Chapter 126: Do You Know the Kidnapper?

The man known as Gu Xiangnan stood at the door.

Huang Ying immediately shouted when she saw him, “Professor Gu, be careful! There are still four men inside!”

She had played her hand well.

If Gu Xiangnan could be killed, then everything would be perfect.

Now that the plan had failed, she pretended to be a victim and preserved her strength.

At such close range, the sniper rifle had lost its usefulness.

The men inside drew their pistols.

The leader pointed his gun at Gu Xiangnan. “Don’t come in, or I’ll shoot!”

“Go ahead. Shoot!”

Gu Xiangnan’s voice had grown extremely low, filled with a chilling murderous intent.

The remaining four men could not help shivering, and the guns in their hands began to tremble.

Bang!

The gun went off accidentally, but the shot went wide.

Gu Xiangnan still had a few small stones in his hand—the ones he had casually picked up while gathering flowers earlier.

He flicked one with his finger.

The man who had fired the gun collapsed instantly.

The pebble pierced his cervical spine. Like a broken rag doll with its strings cut, he went limp and crumpled to the floor.

The other three stared at him in terror, hesitating.

Their only goal had been to make money.

But now it seemed they might not even survive.

Even if they made the money, they would not live long enough to spend it.

They hurriedly threw down their guns and knelt.

“Mr. Gu, we were wrong! Let’s call it even. You can leave right now!”

“Call it even? I haven’t agreed to that.”

Gu Xiangnan revealed a cold smile worthy of the Grim Reaper.

He could have called the police from the very beginning. He had no desire to meddle in this kind of filthy business.

But he had a feeling that something about the incident was unusual.

He had not known Huang Ying for long, and they had little personal contact.

So why had the trouble come looking for him?

It seemed the real target was him.

He wanted to see who was causing trouble around him.

“Tell me! Who sent you? How dare you abduct someone!”

Gu Xiangnan’s voice was threatening.

The three men exchanged glances and decided to keep their mouths shut.

“Mr. Gu, Miss Huang really does owe us money. Repaying a debt is only right and proper!”

The leader hurriedly offered an explanation.

“Looks like you won’t shed a tear until you see the coffin.”

Gu Xiangnan planted one foot on the leg of another thug.

All three men had been kneeling on the ground. With that single step, there was a sharp crack, and the man’s lower leg snapped.

He writhed across the floor in agony.

These men had been hardened troublemakers since childhood. A threat like this was not enough to intimidate them.

Gu Xiangnan rolled his wrists, flexing his fingers until they cracked. “I suggest you start talking. I have plenty of ways to make you speak.”

Huang Ying was secretly alarmed.

It seemed Gu Xiangnan was determined to get an answer today.

If he continued questioning them, there was no guarantee they would not expose her.

She had to think of something quickly.

“Ow! I feel terrible. Could someone untie me?”

Huang Ying groaned in pain.

Fortunately, she had voluntarily asked to be bound and hung up earlier.

Now she could use that to divert attention.

Hearing her voice, Gu Xiangnan picked up the dagger from the floor and cut her bonds.

Huang Ying put on a frightened expression and said weakly, “Professor Gu, I’m scared!”

“Then go outside and wait. I’ll come out after I finish questioning them.”

“All right.”

Huang Ying staggered out of the hut, looking as fragile as a willow swaying in the breeze.

The moment she stepped outside, she heard agonized screams coming from within.

Huang Ying’s face turned deathly pale.

At this rate, the people inside would not hold out for long before confessing everything.

She clenched her teeth and hardened her resolve. There was only one thing left to do.

Huang Ying took a small remote control from her sleeve and immediately pressed the switch.

Then she ran rapidly toward a place farther from the hut.

This was her backup plan.

Originally, her plan had been to detonate the time bomb planted inside the hut after the assassins she had hired killed Gu Xiangnan.

Everyone except her would be blown to pieces.

That would destroy all the evidence.

Even if the police came to investigate, they would find nothing.

Now that circumstances had changed, she would simply detonate the bomb early.

The route was different, but the result would be the same.

Once activated, the bomb would explode ten seconds later.

The countdown began racing downward.

All she had to do now was get away from the scene.

“Ten.”

“Nine.”

Because she was moving too quickly, Huang Ying fell to the ground.

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

Another scream came from the hut behind her.

Clearly, Gu Xiangnan still had not realized there was a bomb inside.

He was still forcing the assassins to confess.

“Six.”

A cold smile spread across Huang Ying’s face.

Gu Xiangnan, farewell forever!

“Five.”

She tried to get up and run farther away.

But no matter how hard she tried, she could not stand.

Huang Ying hurriedly looked back.

The corner of her clothing had caught on a dead branch beside her.

“Four.”

She tugged desperately at her clothes, trying to tear herself free.

But it would not budge.

“Three.”

Sweat poured from her brow, and a chill ran down her spine.

Hurry!

There was no time left!

“Two.”

It was over.

Even if she managed to free herself now, there would not be enough time to escape.

Huang Ying closed her eyes in despair.

She could only wait for death.

At that moment, a powerful force seized her arm and dragged her rapidly away.

Her legs had gone completely limp; she could not run at all. She was being pulled forward at full speed by that force.

Huang Ying opened her eyes.

It was Gu Xiangnan!

The next second, a tremendous explosion erupted behind them.

She felt a wave of scorching heat surge toward her from behind.

The two of them were thrown to the ground.

Gu Xiangnan covered her head with his coat.

Fragments from the explosion rained down around them.

A severed hand even landed right in front of them.

Gu Xiangnan quickly covered Huang Ying’s eyes with his hand.

Only after a long while did the surroundings finally grow quiet.

Huang Ying blinked.

Gu Xiangnan could feel her eyelashes brushing against his palm, tickling him.

He quickly withdrew his hand. “Huang, are you hurt?”

Huang Ying shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Professor Gu, thank you. You’ve saved me twice now. How can I ever repay you?”

Gu Xiangnan ignored her question and urged her, “Let’s go. The police will be here soon.”

It had been evening when he arrived.

Now it was completely dark, which happened to help conceal their movements.

After descending the mountain, Gu Xiangnan bade Huang Ying farewell and prepared to go home.

But Huang Ying shamelessly insisted on following him back to the villa.

Half an hour earlier, news of the explosion in the rear hills of the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine had made the trending searches.

Zi Xiaoyin and Zhang Hongmei were waiting anxiously in the living room.

When they saw Gu Xiangnan open the door and walk in, Zi Xiaoyin threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.

“Brother, I was so worried! I thought something had happened to you!”

She deeply regretted not persuading her brother to leave the matter alone.

What would they have done if something had really happened to him?

It had been an explosion, after all!

Huang Ying entered behind Gu Xiangnan.

When she saw Zhang Hongmei sitting on the sofa, she ran over, knelt beside her legs, and began to cry.

“Auntie, Xiaoyin, if Professor Gu hadn’t saved me, I never would have made it back alive.”

Zi Xiaoyin and Zhang Hongmei wept along with her.

Suddenly, Gu Xiangnan asked, “Huang, do you know those kidnappers?”