Chapter 289: Chapter 238: A Strong Desire for Revenge

Liu Ke and the two others nodded. Then, they followed Xiaoli out of the shabby basement where they had hidden for so many days.

Night had fallen. The residents of this old neighborhood were all at home, getting ready to wash up and go to bed.

After the four of them emerged from the basement, they didn’t encounter a single person in the complex.

Under the dim cover of night, the four of them walked up to a black sedan.

Xiaoli motioned to the other three, indicating the black sedan was his. He opened the driver’s door and got in. Liu Ke and the others quickly followed suit, climbing into the car.

RUMBLE...

The car started, and the four of them set off for their destination.

They were following the plan laid out over the phone that morning by their contact from the organization.

Barring any accidents, Liu Ke, Tie Qiu Heng, and Wang Tao had a ninety percent chance of leaving Rongcheng unscathed and completely shaking off the pursuit of the local Superpower Administration Bureau’s Investigators.

"We’ve been hiding like rats for so long. We’re finally about to leave this dangerous place," Wang Tao said from the back seat, watching the streetscape pass by.

"We haven’t left the city yet. We can’t let our guard down," said the calm and composed Liu Ke from the front passenger seat.

Just then, Tie Qiu Heng, the very reason for this whole affair, smiled at the two comrades sent by the organization to rescue him. "I’ve really put you two through a lot this time. If it weren’t for you, I never would have escaped that prison."

"We’re all brothers here, don’t be so formal. Besides, the one you should really be thanking is Steward Zhang. He’s the one who arranged this rescue mission," Wang Tao said with a laugh.

"Yeah." Tie Qiu Heng nodded. ’Once I escape Rongcheng and get back to headquarters,’ he thought, ’I have to thank Steward Zhang in person.’

Xiaoli drove the black sedan, carrying the three bigwigs from the organization. He deliberately avoided roads with a lot of cameras, making his way to their destination at a steady pace.

At 9:30 PM, the four members of the Canglan Society arrived at a remote location within the city.

The boat arranged by the organization would arrive at this secluded stretch of the riverbank at ten o’clock.

Once it arrived, Liu Ke, Tie Qiu Heng, and Wang Tao would board the boat and follow the Li River’s current from west to east, leaving Rongcheng behind.

After leaving the city, they would travel for another ten-plus minutes into the perilous wilderness.

Somewhere in the wilderness, personnel would be waiting to meet them.

Once they rendezvoused with the pickup team, they would be more or less safe. From there, all they had to do was follow the team out of Rongcheng’s territory. After that, the world would be their oyster.

"Xiaoli, we owe you a lot for your help these past few days. Without you, we never would have been able to evade the Investigators’ search. I haven’t forgotten what I promised you.

Once we get back to headquarters, I’ll have a friend in the personnel department pull some strings and have you transferred back from Rongcheng..." Liu Ke said with a smile to Xiaoli, who had been so dedicated during this time.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Liu Ke." The joy on Xiaoli’s face was plain to see as he thanked Liu Ke profusely.

’Now that I’ve connected with Liu Ke and the others,’ he thought, ’my career is sure to take off once I’m transferred back to headquarters.’

Just as the four Canglan Society members were about to head to the nearby boarding point, Tie Qiu Heng, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Seeing him stop so abruptly, the other three instinctively halted as well and looked at him in confusion.

The smile that had been on Tie Qiu Heng’s face just a moment before was gone, replaced by an extremely serious expression.

He was staring intently at a silver-white van parked on the side of the road not far from them.

The other three followed his gaze, wondering why he was staring so fixedly at the parked van.

Wang Tao asked Tie Qiu Heng uncertainly, "Tie Qiu Heng, is there something wrong with that van?"

"Haaa..." Tie Qiu Heng took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "That van belongs to *that guy*," he said, his voice ice-cold.

The hatred in his words was palpable to Liu Ke and the other two.

"Who is ’that guy’?"

Liu Ke and the others were stunned for a moment before they instantly realized who he meant.

There was only one person Tie Qiu Heng could hate so much: the man who had landed him in prison, the one named Lin Li.

If, as Tie Qiu Heng said, the nearby van belonged to this Lin Li fellow, and the van was parked here now, didn’t that mean the man himself was somewhere nearby?

The thought that the man named Lin Li—the one who’d put Tie Qiu Heng in prison—was close by sent Liu Ke and the other two scanning their surroundings, searching for any sign of him.

While searching for any trace of Lin Li, Wang Tao asked Tie Qiu Heng again, "Are you sure that’s his van? Don’t make a mistake!"

Tie Qiu Heng gritted his teeth. "I’m not mistaken. That is absolutely his van. I’ll never forget that license plate number for as long as I live."

As Tie Qiu Heng stared at the van’s license plate, the scene of Lin Li giving him a brutal beating flashed through his mind.

Seeing Tie Qiu Heng’s certainty, the other three no longer doubted him and began to seriously scan the area for anyone who might be around.

Soon, they spotted a faint light on a bench by the distant riverbank.

It was a glimmer so faint you might have missed it if you weren’t looking carefully.

"Could he be over there?" Xiaoli spoke first, pointing toward the location of the faint light.

Although they had pinpointed a possible location for Tie Qiu Heng’s enemy, none of the four men moved to confirm it.

As the person in charge of this rescue mission, Liu Ke hadn’t given the order, so the other three dared not act on their own.

After all, they were about to board the boat arranged by the organization and leave the city. If they acted rashly and disrupted the escape plan, Liu Ke would be the one to bear the final responsibility.

"Liu Ke," Tie Qiu Heng called out, looking at the silent leader.

He didn’t say anything more, but everyone could hear the thirst for revenge against that man, Lin Li, in his voice.

"There are still more than twenty minutes until the boat arrives at the rendezvous point.

If you ask me, we should go over and confirm it now. If that really is Tie Qiu Heng’s enemy, we can just take him out, get revenge for Tie Qiu Heng, and it won’t even slow us down," Wang Tao said to the silent Liu Ke.

Hearing this, Tie Qiu Heng, who was standing to the side, shot Wang Tao a grateful look. After all, Wang Tao’s words were helping to persuade Liu Ke to make a decision in his favor.

"Alright. If that person is truly Tie Qiu Heng’s enemy, we’ll make it quick.

Steward Zhang pushed this rescue plan through despite a lot of opposition, so failure is not an option.

If we fail, it won’t be something that can be settled with a simple fine of a few Spirit Stones.

Steward Zhang’s wrath is not something we can afford to bear. You all need to understand that." Liu Ke was no longer silent, laying out the stakes.

As a high-ranking member of the Canglan Society, Steward Zhang was always clear in his rewards and punishments.

If his subordinates could complete the tasks he assigned with excellence, he never hesitated to reward them generously.

But if a mission failed, and the primary reason for that failure was a preventable oversight, then the people responsible would face a terrible fate.

Upon hearing this, Tie Qiu Heng and Wang Tao recalled how, three years ago, Steward Zhang had personally punished a member whose mistake had caused a mission to completely fall apart. They couldn’t help but shiver before nodding seriously.

When Liu Ke saw the fearful expressions on their faces, he knew his words had had the desired effect and nodded in satisfaction.

With that, the four of them strode quickly toward the faint light in the distance.

***