The Tycoon's Mysterious Darling Wife-Chapter 508 - 511. Su Qing’s Conditions (2 more updates)

"Derek," Su Qing called out.

Su Qing turned to look at him, "Derek, I’ve come to take someone with me." Su Qing stated her purpose directly.

Interestingly, recently Su Qing had been avoiding the organization’s assassination attempts by hiding at Derek’s, whom she had met a few times before. That afternoon, he had brought back two people, one of whom was Shen Qinglan.

Su Qing didn’t understand how Shen Qinglan had ended up in Derek’s hands. Given Shen Qinglan’s skills, this seemed absolutely impossible.

"Su, you just sent someone to say that Shen Qinglan is your friend, is that really true?" Derek asked.

Su Qing nodded, "Yes, she is a very important friend of mine. Derek, you can’t hurt her."

Derek shrugged, "I didn’t plan on capturing her in the first place. She stepped forward voluntarily. But don’t worry; my goal is to rescue my father, not to hurt anyone. She’s a citizen of Z country; I won’t touch her lightly."

Actually, his initial target was Queen Adele, but when he saw Qiao Jingyu, he thought about increasing his bargaining chips. As a result, Shen Qinglan stepped forward to protect Qiao Jingyu, so Su Qing couldn’t really blame Derek.

After hearing what had happened, Su Qing thought for a moment and said slowly, "Derek, do you remember our agreement?"

Derek certainly did, "You’ve helped me twice, and I’ve promised to do two things for you. Is that what you’re thinking of now?"

Su Qing nodded, "Yes, the first thing is to release Shen Qinglan. I won’t interfere with Queen Adele, but you must let Shen Qinglan go."

Derek could agree to this condition. If Su Qing had said she wanted both people, Derek would not have agreed even if it meant breaking the promise. However, if it was just Shen Qinglan, it didn’t really matter. With Queen Adele in hand, he already had enough to negotiate.

"Okay, I will let her go. What about the other thing?" Derek did not like owing favors to people, and if possible, he wanted to settle both debts at once.

Su Qing was likely not that easy to fool, "I haven’t decided on the other thing yet. I will tell you when I have figured it out. So, can you let her go now?"

"Of course, you can take her with you now."

"You can’t tell her I’m here, nor let her know it was me who asked you to release her," Su Qing said, "As for the reason, you don’t need to know, you just need to release her now."

"Alright, I will let her go now." Derek said.

When Shen Qinglan saw Derek again and heard his words, she raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Let me go? Why?" Just earlier, this man still wanted to use her as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the royal family of G country, and now he was letting her go so readily; it was too illogical.

"I’ve changed my mind now; I don’t want to be an enemy of this nation. So you can go. As for Queen Adele, I’m sorry, but as my father is still in the hands of your royal family, I need to use you to exchange for him, so you can’t leave."

Shen Qinglan glanced at Queen Adele and noticed her complexion was somewhat pale.

Shen Qinglan thought for a moment and shook her head, "I’m not going unless you let us both go."

Derek looked steadily at Shen Qinglan, "Miss Shen, I won’t release her. If you want to leave, you can only go by yourself, and there is only one chance. If you don’t leave now, you won’t be able to leave later."

Queen Adele, upon hearing this, said to Shen Qinglan, "Miss Shen, you go."

Shen Qinglan gave her a comforting look, indicating she should not worry. She looked at Derek, "There must be someone who asked you to release me, who was it?"

Upon hearing this, Derek was slightly surprised, but his face showed no emotion, "No one asked me to let you go, I’ve just come to understand that using you as an exchange is too costly. Go now, I won’t make it difficult for you."

The more he said this, the more Shen Qinglan felt there was something wrong. She sat down without looking at him.

Derek waited for a while longer, seeing that she really didn’t want to leave, he turned and left without another word.

Su Qing was waiting outside. Seeing him come out alone, she frowned, "Where is she?" They had agreed to release Shen Qinglan; Derek couldn’t be thinking of reneging.

"Su, it’s not that I don’t want to let her go, but she doesn’t want to leave herself, you can’t blame me for this." Derek repeated Shen Qinglan’s words.

Su Qing understood as soon as she gave it thought, sighing, Shen Qinglan was ultimately still too soft-hearted. Well, for now, Derek wasn’t likely to harm her, so let it be, "Since she doesn’t want to leave, then I hope you can assure her safety, she must not be harmed."

"Derek, you can rest assured. I might not be a good person, but I always keep my promises. I said I won’t hurt her, and I won’t, but that is under the condition that my father is safe."

Derek and his father Joseph were active opponents of the government of country G, having planned many of the terrorist activities there. Given Derek’s dissatisfaction with the royal family of country G, it was possible that he would kill Queen Adele. Shen Qinglan’s staying here was actually not safe, but now Shen Qinglan didn’t want to leave for Queen Adele’s sake, and Su Qing couldn’t think of a better solution, as they couldn’t just bust in and take Shen Qinglan away, making their relationship with Derek impossible to explain.

In the room, Queen Adele looked at Shen Qinglan, "Why didn’t you leave just now?" The fact that Shen Qinglan had the chance to leave but chose to stay surprised Queen Adele.

Shen Qinglan gave a faint smile, "We came together, so naturally we will leave together." Of course, she had her own considerations for doing so.

Queen Adele was a smart person, and after a moment’s thought, she understood Shen Qinglan’s motives and said with emotion, "Miss Shen, you really don’t have to do this for me."

Shen Qinglan just smiled faintly.

Derek had already made contact with the royal family of country G and agreed on a negotiation time for the next morning. His terms were simple: the release of his father, Joseph. The royal family of country G had already agreed and would bring the hostage for an exchange. This meant that there was only one night left for Fu Hengyi and his team.

"Major General Fu, what should we do now?" Charles asked with a composed face.

"Have you located their position?" Fu Hengyi asked indifferently, his expression detached.

Charles shook his head, "Uncertain, our people have found their traces at several likely locations, but we can’t pinpoint exactly which one it is."

"Give me the locations," Fu Hengyi pulled out a map.

"Here, here, and here. All three are possible, but they could also be decoys." The scope covered by these locations was too broad; going through them one by one would take a significant amount of time.

Fu Hengyi’s eyes were deep as he looked at the areas marked by Charles. The range was indeed wide, and the areas were all civilian apartment buildings. It would not be easy to find Shen Qinglan and the others where they were being held captive.

"Major General Fu, Derek has put forward new conditions; he wants a video call with Joseph."

Fu Hengyi frowned, "Did you agree?"

Charles shook his head; since Joseph was already dead, how could they agree to such a condition? Agreeing would be telling Derek that his father was dead, which could provoke him to kill the hostages. The royal family of country G was not that foolish.

"Our people have already used an excuse to delay, but we can’t hide this for long, so we still need to find a way to rescue the Queen and your wife as soon as possible." Tomorrow they were supposed to bring Joseph for the negotiations, but since they had nobody to bring, would they go to the negotiations with Joseph’s ashes?

"We will check these three places tonight; you need to prepare weapons for us," Fu Hengyi said.

The night was the best time for action. If they went out now, their target would be too obvious. Only at night could he lead the men of the Sharp Blade Unit to search the areas for Shen Qinglan. Although it might take some time, a night was enough. Once they found the location, it would be relatively easy to rescue Shen Qinglan. After all, Shen Qinglan was not a frail woman; with support from both the inside and outside, the chances of success were high, which was why Fu Hengyi dared to make a swift decision.

"Captain, are we going to divide our forces into three groups?" Liancheng looked at the three spots circled in red, which were not far apart, but the distance between them was still considerable.

Fu Hengyi nodded, "Once found, do not act rashly, get in touch with each other, wait for everyone to be in place, and then we’ll take action swiftly."

Fu Hengyi and his team were not allowed to carry weapons when they entered the territory of country G; all weapons had to be provided by the royal family of country G.

Charles had already brought the weapons, and Fu Hengyi and a few others picked up their arms and merged into the night.

Meanwhile, Derek’s man was left for the people of the royal family of country G to deal with.

As night fell, Shen Qinglan and Queen Adele had dinner in the room. No matter the circumstances, Shen Qinglan never mistreated her stomach.

Queen Adele had no appetite, but Shen Qinglan spoke softly, "Your Majesty, if you don’t eat well, your body won’t be able to handle it. What will you do if something happens?"

Hearing this, Queen Adele thought it made sense and forced herself to eat a piece of bread and a cup of milk. Shen Qinglan’s appetite was quite good, and she ate plenty. Naturally, someone came in to clean up after they had finished, and during this brief moment, Shen Qinglan took the opportunity to swiftly glance outside the door, finding that the guard force had not lessened in the slightest. Her gaze grew heavy.

**********

"Su, are you leaving?" Derek asked. Su Qing, with a small bag on her back, nodded casually, "Yes, I’m leaving now. Don’t forget what you promised me."

"I thought you would wait until I released her before leaving."

"Derek, I believe you keep your word. If you don’t, rest assured I’ll find a way to eliminate you. Without a leader, your base will be headless, and I doubt your domination will ever come to pass." Su Qing spoke nonchalantly, as the base had always aimed to strike down the G country’s royal family.

Derek’s expression changed, "Su, you’re actually threatening me."

"This isn’t a threat, it’s my way of telling you that I’m also someone who does what they say."

"Su, I’ve said before, I can spare her, but it’s all predicated on the well-being of my father. If anything happens to my father, then I won’t let either of them go."

Su Qing’s heart sank dramatically. She stared steadily at Derek, "What do you mean by that?"

"Su, I consider you a friend, so I’m being honest with you. I have a very bad feeling, I’m worried something has already happened to my father. Of course, I also hope I’m wrong."

But for people like them who lived on the edge of a knife, intuition was often very accurate. That afternoon when he asked the G country’s royal family for a video call with his father to confirm his safety, their immediate refusal gave Derek a bad feeling.

Seeing Derek’s inconstant remarks, Su Qing remained uneasy in her heart. She planned to leave only after Derek had released Shen Qinglan, but just then her phone rang with a message. As she read the content, her gaze shifted, and a dark chill settled in her eyes.

"Derek, I really have to go now. I hope you will keep your promise to me." After speaking, Su Qing left the base without hesitation, glanced around, and slipped into a narrow alley. The message from Bruce had warned her that the man was aware she was hiding with Derek, and her pursuers were close on her heels. She needed to leave immediately.

At two o’clock in the morning, all was quiet.

Shen Qinglan quietly sat up from the bed. She glanced at the Queen, who was fast asleep, and crept over to the door. She didn’t open it, but rather peered through the crack to the outside, where two rows of sentries stood, around fifteen or sixteen, making them hard to eliminate quickly. She then moved to the window. She could see the situation at the back door through the window—sentries in two rows there as well, guns at the ready, securing the house tightly. Shen Qinglan’s face darkened; the security had become even more rigorous. That afternoon, she had seen only two guards at the back door through the window, but now there were no less than ten.

Shen Qinglan had no choice but to return to the bed and lay down again, pretending to sleep with her nerves taut. Hidden in her sleeve was an iron nail she had pilfered unnoticed that afternoon. While it was no match for a dagger, it was a sharp object that could be used for self-defense in a critical moment.

Fu Hengyi led the Sharp Blade Unit to the three locations marked on the map, but they didn’t find any trace of Shen Qinglan and the others there, meaning they weren’t at any of those places.

"Captain, there’s something odd about this," Mu Liancheng said.

Originally, G country’s people had told them that Derek’s men had been seen at these three locations. But when they arrived, they found no trace of any activity, which could only mean one thing: they’d been deceived, or there was a traitor within the G country’s royal family, and they had all been fooled by a false message.

Fu Hengyi too had considered this possibility. This speculation was terrifying; if there really was a traitor within the G country’s royal family, then Derek might already know about Moon’s death, putting Shen Qinglan in danger.

Fu Hengyi’s hand tightened, "Let’s head back."

Upon hearing what Fu Hengyi said, Charles’s face also changed, "Impossible, many people know that Joseph was captured, but fewer than ten people know he was executed."

They had been secretive to prevent leaks. Aside from those present at the time, no one knew about it.

"We’ve been to those three places and didn’t find any of Derek’s men," Fu Hengyi said coldly.

Having missed the optimal time for rescue, Fu Heng’s mood was so irritable that he felt like killing someone.

Charles was also very somber. If they couldn’t successfully rescue the hostages tonight, they would have to wait until tomorrow when they were due to exchange hostages. But, they no longer had a viable candidate to exchange. Once they met, their operation would be immediately exposed. Derek would surely learn of his father’s death, and they couldn’t predict what he might do then.

"Find someone who looks and has a similar build to act as an impostor," Fu Hengyi suggested.

"Major General Fu, that’s not appropriate. It’s easy to find someone with a similar build, but where can we find someone who closely resembles the appearance in such a short time? Would Derek not recognize his own father?"

"Do a few changes to his face. As long as there is a seventy percent resemblance, it will do." Fu Hengyi knew this method could only buy some time, but time was precious, and even a minute’s delay could increase their chances of rescuing the hostages. As long as there was even a thirty percent resemblance, modern makeup, akin to plastic surgery, could make it seventy percent alike.

Charles had no better idea and had to agree to Fu Hengyi’s suggestion. Luckily, they managed to find someone who bore a four-tenths resemblance to Joseph.

The next morning, the courtyard stirred with activity. Hearing the footsteps drawing closer, Shen Qinglan leaped up from the bed and woke Queen Adele, who had suffered through a night of nightmares, looking utterly exhausted.

The door swung open, and it was still Derek who entered, "Miss Shen, Queen, it’s time to leave."

"Where to?" Shen Qinglan asked indifferently, her eyes cold and clear.

"We are taking you home," Derek said with a smile.

Shen Qinglan knew then that the moment for negotiation had arrived.

The negotiation was set in an abandoned factory on the outskirts. This place was once a chemical plant, which ceased operations due to environmental clean-up, leaving the area desolate. The surroundings were cluttered with buildings left behind and some discarded chemical materials, making the terrain exceptionally complicated.

Logically, such an environment wasn’t ideal for negotiations as there were too many potential sniping spots. However, it was precisely because of the complex terrain that it became easier to escape and avoid being encircled.

Shen Qinglan and Queen Adele were blindfolded, unable to see the scene before them. Only through the jolting of the car could they sense that the road they were traveling on was treacherous.

Nearly an hour later, they finally reached their destination. The first thing Shen Qinglan did upon removing the blindfold was to survey their surroundings—an ingrained habit.

Once she had a clear view, her gaze inadvertently swept toward several sites suitable for setting up higher ground positions. Indeed, there were snipers positioned at a few of those high points. The royal family of Country G had not yet arrived, so these snipers were likely Derek’s men.

Shen Qinglan noted the small red dots that occasionally flitted across their chests—the snipers’ targets were them.

Shen Qinglan was still calm, but Queen Adele’s palms were sweating and her face turned pale.

Shen Qinglan was shocked when Fu Hengyi appeared; she hadn’t expected him to come.

Fu Hengyi first glanced over Shen Qinglan, relieved to see she was unharmed. As their eyes met, he gave her a reassuring look, steadying her heart.

Members of the Sharp Blade Unit had hidden themselves upon arrival at the abandoned factory, leaving only Fu Hengyi uncovered.

"I’ve brought the person, Derek. Release Miss Shen and the Queen," Charles called out to Derek.

"Let me see my father first," Derek shouted back. They were so far apart that they had to yell to be heard.

Charles pushed a man forward, his head covered by a hood, his face obscured, "Your father is right here. I’ve brought him to you. Now, let our Queen go."

"Take off his hood, I want to confirm his identity," Derek demanded, his anxiety intensifying at the sight of the hooded figure.

At his words, Charles’s expression stiffened, but Derek, with his focus on the man, failed to notice Charles’s change in demeanor. However, Shen Qinglan saw it clearly and exchanged another glance with Fu Hengyi, immediately understanding—the man brought here was not Joseph.

With the Queen and herself in Derek’s hands, the royal family of Country G would never allow both to be harmed; they would certainly agree to Derek’s demand to exchange them for Joseph. But now, they had brought a man who was not Joseph, leaving only one possibility: the real Joseph was already dead.

Although it was just a guess, Shen Qinglan was eighty percent sure it was true.

Realizing this, Shen Qinglan’s heart sank heavily. This was a secret that would not remain hidden much longer. Soon, Derek would realize he had been duped, and then... She quietly stepped forward, shielding Queen Adele behind her.

"Hurry and let me see my father," Derek called out again.

"Major General Fu, what should we do now?" Charles’s voice carried a sense of urgency.

"Take off the hood," Fu Hengyi said gravely.

At his command, Charles removed the hood, revealing the face of an elderly man underneath. If one looked quickly, he appeared seventy percent similar to Joseph. Unless you looked closely, you wouldn’t notice.

Charles pushed the man forward a step, "Look closely, this is your father, Joseph. Can you now let Miss Shen and the Queen go?"

Derek, the youngest and darling son of Joseph, was the one chosen to take over his father’s base. Thus, at a young age, Derek was sent by his father to gain experience abroad. Over the years, Derek hadn’t seen his father; hence, from such a distance, he did not recognize the man as not being Joseph.