Chapter 69 Hostage Exchange

“Let me off at the next station!”

“Otherwise…”

As the words fell, the dagger in her hand pressed closer against Shen Yi’an’s neck.

“Or she’ll die with me!”

At this, Conductor Li was the first to react.

“Don’t be impulsive!”

“Let’s talk this through properly, don’t hurt anyone!”

“Impulsive?” The Female Boss found these words laughable.

“Aren’t you the impulsive ones?”

“You arrested so many of my brothers without even a warning, and now you’re talking to me about being impulsive?”

“Hah, do as I say and we can discuss anything. Otherwise…”

Seeing the crimson blood marks appearing on Shen Yi’an’s neck, Conductor Li immediately fell silent.

He feared that saying the wrong thing might further injure the person who had contributed most to capturing the human trafficking ring.

Seeing this, Chief Conductor Xu stepped forward to speak.

“The person you’re holding hostage is just an ordinary passenger on this train.”

“Take someone else – use me as a hostage instead!”

“My value is much greater than that young girl’s!”

Hearing this, the Female Boss let out a cold laugh.

“Do you take me for an idiot?”

“Whether she’s important or not is written all over your faces!”

“Don’t play word games with me – it won’t work.”

“Enough nonsense, stop wasting time with useless talk. If you don’t agree soon, I won’t be polite anymore!”

Feeling the intensifying pain in her neck, Shen Yi’an couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp of pain.

“Tch!”

If she had known this would happen, she shouldn’t have drunk the Spirit Spring Water earlier.

Although it restored her to full health, it seemed to have made her skin more sensitive to pain.

Hearing her pained gasp, the Female Boss looked down.

“Little beauty, you can’t blame me for this!”

“See, it’s these people in front of you who aren’t willing to save you.”

“Such an easy thing to do, yet they have to consider so many things.”

“Tsk, looks like you’ve been abandoned by them!”

Before Shen Yi’an could respond, Song Chaoxu stepped forward from beside Conductor Li.

“How about exchanging me for her?”

“Having been a boss for so long, you should know my value is greater than hers.”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to escape so easily and bring so many helpers.”

His appearance only angered the Female Boss more.

“I planned to investigate your background after getting off the train, but I never expected you to checkmate me like this.”

“Fine, since you want to exchange for her, come over slowly.”

“Remember, get rid of anything irrelevant on you, or you won’t be able to bear the consequences!”

Hearing this, Song Chaoxu quickly took off his jacket and patted himself down to show he wasn’t carrying anything.

Only after seeing the Female Boss nod slightly did he place his hands behind his head and slowly approach.

Seeing this, Chief Conductor Xu grew anxious, “Vice Captain Li, this…”

“It’s fine!” Li Beizhao’s voice was particularly low and soft.

“He participated in military recruitment selection.”

“Although he was eliminated, he learned some self-defense skills.”

Hearing this, Chief Conductor Xu finally relaxed.

As long as he had self-protection abilities, that was enough.

If both of them were taken hostage, they would have no choice but to use force.

Here, ‘force’ didn’t mean physical strength, but the more convenient and efficient ‘weapons.’

While the two were observing the situation, Song Chaoxu had already slowly reached the position opposite Shen Yi’an. “I’m here, can you let her go now?”

Seeing him actually approach, the Female Boss’s gaze was as fierce as a starving wolf, her face filled with contempt.

“After going around in circles, you still ended up in my hands, didn’t you?”

“What did you hope to achieve, huh?”

Hearing this, Song Chaoxu’s gaze as he met her eyes turned serious for the first time.

“My son!”

“My son!”

“The only reason I followed you all this way was to find my son!”

“Your son?” The Female Boss took two steps back, holding Shen Yi’an hostage to create some distance.

“Why would you follow me to find your son?”

Seeing the Female Boss’s puzzled expression, Song Chaoxu decided to lay his cards on the table.

“My son was kidnapped. It took a lot of effort to trace the trail back to you.”

“So I had to get close to you, stay near you, until I found my son.”

Hearing this, the Female Boss finally understood why Song Chaoxu had been acting like a lapdog, fawning over her.

It was all to save his son.

But she hadn’t received any new “merchandise” recently.

If there was one, it could only be…

Thinking of the cities they would pass through on this trip, the Female Boss suddenly realized something.

She immediately asked a question completely unrelated to what Song Chaoxu had just said, “How much longer until the train reaches Xincheng?”

“Huh?” Though confused by her sudden change of topic, Song Chaoxu answered honestly.

“Less than ten minutes!”

Hearing this, the Female Boss’s tense nerves relaxed slightly.

To avoid drawing attention, she pressed the dagger against Shen Yi’an’s face to mask her eased posture. “Since someone’s here to save you, I’ll spare you for now.”

“If I ever run into you again, you won’t escape even if you grow wings!”

After saying this, she shoved the person in her grasp away and swiftly seized Song Chaoxu as her new hostage.

With the “hostage” exchange complete, Shen Yi’an was finally free.

Remembering the glance he had just received, he wasted no time and quickly moved out of the Female Boss’s reach.

As soon as he steadied himself in a safe area, he heard the sounds of a scuffle behind him.

Turning around, he was shocked.

The Female Boss and her “new hostage,” Song Chaoxu, were fighting.

Though a long, bloody mark had appeared on the “new hostage’s” neck, it didn’t seem to hinder his strength in the slightest.

“I never thought I’d misjudge someone like this!”

Blocking the punch thrown at her, the Female Boss’s voice was full of disbelief.

Having been in this line of work for so long, her ability to read people was far from amateurish.

From the moment Song Chaoxu appeared before her, she had always seen him as a ruthless man addicted to gambling.

Why? He was the first man she had ever met who openly offered to sell his own child and even slapped his wife brutally over it.

Most tellingly, that single slap had drawn blood—proof of his viciousness.

It was precisely because of this that she had let her guard down around him.

Little did she know that one misstep would lead to everlasting regret. How she regretted it!

Song Chaoxu had no idea what she was thinking, only intensifying his attacks.

“You didn’t misjudge me—you were just too arrogant!”

“You always thought you had everything under control, but you never considered that situations change as the people in them change.”

“Reflect on this in prison. At least your life won’t have been wasted!”

With another heavy blow, the Female Boss was sent flying into the corridor.

Before she could get up, soldiers waiting nearby swiftly moved in and restrained her.

Seeing this, Song Chaoxu finally wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his tone filled with undisguised self-mockery.

“No wonder you could be the leader of a human trafficking ring—seems like it’s all thanks to these fighting skills.”

“If I hadn’t practiced a few moves, I might have been knocked down today.”

Hearing this, Li Beizhao walked over and patted his shoulder.

“After all that talk, only the last sentence was the truth.”

“If your counterattack hadn’t been so unexpected and sudden, it’s hard to say who would have won today.”

At these words, Song Chaoxu rolled his eyes and said nothing more.

It was clear he knew the statement was accurate.

Knowing Song Chaoxu was fine, Li Beizhao turned his gaze to Shen Yi’an—more precisely, to the bleeding wound on her neck.

“Hold on a moment. The accompanying doctor will be here soon.”

“Sorry, I didn’t plan the operation properly.”

This apology was sincere.

For a commander who was constantly active in missions, even the smallest misjudgment was still a mistake.

If the people in the mission were soldiers under his command, a tiny error could cost several lives.

Moreover, the people involved in this mission were concerned citizens who nearly suffered due to his oversight.

An apology was necessary, even if the other party might not have expected it as he assumed.

Facing the apology from her future brother-in-law, Shen Yi’an did not avoid it this time.

Simply put, she also felt an apology was warranted.

As an ordinary person, no matter how thoroughly she considered things, she couldn’t match the foresight of a professional. She hadn’t realized that a trapped beast would fight back desperately.

But Li Beizhao was different.

Not only was he a soldier, but he also served as a commander.

When an unexpected incident occurred, it meant his perspective or stance in planning was flawed.

Regardless of the reason, this apology was both necessary and appropriate.

If someone else had been involved in the operation, the scene might have devolved into shouting or crying by now.

Having thought it through, Shen Yi’an finally nodded slightly, her hand pressed against her injured neck.