Chapter 38: Let Me Protect You (VI)

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Chapter 38: Let Me Protect You (VI)

Clyde’s retaliation came faster than Shang Ke had expected. Less than half a month after the party, Mr. Ferg was inexplicably laid off by his company. Then Mrs. Ferg’s flower garden was thoroughly vandalized. After that, Shang Ke’s and Feng Juan’s bicycles were stolen, and their other belongings also began disappearing frequently.

Not long afterward, Clyde appeared in front of them and smugly boasted about his “great achievements,” then told them he would leave them alone if they spent a few nights with him. The result was that he and his pack of cronies got beaten up by Feng Juan again. Feng Juan wasn’t worried about them calling the police. A bunch of older boys admitting they had been beaten by a twelve-year-old would be humiliating enough.

“He really has too much time on his hands,” Shang Ke said.

“Then let’s give him something to keep him busy,” Feng Juan replied.

And so the two worked together, releasing Clyde’s compromising photos in batches across his school network, Facebook, and various public websites. They only made public the photos involving Clyde and adult women; the small number involving minors were bundled together and sent directly to the police. If they were going to strike, they intended to strike hard enough that he would have no room left to fight back.

Clyde probably wouldn’t have the energy to harass them again for quite some time. As for the household’s finances, Shang Ke and Feng Juan weren’t particularly worried. Besides the monthly government subsidy, they had also earned a modest amount themselves through street performances, writing small programs, designing websites, and other odd jobs.

Besides, the Fergs were both optimistic people. They would recover soon enough and throw themselves into new work.

“You still haven’t found out who did it?” In an office at Stellar Technologies, a middle-aged man glared angrily at the technician sitting in front of a computer.

“Mr. Corson, the other party is clearly a highly capable hacker and didn’t leave any traces behind,” the technician said confidently. “But rest assured, Mr. Corson. If they appear again, I’ll definitely be able to track them down.”

Corson thought for a moment, then asked the assistant beside him, “Do you know who Clyde has offended recently?”

That was an extremely difficult question for the poor assistant. Clyde offended people practically every day…

After considering his answer, he said, “I’m not sure exactly who, but I heard he caused trouble for several people not long ago.”

“Who?”

“The Weinmann family’s youngest son, his classmate Jerry, and two secondary school students.”

A dark look flashed through Corson’s eyes. “Send someone to give them a little trouble. If that hacker is among them, they’ll definitely make another move.”

That evening, Feng Juan stood at the mouth of an alley with a bag of fruit, waiting for Shang Ke.

Just then, five or six burly men suddenly appeared ahead of him. They quickly surrounded Feng Juan and attacked without saying a word.

The men were well trained, and both their size and strength far exceeded Feng Juan’s. He was only twelve, after all. Although he fought them with everything he had for several minutes, he was ultimately overwhelmed and forcibly taken away.

When Shang Ke arrived at their meeting place and saw fruit scattered all over the ground, his expression changed instantly.

He immediately pulled out his phone and activated the tracking system, but Feng Juan’s signal had disappeared partway along the route. Cursing under his breath, Shang Ke rushed home, opened his computer, pulled up a map of the city, and began frantically searching the area’s electronic surveillance feeds for any trace of Feng Juan.

It didn’t take long for Shang Ke to find what he was looking for. The footage showed Feng Juan being attacked by several men and forced into a black Ford, which then headed south. A few dozen minutes later, it disappeared beyond the surveillance network’s coverage.

Shang Ke gritted his teeth and called Detective Rowan. “Detective Rowan, Ian has been kidnapped.”

“What? Are you sure?” Rowan exclaimed.

“I’m sure. I saw him being forced into a black Ford with my own eyes. The license plate was TN46…” Shang Ke suspected the plate number would be useless, but he still told Rowan everything he knew.

“All right. I’ll send people to investigate immediately. Come to the station—I need to take a detailed statement from you.”

“Okay.” Shang Ke ended the call, grabbed his laptop, and immediately headed for the police station.

“Why are you here alone? Didn’t Mr. Ferg come with you?” Rowan asked in surprise when he saw Shang Ke arrive by himself.

“They’re out of town right now and can’t get back yet.” Shang Ke looked at Rowan. “Let’s find Ian first.”

Rowan wasted no more time and carefully questioned Shang Ke about the time and place of Feng Juan’s disappearance, along with every other relevant detail.

“Do you know if Ian has made any enemies?”

Rowan’s question sparked a sudden realization in Shang Ke’s mind. Enemies? There was only one person they had seriously clashed with recently—Clyde. But Shang Ke couldn’t tell Rowan the whole truth, or the matter of the compromising photos would inevitably come to light. Their methods for dealing with Clyde had, after all, been illegal.

Shang Ke thought for a moment before replying, “I don’t know.”

Rowan was about to ask another question when a colleague called from outside, “Rowan, we found the target vehicle on surveillance.”

“You did?” Rowan immediately stood and took Shang Ke to the monitoring room.

“Is this the car?” Rowan asked for confirmation.

Shang Ke nodded. He had already seen this footage. Once the black Ford passed beyond the surveillance coverage, they would no longer be able to track where it went.

Rowan quickly assigned tasks, ordering one group to investigate the registered owner of the plate while preparing another team to pursue the vehicle.

“Shang, stay here at the station and wait for news,” Rowan told him.

“No. Take me with you. Maybe I’ll remember something else.”

Rowan considered it briefly, then agreed.

Shang Ke followed Rowan into the car and took the front passenger seat.

Rowan had barely started the car when Shang Ke pulled a laptop from his backpack, set it on his lap, and booted it up.

“What are you taking the computer out for?” Rowan glanced at him strangely, while the officers in the back seat also turned to look.

Shang Ke ignored them, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he began tracing Clyde’s parents. Clyde himself was currently in custody, so whoever had gone after Juanjuan could only be someone from his family.

The last time Shang Ke hacked Stellar Technologies’ servers, he had left himself a back door, so getting in again was effortless.

Rowan didn’t know much about computers, but the ease and familiarity of Shang Ke’s movements—and what was appearing on the screen—left him increasingly stunned.

Shang Ke no longer cared whether his hacking skills were exposed. Feng Juan’s safety was the only thing that mattered to him right now.

He activated Jumping Bug, rapidly searched Stellar Technologies’ internal network, and simultaneously locked onto Corson’s phone signal.

Shang Ke then pulled out his phone and plugged in his earphones. The moment he put them on, the screen indicated that he had intercepted an active call, and Corson’s voice came through: “…All right. Keep him locked in the warehouse at Lenna Port for now. Let him go in a few days.”

“That brat hurt quite a few of our people. We want to teach him a proper lesson.”

“Do whatever you want, as long as you don’t cripple him.”

“No problem, boss.”

The call ended, but Shang Ke didn’t pause. His fingers flew across the keyboard. There were hundreds of warehouses at Lenna Port, so he first searched for any registered under Stellar Technologies or Corson’s name. The result was zero. He then searched using the names of Corson’s assistant, secretary, and other trusted associates until he finally narrowed it down to one location.

As Rowan drove, he kept glancing at Shang Ke. The boy’s expression was intensely focused, his fingers moving like lightning as page after page flashed across the laptop screen.

The more Rowan watched, the more alarmed he became. Even someone as computer-illiterate as him could tell what was happening by now. This child was hacking into other people’s systems and pulling up private information with frightening ease.

He’s only thirteen! How could he possibly have hacking skills this advanced?

“Detective Rowan,” Shang Ke suddenly said. “Here.”

He pointed to his laptop, which displayed an electronic map of Lenna Port.

“How did you find it?” Rowan couldn’t help asking. Barely a dozen minutes had passed, yet Shang Ke had already pinpointed a specific location.

“Sorry, Detective Rowan. I didn’t tell you earlier, but we had some trouble with Clyde recently. That’s why I suspected this might be connected to his family.”

Rowan’s thoughts raced. He stared at Shang Ke in astonishment. “Don’t tell me you two were the ones who released those compromising photos?”

Shang Ke nodded without denying it.

Rowan was almost speechless. “Do they know you were behind it? Is this revenge?”

“No, they probably don’t.” If they knew, Corson wouldn’t merely be planning to hold Feng Juan for a few days. He probably wouldn’t have bothered kidnapping him at all. A man with his resources had plenty of other ways to deal with them.

“Then why did he have Ian kidnapped?”

“He’s probably trying to… lure the snake out of its hole.” A sharp light flashed through Shang Ke’s eyes. Once Juanjuan is safe, I’ll gladly give that man exactly what he wants.

Rowan looked at Shang Ke sitting upright beside him, his eyes dark and profound, faintly revealing a maturity and intelligence utterly unlike those of an ordinary thirteen-year-old. Only for someone truly important to him would this child reveal the edge he normally kept hidden.

Perhaps… he had never truly known this child at all.

Rowan stopped asking questions and accelerated, heading straight for the location Shang Ke had identified.

Shang Ke stared ahead and silently said, Juanjuan, you’ll be all right. I’m coming.

Inside the warehouse, Feng Juan had been beaten until his face was bruised and swollen, his entire body covered in injuries, yet he stubbornly endured without making a sound.

“Stop playing dead. Scream!” A man viciously kicked him in the stomach.

Feng Juan curled around the pain and glared at him coldly.

The glare only enraged the man further, and he kicked Feng Juan several more times.

Enduring the excruciating pain, Feng Juan saw image after image of Shang Ke flash through his mind. No. I can’t die here! I don’t want to leave Keke!

He abruptly opened his eyes and swept his blurred vision across his surroundings.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted. There was an iron bar lying in a nearby corner.

Feng Juan shot out a hand and caught the leg that was kicking toward him. With a hard upward shove, he sent the man crashing onto his back.

Feng Juan seized the opportunity to lunge forward and grab the iron bar. He swept it sideways into another man’s ankle joint, then followed with a blow to the head.

“You still dare fight back? Get him!” The remaining three or four men rushed him together.

Feng Juan stared at them coldly, a vicious glint flashing through his eyes…

Dozens of minutes later, when the police broke through the warehouse doors, they arrived just in time to see Feng Juan knock the last man to the ground.

He stood holding a rust-covered iron bar, his body smeared with blood and grime. Five or six burly men lay sprawled around him, groaning continuously.

With his back toward the entrance, he slowly turned his head. Beneath sweat-soaked hair, one eye gleamed like that of a wild beast.

The officers froze under his stare as an inexplicable chill ran through them. He was clearly still only a child, so why did he have such a ferocious gaze? Compared with the muscular men groaning on the floor, this kid somehow looked more like the dangerous antisocial one. So… had they come here to rescue the hostage, or the kidnappers?

“Juanjuan.” Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a clear voice broke the silence.

Shang Ke jumped out of Rowan’s car and immediately started toward Feng Juan, only for Rowan to try to stop him. “Wait. Don’t go over there yet.”

The boy was radiating killing intent and might attack anyone who approached while he was still not fully aware of his surroundings.

But Rowan reacted too late. By the time he reached out, Shang Ke had already run several meters ahead.

Rowan cursed inwardly and hurried after him, afraid Shang Ke might be hurt.

But what he feared never happened.

“Juanjuan.” Shang Ke opened his arms and hugged him without the slightest hesitation.

The moment Feng Juan heard that familiar voice and saw that familiar person, the viciousness in his eyes disappeared without a trace. The iron bar fell from his hand with a metallic clang.

He bent slightly and rested his head against Shang Ke’s shoulder, a look of relief gradually appearing on his face.

Feng Juan was much taller and broader than Shang Ke now, but at that moment he leaned against him like a child. Then, finally freed from the burden of holding himself together, he lost consciousness in Shang Ke’s arms…

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