Chapter 16

Chapter 16

On this side, Qing'ao's face had already begun to change color, and he was even starting to feel groggy and disoriented.

It was clear he had been drugged.

Looking at Xie Yunshen on the other side, he was in the same state. Old Mrs. Zhu said, "Mr. Lin, are you feeling unwell?"

When the antagonist realized the wine on the tray was problematic, his first move was to send someone to assassinate Yan Shiqi. He knew the two men by Yan Shiqi's side were likely also drugged.

He shot a look to another subordinate, and that man immediately made a phone call: "The plan has changed. Move the operation forward."

Now was the best opportunity for an ambush.

Just as the Yan family's motorcade exited the garage gate, it was intercepted by a black SUV.

The voice of the security team leader came through the walkie-talkie: "Fall back to the garage, exit from another route."

"Have them ram through directly!" Yan Shiqi said to Yi Wuyi.

Yi Wuyi relayed Yan Shiqi's order: "Ram them. Do not go back to the garage!"

The team leader on the other end broke into a cold sweat. Right, there were probably additional ambushes inside the garage. If they really retreated there, they'd be done for.

Boom! The lead security vehicle acted as the vanguard, directly ramming the SUV several meters away, creating an opening.

Just as they maneuvered around to the entrance, the first vehicle's tire suddenly blew out. The car lost control, skidded, and crashed into a pillar.

"Number 7, go check the situation. Everyone else, stay in your vehicles," the team leader ordered.

"Copy that."

The bodyguard called Number 7 got out to investigate. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he was struck by something and collapsed beside the car.

Even Xie Yunshen in the back seat couldn't help leaning forward: "What the hell? Do they have guns over there?"

They were still in the city center. Were they being this brazen?

Yi Wuyi frowned: "No, it looks more like Ziwu nails or something similar. There are experts in hidden weapons on the combatant rankings who use such things..."

Xie Yunshen was taken aback. In the real world, he was used to direct confrontations with firearms. This kind of long-lost, unique hidden weapon was something you'd only encounter in novels.

"Hey, your face..." Yi Wuyi had just turned his head and was startled for a moment by Xie Yunshen's appearance.

Xie Yunshen's face was flushed, his eyes dark yet unnaturally bright and watery. As a man, Yi Wuyi knew exactly what this meant.

"I've been hit," Xie Yunshen said, feeling his mind growing sluggish and his vision blurring.

Yi Wuyi's brow tightened: "Stay in the car and protect Mr. Yan."

At that moment, a man in a black hooded sweatshirt got out of the SUV.

In his hand was a spear.

Xie Yunshen recognized him—it was that expert from the tunnel last time.

He tried to clench his fist, but there was no strength. In this situation, how could he afford to be a burden?

Yi Wuyi tore off his tie and said to the driver, "Just drive and break through. Don't worry about anything else. Leave the rest to me."

He opened the car door. Some of the people from the security company in the following vehicles also got out.

Xie Yunshen sank back into his seat.

With the sound of Yi Wuyi closing the door, the driver floored the accelerator, and the entire car shot forward like a dancing dragon.

Xie Yunshen's head was spinning.

In his ears came the voice from the walkie-talkie: "Damn it! All other vehicles head to exit 03. Protect Mr. Yan's car and get him out of here!"

"Team Leader, headquarters has confirmed air support."

Immediately after, another bang!

Someone's car had crashed into another.

In City A's night, at the most bustling area of the downtown, people drove their cars slowly along the city streets, listening to in-car music.

Suddenly, a sedan flew past outside their windows. It was incredibly fast, yet without the roaring engine one might expect. By the time people reacted, only an elegant arc flashed across their retinas.

It was like a nimble black leopard, sprinting through the forest of steel.

The drug's effects grew increasingly violent. Xie Yunshen felt his blood rushing to the top of his head, a faint ringing in his ears, and his blood vessels felt like they were about to burst.

A motorcycle sped up alongside them. The rider used a metal rod to violently strike the driver's side window.

They wanted to take out the driver and force the vehicle to stop.

The rod had iron hooks. Soon, a crack appeared at the edge of the glass.

Two security vehicles from behind charged forward, flanking the sedan on both sides. The motorcycle was rammed and sent flying.

"Head for the overpass!" the team leader's voice commanded.

The driver sped onto the overpass, but then more and more motorcycles appeared, clinging to them like venomous snakes. Even the two security vehicles became entangled.

Crash! The window beside the driver shattered. The night wind rushed noisily into the car.

A hooked iron rod was about to strike the driver's head. Xie Yunshen, quick-eyed and swift-handed, wrapped his suit jacket around the rod, twisted it with both hands, and pulled.

The attacker lost balance, crashing to the road with his motorcycle, silently run over by the vehicles behind.

By now, most of the security company's vehicles were also entangled behind, unable to keep up.

Once a breach was made, the countless minions of the Top Star Gate swarmed up endlessly.

Someone directly jumped from a motorcycle onto the driver's side window, trying to grab the steering wheel.

Xie Yunshen sent him flying with an elbow strike.

After these two moves, Xie Yunshen felt the drug's effects surging even more violently in his mind.

His eyes burned with a fiery redness, his ears felt as if filled with water, and his vision grew increasingly blurred.

A jolt of alarm shot through him. He couldn't lose consciousness. Mr. Yan! He still had to protect Mr. Yan!

However, adrenaline was no match for the powerful drug.

Xie Yunshen's chest heaved as he slumped back into his seat.

A hand touched his forehead. He opened his eyes and met a pair of piercing, intense eyes.

Yan Shiqi’s voice was calm, with the steady quality of sand and stones at a riverbed: “If you feel like death, don't push it.”

Xie Yunshen’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Yan Shiqi, then suddenly lunged forward, his hands searching over Yan Shiqi’s chest.

Yan Shiqi frowned and tilted his head back, his chin itching from Xie Yunshen’s hair.

He could feel Xie Yunshen’s skin burning, his breath like scorching steam.

Xie Yunshen’s trembling hands fumbled over his suit jacket, then reached for his tie.

“Quick! Give it to me…” Xie Yunshen’s voice was hoarse.

For the first time in over thirty years of life, Yan Shiqi’s brain short-circuited.

Xie Yunshen simply took matters into his own hands, yanking off Yan Shiqi’s tie clip.

Breathing rapidly, he pried open the sharp metal clip and slashed it hard across his palm twice.

Hot blood immediately began dripping onto the hand-woven carpet.

After the bloodletting, his mind indeed cleared, his vision sharpened, the ringing in his ears stopped, and he even felt his responsiveness returning.

He opened the car window. He snared a biker by the neck with his suit jacket and flung him onto the road.

A man on the back of another motorcycle seized the opportunity, grabbing their car roof and planting his feet inside the car, aiming a flying kick at Xie Yunshen’s face.

Before the first exchange ended, Xie Yunshen struck his knee, hit his throat, and sent him tumbling out the window.

The driver pushed the speed to 180, but even that couldn't stop these frenzied assassins.

While fighting, Xie Yunshen cursed inwardly: where did Top Star Gate recruit these suicidal fanatics? They fought as if their lives meant nothing.

It wasn’t until backup from the security company arrived—over a dozen cars roaring onto the overpass—that the bikers, seeing their advantage lost, swerved into various intersections and vanished into the night.

Finally, the bloody battle ended.

Looking down from the helicopter, the overpass was scattered with the bodies of the bikers.

But they were soon cleaned up by Top Star Gate’s “cleanup crew.”

Casualties on the security company’s side were relatively light.

“Mr. Yan, are you alright?” The team leader from the rear vehicle had already caught up.

As the tension in his mind eased, Xie Yunshen immediately felt unwell all over. A nameless fury surged into his chest, burning so fiercely his heart trembled with panic. It was like a mummy deprived of water for centuries—every cell felt on the verge of evaporation, his lips stiff and numb from dehydration.

He collapsed into the seat, breathing unevenly, his eyelids so heavy he felt he was about to meet his maker.

Yan Shiqi opened a bottle of water from the car and held it to his lips. Xie Yunshen drank lying down, like a parched desert—the entire bottle gurgled down his throat without showing any effect.

Yan Shiqi poured three bottles of water into his mouth one after another, like watering a dying goldfish.

Only then did Xie Yunshen feel the fire in his chest subside slightly, his cells showing signs of coming back to life.

In his feverish gaze, he saw the tension in the boss’s face relax a little, his eyes growing calm.

“Hang in there, we’ll reach the hospital soon.”

Xie Yunshen shifted on the seat and wrapped his arms around Yan Shiqi’s waist.

Boss, you make me feel so safe.

At that moment, he could feel a warm, sturdy hand resting on his head.

Xie Yunshen closed his eyes.

In his dream, Xie Yunshen was locked in combat with a master fighter when suddenly the opponent launched a vicious kick aimed at his crotch. Xie Yunshen swore a blue streak and launched a flying kick in return…

Thud!

The opponent’s body was like a rock. Xie Yunshen cried out in pain, clutching his own foot.

He opened his eyes to see a pristine white tiled wall reflecting his bewildered face.

He wasn’t in the hospital; he was at the Yan family estate.

“You brat, you’ve finally decided to wake up!” Old Mr. Xie’s booming voice thundered in his ears.

Xie Yunshen pushed himself up, looking at the needle mark on the back of his hand from the IV drip.

“Have I been asleep long?”

“You were out for two days!”

Xie Yunshen quickly got out of bed: “Is Mr. Yan alright?”

Old Mr. Xie was taken aback: “He’s fine. He was just here to see you.”

“Huh? Where did he go?” Xie Yunshen grew anxious. What if he encountered Top Star Gate assassins again?

“Don’t worry, Mr. Yan is in the study.”

Xie Yunshen relaxed slightly.

“What about Yi Wuyi? Is Old Five okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Yi Wuyi walked in from the outer room.

“Uninjured?” Xie Yunshen looked him up and down, skeptical.

Yi Wuyi lifted his shirt, revealing a fifteen-centimeter-long, gruesome wound over his heart, freshly stitched with visible suture lines.

It looked perilous—it had cut to the bone. Any deeper, and it would have reached the heart; Yi Wuyi wouldn’t be standing here today.

Xie Yunshen asked again: “How many rounds did you fight?”

“Seven minutes.”

“Is he dead?”

“No. Fractured left shoulder, plus internal injuries.”

So, it was a draw.

Xie Yunshen clicked his tongue twice: “As expected of Old Five.”

Yi Wuyi shook his head. "It was clear he just wanted to catch you. He had no intention of killing me. If he had truly meant to, I'd probably be dead already."

Old Mr. Xie said gravely, "People from Top Star Gate are not to be messed with. You must be careful."

Years ago, Xie Yunshen's father had died at the hands of a Top Star Gate assassin while trying to save the old master of the Yan family.

A knock came from outside. "Xiao Xie, are you awake?"

Xie Yunshen opened the door. Butler Zhao stood at the entrance. "Oh, you're up. Old Wu's here too."

He looked at Xie Yunshen. "Mr. Yan wants to see you once you're awake."

Xie Yunshen asked, "Is it about my bonus?"

"Don't ask me about that."

Xie Yunshen changed into a blue lounge set and went to the study to find Yan Shiqi.

However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Old Wu, I didn't do anything outrageous that day, did I?"

After all, he had been under the influence of that messed-up drug. Who knew if he might have done something beastly...

"Sorry, I just got out of the ER myself." Yi Wuyi was being uncharacteristically honest. "But I heard from the head of security..."

Xie Yunshen was instantly alert. "Heard what?"

"I heard that when you arrived at the hospital, even though you were unconscious, you were still clutching Mr. Yan in the car."

"..." Xie Yunshen gave a vague hum in response.

Yi Wuyi patted his shoulder. "Xiao Xie, you really care about Mr. Yan's safety. You wouldn't even let go of him when you passed out."

Xie Yunshen: "..."

He remembered everything now.

On the day he fainted, he had even nuzzled his head vigorously against Mr. Yan's waist.

He felt utterly mortified.

When the two of them arrived at Yan Shiqi's study, they happened to run into Yan Shizhou coming out.

Yan Shizhou's gaze lingered subtly on Yi Wuyi. He started to reach out, his lips twitching as if to speak.

"Third Young Master," Yi Wuyi spoke first.

Yan Shizhou's brow furrowed, as if trying to see through Yi Wuyi's injured chest, but it was covered by his clothes. He could only turn away and walk off.

The light in Yi Wuyi's eyes dimmed slightly.

Yan Shizhou had already left.

Xie Yunshen snorted coldly. "Damn gay. Don't mind him."

Author's Note:

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