Chapter 2: They Caught Them

It was a car! A Jeep, no less!

The speed of a human in free fall, estimated vehicle speed, no wind resistance…

Song Yue quickly calculated in her mind.

The man with the cane saw her standing ahead and sneered, “Little bitch, there’s nowhere left to run. Let’s see how you—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the figure in front of him leaped off the edge.

The men with canes: “!!!!”

—

Inside the truck.

The young man in the passenger seat spoke with his eyes closed, “This area has steep mountains and sharp turns. It’s easy for—”

“BANG!”

Something slammed directly into the windshield.

The driver was so startled that he cursed loudly and instinctively slammed on the brakes.

“Screech!”

A sharp, ear-piercing sound echoed.

The man in the passenger seat opened his eyes. His cold gaze locked onto the unknown object that had landed against the windshield.

A crack had formed in the glass from the impact.

His hand instinctively moved to his waist—toward his gun.

The unknown object slowly lifted its head. A pale face, bright red blood streaming down from the forehead.

“Help… me…”

Zhou Ye turned to look at the man beside him. “Boss… it’s a person!”

Lu Huaishen’s dark eyes deepened. He unfastened his seatbelt and reached for the door handle.

Seeing this, Zhou Ye hurriedly warned, “Boss! Be careful, it could be a trap!”

The moment the words left his mouth—

Lu Huaishen had already opened the door and jumped out.

Zhou Ye: “…”

Since the boss had gotten out, he had no choice but to follow.

Zhou Ye quickly got out of the car, watching as his boss moved to rescue the person while he kept his hand on his waist, eyes scanning the surroundings with caution.

Lu Huaishen stepped onto the tire, extended his long arms, and carefully lifted the injured person down.

Zhou Ye noticed a beam of light shining from above, like a flashlight, and his instincts screamed danger.

“Boss—”

He had only managed to say one word—

Lu Huaishen had already glanced up. Zhou Ye quickly followed up, “There’s someone up there.”

Lu Huaishen acknowledged with a cold hum and withdrew his gaze. “Get in. We’re going to the hospital.”

He walked to the back seat.

“Yes!”

Zhou Ye responded immediately, rushing over to open the door.

The backseat door swung open.

Lu Huaishen carried Song Yue inside.

Zhou Ye shut the door, sprinted to the driver’s seat, started the car, and turned around—heading back to the county town.

They had a general idea of the distance since they had come from there earlier. The road ahead was uncertain, so returning to the county was the safest bet.

The Jeep sped through the winding mountain roads, bouncing along the uneven terrain.

Lu Huaishen gripped the seat in front with one hand while holding the frail woman in his other arm.

The person in his arms was noticeably thin.

His gaze involuntarily fell on her face, which was covered in blood, making her features indistinguishable.

For some reason—

Even though he couldn’t clearly see her face, a strange sense of familiarity nagged at him.

As he withdrew his gaze, his eyes drifted down to her wrist.

Other than a few ligature marks, there was nothing unusual.

Lu Huaishen pressed his lips together, shifting his focus back ahead.

—

Half an hour later.

A military-green Jeep screeched to a halt in front of the county hospital.

Zhou Ye parked the car and quickly jumped out, rushing to open the door.

Lu Huaishen carried Song Yue down. “Go to the Public Security Bureau. Take them to investigate the area.”

Zhou Ye instinctively obeyed. “Yes!”

After answering, a thought struck him—if he left for the police station, would the boss be able to handle things here alone?

“But—”

When he looked up, he realized his boss had already disappeared into the hospital with the woman in his arms.

Shaking his head, Zhou Ye turned around, got into the Jeep, and drove off to the police station.

That woman had jumped from a high place in the dead of night and begged them for help. She must have been in trouble.

After following the boss on missions all over the country for years, Zhou Ye trusted his instincts—

She had most likely escaped from a gang of traffickers.

So…

Might as well hand the local police a solid case.

—

At the hospital.

Lu Huaishen carried Song Yue straight to the doctor’s duty room.

With a kick, he knocked open the half-closed door.

The doctor inside jumped in shock. He was just about to scold the intruder—

But when his eyes met Lu Huaishen’s cold, fierce gaze, a shiver ran down his spine. The reprimand died in his throat.

Without a word, Lu Huaishen placed Song Yue onto the hospital bed.

The doctor immediately noticed the blood covering her face and his pupils contracted. He rushed over to examine her.

Carefully, he parted her messy bangs with his gloved fingers.

The wounds were concentrated near the forehead and scalp, with lacerations and embedded shards of glass.

“Comrade, your girlfriend’s injuries are serious. There’s glass in the wound, and the cuts will need stitches.”

“I can’t handle this alone. I need to call for help. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

The doctor spoke rapidly and dashed out before Lu Huaishen could respond.

Standing beside the hospital bed, Lu Huaishen frowned as he looked at the fragile woman.

The doctor had said she would need stitches. Wouldn’t that wake her up from the pain? After all…

There might not even be anesthesia available here.

As these thoughts lingered, the doctor returned with a tall, thin surgeon.

The surgeon rushed to the bedside, examined the injuries, then turned to Lu Huaishen.

“Comrade, this is your girlfriend? The stitches will leave a scar. You won’t mind, right?”

Lu Huaishen opened his mouth to deny it—

But the words that came out were, “I don’t mind.”

The surgeon’s gaze toward him changed instantly, and he grinned. “Good man.”

“Go pay the fee. I’ll take care of her. The scar won’t be too bad, and even if there is one, her hair will cover it.”

Lu Huaishen pressed his lips together. “Where do I pay?”

The duty doctor stepped forward. “Comrade, follow me.”

Lu Huaishen followed him to the payment counter.

When he returned, the young woman’s face had been wiped clean, and the surgeon was carefully wrapping gauze around her head.

Her face was pale, lips bloodless.

Her delicate features struck Lu Huaishen with a strange sense of familiarity.

He felt like he had seen her somewhere before—

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall where.

The surgeon finished bandaging her, then instructed Lu Huaishen to carry her to a third-floor ward for observation and IV fluids.

Lu Huaishen carried her upstairs to the second ward.

The room had two beds.

No other patients.

The surgeon set up the IV drip.

Once everything was done, he reminded Lu Huaishen to keep an eye on the fluid and call for assistance if needed.

Then he left.

Now, only Lu Huaishen and the unconscious Song Yue remained in the ward.

Lu Huaishen sat down on the empty hospital bed, his gaze fixed on her.

The room was silent.

And for the first time in hours, he felt calm.

Thinking back on everything that had happened, Lu Huaishen felt like he had lost his mind.

He could have simply left after dropping her off or at most paid her medical bill.

Yet, here he was.

And that nagging sense of familiarity—

Where was it coming from?

Lu Huaishen tried to recall, but when he couldn’t, he gave up thinking about it.

He stayed until the IV finished.

Then, he lay down on the other bed and fell asleep.

—

The next morning.

Lu Huaishen woke up and immediately checked if she was awake.

Just as he sat up—

Zhou Ye burst into the room. “Boss! I finally found you!”

Lu Huaishen glanced at the bed next to him and frowned.

Still unconscious?

Casually, he asked, “Did you catch them?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Ye nodded. “It was a whole trafficking den.”

“There were fifteen kidnapped women and children.”

Lu Huaishen stared at the unconscious girl. “Sixteen.”