The situation is a bit troublesome...
Du Yang's resolute attitude was unexpected.
With this thought, Song Qiao frowned deeply, meeting Du Yang's gaze, neither willing to back down.
However, their minds were racing, thoughts churning.
They were considering not just the immediate circumstances, but also the repercussions of their actions.
Song Qiao's face paled and flushed repeatedly. Before long, he felt the grip on his arm tighten.
He turned his head, looking at Alice, who was watching him with worry in her eyes, and gently shook his head at her.
"Don't worry, I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you!"
With these words, a significant portion of Alice's fear dissipated. She pursed her lips and slowly nodded.
At this moment, Du Yang and Hanadu were watching them. The members of the security department, influenced by Song Qiao's earlier words, also showed anger in their eyes.
Song Qiao lowered his head slightly.
If things escalated now, the Snow Country's richest man's plan might be exposed.
At that point, the situation would become incredibly complicated.
This thought gave Song Qiao a splitting headache.
This was no longer a simple matter of handing someone over.
It had escalated to the level of diplomatic relations between two countries. One wrong step could lead to a cascade of errors, and the exposure of the Snow Country's richest man's plan would be a tremendous loss for him!
If the Snow Country's richest man died, expanding business in American companies would become much more difficult. Moreover, the price of the cheap supplies he relied on would skyrocket by tens of times.
"Song..."
Amidst this tense and silent atmosphere, Alice clearly sensed something was wrong.
Having been trained at Snow Camp for so many years, she was no mere decoration.
Feeling the shift in the mood, her chest rose and fell slightly. She swallowed and looked up at Song Qiao.
"Song, keep me by your side. I don't want to go with them..."
Hearing Alice's somewhat timid words, Song Qiao sighed inwardly.
Easier said than done.
There was no easy choice between power and love.
Lovers could be replaced, but power was singular.
Besides, Song Qiao had his own ambitions and too many things to accomplish.
After a long silence, Song Qiao looked up at Du Yang.
"As a Chinese person, everything you're doing is deeply disappointing."
Hearing this, Du Yang let out a cold laugh. He pointed to Hanadu beside him, his face dark, and said,
"Disappointing?"
At this, Du Yang's voice rose slightly.
"Everything I'm doing is to maintain friendship between our two countries! Mr. Song, are you sure you know what you're saying?"
Suddenly, Du Yang pointed his finger at Alice, who was holding Song Qiao's clothes.
His voice was cold and menacing, making Alice feel deeply uncomfortable.
Alice was a smart woman. She could sense that in the current situation, no matter how unwilling she was, she was likely to be taken away.
She wondered, though, what Song Qiao would do then.
As Alice's mind raced, Du Yang continued,
"Mr. Song, I, Du Yang, respect you as the CEO of Baohua Group and don't want to escalate this. So, there's something I must remind you of."
He paused at this point, casting a deep look at Song Qiao.
"If the relationship between our two countries breaks down because of you, or because of one woman, do you understand the consequences if this news gets out?"
"And how much trouble will ensue if the relations between our countries are broken?"
"At that point, it won't be me standing before you."
A threat!
This was an overt threat!
What made it worse was that this threat could not be ignored!
After all, Song Qiao had already informed Hanadu, the Snow Country's richest man, of the conspiracy.
The Snow Country's richest man should be making his own plans by now.
Once the plan was implemented, Hanadu would have nowhere to escape!
Song Qiao's gaze deepened. He detested threats more than anything.
"Du Yang, I won't say some things explicitly, but as I said, Alice is my employee, and I will definitely be responsible for her safety."
Hearing this, the heavy stone in Du Yang's heart finally lifted.
A sinister smile also appeared on Hanadu's face.
Only Alice's complexion instantly turned deathly pale. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat, rolling around for a few moments before she swallowed them.
She merely lowered her head, remaining silent.
Du Yang nodded.
"You can rest assured about that. Our International Security Department is not to be trifled with. No one can act recklessly under our watch!"
"Heh!" To Song Qiao, this sounded like utter nonsense.
But with the situation as it was, there was no other recourse. Song Qiao lowered his head and discovered that Alice's tear-filled eyes had somehow been raised, looking at him.
Seeing this, Song Qiao's expression softened, and his tone became gentle.
"Alice..."
Before he could finish, Alice raised a finger to his lips, silencing his unspoken words.
Looking at Song Qiao, Alice gave a slight smile.
"I know, Song. I know what I need to do now. I will cooperate obediently. Actually, after Kanonina died, my heart grew cold too. Regardless, Song, I hold no resentment."
She knew Song Qiao had done his best. Faced with the diplomatic issues between two countries, no one could bear the brunt of it alone.
Moreover, after she had passed the information about Snow Camp to Song Qiao, she knew he had used it for something.
She didn't know what, nor did she need to.
Song Qiao rolled his eyes, pinched Alice's cheek, and smiled faintly.
"I said I would guarantee your safety, and I won't go back on my word. You go with them for now, and I will ensure you come to no harm."
As he spoke, Song Qiao patted her shoulder.
"I will find a way."
Seeing this, Hanadu snorted, his eyes filled with mockery as he looked at Song Qiao.
"Keep pretending. Do you really think she'll be safe once she's with me?"
Song Qiao's gaze turned cold. He abruptly turned to Hanadu, who met his gaze fearlessly, tilting his head slightly and saying coldly,
"I'll make you realize then how foolish your current thoughts are!"
Hanadu's eyes became particularly ferocious.
"I'll send back a part of Alice as a souvenir for you!"
This time, before Song Qiao could speak, Du Yang looked at Hanadu with clear displeasure, frowning deeply and saying coldly,
"You should say less."
Since Du Yang had spoken, Hanadu also let out a cold snort and fell silent.
However, the hatred and venom in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.
Song Qiao narrowed his eyes, gave a cold laugh, and turned his gaze back to Du Yang.
"I hope your International Security Department can provide a fair explanation."
"Naturally. Mr. Song, you can trust us to handle this."
"I'm not so sure," Song Qiao chuckled. "If Alice suffers even the slightest harm because of this, I will not let it go."
"At that time, I will lead the Security Department's armored vehicles to pay you a visit."
Armored vehicles!
The moment these words were uttered, everyone present felt their scalps tingle, their hearts trembling.
This was truly...
Too ruthless!