Chapter 129: Challenging the Bottom Line

Chapter 129: Testing the Limits

"Shut up!"

"Ding—Green Tea behavior detected! Green Tea Points +200."

Jian Ye froze slightly upon hearing the system's voice in his head.

Is this guy all tough on the outside but soft inside?

Even the Black-Clad Eldest Brother couldn’t resist his constant "Brother" calls.

"Brother, my hands and feet are stiff. Can you loosen the ropes a little? There are so many of you, I couldn’t possibly escape."

Jian Ye gazed at him with pitiful eyes, blinking softly.

"Talking to me is useless. I only take orders from our boss."

This Black-Clad Eldest Brother was just following orders, strictly following protocol. After capturing the desired footage, he even did up Jian Ye's buttons for him.

"Brother, I really need to use the bathroom. I really can't hold it anymore." Jian Ye rubbed his legs together restlessly, looking like he couldn't hold it much longer.

This time, the black-clad man had no choice but to untie him.

There was a bathroom inside the room, so there was no need to go outside. Their boss had already instructed them not to actually harm the boy—their goal was only to lure Qin Fei over. If Qin Fei came alone, they would capture him immediately and release Jian Ye.

After all, Jian Ye was part of the Yi family. There was no need to make enemies of the Yi family.

Once in the bathroom, Jian Ye scanned his surroundings and found nothing but a toilet—completely sealed, no ventilation.

Even if he wanted to escape through an air vent like in the movies, it was impossible.

Including the Green Tea Points contributed by the guy earlier, he now only had 450 in total.

His system was powerful, but not to an exaggerated, reality-breaking level.

No time-stopping cards, no teleportation cards, and certainly no knockout gas that could instantly incapacitate all the bad guys.

After reading so many novels, he still hadn’t mastered the essence of a protagonist’s self-rescue. He was probably the unluckiest and most hapless transmigrator ever.

Was he really just going to wait around to be rescued? What if something unexpected happened?

If someone got hurt trying to save him, Jian Ye would be devastated.

Bang bang bang—!

"Hey! What’s taking so long? Hurry up and come out if you’re done!"

The black-clad man outside was getting impatient.

Jian Ye didn't actually need to use the bathroom—he just pretended to flush the toilet.

He opened the door just a crack, peered out with just half his face showing. "Don’t get angry, Brother. I’m always slow in the bathroom at home too. My husband always thinks I fell in."

"Who the hell would worry about you—"

Jian Ye placed a finger on the black-clad man’s chest. "Shh, don’t say it, Brother. There's surveillance. I get what you're thinking, but don’t let your boss see. I don’t want him to misunderstand."

The man was momentarily speechless, stunned into an unprecedented complaint: "Do you always put on this much of a show at home too?"

Jian Ye widened his eyes in surprise, "Wow! Bro, you're the best! How'd you know I was into acting? Speaking of which, one of the dramas I filmed is coming out next year. You must go watch it then!"

The black-clad man was momentarily blinded by Jian Ye's innocent grin. He quickly turned his head away, thinking to himself that this guy’s seriously charming. Worried he’d buy into Jian Ye’s act, he decided to stop talking to him from now on.

Jian Ye listened to the continuous system notifications in his head, his smile growing even wider.

"Jian Ye: This big bro is great! He just contributed another 400 Green Tea Points. Looks simple-minded but is actually an easy mark!"

"System 748: People are so complicated. He seems afraid to look at you now."

[Jian Ye: Really? Probably pissed I scammed him. I’ll think of another way later.]

Jian Ye was scheming, but he needed the right opportunity to make it happen.

For now, there was nothing he could do but wait for that chance.

Back in the room, Jian Ye's hands were tied to the bed again, though this time the black-clad man left the ropes slightly looser.

This allowed Jian Ye some freedom to move on the bed.

Even though the man had already tuned out his murmurs, Jian Ye still sincerely said, "Brother, thank you for taking such good care of me."

Before the black-clad man left, Jian Ye had to squeeze a bit more Green Tea Points out of him.

Sure enough, the man bolted after gifting another 200 points.

Jian Ye smirked to himself at the sight.

As long as they didn’t dare harm him, they would become their own Achilles’ heel later.

...

Meanwhile, Qin Fei received a stack of photos—each showing a guy who looked wrecked, with messy hair and shocking red marks on his wrists.

Qin Fei’s heart was in turmoil. He wasn’t about to risk it, didn’t dare bet that the kidnappers would spare Jian Ye just because of the Yi family.

Remembering how his own sister had nearly lost her life to them before, Qin Fei was pacing like a caged animal.

The moment he stood up, his four closest subordinates immediately cut him off.

A Yuan said, "Young Master, if you go now, you’ll be playing right into their hands."

"That’s right, Young Master! You must not go alone! If anything happens to you, the entire Qin family will fall into chaos," A Jin added in agreement.

A Cai: "Think of the young miss. What if this is a diversion? They’d kill two birds with one stone."

A Guang: "Young Master, you haven’t informed the Yi family yet, have you? I think our only option is to cooperate with them. After all, the one kidnapped is Yi’s Third Young Master’s guy."

His subordinates all urged Qin Fei to stay calm, but he was already seeing red with overwhelming fury. At this moment, all he wanted was to gut Xu Laoliu himself.

That despicable, slimy bastard had crossed Qin Fei’s bottom line one too many times.

After about three minutes, Qin Fei closed his eyes, sorting through his thoughts. First, he sent a message to Yi Siyu, then prepared to call Xu Laoliu.

Qin Fei hadn’t earned the loyalty of so many subordinates through recklessness.

He took his subordinates’ advice under advisement.

Given the current situation, going in solo was indeed unwise. He needed to hatch a plan with Yi Siyu first.

This incident started because of him, and Jian Ye suffered innocently. He owed Yi Siyu, and now he was dragging the other party into danger again.

But there was no other way. Every second wasted put Jian Ye in greater danger.

Xu Laoliu was a sick bastard. Even after dealing with him for years, Qin Fei still hadn’t fully grasped his tactics.

What if he didn’t give a damn about retaliation from the Yi family and ended up harming Jian Ye…

The thought set Qin Fei’s nerves on fire. If anything really happened to Jian Ye, he might never forgive himself.

Xu Laoliu had somehow hidden his IP address. Every time they spoke, Qin Fei had his men track it, but they kept hitting dead ends, leaving them one step behind.

However, this time, Yi Siyu called first.

“You’re planning to talk to him, right? Don’t rush. Wait until I get there.” Yi Siyu claimed he could trace the IP—all Qin Fei needed to do was stall for time during the call.

When Qin Fei saw Yi Siyu arrive, it clicked—his confidence wasn’t unfounded.

Behind Yi Siyu stood his two older brothers.

Qin Fei had heard rumors that Yi Siyu’s second brother was a high-level cybersecurity executive at Yi Corporation, no pushover.

In his left hand, he carried a device, and in his right, his custom rig.

Once everything was ready, Yi Siyu gave Qin Fei a nod, and only then did Qin Fei begin the call with Xu Laoliu.

“What? Had a change of heart?” Xu Laoliu sneered. “Qin Fei, oh Qin Fei, you’re still wet behind the ears.”

“In our line of work, feelings get you killed. Of course, at your age, you’re full of passion. That pretty boy of yours is quite pretty—you’ve got good taste, hahahaha…”

Xu Laoliu’s words had everyone present seething. Qin Fei ignored the taunts and said coldly, “If you want me to come alone, fine. But you must guarantee his safety. Otherwise, there’s nothing to discuss.”

“Relax, he’s doing just fine. I promise he’ll be in one piece when you get here.” Xu Laoliu turned the camera toward the monitor.

On the screen, the boy in the room was still bound, but he had stopped struggling, as if exhausted, huddled in a corner, spent.

When Yi Siyu saw his beloved unharmed, his panic finally eased.

Before Qin Fei messaged him, he had truly feared that Jian Ye’s kidnappers were merciless thugs with no stakes.

The secret collaboration between the Qin and Yi families had angered the enemies behind the Qin family.

Yi Siyu did resent Qin Fei—hell, he regretted ever agreeing.

If their pursuit of profit had pushed Jian Ye into such peril, Yi Siyu would burn through billions rather than let his beloved suffer.

But now wasn’t the time for blame. Rescuing Jian Ye was the top priority.

While Qin Fei and Xu Laoliu engaged in their verbal back-and-forth, Yi Siyuan, the second brother, was rapidly typing code on his laptop, fingers flying over the keys.

Around the fifth minute, he gave Qin Fei an OK sign, and Qin Fei took the cue to end the call.

“Send me the location. I’ll go.”

Xu Laoliu gave a slimy laugh. “Fine. Follow my instructions later. If I find out you’re not alone, I can’t guarantee what might happen to that boy… After all, he’s so pretty—hard to resist, ain’t he?”

The call ended, and Qin Fei stood up, slamming everything off the table before taking several deep breaths.

Then, a hand rested on his shoulder. “My second brother has located them. My big bro and I are heading straight there. As for you…”

"I’m still going to the address he gave first. I know he wants my life, and kidnapping Jian Ye was just to threaten me. I'm sorry—this mess is on me, and I'll bear the responsibility alone," Qin Fei said coldly.

"Save your apology for later. Worry about staying alive first. Going alone is a death wish. I’ll have my bodyguards follow you from a distance. My brothers have already alerted the police. Between us..."

"Perhaps we need a smooth team-up."

...

Meanwhile, Jian Ye saw his chance.

These people didn’t want him dead—they still gave him food.

Jian Ye had planned to fake an illness after eating, then use the system’s help to give himself a weakness effect.

He wanted to see if they’d send him for medical treatment if he roughed himself up.

As long as he could leave this wretched room, he’d have more chances to escape.

But the moment he took his first bite, the system warned him—the food had been drugged.

No way—this was perfect.

This just made his act more convincing.

Since the antidote was still in effect, the drugs wouldn’t affect him.