Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Wen Yanxu quickly composed himself and said, "Keep tracking."

"Boss Wen, we've picked up something on the surveillance in Sector 2."

Wen Yanxu looked over.

The advantage of Jueying Island's three-dimensional surveillance network was fully displayed at this moment—even under attack, it could still piece together the movements of most of the island using the remaining equipment.

In the footage, a patrol vehicle belonging to Jueying Island was speeding through the night.

Wang Xin traced a virtual route on the screen with his finger, nearly overlapping with the blinking green dot path in another small window: "Its movement trajectory closely matches the positioning signal we've been tracking. Mr. Wen is very likely in this vehicle."

"Our flyer is faster and more maneuverable," Wang Xin continued, his voice carrying the crisp efficiency of years in special forces. "We can get in front of it, or use direct firepower to force it to stop. Our team closes in from both sides and takes control of the people inside as quickly as possible."

Wen Yanxu stared at the moving vehicle on the screen, silent for two seconds.

Then he said, in a tone that brooked no argument, "No. Wen Jueqian is in that vehicle."

He stared at the tablet, as if he could see through the screen to the captive inside.

"Using force to stop it carries uncontrollable risks—the vehicle could roll over, or the captors might panic and harm the hostage."

"What we need isn't the fastest interception—it's the safest one. We must ensure that the moment we make contact, Wen Jueqian doesn't suffer any additional harm."

Wang Xin immediately understood Wen Yanxu's concern.

Wen Yanxu brought up more data.

The system was comparing the movement trajectory with the terrain map via AI to analyze their possible destination. A few seconds later, a prediction appeared on the screen:

The edge of Sector 1, near the east coast.

Wen Yanxu frowned.

The military shield hadn't been deactivated yet—no one outside could get in, and no one inside could get out. Why were they heading there?

Just as he was thinking this, his optical computer rang again. This time it was an incoming call alert.

A voice call coming from Wen Jueqian's account.

Wen Yanxu hit the answer button almost instantly.

"Mr. Wen, did you get my gift? Like it?"

Wen Yanxu recognized the voice—the same as the masked figure's voice in the video.

"What do you want?" His voice remained steady, giving nothing away.

"Cut to the chase." The masked figure chuckled. "It's simple. Open the protective shield over Sector 1 within ten minutes."

"I need to make sure Wen Jueqian is safe."

"Didn't the video already prove that?"

"I need to see him myself." Wen Yanxu's voice went cold, and the pressure he radiated intensified. "Put him on video."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Wen Yanxu continued, "Rustfire has already pulled back. Federal maritime police will arrive within twenty minutes. I've got all my resources free now—the entire island's surveillance and search forces are looking for you. You can run, but how long do you think you can hide?"

Another moment of silence.

Then a mocking laugh: "Is Mr. Wen giving me an ultimatum?"

"I'm giving you a choice," Wen Yanxu said. "Open the video, let me confirm his safety, and we can talk. Otherwise, we'll find you."

"Mr. Wen, we have the hostage right now." The other side seemed riled up, their voice rising.

"That's why I need to confirm he hasn't been harmed. Otherwise..." Wen Yanxu didn't finish the sentence, but the threat was clear.

The other end went quiet. He waited.

Finally, the video call connected.

Wen Jueqian appeared on the screen.

His eyes were open, and his face was pale.

The moment he saw Wen Yanxu, his forced composure, wariness, and fear cracked open.

"Axu," he called out.

His voice was hoarse, with a barely noticeable tremor.

Wen Yanxu's gaze moved down from Wen Jueqian's face, inch by inch, missing no detail.

No obvious external injuries, no blood, clothes intact. He looked shaken, but he was still lucid.

Wen Yanxu let out a quiet breath of relief.

"Look at me, Qianqian." He spoke gently, every word trying to reach through the screen and comfort him. "Don't be scared. I'm here. It'll be okay."

Wen Jueqian looked at him, and his eyes suddenly welled up.

He didn't cry—his lips just trembled a little before he finally gave a small nod.

But that fragile, dependent look still twisted Wen Yanxu's heart.

"Tsk tsk tsk—" That irritating voice cut in again, the camera swinging back to the mask. "How touching. Almost brought me to tears."

Wen Yanxu didn't bother with him.

"Enough." Jin Wang's voice came from off camera.

He stepped in front of the camera, only the lower half of his face visible, his lips pressed together: "Now that you've confirmed Wen Jueqian's safety, let's talk terms."

Wen Yanxu glanced at his face.

Jin Wang. His assistant of two years.

Among his assistants, Jin Wang wasn't the most capable—he was merely handy to have around. Wen Yanxu had never given him much thought.

Now he understood. That was the problem.

His underestimation had put Wen Jueqian in danger.

"Talk."

Wang Jin laid out his terms to Wen Yanxu the way he'd give a routine work report, "Open Zone One's shield within ten minutes, and have a speedboat ready on the east shore. Once we're safely off the island, I'll tell you where Mr. Wen is."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You're not in a position to choose."

Wang Jin pressed the dagger to Wen Jueqian's neck, and a red line immediately appeared on the delicate skin. "Either cooperate, or you watch him die right now."

Wen Yanxu stared at the screen, struggling to contain his rage.

Wang Jin went on, "If the shield isn't open in ten minutes—"

The blade slid upward.

"I'll start by leaving a little memento. What I said in the video earlier wasn't a joke."

Wen Yanxu's fingers clenched tight.

But his voice stayed steady: "The shield can be opened. But I need time. Manually deactivating a military-grade shield requires authorization. I need to get there and activate it—that takes at least ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Wang Jin narrowed his eyes.

"That's the physical time it takes. It's not negotiable." Wen Yanxu's voice gave nothing away, as if he were just stating facts. "You can trust me and wait."

"Or do something that leaves no room for either of us to back out."

Wang Jin traded a look with the masked man.

They gave in.

"Ten minutes. The clock starts now."

The call ended.

Wen Yanxu turned to Wang Xin, his voice barely above a whisper: "Still got the location?"

Wang Xin glanced at the tablet: "Yeah, right on top of the vehicle's position."

"Good." Wen Yanxu spoke rapidly. "Speed up the aircraft, get ahead of them. Take a few men and set up an ambush near the east shore."

"Get the sniper in position."

"Remember, Wen Jueqian comes first. You can let the kidnappers get away, but he doesn't get a scratch."

————

The dagger pulled back from Wen Jueqian's throat, and he let out a breath he'd been holding.

The car tore through the night.

"Wang Jin, why'd you betray Wen Yanxu?" Wen Jueqian asked, as if sticking up for Wen Yanxu.

But behind his back, his fingers kept moving, the blade still sawing through the restraints.

"Betray?" Wang Jin repeated the word, as if it were some naive joke.

"Mr. Wen, you've got it wrong."

He said slowly, his voice carrying no guilt at being called out, "I was by Wen's side from the very beginning to wait for an 'opportunity' like today. Two years or twenty—to me, it's just a different mission length."

Wen Jueqian was stunned. Two years ago, the 7th-Gen Inhibitor project had just been launched, and Wang Jin's time at Aegis spanned far more than two years.

So this was a long-term deep-cover operation.

Even though he knew Wang Jin probably wouldn't answer, Wen Jueqian asked anyway, "What exactly is your goal?"

To his surprise, the guard answered.

"Mr. Wen, do you really think everything Aegis—this vast biological empire—researches can stand in the sunlight?"

His words hit like daggers. "And your highborn fiancé—is every cent his proud family piled up really clean?"

He leaned in a little, like he was about to share a cruel truth.

"Being reasonable and legal—that alone couldn't build the Aegis of today. We and the organization behind us just want to tear open this shiny shell and demand justice for all the victims from twenty years ago."

Wen Jueqian couldn't stop himself from retorting, "Twenty years ago, Wen Yanxu was just a kid. Even if something did happen, what's that got to do with him!"

Wang Jin gave a smile that was almost pitying, almost sardonic, and said, "Mr. Wen, as fellow betas, you should know this world naturally favors alphas and omegas, while we're more like society's consumables, its spare parts—keeping our heads down to keep the system running."

"So some scientists proposed making betas into something more 'useful'?"

The masked man straightened, his last words landing hard on Wen Jueqian's chest: "If you've got even a shred of curiosity about the truth, Mr. Wen, why not look into it yourself—check out the horrific, large-scale live human experiments they ran on this very Jueying Island twenty years ago."

Wen Jueqian felt like he couldn't breathe.

==========Author's Note:==========

I was supposed to write at home all day today, but something urgent came up and I have to head out. I'll try to wrap up fast and get back to write tomorrow's update.