Jin Liwei didn't respond or even look at Rose Young. He had no interest or time for the woman, even though he also wondered what was happening. Then his phone started vibrating on top of the table. He ignored it at first but it wouldn't stop, so he reached up and grabbed it. A bad feeling came over him when he saw the caller display. He tapped the phone and placed it on his ear.
"Emergency! Emergency! Mommy is in danger! A bomb exploded in the mall! A fan tried to harm Mommy and everyone present in the area! Mommy is alive but is in danger of being crushed from the sudden stampede! I repeat! This is an emergency! Mreow!"
Jin Liwei felt like his heart stopped after hearing Ketchup's growling words. He immediately got out from under the table.
"There's an emergency. I have to go. I'll leave everything here to you," he instructed the COO. "Xu Tian, let's go. Hurry."
He ran out of the room—literally ran. Xu Tian had no choice but to run as well in order to follow him.
"Big Brother Liwei—I mean CEO Jin, where are you going?" Rose Young asked, but as usual, she was ignored.
The COO, Rose Young, and the others watched the two disappear from sight. They felt confused but also curious, especially because the loud emergency alarm immediately stopped once Jin Liwei and Xu Tian exited the conference room. One of younger participants of the meeting peeked outside.
"Huh? Everyone is acting normal outside. Did the emergency alarm only activate in this room?"
Others went outside the conference room and asked around, confirming that nobody heard any emergency alarm in the company except for them. Coupled with their President's unusual behaviour, this incident quickly became a hot topic of discussion among them.
Later…
"Daddy, Uncle Haohao is calling."
"Answer it."
The call connected.
"Something happened to little sister." Lu Zihao's low voice was cold and devoid of any emotions, totally unlike his usual happy-go-lucky attitude.
"I know. I'm on my way to her," Jin Liwei said.
"I'm on my way as well."
"En." Jin Liwei's expression was tense. He urged Xu Tian to drive faster. It wasn't rush hour yet but the road was relatively busy, making Jin Liwei wish he could fly or better yet teleport to his baby girl as soon as possible. However, he forced himself to calm down. "Ketchup, share your reports to your Uncle Zihao as well."
"Okay, Daddy!"
Both Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao felt relieved to hear that their subordinates have safely escorted Iris, Dom and Tang Yiyi out of the stampede.
Ketchup showed her daddy and uncle a recording of the mall's surveillance video when the explosion happened. They watched it at the same time, even though both of them were in different places. They could also hear each other's voices because the call between them was still active. However, neither of them made a sound as they watched the most important woman in their lives throw what deceptively looked like a cake box up in the air as hard as she could before it exploded.
If she didn't throw it...the two men didn't want to imagine what would happen to her.
Both of them attempted to call Iris several times but couldn't go through. It seemed that Iris' group was too busy heading to safety and dealing with the chaos. It was possible for Ketchup to hijack the surrounding online devices but didn't do so because the cat AI already confirmed that her mommy was alive. More important than this, her mommy also placed a lot of restrictions on her to prevent her from speaking aloud in a crowd of non-approved strangers. All Jin Liwei and Lu Zihao could do was to wait until someone from her group answered their calls or when it was safe enough for Ketchup to initiate the contact.
"How much longer?" Jin Liwei asked Xu Tian in an impatient and tense tone.
"We'll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes, President."
"Hurry."
"Yes, President."
Jin Liwei was about to go crazy worrying about his baby girl. He was tempted to open his car window and shout at the other vehicles ahead of them on the road to drive faster or make way for him. All of them were driving like turtles!
"Young Miss Ketchup, please alert me if any traffic enforcers are in the area because I'm going to drive faster," Xu Tian requested the cat AI, knowing that his boss was feeling impatient and worried about Miss Long.
Jin Liwei nodded before continuing to talk to Lu Zihao. It seemed that he would be the first one to meet his baby girl because his Fifth Brother was farther away.
Then all of a sudden, Ketchup went crazy.
"GRRRRRRRRR!!! MREEEEEOOOOOOOOOW!!!"
The lightings in the vehicle blinked on and off. The horn also activated by itself, making a long, loud and annoying beep. Xu Tian cursed when the car stopped for a couple of seconds, suddenly propelling him and Jin Liwei forward. It was a good thing that they were wearing seatbelts. Otherwise, they might have been injured.
"Xu Tian! What's happening?!"
"President, it wasn't me. The car stopped by itself!"
The vehicle was now moving forward but it was obvious that something was wrong. The built-in monitor showing the live feed from the mall's surveillance video died.
It wasn't only them. The other vehicles also stopped at around the same time before moving forward again. Loud horns sounded, alarming everyone in the area, most especially the drivers and the passengers inside their out-of-control vehicles. The traffic lights were also out of whack.
"What's wrong?!! Ketchup, calm down!!!" Jin Liwei scolded the cat AI who was currently going crazy.