Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 24

Confirming that the noise from their accomplice’s side was just the “little mute being dishonest,” the men guarding Jia Qiao relaxed their tense nerves and went back to sitting on the floor to play cards.

Halfway through the game, a “zizizi” sound of electric current suddenly echoed through the empty corridor of the abandoned building.

The lightbulb hanging overhead flickered twice and then went out completely.

The entire space was instantly swallowed by thick, heavy darkness.

The man in the headscarf lifted his head. “What’s the deal? A power outage?”

“Check the livestream, quick!” The man with glasses immediately checked the broadcasting equipment. After fiddling with it for a long time, there was no reaction. “No good. All six livestream rooms have gone offline.”

The man nicknamed “High Tide” cursed furiously, “Dammit! I told you guys ages ago to set up a separate backup power supply for the livestreams. If we don’t let the audience watch and confirm that we haven’t made a move, how are we going to report to the boss? Do you still want the final payment or not!”

“Enough, you guys just deflect blame as soon as something happens.” The silent man took a flashlight out of his hiking bag and tossed them to the others. “Old Eight, go downstairs and check the circuit. Red Stick, you go check the situation inside. Don’t let anything go wrong.”

“Got it.” High Tide casually picked up the baseball bat leaning against the wall, dragging it along the ground to create a terrifying screeching sound. Without looking back, he checked with the silent man, “Anyway, we’re not filming now, right? Is it okay if I give the little cutie a bit of a ‘reward’? I promise, I absolutely—won’t break him.”

The silent man knew he couldn’t stop him, so he could only give a muffled reminder, “Know your limits.”

Then he turned his head and instructed the man in the headscarf, who was still sitting there, “Keep an eye on him. Don’t let Red Stick go too far and ruin our plans.”

“Rest your heart a million times over. Our plan is flawless; even the Heavenly King himself couldn’t ruin it.” The headscarf man pushed himself up, twisting his neck left and right until the bones let out a series of crisp cracks.

Just as he was about to follow, the silent man suddenly had an ominous feeling and subconsciously added, “You guys be careful.”

The headscarf man clearly didn’t take it to heart, mocking him, “Boss, with that pathetic courage of yours, you should just be a law-abiding citizen after we finish this job.”

Walking in front, High Tide was the first to enter the prison cell.

To avoid being noticed by any accidental passersby, the six walls of the prison cell had been specially treated to ensure that not a single speck of light would leak out or shine in. It was so dark inside that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.

High Tide poked his head in. His eyes had not yet adapted to the darkness, and he saw no sign of anyone.

He leaned against the doorframe and lowered his head to twist on the flashlight.

Click—

The moment the light flared, he was so startled his breath nearly stopped!

He saw Jia Qiao—who was supposed to be handcuffed and staying in the center of the room—actually—

Standing right in front of him, silently, almost face-to-face.

Extreme fear caused High Tide’s pupils to contract. Before he could even let out a sound, the baseball bat was snatched from his hand.

Instinct drove him to get away from this terrifying person, to flee Jia Qiao at top speed.

The moment he turned, he saw a black shadow flash past from behind out of the corner of his eye, followed by a dull, heavy pain stretching from his neck to his waist.

His body collapsed limply. The last thing in his consciousness was Jia Qiao’s emotionless eyes, looking like something from hell.

A few steps away, the headscarf man heard the sound of the fall. He thought his accomplice had been too heavy-handed and knocked the hostage unconscious.

“Red Stick! I freaking told you to watch your limits, don’t hit too har—” The headscarf man quickened his pace and ran into the cell. He raised his flashlight to see the scene inside and subconsciously backed up several steps.

High Tide was slumped on the dark floor like a puddle of mud, his life or death unknown.

And the “little cutie” they had deemed weak and unable to withstand a single blow had casually tossed aside the baseball bat. At his feet lay a pair of specially-made handcuffs that had been twisted out of shape by brute force!

Although High Tide was a pervert, his combat prowess was the highest among the four of them.

Yet he had been neutralized in an instant without even the strength to resist. If the remaining three bunched up together, they would just be handing over their lives.

The headscarf man made a judgment call. Without a word, he turned tail and ran out as fast as his legs could carry him.

But before he could get more than a few steps, he was kicked flying from behind. The knife in his hand hit the ground with a clang.

The headscarf man lunged forward several meters from the kick. In the corridor, the silent man noticed the commotion and realized the plan had failed. He immediately picked up the walkie-talkie to call the man with glasses, who was downstairs checking the lines.

“Old Eight, don’t come upstairs! Go get the car ready, now!”

Having finished, he didn’t care about his companions at all; he grabbed his hiking bag and bolted for the stairs.

Jia Qiao watched him disappear into the stairwell but didn’t give chase immediately. He leaned down to pick up the fallen knife and waved it twice in front of the headscarf man’s eyes.

The sharp, bright blade reflected the headscarf man’s terrified eyes.

“I’ll confirm one last time,” Jia Qiao’s voice was flat, as if discussing what to have for dinner. “You used this knife to stab Lu Min?”

“I… I didn’t… it wasn’t me…” The headscarf man’s voice trembled as he shook his head frantically in denial.

“Is that so?” Before he could finish speaking, Jia Qiao had already shoved the knife back into his hand.

Then, using a terrifying strength that could not be resisted, he gripped the headscarf man’s wrist and forced the tip of the knife into the man’s own lower back.

“And then.” Jia Qiao maintained a scholarly attitude, not letting a single detail slip. “Hold the handle and turn it half a circle, right?”

As he spoke, he exerted a bit of force on the headscarf man’s wrist, twisting it a full circle inside.

“AAAAAAAH—!”

Although the knife hadn’t hit a vital organ, the pain was so intense it was unbearable. The headscarf man’s whole body convulsed, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream.

“Luckily you aren’t a mute; you can personally make the sound you love most.”

Jia Qiao let go of his hand and tore a piece of cloth from his shirt hem to wipe every finger clean.

“You can stay here and enjoy yourself while you struggle.”

Having said that, he walked unhurriedly toward the stairs where the silent man had disappeared.

When he was first brought in, Jia Qiao had roughly counted the number of steps. The place where he was imprisoned was on the fourth floor. Going down, there were three turns and about sixty steps.

According to the speed at which the silent man was fleeing, right now he should be…

Clutching the hiking bag containing all the criminal evidence, the silent man’s heart pounded wildly as he rushed down the stairs without looking back.

Fortunately, he hadn’t heard any sounds along the way; Jia Qiao didn’t seem to have followed him. The exit was directly ahead.

As long as he rushed out and got in the car, he could escape this disaster.

He quickened his pace, rushing toward the exit at his maximum speed.

Just then, a sharp wind whipped down from above the stairs.

By the time he reacted, a foot had stepped firmly onto the silent man’s shoulder. The sound of a shattering shoulder blade rang out.

The agonizing pain forced the silent man to his knees. The hiking bag slipped from his grasp, and the evidence scattered everywhere.

The silent man gritted his teeth and let out a muffled groan. He watched helplessly as Jia Qiao used his shoulder as a springboard to buffer his landing, then touched down lightly.

The abandoned building had no doors or windows, and the cold moonlight filtered through the concrete framework, illuminating Jia Qiao’s form.

In the aesthetic moonlight, he reached behind his back and gave a light tug.

A breeze blew past, and his smooth long hair fell loose, looking deeper than the night itself.

One end of the pure white ribbon used to tie his hair was looped around Jia Qiao’s fingertip; the other end had somehow wound its way around the silent man’s neck, slowly tightening.

“You… ugh…”

The silent man never would have imagined that the pure white, mournful ribbon at the end of Jia Qiao’s hair could have such a lethal use.

Just like the person himself—at first glance, he seemed soft and weak.

But when truly facing him, it was like facing a fathomless abyss; once you fell in, there was only death and no life.

“Who exactly are you?” The silent man used all his strength to tug at the ribbon to gain a sliver of breath, forcing himself to stay calm and trying not to leak his vulnerability or fear.

Jia Qiao had been put through a lot most of the night, and his body was already extremely weak; he needed a moment to recover.

Hearing the silent man’s question, he answered plainly, “Before you kidnapped me, didn’t you do your research?”

The silent man was an “old hand” in the business. Since entering the trade, he had never failed once. How could he not have done a background check?

But all the intel he had gathered showed that Jia Qiao had no skills and had merely relied on his pretty face to marry a good husband.

“It’s my turn to ask a question.” Jia Qiao tightened his fingers. “What was the ‘mission’ you were given?”

The silent man didn’t dare hide anything and answered honestly, “To make you die.”

“And then?”

“The employer would give us a large sum of money, give us plastic surgery, and smuggle us abroad to start a new life.”

“I see.” Jia Qiao thought for a moment, then suddenly loosened his fingers and said unhurriedly, “Let’s make a deal.”

Even though he had been “educated” before, Jia Qiao insisted on making deals with bad people.

Because only bad people knew best how to torture bad people.

“Cough, cough-cough…” The silent man nearly suffocated. He clutched his neck and coughed violently several times. “What deal?”

“I will let you smuggle yourself abroad according to your original plan,” Jia Qiao said. “However, you must take your ’employer’ with you.”

The silent man understood instantly. “Fine. Do you want me to send him to Northern Myanmar or Mexico?”

Jia Qiao didn’t know the international situation and asked, “What’s the difference?”

“Northern Myanmar is mainly controlled by warlords; it’s lawless. In Mexico, the drug cartels are rampant and act as kings of the hills. Once you get involved there, don’t even think about getting out for the rest of your life.”

Jia Qiao frowned. “There are enough people doing evil already; there’s no need to add to them.”

Moreover, Zhu Ke was naturally malicious with a low sense of morality.

If he were sent to a place like that, who knew how many innocent people he would harm?

“I get it.” The silent man immediately offered a new plan. “I’ll dump him in a foreign casino. Once someone like him goes in, they can’t get out without owing tens of millions. He’ll spend the rest of his life living in the fear of debt collectors; it’ll be worse than death.”

Jia Qiao seemed to accept this proposal. He lifted his eyes to look the silent man over again. “You are the mastermind of this crime. Even though we’ve made a deal, it’s impossible for me to let you leave unscathed.”

The silent man understood Jia Qiao’s meaning and let out a cold, self-deprecating laugh. “I thought I could retire cleanly after this job. It seems one really shouldn’t set flags.”

As the words fell, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He drew the long knife tucked at his waist, turned the blade toward himself, and aimed directly at the spot Jia Qiao had just stepped on, hacking down with force.

Thud, thud, thud—

Human bones were harder than one would imagine, but luckily Jia Qiao had already crushed most of them earlier.

The silent man swung the knife over a dozen times until he had completely severed his right arm. It fell bloodily in front of Jia Qiao.

“Is this price sufficient?”

He gripped the wound tightly to stop the blood from gushing, while secretly observing Jia Qiao’s reaction.

Sure enough, the other man just lowered his eyes and swept a glance over the severed limb, as if he had seen such scenes long ago.

The silent man thought miserably: Losing this time wasn’t unfair. Who told us to misjudge and pick a…

Killing machine.

“You can go.” Jia Qiao finally spoke. He paused for a moment and then added, “But I only promised to let you go. As for your accomplices, have them get their stories straight and turn themselves in.”

“…” The silent man didn’t respond immediately, silently calculating the crimes they had committed and what kind of sentencing they might face.

Jia Qiao tilted his head slightly, his eyes under the moonlight clear and pure. “Unless they want me to personally collect the ‘price’ from them.”

“…Understood.”

.

It was a sleepless night. Countless people stayed in front of their screens, staying up to follow Jia Qiao’s situation.

At around three in the morning, the six livestream rooms opened by the kidnappers all shut down, causing everyone’s hearts to jump into their throats.

[What happened? Did they kill the hostage?]

[Now it’s even harder to track the IP.]

[Qian He is offering a 100 million reward for any clues on Jia Qiao!!!]

The A-City police received news that the kidnappers were within the city. They immediately mobilized all their forces, preparing to turn the entire city upside down to find the trapped Jia Qiao.

Before dawn, as the fully armed police were preparing to set out and fight the criminal gang to the end…

Several staggering, wretched, bruised-and-battered hulking men helped each other along as they collapsed in front of the police station.

Seeing that none of them looked human, the police thought they were there to report a crime.

As it turned out—

“I’m turning myself in. W-we are the criminals who kidnapped Jia Qiao.”