Chapter 1254: Kidnap

Two vehicles slowly drove out onto the street.

These two cars belonged to the two councilors, but now one was being driven only by a bodyguard, while both councilors sat in the other, looking at the Pu estate receding outside the window with a trace of faint disdain in their eyes.

"What do you think?" Councilor Tong asked.

"It's normal for the Pu family to have hostility toward us; after all, they were the ones in charge of this domain... Now that we've seized power from them, they're naturally unwilling to accept it."

"Hmph, so what if they're unwilling? It's wartime, and everything must be handled with special measures."

"Han Meng is a smart man; he should know what we're going to do..."

"He can't leave the Pu family now, and even if he did, if he dares to lay a hand on us, it's a dead end," Councilor Tong said faintly. "This isn't some remote place like the Aurora Domain. Attacking an Alliance Councilor during wartime... even if he is the head of the trial, he can't bear the consequences."

"Once the 'story' from the Aurora Domain councilors is sorted out, at the next Alliance Council, we can completely destroy the credibility of his [Trial]. That way, we'll be safe for the time being..."

"I still think only dead men can keep secrets."

The air suddenly fell silent.

"You and I both know very well that once the things we did in the past are exposed, no one can escape; we'll definitely face the firing squad," Councilor Tong paused for a moment. "We don't have a divine path, and we've clawed our way to where we are today; we finally have a chance to show what we can do... Do you really want that Han Meng to keep holding our secrets over our heads forever?"

"But the Nanhai Lord knows exactly what we've done, yet he hasn't moved against us..."

"You think he's really favoring us? No, the only reason he hasn't moved against us is because it's wartime. If he replaced us now, he wouldn't find anyone more capable in the short term," Councilor Tong sneered. "Believe me, when the war ends, neither of us will escape."

Councilor Sun wasn't stupid. Once pointed out, he immediately realized the problem:

"No wonder the Nanhai Lord hasn't moved against us and has kept our crimes tightly in his hands... When the war ends, he can just use Han Meng to bring this matter up again. No matter what role we played in the war, he can logically push for a purge, let his own trusted aides sit firmly in the councilor positions during peacetime, and seize absolute power..."

"So, if we want to survive, we must... kill Han Meng before the war ends," Councilor Tong said slowly. "As long as Han Meng is dead, even if the Nanhai Lord digs up our crimes, there will be no proof, and there will be much more room to maneuver."

"But they transferred Han Meng from the Lingxu Domain to the Nanhai Domain precisely because they value his combat power. With just the two of us, how are we supposed to kill him?"

"One step at a time. First, use the Aurora Domain incident to lower Han Meng's credibility and gradually push him out of the core vision of the high-level officials... When the war really comes, we'll use some methods to have him die in battle in the Nanhai Domain. Anyway, Nanhai is our jurisdiction; there will always be an opportunity."

"You're as sharp as ever."

"Heh, you flatter me."

The two councilors sat in the back seat, neither speaking again, watching the streetscape recede outside the window, wondering what other schemes they were cooking up in their minds.

*Click, click, click—*

Just then, a strange roaring sound came from the engine of the vehicle.

The car, which had been driving normally, began to slow down as if it had lost power. Amidst the bodyguard's surprised "Oh?", it finally stopped on the side of the road.

"What's going on?" Councilor Sun asked with a frown.

"You two wait a moment, I'll get out and check."

The man who was both bodyguard and driver got out of the car, opened the hood to observe for a while, and then muttered as he walked back.

"Gentlemen, it seems the engine has malfunctioned."

"Did you look carefully? Was it man-made or an accident?" Councilor Tong asked vigilantly.

"I looked carefully. There are no signs of tampering; it just broke down suddenly..."

Councilor Sun smiled and said to Councilor Tong:

"Aren't you being too sensitive? This is the Nanhai Domain; who would dare to attack a councilor?"

"It never hurts to be careful."

Councilor Tong, having received the bodyguard's answer, knew he was overthinking it and got out of the car.

At the same time, Councilor Sun's bodyguard was driving another empty car, emerging from the light mist and stopping quietly behind their car...

"Alright, hurry up and deal with this car. We'll take that one," Councilor Sun waved his hand, and he and Councilor Tong walked toward the car behind.

"Yes."

Councilor Tong didn't think much of it this time and got into the car with Councilor Sun. As the bodyguard stepped on the gas, the vehicle bypassed the broken-down car and continued forward.

On the empty street, only Councilor Tong's bodyguard remained by the car, starting to repair it seriously...

Ten seconds later,

Another of Councilor Sun's cars emerged from the mist.

The bodyguard was stunned on the spot.

"What's going on? Where are the two councilors?" Councilor Sun's bodyguard got out of the car, saw Councilor Tong's bodyguard repairing the car, and seeing that it was empty, asked in confusion.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?? How did you come from that direction..."

"What do you mean 'how did I come from that direction'... coming from the Pu estate, isn't that the direction?" The bodyguard frowned. "I don't know why, but it suddenly got foggy, and there were quite a few pedestrians on the road, so I slowed down a bit... What happened?"

The other bodyguard seemed to realize something and looked fiercely in the direction the car had just left, his face looking incredibly ugly!

"Oh no!!!"

……

*Squeak—squeak...*

The windshield wipers mechanically swept across the window, wiping away the moisture from the mist, making a squeaking sound.

Chen Ling casually tore off the sticky note on the door handle, gently adjusted the rearview mirror, glanced at the two councilors who were each lost in their own thoughts in the back seat, and then turned the steering wheel, driving the vehicle toward another desolate, deserted path.

The sticky note fluttered down beside the seat:

【Mist gradually rises, pedestrians are in a hurry】

【The two councilors' vehicle engine malfunctions unexpectedly, stopping on the side of the road】

——【Fate Weaver】.

With one sentence to control the weather and another to manufacture an accident, Chen Ling easily performed a magic trick, taking the two councilors right from under the noses of their bodyguards... Compared to Chen Ling, they were still too green.

Noticing the vehicle was deviating from the route, Councilor Sun was startled. He looked up at the bodyguard in confusion, about to say something...

The next moment, his gaze met Chen Ling's through the rearview mirror.

For some reason,

the bodyguard's gaze made him feel incredibly unfamiliar.