The doorknob turned and a burly man entered, panting and grumbling, "Damn it, why does this old man have to be the one delivering food!"
The room was very dark, without a light on, so he didn't notice Su Ding by the door at all.
Just as he stepped inside, before he could even look at Su Ding on the stool, he was struck on the back of the head with a blunt object from behind. His large frame collapsed to the ground.
He didn't even know what had happened.
Su Ding smirked with satisfaction, it had gone smoother than she had imagined.
Su Xiao Rui suddenly threw off the covers, preparing to get out of bed.
Su Ding, however, signaled her to stay put, whispering, "Xiao Rui, go back to bed."
She could tell that her daughter hadn't eaten a full meal in days. Apart from the initial burst of energy upon seeing her, she was completely weak.
She couldn't risk taking her daughter with her.
Su Ding grabbed the unconscious man by the body and dragged him onto a stool, binding him there, and then stuffed a cloth into his mouth.
She then fumbled through his pockets for his phone. She intended to send a distress message, but discovered that the signal in the room was completely blocked.
She clutched the phone tightly, searching every corner of the room for a signal, but ultimately gave up.
She picked up the boxed meal from the floor, brought it to the bed, opened it, and fed it to Xiao Rui.
Su Xiao Rui was no longer frightened. Under her mother's care, she ate until she burped. This was the first time she had eaten her fill in days.
In the past, the bad guys would just shove a few mouthfuls into her mouth carelessly and then leave impatiently.
She had cried in fear, and crying would result in being beaten.
She missed her mother and believed her mother would surely come to save her. Finally, her mother had arrived!
Seeing Xiao Rui fed, Su Ding felt a little relieved.
She finished the small amount of food left, then held Xiao Rui in her arms, coaxing her to sleep for a while.
She believed someone would come looking soon.
About twenty minutes later, grumbling could be heard outside the door again. The man pushed the door open impatiently and was once again struck on the head by Su Ding, falling unconscious.
Su Ding tore off strips of the bedsheet and tightly bound the unconscious man, then tossed him by the wardrobe.
Then, she went to the strong man tied to the stool and precisely found the most painful acupoint, poking it fiercely.
The strong man woke up with a scream from the pain, but couldn't make a sound!
In the darkness, his eyes widened in pain, tears flying out.
In front of him, a beautiful woman with a sharp gaze stared at him calmly, "Be quiet."
Her two soft words carried immense weight.
The strong man dared not make another sound. The pain he felt was excruciating, worse than stubbing his toe on a wall.
"I ask you, how many people are here?" Su Ding stared into his eyes.
The strong man's gaze flickered, he averted his head, refusing to speak.
Su Ding sneered and mercilessly poked his pain point again, "Speak!"
The strong man howled in pain and nodded vigorously, tears streaming down his face.
"Mmph mmph..."
Su Ding pulled the cloth from his mouth, leaned close to his ear, and said menacingly, "If you dare to be sly again, I'll kill you."
The last four words were spoken almost against his ear, piercing his heart.
A chill swept from his heart to his toes!
The strong man didn't even dare to meet Su Ding's gaze, "There are two more."
Su Ding continued to press, "Who ordered this?"
The strong man shook his head, "I don't know, our superiors ordered it."
Su Ding narrowed her eyes, appraising him coldly, seemingly doubting the truth of his words.
The strong man's expression was terrified, "I'm not lying, truly. Please let me go, I'm just doing this for money."
Su Ding asked again, "Where is this? How can I leave?"
The strong man quickly gave the location: it was in a town in the neighboring city of Jiangcheng, a relatively secluded hotel. To leave, one just had to go down the stairs to the first floor. Their people were at a foot massage parlor next to the hotel, and with caution, they wouldn't be discovered.
The strong man tried to beg for mercy again, but Su Ding's gaze silenced him.
Su Ding casually stuffed the cloth back into his mouth, "Behave yourself!"
Then, she picked up Xiao Rui from the bed, "It's time for us to go."
Just as she was holding Xiao Rui and about to open the door, she heard a group of heavy footsteps rapidly approaching the room.
It sounded like at least five people.
Su Ding quickly shielded Xiao Rui with her body and raised the wooden stick high—
"Bang!"
The door was kicked open. Su Ding swung the stick down, but froze when the tall man leading the group turned his face.
The wooden stick fell to the ground.
Immediately after, she was pulled into a tight embrace by the man, as if he wanted to fuse her into his body. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free.