Chapter Thirty-One: I Choose You

"System! Emergency triggered!" Before her consciousness completely faded, Wen Yan cried out urgently in her heart.

"Alert! Host is being kidnapped! Vital signs fluctuating! Attempting to lock onto location..."

"Contact Qiao Chenye immediately..." Wen Yan pleaded with the system before slipping into unconsciousness.

At the same time, Qiao Chenye, who was busy reviewing documents at his company, saw his phone light up. Upon answering, he heard only a single, minimalist sentence: "Wen Yan kidnapped. Rescue immediately."

It was Wen Yan's voice, but the call cut off right after.

Qiao Chenye frowned. His first reaction was that it was a prank or some new form of scam. He called back, but the number was already inactive. He then dialed Wen Yan’s personal number, but after ringing for a long time, it went straight to voicemail.

An inexplicable sense of unease gripped him. He recalled the moment at the restaurant when Wen Yan had stared intently at a void, followed by her sudden relaxation, and now, her disappearance... He stood up abruptly.

"Track the last known location of Miss Wen Yan's phone immediately! Pull all surveillance footage from near her home. I want results in five minutes!" Qiao Chenye commanded coldly into the intercom, the chill in his tone making his assistant on the other end shudder.

The influence of the Qiao family was on full display. In less than five minutes, the location where the signal from Wen Yan's phone had vanished was locked. Within another five minutes, grainy surveillance footage showed her being forcibly shoved into an unmarked van.

The team began tracking, but soon found the trail had gone cold. Just as they were at a loss, the phone rang again.

"Who are you! Where is Wen Yan!" Qiao Chenye asked, his voice trembling.

"Don't worry about who I am. Wen Yan needs you. Get to the abandoned warehouse in the west of the city immediately. I need to save energy to keep an eye on Wen Han, and you must not let Wen Yan down!" The line went dead. The system still had to monitor Wen Yan and could not go offline, so that was all it could say.

Qiao Chenye’s face darkened instantly. He led the team himself, and several black SUVs tore toward the destination like arrows released from a bow.

...

Inside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Wen Yan was splashed awake by ice-cold water. She coughed and opened her eyes to find her hands bound behind her back, situated in a dilapidated space filled with rust and dust.

Liu Yanyan’s twisted face appeared before her.

"Awake? Sister Wen?" Liu Yanyan sneered, her eyes filled with malicious delight. "Didn't expect you to end up like this, did you?"

Wen Yan quickly calmed herself, secretly trying to break free from the ropes while communicating with the system in her mind: "System, report status. Where is Qiao Chenye?"

"Host, the ropes are standard nylon. You are in an abandoned warehouse in the western outskirts. Qiao Chenye is approaching; expected arrival within seven minutes."

"Liu Yanyan, you are truly beyond saving." Wen Yan tried to stall, her voice still raspy from the effects of the sedative. "Hasn't Li Jingyan's downfall brought you to your senses yet?"

"Senses? I am clearer than I have ever been!" Liu Yanyan shrieked, stepping forward to land a fierce slap on Wen Yan’s face.

"It was you! You bitch, you destroyed everything! Brother Jingyan loved me the most! You seduced him! You were the one pulling strings behind the scenes! You recorded that video, didn't you? You provoked him on purpose! You deserve to die!"

Wen Yan’s cheek burned with pain. She licked the blood from the corner of her mouth, her eyes icy. "You reap what you sow. Both you and Li Jingyan brought this upon yourselves."

"Shut up!" Liu Yanyan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "What right do you have to be so high and mighty? Why do you always put on this holier-than-thou act? Today, I’ll make you taste what it’s like to be trampled into the mud!"

She turned to the leering men standing nearby and pointed at Wen Yan. "This woman is yours. Enjoy yourselves. Record it, and make sure she becomes famous for it too!"

The men approached with lewd grins. Liu Yanyan watched as Wen Yan’s body tensed and fear finally flickered in her eyes. Satisfied, she turned to head downstairs and leave this filthy place. She could already envision Wen Yan’s completely ruined future.

Just as the men’s hands were about to touch Wen Yan, she cried out in her heart: "System! Redeem tool!"

"Ding! 1,000 credits deducted. High-frequency vibrating cutting blade (micro) added to host's inventory. Can be retrieved by thought."

With a thought, a small but razor-sharp blade appeared in her bound hands. She moved almost by instinct, sawing vigorously at the ropes! The nylon snapped!

The moment a man's dirty hand reached for her collar, Wen Yan broke free, gripped the tiny blade, and slashed forward without hesitation!

"Ah!" The man screamed as a deep, bone-reaching gash appeared on his arm! The others were stunned by the sudden resistance.

Wen Yan took the opportunity to retreat, pressing her back against the cold wall, the bloodied blade in her hand. Her eyes were as resolute as a cornered beast, prepared to fight for her life. She knew she couldn't hold out for long, but she hoped that if she could just last one more second, the next second would bring rescue!

Liu Yanyan, about to head downstairs, heard the scream and looked back, catching the sight of Wen Yan breaking free and wounding one of the men. She was shocked, then flew into a rage. "Useless! Can't even handle one woman! Hold her down!"

However, at that very moment, a cacophony of roaring engines echoed from outside the warehouse! The sound grew louder, clearly from more than one vehicle!

Liu Yanyan instinctively ran to a broken window to look out—

Amidst the swirling dust, over a dozen black SUVs were barreling toward the warehouse like a torrent of steel, surrounding it with an aggressive momentum! The display was far beyond that of ordinary police!

Liu Yanyan’s face turned paper-white in an instant! She realized immediately that there was someone behind Wen Yan! Someone powerful, a giant she could never afford to offend!

A crushing fear washed over her like ice water, pulling her from the frenzy of revenge into an abyss. Her body began to tremble violently; she gasped for air—her "mental instability" flared up under the extreme duress.

"No... no... how could this be..." She muttered incoherently, cold sweat drenching her, nearly collapsing to the floor.

Just then, the screen of the phone she had pulled out in a panic lit up. The wallpaper was the only photo she had of herself and her child. The innocent, pure smile of the child pierced her bubble of madness like a needle.

Her child... her child... If she died, or was caught, what would happen to the baby? Li Jingyan was already locked away; she was all the child had left!

This thought acted like a shot of adrenaline, granting her a strange, desperate clarity amidst the terror and chaos.

Run! She had to run now! She could not be caught!

Ignoring Wen Yan and the terrified thugs, she scrambled down the stairs like a woman haunted by ghosts, crawling through a hole in the back of the warehouse. She sprinted to her car, which was hidden nearby, started the engine, and fled the scene in a panic.

She didn't even dare go home. Her intuition told her that home was no longer safe.

The car sped aimlessly along the highway. Liu Yanyan shivered, her mind a mess. Fear, regret, resentment, and despair for the future intertwined, threatening to tear her apart. Who could save her? Who could stand against the terrifying forces backing Wen Yan?

A name suddenly flashed into her chaotic mind—Qiao Guodong!

If the child wasn't Li Jingyan's, then Qiao Guodong was the father. She had slept with him a few times; there might be a chance.

Yes! Go to Qiao Guodong! Maybe... maybe she could pin everything on Wen Yan, claiming Wen Yan had framed her! The Qiao family couldn't just listen to Wen Yan's side of the story!

Clutching at this final straw, Liu Yanyan turned the car toward the old Qiao family estate. Her mental state was extremely unstable, alternating between weeping and sinister laughter; her condition was rapidly deteriorating.

Back in the warehouse, just as Wen Yan’s strength was nearly exhausted and the blade was slipping from her fingers—

"Bang!" The warehouse doors were smashed open!

Silhouetted against the light, Qiao Chenye charged in first, followed by a group of highly trained personnel. He instantly spotted Wen Yan in the corner—her clothes disheveled, her cheek swollen, but her eyes sharp—holding the bloodied blade in a stubborn defense, surrounded by the men.

Qiao Chenye’s gaze turned terrifying, his cold voice sounding as if it had come from hell: "Leave no one standing. Clean them all up!"

He strode toward Wen Yan, took off his suit jacket, and carefully draped it over her trembling but still upright shoulders. "It's okay," his voice lowered, carrying a trace of lingering fear and apology, "I’m late."

Seeing it was him, the nerves Wen Yan had kept taut finally slackened. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed, only to be caught by Qiao Chenye.

The blood-stained blade fell from her hand with a clatter.

Qiao Chenye scooped her up in his arms and walked out, not sparing a glance for the scum being swiftly subdued behind him. Outside, the lights of the motorcade illuminated the ruins as if it were broad daylight.

Wen Yan rested her head on his shoulder, listening to his powerful, slightly rapid heartbeat, finally daring to believe she was safe.