Suddenly, a car zoomed past Tawan, narrowly avoiding ramming into him. With his fast reflexes, he was able to boost himself with one hand, sliding across the hood of the car.
By the time he reached the other side, the silver van was already merging into the traffic. It would be impossible to catch up to it using his own two legs.
He looked around frantically before spotting a taxi. Rushing over to hail it, he slid inside and pointed at the van. “Follow that silver van!”
The taxi driver twisted around to glance at him. He was obviously reluctant to help when he realized Tawan was a foreigner. “Just tell me where you want to go.”
Tawan handed over a wad of cash, pleading, “Just follow that van! I’ll give you however much you want.”
The taxi driver eyed the money, estimating that it was around one thousand or so. What even more tempting was that it seemed like Tawan had more. That’s a lot of money! At most, I earn around two to three hundred a day.
In the end, his greed won out. Snatching the money, he slammed on the gas pedal. “You better keep your promise! By the way, why are you chasing after that van anyway?”
“My friend is in there.”
“Oh.”
Tawan’s eyes were glued to the van. Every now and then, he would urge the driver to go faster.
“Don’t worry. I won’t lose them.” The driver replied confidently. He had been driving taxis for over twenty years. His driving skills were top-notch.
The constant demands from customers who were in a hurry had led to him perfecting the art of overtaking other vehicles.
Soon, they were leaving the busy city center behind and moving onto the highways.
The driver glanced at Tawan, taking in the anxiety on his face. Not knowing how long this would take, he stated, “If I manage to catch up to them, you’ll have to pay me ten thousand.”
Tawan did not even hesitate in agreeing.
“You’ll keep your word, right?” The driver was worried Tawan would go back on his promise once they managed to catch up to the van.
Tawan gazed at him for a moment before unclasping his watch and tossing it on the dashboard. “As long as you don’t lose them, this watch is yours. It’s worth five hundred thousand.”
“F-Five hundred thousand!” The driver glanced over quickly before asking suspiciously, “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“I never lie.” Tawan stated firmly with a serious expression on his face. Since he also looked rather decent, the taxi driver decided to take a chance. “Okay.”
For the money!
The taxi gradually neared the van. However, by that point, they were already on the outskirts of town.
Eventually, the van stopped at an abandoned building. The men dragged Zong Yanxi and Zhuang Zijin out of the vehicle before bringing them inside the building.
One of the men called Li Xiaohui. “We’ve got them.”
“Okay. Proceed with the plan.” Li Xiaohui was standing by a window. Nan Cheng, who was also present, came over and queried, “Have they done it?”
“Yes.” Li Xiaohui nodded.
Nan Cheng excused himself by saying, “I need to use the restroom.”
“Go ahead.” Li Xiaohui made her way over to the couch and sat down. She was eager to hear the good news.
Nan Cheng’s plan had been simple – kill off Zong Yanxi. With her out of the equation, there would be nobody to snatch Jiang Mohan away from Li Xiaohui.
But this was only part of Nan Cheng’s full plan.
He entered the restroom but did not actually use the facilities. Instead, he dialed Jiang Mohan’s number. What happened next was the most crucial part of his plan.
When Jiang Mohan finds out that Li Xiaohui is trying to kill Zong Yanxi, he’ll rush to her rescue. Then, she’ll definitely be incredibly grateful to him and change her opinion of him!
Yet the call refused to connect.
What Nan Cheng did not know was that Jiang Mohan had gone to the hospital to undergo the surgery. Naturally, he had turned off his phone before entering the operating theater.
Starting to feel anxious and panicked, Nan Cheng tried again and again. Still, the calls did not get through.
If Jiang Mohan can’t go, that means Zong Yanxi is truly in danger! He had not told Li Xiaohui about this part of the plan, so there was no way she would hold back.
The only reason he had used Li Xiaohui was to make things appear authentic, but that was coming back to bite him in the ass now.
Oh no!
He rushed out of the building and sped for his car.
I have to get there now!
Meanwhile, Zong Yanxi had been tied to a cement pillar. Since their target was Zong Yanxi, they did not waste too much time and energy on Zhuang Zijin. There was also the fact that she was old and could not move around easily. Hence, they tossed her to the floor roughly.
The old woman’s head smashed onto the floor and she fell unconscious.
The men piled some highly flammable objects such as wood and some empty cement bags together. After that, they emptied a can of gasoline on the pile.
Then, they tossed a burning lighter on the pile before running out of there. Following a small spark, flames crackled to life, feeding hungrily on the gasoline-drenched materials.
“Grandma!” Zong Yanxi screamed. “Grandma, wake up!”
Bound as she was, she was unable to even move, let alone save her grandmother. All she could do was hope her shouting would wake the old woman up. Zhuang Zijin was not tied up, which meant she could escape.
Her thoughts were a mess while a cold sweat drenched her entire body. Despair and terror fought for dominance in her. She did not mind if anything happened to her, but now her grandmother was involved in this mess as well.
“I’m so sorry… This is all my fault. I’m not able to protect you…”
Tears blurred her vision as guilt clawed at her insides. For a moment, she even forgot about the flames that were steadily growing larger and hotter.
Thick smoke filled the air, wafting into her nostrils and choking her. She coughed violently.
