On the rickety table, the old computer's mainframe buzzed and crackled. The USB drive plugged into it was gone without a trace. The big oaf had taken not only his man but also all the data!
Xie Bingxia punched the table hard, hating herself for not being more vigilant. She had thought that since the big oaf had saved her a couple of times, he wouldn't harm her. His target, it seemed, had been Li Yishan's private files from the very beginning.
Her fingers tapped the keyboard rapidly as Xie Bingxia connected to Li Duo's online phone through a dedicated webpage.
"The USB drive is gone. Can you check all the operation records on my computer from a few minutes ago?"
"No problem. I'll do the online operation first." Li Duo typed away briskly. Xie Bingxia watched as the screen on her side started to operate on its own. Soon, several files popped up in the window. She heard Li Duo explaining while moving the mouse, "Before the USB drive was removed, someone did look at the data inside, but only some of it was retrieved. Take a look."
Xie Bingxia leaned in. They were all the emails and private remittance records between Li Yishan and Antu Freight Company. She guessed that these were the very files that Chen Laojiu had come to steal. It seemed that Li Yishan had betrayed her original boss, embezzled some business, and secretly engaged in the illegal trade of art films, creating her own business line.
The communication records contained information about the deceased who pretended to be the museum curator. From this, it could be inferred that Li Yishan's claim of coming back to China for a design project and to discuss the plan was pure nonsense. She had come back to talk business, but was discovered by her own boss, who then sent the subordinate with the black scorpion tattoo to kill the business partner.
The image of Li Yishan shivering and hugging herself tightly, with a look of extreme terror, replayed in front of Xie Bingxia's eyes. Xie Bingxia gave a self - deprecating bitter smile. In terms of acting skills, she really felt inferior.
"Goddess, I've found something amazing!" Li Duo suddenly shouted, pulling Xie Bingxia back to reality. He typed away wildly on the other end of the network and said, "It's about Zhao Qi!"
"Quickly pull it up."
"But it's really strange. These encrypted emails are all from two years ago."
Two years ago - the three words struck Xie Bingxia like a lightning bolt. Unable to contain her excitement, she read every single word carefully.
"Before the birthday party tonight, Gu Bei will drug Xia Jingwei and secretly take her out of the country. You're responsible for getting her into the car, and then everything will go as planned." - LEE
"Yes. A timed bomb has been installed in the car in advance." - ZHAO
...
"Gu Bei didn't notice. The plan was successful. The on - site photos are in the attachment." - ZHAO
There were two photos in the attachment. One showed Xia Jingwei unconscious in the driver's seat. The other showed the car after it exploded, with the soaring flames lighting up half the sky.
"Well done. I'll arrange for someone to handle the follow - up on - site. You know what to say." - LEE
"Understood. I'll leave Gu Bei's side within a week. Please help me prepare an escape route." - ZHAO
Xie Bingxia felt dizzy. The strong impact made her steps unsteady, and she accidentally fell to the ground.
Scenes from the past flashed through her mind, like scattered notes. They were rearranged in their proper order and played out to form a different tune.
Gu Bei had been threatened by the same person two years ago and now.
The fake bomb incident on the anniversary was targeted at Xia Jingwei.
On Xia Jingwei's 25th birthday party, Gu Bei gave her wine laced with sleeping pills and told Zhao Qi to take her away.
Zhao Qi took Xia Jingwei away but, following Li Yishan's arrangement, staged a fake car accident.
Now, Xie Bingxia was also under a threat to her life. The common point with the previous incidents was that they were all women Gu Bei loved.
- The end of the song. Everything was clear. From the moment Gu Bei drugged Xia Jingwei and got her into the car, he had only wanted to secretly protect his beloved woman from the threat. The real truth was the latter part of the story that Zhao Qi used for the deal.
It was both ridiculous and tragic. She had returned from the brink of death, only to kill the person who loved her the most?
"Why did you let me live again?" Xie Bingxia's knuckles turned white from gripping so hard. Tears streamed down onto the back of her hand. "Wouldn't it have been better to let me die in the car accident?"
Suddenly, she lifted her face and roared at the sky, "Is it your special hobby to watch me so embarrassed and in so much pain?!"
"Speak up!" Xie Bingxia staggered to her feet and rushed to the window. "What else do you want me to do to make you happy?"
Outside the window, dark clouds drifted across the sky, and there was no moonlight.
Xie Bingxia covered her chest, which heaved up and down. Every breath felt like a knife stabbing at her heart. It hurt so much that she didn't want to go on anymore.
"I won't let you have your way!" Xie Bingxia turned around and smashed the vase on the table. She picked up the sharp shard and pointed it at her throat. "If you have the guts, let me live again!"
"Bingxia -"
At the critical moment, Qin Feng kicked open the door and snatched the weapon from Xie Bingxia's hand. "What are you doing!"
Xie Bingxia collapsed to her knees on the ground, already a tearful mess. She pleaded desperately, "Please, let me die. I shouldn't have lived in the first place."
Slap - Qin Feng slapped her hard. Her cheek burned. Xie Bingxia couldn't believe that Qin Feng had hit her. Her crying stopped abruptly, leaving only sobs.
"Don't you want to avenge Gu Bei?"
"Avenge him..." Xie Bingxia looked at Qin Feng with blurred eyes. "Do I really want to avenge him?"
"I can't think of any other reason." Qin Feng turned his face away. "Even though he's dead, he's still the most important person in your heart. Although I don't want to admit it, I've lost."
After Qin Feng finished speaking, he wiped away the remaining tears on Xie Bingxia's face and looked at her seriously. "Let's avenge him together! Let the bad guys get what they deserve!"
If God had let her survive after Gu Bei's death, did it mean that the story hadn't reached its real end?
Xie Bingxia stood up with Qin Feng's support and said hoarsely, "Li Duo, are you still there?"
"I'm here." Li Duo's voice came from the computer. "I'm currently locating the position of the USB drive. I'll have the result soon."
Xie Bingxia nodded and turned to Qin Feng. "Can you change the car? The previous one might not be safe."
"Not only the car. I've even brought the equipment!" Qin Feng said confidently.
"Equipment?"
Qin Feng excitedly led Xie Bingxia to the trunk of the new car and showed it to her. "A drone with an infrared scanning function, an untraceable phone, and I even got a few guns from the black market for self - defense. Not bad, right?"
Xie Bingxia picked up a gun and played with it for a while. "We don't need this thing." But Qin Feng took it and stuffed it into the back of her waist. "Take it. Just in case. We both need to protect ourselves."
"Qin Feng, this isn't a TV drama." Xie Bingxia emphasized again.
"I came here fully prepared to share weal and woe with you, my fiancée." Qin Feng grinned, showing his eight white teeth. "Promise me you'll marry me after we avenge him."
"Stop joking at a time like this!" Xie Bingxia tapped Qin Feng on the forehead.
"Hey, I don't want to be fed dog food!" Li Duo shouted on the phone. "I've sent you the location of the USB drive. Good luck!"
The two looked at the location map, which showed it was near the sea. Qin Feng followed the navigation and drove all the way to the vicinity of the location. He took out the drone and said, "Let's send it to scout first. Know your enemy and yourself, and you'll win every battle."
The drone flew into the sky and headed towards the destination, a freight warehouse. Equipped with an infrared heat sensor, it quickly scanned the people inside the warehouse.
"One, two, three, four..." Qin Feng counted along. The more he counted, the more panicked he became. He exclaimed, "Oh my god, there are at least twenty of them!"