"What problem could there be? Mr. Qian never hesitates when he's buying," the fat man said lazily. "I can keep you company, sure, but could you hand over the goods first?" Fei Zhuzai stared at the items on the table.
Was she overthinking it? She had suspected these people wanted to kidnap Su Mali. In her previous life, she had heard plenty about Su Mali's drama-magnet aura. Wherever she went, it turned into a soap opera.
"We'll give them to you after the petroleum is in hand," Jing Shu said. Better to be safe than sorry. She had not seen Mr. Qian personally yet. To be doubly sure, she decided to call his driver. There had been reasons not to call before, but now it was wiser to confirm.
Su Mali blinked. "Jing Shu, you're sharp and cautious. My father says that's exactly how we should be. Never trust easily." She gave a thumbs up.
Fei Zhuzai flopped back on the sofa, jiggling one leg while playing on his phone.
Just as Jing Shu pulled out her phone to contact Mr. Qian's driver, Su Mali's phone rang. Fei Zhuzai's foot stopped jiggling.
"Miss, it's me," came Uncle Gou's voice. "I've verified the gasoline. I'm hauling it back right now. Please wait a bit for me."
"Okay," Su Mali said, hanging up with relief. The tension in the room seemed to lift at once. Even the two bodyguards behind her let out quiet breaths.
"Well then?" Fei Zhuzai spread his hands. "You can trust the way I do business. Now you can hand the goods over." With Su Mali's nod, he shouted toward the door, "You lot, get in here and move the goods. You expect the bosses to haul it for you?"
The center-parted young man rushed in and carted everything away. Jing Shu took out her phone and dialed Qian Duoduo's driver. Cough, for all the times she had traded with Qian Duoduo, she still did not have his personal number. Every time it was either through Niu Mou or through the driver. That said plenty about her status, which was why she avoided bothering them unless necessary.
Beep, beep, beep.
No signal.
Jing Shu frowned and checked again. Still no signal.
"Do you have service?" she asked Su Mali. This woman had just taken a call. The way the fat man suddenly sped things up screamed trickery. Jing Shu snatched Su Mali's phone and looked. The signal was gone.
There was no mistake. Two minutes ago the bars were full. Vanishing all at once meant it was being jammed.
A flurry of possibilities flashed through Jing Shu's mind. In her previous life, she had died because of a sudden ambush. She had replayed scenarios like this in her head thousands of times, planning countermeasures for when it happened again.
So before anyone could react, she lunged and seized Fei Zhuzai as he was about to slip out, using brute force to pin him. The others bolted for the exit and slammed the door hard behind them. Jing Shu kicked it and felt her foot strike solid metal. The heavy thud echoed, but the door did not budge.
The door looked like a cushioned leather panel from a KTV, but there was iron inside. No wonder that young man had personally opened and shut it earlier.
Su Mali may not have understood yet, but the two bodyguards had. The moment Jing Shu voiced her suspicion, they had been on edge. Now that trouble was likely, they snapped their rifles up and shielded Su Mali.
"Still trying to run?" Jing Shu tightened her grip. "With those shifty eyes, you don't look like a good person. Speak. Why did you jam the signal?"
"Let me go, you crazy woman," Fei Zhuzai howled. "Our reception is spotty here. Let me go and we can talk. You've got guns, you're scaring my boys. Let me open the door and you can leave if you want, all right?"
"Tell that to fools. We had full bars a minute ago, then nothing. After the apocalypse, the carriers merged. The network's better than ever," Jing Shu said coldly.
"Jing Shu, maybe let him talk first," Su Mali said, confused. "Uncle Gou clearly said the petroleum's here. They wouldn't pull a stunt like this, would they?"
"Your Uncle Gou isn't normal either," Jing Shu said, brow knit. "The more I think about it, the more suspicious it seems. What if he turned and took a payoff?" She had trusted him as Su Mali's man from the start. That was why she had overlooked several details. Betrayal from the inside was the scariest kind.
Fei Zhuzai panted, unable to break free. He gritted his teeth and strained, but Jing Shu's grip was like an iron clamp. He could not believe a woman could be this strong.
"Impossible," Su Mali shot back. "Uncle Gou retired and has followed me for nine years. He's family to us. Money cannot sway him. He has no relatives to threaten either. Besides, my father promised to fulfill his old wish once he completes ten years. The date is almost here. He's about to get what he wants. The cost of betrayal is too high."
She denied it outright. A bodyguard might defect, but a personal steward like Uncle Gou would not.
Was she just being too paranoid?
Jing Shu slowly loosened her hold on Fei Zhuzai. If Uncle Gou truly was clean, then the petroleum had arrived. The signal was definitely being jammed, though. So were they luring Uncle Gou away on purpose? But to what end? If he returned and found his Miss kidnapped, he would come back with reinforcements. These people would still die for it.
If they simply wanted to kill, they had countless chances. Murder was not the goal. They were after something else.
"Be honest," Jing Shu said. "Don't try opening the door alone and bolting." She drew a pistol from the small of her back and pressed it to the back of his head. "Open the door. If I've wronged you, I'll compensate you with two blood mushrooms."
She gestured silently for the others to close in. Once the door opened, there might be a row of AKs waiting. She also considered slipping into a bulletproof vest. She had a bone to pick with those vests. They stopped bullets, but getting hit still hurt like hell.
"I wouldn't dare pull tricks," Fei Zhuzai grumbled as he walked toward the door. "You people are jumpy. For such a small batch, you think a big boss like me needs to get his own hands dirty?"
As Jing Shu held the gun steady at the back of his head, she thought, If he still manages to—
Biu.
Fei Zhuzai vanished.
It happened so fast no one could react.