“Secretary Bi, with the way you operate, back when you were extorting money, you didn’t lack dead bodies in your hands, did you?”
A strange sound came from Bi Kang, as he suddenly pulled something from his waist and pressed it against Jiang Luo’s head.
Then, coldly: “Call! Transport the money! You have no choice.”
Jiang Luo’s breath caught for a moment—he had lived two lifetimes, and this was the first time a gun had been pressed to his head. The chilling clarity of the cold metal against his skull made him think: Damn you.
He didn’t move. “No U.S. dollars. Foreign exchange is tightly controlled.”
“Renminbi—how much do you want?”
Bi Kang didn’t answer immediately. A few seconds of silence, then coldly: “Two hundred million.”
“Fine.” Jiang Luo answered without hesitation.
Bi Kang shook his head: “No. Three hundred million.”
“…This son of a—”
“How much do you want, really?” Jiang Luo asked.
Bi Kang’s eyes, so close, glinted with madness and greed: “How much do you have?”
Jiang Luo cursed him silently. “I called back to Haicheng. Right now, I can at most mobilize another twenty or thirty million in cash.”
“I told you, the bank isn’t mine. Just because money is in my account doesn’t mean I can produce it on demand. I can’t conjure it out of thin air. But you can rest assured,” Jiang Luo said calmly, “as long as we get out alive, I’ll move the money. Three hundred million in cash, no problem. Any more is impossible. I just make money from business, not from printing it myself.”
Bi Kang, amused for some reason, pressed the gun harder against Jiang Luo’s head: “Aren’t you supposed to be a fat fish?”
“Three hundred million, still a fat fish?” Jiang Luo thought: You greedy official who’s extorted who knows how much—what fat?
Out loud, he said: “Money can always be made. Release us, and I can keep paying you.”
“Save your words,” Bi Kang said, tapping the gun again. “Call! Move the money!”
Under the gun, Jiang Luo suddenly laughed: “Money, in the end, is just money. How do I know I’ll get out alive? You haven’t actually planned to let us go, have you?”
Then: “Secretary Bi, maybe you should make the call yourself. Call home, ask your wife, your kids, your parents—where exactly are they now?”
Bi Kang froze, astonishment flashing in his eyes. “What did you say?”
Jiang Luo raised a hand, touching the cold gun, pressing it down slightly, smiling lazily: “Why do you think it’s just me, just those few from Haicheng with me?”
“Do you think I’m an ordinary man, powerless, forced to submit?” Jiang Luo’s eyes gleamed with mockery: “You detain my people, demand money, keep me hostage, want more money. If I didn’t have some bargaining chips of my own, how could I obediently enter the mountains to negotiate with you?”
Bi Kang stepped back, raising his gun again. Jiang Luo smiled at the black barrel—like a phantom in Bi Kang’s eyes.
The phantom said: “Call them! Ask, see how many people are missing at home. If Huo Zongzuo and I don’t get out, I’ll take your whole family—wife, kids, parents—everyone! Make them pay!”
……………………………………..
As expected, Bi Kang was unpredictable. Hearing this, he actually released the safety on his gun, ready to pull the trigger and send Jiang Luo to his death.
At that moment, Jiang Luo lunged, grabbing the gun in Bi Kang’s hands. Four hands clenched it together. The gun first raised high, then angled down. Both used all their strength, neither letting go.
They struggled, twisting and colliding—against the wall, then near the table, legs kicking wildly, hands gripping the gun, careful not to touch the trigger, to avoid an accidental discharge.
Suddenly—BANG!
Bi Kang’s face went white. His grip loosened. He fell back to the floor.
Jiang Luo seized the gun, finger resting on the trigger, aimed at Bi Kang.
Outside, two men rushed in at the gunshot, but saw Jiang Luo holding the weapon, pressing it to Bi Kang’s head. He stepped closer, barrel against the forehead. Bi Kang sat frozen, pale as death.
“Put the gun down!” the two shouted, drawing their own guns—clearly trained officers.
Jiang Luo, unafraid, held the gun against Bi Kang, coldly: “Step back.”
“Out!”
Bi Kang, pale, no longer as arrogant, trembled. The two men hesitated, guns still aimed at Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo pressed the gun harder against Bi Kang’s head. Terrified, Bi Kang shouted: “Out! Out!”
The two officers finally retreated but remained at the doorway, guns still aimed.
Jiang Luo looked at Bi Kang: “Call! Release the people.”
Blood was rapidly draining from Jiang Luo’s face. Bi Kang noticed the spreading blood, saw it pooling on the floor.
Blood had seeped through Jiang Luo’s side.
Suddenly, a man outside threw something at Jiang Luo. He instinctively tried to dodge, but Bi Kang twisted his wrist, forcing the gun from his hands. Two men rushed in, guns aimed: “Don’t move!”
Jiang Luo, weak, sank to his knees, pressing his hand to the blood gaping from his side.
Bi Kang grabbed his hair, dragging him upright: “You dare touch my son?!”
Jiang Luo, pale and bloodless, lips white, still smiled: “Don’t believe me? Check for yourself.”
Bi Kang, distracted, grabbed his phone, dialed quickly, speaking in dialect. Suddenly, he slammed the phone to the floor, shattering it.
Jiang Luo, exhausted, sat on the ground, coldly: “I’ll say it again—release the people. Where is my son?!”
A man lunged, grabbing his hair again: “How could you do this?!”
Jiang Luo smiled weakly: “You think only you can detain people?”
Back in Haicheng, Jiang Luo had already sent Wang Junqing’s younger brothers ahead to He Xu. Now, with resources and connections, the advantage became clear: as soon as their plane landed in Guiyang, they took a helicopter Jiang Luo had arranged, reaching the mountains early.
In He Xu, Wang Junqing moved undercover, investigating and spending heavily to learn the family situations of key town officials.
By the time Jiang Luo arrived in Guiyang, he contacted Wang Junqing in He Xu, instructing him to find a chance to detain the family members—old and young, male and female, not leaving a single one.
So at this moment, Jiang Luo didn’t just hold Bi Kang’s family, but also relatives of several other officials. No half measures.
“You dare touch my son?!” Bi Kang roared. “I’ll kill you!”
Jiang Luo still smiled: “Go ahead, your whole family will pay with you.”
Bi Kang gripped his hair: “Return my son!”
Jiang Luo, struggling to breathe, gasping: “Release the people first. You release Huo Zongzuo, I release your son. You don’t? Then next year, burn paper for him!”
Bi Kang raised his hand to strike. Jiang Luo’s face remained fearless: “Go ahead. Any harm done to me will be repaid to your precious son a hundredfold.”
Bi Kang hesitated, truly dared not strike. He shouted to one of the armed men, who retrieved a phone and handed it over. Bi Kang dialed urgently.
Jiang Luo had no strength left, collapsed to the floor, pain numbing him, consciousness fading.
After some time, his phone rang. Struggling, he answered, hearing Huo Zongzuo: “I’m out. Where are you?”
Jiang Luo’s lips curled in a faint smile. His head tilted, and he lost consciousness completely.
“Jiang Luo! Jiang Luo!”
In the car, Huo Zongzuo didn’t hear Jiang Luo, only another man screaming: “I’ve released the people! Give me my son back!”
“Where is Jiang Luo?!”
Before Huo Zongzuo could finish, the line went dead. Repeated calls failed.
He shouted at Wang Junqing driving ahead: “Where are you going? Turn back!”
Wang Junqing, already on the mountain road, didn’t slow: “Jiang instructed us to…”