546: Chapter 546 How high are your conditions? Higher than the sky!

Chapter 546: How High Are Your Conditions? Higher Than Heaven!

"Hmm, it's done."

Fang Cheng stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff neck, his joints making a few loud pops.

On the surface, he had merely been sitting in the living room for half an hour.

In reality, however, his consciousness had just traveled out of his body, taking a trip through the dark world of Night City.

It was an alternate dimension independent of reality, as well as an underground trading site where aberrants traded with one another.

Whether intelligence, bounties, or illicit taboo items—as long as one could afford the price, there was nothing that couldn't be bought.

Just a moment ago, he had easily found Naihe Bridge, an intermediary organization, and contacted Fat Wang, the account manager who looked simple and honest.

Information about the members of the Blood Thorn mercenary group, their strength assessment, and their recent movements were now clearly printed in his mind.

However, the cost was truly painful to swallow.

Thinking of the huge sum transferred out of his VIP Black Card just now, Fang Cheng couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.

For a mere two pages of intelligence along with a few photos, they had daylight-robbed over five million.

And that smiling Fat Wang had even vowed while patting his chest that this was a twenty percent friend discount specially requested out of respect for his S-Class Member status.

These intelligence brokers had hearts blacker than ink.

But the money was well spent.

In just half an hour, he had obtained the basic information on the targets.

Compared to relying on A-Le to wrack his brains guessing, or sending people out to search blindly like headless flies, the efficiency was countless times higher.

With this intelligence, it was no longer like blind men feeling an elephant, but rather the final countdown for those mercenaries in this city.

Fang Cheng exhaled a breath of turbid air, suppressing his heartache over the money, and turned to look at A-Le, his tone becoming extremely resolute:

"I've grasped Blood Thorn's general movements. They've indeed been active in the Jiangdong New Area recently."

Hearing this, A-Le sprang up from his chair.

The movement pulled at his wounds, causing his mouth to twitch in pain, but the excitement in his eyes couldn't be hidden at all:

"That's great! Let's set off right now and find them in Jiangdong New Area!"

"No rush."

Fang Cheng pressed his hand down slightly, signaling him to stay calm:

"Before setting off, give Shen Wei a call first."

"Ah?"

A-Le froze on the spot with his mouth wide open, his mind failing to process this for a moment.

Wasn't the Chairman kidnapped by Blood Thorn last night?

Calling him right now—could he expect him to answer as if nothing happened and report his safety?

"Don't tell me you don't even remember your boss's phone number?"

Fang Cheng glanced at him.

"I remember, I have his number..."

A-Le came back to his senses, a look of sudden realization on his Face:

"Does Mr. Fang mean that the Chairman's phone might be in the kidnappers' hands? We can probe them first to see if we can resolve it with money?"

Fang Cheng nodded slightly without giving much explanation.

He simply turned, pulled his phone out of his shoulder bag, passed it over, and gestured with his eyes for him to hurry.

A-Le took a deep breath, his trembling fingers typing in that familiar number from memory, then pressed dial.

"Beep— Beep— Beep—"

The long waiting tone sounded exceptionally piercing in the quiet room.

Once, twice, thrice...

There was a five-second interval between each ring, like tapping on tense nerves.

It rang a full eight times, but no one answered.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on A-Le's forehead, his heart sinking bit by bit.

Just as he thought this attempt was about to fail and was about to hang up, a faint click sounded from the earpiece.

It went through!

But what followed was not Shen Wei's familiar voice, but the sound of howling wind mixed with extremely noisy static interference.

"Hello? Which idiot is this? Calling in the middle of the night! You looking to die?"

Immediately after, a rude and violent male voice exploded, making A-Le's eardrums ache and buzz.

Stunned by the cursing, A-Le subconsciously looked at Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng remained expressionless, merely raising his chin to signal him to continue.

At the same time, he walked silently to A-Le's side, tilting his head slightly to listen intently.

A-Le swallowed hard, quickly adjusted his composure, assumed the Aura of his usual role as a gang leader, and said in a deep voice:

"I am A-Le from the Dongcheng Association. Whoever you are, put Chairman Shen on the phone."

"Ha? Dongcheng Association?"

The person on the other end sounded like he had heard something funny, bursting into a harsh laugh, so shrill that even the receiver vibrated:

"Just those useless trash who only know how to slash people with watermelon knives? We haven't even looked for trouble with you yet, and you deliver yourselves to our door?"

"What, looking to collect your dead boss's corpse?"

"Friend, leave a line when doing things, so we can meet again in the future."

A-Le suppressed the anger in his heart, attempting to steer the topic to the negotiation table:

"Everyone out on the streets is just out for money."

"You kidnapped Chairman Shen. Name your price. As long as you keep him safe, I guarantee not a penny less."

"Money?"

The person on the other end sneered disdainfully, and the voices of other people could faintly be heard in the background:

"Bro, what I lack least happens to be money. How much can you offer? A hundred million? Or a billion?"

"Wanting to buy this old guy's life with a few pieces of waste paper? Was your brain slammed in a door?"

Just as A-Le was about to refute, another voice suddenly came from the other end of the line:

"Wait, Black Mamba, don't be so rude to the guest. Give me the phone."

The tone wasn't high, but it carried a cold penetrative force.

With a faint rustle, the noise in the receiver instantly subsided; someone else had clearly taken over.

Replacing it was a gentle, refined male voice with a magnetic quality:

"Good evening, Mr. A-Le. To be A-Le to call in at this hour, it seems you are a loyal subordinate."

This voice was very sinister and soft, like a slippery venomous snake slithering into A-Le's ear along the radio waves.

"Walking the Dao, I truly admire a loyal man like you. Not just to you, but to my brothers as well, I have always been wholeheartedly good."

"Since we are all fellow travelers of the Dao, let's not beat around the bush."

The person paused, his tone carrying a trace of coaxing hypnosis:

"Chairman Shen's old bones are too hard; no matter how much we crack them, they won't open. Why don't you tell me which corner that orphanage housing special children is hiding in?"

"As long as you give an address, even just a rough location, I'll immediately send a car to return Chairman Shen, and I can even attach a pension fund for you to squander for the rest of your life."

"How about it? A very worthwhile trade, isn't it?"

This voice seemed to carry a strange magic, every syllable striking at the weakest spot of A-Le's psychological defense.

A-Le's originally tense eyes gradually grew dazed, and his hand holding the phone unconsciously loosened slightly.

In his mind, the secret address he had been guarding tightly began to rise to his lips uncontrollably:

"The orphanage... is... in Wenchuan..."

A-Le's lips moved slightly, his expression dazed, about to blurt it out like a sleepwalker.

Right at this moment, a broad and powerful palm suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

Five fingers tightened abruptly, like iron pliers closing.

Intense pain struck instantly!

A-Le shivered all over, turning his head sharply, right into Fang Cheng's bottomless eyes.

Deep within those pupils, a flash of golden electricity seemed to explode, instantly dispersing all the Chaos and fog in his mind.

A-Le felt like waking from a dream; cold sweat instantly drenched his clothes, and he panted heavily.

That was close!

He was almost hypnotized by that guy!

He glanced gratefully at Fang Cheng.

At the same time, he felt fortunate that he hadn't made this call alone, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

These aberrants' terrifying abilities were practically impossible for ordinary people to guard against.

A-Le took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and then began to play along into the receiver:

"Th-this matter is of great importance. I'm just a bodyguard, I don't remember the exact location clearly, I need to check carefully..."

"Besides, I don't trust you guys. Unless I see with my own eyes that the Chairman is still alive, there's no deal."

To buy time, A-Le deliberately slowed his speech, pretending to be hesitant:

"How about this, you give an address first, I'll come over right away, we'll talk Face-to-Face, hand over the person for the intelligence."

Silence fell on the other end of the line for two seconds.

Then came a contemptuous low chuckle:

"Heh... Mr. A-Le, you've gotten smarter."

"That pause just now was because there's someone else beside you, right?"

The man's voice remained affable, yet it held an extra chilling dread that raised goosebumps:

"The person who pulled you out of my 'suggestion'—is he the helper you brought?"

"Heh, so because you have someone to back you up, you're starting to play petty tricks with me... How disappointing."

A-Le's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to deny it.

But he heard the man's tone suddenly turn icy, his original pleasant demeanor instantly tearing away to reveal the fierce malice hidden underneath:

"My patience is very limited. Since you refuse to tell, let Chairman Shen suffer in your place."

"Just as well, my brother has been starving for a long time."

As he spoke, he moved the phone away slightly, seemingly turning to look at the others beside him.

"Don't you agree?"

Just as he finished speaking, a nauseating sound of chewing suddenly rang out through the receiver.

"Crunch," "Crunch."

Like the crisp sound of bones being crushed raw, accompanied by a beastly, low, thick throat sound and the noise of swallowing thick liquid.

Immediately after, Shen Wei's muffled, extremely suppressed groan came faintly, clearly undergoing inhuman torture.

Hearing this sound, A-Le's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and blue veins bulged on his neck.

That was his benefactor, his big brother! Now being eaten alive by someone!

Rage surged like a raging fire, overwhelming his reason; he opened his mouth, a roar about to burst from his throat.

However, Fang Cheng's palm pressed on his shoulder once more, heavy as a mountain.

Then, he shook his head gently at him, his gaze terrifyingly calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

A-Le shuddered all over, as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head, calming down once more.

He wasn't a fool and instantly understood the situation.

This was definitely psychological warfare!

If the Chairman's life were truly hanging by a thread and he had been given up on by these people, they wouldn't need to put on a show for him at all.

Obviously, when one trick failed, the opponent employed another.

They wanted to use fear and rage to force him to blurt out the truth in desperation.

As long as he hadn't relented, the Chairman was actually safe.

"Is it delicious? Eat slowly, there will be fresh meat sent over later."

The man dotingly said to the monster beside him, then sneered into the receiver again:

"Did you hear that? If you don't talk, your Chairman might turn into a pile of waste."

"What's the point of guarding that secret? Those orphans are neither kith nor kin to you; is it worth losing your master's life for a few unrelated brats?"

"Don't do anything reckless!"

Seeing soft tactics wouldn't work, A-Le's tone suddenly hardened, using heavy backing to bluff:

"This is Dongdu! Behind Chairman Shen is the Shen Family!"

"Do you know what kind of background the Shen Family has? That's a top-tier influential Family that even the official Special Investigation Team gives Face to!"

"If you dare touch a single hair on the Chairman's head, not only will the thousands of brothers in the Dongcheng Association not let you off, but the Shen Family will make it impossible for you to take a single step in this city!"

"Shen Family?"

The man paused slightly upon hearing this, as if he had heard an even more ridiculous joke.

He then snorted with extreme contempt, saying arrogantly:

"Don't use that kind of financial clan Family to press me! In my eyes, Shen Family or Li Family, they are all pigs waiting to be slaughtered!"

A-Le's Face flushed red with indignation, and he roared through gritted teeth:

"What on earth do you want! As long as you release him, we can offer very high conditions!"

"Very high conditions?"

The tone of the person on the other side suddenly turned playful, filled with banter:

"How high? Higher than heaven? Hahahahaha—"

Along with the mocking laughter, a violent sound of wind came from the other end of the phone.

The howling airflow almost drowned out the human voice.

"Let me tell you, and that helper you brought—you want him, right?"

"Either honestly tell me the address of the orphanage, or if you have the ability, come and get him yourself!"

"I'll be waiting for you right here. Don't make me wait too long; the wind at night is heavy, and my patience is almost blown away!"

"Beep— Beep—"

The call was rudely disconnected, the busy signal echoing in the air like a loud slap in the Face.

Holding his phone, A-Le's Face was ashen, his chest heaving violently, clearly furious.

He turned his head and looked at Fang Cheng with a Face full of dejection:

"Mr. Fang, the talk collapsed. This bunch of lunatics don't listen to reason at all, soft or hard, and we didn't even get their location..."

"No, you've done very well."

Fang Cheng slowly raised his head, his gaze passing A-Le to look out the window at the neon night scene, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

"At least we confirmed one thing: Chairman Shen isn't dead yet."

"And their current location, I've basically figured it out."

Hearing this, the annoyance on A-Le's Face instantly disappeared, and he hurriedly said:

"That's great! Are we setting off now? I'll go grab my gear!"

"You stay at home and don't go anywhere."

Fang Cheng put away his phone and walked quickly into the bedroom.

He pulled open a drawer, took out the handgun already loaded with bullets, and adeptly tucked it into his lower back.

Then, he pulled a black hooded sweatshirt from the closet, put it on, and stuffed his iconic demon mask into his shoulder bag.

As he walked out of the bedroom, A-Le clenched his fists anxiously:

"Mr. Fang, I know I'm injured, but an extra pair of hands helps! Those people are all lunatics, it's too dangerous for you to go alone!"

Fang Cheng glanced at the bandage on his abdomen that was still oozing blood, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly:

"In your current state, you can't even walk straight. How are you going to help me rescue him?"

"Stay here and recover properly. If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, find a way to run for it yourself."

Saying that, Fang Cheng didn't look at A-Le again, pushing open the room door directly, his figure quickly disappearing into the pitch-black shadows of the hallway.

Leaving behind him only A-Le's gaze, filled with both worry and hope.

In the corridor, silence reigned at this moment.

Fang Cheng pulled out his phone, his thumb quickly tapping a string of numbers on the keypad.

The phone rang only twice before being answered, and an elegant, calm voice came from the earpiece:

"Chairman, any orders?"

A sharp glint flashed in Fang Cheng's eyes, and he then commanded:

"Professor, call those few new members over. Tonight's operation can use them."