Although the kidnappers heard his voice, they couldn't determine if this was the famous Li Hengzhi. They were taken aback.
As he did not hear any voice on the other end, he switched his tone. "Qian Tao, is it you?"
Qian Tao's voice was stuck in her throat and she couldn't speak.
After a good while, Li Hengzhi felt something was wrong. "Where are you?"
He was thinking if she was hiding at a certain corner, afraid to move because of the thunder.
The kidnapper, who was on the line, answered, "I don't care if you are that Li Hengzhi! Let me tell you, your woman is now in our hands. If you want her to be safe and sound, bring the ransom we request in exchange for her!"
Li Hengzhi paused for two seconds and then said, "Let her talk to me."
The kidnapper passed the mobile phone over to Qian Tao. "Talk to him!"
Qian Tao's lips were trembling and finally, she called out, "Li Hengzhi…"
He could hear very clearly that she was trembling. "It's me, Li Hengzhi."
"Erm…" She nodded and her tears, which had stopped, rolled down uncontrollably again like a malfunctioning valve. His voice was like a warm fire that had appeared in the cold, and it was more like a piece of straw she could hold on to when she was facing the dangers of death, turning her negativity around.
She cried, calling out his name. "Li Hengzhi…"
"Listen, don't be afraid. I'll negotiate with them."
Li Hengzhi's calmness set Qian Tao's mind at ease.
Just now, she was stuck in Xiao Yuanhang's words and thought that she might just as well die…maybe it was a mistake if she had lived. However, the moment she heard Li Hengzhi's voice, her desire to survive was ignited.
No, she could not die, she must live!
She was not living only for herself. There was another person. What about the other person she was bearing? How could he die?
They were very satisfied with Li Hengzhi's attitude. In their heart, they were cursing, 'Damn…someone is finally doing something! This should be the normal scene of a kidnap. What the hell were the previous people doing?'
"Li Hengzhi, bring ten million dollars in exchange for her!"
"Alright, don't hurt her."
"Wait…" the leader of the kidnappers stopped. "Fifty million dollars!"
They were quite sure this man was the famous Li Hengzhi!
When they had requested for ten million dollars, he promised them very quickly and they felt that they had requested for too little.
"Are you sure? Do you still want to add?" Li Hengzhi's tone remained the same.
Qian Tao was dumbfounded. Who on earth would allow kidnappers to increase the ransom?
The kidnappers were dumbfounded. "One hundred million…?"
Qian Tao stared in disbelief. They were demanding too much, was she worth so much?
"How about one billion dollars?"
"Really?" The kidnappers thought he really meant it and their faces held overwhelming excitement at the thought of a promising fortune.
With one billion dollars, they didn't even care about Xiao Yuanhang!
"So you wish! Can you live long enough to spend this money?" Li Hengzhi laughed coldly, "Don't be too greedy. Enough is enough, be careful of losing more than you gain."
Qian Tao was speechless. Was he saving her or getting her into trouble? What if he provoked the kidnappers?
Now, who was kidnapping who? It was the kidnappers who should gain the upper hand, but why did it turn out to be vice versa? They were listening to him. Was he used to negotiation?
The kidnappers wanted to get angry but when they thought of the previous example, they were afraid that Li Hengzhi would be pushed beyond his patience if they insisted. What if he too did not want to care, just like Xiao Yuanhang? "Err…at least one hundred million dollars."