Morning.
Jiang Shaolong walked out of the camp, breathing in the air of freedom, tears streaming down his face.
Only those who have been to prison know how precious freedom is.
Finally, he was out of the incredibly cramped dark cell, no longer having to smell that terrible odor while eating or sleeping, and even being beaten by fellow inmates. He was truly too excited.
His original subordinates and friends were, of course, released with him.
However, those few subordinates who were locked in the same dark cell with him kept a considerable distance from him, filled with fear.
"Hurry up and leave, don't linger at the entrance!"
The soldier on guard, covering his nose, urged them.
Even seasoned warriors who had been baptized by fire and tempered countless times couldn't help but keep a respectful distance from the pungent odor emanating from Jiang Shaolong and the others.
Having long been terrified of the Raptor Squad, Jiang Shaolong naturally didn't dare to stay, and he quickly left the Raptor Squad's camp.
After walking a distance, he cast a grim look at the men who had been imprisoned with him and said, "You, come over here and squat down!"
The men approached, trembling with fear.
"It felt good to bully me, didn't it? You never thought I'd see the light of day again, did you?"
Jiang Shaolong's face twisted into a ferocious grimace. He kicked one of them over and proceeded to punch and kick the other four inmates with ruthless intensity.
Inside the dark cell, everyone's psyche had collapsed. He, the dignified Young Master Jiang, had been treated as a punching bag, and nearly worse.
The mere thought made him feel nauseous and drove him mad.
The others stood by mutely; no one intervened.
They had only been in the dark cell for three or four days, but for each of them, it had been a nightmarish experience, leaving their minds numb.
"Beat them to death!"
Jiang Shaolong, out of breath and too exhausted to continue his assault, ordered the others.
After a moment's hesitation, the others did not hold back, and began to punch and kick the three betrayers until they could no longer move.
After venting his anger, Jiang Shaolong finally felt a little better and instructed, "Make a call to have someone pick us up."
No one moved. Everyone exchanged glances, and then someone said, "Young Master Jiang, our phones haven't been returned!"
This area was in the suburbs, and it was six in the morning. There were very few vehicles around.
Jiang Shaolong was a bit dumbfounded.
The group waited for a car where they were. After a long while, a truck finally approached.
They quickly waved to flag it down.
The truck driver, startled to see several disheveled and filthy adult men blocking the road so early in the morning, not only didn't slow down but accelerated, driving past one of them and nearly knocking him over.
They cursed loudly, but were helpless.
A while later, another car approached.
But the result was the same.
This large group of men all looked like vagrants, and no one dared to stop.
"Damn it!"
Jiang Shaolong was on the verge of tears.
He thought he had finally gained his freedom after leaving the dark cell, only to find himself in such a miserable situation.
There was no other option but to walk and borrow a phone from someone to make a call.
This place was quite remote, and after walking for a long time, Jiang Shaolong and the others, exhausted from the past few days, didn't encounter anyone.
Overwhelmed, Jiang Shaolong plopped down on the ground, hearing his stomach rumble.
The Raptor Squad hadn't provided them with breakfast. Now, hungry and tired, Jiang Shaolong felt as pathetic as a stray dog.
"Chen Fan, just you wait until I get a chance!"
Thinking of the instigator of his suffering, Jiang Shaolong was consumed by hatred and rage.
"I don't care about the Raptor Squad anymore, I'm going to kill you!"
His hatred had twisted his mindset.
Even though he knew Chen Fan was connected to the Raptor Squad, he could no longer tolerate it.
He felt that his hatred for Chen Fan was irreconcilable.
"Young Master Jiang, someone's coming, someone's approaching!"
Suddenly, a subordinate shouted with surprise.
An elderly man on his morning run was slowly approaching.
Everyone immediately got to their feet.
"Slow down, act politely, don't scare them!"
Having learned from their previous experience, Jiang Shaolong quickly instructed.
The group approached cautiously and managed to flag the man down.
"Old sir, we've run into some trouble, and we've lost our phones. Could we borrow your phone?"
Jiang Shaolong said with a fawning smile.
The old man hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone.
At that moment, Jiang Shaolong was once again in tears. He quickly dialed Jiang Lizong's number and asked him to send a car to pick them up.
However, this place was not close to the city center. After waiting for nearly an hour, Jiang Lizong and Su Yingxia finally arrived.
As their Mercedes pulled up, Jiang Shaolong immediately rushed over and opened the car door.
"Ah..."
Su Yingxia, sitting in the back seat, saw the wild-looking Jiang Shaolong rushing towards them and let out a scream. She grabbed her phone and threw it at him.
"Who are you? Don't come near me!"
Caught off guard, Jiang Shaolong was hit and covered his head. With a groan, he quickly said, "Wife, it's me!"
Hearing his familiar voice, Su Yingxia was stunned.
She had agreed to marry Jiang Shaolong back then, not only because of the Jiang family's wealth but also because Jiang Shaolong was good-looking.
She never imagined that Jiang Shaolong would ever look like this.
"Ah, husband, I'm sorry."
Apologizing, Su Yingxia still shrank back into the corner and covered her nose.
The smell was too strong.
Thinking of her husband, whom she had once thought of as a suave gentleman, reduced to this state, Su Yingxia felt both pity and a pang of sadness.
She had been extremely worried about Jiang Shaolong these past few days.
Her heart finally felt at ease, but for some reason, a sense of loss washed over her, mixed with inexplicable disgust.
Jiang Lizong, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around. He showed no disgust but rather a look of relief.
This was his only son, and he was finally safe.
It was thanks to the influence of Young Master Xu from the capital that they were released, even though Qin Tianyou had kept them for a night.
Instructing the driver to head back to Xiangshan Tanfu, Jiang Lizong asked, "You're finally out. Shaolong, why did you do such a foolish thing?"
"It's all Wang Dongdong, that scumbag, he betrayed me!"
Mentioning this, Jiang Shaolong's face contorted with rage. "And that bastard Chen Fan, he actually plotted against me."
Jiang Lizong frowned and said, "How did you get involved with that Chen Fan again?"
Su Yingxia was equally perplexed.
Jiang Shaolong resentfully recounted the events at the Sacred Dragon Bar.
Jiang Lizong understood the cause and effect, and his expression immediately changed.
Su Yingxia's face suddenly turned pale.
She was reminded of the incident at the Emperor's Club again.
Connecting these two events, she realized that the people who had claimed to be from the Raptor Squad at the Emperor's Club, the ones who didn't even spare Young Master Xu and Young Master Yuan, were likely the real Raptor Squad, not some impostors!
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why the Raptor Squad would intervene on Chen Fan's behalf.
So, the question arose: what was the relationship between the Raptor Squad and Chen Fan? Was Chen Fan truly an incompetent son-in-law?
For the first time, she doubted Chen Fan's identity.
"So, what's that Chen Fan's relationship with the Raptor Squad?"
Jiang Lizong asked with a solemn expression, voicing the question Su Yingxia desperately wanted to know.
"He's a good-for-nothing, what kind of relationship could he have?"
Jiang Shaolong gritted his teeth and said, "After thinking it over and over, it must be that scoundrel Chen Fan who, through the owner of Villa Number One, begged the Raptor Squad to help him set a trap for me!"
When he was dragged away from the bar, he hadn't noticed Qin Tianyou's respectful demeanor towards Chen Fan.
After repeated contemplation in the dark cell, he concluded that Chen Fan's relationship with the Raptor Squad was not very close.
And the fact that he was now released seemed to confirm this.
As he spoke, Su Yingxia became uncertain again.
That's right, there was also the owner of Villa Number One involved.
If Chen Fan truly had the ability to command the Raptor Squad, would he have been a spineless son-in-law for three years, acting submissively and lacking any backbone?