Hearing Li Chonglou’s words, Li Hanlong said nothing further.
He withdrew his gaze, took out his walkie-talkie, called someone to open the door, and left.
After Li Hanlong left, everyone in the room remained as they were, not moving, not speaking, their minds somewhat dazed.
The air was filled with a suffocating feeling, still instilling fear and terror. In the silence, one could faintly hear uneven breaths.
It seemed that Li Hanlong's anger had not left with him but remained in the room.
“Come, Duo’er, sit down quickly.”
“Did it hurt?”
Li Chonglou was the first to break the silence. He walked over to Li Duo’er, took her hand, and pulled her onto the sofa.
Li Duo’er’s face was still streaked with tears, her eyes vacant. She continued to hold her hand to half her face, not letting go.
But this did not hide her already red and swollen cheek.
This made Li Chonglou feel a pang of guilt, as she had been hit for speaking up for him.
Submissively following Li Chonglou to sit down, she suddenly snapped back to reality upon hearing his concerned words.
She then seemed to have been wronged to the extreme, and with a loud wail, disregarding her dignity, she began to cry unrestrainedly.
Her cry immediately pulled everyone else’s minds back to reality. They all turned their heads in unison.
Their gazes were all fixed on Li Duo’er on the sofa, who was crying so tragically, their expressions as blank as if they were foolish.
Li Chonglou did not offer comfort. Crying was a form of catharsis, more useful than any comforting words.
The sooner she could vent, the better he could ask her what had happened last night.
He then silently scanned everyone in the room.
Suddenly, he noticed that among the seven or eight bound individuals, a pair of eyes revealed a fierce glint, which flashed and disappeared.
Among the crowd, this gaze, though appearing and vanishing in an instant, did not escape Li Chonglou’s sweep.
Though he did not understand the meaning behind this look, it made Li Chonglou wary.
He did not continue to probe the source of the gaze, but instead, as if nothing were amiss, turned his attention to Xiao Qiang in the corner.
He further noticed that Xiao Qiang was also staring at Li Duo’er with wide eyes.
His expression was one of disbelief, but he just stared foolishly, without any other action.
This was a stark contrast to his usual behavior, where he would follow Li Duo’er like a tail, fawning over her.
This Xiao Qiang seemed to have been raised in a greenhouse, never having experienced any hardship.
His ability to cope was incredibly weak, Li Chonglou thought to himself.
He then withdrew his gaze expressionlessly, lost in thought.
Just as everyone was staring at Li Duo’er, with nothing but her crying audible, Li Duo’er’s cries suddenly stopped.
With a sob, she stood up abruptly and quickly walked towards the group of people who were bound.
All eyes followed Li Duo’er’s figure in unison.
In the entire room, Li Duo’er seemed to have become the focal point.
Everyone’s thoughts and consciousness seemed to be dictated by Li Duo’er’s actions.
Only Li Chonglou glanced at Li Duo’er, shook his head gently, and quickly withdrew his gaze, not watching further.
Li Duo’er pointed at one of the men. This man appeared to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, with fair skin and handsome features.
Unfortunately, a mole the size of a fingertip at the end of his eyebrow significantly lowered his otherwise good looks.
“Yan Bin, tell me, how could you be so incompetent?”
“It’s all your fault for making me get hit.”
“Didn’t you boast that it was a piece of cake?”
“Aren’t you usually very capable? You, you.”
As Li Duo’er spoke, she kicked Yan Bin. Without stopping, while cursing incessantly, her feet kept moving, as if she wanted to vent all her accumulated grievances onto Yan Bin.
Yan Bin’s hands were tied, making it inconvenient to dodge.
In reality, he instinctively tried to evade, but he didn’t manage to avoid the kicks.
“Don’t be angry, let me explain.”
Yan Bin showed no change in his expression, seemingly accustomed to Li Duo’er’s scolding and blows.
Yan Bin’s overall appearance was refined and scholarly, which was inconsistent with his role as one of Li Hanlong’s subordinates, not an employee.
Li Hanlong’s illicit activities were all carried out by these subordinates.
Yet, not only was he one of them, but he was also their leader.
Seeing that Li Duo’er had no intention of stopping, Yan Bin simply stopped trying to dodge.
He uttered a few words indifferently, then lowered his eyes, no longer looking at Li Duo’er, allowing her to continue kicking him.
Yan Bin’s reaction caught Li Chonglou’s attention. He gave the young man a meaningful glance.
A moment later, Li Duo’er stopped.
Hands on her hips, she exhaled deeply, trying to regulate her breathing.
The anger and grievance on her face had also subsided considerably.
It was clear that she had put all her strength into the kicking, showing no mercy.
After a brief rest, she crouched down and untied Yan Bin’s hands behind his back.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she sat down nearby, her face stern, eyebrows raised, staring directly at Yan Bin.
“So tell me, what happened? Why were you caught?”
Yan Bin patted the dust off his clothes and, while helping to untie the others, replied.
“Last night, we waited at the location you instructed to intercept you, but you never showed up, so we moved closer.”
“Suddenly, five or six people appeared, and we didn’t even know what was happening.”
“As soon as they appeared, they attacked. They didn’t say anything, and then we ended up here.”
Yan Bin spoke in a calm, even tone. He was even focused on helping his brothers untie themselves, not even glancing at Li Duo’er.
“Then why didn’t you run? Aren’t you usually very capable?”
“You were all captured, how embarrassing.”
Li Duo’er curled her lips and rolled her eyes, her reprimand laced with disdain. She then shot Yan Bin a fierce glare.
“Young Miss, you have no idea who these people are.”
“These people are too professional. Their movements are incredibly fast.”
“Before we could even get a good look, our brothers were already knocked out.”
“Even if we had more people, we wouldn’t be a match for them. If I hadn’t stayed in the car and gotten out, we wouldn’t have been caught and brought here now.”
Before Yan Bin could speak, the young man in the T-shirt and jeans, who had been thrown in that morning, butted in anxiously.
“You have the audacity to say that! You ran away, and you still got caught.”
Li Duo’er’s disdain intensified upon hearing this.
“How could I have known these people would be so persistent? It’s such a small matter!”
“Besides, we didn’t do anything, why go this far?”
“I was planning to report this to Chairman Li after breakfast, but I didn’t get the chance. And look, I see Chairman Li here.”
By this time, the young man had been freed from the ropes binding his hands and feet. He stood up and walked towards the group of people who had also been unbound and were stretching their limbs. He shrugged, as if he too hadn’t expected this, and then sat down.
The young man’s casual remark further solidified Li Chonglou’s suspicions.
Although he hadn’t heard any more valuable information, he was certain of one thing.
There must be secrets within this golf course, and it wasn't just to detain them that such a large operation was launched.
When the opportunity arose to leave, he would definitely investigate thoroughly.
While he was contemplating.
The young man who had just sat down seemed to remember something. He suddenly jumped up, even taking two steps back.