Li Yan stepped comfortably out of the bathroom, only to find the room completely empty. Cao Yang had actually slipped away while she was showering.
"Cao Yang! You bastard!" she cursed furiously.
Her phone chimed with a notification. She picked it up—Cao Yang had sent a text.
"Sister Yan, I'm going to check what's going on. Don't worry about me. If I can't win, I'll run."
"If I'm not back by dawn, take the money and return to my hometown. Give it to my mom. Thank you."
Seeing that last line, which sounded like a final farewell, Li Yan exploded again. She typed out a reply while cursing non-stop.
"Go die! Die outside for all I care! Once you're dead, I'm keeping all your money for myself, not giving your mom a single cent. Let her live the rest of her life with no son and no money! That'll teach you to act tough! To play the hero! To risk your life for that cheap woman! Your mom can bear all the consequences!"
Even after sending the message, she still wasn't satisfied. She immediately called him—but the display showed he was already on another call. She didn't know who he was talking to.
...
Cao Yang didn't see her message. And even if he had, he wouldn't care. He knew she only said those things out of anger.
Li Yan was greedy and stingy, sure—if someone else entrusted her with a huge sum of money, she'd most likely run off with it. But Cao Yang believed she wouldn't do that to him.
Besides, their hometown houses were all right next to each other. Where could she even run?
...
Cao Yang had returned to the small shop to grab the chips. He was now calling Tie Xiong.
Knowing the other side had many people—and guns—he wanted backup.
In this city, the only person he knew was Tie Xiong. They weren't exactly friends, but Tie Xiong owed him favors and often bragged that if Cao Yang ever needed anything, he should call him. So now, Cao Yang planned to borrow some men. If not, even two guns would do.
"Hey, Brother Cao!" Tie Xiong answered happily, sounding very enthusiastic.
"Brother Xiong, a friend of mine has been kidnapped. I'm going to rescue her. I need to borrow some men." Cao Yang got straight to the point.
Tie Xiong exploded in anger. "Motherf—! Which blind dog dared kidnap my little brother's friend?!"
"Come over. I'll personally lead the team and chop those bastards up! Let them find out the Hunan crew isn't easy to mess with!"
"Okay, Brother Xiong. I'll head over and we'll go together." Cao Yang grinned, then added, "The other side has guns. Let's bring a few too, just in case."
"Tch! Guns? Who doesn't have those nowadays?" Tie Xiong scoffed. "Who are they anyway?"
"They're with Yi He Hui."
"Hello? Say something! I asked you who they are."
"I said—they're with Yi He Hui."
"Hello? … Hello…? Why is there no sound? Is the signal bad?" Tie Xiong muttered and hung up.
Cao Yang froze. No signal at a time like this? That bastard was pretending.
He called again, but this time Tie Xiong didn't even pick up.
"Fuck you! Always calling me 'brother' this, 'brother' that—yet when I need you, you disappear!"
...
Lushan International Water Club was luxuriously decorated, golden and dazzling. Seven floors, each covering more than ten thousand square meters.
It was already two in the morning, but the place was still brightly lit. Luxury cars came and went nonstop—a true sleepless city.
Cao Yang had imagined Lushan International to be an unfinished building—the kind of place convenient for killing and burying bodies. He never expected to arrive at something this extravagant.
A "water club" was a leisure complex themed around water culture. Hot springs, saunas, foot massage, fire therapy, hydrotherapy, dining, lodging, entertainment—everything was available.
The legal ones had limited services. The illegal ones… offered far more. From the look of it, this one was definitely not legal. Legitimate businesses didn't have this much business, nor could they operate on such a scale.
Cao Yang strode into the lobby. A row of long-legged hostesses in qipao bowed deeply.
"Welcome to Lushan International. We wish you a pleasant stay."
A woman in a professional suit, the floor manager, stepped forward and smiled warmly at him. "Sir, just one?"
"I… I'm looking for someone." Cao Yang scanned the lobby but didn't spot the buzz-cut man.
"Who are you looking for? Do you have a room number?" she asked politely.
"I…" He couldn't answer. He couldn't exactly say "I'm looking for the buzz-cut guy."
He pulled out his phone and called Lei Yu.
The call was quickly picked up—still by the same buzz-cut man.
"I'm here. In the lobby."
"Give the phone to a staff member."
Cao Yang handed his phone to the manager. She spoke softly for a moment, nodding repeatedly.
"Sir, please follow me."
She led him to the seventh floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he saw the buzz-cut man.
Around him stood at least twenty or thirty people.
Cao Yang tossed the goods onto the floor. "Let her go."
The buzz-cut man had his wrist wrapped in bandages and plaster. He stared coldly at Cao Yang, not even looking at the goods.
"Ah Le, this kid beat up ten of your men all by himself?" another man asked. His tone carried a hint of mockery.
He wasn't tall—not even 1.7 meters—but everyone around him treated him with obvious respect. It was clear he was the leader.
"Let her go," Cao Yang repeated when no one responded.
Sun Xiao grinned, mocking him. "And if I don't? What will you do about it?"
Cao Yang had expected trouble. His hand inched toward his waist, where he'd tucked Li Yan's watermelon knife.
A rustling sound erupted around him as several men reached for their belts. In an instant, multiple pistols were pointed at his head.
Cao Yang, very aware of the situation, didn't resist. Without anyone telling him to, he put his hands on his head and crouched in the corner.
No joke—with this many guns, even Sun Wukong would end up shedding monkey hair, let alone a mere human like him.
Sun Xiao burst out laughing. "Kid, you're surprisingly sensible."
He crouched down, pulled out the watermelon knife from Cao Yang's waist, and everyone laughed.
"Came to Lushan International with a damn fruit knife? That's some courage!"
"Alright, get up," Sun Xiao kicked him lightly.
"Bring the goods to the office and wait. As for when we release the girl—that depends on your performance."
Cao Yang didn't understand, but he complied. He bent down, picked up the chip, and walked into the seventh-floor office under escort.
The office was huge and luxurious, but completely empty.
Once he stepped inside, the door closed behind him.
He waited for more than ten minutes with no one entering, so he lit a cigarette and looked around.
"Whatever. I'm already here. What's there to be scared of?"
He walked to the window and looked down, wondering how likely he was to survive a seven-floor jump. If the odds were decent, he could just jump and run.
Just as he was hesitating, the office door opened again. A figure walked in.
Cao Yang saw who it was—and in that moment, it felt like the sky cleared, flowers bloomed, and sunlight poured in. There seemed to be no one more beautiful in the world.