Chapter 8: Cocoon (Part 2)

  Shi Wei secretly informed Hai Tao to hurry to Chang'an, and everyone would discuss what was going on with the kidnapping case. Hai Tao arrived as scheduled.

  When Long Wan and his party returned from Italy, the group was already on high alert. Security personnel were conducting strict checks on everyone entering and leaving the group's compound. Meanwhile, Kang Dingzhuang led a team of trusted subordinates and hired anti-kidnapping experts to sift through all suspicious individuals and information in an attempt to find valuable clues.

  Outside the window, the sound of rain was like a sieve, and the sky and earth were shrouded in a blurry haze, both near and far. This rain was just like the one on the day Old Qian passed away, and Long Bao remembered it as the heavens' tears for his passing. He sat in the confidential meeting room, listening to Kang Dingzhuang's detailed report of the entire incident.

  "On the evening of August 22nd, at around eight o'clock, Miss Ouyang and Miss Wu Wenli took Miss Wu's daughter, Bingbing, for a walk on the mountain path outside the villa. Li Jia and Wang Bing followed behind them. At 8:27, I called Li Jia to ask about Miss Ouyang's situation, and he said everything was normal. I then instructed him not to let Miss Ouyang walk for too long. Forty-five minutes later, Miss Ouyang's uncle called me saying she had not returned yet, and when he tried calling Li Jia, it was unreachable. I immediately activated the emergency contact device on Li Jia's waist, but there was no response. I opened the satellite tracking and found that their location was already over 10 kilometers away from the villa. I then rushed to the scene with my team and found Li Jia and Wang Bing lying unconscious on the grass by the roadside, while Miss Ouyang and the other two were nowhere to be seen!" Kang Dingzhuang's voice was heavy with guilt, knowing he had been severely derelict in his duties. He continued, "I immediately realized that it was highly likely that Miss Ouyang and the others had been kidnapped. I searched the surrounding area, hoping to find witnesses, but there were few pedestrians on this road due to the heavy traffic. I couldn't make a public announcement, so I didn't find anyone. My only hope was for Li Jia and Wang Bing to wake up."

  Kang Ding Zhuang took out a piece of paper from the documents in front of him and said, "From Li Jia's physical examination, I initially thought that they had been anesthetized and their head nerves were impacted, causing them to be unable to press the emergency signal button. I immediately went to the hospital to invite an anesthesia expert and also notified the Hong Kong anti-kidnapping expert to assist. After examination, it was confirmed that Li Jia and others were injected with anesthetic from close range in the neck, which is not possible domestically. This anesthetic can make people lose consciousness within two seconds and requires a special antidote. We have investigated the source and believe that this may be the anesthetic used by American agents. The pharmaceutical company is now analyzing the molecular structure of the drug with all its might to find a breakthrough."

  Long Bao narrowed his eyes, puffing on a cigarette, staring at the swirling smoke. The smoke was faint and rose lightly, gradually dispersing below the ceiling, enveloping everyone in its mist.

  A middle-aged man wearing glasses stood up and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "The two guards have regained consciousness, they said that after receiving Mr. Kang's phone call five minutes later, they heard the faint sound of brakes coming from behind them. Because this is a slightly sloping downhill road, they just turned their heads to take a look, vaguely seeing that it was a Continental-made Jinbei van. Later, they saw another Jinbei van with the same model number coming from the front, the license plate number was vaguely *S***71, and the vehicle's sound system was very loud. At this time, they felt a sharp pain in their necks, and their heads were hit by heavy objects. Before they fainted, they instinctively activated the emergency contact device. It is estimated that the signal was not received because it had been subjected to strong high-frequency interference." He cautiously scanned everyone, choosing his words carefully, "Our investigation and analysis have found that these two vehicles are highly suspected of being involved in the crime, and there is reason to believe that the license plate number must be fake. Even the vehicle itself is very likely to be a stolen object. The kidnapping of Miss Ouyang and three others is no longer in doubt. The other party's purpose is to demand ransom, and from the modus operandi, it should be done by international gangsters."

  A dark and thin man in his fifties, with furrowed eyebrows, spoke in a low voice: "The head injuries sustained by the two guards were not caused by batons, and given their training, they should be able to withstand ordinary armed attacks. It's possible that they were hit by rubber bullets that wouldn't kill them. From our knowledge of major kidnapping cases, they didn't kill the guards to convey to the ransom payer that they wouldn't harm anyone, and also to avoid involving the police and angering the ransom payer. However, the fact that they went to such great lengths to gather intelligence and plan this operation suggests that if they don't get their hands on the ransom, they won't give up easily. This modus operandi is used by nine kidnapping groups worldwide, two of which are affiliated with international terrorist organizations, mainly targeting wealthy individuals who have expressed views opposing their political ideology. Two others are affiliated with international drug trafficking groups, aiming to intimidate powerful figures and use their relatives for drug-related purposes. The remaining five groups are purely motivated by money, and the ransom usually exceeds $50 million."

  "This person paused, looking at Long Bao with a very serious expression: "In general, the master of this kind of kidnapping will not seek assistance from ordinary police. Their methods are not what ordinary police can handle. So, Mr. Long, we have only three steps to take. First, we cannot alert the outside world and completely seal off the news. Mr. Kang has done a good job in this regard. Second, we must secretly seek assistance from international police and national security departments, launching a multi-pronged attack to gather intelligence information about the kidnappers. Third, the kidnappers will definitely contact us, and we will wait for and weigh their conditions."

  Long Bao nodded his head in agreement with the opinions of this group of experts, and everyone went out to busy themselves. Long Bao kept Kang Dingzhuang and Meng Yuan behind, preparing to have a private talk.

  Long Bao connected this kidnapping with the previous incident in Japan, suspecting that there might be some connection between them. He felt a bit regretful, thinking that he had been careful enough at first, but later became mentally slack when things seemed to have been resolved so smoothly. Could it be possible that the Noda group was involved? The current situation is unclear, and it seems like everyone who has had dealings with him before is under great suspicion.

  Long Bao let out a low sigh, his emotions suppressed. He wrote on the paper: I suspect that this place is not confidential and safe either. Now you two quickly use plastic sheets to build an enclosed space in the room, and we will communicate with paper and pen. This content can only be known by the two of you. He handed the note to Kang Ding Zhuang Meng Yuan and others to see.

  It's a bit unreasonable, Kang Dingzhuang and Meng Yuan also think so. They have been professionally trained to detect eavesdropping and recording devices, and they have checked this place many times before, all concluding that it is safe. Long Biao's request for such precautions seems somewhat absurd. However, they can't refute him, so they just do as he says. A comical scene ensues, with a simple canopy set up in Long Biao's bedroom, and the three of them start communicating in writing on a table inside this enclosed space that blocks all lines of sight.

  Kangding Zhuang speculated that Long Bao had already regarded everyone as suspects, but he had no reason to say anything.

  Long Bao puffed on his cigarette and wrote on the paper: This matter is not isolated, have you investigated those who have had dealings with me?

  Kangding Zhuang thought for a moment and wrote: We all agree that the kidnappers are very familiar with your situation. Considering Miss Wu's experience in Japan, we have sent someone to secretly investigate the Japanese Noda organization. According to the feedback, that Japanese person has been in the entertainment industry, and surveillance of the high-level members of the Noda organization is still ongoing. However, based on the information from the Noda organization, this black society group seems to have no experience with kidnapping and extortion, and we also assess that they will not take such a big risk to offend you.

  Ryota shook his head and wrote: Anyone can be a possibility, even if the Noda group doesn't have a previous record, won't they still collaborate with other organizations to do this deal? This time's ransom will not just be a matter of tens of millions of dollars, it may exceed hundreds of millions of dollars. Whoever it is will be tempted, whoever it is will stop at nothing. Even if the Oshima company and conglomerate have important business dealings, you must go investigate Sasaki. I always feel that last time in Japan was not just a coincidence.

  Kangding Zhu hesitated for a moment, then wrote: So your meaning is that we must also investigate Vice Chairman Jiao, Ye Ziheng, and that Chang Cheng, as well as other business rivals who lost out to you in the scramble for huge commercial contracts?

  Must we suspect everything? No, it's absolutely necessary! Long Bao gritted his teeth and wrote: This is called investigation!

  Kangding Village can only write: We have limited manpower and cannot attack on all sides. If we hire too many people, it will not be conducive to secrecy and will provoke the other party.

  Meng Yuan also hastily wrote: I think this kidnapping should not involve personal historical grudges, the other party is purely for money!

  At this moment, Meng Yuan's phone received a text message. Meng Yuan took a look and found it was a completely unfamiliar mobile number. He opened it and saw that it said: "Please check the CEO's email inbox on the Li Heng Group website, where you will find the emails you want to know." Meng Yuan and Long Bao immediately realized that this was the kidnapper's communication method. He opened the inbox and indeed found an email marked as confidential information.

  "Mr. Long, you have four lives in my hands, and I demand that you gather $2 billion USD within one day and be prepared to transfer the funds at any time. Do you know why Ms. Wu named her daughter Bingbing? It's because 'Bing' has a similar pronunciation to your surname 'Long' in your hometown dialect. So, I advise you not to take any actions that would harm this game, or else you will see the corpse of Ms. Wu's daughter Bingbing. If you continue to be stubborn, you will see a video of Ms. Wu being raped by a black AIDS patient online. If you still refuse to pay the ransom, we regret to inform you that your child will be aborted from Ms. Ouyang's womb and made into meat paste to be sold in supermarkets. Finally, the skeletal remains of these four people will be crushed into ash and scattered as fertilizer on farmland. Your group's current net assets are $537 billion HKD, and Mr. Long has the authority to dispose of nearly $400 billion. We hope that you will carefully consider this within the time limit."

  Next to it was a downloaded file, Longbiao opened it, and the loudspeaker immediately transmitted the icy cry, Wenli's cry and Ouyang's panicked pleading voice.

  Bang! Long Bao was furious, using all his strength to punch the table and roar: "Money, money, money! All this is caused by money! Without money, who would kidnap and blackmail you?!"

  The sound was very short and disappeared after two minutes, and then the email also mysteriously self-destructed. Meng Yuan was shocked, this is a self-destruct program attached to the email! Long Bao opened the email too hastily and didn't even have time to investigate the source of the email! However, the opponent must have thought of this too, it's not possible to let their side get away with it.

  Long Bao's hand trembled violently as he thought in a rage: No matter where they are, even at the ends of the earth, I will make them pay with their lives!

  It has been confirmed that the other party is indeed for ransom, and the anti-kidnapping expert will also gather with Long Bao again to analyze and discuss the ransom letter. Fortunately, Long Bao's memory is exceptional, and he can almost reproduce the ransom letter verbatim. Due to several characteristics of this ransom letter, experts have identified possible connections with Japan's Tetsu no Ana group, America's Strang organization, and India's Maenadu gang.

  The dark and thin man suggested asking Interpol for assistance, but Longbiao did not agree for the time being. Shi Wei and Haitao saw that Longbiao had actually set up a plastic cloth shed in the room, so they inferred that Longbiao's excessive caution had completely risen to the level of psychological extreme compulsion, and they were even more worried about Longbiao.

  He didn't expect Long Bing to call the two of them into his bedroom alone, and write on a piece of paper: You know that Ouyang is pregnant, and Wen Li and I have this kind of history. They've figured out that I will definitely choose life over money when it comes to other people's lives, so they're using this weakness to threaten me. This must be the work of someone who knows me well and those kidnapping groups working together.

  Long Bianton paused for a moment and continued writing: I was remiss, this conspiracy has been planned for a long time, I was remiss, and for this incident, I only have the possibility of choosing to yield.

  Haitao stared at Longbiao, moved to write: Lao Liu, actually we've always known that you value emotions above everything else. You'd rather endure loneliness, pain, misunderstanding and torture than expose your true inner self, which is actually considering us.

  A surge of sour heat rushed up uncontrollably, and the pen in his hand trembled slightly, drawing a very short fine line on the paper. It was easy to calm down and continue writing: Don't say that, it's my fault for not considering your feelings before. However, everyone has their own path, and it's best not to interfere with each other. Fate is like this, if I hadn't pretended to be so fake, there wouldn't have been this kidnapping incident. Generally, kidnappers in this world won't take the friends of wealthy people and unborn children as hostages. Unfortunately, everyone has a fatal weakness, and my weakness is emotions. Once they figured out my weakness, I had no choice but to admit defeat. So, I ask you one thing: please accept the protective measures I've taken for you.

  Shi Wei hehe laughed and wrote: It's good, otherwise they might kidnap me one day and extort tens of millions from you, that would be troublesome. How could my life be worth so much money? Arrange a few bodyguards for me too, it won't cost more than a million or two per year, okay, I temporarily accept.

  Haitao glared at Shi Wei and wrote: Alright, to put your mind at ease, I'll temporarily come to Chang'an with Wu Qingfen. However, I think your approach is not correct. Think about it, what if they target my parents or the Shi family again? What would you do then? Are you going to protect everyone? That's not feasible. The key is to find the root of the problem in order to achieve lasting peace.

  Haitao's words were exactly what Longbiao had been thinking of, and now the only hope was to find out the mastermind behind the scenes and eradicate them completely.

  Shi Wei Tuo also wrote: "Your meaning is that they will continue to kidnap people with historical relations with you? Then who do you think are the masterminds behind the scenes?"

  Longbow wrote: Japan's Noda group and we have had a grudge, also with a black society background. From the ransom note, it can be seen that there is a Japanese man's usual cruel and bloody characteristics. The first to suspect is them. Ye Ziheng has a record of colluding with underworld figures to extort huge sums of money. He not only has a grudge against me but also knows everything about me. His company has not been doing well recently, so he is the second to suspect. Third is India's Anil, who failed to compete with me for a contract a year and a half ago. His group's performance plummeted, and he himself has many connections with the underworld.

  Haitao nodded and wrote: Are you really prepared to pay a ransom of 2 billion?

  Long Bao concentrated his mind and thought, writing: The ransom demand of 2 billion US dollars by these kidnappers is absurd, because they are just like doing business, asking for a high price but actually willing to accept a lower one. It's estimated that the final price may be around 500 million US dollars.

  Long Bao sighed and wrote: Money, to me, has become the heaviest burden. It's a devil that can bring everything, satisfy everything, but also destroy everything. If I didn't have control over these assets, none of this would have happened. Shi Wei, Hai Tao, originally I was planning to let you two enter the group's high-level management at the right time and take on this heavy responsibility after my death. Now, I'm canceling that decision. This job is too tiring, you shouldn't live as tiredly as me. You can just follow your own path in life. This is a swamp, once you step into it, you can't pull yourself out.

  This is terrible, this guy still thinks he will die before the age of thirty, now it seems like he's arranging his own funeral. Shi Wei secretly thought it was not good and hurriedly wrote: Lao Liu, you can't possibly think that curses are real, right? We've all been together with you for so long, nothing has happened, your illness is just a psychological shadow, don't try to play some trick of breaking off our friendship again, I won't fall for it.

  His expression was still heavy, and after a while he wrote: I'm telling you this not for any other reason, but to tell you not to come again trying to intervene in this matter. You are not experts, nor can you help in any way, just stay here quietly. This has nothing to do with curses, think of your own family's well-being, and because of this money, I have to face too many enemies, I don't want to bring any harm to you again.

  Shi Wei thought it was necessary to remind Long Bao, so he wrote: Autumn Ya is stuck in Suzhou, Jing Er is stuck in Germany, shouldn't these two people also be reminded?

  Long Bao's expression didn't change, and he said calmly: Shi Wei, isn't Du Ci saying that Qiu Ya has been in contact with Chang Cheng a lot recently? As for others, it's even more unnecessary, someone is waiting to accompany me every day, and it has nothing to do with me.

  It's done, this guy must be eating Yu Rong's vinegar, no way, I have to inform Jing Er immediately, otherwise Jing Er will also be kidnapped and extorted for tens of billions, that would be the end. Shi Wei rolled his eyes and made up his mind.

  Haitao didn't think so, and in a low voice said to Longbiao: "Old Six, calm down, I don't want you to not have true love in your life. Maybe you misunderstood Jing'er."

  Long Bao narrowed his eyes and looked at Hai Tao, after a long time, he smiled and said: "Love? What's the use of love? This world originally only has life, only survival. Love? For me, what is love, it died long ago. On the contrary, your friendship makes me feel true and precious.

  Long Biao lit a cigarette, took a deep drag and said: "Alright, you two should quickly get familiar with the group's business. I don't want to deal with these trivial matters of the group anymore. I'm tired and want to rest."

  Although Kangding Village had been keeping the kidnapping incident from Jiao Siwei, Long Bao felt it was necessary to inform him, otherwise Jiao Siwei would be left with a psychological scar. So Long Bao told Jiao Siwei about the matter.

  Jiao Siwei's first reaction was to ask Long Bao: "Did you think I was also involved in the kidnapping?"

  Long replied, "Vice Chairman Jiao, although there are historical factors between us, we also agreed that I will give you a separate conclusion on this matter. I believe you won't involve innocent people in our personal grievances and bring it into the group's affairs. Most importantly, you don't lack money, so there's no need to take risks for it."

  Jiao Siwei was indeed unaware of the matter, and after hearing Long Bao's explanation, which was actually a comfort to her, she was somewhat moved. She said in a low voice: "You're clear about it, that's good. The returns I've gotten from the group over the past four or five years have exceeded anyone's imagination. Don't worry, I'll think of something myself."

  Long Bao also believed that it was impossible for Xue Bingying and Qian Yuhui to be related, and he emphasized to them the importance of maintaining safety precautions.

  Long Bao consulted with these anti-kidnapping experts, whether the kidnappers might kill the person after receiving the ransom, or use the hostage to demand a higher ransom again. Experts say that this type of international kidnapper is different from ordinary kidnappers, but rather similar to high-IQ criminals like Cheung Tze-keung in the 1990s, who also pay attention to maintaining their kidnapping reputation. Currently, they must negotiate through ransom to obtain more information about the kidnappers.

  Judging from the background of the kidnappers, Long Bao had to pretend to slowly raise funds from the investment company to convey to the kidnappers that they were raising ransom money, in order to avoid the kidnappers harming Ouyang Wenli and the others. On the other hand, he accelerated the secret investigation and waited for the kidnappers to make contact.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, 24 hours later, another strange text message was sent to Meng Yuan's phone, asking Long Bao to check his email again. The expert immediately tracked the phone number and found it was located in Shenzhen. Meng Yuan also replied with a text message as previously arranged, requesting direct communication for negotiation, but this message showed that the other party did not receive it successfully. The expert believed that the other party had long been prepared to defend against this, and the computer expert who had been closely monitoring the mailbox for half an hour still did not receive any email.

  Longbiao realized that the other side was playing a cat-and-mouse game, meaning they were already familiar with all anti-surveillance methods and could predict his usual actions and reactions. This was indeed an extraordinary kidnapper.

  Just then, Xue Bingying called and said that a strange voice wanted her to tell Long Bao not to take any actions detrimental to the hostages, otherwise the ransom would be increased to 3 billion US dollars. Given his young age and ignorance of the consequences, he was given another 12 hours to gather the ransom. He also reminded Long Bao to pay attention to the safety of the group company and those experts, and not to make mistakes again.

  Xue Bingying only recorded the last few sentences with her mobile phone, which was a voice that had been processed by a machine to change its frequency, speaking in English. Long Bao knew this was a warning from the kidnappers, and the kidnappers' intention was to remind him that paying the ransom was the only way to ensure the safety of the hostages. He thought the kidnappers were reminding him to pay attention to the security of the company and the experts, which meant that if he refused to pay the ransom and the kidnapping failed, they would take revenge. Of course, it was also possible that this was a trick by the kidnappers to shift their attention.

  As the situation unfolded, Long Bao gradually gained a clearer understanding of the kidnapping. Firstly, the kidnappers were surprisingly familiar with his circumstances and knew exactly where to strike, indicating that someone close to him must have been involved; however, he couldn't let even the anti-kidnapping experts know his true bottom line. Secondly, if he didn't pay the ransom, someone would definitely get hurt - while it was easy for the kidnappers to kill people, for Long Bao, this was an unacceptable reality, and he had to give them money, but in a step-by-step manner, slowly luring the kidnappers out; the hundreds of millions of dollars were not a small sum, even international kidnapping groups would be tempted, and they would eventually reveal their true intentions due to the huge temptation. Thirdly, there must be people from the kidnapping group secretly monitoring his actions, so he had to pretend that he hadn't reported the incident to the police, using his connections with some national leaders to request their secret assistance, as well as asking Interpol for help. Fourthly, the ransom money had to be withdrawn from the international financial market - considering the current trends in major markets, was it possible that a huge downturn was hidden beneath the surface? Many international speculators already harbored resentment towards him; would they take advantage of this situation to attack him and reap huge profits?

  Long Bao keenly sensed that if this kidnapping was manipulated by international speculators, then as long as he made a mistake in his response, it would be very likely to lead to the group's disaster!

  Long Bao suddenly felt that in this world, no one could be trusted, only interests could be believed. However, the interest of 20 billion US dollars was enough to challenge all the original interests, just like the gold mine in Tianlei Village before, everything would become fragile and unbearable. Nevertheless, he still had to believe in some people, he felt extremely contradictory, and the root of all these contradictions was money. Without money, the world would be peaceful, his world would be peaceful.

  From the statements left by the kidnappers, Long Bo analyzed that they had left themselves a way out everywhere. They also knew it wouldn't be easy to get their hands on so much money. This massive kidnapping case was making headlines worldwide, and to launder $2 billion without leaving any trace, the best method would be to transfer funds through multiple accounts and then whitewash them through financial markets. Moreover, they had to avoid provoking themselves into crazy revenge. This must have been a joint plan; they must have created some misleading illusions to shift attention and protect themselves. This required coordination from multiple parties. The kidnapping indeed produced multiple effects, and the speculation that it might be an attack on a conglomerate to create a stock market crash and profit from it was not impossible.

  Long Bao decided to test the depth of the kidnappers. He appeared in front of everyone several hours later, looking dispirited and dryly ordered Ah Hui, the vice president of the investment company stationed in Hong Kong, to rush back to Chang'an immediately. Ah Hui was his trusted subordinate, just like Kang Dingzhuang, there was no reason for him to betray himself.

  After Ahui arrived, he gave orders to Ahui in front of everyone to re-arrange the funds of the investment company, requiring Ahui to raise one billion US dollars within a week without causing market fluctuations. Later, while shaking hands, he handed Ahui a note with a line written on it: "You must have commercial spies, be extremely cautious about the safety of the company and individuals, secretly select qualified operators to protect them, and prepare to dump all held securities at any time to save strength and avoid risks. The market will fall, the group is in crisis, follow my instructions. Burn after reading.

  Then, Long Bao deliberately opened a discussion with everyone on whether to notify Interpol, and finally he made a decision in front of everyone not to notify Interpol. However, he privately contacted the heads of several countries, promising to increase investment in their countries in exchange for their secret support. A secret web was woven.

  Twelve hours later, Long Bao's email received an email with two Swiss bank accounts and a transfer request with a deadline of three hours, as well as video footage of Ouyang San being guarded by masked men. This email did not self-destruct. After tracing by computer experts, the email was found to have been sent from Nagoya City, Japan.

  He transferred the first $5 million to an account, and then sent a request for direct dialogue to this email address, stating that the ransom had exceeded his ability to pay, Wen Li was just a friend of his, and Ou Yang had no emotional connection with him at all. The child in her belly couldn't even be confirmed as his own, he had no reason to pay such a high ransom.

  The next two hours, the other party did not respond or transfer the money. Two hours later, the other party replied to agree to reduce the ransom amount to 1.5 billion, indicating that this was the final limit, and agreed to give Long Bo three days to raise funds.

  Ouyang and Wenli had been detained in the small wooden house on the central island of the sea for two days. It was a very beautiful two-story small wooden house, surrounded by green trees, with gentle waves slowly hitting the coast. Unfortunately, Wenli couldn't see it, she was handcuffed to the iron frame, with low wooden beds laid out beside her, and the windows were iron bars, with thick curtains blocking out all the scenery outside.

  The scenery outside the window is like a painting, and Wen Li once again calculates her position in her heart. Since being kidnapped, they have been blindfolded, and during this time, they have slept for an unknown number of hours. They took cars, boats, and even seaplanes until they were brought to this island. Through the temperature, climate, and wind direction she felt on the island, Wen Li guessed that her current location might be in the ocean around Indonesia or Malaysia.

  At this time, Ou Yang and Wen Li were crying and discussing what to do about Ou Yang's production on the island. Three bandits with veils over their heads walked in, a tall thin man pointed at Ou Yang and said in English: "You see for yourself, this woman is only ten days away from her due date, what if she goes into labor prematurely? Who among you can deliver the baby? We've already gotten our hands on 40 million US dollars, why do we need to insist on 200 million? I think the boss and them are only thinking about money, it seems like they're not considering at all how to deal with any potential trouble that may arise."

  A tall and powerful man said: "The leaders have studied it, the bottom line of this vote is 600 million. After we finish this vote, we can retire and enjoy our old age. How the leader does things naturally has his own reason, whether this woman gives birth or not, that's for the leaders to consider, we just need to take care of these three people, why are you worrying so much?"

  "This tall and thin person shrugged his shoulders, saying: 'I have a bad premonition about this ticket. I always feel that even if we get the ransom, we won't be able to spend it. Why did they kidnap a pregnant woman? Anyway, I'm telling you, Long Bao isn't someone to be trifled with. I've studied his entire history. Don't look at his young age, but he's too mysterious. A young man in his early twenties can turn a declining company into a business empire in just a few years. There's only one explanation: he's the son of God, and the son of God is not to be offended!'"

  Another middle-aged bandit who had been silent all along spoke up: "The boss has done so many jobs with us, and he's never lost a hand. The boss is considerate and no victim has ever come back for revenge after the fact. Just follow the boss's orders and that's it! Besides, this time we've researched and planned for half a year, every detail has been considered. What are you worried about? Think more about how to spend that money in the future, that's the most practical thing!"

  The tall and thin man still had some worry in his words: "God bless, I hope so!"

  After the kidnappers left, Wen Li whispered to Ouyang: "Don't worry, they just want money. Long Bao has already given them 400 million, I think they are still negotiating now, and they must have also prepared a doctor for the delivery. You and the baby will be safe."

  Ouyang stroked his bulging belly, looking worried and said: "Why didn't he give them the money right away? It's just a little money, he can earn it back quickly! Wenli sister, I'm really scared to death in this place!"

  Wen Li held her sleeping daughter Bingbing and sighed, "Giving money is also a method, this ransom can't be given too quickly or too slowly, both sides are fighting. Besides, do you think several hundred million US dollars is a small amount? This is almost the world's largest kidnapping case, the kidnappers must consider their own safety, right?"

  Ouyang rubbed his own belly, and couldn't help but cry again: "Wenli sister, do you think we can get out? ...Do you think Longbiao will come to rescue us? ...Do you think they'll kill us after getting the money? ..."

  Wen Li shook her head, then nodded, and then shook her head again before saying: "If they let us see their faces, I think we would be dead. They won't let us live. Now that they still have their faces covered, it means they won't kill us yet. Long Bao should come to rescue us, right? Alas, what's the point of thinking so much? Everything is fate, nothing can be changed. My life is worthless, not worth all this money. I've had enough suffering in this lifetime, living on has no meaning for me. I only hope that heaven will bless my Ice and keep her safe, that's all I need."

  "But what about me? I haven't lived enough, I still want to give birth to his son, I still want to raise my son, I still want to live with him!" Ouyang covered her face and wept, tears falling from between her fingers, flowing down her wrist, "Waaah, why did he have to make money so important? Why couldn't he just give them the money and let me go back?"

  Her crying woke up the sleeping Ice, who also cried out with bleary eyes. Wen Li hurriedly comforted her, and she herself couldn't help but secretly sob. The whole room was filled with strange crying sounds. After a long time, Wen Li looked at Ouyang and said to her in a sorrowful tone: "Ouyang, stop crying, what's the use of crying? Even if you cry until the sky grows dark, heaven won't come to save you. Crying will only harm your body and isn't good for the child either, is it?"

  Ouyang choked back a sob, his eyes blurry with tears, and said: "Wenli sister, if I hadn't recognized him, if we hadn't been together before, would today's events have still occurred? Would I also be someone who is about to give birth?"

  Wen Li looked down, very helplessly and replied: "I used to have the same idea as you, I also asked others. I remember a girl said that if she hadn't met her ex-boyfriend, she would be happy now and wouldn't have become a prostitute. She said it was all because of him that she ended up like this; another girl said she liked going out and playing, liked the thrill of an uninhibited life. She said her downfall was her own doing, that she couldn't grasp her life, and didn't blame anyone but herself; another girl said her family was very poor, and she sold herself so that her younger siblings could go to school and her parents could get medical treatment. She said it was her fate, and she accepted it. Now you're asking me the same question I asked others before, and all I can tell you is that people blaming heaven, earth, or others makes no sense. The only one to blame is oneself, for one's own ignorance, foolish impulsiveness, childish willfulness, and lack of clear reason in emotional matters."

  Wen Li carefully placed the icy head on her chest and slowly said: "People can be confused in all aspects, but they must not make mistakes in deciding their own emotional affairs for life. Ouyang, I was wrong too many times, and my mistakes were very absurd. I couldn't see myself clearly, and my understanding of myself has always been ambiguous. You are stronger than me on this point, but you are also confused." Wen Li smoothed out the hair floating in front of her eyes and stared at Ouyang firmly, saying: "Do you really think that if you have a child with him, he will stay by your side?"

  Ouyang's eyes suddenly became dazed, and she muttered to herself: "He doesn't love me, I know, I know, but I love him. That day he said I was beautiful, his deep gaze drew me in, I didn't expect my Prince Charming would look at me with such melancholy eyes. He grasped my hand, holding it so tightly it hurt, he slid his hand across my face, it hurt, but I felt happy too, I panicked, I didn't know what to do, all I knew was that I wanted to comfort him, I wanted to obey him... He doesn't love me, I know, but I love him, I want to stay by his side, I don't know if I can keep him by my side, I don't know, I don't know, let's wait until the child is born and then see..."

  Wen Li shook her head gently and said in a low voice, "Ouyang, Ouyang, what do you want, what can you give, and what can you get? You're not clear about any of these things at all! Your love for him is actually one-sided infatuation. Can this kind of love form a complete family? I ask you, do you know why he never married Qiu Ya before? Why did he never register his marriage with you? And why does he want to go out and have fun?"

  Ouyang bit her lip and said after a while, "He has a lot of work pressure, these rich people's philandering is very ordinary, he just wants to relax. All men are a little flirtatious, I can tolerate it."

  Wen Li let out a long sigh and said, "That's right, men are all flirtatious, especially when they have a wide social circle, relationships between men and women can easily become distorted, and love can easily depreciate. Moreover, Long Bao is also facing countless temptations. However, you shouldn't treat him like an ordinary man. The reason he's like this is because he doesn't dare to love the person he loves. In the past, there was Qiu Ya, so he could only escape, work crazily, and secretly go out to have fun. Later, he didn't expect your appearance would break everything. Do you still not know who advised him to take you in? And because of whose reason did he stop going out to have fun? Ouyang, don't think that you can use the child to make him stay with you, and don't think it's because of your reason that he stopped going out to have fun."

  Ouyang said dully: "Is all of this because of Su Jing'er?"

  Wen Li looked at the thick curtains with a tilted head and said tiredly: "Actually, the overlord of this business world is very weak, sometimes even more incompetent than a child. In his eyes, that person is like his mother, sister, confidante, and in his dream world, his only beloved. I've talked to his friends, they all know the truth, he can't love you, won't stay for you, even if he comes to rescue you now, he'll leave your side eventually, you should wake up early if you really love him, don't let him suffer anymore, Ouyang, haven't you noticed that he's very tired of living?"

  Ouyang was strongly stimulated by Wenli's words, and foolishly said: "Then he... why didn't he go after his happiness... why didn't he stay with her?"

  Wen Li sighed again and didn't answer. Ou Yang asked after a long while, "Sister Wen Li, are... you also in love with him?"

  Wen Li's eyes were extremely hollow, and she replied bitterly: "Love? What is love? To me, love has always been endless hurt. I hurt others, others hurt me. The longer the love, the more hurt it brings. I won't seek love again; I've loved enough and been hurt enough. This world is complicated because of love, making life and living complicated. Without love, life would be simple. Only when there's no love between men and women can we be free."

  Ouyang fell silent, at this moment the child in her belly kicked her abdomen, and a helpless expression appeared on her face. She thought gloomily: what is love, perhaps it's because no one can explain it that it's love.

  Longbiao indeed did a good job, every day 10 million, 5 million was transferred into the kidnapper's account, and the kidnapper's internal opinions were divided, and they even had a quarrel.

  The bandit said: "Now there are already 650 million US dollars in the account, at this speed, when will 12 billion be reached? That's not going to take several months?"

  B Lian said: "Damn it, this guy is really hateful. We've already reduced the price from 2 billion to 1.2 billion for him. Does he want us to force him down to 600 or 700 million before he'll be satisfied? Let's just get rid of that little kid and give him a lesson, so he knows we're not people to be trifled with!"

  "Be calm! This guy may not be generous with the money, but he has his reasons. After all, he is not the owner of this huge asset, and he must use the disposal rights left to him by the old man carefully. The old man must have left some hidden intentions for this asset, and if he uses tens of billions as ransom at once, it may really come out with a will that deprives his disposal rights immediately, and the ransom will be wasted. His way of doing things is correct."

  D bandit said: "No way, he's definitely got an ulterior motive for doing this. I think it's either to haggle over the price or to stall for time and investigate us. The longer we wait, the more unsafe and dangerous it becomes! Mr. Martin Scorsese is already getting impatient! Alright, let's give him a flat rate of 800 million, with a deadline of two days!"

  C strongly opposed the way: "We have done research and analysis on the psychology of the master, the more you force him, the more resistant he will be, and if things go wrong, he will simply give up and launch a comprehensive counterattack against us. I can tell you that so far, he has not reported to Interpol, which means he is still willing to cooperate with us. At least, he has already paid 650 million, our conservative estimate is that his maximum psychological tolerance price is 600 million, and the time required is one month. What we need to do now is not to rush him for money, but to tell him that the meat ticket is very safe, wait until the girl gives birth to the child, and then send all the images of the birth to him. At this time, we will tell him that our asking price is 800 million, and he will pay it off smoothly at one time. As for what you said about him dragging out the investigation against us, don't worry, it's absolutely impossible to track it back to us, there are naturally scapegoats to take the blame for us."

  "Who is the scapegoat?" B asked with interest.

  C said in a low and mysterious tone: "This scapegoat won't be just one or two, he will be satisfied with this answer."

  The bandit was still indignant and said, "Now with so many eyes watching this large sum of money, it's placed on the account but can't be transferred, it's just a virtual number. I think if we're not careful, there will be a mistake at this link!"

  "Don't worry, this is the part we've thought through most carefully. We've never lost control in this aspect before. Just wait patiently and see."

  Long Bao was increasingly suspicious of these anti-kidnapping experts, he thought that a mastermind must be able to make a real crime mastermind. Suppose an anti-kidnapping expert came up with a kidnapping plan, it would definitely be planned from the perspective of solving the case, and only in this way could they avoid revealing any flaws, and only they could best grasp the psychology of the victim. And this kidnapping case that happened to him was just right to deduce this theory.

  Tens of millions of US dollars are still in that account, which shows that the kidnappers are extremely calm and will only act when the money they demand is deposited. The kidnappers have been very careful not to expose their organization's name, showing a high level of protection and vigilance. They are purely after the money and do not have any intention of seeking fame or reputation. From every angle, they have left no weaknesses, conveying that this is just a transaction, and as long as everyone follows the rules, everything will be fine; otherwise, everyone will perish together. This is truly a mastermind, wearing impenetrable armor and wielding the sharpest blade.

  However, having no weakness is a weakness in itself. Long Wan decided to take the initiative to attack because anyone doing anything must have weaknesses. The reason why the weaknesses haven't been exposed yet is that the current situation is a stable norm. Once the factors of this norm change, the weaknesses will be revealed. Moreover, the most crucial thing is that games without weaknesses are high-cost games. For himself, money isn't the cost; it's gone when it's gone. The real cost is life, the safety of life, and this isn't just for Wan Li and her three friends, but also for everything he cares about.

  The cocoon must be bitten open to break through the defensive line. How to bite, what to do after biting, and the purpose of biting are all part of the art of the cocoon.

  Long Bao's left hand was playing with the black cocoon, while his right hand was being bitten by a leopard. The leopard was very playful today, taking turns biting Long Bao's fingers one by one. Its soft tongue covered Long Bao's right hand with sticky saliva, and it let out excited chirps, indulging in the fun.

  Long Bao was playing with it, but his eyes weren't on it. His eyes were fixed intently on a piece of paper in front of him.

  This paper was brought by Shi Wei, who honestly and frankly said that it was a divination specifically done by Jing Er for this matter. Jing Er is safe and sound, having returned from Germany, and is now staying with everyone together, even Qiu Ya has rushed over from Suzhou. What's laughable is that Chang Cheng also came.

  This divination was obtained by Jing Er after she had offered incense and taken a bath, placed the personal items worn by Wen Li, Ouyang and Bingbing in front of her, minimized external interference as much as possible, and then made detailed calculations based on the time when Wen Li and others disappeared to get the interpretation.

  The army: Chên, the general auspicious, no calamity. The Judgment says: The army is a multitude; Chên is rightness. Being able to use a multitude with rightness, one can indeed be king. Firm and in the center, yet responding, going forward with danger but being smooth, using this to poison the world below, and the people follow it - auspicious, what calamity? The Image says: In the earth there is water, the army. A noble person uses containment of the people and herding of multitudes.

  This hexagram is Shi, one yang and five yin, symbolizing the army's expedition, and it must be successful. She also determined that there are villains around Long Bao. Jing Er inferred that Wen Li and others are now on an island in the South China Sea, which is indeed a good omen, but Jing Er...

  Everything is a cocoon, as long as you are doing things, you are in the cocoon. People are cocoons, things are cocoons, and people and things are even more so, everyone is connected, everything is linked, and naturally they give birth to each other, like this, generation after generation, endless!