Chapter 878 — Another Fifty Million

"You're quite mistaken, Mr. Gu. I'm nothing but a good Samaritan. All I can guarantee is that your daughter and her friend come back alive. As for whether they get hurt—that's beyond my concern. That's for the kidnappers to decide!" The caller, utterly unafraid of Gu Pengzhan's threat, spoke with shameless composure.

Gu Pengzhan's heart went cold. What he feared most was his daughter and Xiaoshu falling prey to the kidnappers' abuse, and from the caller's words, there was every chance they would do exactly that. Gu Pengzhan gripped his phone until his knuckles went white, his body trembling slightly. "What will it take for you to leave Yaoyao and Xiaoshu unharmed? Name your price—I'll pay whatever you want!"

"Oh? So it seems you're unwilling to cooperate with me after all, Mr. Gu?" The caller's tone shifted abruptly, and he gave a cold laugh. "Fine, then. Wait to collect the bodies of your daughter and her friend..."

"Wait!" Gu Pengzhan sighed. It seemed he would be fortunate if his daughter and Xiaoshu simply came back alive. As for any humiliation—that was beyond his control now. In circumstances like these, it wasn't as though the girls had chosen it; so long as word never got out afterward, it would be all right. Better than death, at any rate.

"Oh? Changed your mind again, Mr. Gu?" The caller sounded as though he had Gu Pengzhan completely figured out, certain that he would come around and keep talking.

"All right, I agree. But please, try not to harm them. If possible, I'll find a way to raise another fifty million afterward as compensation." Gu Pengzhan said, "My word is my bond—ask anyone in the business world about my reputation. When I say yes, I mean yes; when I say no, I mean no. I hope you'll believe me!"

"I'm well aware of your reputation. But heh—that's not for me to decide." The caller spoke blandly. "Go and gather the money now. I'll call again shortly with instructions on how to hand it over!"

"No problem. I'll have it ready as soon as I can!" Gu Pengzhan said.

"Don't call the police, or your daughter will die a very ugly death." The caller offered Gu Pengzhan one final warning.

Gu Pengzhan sneered inwardly. Weren't you the good Samaritan who provided the tip? Now you're telling me not to call the police? Finally showing your true colors, are you?

Of course, Gu Pengzhan knew better than to voice his thoughts. He dared not provoke the thugs, and merely said, "I won't. Rest assured!"

In truth, Gu Pengzhan hadn't intended to call the police anyway. The other side clearly had skilled hands at their disposal, and police involvement would only enrage them. Even if he rescued his daughter in the end, he might not be able to hold those experts; and then what of the days to come? It would only invite even more frenzied revenge from these people, and next time it wouldn't be a mere kidnapping—most likely they would be struck down outright, just like Uncle Qing.

Not long after Gu Pengzhan hung up, Wei Zhao's phone rang.

Though Wei Zhao had been cultivating in the jade pendant's space all this while, he could still hear the conversation between Gu Pengzhan and the kidnappers. He had said nothing, however, because he wanted to seize every second to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

Now that the phone was ringing, Wei Zhao had no choice but to emerge from his cultivation space back into reality and answer it. He had assumed it was the kidnappers again, but the screen showed Qiu Lingshan's number.

"Hello? Any news?" Wei Zhao asked.

"We've been monitoring Mr. Gu Pengzhan's phone. We heard the kidnapper's earlier call, but we couldn't trace their location—the call was routed through a network to an overseas IP phone server." Qiu Lingshan spoke with some regret. "Do you need us to do anything?"

"Not for now. I can handle it myself. The other side clearly has experts—you're no match for them." Wei Zhao turned down Qiu Lingshan's help.

Qiu Lingshan was a little displeased at being told "you're no match," but she also understood that she truly wasn't. Her strength and Uncle Qing's were about equal—one an inner-school expert at the late Yellow Rank, the other an outer-school expert at the peak of the late Yellow Rank—and in a real fight, they would be evenly matched.

Yet the kidnappers had gravely wounded Uncle Qing with a single palm strike. If Qiu Lingshan went, the result would likely be the same!

"Then... be careful... Little Silly Girl is cheering for you!" In Qiu Lingshan's heart, for some inexplicable reason, there was a stir of worry... He pushed her around so much, and yet she was worrying about him? Qiu Lingshan couldn't make sense of her own feelings...

"Ha, all right." Wei Zhao hung up.

Songshan City was so named because of the many mountains nearby. Apart from Shuangyan Mountain, which had been developed into a tourist attraction, the steeper ranges remained undeveloped, and ordinarily no one went up them.

Among these steep mountains was one called Nanjingzi Mountain—a local folk name, of course. As for its official geographical name, almost no one could say for certain, and it was even doubtful whether the name appeared on any map at all.

It was called Nanjingzi Mountain because it lay to the south of Songshan City, and "mirror" referred to its sheer, rocky face—after rain, it grew as smooth and slippery as a mirror. In short, there was nothing on this mountain worth having, and ordinary folk would never climb it.

And today, at the foot of this mountain, two vehicles were parked: one a Donghai-plate Mercedes-Benz, the other a Toyota Previa commercial van.

Up on the mountain, Zhen Yingjun had just finished his call to Gu Pengzhan using the voice changer, and for a moment he hesitated. Originally, he had planned to demand two hundred million from Gu Pengzhan, then have his way with Gu Pengzhan's daughter and Shen Yushu, kill Wei Zhao, and consider the score settled.

But then he heard that Gu Pengzhan was willing to add another fifty million, and his heart was instantly stirred! Fifty million—just fifty million! His own medical treatment had only cost forty million in total, and here Gu Pengzhan was casually throwing in fifty million more! The condition was that Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were not to be harmed!

To say Zhen Yingjun was unmoved would be nonsense—he was genuinely tempted. What kind of sum was fifty million? Never mind fifty million; for ten thousand yuan you could hire a woman. If he went ahead and violated Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu himself, the price would be a bit too steep!

Though it was the first time he had ever heard of someone voluntarily offering kidnappers more money, Gu Pengzhan's reputation was sterling, and he believed that as long as Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were returned safely, Gu Pengzhan would honor his word. Still, there was a lingering reluctance in his heart!RO