The pretty little follower gets targeted by the crazy guys at the elite academy

The four people each occupied a separate area, like five isolated islands that were not connected to each other.

A heavy silence hung in the air, along with the smell of gunpowder that seemed ready to explode at any moment.

Lu Ran was the first to break the silence. He kicked over the coffee table in front of him, the sound of shattering glass particularly jarring in the empty office.

"Damn it! Say something! You're just going to let that bastard Zhou Si take them away like that?!"

The other four: "..."

A surge of anger welled up inside Lu Ran: "Damn it! I'm going to check Zhou Si's flight path right now!"

He turned to leave.

"stop."

Lu Xingzhou stood by the window, his back to everyone, his voice neither hurried nor slow, yet carrying an undeniable sense of pressure:

"What's your hurry?"

"Not in a hurry?!"

Lu Ran rushed up to him:

"That's Li Ruo! The person I've been waiting for for five years! Now she's been kidnapped by Zhou Si, and you're telling me you're not worried?!"

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at him, his peach blossom eyes devoid of any emotion:

"If you rush out now, where will you chase after them? Do you even know where Zhou Si took them?"

Lu Ran turned around, his eyes fierce: "Then what do you suggest we do?!"

Lu Ran was stumped by the question.

Lu Xingzhou continued, "He has five islands, seventeen properties, and twelve strongholds. Are you going to search them one by one? When will you find them?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" Lu Ran slammed his fist against the wall. "Are we just going to wait like this?!"

"wait?"

Lu Xingzhou's lips curled slightly, a smile as cold as ice:

"I never wait for anyone."

He took a miniature USB drive from his inside suit pocket and placed it on the table.

"This is a detailed list of all of Zhou Si's assets."

"The specific coordinates of the five islands, the house numbers of the seventeen properties, and the latitude and longitude of the twelve outposts."

"Including the IP addresses of all his calls in the last three months, the recipients of all his transfers, and the flight paths of all his flights."

All four people's eyes fell on the USB drive at the same time.

Lu Ran's eyes widened: "You...when did you get this?"

Lu Xingzhou said calmly, "I started investigating him the moment he left the capital."

"Five hours is enough for me to utilize the full resources of an intelligence network."

Pei Qingrang adjusted his glasses, his voice still cold and clear:

"So you already have a goal?"

Lu Xingzhou glanced at him: "Do you think I'd tell you?"

The air froze for a second.

Pei Qingrang's fingers tightened slightly, but his face remained expressionless.

"You want to keep it all for yourself?"

"To keep it all for yourself?"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled softly, a smile that was both elegant and dangerous:

"I just feel that you guys... aren't very trustworthy."

He picked up the USB drive and put it in his pocket:

Information sharing? Sure.

"But that will have to wait until I bring her back and completely possess her."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door.

"stop!"

Lu Ran rushed forward to stop him:

"You think you can handle Zhou Si by yourself? He has three hundred armed bodyguards on that island. How are you going to snatch him away?!"

Lu Xingzhou stopped and looked back at him.

A hint of amusement lingered in those peach blossom eyes:

Do you think I'd force my way in?

"That's the behavior of a brute."

He paused, the curve of his lips deepening:

"I have plenty of ways to make Zhou Si send the person out himself."

Lu Ran was stunned: "What method?"

Lu Xingzhou did not answer.

He glanced at the other four people, his eyes carrying a meaningful look:

Good luck, everyone.

"I'll tell you when I find her."

"As for when..."

He smiled, a smile that sent chills down your spine: "Depends on my mood."

The door closed behind him.

The office fell silent again.

Lu Ran stood still, clenching his fists.

"Oh shit!"

He cursed and turned to look at Pei Qingrang:

"You just let him leave like that?!"

Pei Qingrang adjusted his glasses, his tone remaining indifferent:

"What else? Stop him? Snatch his USB drive?"

"Do you think you can beat him?"

Lu Ran remained silent.

Pei Qingrang is right. Lu Xingzhou is a smiling tiger. He may appear gentle and refined on the surface, but he is more ruthless than anyone else behind the scenes.

The information on his USB drive is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

He must be hiding the real key clue somewhere else.

"Then what's your solution?" Lu Ran asked.

Pei Qingrang paused for two seconds, then said, "Follow him."

Lu Ran was stunned for a moment: "What?"

"Once he gets a clue, he'll definitely go find the person immediately."

As he spoke, Pei Qingrang picked up his phone, opened it, and quickly swiped his fingers:

"Zhou Si's private jet took off from the capital last night. The route was encrypted and impossible to track. But he owns five islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. Three of them were purchased publicly, and two were acquired secretly."

Lu Ran: "Damn it!! You guys are all freaks! How did you all investigate Zhou Si so thoroughly?!"

Pei Qingrang ignored his words, raised her eyes, and a shrewd calculation flashed in them:

"He definitely won't go to the three that are publicly known. As for the two that are kept secret..."

"Do you know which two they are?" Guo Yiling interrupted him.

Pei Qingrang looked at him, a slight, ambiguous smile playing on his lips:

"have no idea."

"have no idea?"

Guo Yiling smiled meaningfully: "But guess which one he'll be in?"

Pei Qingrang remained silent.

Guo Yiling's words were a test for him.

To probe the intelligence he possessed, to find out if there were any secret deals between him and Zhou Si, to test him...

Pei Qingrang adjusted his glasses, his voice still cold: "What I know is no more than what Principal Guo knows."

"Yeah?"

Guo Yiling's smile deepened:

"But I heard that Professor Pei bought an island in the Pacific Ocean last year."

"It's only thirty nautical miles from Zhou Si's secret island."

The air froze instantly.

Lu Ran and Jiang Wu both looked at Pei Qingrang.

Pei Qingrang's expression remained unchanged; he simply adjusted his glasses.

"Principal Guo is certainly well-informed. But that island is for my research."

"Research what?" Lu Ran sneered, "Research how to steal people?"

Pei Qingrang looked at him, his eyes indifferent: "Lu Ran, you'd better think before you speak."

"What? You want to fight?"

Lu Ran stood up, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "I've had my eye on you for a long time!"

Guo Yiling stood up and stood between the two:

"Enough! Now is not the time to argue!"

Lu Ran glared angrily at Pei Qingrang: "You really bought an island in the Pacific Ocean?"

Pei Qingrang paused for a second, then said, "Yes."

"But that was bought last year, and it has nothing to do with Zhou Si's island."

"Irrelevant?" Lu Ran chuckled lightly. "Thirty nautical miles, you call that irrelevant?"

Pei Qingrang pushed up his glasses, the glare from the lenses obscuring his eyes:

"Since you're so concerned about my island with Zhou Si, why don't you go and take a look for yourself?"

Lu Ran's expression stiffened for a moment.

Pei Qingrang was turning the tables on him.

If he really went, wouldn't that be exactly what Pei Qingrang wanted, making him a pawn for him to test whether Li Ruo was there on Zhou Si Island?

He acted rashly, not stupidly!

But Lu Ran was willing to take this gamble just to find Li Ruo:

"Okay! I'll go tomorrow."

Guo Yiling was stunned: "You're really going?"

Lu Ran ignored him and only looked at Pei Qingrang:

"However, Professor Pei, if I go there and find that Ruoruo isn't on the island..."

He paused, then said casually, "Your research funding might be in trouble."

Pei Qingrang's eyes turned cold: "Are you threatening me?"

"No."

Lu Ran straightened his cuffs, grinning nonchalantly.

"I'm just reminding you. After all, we have the same goal now."

"Find her."

"As for what happens after it's found..."

He paused, then glanced at the crowd:

"Each relies on their own abilities."

These words changed the expressions of everyone present.

Each relies on their own abilities.

In other words, once Li Ruo is found, whoever snatches her gets to keep her.

Guo Yiling frowned: "Lu Ran, this will only cause us to fight amongst ourselves."

"Internal strife?"

Lu Ran looked at him, a hint of mockery in his eyes:

"Principal Guo, have you been principal for so long that you've forgotten who we are?"

Guo Yiling remained silent.

Of course he knew who they were.

A madman, a paranoid, a monster with an insatiable possessiveness.

For Li Ruo, they are willing to destroy everything, including each other.

Lu Ran's smile was both wild and roguish:

"I refuse to believe that even if I turn those dozen or so islands upside down, I still won't be able to find Li Ruo's whereabouts."

Pei Qingrang's eyes darkened for a moment.

Guo Yiling sighed:

"Your mutual suspicion and probing will only allow Zhou Si to reap the benefits."

He paused for a moment, then said, "How about we cooperate?"

"cooperate?"

All three people looked at him at the same time.

Guo Yiling: "We shared intelligence, jointly formulated a plan, and after finding her..."

"What should we do after we find her?"

Lu Ran interrupted him: "Four people share? One week each?"

Guo Yiling choked.

Lu Ran sneered:

"Principal Guo, are you genuinely ignorant or just pretending?"

"If Li Ruo isn't a cake, she can't be divided."

She can only belong to one person.

Guo Yiling remained silent.

He knew Lu Ran was right.

They are all madmen, and a madman's love is always exclusive.

shared?

That was the greatest insult to them.

"so what?"

Pei Qingrang's voice rang out, still cold and clear: "What do we do now?"

No one answered.

Four people, four pairs of eyes, four thoughts, all spinning wildly.

What should I do?

Of course, we need to find her.

But what happens after you find it?

How can I guarantee that I'll be able to snag one?

How can I guarantee that someone else won't snatch it away?

How could this be...

In the corner, Jiang Wu remained silent, simply huddled in the shadows, clutching the painting.

Those amber eyes watched the three people silently, observing their probing, scheming, and wariness of one another.

Then he gave a chilling, faint smile.

"You guys are really interesting."

"They both clearly want to have their older sister all to themselves, but they still pretend to cooperate."

The three people looked at him.

Jiang Wu tilted her head, smiling innocently:

"I won't cooperate with you. I'll find my sister myself. And after I find her..."

He paused, then his smile deepened:

"I'll take her with me."

"Go to a place you'll never find."

The three people opposite fell silent.

They looked at Jiang Wu, at his pale face, his amber eyes, and his innocent yet manic laugh.

No one doubted his words; after all, this madman was capable of anything.

Lu Ran was the first to speak, his voice a little hoarse: "Do you know where Zhou Si's island is?"

Jiang Wu blinked: "I don't know."

"Then how will you find it?"

"I know how to find it," Jiang Wu said matter-of-factly. "I'll use my methods."

"What method?"

Jiang Wu did not answer.

He simply looked down at Li Ruo in the painting and said softly:

"Sister, wait for me."

"I'll be there to pick you up soon."

The voice was as gentle as if it were soothing a sleeping child.

But to the other three, it was like a thorn in their side, a thorn that pierced their hearts, reminding them:

Jiang Wu is the most dangerous one.

He doesn't fight, grab, argue, or make a fuss, but he will do anything to achieve his goals.

Including one's own life.

Silence fell over the office again.

The night outside the window was very dark.

No one knows where Li Ruo is right now, and no one knows what will happen tomorrow.

But they all knew that a war without gunfire had already begun.