"I'll say this one last time: if you don't release Qing Muye, I will kill you!"
Meng Jingwei said this in English, her voice clear and loud enough to reach Antina.
Indeed, upon hearing Meng Jingwei's words, Antina panicked, "Meng Jingwei, what do you want to do?"
Meng Jingwei's red lips curved into an arc. She lowered her voice and said to Xiao Cheng, "If you want to die, that's your choice. But I don't want Qing Muye to get hurt."
After speaking, she looked at Antina not far away and said loudly, "Xiao Cheng has hidden Qing Muye. Antina, I'll give you thirty minutes. If you can't produce Qing Muye, then you can wait to collect his corpse!"
As women themselves, Meng Jingwei could sense Antina's deep love for Xiao Cheng. How could she possibly watch him die?
Xiao Cheng was extremely surprised by Meng Jingwei's tactics.
He hadn't expected the young woman he hadn't seen in only half a year to be so intelligent, resourceful, and quick-witted.
Yet, in her heart, there was only Qing Muye, with no place for him.
"Go!"
Meng Jingwei grabbed Xiao Cheng by the shoulder, pressed the muzzle of the gun against his head, and uttered a soft reprimand, taking him away.
Song Ci and other bodyguards stood by to protect them, preventing any mishaps.
Antina, seeing Meng Jingwei leave with Xiao Cheng, was both furious and indignant. She could only immediately order her subordinates, "Find him! Immediately dispatch everyone to search for Qing Muye."
"Yes, Young Miss."
Everyone responded and immediately got into their cars, driving off to find the person.
Meanwhile, Meng Jingwei took Xiao Cheng into the car. As Song Ci opened the car door for Xiao Cheng to get in, Xiao Cheng stood by the car and cast a meaningful glance towards the northwest corner of the plaza.
This almost imperceptible movement caught Meng Jingwei's attention. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she looked in that direction.
The moment she looked away, she saw Xiao Cheng, who was bending to get into the car, press his left wrist with his right hand.
"Wait!"
Meng Jingwei reprimanded him, grabbed his left wrist, and rolled up his sleeve. She then saw the electronic watch on his wrist counting down.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her heart hung in her throat.
The countdown showed six minutes!
No, it was now fifty-four seconds!
"Xiao Cheng!" Meng Jingwei gritted her teeth, her hand holding the gun trembling uncontrollably.
Xiao Cheng, however, smiled coldly, "Kill me. I'll be content if he accompanies me on the road to the underworld."
"You're truly despicable."
Meng Jingwei cursed him angrily, raised the butt of her pistol, and struck him hard on the back of the head with all her might.
With a single blow, Xiao Cheng's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Song Ci, find someone. Qing Muye is nearby!" Meng Jingwei said, then sprinted towards the northwest corner, turning on the timer on her phone as she ran.
Song Ci stood by, observing everything, and seemed to understand the situation. "Tie him up."
He pointed at Xiao Cheng and gave instructions to his subordinates, then added, "You guard him. The rest of you, go find the person."
Antina had already ordered everyone to leave and search for Qing Muye.
At this moment, with everyone else gone, she was the only one sitting in the car, staring intently at the car that had taken Xiao Cheng hostage.
Meng Jingwei, running across the plaza, exerted all her strength, running like a hundred-meter sprinter.
The cold harbor wind whistled past her ears, brushing against her face with a chilling sensation, but her heart instantly plummeted to the bottom, and she felt a bone-chilling cold.
"Qing Muye, you can't die, you can't die!"
She murmured in her heart and shouted loudly, "Qing Muye? Qing Muye?"
A gut feeling told her Qing Muye was nearby.
Running to the northwest corner, she found a pile of stacked shipping containers. Meng Jingwei wove through the narrow paths between the containers, continuously calling out Qing Muye's name, "Where are you? Qing Muye, if you can hear me, make a sound!"
She kept shouting, her voice tinged with tears.
The usually strong Meng Jingwei had never worried about someone so intensely before.
Meng Jingwei turned on her phone's flashlight, shining it around, and periodically checking her phone's time, the seconds ticking away.
Surrounding her were people brought by Song Ci, all calling out Qing Muye's name in unison.
But after several minutes, Meng Jingwei, sweating profusely from anxiety, still couldn't find any trace of Qing Muye.
She stood stunned by the last row of containers, searching for a long time with no sign of anyone, her search proving fruitless.
As if in a daze, she staggered a few steps, "How could this happen?"
Meng Jingwei trembled with anxiety. She immediately took out her phone to call Song Ci, but in her nervousness, she dialed the wrong number.
She hung up, found Song Ci's number again, and dialed it. The call was answered immediately, "Miss Meng?"
"Wake up Xiao Cheng, ask him, ask him where Qing Muye is, quickly, go!"
"Okay, okay, okay. I'm going now."
Song Ci didn't dare to delay and went immediately.
Meng Jingwei was consumed by worry. She leaned powerlessly against the railing at the edge of the plaza. Behind her was the harbor, and the rushing sound of the waves filled her ears, mixed with the cries of seagulls.
She regretted it, regretting hitting Xiao Cheng unconscious so quickly, confidently assuming Qing Muye was nearby, and thus missing the best opportunity to save him.
If she had interrogated him a little longer, perhaps Xiao Cheng would have revealed Qing Muye's whereabouts.
In her regret, Meng Jingwei blamed herself, thinking this.
But she also knew that Xiao Cheng would rather die than harm Qing Muye, so how could he have revealed Qing Muye's location?
A coldness, emanating from her very bones, swept through her, causing every pore in her body to cry out.
Whether it was the cold by the sea or something else, she couldn't stop shivering.
If Qing Muye died here today, Meng Jingwei would probably never forgive herself.
The corner of the plaza, obscured by the stacked containers, was unusually dark. Meng Jingwei, weak and powerless, sank to the ground. She glanced at her watch; there were only fifty-eight seconds left on the countdown.
She tightly clutched her phone, her eyes wide, watching the seconds on the timer. The feeling of helplessness, knowing her beloved was about to die but being unable to do anything, tormented her to the point of unbearable pain.
Tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
Perhaps it was sand in her eyes, or perhaps it was overwhelming sadness.
Meng Jingwei slowly closed her eyes, leaning back against the railing. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again.
At that moment, her gaze drifted sideways, and she saw the tower crane standing on the sea.
Because the tower crane was very far from the shore and extremely tall, her vision automatically ignored it.
Meng Jingwei's brow furrowed, and she sprang to her feet, her gaze fixed on the tower crane.
She guessed that Qing Muye must be there.
But it was so far away. Was there still a chance?
She slowly raised her phone, which lit up automatically, displaying the time.
Five minutes and thirteen seconds.