Chapter 73: CH 077

TL: Moonlit

Lin Hanchuan also didn’t expect things to turn out this way.

He underestimated Jiang Luo’s malice and also underestimated the arrogance of the Zhou family members. When Lin Hanchuan received feedback from 001, his eyes slightly narrowed with coldness.

[“Chuanchuan, what do we do now?”] 001 asked. It had been monitoring Jiang Luo’s phone the whole time and discovered everything through the phone’s camera, sending a video to Lin Hanchuan to relish the misfortune, expressing its delight through every piece of data.

[“What do we do?”] Lin Hanchuan raised an eyebrow. [“I’m just an ignorant high school student preparing for the college entrance exam. Those things have nothing to do with me.”]

001 laughed gleefully, [“Brilliant, Chuanchuan, you’re right!”]

Lin Hanchuan learned about the situation from 001’s live broadcast, while Eldest Brother Zhou learned several hours later from Zhou Yuntang’s phone. He looked at the extortion messages sent from Zhou Yuntang’s phone, his face turning grim. “Meeting adjourned.”

His subordinates, who were focused on the meeting, were puzzled as they watched their boss leave in a hurry.

“What’s wrong with CEO Zhou?”

“I don’t know, maybe his younger brother is in trouble? He would only be this nervous if something happened to his brother.”

“Are you talking about the fake young master?”

“Shh, don’t mention those three words in the company, or the boss might fire you.”

“Who else could it be? Among CEO Zhou’s many younger brothers, that one is the most cherished… ”

“Everyone knows that, compared to the real young master, the other one is favored more. Don’t bring bad luck upon yourself; even the Jade Emperor won’t be able to save you.”

“Poor real young master, he’s so talented and hardworking. If he were born in my family, I’d worship him…”

Eldest Brother Zhou didn’t hear the comments from behind; even if he did, he didn’t have time to deal with those talkative subordinates. He hurried home and found everyone already gathered there.

“Big brother, did you also receive the message?” Third Brother Zhou just came out of the laboratory, still wearing his white coat.

Mother Zhou was also anxious, “How could this happen? Who kidnapped them?”

Only Fourth Brother Zhou seemed more relaxed. He thought for a moment and said, “Could it be a prank by Tang Tang?”

“Zhou Ziming, it’s already this serious, and you’re still joking? There’s no way Tang Tang would use such a major incident as a joke.” Eldest Brother Zhou scolded with visible anxiety on his face. “The kidnappers are only asking for five million. It’s not a huge sum. Prepare the money immediately and deliver it to them.”

“Should we report to the police?” Mother Zhou asked in a panic.

The living room fell silent, and no one spoke. Father Zhou said, “If we can solve it with money, that’s the best option. If the kidnappers take the money and don’t release them, we’ll hand it over to the professionals.”

Father Zhou had always been a man of few words at home, and now that he spoke, no one had any objections.

The group split into two teams. Zhou Ziming and Mother Zhou went to get the cash, while Eldest Brother Zhou and Third Brother Zhou stayed at the Zhou family house, using the special tracking system on their phones to locate them.

Fortunately, the kidnappers weren’t professionals. It didn’t take long for them to pinpoint the exact location. The family sat in a spacious and low-profile SUV, the atmosphere tense.

Following the kidnapper’s demands, they arrived at the outskirts and saw Zhou Yuntang and Zhou Zhengqing lying on the ground. Especially Zhou Zhengqing, his face was covered in dried blood, looking extremely disheveled, a far cry from the glamorous TV star seen on television.

Mother Zhou’s eyes turned red on the spot, covering her mouth, and she looked at the kidnapper. The kidnapper was wearing a mask, not revealing his face, which relieved Mother Zhou. She feared that the kidnapper might have malicious intent beyond the ransom and was relieved that it seemed to be solely about money.

“Five million,” the kidnapper said. “Cash, throw it over.”

Eldest Brother Zhou felt something was off. He thought the other party might play tricks or set up some traps, but the kidnapper appeared so straightforward, and even with so many people on his side, he didn’t signal to keep them at a distance.

Behind Elsedt Brother Zhou stood the driver, who was actually a bodyguard. He slowly moved forward until the kidnapper ordered him to stop, and then he forcefully threw the box containing the money.

The kidnapper held a knife against Zhou Zhengqing’s neck, ready to cut if any of the Zhou family made any rash moves. With the money in sight, he showed a hint of excitement, then said, “Five million for one person.”

“But you said only five million!” Mother Zhou exclaimed.

“I didn’t expect you guys to be so rich, not treating this five million seriously. I regret it now. Another five million, and you can redeem another person. Now you can take away one person, you can choose who to take.”

The kidnapper’s words plunged everyone into silence. Mother Zhou spoke again, her voice choking with tears, “Both are my children, how can I choose? I can’t choose!”

The kidnapper wasn’t moved by the woman’s tears and said directly, “You can’t choose, then let others choose. Hurry up, make a decision, and I’ll take one person.”

In the silence, Zhou Zhengqing moved slightly, and the kidnapper immediately pressed down on him, cutting a trace of blood on his neck. Zhou Zhengqing seemed unaware and said, “You guys can choose me.”

Before he could finish his sentence, tears welled up in Zhou Yuntang’s eyes. Bound on the ground like a bug, he sobbed, “Big brother, Mom, I’m so scared. I want to go home, I want to go home right now…”

Zhou Zhengqing turned his head suddenly, ignoring the fresh cut on his neck, and looked at Zhou Yuntang in astonishment.

Zhou Yuntang avoided his gaze and looked in the direction of the Zhou family, tears streaming down his face. “He punched me, and my head feels so dizzy now.”

The wound on Zhou Zhengqing’s forehead throbbed with pain. He wanted to speak, but the kidnapper had already pressed him down. If he spoke again, he might end up with another cut in his throat. Just as he hesitated, Zhou Yuntang spoke again.

“Mom, big brother, if you won’t choose, take Third Brother with you. He’s your child…”

Mother Zhou became anxious at once, “You are also our child.”

In this life-or-death situation, a sneer finally escaped from Zhou Zhengqing’s throat. What he wanted to say was, “Choose me to stay, take my little brother away.” But Zhou Yuntang didn’t even let him finish speaking. Perhaps it didn’t matter. Zhou Zhengqing had never been this clear-headed. He listened to Zhou Yuntang crying for sympathy, and the last sentence pushed the Zhou family to a point where they had no choice but to choose him.

“Take Third Brother with you; he’s your child.”

With those words, if they really took Zhou Zhengqing away, it meant the Zhou family still loved their biological children more and didn’t care about his feelings. Even if they rescued him, there would be a rift between them. Zhou Yuntang was sensitive and fragile. Those who cherished and loved him in the Zhou family would never abandon him.

Zhou Zhengqing didn’t care about Zhou Yuntang’s little scheme; what he couldn’t forgive was that the others didn’t know the kidnapper’s identity, but Zhou Yuntang knew better than anyone.

The kidnapper was his biological father. If they chose to leave with Zhou Zhengqing, there had been some communication and blood ties between them, which would significantly increase Zhou Yuntang’s chances of survival. But Zhou Yuntang seemed unaware and just wanted to escape the current predicament.

He acted as if he hadn’t seen Zhou Zhengqing getting hurt while trying to save him, as if he didn’t know how many times Zhou Zhengqing had been mistreated during these few hours. Zhou Zhengqing looked at the Zhou family, waiting for their answer.

“I choose Zhou Yuntang,” Eldest Brother Zhou said firmly, and no one objected.

“Second Brother… The second Brother is injured, and Tangtang isn’t hurt. I choose Second Brother,” only Zhou Ziming, gave a different answer.

Zhou Zhengqing didn’t expect that the one who would eventually choose him was the one he didn’t think highly of, Zhou Ziming.

The kidnapper laughed, “I didn’t expect you to care so much about this fake young master. Not bad, very good.”

No one present understood what he meant, except for Zhou Zhengqing and Zhou Yuntang, who heard the satisfaction in his laughter.

The kidnapper was quite trustworthy, as he controlled Zhou Zhengqing to pick up the money box and ignored the securely bound Zhou Yuntang. After getting the money, he said, “Give me a car.”

Jiang Luo couldn’t believe how smoothly things had gone. He realized that these rich people were not as formidable as he had imagined. They were not invincible gods covered in gold; they were just like ordinary people, capable of crying and laughing and also afraid of death.

His confidence inflated to an unprecedented level. He remembered the news he had seen on his phone, where people took money and lived carefree lives abroad. Why couldn’t he do the same?

As long as he had money, he could live anywhere; living abroad would be even better.

Sure enough, Eldest Brother Zhou responded calmly, and excitement flickered in Jiang Luo’s eyes, typical of a gambler. With Zhou Zhengqing in tow, he slowly retreated and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

“Tangtang, are you okay?” Eldest Brother Zhou, Zhou Gao Dan, was the first to go and hold Zhou Yuntang, untying the ropes that bound him.

Zhou Yuntang sniffled, looking wronged, “I’m fine; my hands hurt from being tied… that person also punched me on the head, and my head hurts too.”

Zhou Gao Dan’s heart ached. He immediately picked him up horizontally and said, “It’s okay; big brother will take you for a checkup.”

Zhou Yushu, who was somewhat involved in medicine, hurriedly came over to examine the situation. Only Mother Zhou and Zhou Ziming looked worriedly in the direction where Zhou Zhengqing was being held.

“Second Brother seems to be injured quite badly. Will he be alright?” Zhou Ziming worriedly asked, then turned his gaze to Zhou Yuntang, but quickly looked away.

He realized that he could no longer understand this soft and harmless little brother. Zhou Yuntang had not suffered any injuries, yet he had been persistently advancing, forcing the Zhou family to rescue him first. Meanwhile, their bloodied Second Brother was left behind and continued to be tormented by the kidnapper.

Zhou Ziming was dissatisfied. Even though he was scared and wanted to save himself, he wouldn’t be this ruthless, cutting off every opportunity for the Zhou family to choose Zhou Zhengqing. But compared to Zhou Yuntang, Zhou Ziming was more dissatisfied with his big and third brother.

Zhou Yuntang was their little brother, wasn’t Zhou Zhengqing still their brother? Zhou Ziming supported Mother Zhou and realized that if he were in this situation and stood on the balance with Zhou Yuntang, who would the Zhou family choose?

At least, Second Brother had them, but what about me? Zhou Ziming noticed that except for himself, everyone else, including Zhou Zhengqing, would probably choose Zhou Yuntang.

Author’s note:

It will be concluded tomorrow or the day after tomorrow (at my current pace)…

The next world is a doomsday setting:

The trashy uke looked down on the gong in his previous life, and after causing the gong’s death, he realized that the gong was the person who treated him the best. So, after being reborn, the trashy uke decides to give the gong a chance and allows him to pursue him…