About two hours later, as Chu Yuxuan was keeping Liping company outside the ICU, he received a message from his third brother.
"Done. Not a single one missed."
Chu Yuxuan: "And Chen Ting?"
"She's with me. Just a bit shaken up, but she's fine."
"Take them to a secluded place and send me the location."
After replying to his third brother, Chu Yuxuan exited WeChat and called his fifth brother. "How's it going?"
The foreigner, excited, responded, "Oh, God! I drained all their accounts, haha! And I also found a ton of inappropriate videos and photos—hundreds of them, all of young girls... D*mn, these loan sharks are despicable! Big brother, should I delete them?"
Chu Yuxuan glanced at the tattooed man nearby and replied in a low voice, "Keep them, they might come in handy later... Contact the third brother and meet up with him."
"Understood!"
After hanging up, Chu Yuxuan patted Liping on the shoulder and leaned in close to her ear, saying, "Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, but don't get too emotional... Tingting has been found and is safe. I'm going to bring her back now."
Liping's eyes welled up with tears, her pale and pretty face filled with gratitude as she whispered, "Thank you, Mr. Chu!"
Chu Yuxuan gently shook his head and smiled faintly. "When Tingting returns, if the police ask you anything, just tell them that someone was watching you at the hospital and you were too scared to admit you were being threatened earlier. Answer their questions, but remember, don't mention anything about me helping you—not a single word. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble, understand?"
"Yes... I understand!"
Chu Yuxuan patted her hand before standing up to leave. As he walked toward the elevator, he cast a casual glance at the tattooed man, then noticed another man with a buzz cut nearby. He thought to himself, "Undercover agents? Heh..."
Half an hour later, Chu Yuxuan arrived at an abandoned factory.
There, the four scumbags were lined up neatly on their knees, all of them beaten beyond recognition. His third brother sat bored on a gasoline drum, smoking a cigarette.
When Chu Yuxuan walked in, the third brother quickly stood up to greet him. "Big brother."
"Mm." Chu Yuxuan responded with a grunt, his cold gaze sweeping over the four men before he asked, "Where's Chen Ting?"
"In the car."
Just as he spoke, the fifth brother opened the car door and said, "Hey, boss, I was just comforting this pretty lady."
Chen Ting, who had often helped her brother at his food stall, naturally recognized Chu Yuxuan. Startled, she exclaimed, "Chu... Brother Chu, you—"
At that moment, the naive girl finally realized what was going on. "Did you save me?"
Chu Yuxuan gave her a small smile and nodded. "Yes, it's alright now. Don't be afraid."
Chen Ting quickly got out of the car, ran over, and hugged Chu Yuxuan tightly, sobbing, "Brother Chu, thank you! They... they're not even human! Waaa... Brother Chu, is my brother okay? I... I need to go to the hospital! Can you take me to the hospital?"
Seeing how anxious Chen Ting was, Chu Yuxuan gently reassured her, "Your brother is fine. I'll take you to the hospital in a bit... But first, let me finish dealing with this, alright?"
Chen Ting wiped away her tears and sniffled, "Alright... Brother Chu, I'll do whatever you say!"
Chu Yuxuan then walked over to the four men. The third brother pulled out a small homemade pistol and pointed it at the man kneeling on the far left, grinning. "Big brother, this little toy belongs to him. When I caught him, he even tried to shoot me, but he fumbled, and I snatched it away. I used this to bash their faces in—hilarious!"
Chu Yuxuan looked at the man and sneered, "Didn't expect you to play with guns? What, dreaming of getting big and powerful?" The man, his face covered in blood, had already been beaten into submission by the third brother. Trembling, he pleaded, "Brother, please... let us go! Whatever you want, we'll give it to you!"
The fifth brother scoffed, "You stupid idiot, why would you think we're robbers? Oh, God, you probably don't even know—your money's already gone."
The man, horrified, looked up at the fifth brother, then turned to Chu Yuxuan and asked, "Who... who exactly are you people?"
Chu Yuxuan chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm no saint, that's for sure."
As he spoke, he paced back and forth in front of the four men. "Let me ask you something—do you believe in the existence of hell?"
The four of them exchanged glances, but none dared to speak.
Chu Yuxuan continued, "I believe in it, absolutely. And I'm pretty sure that when I die, I'll end up in hell."
"What about you? Do you think you'll end up in hell, just like me?"
These words sent a shiver down their spines, and the four men immediately started crying and begging for mercy.
Turning to Chen Ting, Chu Yuxuan asked, "Tingting, do you think they deserve to die?"
Chen Ting bit her lip and said, "Brother Chu, let the police handle it. I don't want you to dirty your hands because of me—it wouldn't be good for you."
"Silly girl."
Chu Yuxuan chuckled. "Alright, we'll do as you say—I won't dirty my hands."
He then looked back at the four scumbags and mockingly said, "You've done so many bad things; you've got to pay the price somehow. Here's the deal—I'll donate your dirty money to charity, as a way to help you accumulate some virtue. As for the four of you... heh, you don't deserve to continue living here."
With that, he turned to the third brother and said, "Third brother, take them on a little boat trip."
The third brother shrugged and casually replied, "Sure, I'll take care of it."
Hearing that they had a chance to live, the four men hurriedly expressed their gratitude. They didn't care where the boat was going—staying alive was all that mattered!
The fifth brother, glancing at the four scumbags, smiled faintly and asked Chu Yuxuan, "Big brother, should I take you all back now?"
"Yes... Tingting, let's go. When we get to the hospital, I won't go up. You stay with your sister-in-law, and if your brother wakes up, let me know right away. Also, promise me—you won't tell anyone that I saved you. If the police ask, just say you escaped on your own, got it? Don't mention me."
Chen Ting nodded earnestly. "Got it, Brother Chu, I won't cause you any trouble!"
Meanwhile, the beautiful police officer, who was leading a team to conduct investigations, was filled with frustration.
After leaving the hospital, they had visited the homes of all four suspects. Oddly enough, each family gave the same response: "He just went out! Got a call and left, looking pretty happy—probably off drinking with friends."
But when the officer asked them to call the suspects, they found that all their phones were turned off, which only raised her suspicions. As she was pondering the strange situation, the undercover officer from the hospital called her. "Chen Ting is at the hospital!"
The officer quickly got into her car and asked, "Did she come alone?"
"Yes, and from her conversation with her sister-in-law, it seems like she escaped on her own."
The officer frowned, thinking for a moment, then asked, "Was everything normal with Liping before Chen Ting arrived?"
The undercover officer replied, "There was a man with her the whole time. They didn't talk much, and he left about an hour ago. I was suspicious, so I secretly took a photo of him."
"Send it to me!"
"Got it, sending it now... Also, there's a man with a tattoo on his wrist who's been sitting in the corridor for a long time. He occasionally glances at Liping—seems suspicious. Wait... he's on the phone now... looks like he's leaving!"
"Arrest him! We're on our way!"
After hanging up, the officer, anxious, started the car while opening the photo sent by the undercover agent.
Seeing the roguishly handsome face in the photo, the usually stern and unsmiling beauty's expression grew even colder.