"Family members' lives are threatened??"
Fang Ming had spoken very bluntly, and Mu Qingxue naturally understood.
It was better to believe it might be true than to dismiss it as false.
At this moment, she believed Fang Ming's words, and at the same time, she felt a strange sense of relief in her heart. As long as it wasn't for profit or a matter of character, she could accept it.
[Mu Qingxue]: "I... I understand."
[.]: "You can leave Liu Changqing's family to me. But to ensure their safety, you'd better not alert the enemy before the livestream ends."
[Mu Qingxue]: "Thank you, Senior. I know what to do, but... Senior, can you please not block me again this time?"
[.]: "..."
[Mu Qingxue]: "You helped me so much last time, and I didn't even have time to thank you."
[.]: "I don't need any thanks."
[Mu Qingxue]: "But I do! You saved my Yunlan, so you are Mu Qingxue's savior. If I can't do something for you, I won't be able to eat or sleep in peace."
[Mu Qingxue]: "Please, give me a chance to thank you, okay?"
Mu Qingxue spoke sincerely, terrified that Fang Ming would block her again.
After all, in her mind, Fang Ming was not only mysterious but also had the ability to turn the mundane into the miraculous.
There were few people in this world who would refuse a mysterious and powerful friend.
Fang Ming rubbed his chin, hesitating for a moment.
[.]: "I won't block you, but thanks are really not necessary."
As long as they didn't meet, everything else was fine.
[Mu Qingxue]: "This... alright then. As long as you don't block me, I'll listen to you, Senior."
Mu Qingxue wasn't stupid; as long as she kept his contact information, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. There was no need to rush things now.
[.]: "Stop calling me'Senior' all the time. There's no telling which of us is actually older."
"Eh?" Seeing this message from Fang Ming, Mu Qingxue froze in place.
Was the other party... a young person??
She found it somewhat hard to believe.
When he called last time, Fang Ming had used a voice changer, and their subsequent contacts were all via text.
Therefore, Mu Qingxue didn't know his age and had simply taken it for granted... that such a divinely capable person should be a middle-aged or even elderly person with a deep background and shrewdness. How could he be a young man??
[Mu Qingxue]: "Um... may I ask, Senior... no, may I ask how old you are this year?"
[.]: "Now is not the time to ask these things. We'll talk after you've finished your business."
[Mu Qingxue]: "Right, right, right. I'll get to the company's business first. We'll talk again after today's livestream ends."
...Reminded by Fang Ming, Mu Qingxue finally remembered she still had much work to do today. She hurriedly exited the chat interface and began arranging today's livestream schedule.
With Fang Ming's intel, she didn't alert the enemy. Instead, she reviewed the entire livestream process and mentally noted several core employees who might have been bribed.
On the other side, Fang Ming remained leaning in a shaded corner of the warehouse, closing his eyes to doze.
His original plan was to use the thousand illusions mask and the weapons provided by the Soldier King to interrogate Old Ghost or tail him to figure out Qin Xiao's plan.
As it turned out, Qin Xiao had involved him directly, which saved him a lot of trouble.
"Liu Changqing is Yunlan's most core researcher and should be the most critical part of Qin Xiao's plan. Even if Qin Xiao has other backup plans, Mu Qingxue should be able to handle them."
Fang Ming muttered to himself, then quickly tugged at his collar.
"Damn, this godforsaken place is way too hot."
The abandoned lumberyard in the western suburbs was surrounded by mountains on all sides, making it feel like a giant steamer.
Even while staying still in the shade, his body felt sticky, and his T-shirt clung to his back, which was incredibly uncomfortable.
Tut-tut-tut-tut!!
Fanning himself with a piece of scrap cardboard, he endured until ten in the morning when the roar of a dilapidated engine broke the silence.
In the distance, that van with fake plates bumped its way in, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.
They're back?
Fang Ming narrowed his eyes, reached up to press down his baseball cap, and took out a face mask to put back on.
Screech!
The van braked sharply and stopped at the warehouse entrance.
The car door slid open with a clatter, and the fleshy-faced, bald Zhang Dapao was the first to jump down. He was holding half a bottle of mineral water and cursing.
"So damn unlucky. That old lady looked pretty thin, but she was quite strong. She almost messed everything up."
Immediately after, the tall, thin guy called Bamboo Pole and Scar Tiger also jumped down.
The two of them worked together to drag two people with black plastic bags over their heads out from the back seat.
One large, one small.
Once the black plastic bags were pulled off, Fang Ming saw their current state.
The older one had white hair, her mouth was sealed with tape, and her hands were tied behind her back. Her eyes were filled with terror; she was Liu Changqing's wife, Wang Xiulian.
The smaller one wore a pink princess dress and had her hair in twin tails. She had already cried herself into a mess, but because her mouth was also sealed, she could only let out muffled whimpers.
Her little face was pale, and her large eyes were full of helplessness, like a frightened little animal.
"Quite efficient work!!"
Fang Ming stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the old woman and the young girl. His tone was cold, betraying no emotional fluctuation.
"Of course. When have we brothers ever failed a job?"
Zhang Dapao chuckled, but his triangular eyes were shifty, darting around the little girl, Liu Duoduo. He licked his dry, cracked lips with a nauseatingly sleazy air.
"I have to say, these little girls from the city are really pretty, with such fair and tender skin. They're completely different from those little mud monkeys in our countryside..."
As he spoke, his fat hand, covered in black hair, reached out to touch Liu Duoduo's face.
The little girl trembled in fear and tried her best to shrink behind her grandmother.
Although Wang Xiulian was terrified, her protective instinct made her slam into Zhang Dapao, trying to shield her granddaughter.
"Fuck, you old thing, you want to die!"
Zhang Dapao was knocked off balance and immediately flew into a rage, raising his palm to slap her.
"What are you doing?"
Fang Ming, with his hands in his pockets, blocked Zhang Dapao.
Although he didn't look as fierce as the three outlaws, his aura was not weak at all.
Zhang Dapao's movement stiffened. Looking at this representative of his employer, he withdrew his hand with some displeasure: "This old woman isn't behaving. Can't I teach her a lesson?"
"You can teach her a lesson, but don't damage them. My boss said he wants them alive and whole—especially the little one!"
Fang Ming pointed his finger at Liu Duoduo, who was shivering in the corner.
"If they lose a single hair, or if they're subjected to any undue trauma that causes the plan to fail... you won't get a single cent of the final payment."
Hearing Fang Ming say this, Scar Tiger, who had been watching from the side, immediately walked over.
He grabbed Zhang Dapao's shoulder and said in a raspy voice, "Dapao, don't cause trouble for me. We're here for the money, not for fun."
"Once we get the money and head to Southeast Asia, what kind of women won't you be able to find? Don't be stupid now."