The He family’s mansion.

In the reception hall, He Puzhu closed his eyes, listening intently.

When the footsteps approached, he raised the baseball bat and smashed the glass.

At the moment Liu, the butler, was about to enter, he stopped in his tracks, clutching his neck.

“Did I hurt that filthy old lady by playing around?” He Puzhu sarcastically muttered.

He paused when he saw the blood seeping through the butler’s fingers as he held his neck, startled. “Didn’t someone say the old lady had returned just now, but I…?”

He intended to hurt the filthy old lady, not the family’s old servant.

This arrogant young master had bipolar disorder, but his behavior was truly unbearable.

Liu, the butler, took out a handkerchief to wipe away the blood but didn’t speak and left.

Luckily, the elderly master, who had just undergone kidney dialysis, would be unconscious for the night and wouldn’t wake up soon.

But things at home were already chaotic.

How could the young mistress have a car accident while going to pay respects?

Liu Bo was such an honest kid, what was he up to?

Had the young mistress really been in an accident, or was Liu Bo colluding with the kidnappers?

What should he do now?

“Liu Bo?” A woman dressed in a gray qipao, wearing black-framed glasses, and with delicate makeup blocked his path.

Liu looked up and immediately stood still. “Second Madam.”

Second Madam Sun Linda, despite having personally attended to the old lady until her passing, was still not accepted by the elderly master.

For the first ten years, she wasn’t allowed to sit at the family’s banquets, and even now, with a son in his twenties, she was still a scholar with a master’s in classics, but the elderly master still didn’t permit her into his bedroom.

She stood calmly in the doorway. “I heard my father is ill, and I personally prepared ginseng soup. You should bring it to him.”

She, like everyone else, was kept in the dark, but He Mo had already confided the kidnapping case to her.

The butler said it wasn’t necessary and entered the room.

He Mo was slouched on the sofa, sighing deeply. Upon seeing the butler enter, he asked, “How’s my older brother?”

The butler had just returned from the hospital after taking care of the elderly master He Zhang. “He’s fine.”

He Mo’s voice trembled as if he was about to cry. “Sixteen billion… It’s too much.”

The kidnappers had called with their ransom demand—sixteen billion. It was precisely the amount in the He family’s gold reserve.

They wouldn’t allow for any bargaining, no new bills, and no serial numbers.

They gave only three days to raise the funds, or they would start cutting off limbs.

The butler quickly asked, “You agreed, didn’t you?”

He Mo raised his hands in mock surrender. “Give me the board chairman’s authorization and seal, and I’ll sign the check.”

He was utterly dispirited, yet still managed to mock the butler. “I told the kidnappers the second family has no authority. We have to wait for the eldest grandson’s wife, Su Linlang, to make a decision.”

Noticing the butler’s pale expression, he froze. “Su Linlang should be back by now. Where is she?”

…

Meanwhile, Su Linlang was handling things on her side.

The salty sea breeze mixed with the deepening night, with the humid and hot mist trapping the sea level. In the distance, the sound of construction echoed.

It was a perfect night for killing and smuggling.

Axia looked at Su Linlang, then at the unconscious chubby man on the floor, a bit dazed. She softly called, “Sister?”

Su Linlang was already opening the safe, sewing cash into the other’s underwear.

She looked up, “Hmm?”

“I used to think Sun Jiaqi was a better match for Young Master He, but now I think you’re even better,” Ah Gou said, randomly, “Even though you’re a ‘filthy old lady,’ you’re no worse than a Hong Kong beauty queen.”

Su Linlang was well aware that the whole of Hong Kong thought she wasn’t worthy of He Puting.

She sewed nearly 100,000 HKD into her underwear, gestured for her to wear it, and then sewed another compartment into a green school bag with another 100,000 HKD inside.

She said, “Take the money and go back to school. If your family stops you from studying, come back to Hong Kong and find me. I’ll support you.”

As a child, Axia was always homesick. She pulled out a small metal box from under the bed and put it into her bag. “This is my mother’s ashes.”

The girl shyly sniffed and added, “I’m going to take her home.”

Su Linlang looked at the girl and softly said, “You’re a good child.”

Axia’s mother, the woman who had come to Hong Kong illegally, must have dreamt of a better life for her child when she arrived.

But now, she had turned into a handful of ashes, stored in a cheap tin box.

…

While Su Linlang and Axia were talking, the sound of a motorboat reached them. Axia said, “They’re here.”

She clarified, “It’s the kidnappers. They’re on an eight-man speedboat, so the engine’s louder.”

Su Linlang quickly tied up the threads on the green bag, stuffed a gun inside, and turned to ask, “Who’s the small leader? What’s his name?”

On the speedboat that came through the fog, four people appeared. They all had slim waists and short legs, with guns at their sides.

Axia carefully looked at them, trembling. “The third one is the small leader. His name is Ah Shuai. He’s excellent with a gun.”

Though they were kidnappers, the beautiful older sister didn’t seem afraid. She hung the bag, containing money and her mother’s ashes, around Axia’s neck. She wiped the girl’s forehead, telling her to be careful. Then, with calm movements, she loosened each button, and when the first kidnapper stepped onto the boat, she swiftly removed her expensive silk blouse.

Axia gasped. The beautiful sister, now half-naked, rushed out. “No, help!”

This was a classic beauty trap.

Two of the kidnappers couldn’t resist the temptation of a young mistress, and as they protected the rushing beauty, they looked back to ask for permission from their leader.

He didn’t feel the pain at first, only a cold wind brushing his leg. He fell limp.

He reached for his gun but found his waist empty.

With a scream, the boat’s lights illuminated the woman’s swan-like neck and jade-like chest, wrapped in expensive lingerie…

And then, before the men could react, a glint of silver flashed. The now silent motorboat driver slumped against the wheel with a crash.

The other two combat-ready kidnappers were still holding back. Small leader Ah Shuai reached for his gun, but the knife was already pressed against his throat.

Gurgling noises came from the water as two guns dropped into the sea.

The woman’s hair brushed across Ah Shuai’s face, and when he turned around, her eyes were fiercer than the knife’s gleam.

Su Linlang could smell the milky scent of the small leader, Ah Shuai, and remarked, “Ah Shuai, did you just have a son? Give me some face. I’m a peaceful person. Let’s not make this difficult for me. Now have your little brother tie up the other two.”

Ah Shuai, indeed, had recently fathered a son. Once a person has children, they fear death more.

He raised his hand and asked, “Where’s Ah Gui?”

“Just like them,” Su Linlang replied. “I cut his hamstrings. He won’t be able to run for a while. He’ll need to rest for six months before he can walk again.”

Just then, the sound of the boat’s engine stopped, and the driver, who had lost his leg, raised his gun in a pool of blood.

Ah Shuai barely moved before Su Linlang’s foot flew forward. The bullet shot out, striking the boat’s side and lighting up the flickering lamp.

“Do you want me dead?” Ah Shuai scolded his subordinates. “Don’t move!”

Now, the situation was like this: four kidnappers had come. Two had their tendons sliced by Su Linlang, and the remaining two—one a small-haired guy and the other Ah Shuai—were still good, though their guns had been taken.

Su Linlang pressed the knife against Ah Shuai’s throat, commanding him, “Tell your little brother to tie up the other two.”

The small-haired guy, stubborn as he was, refused to comply, so Ah Shuai ordered him, “Hurry up and tie them up!”

The small-haired man complied, and while tying up the others, Su Linlang kicked over the gas barrel.

Once the small-haired guy finished tying them up and threw them into the convenience store, Su Linlang gestured for him to board the boat, then called Axia to throw her a dirty black T-shirt from Ah Gui.

Only then did she nod at Axia on the shore, wink, and, without wasting a second, left quickly on the boat.

Living at the very bottom of a city rife with crime, today was the first time Ah Xia had seen a woman who could be so confident, so composed, even when only wearing a bra. What’s more, this woman made the men not only lose their lustful desires but also feel fear and respect for her, lowering their heads, almost worshipping her.

Inside her clothes, in her bag, there was nothing but money, money that her sister had sewn into it for her.

As she watched her sister leave on the speedboat, she turned her gaze to the store where several kidnappers were tied up. The irony was that one of them had bullied her in the past. Now, he kept glancing at her, silently begging for her help, while another, whose hands were tied behind his back, was trying to reach a knife, smiling obsequiously, hoping to get her to untie him.

Ah Xia touched the gun in her bag, opened her hand, and found a ZIPPO lighter—one that her sister had given her. She flicked it on and gently placed it next to the flowing gasoline drum.

The flame quickly ignited, casting a glow against her slender silhouette as she turned and walked away.

From running away to setting the fire, it was all taught to her by Su Linlang. The old Ah Xia would never have dared to do such a thing.

Because she had been numb, weak, and didn’t know how to resist.

But after seeing Su Linlang’s ruthlessness and cruelty, she had gained the courage.

At first, she walked slowly, but as the fire behind her grew larger, suddenly there was a loud explosion, and the entire store was engulfed in flames. She quickly started running.

---

At this moment, Su Linlang, with two kidnappers she had subdued, was speeding across the sea in a speedboat.

She knew that the two kidnappers had taken her in the wrong direction and were still looking for an opportunity to try to turn the tables and kill her.

It was also hard for her to keep control over two ruthless criminals for long.

However, she had risen from the lowest ranks to become a general, which was no small feat. She had her own ways.

With a military knife in one hand and a gun in the other, she sat confidently at the rear of the boat. Her T-shirt, belonging to Ah Gui, fluttered in the wind, filling her nostrils with the smell of sweat and something foul. She shouted, “Silly guys, I have seven hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. It’s quick money. Whoever takes me the right way gets it.”

Ah Shu glanced back at the man steering the boat, lit a cigarette, and gave her an uninterested look.

Su Linlang continued, “Your gang leader, Brother Ah Qiang, Zhang Huaqiang, promised everyone that after the kidnapping, each person would get fifty million, right? But what you probably don’t know is that after the job was done, he planned to take everyone to Thailand to live the good life. However, he and the second-in-command, Brother Ah Rong, secretly moved their families to London. I’m sure you didn’t know that.”

Ah Shu was stunned, and the man steering the boat, Xiao Huangmao, also turned around in shock.

Brother Ah Qiang, Zhang Huaqiang, was infamous for his kidnapping gang, and he was the mastermind behind this particular kidnapping.

Brother Ah Rong, whose full name was Ye Qingrong, was the second-in-command and a trusted ally of Zhang Huaqiang.

It was common practice for leaders of such gangs to move their families before a big heist.

And of course, low-level thugs like Ah Shu had no idea what the higher-ups were up to.

Su Linlang was lying, making up a story, but a woman who could kill without hesitation was far more terrifying to men than any other. Adding to that her rough memory of the case, the half-truths she wove were enough to intimidate them.

Ah Shu took a drag from his cigarette. “Mrs. He, you worry too much. We just want to take you to find the hostages.”

But his heart was racing with unease. He wondered if the leader had secretly planned to take his trusted men and run off with all the money after the kidnapping, leaving the rest of them behind with nothing.

If that was the case, what would happen to him? He had just had a son and needed money badly. Should he leave himself an escape route?

Suddenly, the engine stopped. By the time Ah Shu realized something was wrong, Su Linlang had already drawn her knife. With a flash of cold light, she shouted, “Put it down!”

It was Xiao Huangmao, who had pulled out a sharp knife from the driver’s seat and was preparing to stab Ah Shu.

Gangs were like a pyramid—those at the top, like the leaders, earned the most from kidnappings, while those at the bottom got the least. The low-level thugs earned little but had a thirst for quick money, which made them more likely to betray their own.

At this moment, Ah Shu was still hesitating about whether or not to take Su Linlang’s offer of seventy thousand in quick money. His subordinate, Xiao Huangmao, had already turned against him, ready to kill him.

The fog thickened as the boat engine idled, spinning in the sea. Su Linlang pointed her knife at Xiao Huangmao. “I have a million. You get seventy percent, he gets thirty percent. You’ll see the money right away. My only condition is that you two help me rescue the hostages, alive!”

Xiao Huangmao was the lowest of the low in the kidnapping gang. Even if the He family paid the ransom—sixteen billion—he would only see a few hundred thousand at best.

Now that Su Linlang was offering him three hundred thousand, how could he refuse?

So Ah Shu, still hesitating, nodded enthusiastically, “Alright.”

“Let’s go, and we’ll get the money!” Su Linlang said.

Su Linlang had overlooked one thing: modern mobile phones weren’t as reliable when it came to battery life, and it was already 10 p.m.

When she tried to contact Xu Tianxi, she realized the Black Giant had run out of power and was now a mute giant.

Time was of the essence. The kidnappers could move the hostages at any moment, so speed was her only option.

She guessed Xu Tianxi would be hiding in the mountain bay, so she had Xiao Huangmao search slowly along the way.

These kidnappers didn’t have any sense of justice. The only thing they cared about was money.

As they continued, Ah Shu started to get restless, noticing that the shore was quiet and didn’t look like a wealthy area. He began to grow uneasy.

He kept glancing at Su Linlang and making eye contact with Xiao Huangmao, trying to plot a counterattack. But Xiao Huangmao wasn’t paying attention to him.

Suddenly, a figure flashed on the shore. Su Linlang quickly turned to look.

Ah Shu saw that she was distracted and tried to make his move, but before he could grab the steel pipe, Su Linlang’s sharp military knife was already at his throat.

This woman was impossibly beautiful and had a sharpness that Ah Shu had never seen before.

“I’m all for peace, but don’t force me to hurt you,” she said softly, though the knife gleamed ominously.

“Ah… Ah Sao, is that you?” Xu Tianxi called from the shore, nervously.