Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 20 Who Wants to Buy My Life
Li Xia sized up the person who rushed in. He was quite old, probably around fifty or sixty, with sparse, greasy hair plastered to his scalp.

His complexion was sallow, the muscles on the sides of his cheeks bulged, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Old Liu? What are you doing?"

Yan Ya quietly slipped the silver coin into a corner where no one would notice, her expression of surprise deepening.

Old Liu is also the owner of an antique shop. They're all in the same circle and know each other quite well. They're not extremely wealthy, but they're certainly much better off than the average person.

How could someone do such a thing?

"I'm sorry, Lao Yan, but I... I have no choice. I understand you're trying to raise cash."

Old Liu's expression grew increasingly frantic. With a sob in his voice, he pointed the strange-looking gun at the three men.

"Close the door now and lower the roller shutter!"

"Old Liu, you—"

"Oh!"

The gun spat out flames, carrying a strong smell of gunpowder, and shattered the vase on the counter.

Yan Yi couldn't help but scream. Yan Ya was a little better, but he still trembled.

"Old Liu, calm down, I'll shut it off right now!"

The creaking roller shutter door began to descend, and Old Liu, already an expert, turned on the chandelier beside the door.

Li Xia stood aside, his thoughts racing. If he made a move, there was a good chance he could win.

But this will cause trouble, such as with the police.

Just as he was pondering this, he saw Yan Ya wink at him. Li Xia was taken aback. Did this mean he didn't need to be afraid?
My gaze shifted, and I saw that Yan Yi was still holding her head, seemingly very scared, but actually quietly moving her feet.

Oh? They have a backup plan? These people are truly not to be underestimated; they're incredibly meticulous.

"Old Yan! Tell your daughter not to move! Your alarm is installed over there, isn't it?"

"Damn it!" Yan Ya almost cursed out loud. He shook his head helplessly at his daughter. All coin shops like theirs basically followed the same pattern.

The locations of the alarms were also roughly the same.

"Old Liu, I'm not trying to criticize you, but I heard about what happened the other day. There's no hurdle you can't overcome, so why make things difficult for yourself?"

When stealing chickens didn't work, Yan Ya started playing the emotional card, trying to ease the atmosphere by chatting about everyday things.

Li Xia stood quietly to the side, listening, seemingly implicated but not targeted.

"What we're saying is, who hasn't paid tuition when they first entered the industry? If you cross over into jadeite and lose money gambling on stones, isn't that normal?"
"If you have any difficulties, talk to everyone. Why resort to guns?"

Yan Ya kept nagging, raising her hands and earnestly persuading:

"You think you can escape once you've drawn a gun? Old Liu, if you stop now, I promise I won't call the police. We can't let this one mistake ruin everything!"

After this, Lao Liu's expression seemed to have softened somewhat, but the gun in his hand did not waver in the slightest.

He just shook his head, his voice trembling with tears: "I'm sorry, buddy, I had no choice. My wife and son have been detained, I can't do anything, I have no choice at all!"

Yan Ya's face immediately darkened. Old Liu had a son late in life and spoiled him rotten. It was his son who had instigated the trip to Myanmar to gamble on jade. He heard that the son had lost a huge sum of money, even emptying the family's savings, and now he was being held captive.
"Old Yan, have your daughter connect her phone to the TV and cast it to the screen—"

Yan Yi glanced at her father and had no choice but to do as she was told.

"Open the bank app, don't try any tricks. I know which banks we are VIPs of. Transfer a total of 12 million to these accounts."

Old Liu tossed out a note with several account numbers written on it in scribbled handwriting.

Yan Ya's heart skipped a beat. She was furious at how long Liu Mingguang had been preparing, that he even knew how much working capital she had left.

He wanted to delay, but didn't know how, and then he heard his daughter say:
"Uncle Liu, this transfer... it can freeze your account like this? No, no."

Sigh—Yan Ya closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. She was still young after all.

"Twelve million yuan went through, and it was transferred out in many parts in less than half an hour. They launder money very quickly; they're professionals. I'll just watch you guys for half an hour. Once they say it's settled and they release the people, I'll turn myself in. Anyway, I've been diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer; I don't have much time left to live."

No solution!

Li Xia shook his head. The situation was indeed unsolvable. Faced with life and his daughter, Yan Ya would definitely choose to give up the money.

Sure enough, Yan Ya closed her eyes and waved her hand, signaling her daughter to start transferring money. During this time, the bank triggered a large transfer notification and even called to inquire.

Yan Ya didn't make any subtle moves to suggest that she was being coerced; instead, she cooperated very proactively.

This was actually an extremely clever move. Old Liu was now determined to exchange his life for his wife and children. If things didn't go smoothly, he might very well take himself and his daughter away with two shots.

He could tell what was important and what was not. Time passed by, and the Bluetooth earpiece on Lao Liu's ear kept flashing as he whispered and kept confirming something with the other end.

His tone was humble, with a hint of pleading:
"The transfer has already been completed. Could you... could you release my wife and son first?"

You can put my son out first, that's fine too.
"Then let me hear the sound?"

Li Xia felt heartbroken listening to this, while Yan Ya kept sighing and glancing at her daughter. Thankfully, her daughter wasn't so useless.

No one knew what sound came from the earphone, but Old Liu let out a long "sigh" and kept wiping away his tears.

For a moment, it was hard to tell whether he was pitiful or hateful.

Suddenly, Lao Liu froze, his gaze turning towards Li Xia.

A sudden, ominous premonition rose in Li Xia's heart, just as he heard Old Liu suddenly ask:

"Old Yan, is this young man surnamed Li?"

Yan Ya was taken aback, her gaze involuntarily turning towards him: "Why are you asking this? Let me tell you, Lao Liu, this is between us, it has nothing to do with this young man—"

That's it.

Amidst everyone's horrified gazes, Old Liu slowly shifted his gaze to Li Xia:

I'm sorry.

A strong sense of crisis suddenly rose in Li Xia's heart. In an instant, the world around him seemed to become extremely friendly, and a mysterious feeling surged up.

He had a sudden inspiration and immediately realized that this was his innate skill being activated in the blink of an eye.

With a thought, an exquisite green treasure chest appeared in his palm.

open!

In an instant, a dazzling light burst forth from the box lid—the radiance of the European Emperor!

It was as if a small sun had risen over the entire shop. Old Liu, who was facing the box, felt his vision go completely white and screamed in terror.

In a panic, he simply raised the gun in his hand and pulled the trigger haphazardly.

"boom!"

Smoke billowed everywhere, and Yan Yi's screams were mixed with a sound like a whale sucking water, as power surged through his body in an instant!

Focus on breathing!
Two cracks appeared on the 'Kara' terrazzo floor, and the five-meter distance flashed by in an instant.

Old Liu felt a tremendous force strike him, and the gun in his hand vanished.

When the light faded, Yan Ya and Yan Yi, who were constantly blinking their tears, were shocked to find that the situation in the scene had suddenly changed.

Old Liu sat on the ground trembling, while Li Xia, with a gloomy expression, held the crudely made gun in one hand and Old Liu's earpiece in the other.

I put it directly to my ear.

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)