"Beautiful ladies, you have awoken. It seems the afternoon's fun truly tired you out."
A tall man sat smiling on the sofa opposite them and said, seeing the two wake up.
"Who are you? Where are we?" Ilena asked.
"Don't be nervous, ladies," the man said. "I am Hughes. I was commissioned to invite you two to be my guests."
As he spoke, the man stood up, walked to the liquor cabinet, poured two glasses of wine, and offered them.
Ilena did not take one, but Xiao Yun did.
She was carefully observing this Hughes.
The man was tall and thin, his skin not particularly dark, his lips slightly thicker. His eyes did not seem sinister.
However, the lust in his eyes was evident, as if he were looking at prey, as if he wanted to devour them both.
"Ilena? Am I correct?" Hughes said. "I think you should call Lu. He knows what we need."
With that, he tossed a flip phone onto the bed.
"What exactly do you want? You can discuss it with Mr. Lu. What's the point of tying us up?" Ilena questioned.
"You are mistaken. I invited you here; I did not abduct you. It's just that you were too tired and slept too soundly," Hughes said shamelessly.
Ilena knew there was no point in arguing with him and could only call Lu Liang.
"Mr. Lu, we've been kidnapped. We don't know where we are. It's Hughes. He said you know what they want."
"Ilena, you and Xiao Yun, don't panic. Make sure you are safe. I know what they want. Tell them I agree," Lu Liang said on the phone.
Ilena hung up the phone and said, "Lu Liang said he agrees to your demands, but he needs you to guarantee our safety."
"Of course. Who would want to harm such beautiful young ladies, wouldn't you agree?" Hughes said.
He offered the wine glass again.
"Have a drink to relax. No need to be so tense. As long as Lu agrees to our demands, I will release you immediately."
Ilena glanced at Hughes. Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, she took the wine glass.
"Where are we now? How can I trust you?"
"Whether you trust us or not is up to you. You don't need to know our exact location."
Hughes was not foolish; he would not tell this woman everything.
As he spoke, he retrieved the phone.
The phone had indeed not been hung up.
"Beautiful ladies, your little tricks are useless," Hughes said after hanging up. "They won't find this place."
"Yangzi, don't go to Cape Town anymore. I feel they are not there. Ilena just called me. I'm having someone trace this phone number. She said Hughes asked her to call me. I'll send you the number, and I'll tell you the results of the investigation in ten minutes."
Lu Liang called Guo Xuyang.
"Alright, I'll wait for your news," Guo Xuyang said.
He hung up the phone and said to Nataya, "Please ask the driver to pull over."
Nataya was a bit confused as to why he made this request, but she complied.
Less than ten minutes later, Lu Liang's call came through.
"Yangzi, this number is not from that place; it should be a dummy number they found. I'll think of another way. They mainly want the resources I have. I've already agreed to their terms. This will be resolved tomorrow, and Xiao Yun and the others will be released tomorrow. Don't worry."
"Brother Liang, do you think the person I'm calling will answer?" Guo Xuyang said.
"He should. If he had Ilena call me, it means they only want money and won't hurt anyone. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made this call."
"Okay, Brother Liang. I know what to do," Guo Xuyang said, then hung up.
He closed his eyes and silently summoned Yu'er.
"Yu'er, are you there?"
"Yes, Master. What is it?"
"I want to upgrade my clairvoyant ability."
"Ding… Congratulations, Master, your clairvoyant ability has been successfully upgraded. It is now level four," Yu'er's voice sounded in his head. "This upgrade allows you to penetrate electromagnetic waves, traverse space, and analyze consciousness. You can see through all things within a hundred thousand meters."
Analyze consciousness? What kind of nonsense is this? He opened his eyes and looked at the driver, able to see his thoughts. This was even better than perception. What need was there for translation? It was simply an invincible translator.
He dialed the phone number Lu Liang had sent him and, at the same time, focused his gaze, following the electromagnetic waves.
This person was less than ten kilometers away from him, in a house that looked like it was in the middle of a village. Could it be a manor? It was not impossible. After all, this area was sparsely populated, and manors were not uncommon.
"Hello, Lu?" The voice on the other end belonged to a tall, thin man.
He saw Xiao Yun and Ilena holding glasses of red wine and also noticed the lecherous gaze in the man's eyes.
He silently hung up the phone. He dared not speak, fearing the other party would detect something unusual.
He continued to scan. This was indeed a manor: "Spear Manor."
"Please ask the driver to go to Spear Manor," he said to Nataya.
Upon hearing Nataya's words, the driver's body stiffened. He looked up at Guo Xuyang sitting in the back seat and quietly started the car.
The car took a long detour, and by the time they reached the manor, dawn was breaking.
Guo Xuyang saw through the driver's trickery but said nothing. Instead, he focused his gaze tightly on Xiao Yun.
Perhaps due to extreme nervousness, Xiao Yun had actually finished her wine.
Ilena, however, remained vigilant. She knew Hughes wouldn't be so kind.
Having spent so much time in South Africa, she had a certain understanding of people in both the underworld and legitimate circles.
Hughes was extremely lustful and a capable subordinate of the underground king, Chike.
Not a single woman he fancied had ever escaped his grasp.
Whether they were respectable housewives or students, if he desired them, he would use all sorts of methods to force them into submission.
Ilena knew that while Hughes might not harm them, he might not refrain from defiling them.
That was not his style.
He would absolutely not let her and Xiao Yun leave unharmed.
Hughes smiled as he watched Xiao Yun finish her wine and then offered her another glass.
"Beautiful lady, they say Eastern beauties are charming. You captivated me at first sight. I feel I've fallen in love with you," Hughes said.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yun couldn't understand a word he was saying.
She only felt that this smiling man was not that terrifying, and thus relaxed a bit.
"Hughes, please don't hurt her. She is our most honored guest. I don't think you would want to ruin your important affairs for one woman," Ilena said from the side.
"You are absolutely right. I just appreciate you both. I believe Lu will do as I say."
[Author's Aside]: New Year, new aspirations! Wishing all friends a Happy New Year and success in all their endeavors!
Cast your free silver votes and let's get hyped together.
Your collections, shares, and votes are my biggest motivation for writing.
This book has one update each in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Please continue to follow along, esteemed readers.