Boom!
Boom!
Centered on the iron door, the surrounding walls vibrated slightly, and cracks appeared in unison.
The wall plaster peeled off with a creaking sound, followed by a loud “boom”!!
The Pakeaij, once an emergency shelter, now converted into a ship’s cargo hold, this iron door, over seventy years old, two and a half meters high, one point seven meters wide, and weighing five hundred catties, now crashed backward, revealing the dark, unlit, cargo-filled hold behind it.
He Zizhang and the four black-suited bodyguards behind him were dumbfounded, hardly believing their eyes.
The cargo hold key, which He Zizhang had just taken from a bodyguard but hadn’t yet handed over, dropped to the ground with a crisp clang.
However, they didn’t notice, just as Zhao Yicheng didn’t notice them.
He coldly retracted his foot, holding Garfield in his arms, stepped over the iron door, and walked inside.
The ship’s cargo hold was about half the size of a football field.
Rows of shelves were packed with goods.
The lights were off, making it extremely dark, with only some faint, pale light allowing one to vaguely discern the outlines of the cargo.
If an ordinary person suddenly entered this dark ship’s hold from a bright environment, their eyes would surely feel uncomfortable from the rapid light-dark transition.
But Zhao Yicheng felt no such discomfort; his eyes felt cool, allowing him to see extremely clearly in the darkness.
Normally, Zhao Yicheng would take out the small notebook he’d taken from Xu Yinsheng and research and record it, just as he had previously studied his own superhuman physique.
But now, he looked down at the orange cat cub in his arms, gently stroking her pure-colored fur.
“Garfield, did you find it? If you did, I’ll reward you when we get back.”
Garfield sniffed hard at the air, then sneezed, shaking her cat head vigorously.
“Meow, meow.”
“There’s a scent, but the direction is uncertain?”
Zhao Yicheng murmured, seemingly lost in thought, standing woodenly in place, like a motionless statue.
“Let me think, let me think.”
“A way, a way.”
He Zizhang and his group, who had caught up, only saw Zhao Yicheng lowering his head and talking to the orange cat.
No, more accurately, Zhao Yicheng was muttering to himself as if possessed.
He Zizhang had already picked up the walkie-talkie to notify the medical team to rush over.
The loli’s matter was minor; his friend’s life was paramount.
He truly didn’t understand why he cared so much about a female slave.
After notifying, He Zizhang winked at the bodyguard beside him, roughly meaning, You four, go! Knock him out!
The four bodyguards, receiving the order, prepared to approach Zhao Yicheng silently.
But just as they took their first step, they saw Zhao Yicheng raise his left hand.
He seemed to be holding a switch, and his thumb pressed down.
“Meow~”
A faint, restrained female voice echoed in the silent ship’s hold.
Accompanying it, Zhao Yicheng, holding the orange cat, ran quickly.
The sound came from the southwest.
He Zizhang seemed to realize something, picked up the walkie-talkie, and quickly shouted,”Block all ventilation ducts! Block all ventilation ducts! Repeat, block all ventilation ducts!!”
Under Chen Kedi’s skilled lock-picking, the ventilation duct window was successfully pried open.
He then removed the duct window.
Xu Yinsheng went in first, Chen Kedi followed, and then the ventilation window was reinstalled.
The two hid five or six meters inside the ventilation duct.
Further inside was a cross-junction. Xu Yinsheng wanted to continue crawling, but Chen Kedi pulled her back.
He shook his head, signaling Xu Yinsheng to stop.
They didn’t continue further inside.
Firstly, this position was sufficient; no one would notice them without a flashlight, and even if someone shone a flashlight, they could hide in the blind spots of the cross-junction.
Secondly, compared to the corridor with cameras, the ventilation duct without cameras was clearly safer, and the winding, eighty-turn passages inside the ventilation duct were also difficult to navigate; one could easily get lost.
If a mouse or rat suddenly popped out in the darkness, Chen Kedi wouldn’t mind, but he was worried that Xu Yinsheng, who had grown up in luxury behind him, would be startled and cry out, which would be troublesome.
Xu Yinsheng slumped onto the slightly dusty ventilation duct.
She didn’t feel uncomfortable in the narrow interior of the duct; instead, a strange sense of familiarity and closeness inexplicably arose in her heart.
Hmm… that was the “familiarity” she had gained from being locked in a cat cage by Zhao Yicheng initially.
This further solidified Xu Yinsheng’s desire to escape!
Escape!
Escape at all costs!
Desperate to escape!
She absolutely, absolutely couldn’t be caught again!
She wanted to be human, not a cat!
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
She opened her mouth, about to speak, but saw Chen Kedi turn his head and shush her.
Xu Yinsheng quickly covered her mouth with both hands, nodding in response.
Seeing this, Chen Kedi turned back with a sigh of relief, then pressed his ear to the ventilation duct wall, listening intently.
“Meow~”
A sudden whimper came from behind them.
Chen Kedi spun around, hand on his waist-holstered gun.
Xu Yinsheng, who had been quietly sitting on the ground, was now slumped, her hands tearing at the collar on her neck, her delicate body convulsing.
A strange current spread from her neck into Xu Yinsheng’s body.
She trembled all over, curling up in pain, whimpering.
It was only for a moment.
Before Xu Yinsheng could fully cry out, the current from the collar came and went quickly, already stopping.
“Damn it.”
Chen Kedi cursed under his breath but didn’t abandon Xu Yinsheng.
Instead, he pulled her hand, heading deeper into the ventilation duct.
He had a map of the ducts.
Even if they were pursued, he could use the complex, winding passages to shake them off.
Click.
A silver-white iron barrier dropped, dividing the ventilation passage and cutting off Chen Kedi and Xu Yinsheng’s last escape route.
Xu Yinsheng’s consciousness seemed to recover from the electric shock.
She shook her small head groggily, then suddenly looked back, meeting a pair of dark, ink-like eyes at the window.
They were Zhao Yicheng’s eyes, filled with madness and obsession, staring intently at Xu Yinsheng, especially the small hand Chen Kedi was holding.
He sneered repeatedly, as if he wanted to cut it off.
Xu Yinsheng shuddered in fear.
She scrambled forward, using both hands and feet.
If she were caught again, she’d likely be used until she died.
But before she could go a few steps, she bumped into a wall of flesh.
She looked up and saw Chen Kedi whisper, “No way out.”
Xu Yinsheng froze.
The next moment, she lunged at Chen Kedi’s right hand, the one holding the gun, trying to snatch it.
The narrow ventilation duct, a moment of distraction, plus Xu Yinsheng’s unexpected move—her small hand actually grabbed the gun grip, attempting to seize control.
A cold glint flashed in Chen Kedi’s eyes.
He wasn’t one to hesitate.
His index finger moved to the trigger.
The next second, a nervous, frightened female voice sounded in his ear, and the force of her snatching suddenly weakened.
“Kidnap me.”
Chen Kedi’s eyes instantly sharpened.
He grabbed Xu Yinsheng, pressing the cold muzzle of the gun against the back of the silver-haired loli’s head.
He sneered at the man in the ventilation duct window, full of menace.
“Step back, or she dies!”