CH 67

The surveillance room didn’t usually have the tradition of serving coffee to the staff on duty, but this was a spur-of-the-moment ‘perk’ arranged by the young master of the Si family for the employees. So, before entering, Si Di prepared himself for potential questioning.

His reason was straightforward. Considering the hard work of the staff, he wanted to show hospitality to them and specially arranged for the hotel to bring up a cup of coffee to lift their spirits.

What he didn’t expect was that the two security personnel in the room didn’t ask anything at all. Only one of the room’s lights, near the door, was on. In the slightly dim atmosphere, the two men in security uniforms sat on chairs, eyes fixed on the massive surveillance screen. After Si Di entered, they didn’t even glance up. One of them pointed to the table by the wall, saying, “Put it there.”

Before being infected by Xiao Zhenyun and his fanciful plot world, Si Di was an S-class sentinel who graduated with top marks from the tower. Within a year of joining the guild, he had formed the Storm Team, gaining some fame both domestically and internationally.

His observational skills, keen senses, and courage were beyond ordinary.

The moment Si Di stepped into the surveillance room, he sensed that something was amiss. It seemed someone had been one step ahead, tampering with the hotel surveillance before his arrival. What’s more, it was done in an exaggerated manner. He only wanted to make a slight modification to the surveillance, replacing the footage of Xiao Zhenyun being kidnapped. However, the other party had gone as far as replacing the on-duty security personnel.

Si Di calmly placed the coffee on the table but didn’t leave immediately. His gaze swiftly scanned several surveillance screens, then shifted to the room’s interior, landing on the areas obscured by piled-up items without proper lighting.

“Hey!” one security guard stood up, his hat covering half of his face, sternly saying, “No wandering around in the surveillance area. Leave now.”

Without saying a word, Si Di turned to look at him, lowered his head obediently in response, making a move to leave. However, after taking a couple of steps towards the door, he suddenly stopped, unexpectedly asking, “How come I find you guys… quite unfamiliar?”

With the inquisitive question, an eerie and oppressive atmosphere instantly filled the surveillance room. The security guard who had been silent all along stood up, the blue light from the monitor casting shadows on half of his face as he said, “We’re new here.”

Si Di seemed entirely oblivious to the palpable strangeness emanating from the others. He continued muttering to himself, “Why do I remember that Old Li was on duty today? Did he swap shifts with you guys?”

The door to the control room suddenly closed behind Si Di. The annoyed security guard said impatiently, “You are really nosy. If you won’t leave when asked, you might as well stay put.”

Si Di turned around ‘frantically’ to look at the now-locked door behind him, resembling a harmless lamb, exposing his vulnerable neck. However, just as the fake security guard menacingly reached for Si Di’s throat, the lamb swiftly countered with a punch to the man’s nose. The man’s entire face was sunken, and his nose was twisted into a terrible shape.

The speed and force displayed weren’t something an ordinary person could react to. Even the fake security guard near the door couldn’t see the waiter’s movements clearly. In the next moment, he too was flipped to the ground, followed by a ruthless kick to the abdomen, leaving him incapacitated.

Si Di showed no mercy; he simply beat both of them until they were unable to resist.

Are criminals rushing to achieve end-of-year goals lately? Si Di pondered, What’s with the queue for lawlessness? This hotel is truly plagued with misfortune. After this incident, his dad better divest his capital and cut ties quickly…

He raised his head and looked back at the surveillance, intending to first handle what needed to be done before questioning the motives of these two intruders.

However, strangely, when he rewound the surveillance footage to five minutes prior, there was no sign of Xiao Zhenyun at the expected time and location. 

Si Di, puzzled, double-checked the surveillance points, played back at maximum speed, and went back fifteen minutes earlier. Only then did he see Xiao Zhenyun sitting in a wheelchair, leaving the ceremony hall alone, staring straight ahead.

Then, the long-haired guide disappeared from the surveillance footage…

Suddenly, an inconceivable and terrifying thought flooded Si Di’s mind. He turned to look at the two fake security guards lying on the ground. One had already passed out from pain, and the other wasn’t faring any better.

—Their target was also Xiao Zhenyun.

No, it should be said, their sole target was Xiao Zhenyun!

Si Di immediately opened the terminal and contacted both Xiao Zhenyun and Hedgehog. As expected, Xiao Zhenyun’s end remained unreachable, but Hedgehog answered quickly:

“Black Wolf, if you haven’t arranged a second kidnapper because you doubt my abilities, congratulations, your guide has indeed been kidnapped.”

Si Di heard the howling wind and the sound of motorcycle engines.

“Don’t worry, I’m trailing behind them.”

“They’ve done everything we planned to do, taken our route, leaving us no way out.”

“Kidnap and drug Xiao Zhenyun, use him to threaten Si Chu, force Si Chu to surrender, and then take the two of them hostage.”

Hedgehog chuckled softly, “These are like rats crawling out of nowhere. Any leads?”

Si Di’s whole body was filled with an extremely terrifying aura, like that of a wolf, his green eyes fierce and menacing. “I know…”

His tone was as if he was referring to a group of doomed individuals, “And they’ll be contacting me soon.”

Time rewound ten minutes ago, and the situation unfolded suddenly and swiftly. In order to facilitate the ‘kidnapping,’ after leaving the hall, Xiao Zhenyun pretended to be in a voice call, slowly driving his wheelchair to a secluded corner where no one would disturb them.

This location happened to be on the edge of an atrium1Atrium (architecture) : An open, interior, sky-lit court usually located at the center of a building and often surrounded by multiple stories.

, where Xiao Zhenyun lingered in the corridor on the first floor, adjacent to a green area. In the middle was a dense bamboo forest, visible only to those standing on the second-floor corridor directly opposite.

Si Di also led Si Chu to this prime viewing area on the second floor. At the same time, Xiao Zhenyun reached the performance area on the first floor, pretending to be engrossed in a phone call, completely oblivious.

After his brother left, Si Chu quickly noticed Xiao Zhenyun lingering under the eaves. Curious, he glanced over, thinking that if his little uncle happened to look up and meet his gaze, he would wave hello; otherwise, he wouldn’t disturb him.

Xiao Zhenyun kept his head down, fully focused on the terminal call.

Si Chu didn’t think much of it, turned his head to check the direction of the restroom, but when he looked back towards Xiao Zhenyun, a sudden appearance of a waiter on the corridor where Xiao Zhenyun stood caught his attention.

In theory, the waiter showed no abnormalities—his attire and posture were in line with the hotel’s standards, and there were traces of his appearance at that place pushing a cleaning cart. However, Si Chu immediately furrowed his brows, his gaze fixed intensely on the approaching figure.

Sentinels possessed heightened senses surpassing those of ordinary people, and additionally, there was a sixth sense without clear data or theoretical support.

But, all the instructors in the tower would tell their students repeatedly, never doubt your sentinel’s sixth sense.

The waiter walked straight behind Xiao Zhenyun, yet Xiao Zhenyun showed no reaction, completely unaware of the person standing behind him.

Si Chu didn’t know that Xiao Zhenyun wasn’t oblivious but rather realized only when a cloth soaked in a drugged substance covered his face, making him aware that the person approaching him wasn’t Hedgehog but the real kidnapper.

The pungent smell and the force on his jawbone, almost breaking it, left Xiao Zhenyun completely powerless to struggle, losing consciousness almost instantly.

If Xiao Zhenyun had been a bit more vigilant and strong-willed as usual, perhaps he would have had some room for resistance, delaying his capture for a bit longer. 

…Normally, he wouldn’t have ventured alone into such a dark and secluded corner that wouldn’t be discovered in a short period of time. Not to mention that he deliberately concealed his whereabouts when leaving the ceremony hall.

It could only be said that the timing of these real criminals was incredibly cunning, to the point where Xiao Zhenyun could even call it superior. He practically cooperated with them, willingly delivering himself into the arms of the kidnappers. After being drugged, he was swiftly concealed in a cart for used bedding, instantly disappearing from the scene.

—The key point is that this cleaning cart was prepared in advance by Hedgehog. The reason he arrived a step later than the real kidnappers was precisely because the cart had disappeared, and he was busy finding a substitute.

In the instant Xiao Zhenyun’s face was covered with the towel, Si Chu punched through the glass in the corridor, hastily jumping over the railing. However, the moment he landed, a spiritual whip from somewhere hit his spiritual domain, causing his tail to explode, and he screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. The shattered glass immediately cut through his formal attire, embedding into his palms and knees.

Si Chu took a deep breath, shaking his head in pain amid dizziness. He could only kneel on the ground, helplessly watching as Xiao Zhenyun, unconscious, was lifted and folded into the cart’s linen basket.

He heard the hurried footsteps of the kidnappers leaving. He had been too careless, failing to notice that the kidnappers had a guide companion nearby and forgetting to reinforce his spiritual domain.

At this moment, footsteps approached from another direction. Si Chu squinted warily and saw the figures of Xiao Jiali and Xiao Nian approaching.

First attracted by the loud sound of the shattered glass, they took only a couple of steps before hearing Si Chu’s painful scream.

Before Xiao Jiali could ask if anything was wrong, Si Chu gestured with his hand to indicate that he was fine, then issued orders with a cold expression:

“Jiali, immediately inform the chairman. Little uncle has been kidnapped by someone. There’s more than one kidnapper, and at least one of them is an A-class guide. Nian Nian, contact my brother.”

He pulled out the shards of glass from his palms. Before the words fully settled, he disappeared in the direction where Xiao Zhenyun was taken.

Xiao Jiali stood in place, shocked, digesting Si Chu’s words. After a three-second reaction time, he suddenly woke up, hastily scooping up Xiao Nian and sprinting towards the ceremony hall.

When Si Chu first mentioned that little uncle had been kidnapped, Xiao Nian, who was aware of the entire plan orchestrated by Si Di and the others, remained composed. However, when the following statement about an A-class guide being among the kidnappers came, Xiao Nian immediately widened his eyes in shock.

Where did the A-class guide come from? Was an actor added temporarily? Why wasn’t he informed?

Xiao Nian tightly grasped the fabric on Xiao Jiali’s shoulder, turned back to glance in the direction Si Chu had left, and saw a man in a waiter’s uniform standing beside Xiao Zhenyun’s wheelchair. A snake with its tongue sticking out coiled around his arm.

The man lingered for less than a second and then suddenly vanished into the shadows.

Xiao Jiali rushed anxiously into the ceremony hall. Mingling guests filled the surroundings, but Xiao Jingfeng wasn’t in his seat. He didn’t recognize anyone around, and his inquiries yielded no information about the chairman’s whereabouts.

Gripping Xiao Nian’s hand tighter and tighter, he looked around in panic.

Suddenly, Xiao Jiali calmed down, reaching up to remove the sensory suppressor attached to the back of his neck.

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