Chapter 1 Crisis

Inside the prison.

Jing Yan sat in his solitary confinement cell, basking in the sun and reading a banned unofficial history book about Emperor Qin.

"Dring dring!"

A phone rang loudly. Jing Yan slowly picked up his cell phone. "Hello?"

"It's Gu Baishun."

"Have you thought it through? When are you going to deal with Wei Xiangzuo?" Jing Yan put down the book and asked in a flat tone.

Gu Baishun was silent on the phone for a moment, then replied in a cold voice, "I haven't thought it through, so I did something a little extreme."

Jing Yan frowned.

"I've kidnapped Tan Hengqiang's eldest daughter, son-in-law, and grandson." Gu Baishun said calmly.

Hearing this, Jing Yan jumped to his feet. "What did you say?!"

"I just want to tell you that people aren't gods and can't control everything." Gu Baishun said bluntly, "Now I'm giving you a choice: come out and see me, or everyone dies together."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Did I have a choice other than doing this?! Whether I kill Wei Xiangzuo or go to you alone, I'll end up being manipulated by you and walking into a dead end." Gu Baishun gritted his teeth and replied, "I'm giving you three hours. If you don't find a way to get out of prison, I'll kill Tan Hengqiang's daughter's family of three!"

"If you harm her, you won't live either!"

"Yes, I won't live, but I can take you with me!!" Gu Baishun pointed to the ground and roared madly, "I can't save my own mother, so what's the point of me living?! I've recorded all our calls. How you ordered me to kidnap Wei Xiangzuo, how you wanted to provoke the conflict between the garrison and Lao Li's team – all that is very clear in the recordings. I'll kill this family of three and send the recordings directly to Tan Hengqiang. Then you and I are accomplices, co-conspirators! If I die, you won't have it easy either; Tan Hengqiang will kill your whole family!"

Hearing this, Jing Yan clenched his fists unconsciously.

"You have no bottom line in what you do, and you want to hide behind the scenes forever? Since I'm not going to live, I'll drag you into the spotlight first! I'll tell Li Mingsheng, tell Tan Hengqiang, that you were the mastermind behind all this discord." Gu Baishun growled, "Just three hours! If you're a minute late, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life!"

With that, Gu Baishun hung up the phone and turned to Guo Zhengdao. "Dao!"

Guo Zhengdao took out a dagger from his waist and handed it to Gu Baishun, who walked to the SUV and yanked open the door.

Inside the car, the family of three, blindfolded, trembled with fear. Gu Baishun grabbed the right index finger of the man in the suit with the sharp dagger, turned back, and nodded to Guo Zhengdao.

Guo Zhengdao expressionlessly took out his phone and started recording.

"Pfft, pfft…!"

Gu Baishun held down the wrist of the man in the suit and repeatedly slashed with the knife a dozen times, actually cutting off the man's right index finger.

Screams echoed inside the car. Gu Baishun threw the finger out of the car and pointed at the phone camera, saying, "Just three hours!"

…

Inside the solitary confinement cell.

Jing Yan was pacing anxiously when his phone beeped with a text message notification. He picked it up and saw it was the video of Gu Baishun cutting off the finger.

"Damn it!"

Jing Yan slammed the phone on the table in anger, his brain working furiously.

Clearly, Gu Baishun had chosen to raise the stakes when he was desperate. He knew that his life and his mother's life couldn't threaten Jing Yan, so in a fit of anger, he kidnapped Tan Hengqiang's daughter's family of three.

That way, if something happened to Tan Hengqiang's daughter's family, and Gu Baishun revealed to him that Jing Yan and he were behind it, what would the result be? Would Tan Hengqiang believe it?

The answer was yes, because Gu Baishun had the recordings of Jing Yan sowing discord, as well as the evidence that he had ordered him to kidnap Wei Xiangzuo and assassinate Zhou Peng.

Could these things turn the tables? Could they make Jing Yan compromise?

No, because these things weren't enough to provoke Tan Hengqiang's irrational retaliation.

But if something happened to the daughter's family, it would definitely drive Tan Hengqiang insane instantly.

Gu Baishun's counterattack strategy included calculating himself into the equation. He no longer considered the consequences of doing so; he just wanted to see Jing Yan in person, just wanted to force him out of prison, so he could find a chance to save his mother.

Otherwise, if Jing Yan never showed his face, Gu Baishun would be manipulated like a puppet. As long as his mother was in their hands, he would have no way to turn things around.

Inside the cell.

Jing Yan clearly understood all the pros and cons, but in the end, he didn't dare to take the risk. He secretly set traps and gradually seized power through careful maneuvering. The Supervision Committee might support him, but if he killed Tan Hengqiang's daughter, not even a god could save him.

That was the commander of a garrison, a powerful figure with military power in his hands. How many people could withstand his desperate revenge?

This matter had to be resolved immediately.

After thinking for a long time, Jing Yan immediately called Gu Baishun back.

"Hello?"

"Okay, okay, I'll meet you. We'll talk face to face, but you can't touch Tan Hengqiang's daughter anymore," Jing Yan said in a cold voice.

"Tonight at eight, I'll be at…!"

"Impossible, I can't go to the place you said, I'd rather die!" Jing Yan interrupted directly, "Eight o'clock, wait for my call. Remember, just you alone bring them. If I find anything amiss, I'll kill your mother first and then run away immediately. I'd rather lose everything."

"Okay!" Gu Baishun replied decisively.

"That's it!"

The two ended the call. Gu Baishun immediately shouted to Niu Feng, "Get me a locator. I'll swallow it directly."

Inside the car, Wei Xiangzuo looked at Gu Baishun in disbelief. "You're out of your mind! You're really going?!"

"This is the only chance to save my mother," Gu Baishun replied without hesitation. "I have to go."

"No, you're just one person…!" Niu Feng also tried to dissuade him.

Gu Baishun raised his arms and grabbed Niu Feng's shoulders, saying, word by word, "Listen to me, Uncle Niu! Jing Yan is smarter than a monkey. He's cautious, good at calculating, and he won't do what I want, nor will he put himself in danger! He won't show up without a one hundred percent guarantee! So, I definitely have to go. Once I get there, I'll try to stall for time and find a way to open the locator and give you a signal. If it works, we'll go back to The Dragon City Rises safely; if it doesn't work… I'll die with Jing Yan and Tan Hengqiang's family! I had Liu Gang, the finance guy at the mining company, secretly deposit three million in cash. You followed me this time, and I haven't given you anything. If I don't come back… take the money and leave…"

…

Around six o'clock in the evening.

The streets of Huafu were brightly lit with glittering neon lights.

Su Tianyu sat in the car and turned to ask the intermediary introduced to him by Director Liu, "Who does Jing Yan usually interact with in your prison?"

"He doesn't interact with anyone." The prison guard replied softly, "There's a professional lawyer who specializes in handling things for him. Oh, and that Gu Baishun guy came once before, just recently…"