Duan Chen showed the text message to Gao Tiankai.
In the photo, Li Wei's face was bruised and battered, covered in wounds, her entire body bound by ropes, and she was unconscious in a huge glass fish tank.
Water was constantly flowing in through a thin tube at the top, already past Li Wei's ankles. Her fair, almost transparent skin showed a sickly pale green in the rippling surface of the water.
A large red countdown timer was hanging at the top of the glass fish tank—
10:50:32.
"Li Wei has been kidnapped?" Gao Tiankai exclaimed.
"They sent the wrong target for the blackmail, they sent me one last night, actually wanting to threaten me with this woman. Did the other party get something wrong?" Duan Chen scratched his head and tossed his phone aside. "It should have been sent to Zhong Xingwen."
"Just as they say, marrying into wealth isn't easy. To be a rich wife, you still have to risk your life. Yet, so many girls still scramble for it."
Gao Tiankai hesitated for a moment and probed, "This Li Wei looks quite miserable. Brother Chen, are you sure you're not going?"
"I'm not going." Duan Chen rolled out of bed, stretched, and looked out at the bright sunshine.
"But if that idiot Zhong Xingwen can't save her, Li Wei is still a life. Are you really not going?" Gao Tiankai frowned.
This wasn't Duan Chen's style. He had always considered protecting the common people his duty. Let alone Li Wei, with whom he had a past intimate relationship, even if a complete stranger were kidnapped here, he would go without hesitation.
"I beat up Zhong Xingwen a couple of days ago. It might be his scheme. I'm not brainless. Their marital issues, I don't want to get involved in the mess."
Duan Chen waved his hand, his mind made up.
But he thought for a moment, what Gao Tiankai said wasn't entirely unreasonable.
As a Spirit Hunter agent, he had indeed provoked the alien races quite a bit, capturing countless demons and monsters. If it were some mindless monster who was still stuck with memories from two years ago and wanted revenge, kidnapping Li Wei would indeed be a good choice.
"Help me find Zhong Xingwen's number," Duan Chen called the guild's logistics department.
Then, through the guild, he forwarded the two kidnapping messages about Li Wei to Zhong Xingwen.
On the other side, Zhong Xingwen, who was setting up next to the fish tank, turned green with rage when he saw the messages, almost crushing his phone.
"Damn it, is this guy intentionally toying with me??"
Zhong Xingwen quickly sent another message to Duan Chen, specifically naming him.
[Duan Chen, if you don't come, she's dead!]
Seeing the new text message, Duan Chen couldn't help but sigh.
"It seems they didn't send it to the wrong person; they were looking for you," Gao Tiankai leaned over and glanced.
"Doesn't this clearly show Zhong Xingwen did it? So concise and direct. Does he really take me for an idiot?"
Duan Chen put away his phone, a look of contempt on his face.
"What?? How do you know Zhong Xingwen did it?" Gao Tiankai exclaimed.
"Firstly, he just found out about the unusual relationship I had with Li Wei. Secondly, he was just beaten by me and harbors a desire for revenge. Lastly, and most importantly... I forwarded the information about Li Wei being in trouble to Zhong Xingwen. As Li Wei's fiancé, his complete inaction is not consistent with normal couple behavior."
Gao Tiankai's mouth gaped open, looking full of admiration. "Zhong Xingwen, that idiot, kidnapped his own wife and tried to extort you? Has his brain gone waterlogged?"
Just then, the hospital room door was forcefully pushed open.
Bang—!
Li Wei's father stormed in, grabbed Duan Chen by the collar, his eyes practically spitting fire.
"You punk, what the hell are you saying? Zhong Xingwen kidnapped Xiao Wei? What time is it, and you're still slandering him."
"Heh, why are you here?" Duan Chen calmly met the man's gaze, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
If it hadn't been for Li Wei's father's staunch opposition back then, perhaps he and Li Wei wouldn't have separated like they did.
Duan Chen clearly remembered how Li Wei's father had kicked him out of the house right after graduation, the vicious words he had spoken, and the disdainful look in his eyes.
And Duan Chen, in order to gain his approval, had tried his best, becoming the youngest to pass the advanced Spirit Hunter exam. When he returned with hope, holding a license that shook the region, he was still ridiculed by Li Wei's father, who said he was a useless person who couldn't earn money.
Duan Chen's heart grew cold then. Li Wei, who was completely obedient to her father, then avoided him, making him completely lose hope in their relationship.
"I remember you said back then that you'd rather die than ask me for help," Duan Chen flicked away Li Wei's father's hand as if swatting away a fly.
"Bah! Do you think I came here to beg you? I came to warn you, don't pester Li Wei anymore. She's about to become the young mistress of the Zhong family. You'd better disappear from her sight completely."
Li Wei's father assumed an overbearing demeanor, two streams of hot air puffing from his nostrils.
Li Wei had been beaten by Zhong Xingwen. As a father, he indeed had a fire burning in his heart, but he didn't dare to blame Zhong Xingwen, only tracing the root of the problem.
He found out upon inquiry that Zhong Xingwen had been beaten by Duan Chen at Shengxin Hospital, and had taken his anger out on his beloved daughter. This Duan Chen had indeed caused his daughter great suffering.
Seeing that Li Wei had obediently returned to the Zhong family, he planned to find Duan Chen today to have a good talk, after all, he couldn't let the wealthy family, which his daughter had one foot in, be ruined by him again!
As a result, he heard Duan Chen still slandering Zhong Xingwen at the door. It was simply preposterous!
At this moment, Gao Tiankai, who was standing by, understood.
Li Wei's father had no idea Li Wei had been kidnapped. He had simply come to warn Duan Chen.
He was truly foolish.
"Uncle Li, I advise you to be polite to Duan Chen. After all, he's the only one who can save Li Wei right now," Gao Tiankai stepped forward to smooth things over. "You don't want anything to happen to Li Wei, do you?"
As he spoke, Gao Tiankai showed Li Wei's father the photo on Duan Chen's phone. Li Wei's father was stunned.
He snatched the phone, his pupils trembling, "Xiao Wei, Xiao Wei! What happened to you!"
Gao Tiankai smiled, "Simply put, the kidnappers abducted Xiao Wei but didn't demand ransom from Zhong Xingwen. Instead, they sent the message to Duan Chen, specifically asking Duan Chen to go alone to rescue her, otherwise, they would kill her...
So Uncle Li, Duan Chen wasn't planning to go in the first place. If you continue to be so overbearing, Duan Chen really won't go. Then Li Wei, even with nine lives, wouldn't be enough to escape from here, would she?"
Li Wei's father was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, gripping his phone tightly. He then remembered what Duan Chen had just said, that Li Wei was kidnapped by Zhong Xingwen, but he absolutely refused to believe that his good son-in-law, the doting good son-in-law, would do something so harmful to Li Wei!
"No, it can't be true... I'll call Xingwen."
Li Wei's father hastily took out his phone, but after several attempts, Li Wei didn't answer, nor did Zhong Xingwen. Only then did he realize that his daughter might truly be in trouble.
He wanted to call the police, but seeing the kidnapper's message, he was afraid they would kill Li Wei.
"What to do! What to do!" Li Wei's father frantically scratched his head.
There was no other way. He could only pray that Duan Chen would go and rescue Li Wei.
"Duan Chen, what are you still standing there for! Go save Li Wei!" Li Wei's father reprimanded.
"Oh my, you just said you'd rather die than beg me, and now you've changed your tune so quickly?" Duan Chen looked at him coldly.