Dai Zhiqiang's heart beat rapidly. How could he let this happen on his watch? He shouldn't have wasted so much time outside.
Huang Zhen was targeting people who were close to him. It couldn't be that this was his main purpose all along. Was his attack on Li Caiyi a diversion for the actual attack?
A lot of thoughts flashed through his mind at once. When he finally arrived at Dai Bolin's room, he was greeted by an empty room. There was no sign of struggling. Huang Zhen probably disguised himself as him and took Dai Bolin out of his room.
To kidnap someone boldly in the daylight while he and other Ye Wang's members were on watch, Huang Zhen truly knew no fear.
"Shit!" Dai Zhiqiang cursed out loud before running out of the room. He took out his phone while running, intending to call the people responsible for watching over Dai Bolin while he was away, but he couldn't get through to any of them.
Did Huang Zhen get to them first? If not, there would be no explanation for why he wasn't informed about this until everything was too late.
Dai Zhiqiang's heart sank, imagining what could happen to his father. Only by sheer willpower alone did he not freak out just yet. Rather than panicking, he quickly called Lin Xiang next.
"Hello?"
"My father is missing. I think Huang Zhen got him." Dai Zhiqiang didn't miss a second and reported the gist of the situation. If he wanted to save his father, he needed information first.
Lin Xiang lighthearted voice immediately turned grim. "The time and place you last saw him?"
"Around one hour ago. In my father's hospital room."
There was commotion from the other side for a moment before Lin Xiang responded. "Got it. Hang on; we are checking on it. In the meantime, stay close to your brother. Who knows if he is targeted too?"
"I'm on my way." Dai Zhiqiang hastened his pace.
"There was no response from the surveillance team. I already sent some people to check them and some others to gain access to the surrounding CCTV. We should be able to send some intel to you soon."
Dai Zhiqiang felt better when he heard that. He was perturbed but couldn't act recklessly in a situation like this. Having more information at this crucial time would be very beneficial.
He hung up the phone and returned to the yard. As Lin Xiang said, he had to secure those around him before thinking about his next move. Li Caiyi and Dai Shenqiang must be very shocked about this, but he left them just like that.
When he finally arrived at his destination, he was confused when he only saw Dai Shenqiang pacing back and forth.
"Shen, where is Caiyi?"
Dai Shenqiang mirrored his confused expression and asked, "Huh? Isn't she with you? She chased after you as soon as you bolted in a hurry. Didn't you see him on the way back?"
A horrible feeling engulfed Dai Zhiqiang's whole body. One by one, people who were previous to him were nowhere to be seen.
He grabbed Dai Shenqiang's shoulder and roared, "Why didn't you stay with her? Don't you know it's dangerous letting her go alone?!"
Dai Shenqiang was startled and scared simultaneously at his brother's outburst. "Wh-What happened, Big Brother? Did something happen to Caiyi?"
Dai Zhiqiang gritted his teeth before releasing him. He desperately tried to force his brain to work.
His brother knew nothing about how Li Caiyi had fallen prey to Huang Zhen's evil scheme a few times. He was getting too agitated and knew he wouldn't be able to search for them efficiently if he kept this on.
Dai Shenqiang watched how his brother, who seemed scary a while ago, gradually regained his composure. He took courage and asked carefully, "Big Brother, where is Father? And what do you mean by Caiyi is in danger? Did I do something wrong?"
"No. This isn't your fault. I panicked and lashed out at you; sorry about that."
"That's not important right now. Brother, you are not acting like your usual self. Do you think something bad happened to the two of them?"
Dai Zhiqiang could sense his anxiety, so he smiled reassuringly before tapping his shoulders a few times. "Shen, I need you to do something for me. This is extremely important if we want to find Father and Caiyi."
"What is it? What should I do?"
"Soon, there will be some people who come here for you. They are my friends and very trustworthy. I want you to stick close to them and wait for me to return."
It wasn't the first time Dai Zhiqiang told him to stay back while he went to beat people who bullied him. Dai Shenqiang wasn't clueless to figure out that his brother was trying to involve himself in something dangerous again.
"Wait, no. I'll go with you, Brother."
"You can't. There must be at least one person who waits for them to return." Dai Zhiqiang's smile deepened. "Shen, I want you to believe in me. Let's play hide and seek like the old time, alright? You hide, and I will search for you. Don't worry, I won't overdo it."
Dai Shenqiang bit his lips but couldn't say anything except, "Make sure you don't get hurt badly."
"En. Leave it to your brother. I promise I will return with those two with me."
***
For the nth time, Li Caiyi thought this might be the stupidest idea ever. However, there was no time to hesitate in an urgent situation like this.
Based on what Dai Shenqiang said, she had an idea of who could take Dai Bolin from his room. And from Dai Zhiqiang's reaction, he probably had the same thought as her. She would never forget his frantic and scared expression as he ran into the building.
Li Caiyi was worried and chased after him immediately, but he was too fast. While she trudged in the hallway, her phone vibrated in her pocket. The content of the new message shocked her to the bone.
[Let's play another round of the game. Who will be the first to save the unknown villager from the boss monster?]
It came from an unknown number. With this timing and that way of speaking, there was no mistaking it. This message was sent by Huang Zhen!
Li Caiyi immediately tried to call him, but the line couldn't connect. She was so angry she wanted to scream.
After what he did to her sister, now he wanted to play with a sick man's life at risk?
Just what does this person think a human's life is?!
The next moment, a new message popped on her monitor screen. It was a picture of a building with some address below it.
[I will leave this clue only for you since you are my favorite player. That means no one should know about it. You know what happens if you disobey the rule, right?]
[Someone will bear the punishment, and because I like you, I will punish someone beside you.]
[The time limit is one hour. Good luck.]
Li Caiyi gritted her teeth in frustration. The message just now disappeared before she could make up her mind. Thankfully, she still remembered the address and the building in the picture.
Huang Zhen clearly wanted to lure her out alone. This was most likely a trap.
She glanced in the direction Dai Zhiqiang went hesitantly as she pondered for a moment. Dai Bolin's life was at stake; she dared not to take a risk.
In the end, she turned around and ran in the opposite direction towards the hospital entrance.
Even if it was a trap, Li Caiyi still had no choice but to follow the rule and win this game!
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