No matter how strong-headed and fiery-tempered Situ Yan was, in the end, she was still a woman and had moments of vulnerability and helplessness.
For example, back in the warehouse. If Jiang Feng hadn't come, she truly couldn't imagine what might have happened. One thing was certain: she would have been utterly disgraced and might even have been humiliated!
After crying and venting for a while and stabilizing her emotions, Situ Yan got out of bed barefoot, threw the tear-soaked pillowcase into the washing machine, then took a shower. She took a cucumber from the fridge, rinsed it casually, and sat back on the sofa in the living room, munching away.
After the gratitude for Jiang Feng's rescue faded from her heart, her mind was now filled with thoughts of Jiang Feng's strength and unfathomable depth!
The power Jiang Feng displayed in the warehouse was so shocking that when Situ Yan recalled it, her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Catching bullets barehanded, hand blade breaking arms...how much strength does that guy still hide, and how many unknown secrets does he have?" Her curiosity about Jiang Feng was growing, but following it was also deep envy and powerlessness.
"That woman named Nangong Qingcheng is truly fortunate to have such a powerful man as her partner," Situ Yan said with a hint of wistfulness, taking a bite of the cucumber.
"Ah, what am I thinking? I haven't reported this matter to the superiors yet!"
Almost letting personal feelings delay important matters, Situ Yan felt both embarrassed and annoyed. She quickly finished eating the cucumber and then picked up the phone to call her superior, recounting everything that had just happened.
Of course, for personal reasons, she didn't mention Jiang Feng, only saying that she barely escaped from the warehouse, barely clinging to life.
When the superior heard there were foreign drug cartel forces brazenly holding China action department members hostage at the market and even threatening to take nude photos, he was furious, deeming it a serious provocation against China's bottom line!
Immediately, the superior ordered Situ Yan to return to the department and lead a large team of armed personnel to capture the criminals at the warehouse.
Thus, Situ Yan's half-day vacation ended. She hurriedly got dressed, returned to the department, and led the team on the mission.
But all the way leading the large team, she realized her mistake too late!
She had lied that she escaped the warehouse on her own, but once they arrived and found the place littered with corpses and battle aftermath, how could she explain? It wouldn't be feasible to tell the superior that the enemy self-destructed, leading to their total annihilation, right?
This way, she would unavoidably implicate Jiang Feng. However, Jiang Feng risked himself to save her; even with her sense of justice, she couldn't betray Jiang Feng.
Throughout the journey, Situ Yan felt deeply conflicted.
However, upon actually arriving at the abandoned warehouse, Situ Yan realized the situation wasn't as she imagined — inside, there were no bodies, not even a trace of blood, only machetes, hemp ropes, and a few scattered handguns left behind, verifying that she hadn't lied.
The action team members quickly searched the entire warehouse, inside and out, yet didn't find a single person.
"Captain, do you think those drug dealers might have fled early to avoid exposure?" Niu Tao asked Situ Yan as he returned.
Situ Yan was dumbfounded, her mind filled with questions!
How did Jiang Feng do it???
Although no foreign drug dealers were found in the abandoned warehouse, the incident itself caught the intense attention of Binhai's top leaders. The leader personally ordered a city-wide lockdown and then deployed all action departments to search for the foreign drug dealers.
North City Rongsheng Haoting Villa.
"Big brother, the action department is now scouring the city for Tasha and others. They've really made a mess," Ah Bin said to Mr. Scar, who was sitting on the couch smoking.
"It's his own fault for being too foolish! He was reckless in his actions. I warned him not to underestimate China's forces, but he wouldn't listen. Relying on those four bodyguards, he grew arrogant and blatantly kidnapped an action commander. Isn't that provoking the bottom line? It's no wonder those officials are furious," Mr. Scar scoffed.
If Situ Yan was that easy to deal with, he would have acted long ago; it wouldn't have been Tasha's turn.
"However, this incident is quite peculiar. According to intelligence reports, after the action department entered the warehouse, there was no sign of Tasha and his men, only some weapons left behind— could Tasha and his men really have escaped? I find that unlikely. But if they didn't escape, where are they? There shouldn't be a situation where they're neither alive nor dead," Ah Bin pondered with furrowed brows.
"Do you remember Tiger and his crew?" Mr. Scar suddenly asked.
Ah Bin was taken aback: "Big brother, are you suggesting it might have been Jiang Feng?"
"It's just a guess. However, I can't believe Situ Yan escaped on her own— with her showy but impractical skills, could she really get away from Tasha's grip?" Mr. Scar sneered, full of skepticism.
"Indeed! But even if Jiang Feng possesses master-level skills, Tasha's four men are no pushovers. Though their levels are not high, merely early-stage or middle-stage master level, they all crawled out from piles of dead bodies in the black market, experienced and skilled in killing," Ah Bin analyzed. "If those four acted together, even I would struggle to handle it. No matter how formidable Jiang Feng is, could he truly withdraw unscathed?"
Listening to Ah Bin, Mr. Scar also felt the probability very slim. Ah Bin was his top expert; if even Ah Bin wasn't confident in accomplishing such a feat, there was no way Jiang Feng could.
He looked at Ah Bin and asked, "So, is there any other possibility?"
"The other possibility is that Jiang Feng has reached the peak master level!" A trace of deep apprehension flashed in Ah Bin's eyes, then he chuckled, "But how could that be? He's only in his early twenties, and a twenty-year-old peak master level is rare across the country. Besides those from truly powerful Ancient Martial Sects, the probability of someone like that appearing in Binhai City is zero!"
"True." Mr. Scar finally dismissed his doubts.
"Big brother, in any case, since Tasha is now missing and even we can't reach them, should we contact Ta Kun and Tarsen?" Ah Bin asked.
"No hurry, let's wait until we have concrete news. In the meantime, let's also send people to search. No matter what, Tasha is a representative of the Heigu Group; if something happens to him in Binhai, we bear responsibility and must give Ta Kun an explanation," Mr. Scar said expressionlessly.
"Understood, I'll have someone handle it discreetly right away," Ah Bin nodded, spoke, and then retreated.
Mr. Scar sat alone on the sofa, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and closed his eyes to ponder.
The setting sun was blood red.
Jiang Feng appeared nonchalant as he drove back, carrying the furniture and household items that Chu Renxiong had instructed someone to buy, to the small villa he shared with the three women.
"Uncle, why did it take you so long to get back? It took ages just to get some furniture!" Chu Feifei, along with Nangong Qingcheng and Liu Shiyuan, had long finished tidying the house, and she came out to greet him.
"There was quite a lot," Jiang Feng replied as he got out of the car and, along with Chu Renxiong's men, carried the furniture into the villa.
After everything was done, and watching Chu Renxiong's men leave, Jiang Feng glanced at the twilight sky, still lingering with an unresolved question: Who was that call from?