning to wait until the VIP left before venturing out.
But to his surprise, after a full day of waiting, the man still showed no signs of leaving.
Instead, Luo Qing received a new assignment from the boss.
The male high school student he had kidnapped was demanding to see him—and refusing to eat unless he did. He’d already gone a full day without food.
Normally, the boss wouldn’t care if a victim starved, but this boy’s status was special. He couldn’t afford to let him go hungry.
So when he noticed the boy skipping two meals, he immediately sent someone to fetch Luo Qing.
"That’s the situation. For the next few days, you’re responsible for the young master’s meals."
The man delivering the orders paused, then added, "And don’t you dare feed him plain buns. His meals will be specially delivered."
Luo Qing didn’t want this job, but he had no choice. The messenger didn’t give him a chance to refuse—he left as soon as he finished speaking.
Soon, the man came again—this time to deliver three meals a day for the male high school student.
"Hurry up and take it over. If you really starve him to death, no number of lives would be enough to make up for it."
This time, Luo Qing had no choice but to go. Holding the food, he made sure the man wasn’t around before silently heading toward the cage where the victim was held. The entire time, he didn’t run into the man.
The high school boy was kept separately, not even in the same area as the group of children, and the conditions were slightly better.
Though the chances of the man coming here were low, Luo Qing was still deeply uneasy. After handing the meal to the boy, he turned to leave immediately.
But the high schooler didn’t take the food. Instead, his hand slipped through the iron bars, lightly tugging at Luo Qing’s sleeve. Then, in a pitiful voice, he said, "I’m too weak from hunger. Can you feed me?"
Luo Qing obviously didn’t want to, but he was afraid that if he left, the boy would keep refusing to eat—and if the boss found out, he’d be summoned again.
Pursing his lips impatiently, he finally picked up the chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, and held it to the boy’s mouth.
Feeding him through the cage was awkward, and the iron bars acted like a boundary, dividing the space into two separate worlds. This clearly annoyed the high schooler.
After one bite, he walked over to the cage door, yanked the lock off, pushed the door open, and stepped out toward Luo Qing.
Luo Qing: "…?"
Staring in disbelief at the effortlessly broken lock, Luo Qing froze.
…It must have been unlocked, right?
Once outside, the boy obediently crouched in front of Luo Qing, opening his mouth expectantly—waiting to be fed.
Luo Qing could only avert his gaze and shove food into the boy’s mouth, his movements far from gentle.
The high schooler frowned, looking up at Luo Qing with a pitiful expression. "That hurt."
"Be softer, Brother."
Not only that, but the boy also kept pointing out what he wanted to eat, even guiding Luo Qing’s chopstick-holding hand toward his preferred dishes.
Luo Qing’s patience had long run out. He wanted to dump the food on the boy’s head—but he couldn’t.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his irritation and fed the boy as requested, just wanting to get it over with.
At some point, the high schooler had shifted closer, until they were practically side by side. If not for Luo Qing’s icy glare and stiff expression, the scene of one feeding and the other eating might have looked almost harmonious.
The cage holding the policemen wasn’t particularly close, but it was positioned just right to observe what was happening over here.
One of the officers watched the high school boy with a complicated expression. They had long known that this young master of the Lin Group had willingly followed Luo Qing, but seeing it in person still left them speechless.
For the sake of a man, he’d gone off with a human trafficker—this young master truly had no fear. Wasn’t he worried about actually being sold?
The handsome cop, Sheng Fu, glanced at the cage in the distance and coldly muttered a few words:
"His door isn’t locked."
And despite Luo Qing’s obvious impatience with him, he was restraining his temper and obediently feeding him.
A real abduction victim would never receive such treatment.
The other man, Han Lin, felt a sinking dread in his chest upon hearing his boss’s words. He stared at Sheng Fu in shock.
"Boss, what—what do you mean?"
Sheng Fu gave him a detached look but ultimately said nothing.
Han Lin’s mind reeled. The Lin Group was one of the country’s top corporations, even ranking among the world’s wealthiest multinational companies.
How could an organization like that be tied to a criminal syndicate? How was it even possible?
Han Lin bit his lower lip hard, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t calm down. His hands trembled faintly. If the Lin Group truly had connections to this criminal ring, the implications would be unimaginably dire.
So dire that they might not even be able to bring the criminals to justice.
Luo Qing had no idea the two policemen were watching them closely. Once he finished feeding the boy, he left without hesitation.
Right now, only his own room made him feel safe. Unless absolutely necessary, he refused to step outside.
The sky gradually darkened, and after a flash of lightning split the horizon, heavy rain began to pour.
The sound of the rain grated on Luo Qing’s nerves, and his worry about the VIP running into the police kept him awake for hours.
The rain and his agitation made him restless. Eventually, he got out of bed, looking listless.
It was already past 3 AM. The chances of running into the VIP—or anyone else, for that matter—were slim, so Luo Qing wasn’t too concerned.
Just as he expected, everyone else in the factory was fast asleep, and he didn’t encounter a single person on his way.
After relieving himself, he wandered back toward his room, distracted—but the further he walked, the more uneasy he became.
A creeping sense of dread settled over him.
As if... someone was watching.
Luo Qing instantly thought of something sinister. His slender, pale fingers tightened, and he slowly turned toward the source of the gaze. The next second, his eyes widened, and his entire body froze.
It was… that VIP!
Jiang Yan noticed Luo Qing looking his way and curled the corner of his lips slightly.
"Found you."
Ahhhhhhh ヽ༼⁰o⁰；༽ノ
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