novelShe Is The Mastermind
| ← Ch.0714 | Ch.0716 → |
In an abandoned factory in the Western Mountains
Ou Luoxi entered along with Ah Li. The entire area was surrounded, and Ou Ze's number one informant, Qiu Pi, held a detonator in his hands with his body wrapped in explosives, ready for confrontation.
Qiu Pi became agitated upon Ou Luoxi's arrival, "Who are you? Why did you capture me? I don't know anything. let me go!"
Ah Li said, "Qiu Pi, today you have no escape. I am sure you know what we are after. As long as you tell us where Ou Ze's army resources are, we will let you go."
Qiu Pi's face turned gray as ash."No, I can't say... Once I speak, my family will be wiped out. Why are all of you forcing me like this?"
Glancing at the explosives wrapped around Qiu Pi and the detonator in his hands, Ou Luoxi immediately waved Ah Li over."The detonator in Qiu Pi's hands is fake; we fell into his trap, " he whispered in his ear.
"What?" Ah Li exclaimed.
Ou Luoxi kept a straight face, and under his breath, he ordered, "This wireless detonator is not capable of any distance beyond fifteen metres. Order someone to search for a real detonator at once. Also, there is no longer a need to capture Ou Ze. He is not nearby. Inform Second Brother. You will lead a team of troops to search along the various smuggling alleys. I predict that he will be illegally crossing the border tonight."
Ah Li felt astonished. He had found out that this was the place Ou Ze and Qiu Pi were meeting, but when he brought his men over, Ou Ze had already found the chance to slip away, leaving only Qiu Pi behind.
His men had surrounded the area swiftly, so he doubted that Ou Ze managed to get far. Moreover, Qiu Pi is Ou Ze's important informer. Once Qiu Pi is caught, it means game over for Ou Ze. Thus, Ou Ze will never leave Qiu Pi behind.
However, everything was wrong. This was all part of Ou Ze's plan.
Ou Ze made a decisive decision to forsake his informer Qiu Pi and make use of their meeting place to lure everyone over. If Ou Ze has smuggled himself into another country, the hidden wireless detonator will blow off anytime. Ou Ze wanted everyone here dead.
Ou Ze's thoughts were indeed dark and vicious.
"Young Master, you'd better retreat at once. It is dangerous here."
Ou Luoxi shook his head."Do what I told you to. I have my own game plan."
Ah Li dare not stay any longer. He nodded his head and left swiftly.
After Ah Li left, he summoned a trusted subordinate."Bring some men to search for the wireless signal within fifteen metres of this area. A wireless detonator is hidden around here."
"Yes, Sir."
After giving his instructions, Ah Li drove away with a group of men.
Ou Luoxi stood in the warehouse and looked at the bomb device on Qiu Pi. With his speed and agility, running to Qiu Pi and overpowering him should not be an issue. However, the bombs on Qiu Pi have many small heads which might cause an explosion if one is not careful enough. He needs to first locate the wireless detonator and check the time left on it before coming up with a countermeasure.
"Qiu Pi, did Ou Ze abduct your family members? Tell you what: let's make a deal. I will ensure the safety of your family, and in return, you will have to tell me everything you know."
Qu Pi shook his head in despair, half laughing, half crying."There's no use. Nobody can save me. I cannot take this risk... Quickly let me go, or else once I press the trigger, we will perish together."
"Ok, calm down. I will ask someone to send a car over right away." In hopes of stabilising Qiu Pi's emotions, Ou Luoxi called an underling over in pretense.
...
Once the taxi stopped, Xia Xiaofu got out in a hurry. She saw Gong Ling right ahead but was stopped by a group of underlings."Young Madam, it is very dangerous here. Please head back immediately."
"I don't want to go back. I want to be with Brother Gong Ming."
Xia Xiaofu glanced around her surroundings. If she was not wrong, Ou Luoxi should be in the warehouse in front of her. What can she possibly do? At that moment, she noticed a group of underlings searching for something nearby, and one of them called out, "I've found it! The wireless detonator is in this sewer, but the lid is all sealed up, leaving only a crack. Quick! Someone get me some tools."
Xia Xiaofu ran over swiftly saying, "There is no need for any tools, I can crawl through this crack."
The underling recognised Xia Xiaofu and shook his head."No way. A wireless detonator is hidden below and it may explode any moment. It is too dangerous for you to go down there. I need to ask Young Master's permission."
Xia Xiaofu removed her satchel and crawled into the crack, leaving no chance for anyone to speak.
The underling wanted to grab Xia Xiaofu, but she'd already gone down with her flexible body.
The underling could only say "Miss Xia, you just need to take a look and tell me how much time is left on the detonator. Our bomb disposal expert will be here very soon."
"Ok." Xia Xiaofu has already descended down the steps. The sewer was extremely damp and dark with dim lighting, which immediately made her right eye blurry.
The wireless detonator was hanging on the wall in front of her, with the red numbers jumping rapidly. It seemed like multiple zeros. Upon focusing, Xia Xiaofu yelled, "90 seconds left!"
The underling immediately appeared delighted and said, "Miss Xia, please make your way up carefully. Someone will pull you from above. I will report to Young Master right away."
...
The underling ran swiftly to Ou Luoxi and muttered in a low voice by his ear."Young Master, we've located the wireless detonator. Miss Xia said that there are 90 seconds left."
"Miss Xia?" Ou Luoxi's expression tightened, and he immediately shot a penetrating look at the underling.
The underling took a step backwards and bowed his head in respect. He knew that Young Master would lose his temper upon knowing that Miss Xia placed herself in danger. Ou Luoxi bit his lip and did not say anything further. He raised his eyes and glanced at Qiu Pi. 90 seconds, which means he still has time, but...
At that instant, Ou Luoxi realised something was amiss. He took another look at the position of the explosive on Qiu Pi and yelled, "Hurry run! Lie flat!!"
The underling, who had his head held low, did not know what had happened. He felt Ou Luoxi grabbing the collar of his shirt and pushing him outwards, then with a "BOOM", a huge wave of heat hit them.
The moment Xia Xiao Fu climbed up, she saw the scene of the exploded warehouse.
She was in a daze momentarily. Why did that happen?
Wasn't it 90 seconds?
Where is Ou Luoxi?
All the men were lying flat on the ground with severe injuries. Ou Luoxi rolled about on the lawn for a while before glancing at the underling beside him. Although he did his utmost to protect the underling, the underling's right arm was damaged so badly that it was drenched in fresh blood. The underling was dead.
"Young Master." The bomb disposal expert rushed over and threw the wireless detonator from the sewer onto the ground, then pounded his chest saying, "The detonator only had 9 seconds left. 9 seconds should've been sufficient for everyone to retreat. Why did you not retreat?"
"9 seconds?" One of the men instantly looked towards Xia Xiaofu and pointed to her agitatedly."It's her. It is all because of her. She said there were 90 seconds left. She has misled Young Master?"
Everyone at the scene turned to look at Xia Xiaofu. All these men were suffering from injuries to different extents, and their faces and hands were all drenched with blood. They were looking at her with hatred and fury.
Xia Xiaofu's legs gave way, and she fell onto the grass.
A few men surrounded her and pointed something cold at her forehead. It was a gun.
Xia Xiaofu looked up and towards Ou Luoxi.
Ou Luoxi did not look at her but reached a hand out to shut the eyes of the dead underling. He stood up with his face still void of emotions, but his expression was cold like ice. People standing close to him would have seen the veins on the back of his hand twitching."Retreat. All the injured are to be sent to the hospital. The dead are to be registered, and double the pension shall be sent to their families."
"Yes, Sir."
Ou Luoxi walked off. Xia Xiaofu looked at the underling who was lying silently on the lawn with his face covered in blood. He was no longer breathing. This was the first time Xia Xiaofu had directly come in contact with death. The person she had been talking to just now was dead just like that. Her hands and legs turned ice-cold, and she shivered uncontrollably.
Hot tears streamed down her face rapidly, and she bit her lower lip forcefully in an attempt to control her crying.
Gong Ling was far enough away that she did not get hurt, but this was her first time witnessing such a scene, and it left her in shock."Brother Gong Ming, " she called out when Ou Luo Xi walked by her.
Just then, she saw a flash of silver and saw that one of her men had drawn a sharp knife and was directly headed for Ou Luoxi's body.
"Brother Gong Ming, be careful!" Gong Ling leaped directly in front of him.
The sound of the knife piercing into her flesh could be heard, and Gong Ling felt an immense pain at her chest. Blood dribbled out of the corners of her mouth, and she fell forwards, blacking out.
She fell into a warm embrace, and someone called her anxiously, "Gong Ling, Gong Ling."
Gong Ling forced her eyes open and saw Ou Luoxi's exquisite face in front of hers. She raised her right hand strenuously, wanting to touch his face."Brother Gong Ming..."
Her right hand plummeted to the ground.
"Young Madam!" The rest of the men swiftly suppressed the assailant. The man was dead. He had failed in his assasination attempt, so he plunged the sharp knife directly into his chest and died.
Xia Xiaofu forgot how to breathe. She was in a daze after witnessing all of this. She had seen Gong Ling selflessly leaping in front of Ou Luoxi to protect him from the knife, after which Ou Luoxi carried Gong Ling bridal style into the luxury car which roared off into the distance.
...
Xia Xiaofu felt like everything was just a dream. So many things had happened as if it were all part of a movie scene, Things had occurred so fast one after another that she did not have time to react.
She was currently in the hospital where Gong Ling was undergoing an operation. Ou Luoxi sat on a long bench along the corridor with his head drooped low. His soft fringe had fallen over his eyes, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
It was the middle of the night, and it was supposed to be quiet in the hospital, but there were so many injured and dead men from the warehouse incident that the doctors and nurses were swamped.
Xia Xiaofu stood alone in a daze, looking completely like an outsider. Everyone was looking at her with hate, their gazes accusing her of being the mastermind.
If she hadn't misread the time left on the detonator, all these casualties could totally have been avoided.
Some time later, heavy footsteps approached. Ah Li returned with Ou Ze, who had been caught trying to escape by sea.
Ou Ze's face was twisted, and he was still resisting. His red face was full of resistance for he was only one or two minutes away from making it out of the country
"Young Master, " Ah Li said, dragging Ou Ze in front of Ou Luoxi.
Ou Luoxi slowly looked up at Ou Ze.
Ou Ze laughed wildly."Ha ha, Ou Luoxi, what is the point of capturing me when you have completely lost? You can only dream about getting my military resources. Now that Gong Ling is in the operating theatre, just wait till you feel Fourth Uncle's wrath. Your position at the Green Door was not even stable, and this deadly incident is going to affect your status as Young Master. You are in deep trouble. Most importantly, how does it feel to be betrayed by the woman you love? Does it hurt?"
Ou Ze glared at Ou Luoxi with a gaze as poisonous as a scorpion's tail.
Ou Luoxi did not show any reaction. In comparison to Ou Ze's agitated emotions, he did not even reveal a frown. He stretched his long legs out elegantly and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, laughing."Big Brother, I will still say the same thing. It is not over for me. Why would I not be able to get your military resources? Aren't you right here?"
Ou Ze's heart sank as he realised it was over for him. Although Ou Luoxi was smiling, his smile was strangely chilling. Ou Luoxi closed his eyes as if he were going to take a rest. Ah Li forcefully pushed him out of the room.
Back in the corridor, Ou Ze saw Xia Xiaofu.
At that instant, all of Ou Ze's unwillingness seemingly disappeared as he smirked at Xia Xiaofu.
His smile sent Xia Xiaofu into a cold abyss. At that moment, Xia Xiaofu suddenly understood everything.
"Xiaofu." Ou Ze reached for Xia Xiaofu's hand but was held back by Ah Li. Ou Ze resisted and caused his handcuffs to make a piercing sound, attracting the attention of everyone."Xiaofu, I'm sorry. I did not fulfil my promise to you, but I have already transferred all the properties and accounts under my name to yours. In this life, I have done you wrong. I do not seek your forgiveness, but please treat my daughter well. She is innocent."
Xia Xiaofu was frozen in place. Even her teeth were chattering. At this moment, she really wanted to laugh, but nothing came out of her.
Ou Ze seemingly wanted to say more, but Ah Li marched him off.
Ou Ze was still looking back at the back view of Xia Xiaofu in reluctance.
The two tiny hands by Xia Xiaofu's sides were balled into tight fists. She lifted her eyes and looked at Ou Luo Xi, who did not open his eyes at all.
She did not know why, but they were only a few meters apart, yet their hearts were already very, very far apart.
Later, Xia Xiaofu was detained in a room. She had heard that Gong Ling's surgery was very successful, and she had been transferred into the VIP room where Ou Luoxi was still guarding her for the whole night. Xia Xiaofu sat on the bed with her knees to her chest, sleepless for the whole night.
She had done a lot of thinking and now understood many things. The detonator that was hidden in the sewer was prepared just for her. There were only 9 seconds left, but countless zeroes were blinking at the back. With the poor vision in her right eye, she had misread the time, and it resulted in this whole incident.
If she had guessed correctly, a year ago when she was trying to save the Xia family, Ou Ze was always randomly appearing in front of her. All this was done on purpose for Ou Luoxi to see. When the Xia family's hotel was acquired by Ou Ze, Ou Ze had easily snuck in and placed a used condom in the dustbin in her room while she was in the shower.
| ← Ch. 0714 | Ch. 0716 → |