Instead of exiting through the hotel’s main gate, Ah Hua’s group led You Mingxu on a roundabout path to a side entrance where their car was parked—an inconspicuous black sedan.

You Mingxu felt relieved; this delay meant Jing Ping and the others must have already positioned themselves to follow. Her demeanor became more relaxed. One of Ah Hua’s men drove, Ah Hua took the passenger seat, while the other subordinate sat in the back with You Mingxu.

“Where are we going?” You Mingxu asked.

“You’ll know when we get there,” Ah Hua replied.

You Mingxu studied them for a while, leaning back in her seat while secretly memorizing the route.

After driving for over half an hour, they showed no signs of stopping. They had left the city center, following the Xiang River upstream. Darkness was falling, and the surroundings grew increasingly desolate. You Mingxu became more vigilant. She knew the sparse traffic made it difficult for Jing Ping’s team to follow closely. This riverside road was still under development. Jing Ping’s team must either be following on parallel roads or maintaining a distant tail. She glanced outside, barely making out the high beams of cars behind them.

“Does your boss prefer meeting in such pitch-dark places?” You Mingxu asked.

“The police have been watching closely lately,” Ah Hua answered, eyeing her through the rearview mirror. “Still no sign of your Brother Xing?”

You Mingxu replied coolly, “No.”

“Our boss ordered people to help look, but there’s no news. Don’t know who did it,” Ah Hua said.

You Mingxu’s expression grew serious.

Ah Hua asked again, “Sister Yun, how old are you? You look quite young—not younger than me, are you?”

You Mingxu smiled slightly, “Why ask about my age? I’ve been around. People like us start young in this business.”

Ah Hua smiled.

Just then, a construction site appeared ahead, the ground muddy, with several large trucks still working with their lights on.

“Speed up,” Ah Hua ordered.

The driver accelerated, threading between two trucks. You Mingxu’s heart sank as she glanced back—a large sand truck had slowly pulled out from the construction site, blocking the road.

Perhaps not by coincidence.

You Mingxu maintained her composure, staring ahead.

She didn’t see Ah Hua signal the driver, but the car suddenly swerved off the road onto a small path. There were no streetlights here, pitch darkness surrounded by dense grass and trees. You Mingxu felt the darkness deepen as the driver killed all lights, driving deep into the woods.

No headlights followed behind them.

This meant if Jing Ping’s team was delayed by the sand truck, they might not immediately know which direction she’d gone when they caught up.

The forest grew denser, and they moved further from the road. The three men in the car fell silent. You Mingxu also remained quiet, her hand slowly moving back to grip her gun.

She was now certain that these drug trafficking suspects were indeed more cunning, more cautious, more sophisticated, and more brutal than ordinary criminals.

The car finally stopped beside a pond. Everything around was pitch black and silent.

In a flash, the man beside You Mingxu drew a knife and stabbed at her. You Mingxu, already prepared, grabbed his arm as the knife fell. She grabbed his head and used it as a shield.

Just as Ah Hua in the front seat drew his gun to shoot backward, he found himself aiming at his subordinate’s head. His moment of hesitation was all You Mingxu needed—she pushed her human shield forward, causing chaos in the front seats. She had already drawn her gun, firing two quick shots that hit Ah Hua’s shoulder and the other man’s waist. Both cried out in pain. She fired another precise shot, hitting Ah Hua’s forearm, and making him drop his gun with a cry.

At that moment, the driver suddenly floored the accelerator, speeding toward a large tree ahead. The unstable ground made the car bounce—You Mingxu fell back into her seat, unable to control the driver or get a clear shot past the wounded man blocking her line of fire.

With a tremendous crash, they hit the tree. Everyone lurched forward—You Mingxu was thrown into the air, hit the roof, and slammed back down. Dizzy and in pain, she struggled to find her lost gun under the seat.

Then she froze.

A gun barrel pointed at her head.

The driver and the man shot in the waist were unconscious, but Ah Hua, head bloody and body trembling, leaned sideways with his gun aimed at You Mingxu. His luck had been extraordinary—his dropped gun had bounced onto his stomach, giving him the advantage over You Mingxu. Blood covered his face as he opened his eyes wide, cursing, “You bitch…”

It was a sudden eruption of chaos that no one could have predicted, not even You Mingxu. But Ah Hua’s luck had been better than hers.

You Mingxu’s mind raced. She wasn’t even sure when she had given herself away, or if Ah Hua had never believed her from the start—taking her from the hotel only to escape the police trap and use her as a hostage? Otherwise, why drive straight here with such convenient timing of the truck blocking their backup? A chill ran through her—these were just the contact person’s subordinates, yet already so troublesome.

Ah Hua’s eyes turned cold as his finger squeezed the trigger. You Mingxu dove aside, her heart frozen—

At such close range, she had no confidence in dodging the bullet.

“Bang, bang.”

“Bang.”

The expected pain never came. Instead, she heard two distinct gunshots—one from outside the car, another almost at her ear. She had grabbed the gun from the seat and quickly turned to aim.

But Ah Hua was already shot.

One bullet in his head, one in his neck, one in his chest. His eyes were wide open as he died instantly.

You Mingxu felt a chill run down her entire back. Someone approached from outside the car, but she turned first to look at the trunk behind the back seat.

Someone was hidden there.

The shot to Ah Hua’s chest could only have come from that angle. In that critical moment, that person was fired.

A partition separated the trunk from the back seats. Now it slowly lifted, revealing a familiar pair of eyes in the darkness. She gasped, “You…”

When had Yin Feng managed to hide in the criminals’ car trunk?

In the darkness, she couldn’t see Yin Feng’s face. He said softly, “Don’t be afraid.” The partition lowered as he retreated into hiding.

You Mingxu’s emotions were indescribable—shock, absurdity, lingering fear, and the sudden sense of security from his appearance. She collected herself and looked outside where seven or eight people had arrived. She would recognize their leader anywhere.

You Mingxu felt less panicked now. The gunshots had rung out—even in this remote area, Jing Ping’s team would arrive quickly. They might already be closing in on the perimeter. She had only one thought—don’t let them discover Yin Feng. She pushed open the door.