Bang! Bang! Bang!
Outside the car, the pursuers were banging on it.
Ren Xuesong's vehicle had been specially modified. Both the doors and windows were reinforced, making it difficult for the attackers to break in immediately. However, this didn't mean much; the assailants could easily resort to other methods to kill him, like setting the car on fire.
Barrels of gasoline were poured over the Maybach, and the attackers ignited the fuel.
Flames instantly engulfed the entire Maybach.
Ren Xuesong was filled with despair.
With the car on fire and the doors locked, he couldn't even get out to fight back and die with his attackers. He was trapped, doomed to be burned alive.
Ren Xuesong struggled to sit up.
The car was surrounded by raging flames, making it impossible to see outside.
Fire crept up from underneath the vehicle, and thick smoke began to pour in, suffocating him.
Faintly, Ren Xuesong heard the sounds of fighting and gunfire outside. He thought he must be hallucinating; no one could possibly come to his rescue at this point.
The temperature inside the car rose rapidly, and Ren Xuesong had given up completely.
Meanwhile, outside the car.
Several men dressed in black lay on the ground.
Despite their skills, they were no match for someone as formidable as Li Sina.
Li Sina stood in front of Wu Zhiming, facing the blazing Maybach, and reached out to grab the car door.
The door was scorching hot, but Li Sina's expression remained unchanged. She pulled hard, but the door didn't budge.
"It's locked!" Li Sina said.
Wu Zhiming approached the door and pulled out a gun from his waist.
It was the first time Li Sina had seen Wu Zhiming with a gun; she had never noticed him carrying one before.
"Step back," Wu Zhiming ordered.
Li Sina moved aside.
Wu Zhiming aimed at a specific spot on the car door and fired six consecutive shots.
"It's done," Wu Zhiming said as he stepped back.
Li Sina was surprised. Opening a car door with a gun was straightforward for ordinary cars—a couple of well-placed shots would suffice. But this was a reinforced, bulletproof Maybach engulfed in flames. First, he had to identify the crucial point under the fire, and then he had to hit that spot with every shot to accumulate enough force to break it.
This was extremely difficult, something even Li Sina wasn't sure she could do.
Skeptically, Li Sina grabbed the door handle and pulled.
The door opened effortlessly.
Inside the car, Ren Xuesong had already lost consciousness.
"Take him," Wu Zhiming ordered, turning to head back to his own vehicle.
Li Sina lifted Ren Xuesong onto her back and followed Wu Zhiming into the car.
Wu Zhiming made a brief phone call, saying only one thing.
"Erase all traces of my presence."
Then he hung up.
"Where are we taking him?" Li Sina asked.
"Back to the city, as quickly as possible. He won't last long," Wu Zhiming replied.
"Got it!"
Half an hour later.
Wu Zhiming's car drove into the center of Haixia City. Instead of heading to a hospital, Wu Zhiming directed Li Sina to drive to Wu Group's headquarters. There, they entered his private elevator.
Wu Zhiming reached out and touched the control panel inside the elevator.
A bright light flashed briefly. Originally, the panel displayed only up to the third basement level, but after the flash, a new level, -4, appeared beneath it.
Wu Zhiming pressed -4.
The elevator descended swiftly to the fourth underground floor.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Dong Jian was already waiting for them.
"Leave him to me," Dong Jian said to Li Sina.
Li Sina nodded, handing over the unconscious Ren Xuesong to Dong Jian, then followed Wu Zhiming to the side.
"I checked the whole building before and found no trace of a fourth basement level," Li Sina remarked.
Wu Zhiming smiled and pushed open a nearby door.
Li Sina followed him inside.
Behind the door was a room resembling a living room. In the center was a sofa, and the wall was covered with an entire array of LED monitors, each displaying a different image. It was clear that this was the surveillance room for the entire building.
However, Li Sina distinctly remembered seeing a surveillance room in the security department, but the screens there were far fewer.
With just a glance, Li Sina could tell that the surveillance here was more extensive and detailed than in the security department, covering even the most obscure corners of the building.
"Want something to drink?" Wu Zhiming asked as he walked to a bar.
"No," Li Sina shook her head.
Wu Zhiming smiled, opened the liquor cabinet, and took out a half-full bottle of whiskey.
He opened the freezer, took out an ice ball, placed it in a glass, poured some whiskey, and took a sip.
"This place used to belong to my brother," Wu Zhiming said.
"Your brother... the one you kicked out of the Wu family?" Li Sina asked.
"Yes, he was a voyeur. From here, he monitored everyone in this building. He was very cautious and meticulous, so it took me a lot of effort to put him in prison. I planned for over a year," Wu Zhiming said.
"No matter how cautious he was, you were the ultimate victor," Li Sina said.
"A victor? Everyone thinks that taking over the Wu Group is a victory, but they don't realize that it's just the beginning. Honestly, I could have easily taken over the Wu Group three years ago, but I chose to remain dormant because I didn't want to become a target during those three years," Wu Zhiming said, taking another sip of his drink.
"The beginning? The beginning of what?" Li Sina asked.
"Knowing too much isn't good for you," Wu Zhiming shook his head.
"Then why tell me?" Li Sina frowned.
"I like to pique people's curiosity and then let them never satisfy it. It's a peculiar hobby," Wu Zhiming laughed.
Li Sina frowned, realizing that Wu Zhiming was much more complex than she had imagined. She could usually figure out her employers in a few days, but with Wu Zhiming, she hadn't even scratched the surface.
"That's why people don't like you," Li Sina said seriously.
"But many people do like me," Wu Zhiming said, looking at the brown liquid in his glass. "Many, many people like me. They just don't know my current identity; they only know my other identity."
"What other identity?" Li Sina asked.
"See, I've piqued your curiosity again," Wu Zhiming said with a hint of smugness.
Li Sina rolled her eyes and looked around.
The room had obviously been redecorated, with traces of previously installed shelves still visible on the walls.
Wu Zhiming had removed many items from the room, leaving only a few simple cabinets, most of which contained photographs.
There were photos of children, teenagers, and recent ones.
Most of the photos featured Wu Zhiming, some with an adult woman, and others with different people.
In almost all the photos, Wu Zhiming didn't smile, except when he was with the adult woman.
Li Sina knew that must be Wu Zhiming's mother.
Wu Zhiming's mother was very beautiful, at least in Li Sina's opinion, though she didn't look very healthy.
Wu Zhiming sat on the sofa and pressed a button on a remote control.
All the screens on the wall changed, showing numerous red dots scattered widely.
"What are these?" Li Sina asked.
"The real-time locations of everyone useful to me," Wu Zhiming said, pointing at one of the red dots.
A line of text immediately appeared above the red dot.
"Ren Xuesong, located within the Wu Group, coordinates XXX, XXX, XXX."
"Now you understand how my people always know what's happening to Ren Xuesong right away?" Wu Zhiming asked with a smile.
"I get it," Li Sina nodded.
"You're my personal bodyguard, and many things in the future will involve you, so I brought you here. This means that from today onwards, you're destined to be my lifelong personal bodyguard," Wu Zhiming said.
"Lifelong?" Li Sina frowned. "Twenty thousand a month doesn't cover a lifetime. Last time, I only used three million of your money; I have the rest. So, based on time, I can work for you for a maximum of fifteen years. During this period, I'll earn money through other channels to repay you, so I estimate I can clear the debt in five years."
"You'll never pay it off," Wu Zhiming smiled, shaking his head.
"Why?"
"Just as I can make you curious about me repeatedly, I can also make your debt to me increase continuously, so much that you'll never pay it off," Wu Zhiming said.
"That's impossible!" Li Sina shook her head firmly.
"Shall we bet? I bet you can't repay your debt to me," Wu Zhiming said.
"What's the stake?" Li Sina asked.
"If you lose, you'll serve me for life. If I lose, I'll help you find the person who blinded one of your eyes," Wu Zhiming said.
"The person who blinded me? You might think you're great, that you can control people's minds, manipulate emotions, and monitor anyone you want, but let me tell you seriously, there are still many people in this world you can't mess with, and many magical places you've never even heard of. Unfortunately, the person who blinded me is one of those people you can't mess with, and he lives in a place you've never heard of," Li Sina said.
Wu Zhiming smiled and asked, "Do you want to bet?"
"No, because winning doesn't benefit me," Li Sina shrugged.
"Pity," Wu Zhiming said with a smile.
At that moment, Dong Jian walked in.
"Ren Xuesong is awake," Dong Jian said.