Chapter 180: "Escape"

"A'Cheng... you..." After a long while, Wen Shilin finally came to his senses, his tone filled with shock. "You're from [Tan Xin]?!"

Wen Shilin never imagined that this assistant, who had been with him for several months, was actually sent by the Enforcement Officers... During this time, A'Cheng's performance had been perfect, and he seemed very respectful toward him. Even when those articles and evidence went missing, he had never once suspected A'Cheng.

Hearing A'Cheng expose his own identity, Wen Shilin felt his mind go blank... Anger and confusion surged into his heart. He roared in a low voice:

"So, your background as an orphan, your resume, everything you said during the interview—it was all fake?"

"Of course it was fake." A'Cheng took a deep breath. "Officer Chu had already figured out your personality. Everything about me was fabricated just for you. He was certain you would choose me... And I would do what I had to do, giving you no reason to fire me.

You can investigate other things, and he might not care, but you absolutely cannot touch the 'Hand of Redemption'... He only had me watch you and obstruct your investigation; that was already very merciful... Otherwise, you would have died hundreds of times over."

Wen Shilin's face under the cloth bag was deathly pale.

"Enough."

The voice that had been silent for a long time spoke again. "Come, take these two to the back room first. I want to have a private chat with him."

Wen Shilin wanted to say something more, but a cloth ball was stuffed into his mouth. Immediately after, his whole body was pressed down by a pair of powerful hands, and he was slowly moved in a certain direction in the darkness.

He didn't know how long he walked, turning this way and that, before finally being locked to a hard object. As the person's footsteps retreated, the sound of struggling chains rang out nearby, followed by the sound of someone spitting something out.

"Mr. Wen, are you okay?"

Wen Shilin didn't expect Chen Ling to be able to spit out the cloth bag. He immediately struggled against his chains and used his voice to convey his position to Chen Ling. The distance between them didn't seem far. After the clanking of the other party's chains, Wen Shilin felt the cloth bag in his mouth being pulled out forcefully, and he regained the ability to speak.

"Lin Yan? You broke free from your chains?" Wen Shilin asked in shock.

"No, I used my teeth. I just happened to be able to reach it at this distance." Chen Ling's voice came from the front. "When the person who escorted me stuffed the cloth bag in, he didn't seem to stuff it tight enough. I struggled a few times and spat it out."

"Can you reach my chains with your hands?"

"No... we seem to be locked to two different pillars. I can't reach."

Wen Shilin's heart sank to the bottom. He looked into the darkness before him, his voice filled with guilt: "Sorry... it's all my fault for dragging you into this. They were targeting me."

"It's already come to this, there's no need to apologize. We should think about how to get out first." Chen Ling's voice was very calm.

Wen Shilin smiled bitterly: "Now that we're locked up and blindfolded, how are we supposed to get out?"

Chen Ling didn't speak, but tried struggling against the chains twice, making a clanking sound.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you remember the sounds from earlier? This should be some kind of warehouse or factory that they're using as a temporary place to hold us... Maybe there's something useful nearby."

Reminded by Chen Ling, Wen Shilin immediately reacted. His locked hands began to grope around on the ground in a small area.

While groping, Wen Shilin was secretly shocked. This Lin Yan's psychological fortitude was truly strong. Even at this point, not only was he not panicked, but he could maintain absolute calm. Just this level of mental toughness surpassed the vast majority of people.

"I don't have anything here..." Chen Ling said regretfully.

At the same time, Wen Shilin's fingertips touched something cold, and he was immediately overjoyed. "There's something behind me... it's very hard, it looks like a metal part."

"A part?" Chen Ling asked immediately. "Can it pry open the chains?"

"No... it's too big and heavy."

Chen Ling pondered for a moment. "Try throwing it to me."

Wen Shilin could only rely on the position of Chen Ling's voice, gritting his teeth as he threw the part in his hand. It clattered on the ground twice and stopped at a certain spot.

"How is it? Can you reach it?" Wen Shilin wasn't very confident in his aim.

"I can." The sound of chains colliding with the part came from Chen Ling's side. "The chains aren't handcuffs; they aren't completely without gaps... Maybe I can try."

"You can pry them open?" Wen Shilin's eyes lit up.

Chen Ling didn't answer. He took a deep breath, followed by a series of metallic clashing sounds and painful low growls.

Hearing this sound, Wen Shilin frowned and immediately spoke up: "Lin Yan, are you okay?"

Clang—

Clang—!

Clang—!!

Chen Ling still didn't answer, but kept striking with the part. Accompanied by bursts of painful muffled groans, a series of clanging sounds came from the side, followed by heavy panting.

"Lin Yan! You broke free?" Wen Shilin heard the sound of chains hitting the floor and was overjoyed.

Chen Ling gave a weak "mm" and was just about to walk toward him when a voice rang out from the doorway: "I was wondering where that noise was coming from. Trying to take advantage of our boss's interrogation to escape?"

It was a sharp, mean voice. The moment this voice rang out, Wen Shilin's heart skipped a beat. Before he could say anything, a whistling punch swept past him.

"You..."

After a brief sound of fist meeting flesh, the mean voice stopped abruptly, as if a heavy object had fallen to the ground.

Chen Ling groped around on the body for a moment, then walked behind Wen Shilin and unfastened the chains connecting his wrists to the pillar. Wen Shilin asked in surprise:

"You took him out?"

"Took him out... Watch out!!"

Just as Wen Shilin was about to reach out and remove the black cloth bag from his head, Chen Ling pressed down on his head with one hand, forcing him directly to the ground. The next moment, the sound of a blade slicing through the air rang out, flying past Wen Shilin's ear.

Wen Shilin didn't know what was happening, he just bent down following Chen Ling's force. A series of fighting sounds erupted, accompanied by several different shouts, and then he was dragged by Chen Ling, rushing rapidly in a certain direction!

"What's happening?" In the chaos, Wen Shilin was being dragged by Chen Ling, his vision pitch black.

Along the way, many people seemed to flash past him, but in the end, none could get close to his body. With the world spinning, he couldn't distinguish any direction and could only let Chen Ling lead him over a low wall before sprinting rapidly into the distance.

I don't know how long they ran, but Chen Ling finally stopped, panting heavily. Wen Shilin almost collapsed to the ground.

He sat down on the ground, stumbling, and tremblingly removed the black cloth bag from his head. A blood-stained figure covered in knife wounds was standing weakly in front of him... His left hand was twisted unnaturally, as if it had been smashed by something.

Chen Ling wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with one hand and said hoarsely:

"Mr. Wen... are you okay?"