"That punk Tang Yao got himself into a hot mess. He hasn't answered his phone in over three hours," Nie Yan anxiously said. He stomped on the accelerator. At 500 km/hr, he sped past all other cars on the highway.
"Who would go after Tang Yao?" Xie Yao asked in surprise. She immediately realized this wasn't the time to ask such a question. "I'll ask my father to track down his last known whereabouts."
"Thanks." Nie Yan nodded. In the previous timeline, the bar fight had occurred a year from now on July 8th. The timing wasn't correct. Nothing should happen to Tang Yao today! However, Tang Yao's safety had been weighing heavily on his mind, and he still couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling. Now wasn't the time to be reserved.
No one could predict fate. Nie Yan had specifically warned Tang Yao not to go to any bars. What he worried about most was that incident from his past life repeating itself. He believed he had changed history for the better with his rebirth and prevented Tang Yao's untimely death. But after Guo Huai's call a moment ago, it was almost as if a bomb had gone off in his head as everything went blank.
Nie Yan could hear the wind roaring around his car as the scenery blurred past him. He spoke a silent prayer, Tang Yao, please don't let anything happen to you, or I won't forgive you for a lifetime!
Xie Yao could feel the sense of urgency in Nie Yan's heart. She hurriedly rang up Xie Jun and had him mobilize the Xie Family's tech wizards to investigate Tang Yao's whereabouts.
After the dinner party where Mo Yuntian and Nie Yan spoke like old friends, Xie Jun's position in the family had become significantly higher. His words held a lot more weight than before. A trivial matter like this was nothing.
About 20 minutes later, Xie Jun received an update. Tang Yao's mobile phone signal had disappeared in the Temple of Heaven bar.
Hearing the name Temple of Heaven, Nie Yan was a bit dazed. No. This wasn't right. The incident didn't happen in that bar in the previous timeline. Could this be a false alarm?
Even though it wasn't the same bar, Liu Tianshi's appearance was a little bit too much of a coincidence to Nie Yan. That smile, oozing with smugness, when he killed Tang Yao in the previous timeline. Nie Yan felt a deep rage and hatred bubbling inside of him. If Liu Tianshi dared to lay a finger on Tang Yao… He didn't dare to imagine what he would do. The police couldn't do anything, but he could! As his thoughts reached this point, a frantic worry started spreading inside of him. Was history doomed to repeat itself?
No, I definitely won't let that incident repeat itself! Tang Yao, hold on, I'll be there in two hours! Nie Yan inwardly declared. In the previous timeline, by the time he arrived at the bar, Tang Yao's corpse was already cold. In this life... Nie Yan's eyes flashed with a chilling light as he clenched on his steering wheel. If the same tragedy happened again, he'd make that bastard pay for his crimes!
「Bayonet! Head over to the Temple of Heaven bar in Huahai now!」Nie Yan said to Bayonet over the phone.
「What's the matter?」
「I'll explain when you get there. Remember how I told you to investigate Liu Tianshi before? Did you find anything?」
「Yeah, that kid is pretty low-key. He's renting an apartment suite near the Top Military Academy. When I tapped into his calls, I made some discoveries. His old man is some kind of big wig that's really high up, definitely not someone that can be provoked!」Bayonet replied.
Nie Yan already knew Liu Tianshi's background was more than a little shocking. Not to mention the many connections his family likely had. If Nie Yan couldn't take action openly, he would do it in the shadows. He refused to believe that he and Bayonet couldn't deal with Liu Tianshi!
Guo Huai sent over an update. He had already dispatched some people to the Temple of Heaven bar. However, someone powerful backed this business. They had no choice but to be careful.
「Did you find Tang Yao yet?」Nie Yan asked, worry thick in his voice.
「No, not yet.」
About two hours later, Nie Yan parked his car outside of Temple of Heaven.
"You stay here. I'll go in by myself," Nie Yan said.
"Nie Yan, let me come with you. I don't feel comfortable with you going in alone," Xie Yao said.
"No need to worry. I'll go in with Bayonet. There's nothing to worry about," Nie Yan reassured.
Xie Yao thought for a moment. With Bayonet protecting Nie Yan, there was really no need to worry about his safety.
"Alright. If anything happens, speed dial me," Xie Yao said. If she went in with Nie Yan, she would just be one more thing for him to worry about. However, if she stayed outside, she could still help him. For example, she could keep the getaway car running, or warn him if some suspicious individuals entered the bar.
Nie Yan hopped out of the car and rushed inside. This lively bar was dazzling with neon lights. The furnishings were extremely luxurious, and there were all sorts of people on the main floor. On the upper floor were many private booths. If anything happened inside one of these booths, the people outside would be none the wiser.
Temple of Heaven was one of the most famous clubs in all of Huahai. Many of the people that frequented this place had powerful backgrounds. If Nie Yan tried to barge into every booth, not only would it make matters worse, but it would also alert the enemy. It could push them to kill Tang Yao, at which point it'd be too late for regret. He forcefully calmed himself down. What should he do?
"How may I help you, sir?" a server walked up to Nie Yan and asked.
Glancing at the server, Nie Yan had an idea.
「Bayonet, get us two server uniforms,」Nie Yan said.
Three minutes later, Nie Yan met up with Bayonet, who was already in a server uniform.
"I knocked out two servers and threw them in the toilets. Here's your uniform," Bayonet said.
"You start checking the booths for Tang Yao. I'll go get changed," Nie Yan said. He took the uniform and headed to the washroom.
Bayonet knocked on the door of the first booth. After which he opened it and checked inside for Tang Yao. No luck. He apologized for the inconvenience and left. In much the same fashion, he went from door to door, sometimes having to forcefully push his way in.
Bayonet arrived in front of a booth. Seeing the door was locked, he took out a steel wire. After fiddling around for a bit, the door unlocked with a click. He pushed it open and looked inside. He saw naked men and women embracing each other passionately.
"What the fuck!? Get the hell out of here! Who said you could come in!?" a person shouted.
"Sorry sir. It seems like you forgot to lock the door." Bayonet retreated back and closed the door shut with a bang.
After changing into a server uniform, Nie Yan also started searching the booths for a sign of Tang Yao. Even though he wasn't as skilled as Bayonet at picking locks, it was still passable in this situation.
Nie Yan checked 16 booths in a row before regrouping with Bayonet.
"Did you find him?" Nie Yan asked.
"No." Bayonet shook his head. "However, I found a VIP booth that's guarded by five bodyguards. I couldn't get close. I think we'll have to take action to get in."
"VIP room?" Nie Yan thought for a moment before gazing at Bayonet. "Let's give it a try. We'll knock that door down!"
At this moment, Nie Yan was extremely prudent. He took out some makeup and smeared it on his face. Looking at a nearby mirror, his nose was a little raised, and his face looked different. If an amateur could transform themselves from a butterface to a hot beauty, then changing his appearance a little was nothing impressive.
Bayonet also disguised his face. The two walked to the end of the corridor before arriving in front of the VIP room Bayonet had mentioned. It was guarded by five bodyguards in black suits. From the air around them, they were definitely skilled.
Nie Yan and Bayonet glanced at each other before walking up to the bodyguards.
"The gentlemen in booth #866 asked us to deliver two bottles of Lafite," Nie Yan said.
"We didn't order anything. Scram." One of the bodyguards blocked Nie Yan's way.
"Sir, I don't think there's a mistake. A gentleman by the name of Liu Tianshi called up the front desk and asked us to deliver two bottles of Lafite," Nie Yan calmly said while observing the bodyguards' expressions.
After hearing Nie Yan's words, they looked at each other with confused expressions.
"Maybe the young master did really order it?"
"I'll go inside and ask."
"You stay here." One of the bodyguards extended his arm and blocked Nie Yan's way.
After hearing the conversation between the bodyguards, Nie Yan's gaze flickered with a cold light. The person inside the booth really was Liu Tianshi! He glanced at Bayonet and gave a slight nod.
As soon as Nie Yan gave the signal, Bayonet burst into action. With his hand raised, he chopped down on the neck of one of the bodyguards. BAM! The bodyguard let out a groan before losing consciousness and collapsing.
Before anyone could react, Bayonet's silhouette blurred as he arrived beside another bodyguard. He extended his hand like a viper and struck the bodyguard in the throat, his fingers crushing the man's windpipe.
The bodyguard felt a sharp pain in his throat almost as if it had been snapped in half. He held onto his throat and tried to say something, but nothing would come out. He completely lost his voice.
Nie Yan had taken action at almost the same time as Bayonet, elbowing the bodyguard in front of him in the abdomen. The bodyguard immediately curled up like a shrimp. With a thud, he crashed into the ground. The intense pain had instantly knocked him out cold.
Nie Yan pounced toward the other bodyguard.
It all happened too quickly. Before any of these five bodyguards could react, three of them were already down for the count. Even though they were all skilled professionals, they were still no match for Nie Yan and Bayonet's speed or power.