"But he has lost too much blood, his bodily functions are extremely weak, and the risk of infection is very high given the poor conditions here. Whether he can pull through, the next twenty-four hours are crucial."

"I've given him our best antibiotics and stimulants, the rest depends on whether God looks after him."

Qi Yun felt heavy-hearted, yet a bit grateful to have narrowly escaped calamity.

At least, the surgery was temporarily successful, and Niu Da was momentarily pulled back from the gates of hell.

Niu Da was still unconscious, with a blood bag hanging beside him for transfusion.

"If it's inconvenient for you to take him to a hospital, you can arrange to take him to my clinic. The conditions there are better, and I can monitor his situation at any time."

"Of course, this is an additional charge," the doctor added.

Qi Yun hesitated for a moment and looked at Harris not far away.

The latter gave a slight nod, indicating that this guy was somewhat reliable.

"Alright, I'll first pay you one hundred thousand USD. Cure my brother, and I'll give you another hundred thousand."

"But you must keep it confidential, it's very important," Qi Yun reminded with seriousness.

"Of course," the doctor shrugged, "I believe only in money, not people. You needn't worry about my professionalism." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Qi Yun said nothing more and immediately transferred one hundred thousand USD to the other party's account. Anything that could be solved with money was a minor issue.

Old Bai and Old Bai's injuries were relatively minor; after being bandaged, there was no major concern. Qi Yun then instructed both to escort Niu Da to the doctor's under-the-table clinic.

In the building next door, Brother Quan also welcomed back Xiao Wu and the others.

Qi Yun left Sansuo at the door and walked inside himself.

Under the dim light bulb, a man with his head covered was crouching on the ground, none other than Barnes, the nominal boss of Hede Company.

On seeing this guy, a red mark appeared immediately.

[Current intelligence points: 36]

[Number of intelligence items available for query: 1, intelligence level: red, query?]

Querying...

[Intelligence level (red): To secure orders from the Ministry of Energy, Barnes secretly exchanged interests with Minister Chris multiple times, the most recent being in October this year;

Barnes secretly bought a large casino in California, with shares given to several high-ranking officials, held by others on his behalf, including Energy Minister Chris and Deputy Minister of National Defense Stephen]

Energy Minister, Deputy Minister of National Defense, this guy indeed has considerable power behind him, a master of bribery.

Qi Yun turned his gaze to Xiao Wu beside him: "Not hurt, are you?"

"No, but we made a bit of a commotion, took down a few of his security guards," Xiao Wu answered truthfully.

"Hmm." Qi Yun nodded, not overly concerned. They've already done it, he thought. "Take off his hood."

Xiao Wu stepped forward to pull off the black cloth from Barnes' head.

Barnes squinted, his expression somewhat flustered, his body involuntarily trembling.

"Who are you people! Why did you capture me!"

No one answered him; everyone's eyes were coldly fixed on him.

Because of this guy, Niu Da's life was still in jeopardy.

Brother Quan clenched his fists so tightly they cracked, the rage in his eyes almost bursting forth.

He drew out a knife, speaking in English: "Should I bleed this dog a bit?"

Barnes, upon hearing this, was so scared he almost wet himself, his face pale, "Don't hurt me! Whatever you want, we can negotiate, OK?"

Though he's not clean, fundamentally, he's different from those in gangs, fundamentally a businessman in a suit, playing capital and power games.

Facing murderous outlaws, he had no courage, only primal fear.

Qi Yun looked down at him coldly, without a trace of warmth in his eyes: "I ask, you answer. Say one wrong word, or if your answer doesn't satisfy me, he will use the knife to carve a hole in you."

Barnes hurriedly replied: "Alright! I'll tell you everything!"

"Why did you lay an ambush on Seagull Rock, did you know something in advance?"

"Nothing!"

Barnes was stunned for a moment, as if realizing something, then shook his head without hesitation, "I didn't get any information; after Seth was kidnapped, I asked the CIA people to help me investigate, but they haven't found anything."

"I was worried his daughter would be kidnapped again, so I hired people from Blackwater Company to guard her... That's all..."

Qi Yun frowned, seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, silently cursing.

So he lost to caution.

"You probably guessed why I captured you. Hand over Seth's daughter, and I'll let you go. Do you agree?"

Barnes knew he had no right to refuse, so he could only nod: "Agree, agree!"

Money can be earned again, but life is only once. People of their stature cherish their lives the most.

"Good, now make a call and have your men send her to the airport," Qi Yun gestured to Brother Quan, who untied Barnes's hand, returning his phone to him.

"I forgot to tell you, you're now in Mexico. You can try to stall; perhaps the police can locate you soon."

Barnes, clutching the phone, hands shaking violently.

He had indeed thought about it, but the warning in this guy's words was very obvious...

Mexico was not a nice place, to get himself killed wouldn't need a direct hand, even any drug dealer could do it.

A bit of a brain would still be wary of his American identity, but those on the lower end wouldn't care that much.

Forget America, even Celestial Dragon People wouldn't matter here, if you were to take a bullet, you'd still take a bullet.

The instinct to survive overwhelmed everything.

Barnes opened his phone, found a number, and dialed it. Without waiting for the other side to speak, he immediately gave orders as per Qi Yun's instructions.

"Sir, are you safe right now?"

Barnes glanced at Qi Yun, then gritted his teeth and shouted: "Damn it! Don't waste time! Do as I say if you don't want me dead."

With that, he quickly hung up, as if afraid of angering these people in front of him.

"I've done as you requested."

"They will send her to the airport soon, can you... can you let me go now?"

"No rush," Qi Yun pulled up a chair and sat down, "I have one more thing I need your cooperation with."

"You say it, I will do whatever you ask."

"I need you to help me record a video exposing your dirty dealings with Chris and Stephen."

Hearing these two names, Barnes' whole body trembled, and he stared at Qi Yun with wide eyes.

"No need to be so surprised. Here's a phrase for you: 'If you don't want people to know, don't do it.'"

"The nonsense you've done isn't a secret to me, including you giving them casino shares."

If Barnes had suspected Qi Yun of bluffing earlier, he was utterly convinced when the latter mentioned the casino shares.

Overwhelming fear and complete helplessness submerged him.

Record a video? Expose his dealings with the Minister of Energy and others? This was fiercer than asking for his life!

If the video got out, not only would he lose everything, but he would also thoroughly offend those big shots in Washington. Then, not just him, the entire Hede Company could be uprooted!

Stephen would be the first to not let him go, possibly even resorting to more extreme measures to make him disappear!

But if he didn't do as told, he couldn't even get past the immediate situation, let alone the future....

"Did... Alina belong to you?" Barnes unwillingly asked.

He first suspected his confidante Alina; after all, the casino affair was known to very few, and the people in Washington wouldn't leak it; Alina was the only possibility.

Qi Yun smiled, but didn't answer, enjoying this kind of self-rationalizing "smart" person.

Seeing no response from him, Barnes assumed he tacitly agreed, the last glimmer of hope in his eyes extinguished, replaced by near-desperate venom.

"Fuck! That bitch! I gave her so much, and she betrayed me!" Barnes cursed hideously.

Then, like all his strength had been drained away, he slumped down.

"Alright... I'll record... but you must ensure that after this, you spare my life, and hand over that traitor Alina to me!"

"What you do to her is your business, not mine," Qi Yun gestured to Brother Quan to prepare the recording.