No one noticed what happened in the fire escape.
The banquet hall had turned into utter chaos.
First, Su Qingwen left in a hurry, then Shi Jing’an screamed herself hoarse, and the guests were left dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
Once they regained their senses, their instincts drove them to rush outside.
Though no one knew exactly what had happened, the fact that both newlyweds had left one after the other, and that Old Master Su hadn’t even shown his face, made it clear to the guests that this was no simple matter.
The panicked crowd began to surge outward.
People lurking within the crowd exchanged a knowing glance, then pulled a small pistol from their waist and fired a shot at the ceiling.
The deafening gunshot echoed through the hall.
The crowd froze for a moment, then became even more frenzied as they pushed toward the exit.
The encirclement had not yet formed, and the panicked guests broke through, pouring out like a flood.
The scene was nearly out of control.
Seeing that intimidation wasn’t working, the one who fired the first shot leaped onto the stage, tossed aside the priest who was still frozen in place praying, and grabbed the microphone.
“Nobody move down there.”
The echo of the sound system reverberated through the hall, the booming sound waves making the crystal chandelier on the ceiling sway violently.
But even this threat had little effect, and people continued to squeeze toward the exits.
Half the people had already fled, and seeing this, the person on stage made a gesture.
Immediately, several gunshots rang out from below.
“Get down with your hands over your head! Anyone who tries to run won’t be spared!”
Someone was shot and fell to the ground, then was trampled by the terrified crowd, blood gushing everywhere.
The crazed crowd finally fell silent.
Seeing someone collapse beside them, no one dared to run anymore.
The person on stage nodded with satisfaction, and those holding guns quickly encircled the remaining people.
A burly man jumped in and searched the crowd several times, then shook his head at the stage.
The person they were looking for wasn’t there.
Su Qingwen’s sudden escape and Shi Jing’an’s outburst had completely disrupted everyone’s plans.
Qin Shou and Su Yu were in a room separated by just one wall, watching the live feed of the hall on the monitor in front of them.
Su Yu was stunned by the bloody scene, his first reaction to pull out his phone and call the police.
Qin Shou stopped him, “No need. They’re already here.”
Su Yu looked at him in confusion.
Qin Shou shook his head, pulled out a compact communicator, and said, “The plan’s changed. You go in and rescue the hostages first.”
The remaining three looked at him silently.
Qin Shou turned back.
Cui Ming Bo said, “Director Qin, aren’t you going to explain?”
Qin Shou spread his hands, “Just cooperating with the police on an operation, that’s all. But as you can see, things have changed.”
Su Xiaoyu looked like he wanted to say something but held back.
Qin Shou’s attitude was too strange, and Su Yu couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
Qin Shou seemed completely unaware, quickly editing a few messages and sending them out.
The situation in the hall was grim.
Blue Sea was one of the top hotels in Jingcheng, and the Su Family had gone all out, booking the entire hotel for the wedding.
At this moment, aside from the staff, everyone in the hotel was a guest invited by the Su Family.
There were about five or six hundred people attending the banquet.
Many had escaped in the chaos, but those who hadn’t managed to get out were now under the kidnappers’ control—still more than a hundred people.
The hall was in disarray.
The remaining guests were herded into a corner, surrounded by a dozen armed kidnappers with the hostages in the middle.
The ringleader looked especially agitated, hung up the phone with a scowl, and swept his fierce eyes over the silent crowd.
“Who is Xiahou Bing?”
The crowd stirred for a moment, but no one dared to step forward.
“Hand her over. Anyone who tries to hide her will end up like this.”
The leader, impatient, fired a shot at the person on the edge of the group.
A scream erupted from the crowd.
Some of the braver women couldn’t help but cry.
The men on the outside instinctively pushed the crying women further inside.
“Xiahou Bing… already ran out.”
Someone couldn’t help but speak up.
The man cursed under his breath and hurried to the other side.
The tightly packed crowd let out a sigh of relief.
Those who knew first aid quickly tore their clothes to bandage and stop the bleeding of the wounded.
The police had already surrounded the entire Blue Sea from the outside, the surrounding crowds evacuated, and only armed officers stood guard, ready for action.
The squad leader in charge was visibly anxious.
They had received intelligence long ago that this group planned to use the Su Family wedding as a cover to kidnap Chief Xia’s daughter.
Chief Xia had been tracking a foreign criminal gang in Yun Province, and this group had fled from the Yun Province border all the way to Jingcheng, disappearing once they reached the city.
Since ancient times, the darkness beneath the lamp has always been the most effective hiding place.
In the shadow of the imperial city, with all sorts of forces mingling, it wasn’t until recently that they discovered this group was connected to the Qinglong Hall and had committed several more crimes while hiding in Jingcheng.
This time, the gang was taking desperate measures to kidnap Chief Xia’s daughter, partly for revenge, but also because they were cornered and ready to take some big shots hostage to negotiate with the police.
According to the police’s original plan, a female officer would disguise herself as Miss Xia as bait, while the rest would lie in wait among the guests.
The police had long since tracked the gang’s movements.
Once everyone was in place, they would move in for the arrest.
But no one expected trouble to break out in the Su Family first.
Amid the chaos, though most people had been evacuated, some still fell into the kidnappers’ hands.
The urgent task now was to rescue the hostages.
The Su Family’s guests were all wealthy and powerful.
If anything happened to them here, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Cui Ming Bo arranged for Luo Xiaoman to be sent back to the Luo Family.
At this point, it was clearly safer for her to stay at the Luo Family estate.
Su Yu was supposed to go too, but he insisted on staying.
He had a nagging feeling that told him not to leave, to stay behind.
Su Yu trusted his instincts.
With Luo Xiaoman gone, only three men remained.
Qin Shou and Su Yu squeezed together on a single armchair, while Cui Ming Bo sat across from them, looking like he had a toothache.
“Alright, what exactly are you trying to do?”
Qin Shou paused, glanced at the monitor with a half-smile, and said, “Naturally, I’m assisting the police in their case.”
Cui Ming Bo clicked his tongue, “You? That kind?”
“Don’t kid me. What are you really up to?”
Seeing he couldn’t hide it any longer, Qin Shou came clean.
“One of Qin Rui’s accomplices is among that group. My goals happen to align with the police, so we’re working together.”
Su Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
He turned to look at Qin Shou.
Qin Shou turned his head and smiled gently at him.
Cui Ming Bo clutched his cheek, feeling his toothache worsen.
In short, Qin Shou was cooperating with the police.
His people had already uncovered a lot of clues about the gang, and had tipped off the police.
By now, another team should have already reached the gang’s hideout.
Although there had been a small mishap here, as long as the hideout was taken out, the gang would be nothing more than autumn grasshoppers—unable to last long.
Su Qingwen left the hall and drove straight to the airport.
He had his documents on him, his ticket was already bought, and everything was ready for him in Country A.
As soon as he left the country, none of this would have anything to do with him.
This gang dealt in life-or-death business.
Out of caution, he’d only participated twice before, and this time he’d just pulled off a big score.
He hadn’t even had time to move the goods before things went wrong.
Thinking about the goods left at home, Su Qingwen felt a pang of regret.
If he’d known things would end up like this, he would’ve done a few bigger deals sooner.
His car sped down the highway as he quickly calculated what assets he could take with him.
He couldn’t care less about the Su Family anymore.
As long as he could escape, he’d live to fight another day.
He gave no thought at all to Shi Jing’an and her child’s situation.
He reached the airport smoothly. Su Qingwen adjusted his expression in the rearview mirror, waited for his rapid heartbeat to calm, put on his sunglasses, grabbed the suitcase he’d prepared in advance, and walked toward the airport.
Qin Shou leaned his head on Su Yu’s shoulder, idly playing with Su Yu’s fingers, and Su Yu, ever patient, let him be.
After contacting his own men, Cui Ming Bo went to the other side, not wanting to see the two of them flaunting their affection.
He had no desire to watch this pair of lovebirds force-feed him dog food.
At 3:15 in the afternoon, Qin Shou’s phone buzzed.
On the screen were just two words: Success.
Qin Shou smiled with satisfaction and pulled Su Yu up.
“It’s done over there. Let’s go home and leave the rest to the police.”
Su Yu hesitated, glancing at the monitor.
Qin Shou turned his face back and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“Don’t worry. They’ll handle the rest. That ragtag bunch won’t last long.”
Su Yu nodded and took Qin Shou’s hand as they headed home.
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