Start with push-ups to gain experience

Chapter 546 How high are your conditions? Higher than the sky!

"Yeah, done."

Fang Cheng stood up, stretched his stiff neck, and his joints cracked a few times.

On the surface, he only sat in the living room for half an hour.

But in reality, his consciousness had just wandered outside of the physical world, taking a trip into the dark world of "Night City".

It is an alternate dimension independent of reality, and also an underground trading place where people from different worlds exchange goods and services.

Whether it's intelligence, bounty missions, or forbidden items that can't be brought to light, there's nothing you can't buy if you can afford the price.

Just now, he found the "Bridge of Helplessness" as an intermediary organization with ease and contacted Wang Pangzi, the account manager who looked honest and simple.

Information about the members of the "Bloodthorn" mercenary group, their strength assessments, and the organization's recent activities are now clearly imprinted in his mind.

However, the price is indeed painful.

Fang Cheng's lips twitched slightly as he thought about the huge sum of money that had just been withdrawn from his VIP black card.

A mere two-page intelligence report, along with a few photos of people, was being asked for over five million.

Moreover, the smiling fat man, Wang, confidently patted his chest and claimed that this was a special 20% discount he had applied for, thanks to his "S-level membership."

These intelligence operatives are blacker than ink.

But it was well spent.

In just half an hour, they obtained basic information about the target.

Compared to relying on Ah Le to rack his brains to guess, or sending people to search for clues like headless flies, this method is many times more efficient.

With this intelligence, it's no longer a matter of blind men feeling an elephant, but rather the final countdown for these mercenaries in this city.

Fang Cheng exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing his heartache over the money, and turned to look at Ah Le, his tone becoming unusually firm:
“I have a general understanding of Bloodthorn’s movements. They have indeed been active in Jiangdong New Area recently.”

Upon hearing this, Ah Le jumped up from his chair.

The movement aggravated his wound, causing his lips to twitch in pain, but he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes:

"That's great! Let's set off now and go to Jiangdong New Area to find them!"

"Not urgent."

Fang Cheng raised his hand and gestured for him to calm down:
"Before you leave, give Shen Wei a call."

"what?"

Ah Le stood there, mouth agape, his mind blank for a moment.

Wasn't the guild leader kidnapped by Bloodthorn and his gang last night?

If you call him at this time, do you expect him to answer as if nothing happened and say he's safe?
"You don't even remember your own boss's phone number?"

Fang Cheng glanced at him.

"I remember, I do have the number..."

Ah Le came to his senses, a look of realization dawning on his face:
"Mr. Fang, do you mean the chairman's phone might be in the hands of those kidnappers? Can we sound them out first and see if we can pay them off?"

Fang Cheng nodded slightly, offering no further explanation.

She simply turned around, took out her phone from her bag, handed it to him, and gestured for him to hurry up.

Ah Le took a deep breath, his fingers trembling as he typed in the number he knew by heart, and then pressed the dial button.

"Beep-beep-beep-"

The long wait sounded particularly jarring in the quiet room.

One, two, three...

Each ringtone was spaced five seconds apart, like a tapping on a taut nerve.

The phone rang eight times, but no one answered.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ah Le's forehead, and his heart sank lower and lower.

Just as he thought his attempt was about to fail and was about to hang up, a soft "click" sound came from the receiver.

It worked!

But what followed was not the familiar sound to Shen Wei, but a whistling wind mixed with extremely noisy electrical interference.

"Hey? What kind of idiot are you? Making a phone call in the middle of the night! Do you want to die?"

Immediately afterwards, a rude and irritable male voice rang out, making Ah Le's eardrums ache and buzz.

Ah Le was stunned by the scolding and subconsciously glanced at Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng remained expressionless, merely raising his chin to signal him to continue.

At the same time, he quietly walked to Ah Le's side, tilted his head slightly, and listened intently.

Ah Le swallowed hard, quickly composed himself, and adopted the imposing manner he usually displayed as a gang leader, saying in a deep voice:
"I'm Ah Le from the East City Club. Whoever you are, let Chairman Shen answer the phone."

"Huh? The East City Club?"

The person on the other end seemed to have heard something interesting, and immediately let out a shrill laugh, so high-pitched that even the receiver trembled.
"Those bunch of useless trash who only know how to hack people with watermelon knives? We haven't even gone looking for trouble with you, and you've already delivered yourself to our doorstep?"

"What, trying to collect your dead boss's corpse?"

"Friend, leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future."

Suppressing his anger, Ah Le tried to steer the conversation toward the negotiating table:
"Everyone who goes out into the world is doing it all for money."

"You've kidnapped Chairman Shen, how much money do you want? Name your price. As long as you can keep the chairman safe, I guarantee you won't lose a single penny."

"money?"

The person opposite him scoffed disdainfully, and the faint sounds of other people talking could be heard in the background:

"The thing I have plenty of is money. How much can you come up with? A hundred million? Or a billion?"

"You think you can buy this old man's life with a few pieces of waste paper? Have you lost your mind?"

Just as Ah Le was about to retort, another voice suddenly came from the other end of the phone:
"Wait, Black Mamba, don't be so rude to the guest. Give me the phone."

His tone was low, yet it carried a chilling, penetrating power.

With a slight sound, the agitation on the other end of the line subsided instantly; it was clear that the person on the other end had changed.

Instead, a gentle, somewhat magnetic male voice spoke:

"Good evening, Mr. Lok. It seems you're a loyal subordinate to be able to call in at this hour."

The voice was soft and feminine, like a slippery venomous snake, which slithered into Ah Le's ears along the radio waves.

"In the underworld, I greatly admire a man like you who values ​​loyalty. Not only you, but I've always been completely devoted to all my brothers."

"Since we're all on the same page, let's get straight to the point."

The man paused for a moment, his tone carrying a hint of persuasive enticement:

"President Shen is too stubborn; I can't get him to open up no matter how hard I try. Why don't you tell me where that orphanage that takes in special needs children is hidden?"

"As long as you give me an address, even just a general location, I will immediately send a car to take Chairman Shen back, and I will even give you a sum of money to settle down so that you can spend the rest of your life."

"How about it? A pretty good deal, isn't it?"

The voice seemed to possess some strange magic, each syllable striking Ah Le's weakest point.

Ah Le's originally tense eyes gradually became unfocused, and his grip on his phone unconsciously loosened a little.

The secret address that I had been guarding so closely began to surface uncontrollably in my mind and onto my lips:
"The orphanage...is...in Wenchuan..."

Ah Le's lips moved, his expression dazed, as if he were about to utter a dream.

Just then, a broad and strong hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

His five fingers suddenly tightened, like iron clamps closing.

A sharp pain struck instantly!

Ah Le shuddered and turned around abruptly, meeting Fang Cheng's unfathomable eyes.

Deep within his pupils, a golden flash of electricity seemed to explode, instantly dispelling all the chaos and confusion in his mind.

Ah Le suddenly realized what was happening, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat, and he gasped for breath.

so close!

He almost got hypnotized by that guy! He gave Fang Cheng a grateful look.

I'm also glad I didn't make the call alone, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The terrifying abilities of these extraordinary individuals are virtually impossible for ordinary people to defend against.

Ah Le took a deep breath to calm himself down, then began to feign politeness into the microphone:
"This...this matter is of great importance. I'm just a bodyguard, and I don't remember the exact location very well. I need to investigate carefully..."

"Besides, I don't trust you. Unless I see the chairman alive with my own eyes, there's no point in talking."

To buy time, Ah Le deliberately slowed down his speech and pretended to be hesitant:
"How about this, you give me an address first, and I'll come over right away. We'll talk face to face, and I'll hand over the person and the information."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.

Then came a low, contemptuous laugh:

"Hehe... Mr. A-Le, you've become smarter."

"Was that brief pause because there were other people around you?"

The man's voice remained amiable, but now carried a chilling undertone.

"The person who pulled you out of my 'hints,' was the accomplice you brought in?"

"Heh, so you've found someone to rely on, so you're trying to outsmart me... How disappointing."

Ah Le's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to deny it.

But then the man's tone suddenly turned cold, his previous affability instantly shattered, revealing the ferocity hidden beneath:
“My patience is very limited. Since you refuse to talk, then let Chairman Shen take the blame for you.”

“Perfect timing, my brother has been starving for ages.”

As he spoke, he moved the receiver slightly away, seemingly turning to look at the others beside him.

"Don't you think so?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sickening chewing sound came through the receiver.

"Click", "Click".

It sounded like bones being crushed, accompanied by a deep, hoarse guttural sound like a wild beast, and the sound of swallowing viscous liquid.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Wei's extremely suppressed groans could be faintly heard, clearly indicating that he was suffering inhuman torture.

Upon hearing this voice, Ah Le's eyes instantly became bloodshot, and the veins on his neck bulged out.

That was his benefactor, his elder brother! And now he's being devoured alive!

Anger, like a raging fire, clouded his reason; he opened his mouth, and a roar was about to burst from his throat.

However, Fang Cheng pressed his hand down on his shoulder again, with a force as heavy as a mountain.

Then, she gently shook her head at him, her eyes eerily calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Ah Le was jolted awake, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, and he calmed down once again.

He wasn't stupid; he immediately understood what had happened.

This is absolutely a psychological tactic!
If the chairman is truly on the verge of death and has already been abandoned by these people, then they don't need to go to the trouble of putting on a show for themselves.

Clearly, when one plan failed, the other side resorted to another.

He wanted to use fear and anger to force himself to reveal the truth in a moment of desperation.

As long as he hasn't given in yet, the chairman is actually safe.

"Is it good? Eat slowly, there will be more fresh meat coming over later."

The man spoke affectionately to the monster beside him, then sneered into the microphone:
"Did you hear that? If you don't confess soon, your chairman might turn into a pile of excrement."

"What's the point of keeping that secret? Those orphans are no relation to you. Is it worth risking your master's life for a few unrelated brats?"

"Don't mess around!"

Seeing that his soft approach wasn't working, Ah Le's tone suddenly hardened, and he started to use the tiger's skin as a banner:
"This is Dongdu, and Chairman Shen is backed by the Shen family!"

"Do you know what kind of background the Shen family has? They're a top-tier wealthy family that even the official special investigation team has to give them some respect!"

"If you dare to lay a finger on the chairman, not only will the tens of thousands of brothers in the East City Society not let you off the hook, but the Shen family will also make it impossible for you to move an inch in this city!"

"The Shen family?"

The man was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, as if he had heard an even more absurd joke.

He then gave a disdainful snort and said arrogantly:
"Don't try to intimidate me with those tycoon families! In my eyes, the Shen family and the Li family are nothing but pigs waiting to be slaughtered!"

Ah Le's face flushed red from choking, and he roared through gritted teeth:
"What exactly do you want! We can offer very high terms if you just release them!"

"Very high requirements?"

The person on the other end suddenly adopted a playful tone, full of mockery:

"How high? Higher than the sky? Hahahaha—"

As mocking laughter rang out, an even stronger gust of wind came from the other end of the phone.

The sound of the rushing air almost drowned out human voices.

"Let me tell you, and that accomplice you found, you want people, right?"

"Either tell me the address of the orphanage honestly, or come and pick it up yourself if you dare!"

"I'll be waiting for you here. Don't keep me waiting too long, the wind is strong tonight, and my patience is wearing thin!"

"Beep-beep-"

The phone was abruptly hung up, the busy tone echoing in the air like a resounding slap.

Ah Le held his phone, his face ashen, his chest heaving violently, clearly furious.

He turned his head, looking at Fang Cheng with a dejected expression:

"Mr. Fang, the talks have broken down. These lunatics are completely unreasonable, they won't listen to either soft or hard tactics, we couldn't even get their location out of them..."

No, you've done very well.

Fang Cheng slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over Ah Le and landing on the neon-lit night view outside the window, a cold smile curving his lips.

"At least, one thing is certain: Chairman Shen is not dead."

"Moreover, I have basically figured out their current location."

Upon hearing this, Ah Le's annoyed expression vanished instantly, and he quickly said:

"That's great! Shall we set off now? I'll go get my gear right away!"

"Stay at home and don't go anywhere."

Fang Cheng put his phone away and quickly went into the bedroom.

He opened the drawer, took out the pistol that was already loaded with bullets, and skillfully tucked it into his lower back.

Then, he pulled a black hooded sweatshirt from the closet and put it on, stuffing the iconic demon mask into his bag.

As Ah Le walked out of the bedroom, he clenched his fists in a panic:

“Mr. Fang, I know I’m injured, but more people mean more help! Those people are all crazy, it’s too dangerous for you to go alone!”

Fang Cheng glanced at the bandage on his abdomen, which was still oozing blood, and a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth:
"You're in such a state that you can barely walk, how can you come with me to rescue people?"

"Stay here and recover. If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, you'd better find a way to escape."

After saying that, Fang Cheng didn't look at Ah Le again, pushed open the door, and quickly disappeared into the dark shadows of the corridor.

All that remained behind him was Alena's gaze, filled with both worry and hope.

The corridor was completely silent.

Fang Cheng took out his phone and quickly pressed a series of numbers on the keypad with his thumb.

The phone was answered after only two rings, and a refined and composed voice came from the receiver:

"President, is there anything I can do for you?"

A glint flashed in Fang Cheng's eyes, and he immediately gave the order:

"Professor, call those new members over. We'll need them for tonight's operation."

(End of this chapter)