1033 Perplexed and Smitten 93

\"There's a possibility. We all know how nosy Old Liu is.\"

\"Those three people better hope I don't find them. Otherwise, I'm going to skin them alive!\"

The man with the coarse voice laughed and asked, \"Why are you so infuriated? What has gotten into you? Don't tell me, you've met your match?\"

\"They've got quite a bit of skill.\"

\"They might have fled to another place long ago.\"

\"…\"

The drivers left, and the bunch of people began splitting up and going about their respective tasks once they were done eating.

An Xiaoning removed her earphones and handed them to No. 8 before leaving the house together with No. 5.

They decided to keep a distance away from the men, for fear that their cover would be blown. The few men then sat down by the river, seemingly waiting for something.

\"What are they waiting for?\"

\"I don't know.\"

\"A cruise perhaps? Look,\" said No. 5, who was pointing at a ship that was rather far away.

An Xiaoning squinted to take a look and discovered that it was an average-sized cruise ship.

The two of them stood behind the tree and watched as the cruise ship approached them gradually.

The men who were sitting by the river stood up one after another and boarded a boat that was docked beside the river. They pretended to be fishing.

\"Are they thinking of going after the people on the cruise ship?\" No. 5 asked.

\"They wouldn't dare to. I'm guessing that their accomplices are on that cruise.\"

An Xiaoning took out a small pair of binoculars from her bag and observed the situation from afar.

The cruise was traveling at a much slower speed. When it was about 20 meters past the fishing boat, An Xiaoning patted No. 5 on his shoulder and said, \"Quick, take a look.\"

No. 5 kept his eyes peeled on the scene before him and caught sight of a teenager girl falling off the cruise.

The two of them looked at each other before moving away from the tree. An Xiaoning handed her mobile phone and belongings to No. 5 and dived into the river with a dagger. She then swam forward with all her might.

Some men on the cruise had already dived into the water, pretending to be saving the drowning teenager. However, when An Xiaoning swam over to the spot where she had plunged, she discovered that the teenager had yet to be brought to the surface of the water. Less than two minutes had passed since she'd fallen into the water.

An Xiaoning submerged her head into the water to see that the girl's legs were trapped by fishing nets from which she was trying to struggle to break free. However, she had already gulped down lots of water.

The moment they caught sight of her, the men who were pretending to save the teenager immediately swam toward An Xiaoning in a bid to stop her.

An Xiaoning could not be bothered anymore because she knew that the teenager would definitely drown to her death if she was not pulled out of the water within four minutes.

Hence, An Xiaoning whipped out her dagger and stabbed each of the men fatally when they were not paying attention. Completely caught off guard, the men floated to the surface of the water while blood gushed out of them. The blood was quickly diluted by the water.

An Xiaoning cut the fishnet with her dagger to free the teenager from it. The moment the teenager was released, she grabbed onto An Xiaoning's arm tightly for dear life.

Though she was not chubby at all, she did feel heavier due to the water resistance.

However, An Xiaoning was not quite affected since she was full of strength from within. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't have had the strength to pull the girl to safety and might even have ended up drowning too.

Once they surfaced from the water, An Xiaoning brought the teenager to shore. The anxiety-stricken No. 5 hurriedly rushed forward to grab them the moment he saw An Xiaoning pulling the girl out of the water safely.

\"Piggyback her and run around for a while to make her cough the water out.\"

No. 5 picked the girl up fluidly and placed her body upside down with her head facing the ground. He grabbed her legs tightly and ran for about 20 meters, after which the girl immediately threw up all the water she had swallowed.

An Xiaoning was much more relieved.

She sat on the ground and buried her face between her legs to remove her mask stealthily. She then wiped the water off her face before putting the mask back on.

At this very moment, numerous men walked toward them.

They appeared menacing and were obviously up to no good.

An Xiaoning stood up while No. 5 put the girl down onto the ground. He said to her, \"Sis, I've already called the police. I believe they're making their way here and should arrive very soon. They'll probably send all the police officers nearby.\"

She instructed him, \"Call Ma Jianguo and tell him to bring his men here.\"

\"Alright.\" No. 5 immediately unlocked her mobile phone and dialed Ma Jianguo's number.

She then said to No. 5 softly, \"Text No. 8 and tell him to release Old Liu.\"

\"Okay.\"

As soon as they spoke, the men walked toward An Xiaoning with exasperation written all over their faces. \"Little lass, how dare you hurt my buddies? Forget about leaving if we don't get this settled today.\"

\"You people colluded to murder the innocent for money.\" Pointing at the girl, she continued, \"You trapped her legs with a fishnet in an attempt to drown her to death. Once she's dead, you'll then fish her corpse out of the water and blackmail her family for money. I know what you've all been planning. I've already called the police.\"

The man sneered, \"The police? Do you really think we'd be intimidated just because you called the police?\"

An Xiaoning glared at them coldly and said, \"I already guessed that you would say that. I don't care who your backer is. I've already gathered sufficient evidence to testify against your actions.\"

\"Evidence?\" The man glowered at her menacingly and stepped forward in a bid to hit An Xiaoning. However, she lifted her leg and kicked him in his gut, causing him to be flung several meters away from her. Everyone stared at her in astonishment, for they did not expect such a petite woman to be capable of such great strength.

Feeling indignant, they immediately surged forward in a bid to teach An Xiaoning a lesson.

However, they were beaten into a pulp after being faced with a stronger opponent, despite appearing buff and burly.

Refusing to succumb, they decided to threaten the teenager since they were outclassed by An Xiaoning. \"If you dare spout any nonsense, wait and see what happens when we find out your home address.\"

An Xiaoning comforted her, \"Don't be afraid, they won't have the chance to do that.\"

The teenager was frightened out of her senses and had turned as pale as sheet as tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

The cruise ship pulled up near the shore, after which the teenager's mother and aunt hurriedly rushed down from the ship to ask about the situation. The teenager remained quiet while weeping incessantly.

No. 5 explained the situation to the teenager's mother and aunt, who broke out in a cold sweat and frantically asked the teenager if it was real.

Frightened and intimidated by the threat, the girl said to her mother, \"Let's hurry and leave this place.\"

An Xiaoning stopped her, \"You can't leave yet. The police are on their way here. You have to stay behind to have your statement taken.\"

Not daring to look at her, the teenager said, \"Sis, thank you for saving me, but I don't want to stir any trouble. I'm sorry.\"

A look of dejection formed in An Xiaoning's eyes. She then said bluntly, \"Had I known earlier that you're such a timid and cowardly girl, I wouldn't have saved you just now. You were almost killed and yet you don't even have the courage to testify against those crooks. Do you know why they're so haughty? It's because there are too many cowards like you.\"

Upon hearing her words, the teenager's mother said, \"Miss, we won't leave until the police comes. We'll definitely testify against them.\"