Chapter 429: Aggrieved

Liu Tonghai hurried home.

He was a complete mess, pacing restlessly in his study. Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly picked up the phone. But just as he was about to make the call, a sudden realization stopped him cold.

HUFF… HUFF… ‘That was impulsive!’ HUFF… HUFF… He broke out in a cold sweat, collapsing onto the sofa. His chest heaved with rapid breaths, but his gaze turned inward in deep thought.

After a while, his frantic heart began to settle, and Liu Tonghai finally calmed down a bit. ‘Was this an accident? A simple robbery-murder? No…’

He recalled Rut Brooks’s security detail. Just the day before yesterday, he had visited the man’s villa. There were two bodyguards in plain sight, plus that brawny, powerful driver. Liu Tonghai didn’t believe ordinary robbers could have pulled this off.

‘What kind of power was behind this?’ For a moment, Liu Tonghai was still uncertain.

As his thoughts churned, he had a sudden realization. His pupils dilated, and he swallowed subconsciously before muttering to himself, ‘Could it be…? No, that’s impossible. The plan isn’t even fully in place yet, and very few people know about it. It shouldn’t have been leaked…’

His mouth parched, he tore open the top two buttons of his shirt, grabbed the kettle of plain water from his desk, poured a glass, and downed it in one gulp.

‘HUFF… HUFF… It’s probably not that. I’m likely just overthinking things. But what do I do now? That bastard Rut is suddenly dead. Should the plan still go on?’

‘Forget it. I’ll just wait and see. If they want to continue with the plan, they’ll definitely arrange for a new contact person to come. They’re the ones leading this whole thing, anyway…’

Suddenly, Liu Tonghai felt something was wrong. A sharp pain shot through his chest, and a cold sweat broke out on his face. He clutched his chest, trying to stand up to get his emergency heart medication from the medicine cabinet. “Ah! HUFF… HUFF…”

He had just gotten to his feet and taken less than two steps before he collapsed. He fell to the floor, dizzy and faint. After twitching a few times, he went still.

「In a villa across the street.」

A laser microphone, which read sound from the vibrations of glass, was aimed at the window of Liu Tonghai’s study.

“Target is down. No other distinct sounds detected.”

“Continue.”

“Yes, sir.”

The middle-aged man sitting before the floor-to-ceiling window glanced at his watch, then picked up a phone. Using a number-spoofing app, he made a call.

When the call connected, he spoke in a fluent, Hong Kong-style English accent, “Hello, is this Miss Lisa?”

“Uh? Who is this?”

“Are you interested in buying insurance? Or perhaps making an investment?”

“Not interested.”

“Are you sure?”

“You psycho!”

“Kale Gold Store.”

The Filipino maid, who was about to hang up, suddenly panicked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Heh, 156,791. Do you understand now?”

The maid’s body went stiff. “What do you want…”

“Come to XX immediately. All you have to do is bring 500,000…”

“Why don’t you just rob me…” the maid said in a low voice, gritting her teeth.

“Compared to what Miss Lisa has reaped these past few years, this is nothing, is it?”

At this thought, Lisa gritted her teeth. “I’ll do it. But you have to give me some time…”

“Tonight at eight o’clock. Otherwise, you’ll have to face the consequences.”

“Fine.”

「Half an hour later.」

A furtive Lisa, carrying her passport and various valuables, quickly left the villa and sped away toward the airport.

“Heh, such is human nature.”

As night fell, the other Filipino maid, having no idea where Lisa had run off to, was left to frantically prepare dinner all by herself. She didn’t dare go to the study to call Liu Tonghai for the meal.

Meanwhile, the substance in the glass of water and the kettle of plain water had, with the passage of time, broken down into ordinary, non-toxic, and undetectable components.

…

「The Malacca Strait.」

A small fishing boat was drifting slowly in the nearby shallows.

As the sun set, an old man named Jimmy checked the time and began to reel in his lines, preparing to end his day of fishing.

Just then, a small yacht slowly passed by on the nearby water.

On the yacht’s deck, several young men were laughing and chatting.

When the two boats were very close, one of the young men shouted in English, “Old man, still fishing this late? Be careful out there!”

Old Jimmy finished putting away his fishing rods, took off his sun hat, and smiled like a friendly neighbor. “Just about to head back,” he replied. “Have a good evening, lads.”

“Hahaha…” The young men on the small yacht roared with laughter, momentarily drowning out the sound of the waves.

“Heh heh…” Old Jimmy chuckled along, but he didn’t notice a pair of hands gripping the gunwale on the other side of his fishing boat.

A slight smirk touched the corner of the young man’s mouth on the yacht. He then tossed over a can of beer. “Here, old man. Have a drink on me.”

The moment he caught the beer can, Old Jimmy also smiled and said, “Thanks…”

But in the next instant, a swift, powerful force struck the back of his neck. His eyes bulged for a moment, and then he went limp.

The yacht quickly closed in. A frogman in a wetsuit with an oxygen tank swiftly dragged and lifted Old Jimmy onto the yacht, which then sped away.

「Half an hour later.」

As night fell, the yacht docked at a port.

Inside a soundproofed cabin, Old Jimmy came to. He cracked his eyes open, cautiously surveying his surroundings. At the same time, he tried to move his hands and feet, only to find they were tightly bound.

“You’re awake, Mr. Jimmy.”