"This was Grandma's own mistake, and we are not qualified to be involved." How could the bitter fruit that ripened today be the sole 'credit' of Zhou Bingwen?
Even over the years, even after her own father had passed away, Zhou Jinbai could tell from the old lady's recollections how much she doted on her son.
Even Zhou Jinbai could sense the obvious favoritism, let alone Zhou Bingwen.
Although Jia Yanzhen felt sorry for the old lady, at this moment, with Zhou Jinbai, her own grandson, reacting this way, he had even less standing to say anything. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as the old lady fainted.
After Zhou Jinbai had someone send the old lady to a private hospital, he walked directly towards the island's exit.
As they were halfway there, they saw rows of helicopters. A group of foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes disembarked from them.
Of course, there were a few with black hair, but their numbers were so small that they were hard to spot among the crowd of blonde and blue-eyed individuals.
"Mr. Dongfang—" The handsome middle-aged man walking at the front, upon seeing Zhou Jinbai, had a face full of excitement. In the next second, his gaze locked onto Nordlex, who was standing beside Cen Zhiyuan. His sharp eyes were now filled with tears.
Nordlex's face, full of vigilance, was also a picture of shock.
"Rex, my good son, I finally see you..."
This middle-aged man lunged towards Rex. When he tried to embrace Rex, Rex unexpectedly dodged backward.
The middle-aged man's eyes were filled with hurt.
To him, his son's defensiveness was heartbreaking. At this moment, he hated the criminals to death.
"Rex has been tormented for too long over the years, so he is wary of everyone," Zhou Jinbai explained to the man before him.
The middle-aged man sighed helplessly, then scanned the crowd and introduced himself, "Everyone, let's make it brief. My name is Norton Moses, Rex's father. Rex was kidnapped and tortured by criminals for so many years. We kept paying them, but I never expected them to torture my son to this state. I swear I will avenge my son. I am willing to join you all and wipe out the terrorists' nest."
Moses's expression was one of great anger. He actually disliked killing, as the Norton family was peace-loving and friendly. However, these people had gone too far.
"That's great, Mr. Norton. We desperately need your help. You've been researching the terrorists' hideouts all these years. Now that my wife has been captured by them, where do you think they are most likely to have taken her?"
Zhou Jinbai had paid no attention to these terrorists over the years. Although he knew the world wasn't as peaceful as it seemed on the surface, he had been too lazy to manage it.
Unexpectedly, it had now become his Achilles' heel. Norton Moses's involvement was like sharpening a good sword.
"I know their hidden locations worldwide. We can also analyze surveillance to determine where she's being held."
As Moses spoke, his subordinate handed him a tablet. Moses tapped the screen, and a world map appeared, divided into several regions with different colors.
Moses spent over ten minutes explaining each point on the map.
During these ten minutes, Zhou Jinbai's subordinates were already retrieving surveillance footage, and any suspicious footage was being analyzed.
Meanwhile, Lin Xingwan, who had been captured, was now imprisoned on a mountain that stretched as far as the eye could see.
She was tied to a thick wooden post.
There was fresh blood at the base of the post, likely left by the previous person tied there.
The entire post appeared to have been soaked in blood for who knows how many years, turning it a dark red.
If one ignored the fact that Lin Xingwan had been brought to this place, the scenery in the afternoon, with its rolling peaks, gave a sense of seclusion from the world.
But now, looking at it all, Lin Xingwan felt nothing but despair.
She had to admit that Helian Diejin and her ilk knew how to choose a location. Even if she escaped from here, she wouldn't be able to get out of these vast mountains!
"Are you expecting Zhou Jinbai and the others to come and save you?" Helian Diejin emerged from the room, followed by many subordinates. However, these subordinates were armed with various guns, axes, and knives, and their clothes were all stained with blood.
Lin Xingwan found the scene utterly disgusting. She ignored Helian Diejin, who, upon seeing this, felt a surge of pleasure.
"More than twenty years ago, your mother was also tied to this stake. I never expected that today, as her daughter, you would be tied here as well. You truly are mother and daughter!"
After Helian Diejin spoke, Lin Xingwan finally turned her disgusted gaze towards her and asked, "What exactly did you do to my mother back then?"
Although Lin Xingwan knew that her mother had been driven to that state by Helian Diejin, she had no idea what exactly had happened.
Given Helian Diejin's cruel methods, her mother must have suffered greatly at her hands.
"What did I do? Hahaha, of course, I did many things you wouldn't even dare to imagine." Helian Diejin walked up to Lin Xingwan, picked up a wooden stick, and her expression seemed filled with reminiscence. "Helian Lingru loved seducing men so much, wasn't it in her bones to be vulgar? So, I tied her here and let all the men here have their way with her for free. Helian Lingru was ecstatic at the time, as she had only been with Cen Jue and Xu Jingkuan before. Now, with hundreds of men here, she was too busy to handle them all."
Lin Xingwan's brows furrowed, and her gaze towards Helian Diejin was filled with even more hatred.
"I also took many photos. Let me find them for you."
As Helian Diejin finished speaking, one of her subordinates brought over a box.
Helian Diejin opened the box and took out an album.
In the album, one could clearly see Helian Lingru's despairing expression in the photos.
Just looking at one picture, the despair in her mother's eyes seemed contagious, making Lin Xingwan feel repulsed and fearful.
She turned her head away, not wanting to look any further, but Helian Diejin deliberately wanted Lin Xingwan to see. She ordered a subordinate to grip Lin Xingwan's chin, forcing her to watch.
Lin Xingwan watched as the fear and resistance in her mother's eyes eventually turned to dullness and despair.
Because in this place, no one would ever come to save her. Perhaps realizing her own fate, her mother had also become a walking dead person.
"See? The number one socialite of Yanjing was actually a woman for a thousand men. If I were to upload these photos online, what would people say about her? Hahaha."
Helian Diejin became increasingly delighted as she spoke, but Lin Xingwan spat directly onto Helian Diejin's face.
The atmosphere instantly turned cold. The subordinates standing behind Helian Diejin, seeing Lin Xingwan treat her like this, immediately aimed their weapons at Lin Xingwan, as if a single command would have them chop Lin Xingwan into pieces.
However, Lin Xingwan showed no fear. Since she had chosen this path, she wouldn't be afraid now.
She spoke in a contemptuous voice, "Helian Diejin, what's the point of releasing it online? My mother is already dead. Even if she's reviled by countless people, it means nothing to her. On the other hand, you, after all these years, still can't convince yourself that you're not as good as my mother. You're a thief, stealing everything that belonged to my mother. You think you can deceive those who don't know the truth, but you can never deceive yourself! Cen Jue won't like you, and any man, between you and my mother, would never choose you."
Lin Xingwan's words only made Helian Diejin angrier, because every word Lin Xingwan spoke was a nightmare in Helian Diejin's heart.
Helian Diejin, enraged, grabbed Lin Xingwan by the neck. "Shut up, shut up! Helian Lingru, that bitch, was already my defeated opponent. She lost to me!"
"Is... is that so? Look at yourself now. You can't even convince yourself, yet you want to convince me. How ridiculous."
After Lin Xingwan spoke, she felt the force on her neck increasing, as if it were about to break.
But in the next second, Helian Diejin immediately released her hands, and Lin Xingwan coughed violently.
Helian Diejin threw the album to the ground and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily. Your mother didn't suffer enough back then! Now you'll suffer her share too."
After speaking, Helian Diejin gave a look to the subordinate behind her. This subordinate immediately walked up to Lin Xingwan and brought a cup towards Lin Xingwan's mouth.
The cup contained a colorless, transparent liquid, but it had a strong, indescribably sweet and cloying smell.
Lin Xingwan tightly closed her mouth, preventing the man from succeeding.
However, the man firmly gripped her jaw. Lin Xingwan felt as if her jaw was about to dislocate. In pain, she was forced to open her mouth, and the man poured the contents of the cup into it.
"Cough... cough cough..." Lin Xingwan felt like she was about to choke to death. Despite her resistance, a considerable amount of liquid entered her throat.
Although there was no immediate reaction, Lin Xingwan knew that Helian Diejin had definitely given her something bad.
"What... what did you give me?" Lin Xingwan asked.
Helian Diejin sneered, "This is something to make you beg these men to play with you later. Your mother was forced to be insulted by these men back then, but now, I want you to beg them to insult you!"
After Helian Diejin finished speaking with a cold laugh, she sat on a nearby chair, waiting for time to pass.
At first, Lin Xingwan's body showed no unusual signs.
However, after a minute or two, Lin Xingwan felt her body gradually heating up and becoming increasingly abnormal.
Not only that, but her breathing also began to quicken.
Images of Zhou Jinbai entwined with her appeared in her mind, and her whole body began to tremble.
Lin Xingwan finally understood what Helian Diejin had given her!
And the dosage of this drug was definitely very potent.
"Go, untie her ropes."
Seeing Lin Xingwan's gaze become unfocused, Helian Diejin knew the time had come.
Soon, the ropes binding Lin Xingwan were untied.
She collapsed onto the ground, feeling as if a fire was burning within her body, and her mind became muddled.
The small stones on the ground dug into Lin Xingwan's flesh, giving her a fleeting sense of clarity.
Lin Xingwan looked up, gazing at the group of men with fierce eyes standing before her. They looked less like humans and more like hungry wolves.
Even though Lin Xingwan had prepared herself to die, she still felt fear in the face of such a terrifying scene.
Helian Diejin's eyes were filled with the pleasure and joy of revenge, and at Helian Diejin's command, these men approached Lin Xingwan.
They were like ghosts, and Lin Xingwan instinctively retreated.
But behind her was a cliff. If she retreated further, she would only fall.
Lin Xingwan glanced back and felt infinite dread.
She placed her hand on the necklace around her neck. If she were to kill Helian Diejin now, it would be impossible.
But she absolutely could not be insulted by these people. Not to mention that she couldn't accept it mentally, they would definitely carry all sorts of diseases.
However, it seemed she had no other choice but to jump.
Just as Lin Xingwan was in utter despair, several helicopters suddenly appeared in the sky.
And they were approaching at the fastest speed.
Not only Lin Xingwan noticed, but the entire group of people around also noticed.
Helian Diejin's originally arrogant expression also became serious and vigilant.
"Let's retreat! Take this woman with us." Helian Diejin immediately wanted to turn and go inside. After all, this place was easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as they could hide, they would be hard to catch.
Her subordinates grabbed Lin Xingwan from the ground like a chicken, but Lin Xingwan was now dazed and her consciousness was blurred.