Chapter 41: Let Me Protect You (IX)

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Chapter 41: Let Me Protect You (IX)

Over the years, Shang Ke had kept a close eye on the Feng family. After a prolonged period of turmoil, they had finally stabilized, but the damage had been severe. Their influence in both political and business circles had diminished considerably, and they were now struggling through a difficult transitional period, with finances being particularly strained.

Shang Ke chose this moment to tell Feng Juan because it would allow him to return to his family openly and honorably. If he waited until the Feng family had risen again before acknowledging them, people might accuse him of currying favor and create unnecessary gossip.

Their company, Mr. Bruin, was doing quite well. It could not compare with the major corporations yet, but they could still come up with tens of millions if necessary.

Feng Juan studied the information Shang Ke had gathered about the Feng family and remained silent for a long time. After ten years, he was no longer particularly attached to his origins. He had Keke and the Fergs. This was already his home.

“Keke, are they really my family?” Feng Juan asked hesitantly. In truth, that was not what he really wanted to ask. Since Shang Ke had brought the matter to him so seriously, Feng Juan knew he must already have verified it from multiple angles.

“Why don’t we go see for ourselves?” Shang Ke gave him a faint smile.

Looking at his smile, Feng Juan gradually calmed down and smiled as well. “We’re on vacation anyway. How about we go to China?”

“Sure.” Shang Ke was effectively a part-time government employee now, so he had to submit an application before traveling abroad. But considering his age and his record over the past ten years, obtaining approval should not be difficult.

“Then let’s sleep!” Feng Juan set his laptop on the bedside table and immediately tried to drag Shang Ke under the covers with him.

“Sleeping means sleeping. Nothing else,” Shang Ke declared sternly.

Feng Juan wrapped his arms around his waist and asked quietly, “Keke, what exactly are we now?”

“Family. We always have been,” Shang Ke replied.

“Brothers are family, and spouses are family too.” Feng Juan felt they needed to clarify exactly which one they were.

Shang Ke would bet his toes that the moment he admitted they were a couple, this guy would immediately take advantage of it. So there was absolutely no way he was saying it.

“We’re not even married. How could we be spouses?”

“Then when I turn eighteen, let’s get married.” Feng Juan thought this was an excellent idea.

Britain had legalized same-sex marriage more than a decade earlier, so although Feng Juan had struggled with his feelings for a while, he had ultimately come to accept them quite naturally.

“Juanjuan, you’re still too young.” Young, impulsive, and easily swept up by enthusiasm for anything new.

Shang Ke was not certain how long their relationship could last. In every previous world, his time with this man had ended far too quickly. No matter how deep their feelings became, they always seemed as fleeting as a flower blooming for a single night. More importantly, Shang Ke still had missions to complete and could die at any time. He had been genuinely happy during these ten years with Feng Juan. Whether they married or not was not important to him.

“You’re only one year older than me.” Feng Juan rolled over and pinned him beneath him, raising an eyebrow. “Besides age, what exactly are you bigger than me in?”

Shang Ke gritted his teeth at Feng Juan’s shameless teasing. This guy might look mature, but deep down he was still a brat who loved showing off!

“Get off. If you don’t want me throwing you out, behave yourself!” Shang Ke kicked at him irritably.

Ah, he’s embarrassed and angry. Guess I really shouldn’t have poked at his sore spot. Feng Juan reflected on himself.

Only after Feng Juan finally stopped moving did Shang Ke relax enough to close his eyes.

Unfortunately, Shang Ke had relaxed too soon. One could never lower their guard around a hungry wolf who had only recently discovered romance. While half asleep, he was once again dragged into another round of unwanted intimacy.

The final result was that Feng Juan was once again mercilessly thrown out of Shang Ke’s room, along with all the embarrassing supplies he had brought with him. No amount of wheedling or scheming managed to win back the right to share Shang Ke’s bed.

A few days later, Shang Ke’s application to travel abroad was approved. He and Feng Juan finished the necessary paperwork and prepared to leave for China. But on the day of their flight, Shang Ke suddenly received an urgent assignment and could only apologize. “You go ahead. I have something I need to deal with, and I’ll meet you in China afterward.”

“What is it? I’ll wait for you.” Feng Juan knew Shang Ke was hiding something from him, but he had never pressed for answers. If Keke wanted to tell him, he eventually would.

“A friend needs my help.” Shang Ke pushed him toward the gate. “You need to board. Go on. At most, I’ll be two or three days behind you before I meet up with you in China.”

Feng Juan hesitated for a while, but in the end he said goodbye and passed through security alone with a dark expression.

After seeing Feng Juan board the plane, Shang Ke turned and headed straight for the assembly point. Over the past several years, he had cooperated with the police in dozens of operations against criminal organizations. His main responsibilities were intelligence gathering, reviewing surveillance, cross-checking information, and similar technical work. His computer skills had continued improving with time. Although he did not progress as quickly as Feng Juan, he had accumulated considerable practical experience.

That was why Shang Ke never complained about being called in for missions. The authorities had promised him that they would never involve the Fergs or Feng Juan.

Shang Ke had already known that this operation involved Tobin Syndicate, which was one reason he had decided to travel abroad with Feng Juan in the first place. Under Shang Ke’s systematic pressure, the organization had gradually fallen apart. Its remaining members were now making one final desperate counterattack. What had begun as a smuggling organization had transformed into a terrorist group causing chaos wherever it could.

In only five or six days, they had robbed two banks, killed more than ten people, and blown up a government office building.

Shang Ke’s assignment was to use his technical skills to locate them.

Among all the technicians, Shang Ke was the youngest but also the most skilled. When he had first begun participating in operations, many people had been shocked that someone so young possessed technical abilities so far beyond his age.

“I’ve picked up one of their phone signals.” Shang Ke’s expression remained calm as his fingers flew across the keyboard, like a conductor controlling an orchestra. “They’re traveling east along X Avenue. Ahead of them is…”

The police immediately moved according to the information he provided.

Shang Ke continued studying the map while analyzing their likely destination, but at a crucial point, his voice suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Rowan looked at him in confusion.

Shang Ke’s expression turned grave. “The direction they’re traveling puts them only about 2.5 kilometers from my foster parents’ company.”

Rowan’s expression changed as well. He immediately called for additional officers and sent them toward the office building housing Mr. Bruin.

Shang Ke checked the time. It was after four in the afternoon. The Fergs would definitely still be at the office.

He called both of the Fergs’ cell phones, but neither answered. He then called the company line. Someone picked up after three rings.

“I’m Bruno—” He had barely gotten the words out when an unfamiliar voice came from the other end. “Hello, Bruno.”

Shang Ke stiffened and switched the call to speakerphone.

“Thank you for all your ‘care’ over the years. We’ve never forgotten it.” The man let out an eerie laugh. “Now we finally have the chance to sit down and have a proper talk.”

“What do you want?” Shang Ke asked.

“Your foster parents and dozens of employees are in our hands,” the man continued. “If you want to save them, come meet us. Oh, and remember to bring your brother Ian.”

“Ian is out of the country. I can’t reach him right now.”

“Heh. You can’t reach him? Fine. You come first.” With that, the man hung up.

Shang Ke stared at the computer screen. The phone signal he had been tracking had already vanished. These people had clearly come prepared, and their real targets were him and Feng Juan. He simply hadn’t expected the Fergs and the other company employees to be dragged into it.

Rowan patted his shoulder. “Don’t panic. We’ll get your family out.”

Shang Ke was not particularly confident. Judging from the criminals’ utterly reckless behavior, either they intended to die together with everyone else or they had prepared an extremely thorough escape plan.

The group hurried to the Mr. Bruin office building, which had already been sealed off by police.

After several rounds of negotiation, the criminals had only one demand: Shang Ke had to come in exchange for the hostages. If he refused, they would kill one person every ten minutes.

The police demanded that they release several hostages first, but the criminals ignored them.

Britain had always had a relatively high crime rate, but Shang Ke had never imagined something like this would happen to him personally. The only thing he could be grateful for now was that he had sent Feng Juan out of the country.

As the criminals’ deadline drew closer, Shang Ke finally said, “Let me go in.”

“No.” Rowan rejected the idea immediately. Everyone knew that if Shang Ke went inside, there was a very real chance he would never come back out.

“If I don’t, innocent people will die.”

“Even if you go, there’s no guarantee they’ll survive,” Rowan said bluntly. He knew firsthand just how vicious and ruthless these people could be.

“At least there’ll still be a chance, won’t there?” Shang Ke fingered the phone in his pocket, his gaze unreadable.

Rowan had not expected him to remain this calm under such circumstances.

“Detective Rowan, I trust you.” Shang Ke gave him a gentle smile, intelligence gleaming in his eyes.

Seeing that smile left Rowan both astonished and heartsick. This boy had contributed so much to them, yet now all they could do was watch him walk toward what might be his death. Ultimately, the criminals were targeting Shang Ke precisely because he had helped the police dismantle their organization.

“Have you made your decision?” The criminals called again.

“I’m coming,” Shang Ke replied calmly.

Under the gaze of the assembled police officers, Shang Ke walked toward the building alone. His steps were steady, without the slightest hesitation.

Rowan cursed under his breath and ordered everyone into position, preparing both snipers and rescue teams.

Shang Ke stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the tenth floor. The doors had barely closed when his phone rang. He looked down and saw Feng Juan’s name.

“Keke, it’s already been five days. Why aren’t you here yet?” Feng Juan sounded dissatisfied.

Watching the floor numbers steadily rise, Shang Ke replied, “Sorry. Things are a little busy here. It’ll probably be a few more days.”

“Then hurry. I really miss you.” Feng Juan paused, then added, “Oh, right. I’ve already reunited with my parents.”

“Are they treating you well?”

“Pretty well.” Feng Juan hesitated before continuing, “Keke, the Feng family is having some difficulties right now. I want to help them. Even setting blood ties aside, judging from their future prospects, I think it would also be a worthwhile investment.”

“It’s your decision.” Shang Ke smiled. “I already transferred thirty million into your account. If that isn’t enough, we can deal with it later.”

“Keke, I love you!” Keke always supported his decisions unconditionally.

With a ding, the elevator arrived.

Shang Ke ended the call and watched the elevator doors slowly slide open. Quietly, he said, “I love you too.”

“Well, look who we have here.” A bald man gave Shang Ke a sinister grin as he entered the office.

Several others moved forward to search him. Shang Ke stepped back and opened his coat, revealing the explosives strapped around his waist.

Their expressions changed instantly.

The moment Shang Ke saw their reaction, he knew they had no intention of dying together with their hostages.

“Do you have a death wish?” The bald man pointed his gun at Shang Ke, furious. He had never encountered anyone who showed up to a hostage exchange wearing explosives! Couldn’t this brat follow the usual script?

“Were you planning to let me leave alive?” Shang Ke replied casually. He pulled out an office chair and slowly sat down, his gaze sweeping over the Fergs and the others nearby. Only after confirming that they had not been seriously harmed did he relax slightly.

When Shang Ke had proposed strapping explosives to himself, everyone had stared at him as though he had lost his mind. Apparently, none of them appreciated the strategy of placing oneself in a desperate position in order to create a path to survival.

If the criminals truly intended to die with him, then the moment he entered the building, his death was already inevitable, along with that of the other hostages. But if they had an escape plan, then the explosives made Shang Ke a direct threat to their own lives, which meant they would hesitate to act recklessly while they were still trapped inside the building with him.

“I don’t mean anything else by it.” Shang Ke leaned comfortably back in the office chair and said calmly, “I only want to guarantee my family’s safety. Once they’re safe, you can watch me turn into a firework if you like.”

“I don’t believe those explosives are real.” The bald man stared closely at his face, unwilling to miss the slightest change in expression.

“You’re welcome to test that theory.” Shang Ke spread his hands, looking perfectly willing to let them take the risk.

The dozen or so criminals exchanged uncertain looks, suddenly at a loss for what to do.

After a moment, the bald man snarled, “You’ve got guts. Hand over your phone and every other communication device you have!”

They did not dare approach him carelessly. They all knew Shang Ke could fight, and if the explosives were accidentally detonated during a struggle, things would end very badly for everyone.

Shang Ke obediently tossed over his phone, then shook out his clothes, pockets, and trouser legs. He even removed his shoes to show them that he had no other devices hidden on him.

What they did not know was that Shang Ke had already activated Jumping Bug on his phone as he entered the office and paired it with their devices. Although the building’s surveillance system had been destroyed, the police outside could now listen to their movements through the criminals’ own phones.

Outside the building, a technician was using the laptop Shang Ke had left behind.

Listening to Shang Ke’s conversation with the criminals filled them with admiration and anxiety in equal measure. How could a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy remain so composed while confronting a group of vicious armed criminals? Where did that kind of courage come from?

“So, tell me. What are you planning to do next?” Shang Ke asked.

“That’s none of your concern.” The bald man kept his gun raised, seemingly searching for a clear shooting angle.

“I’m not worried. It’s just that everyone seems to have so much free time, we might as well find something to talk about.” Shang Ke smiled. “Since none of you have anything to say, how about listening to me for a while?”

What do you mean, ‘everyone has so much free time’ ?! Everyone both inside and outside the building was speechless.

“What do you want to say?” The criminals had not even realized that the initiative had already slipped entirely into the hands of the seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy before them.

“I’ve been fighting you people for years. You probably can’t even imagine how much information I’ve collected on you.”

“So what?” the bald man said coldly. “Tobin Syndicate has already collapsed. Whatever information you collected is meaningless to us now.”

“Really?” Shang Ke sounded regretful. “And here I thought you might be interested in the money your boss secretly hid away.”

“What?” Several of the criminals’ eyes lit up at once.

Tobin Syndicate’s leader had already been imprisoned and would never be released in this lifetime, but he really had hidden away a large sum of money that no one had ever managed to locate.

“You know where the money is?”

“Of course.” Shang Ke tapped his temple with one finger. “I know exactly where it is.”

The bald man sneered. “You expect me to believe that? If you knew where it was, you would’ve told the police long ago. Why leave it sitting there for us?”

“I’m a hacker. Whatever I do, I always leave myself a way out.” Shang Ke remained perfectly composed. “I’ll exchange myself for my family first, then exchange that money for my own life. What do you think of that deal?”

The bald man stared at Shang Ke without blinking, but Shang Ke’s expression remained completely calm, without the slightest trace of guilt or uncertainty.

“How much money are we talking about?”

“I don’t know the exact amount, but at least this much.” Shang Ke held up five fingers. The unit he meant was hundreds of millions.

If he had given them an exact figure, they might actually have been more suspicious. But this vague estimate immediately tempted them.

Listening from outside, even the police began wondering whether Shang Ke genuinely knew where the money was hidden. His tone was simply too calm and convincing.

After another round of verbal sparring, the criminals finally reached an agreement with Shang Ke. At the same time, the people coming to extract them arrived.

Each criminal took a hostage, and the group descended to the underground parking garage using the freight elevator.

They had originally intended to kill Shang Ke and every hostage. Now that their plans had changed, they decided to wait until they obtained the money before dealing with him. As for the others, whether they lived or died no longer mattered much to them.

The police had surrounded the building, but with hostages in the criminals’ hands, they did not dare make a reckless move.

The criminals split up between two vans. Most piled into the first vehicle, leaving only two men to guard Shang Ke and the Fergs in the second. After all, who wanted to sit too close to someone wearing explosives?

Partway through the journey, the criminals honored part of their agreement and released all the hostages except the Fergs.

Shang Ke had known they would not release his foster parents so easily. He still needed to find another way.

Rowan watched the criminals drive away and immediately began reorganizing the operation.

In a situation everyone had considered nearly certain death, Shang Ke had not only managed to free most of the hostages but had also created a narrow chance of survival for himself.

From proposing that he enter with explosives strapped to himself to negotiating directly with the criminals, Shang Ke had devised an emergency strategy in only a few dozen minutes. The intelligence and extraordinary psychological composure he displayed astonished everyone involved.

In all his years as a police officer, Rowan had never met a boy as unusual as Shang Ke. Suddenly, a conviction rose in his heart: Shang Ke would make it back alive this time.

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