Chapter 452
Upon further contemplation, Song Xingchen nodded. I knew he didn’t want me taking risks, but given our circumstances, death was certain even if we did nothing. If we missed this opportunity, there would be no other chance.
Song Xingchen dug out a sharp stone from the cliff, indicating for me to begin!
Throwing the lighter upwards to the ground, I watched the gasoline burn, the turquoise flame spreading all the way to the fuel tank. With a thunderous boom, the explosion sent a wave of impact everywhere. We immediately covered our faces with our sleeves.
The explosion wasn’t as exaggerated as those in movies. The fuel tank burst open, but because the truck was parked at the edge of the cliff, the impact of the explosion caused it to slowly tilt till it fell over, rolling down to the valley below.
At this point, I rushed out of our hiding spot, only to be faced by a man on the hilltop wearing a costume and camouflage with a semi-automatic sniper rifle in front of him, rubbing his eyes hard. When the human eye was stimulated by strong light, one would lose vision for one to two seconds.
Keeping my gaze on him, I immediately launched the Eyes of Yama the moment he turned to look at me. Screams filled the air as the man stood up, trying to escape under the influence of fear. Right at this moment, Song Xingchen threw a stone, hitting the man squarely on the small of his back so he collapsed with anguish cries.
Unfortunately for him, he was unlucky enough to fall into the burning gasoline, his body ablaze, rolling desperately on the ground. There was no way we could interrogate the man.
"Hurry!" urged Song Xingchen with a wave of his hand.
We had just taken a few steps away when another loud explosion came from behind us. It turned out that the bullet the man was carrying was ignited. Caught in the explosion, the man perished in the flames.
Glancing at the time, I said, "Oh no, we won’t be able to catch the train!" The tickets had been booked online in advance.
Song Xingchen sighed, "Let’s get away first!"
We proceeded to walk along this mountainous road. On our way here, we had taken a bus and this stretch of our journey didn’t seem that long. But now that we were forced to travel on our own two legs, the road seemed to stretch on and on.
After walking for two hours, we finally left the mountain. Familiar with this area, Song Sichao took us through a less-traveled path. About ten kilometers away was the outskirts of the area, and we could hail a cab.
We noticed a small gas station on the side of the road with a simple restaurant next to it.
Song Shichao suggested, "Uncle, you must be hungry. Let’s have something to eat before we continue!"
I was starving, so the three of us sat at a table outside the restaurant and called for the waitress. A girl in glasses who looked like a college student working on summer vacation handed us the menu. The restaurant only served fried rice and noodles.
I ordered an egg fried rice, Song Shichao ordered noodles, while Song Xingchen didn’t want anything.
Without much to do, Song Sichao pestered me about my experience solving cases. Song Xingchen glared at him and said, "Shut up!"
Zipping his lips with his fingers, Song Shichao lit a cigarette. A while later, the noodles he ordered were served. When the waitress brought his food to the table, Song Shichao remarked, "Hey, your fingers are touching my noodles. How dirty!"
"I’m sorry,” apologized the waitress. “Why don’t I get you a bowl of noodle soup?"
Five minutes later, the waitress walked out of the restaurant. "Are you doing this on purpose?” accused Song Sichao. “Why are your fingers in my food again?"
The waitress smiled, "I’m really sorry, I wasn’t paying attention."
"Get me another bowl!" frowned Song Sichao.
"We don’t have any more soup so it has to be cooked. Do you mind waiting?" she asked.
I suddenly noticed that the waitress was wiggling her eyebrows and winking the entire time she spoke, so I said, "Forget it. We’ll make do with this!"
"Alright then! Make sure you watch out while eating!" she replied.
Watch out while eating? Her words seemed to hide a deeper meaning. Perhaps someone or something was preventing her from speaking. Song Shichao picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat when I interrupted, "Hold on."
I picked up the noodles, placed them under my nose and sniffed. There was only the smell of chopped green onion and sesame oil. However, when I turned over the bowl of noodles with my chopsticks, I finally discovered a melting pill at the bottom.
Upon noticing the pill, Song Shichao slammed his chopsticks on the table and snapped, "What the fuck is this! Let’s go get even with the boss!"
Song Xingchen shook his head, "This restaurant is strange. We should leave."
"Wait a minute,” I interjected. “It looks like the waitress is being held hostage. Let’s go in and have a look."
"Young Master, we shouldn’t get involved," disagreed Song Xingchen.
"But we can’t just leave her to die!" I protested.
Sighing, Song Xingchen entered the restaurant with me. It was dimly lit without a soul in sight, not even the waitress. I noticed a figure in the kitchen hidden in the corner so I gestured to Song Xingchen who nodded.
Drawing out his sword, Song Xingchen slowly made his way to the kitchen. The people lying in ambush suddenly yelled and aimed at Song Xingchen’s head with a rolling pin. The latter deftly evaded the attack, slamming the end of the scabbard into the man’s throat. Clang, thud! The man hit the dirt, overturning the table during his fall.
As soon as I entered the kitchen, I found a large, muscular man in the corner, clutching his throat in pain. Behind him, the waitress shrank in the corner, trembling with fear, "Don’t kill me! I am not with them!"
"What happened?" I gently asked.
"I don’t know. A group of people suddenly broke in an hour ago and kidnapped my parents. They told me to bring you a bowl of noodles with sleeping pills," explained the waitress.
"So you did it on purpose?" I continued.
The waitress nodded, "They threatened to kill my parents if I said anything. Please save them!"
As soon as the words fell from her lips, there came a flurry of footsteps behind us. It turned out there was an imperceptible hidden door in the restaurant leading to the cellar. Several men quietly climbed out, cutting off our exit from the back. The man leading them looked ferocious, with a grey wolf tattooed on half of his shiny bald head. He wore a tan leather jacket and a thick gold chain around his neck.
Big Baldy bowed with both hands stretched out, his left hand wrapped around his right and his pinky raised. I watched enough mafia films to know that this was their form of a greeting.
Big Baldy began, "Now that you’re part of the Jianghu, there are certain things you can’t control. Someone has spent a lot of money to buy one of your bones. We’ve encountered some problems lately and urgently need the money. Do us a favor, won’t you!"
"So you’re here for this as well,” I frowned. “Who ordered it?"
Big Baldy smiled, "I don’t know the person’s identity. All I know is that someone has issued ‘gold for bones’ open to the entire underworld! I’ll be honest with you, we’re not the only ones eyeing you within a hundred kilometers. You’ll have to hand over this bone sooner or later, so you might as well give it to us."
Gold for bones?
What sort of madman would spend ten million to buy one of my bones?
One of the gangsters next to Big Baldy interrupted, "My boss is rather reasonable to even discuss this with you. If it were someone else, you wouldn’t be this lucky!"
"Why should I give it to you?" I coldly retorted.
“I’ve told you everything,” smiled Big Baldy. “If you don’t agree, the restaurant owner and his wife will die. I know you’re a kind young man. Isn’t it a good deal to trade a bone for two lives?"
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