It was no wonder Lu Shiyan was so tense. The woman with her back to us had a figure and skin tone somewhat similar to mine.
He probably couldn't accept it—his own wife being treated like that by another man.
The woman on the bed didn't move or respond.
The manager, however, lit a cigarette nonchalantly. "You here to ransom this chick?"
BAM!
No one expected the usually refined Lu Shiyan to strike so suddenly and violently. He kicked the manager hard, sending him crashing into the wall.
Before the manager could react, Lu Shiyan grabbed his floral shirt collar and punched him in the face.
Lu Shiyan's eyes were bloodshot, like a demon crawled out of hell.
"Who said you could touch her? You're not worthy of laying a hand on her!"
Someone fired a gun. Gunshots echoed in the room.
"Ah!" The woman on the bed screamed in terror.
My father heard the commotion and came in with his men. Only then did they see the woman on the bed. Although she bore some resemblance to me, it wasn't me.
Lu Shiyan, disregarding that she wasn't dressed, grabbed her chin and examined her closely.
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God, it's not her."
The manager spat out a mouthful of blood and was about to start a fight, but the intermediary my father brought managed to calm the situation.
The manager put his hands on his hips, cursing. "Fuck, she's not even your wife! Why did you hit me?"
Lu Shiyan was also frantic. "Where are the others?"
"They're all here! There aren't any more!"
Lu Shiyan, no longer caring about exposing my identity, pulled up my photo on his phone. "Look! Have you seen this woman?"
The manager squinted at it. "No."
My father offered him a cigarette. "Brother, please help us out. She's a relative. If you can find her, name your price."
The manager glanced at the Rolex Submariner on my father's wrist. My father understood the situation. Knowing they were on the other's turf, he simply took off the watch.
"Do us a favor."
The manager immediately broke into a smile, forgetting the punch he'd just taken. He happily accepted the watch. "Uncle, you know how things work. Wait here. If she's not in our compound, she might be in another. Send me the photo."
Originally, Lu Shiyan was afraid of leaking information, which is why he hadn't sent my photo earlier, leading to this big misunderstanding.
Now, with no leads, they were desperate and had to show my photo regardless of the consequences.
The manager glanced at it. "No wonder you hit me. But the woman in this photo is much prettier. A woman this beautiful is easy to find. However..." He implied something, leaving the rest unsaid. "We have several compounds here. Since you have money and connections, why didn't you come earlier? Any woman who falls into our hands is probably..."
Lu Shiyan's fists were clenched. Perhaps he regretted it too.
I had been missing from the very beginning, yet no one cared. Now they finally thought to look for me, but it was too late.
Forget the compounds; they might not even find my body back home.
"Alright, considering the watch, I'll let the punching slide. Wait here. I'll have news soon."
They had their own network. This network wasn't just within the compound; it connected several major compounds, including locals outside. Finding a person here was quick, unlike elsewhere where it was harder than reaching heaven.
Lu Shiyan paced the room, occasionally hearing a scream or two.
Looking out the window, dawn was approaching. Someone was dragging a body away, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.
There were also new people being tricked or captured and brought in.
It was like the cycle of day and night.
Life and death happened every day.
When sunlight fell on me, I suddenly noticed my body had become more transparent than before.
Was this a precursor to disappearing?
Could I finally be free from this state?!
I felt happy, yet I couldn't stop worrying about my family.
Su Ning'an's target wasn't just me. Judging by what she did to Grandma, I felt her goal wasn't limited to Grandma and me, but the entire Su family!
First, she deliberately drove a wedge between me and my family. Then, she killed me and harmed Grandma.
Would my brothers and parents be next?
What does she really want?
I let go of my obsession with Lu Shiyan. Now, my heart was only filled with concern for my family.
While each of us was lost in our own thoughts, the manager soon returned.
He tossed away his cigarette butt, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
"Well?" Lu Shiyan asked urgently.
He spoke, slightly out of breath, "I checked. She didn't enter any compound."
"How is that possible?" Lu Shiyan looked utterly incredulous. "Are you sure? Could you have missed her?"
The manager snorted coldly. "You underestimate us. Our intelligence network is so tight not even an ant could slip through. How could there be any that got away? Besides, this chick is so pretty. Whether dead or alive, she'd be easy to track down."
He took a sip of tea. "If it weren't for this Submariner, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble for you."
Lu Shiyan took a few steps back. He had prepared himself for the worst—that I was in a compound.
The worst outcome would be my body being defiled, but at least I would still be alive.
But now, I wasn't here. That meant I was still missing.
Perhaps... I was already dead.
The thought made Lu Shiyan's face turn extremely grim.
Although my father was also hit hard, he was steadier than Lu Shiyan.
He licked his dry lips and said, "Young man, since we're here, could I ask another favor? To be honest, this is my daughter. She's been missing for over twenty days. I know you have extensive reach, some... underground channels. If you can find out what happened to my daughter, I will reward you handsomely."
"Over twenty days?" The manager also frowned. "If she's your own daughter, why did you wait so long after she went missing to look for her? No offense, but your daughter is very beautiful. If she really fell into the underground channels... then she's finished. These compounds aren't just in our country. Country D, Country Y have them too. Those foreigners play even rougher than we do."
The manager's words were like a heavy hammer striking both men. Yes, if only they had come looking for me earlier, I might not have ended up with neither body nor soul remaining.
"Fine. A deal's a deal. I'll look into it for you. I'll let you know if I find anything. But regarding you coming to retrieve someone, I've already reported to the boss above. Since we didn't find the person you wanted, you still have to pay the ransom according to the rules and take someone. Can't let the brothers work for nothing, right?"
"Understood."
My father had no objections. He suddenly remembered the face he saw in the crowd.
"I know who to take!"
He returned to that room and pointed at the dazed Huang Ying. "I know this girl. She used to be close to Su Wan. Maybe she knows something about Su Wan's whereabouts."