Danger Approaches

In the second month of Hou Rui's abduction, the German female hostage was released. Naturally, the Muslim Brotherhood did not hesitate to collect a ransom of $500,000. Regardless of the details, the successful redemption of this hostage gave Jin Shanshan a glimmer of hope for rescuing Hou Rui.

However, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. When the Muslim Brotherhood and the Cairo police were exchanging the second hostage—the German fellow—a major flaw occurred. After a brief gunfight between the two sides, two police officers were wounded, one Muslim Brotherhood member was killed, and the German guy, who had been recaptured by the Muslim Brotherhood, completely vanished without a trace. Three days later, a video of the German guy being beheaded appeared on the internet.

This unexpected event delivered a severe shock to Jin Shanshan, pushing her to the verge of a nervous breakdown driven by tension and despair. Thanks to the comfort and support of Wang Si and Chen Xiangyu, Jin Shanshan managed to grit her teeth and pull through, right up until she received the good news that Hou Rui had been rescued in a raid by the Cairo police.

Now that Jin Shanshan could finally hold Hou Rui's hand once again, she felt that no matter how much suffering she had endured, it was entirely worth it.

On the other side, Hou Rui had actually woken up the moment Jin Shanshan entered the room. He was merely feigning sleep, and his reason for doing so was that he did not know how to face Jin Shanshan.

Back in the Liberators League, the affair between Hou Rui and Judy could still be considered a minor issue. However, while Hou Rui was locked up and starved by the Muslim Brotherhood, the abundance of free time allowed him to review and reflect thoroughly on his experiences within the League over the past three months. As a result, Hou Rui came to a definitive realization: he was no longer the same person who had first stepped foot onto the African continent. By now, Hou Rui was beginning to feel entirely accustomed to acts of murder and dismemberment.

The ensuing question was whether someone who had degenerated to this extent could still be with Jin Shanshan. Hou Rui's mind was in utter turmoil; he was no longer certain!

"Hou Rui, Hou Rui, it's Shanhaijing!" After enduring for over half an hour, Jin Shanshan finally could not help but call out softly.

Seeing that Hou Rui still maintained the appearance of being fast asleep, Jin Shanshan began to recount to him all her experiences over the past three months. Gradually, Hou Rui, who kept his eyes tightly closed but was deeply moved by Jin Shanshan's persistence, made up his mind. He would disregard any regulations of the organization, and he would ignore the disparities in their identities. For a girl like Jin Shanshan—a girl whom he deeply loved from the bottom of his heart—Hou Rui decided he would never give up, no matter what.

"I'm back!" Having made his decision, Hou Rui's mood instantly lifted. He first gently squeezed Jin Shanshan's hands with his own, then opened his eyes and said to her tenderly.

"You damn monkey, you—you scared me to death, sob, sob, sob..." Having remained strong for three months and endured for three months, Jin Shanshan was finally able to release her emotions and cry heartily. After hesitating for a moment, Hou Rui firmly reached out and tightly embraced Jin Shanshan's heaving back.

Three days later, Jin Shanshan pushed Hou Rui in a wheelchair as he left the hospital ward for the first time.

Five days later, Hou Rui was already able to walk in the hospital garden with Jin Shanshan's support.

A week later, Hou Rui, eagerly yearning to return home, had Jin Shanshan book plane tickets. Shortly after, the two of them boarded an EgyptAir A330 and flew back to Beijing.

Standing at the customs checkpoint of the Beijing Capital International Airport, Hou Rui looked toward the exit gate with lingering anxiety. He worried that his identity as a survivor of both an airplane crash and a transnational kidnapping would be heavily sensationalized by the media. If this led to excessive exposure and aroused the organization's vigilance, it would spell serious trouble.

To his surprise, however, the reality was precisely the opposite. After Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan exited the gate, not a single media reporter was in sight, and even the customs inspection officers barely cast a glance at the two of them.

Filled with suspicion, Hou Rui immediately took out his mobile phone to browse the internet. After checking major domestic media websites, he discovered not a single trace of news about himself. Finding this incredible, Hou Rui quietly asked Jin Shanshan. Her explanation was that the Foreign Affairs Office had issued a gag order, wishing to prevent Hou Rui's kidnapping from becoming talking points for various domestic media outlets amidst the political instability in Egypt. Consequently, news of Hou Rui rescuing the airliner had also been suppressed along with it.

So that was how it was! I actually thought the organization had stepped in to resolve the problem for me!

Just as Hou Rui was secretly rejoicing, a woman he had met twice before suddenly appeared. It was the woman named Sister Hong whom Hou Rui had previously encountered at the shooting range and the local police station.

Dressed in a well-fitted dark professional suit and wearing a strictly businesslike expression, Sister Hong strode through the crowd, closely followed by two assistants in their early twenties. At a glance, the three of them looked like staff members dispatched from the same department, as their pacing, expressions, and even movements were synchronized to a high degree. From a distance, they resembled a neatly aligned set of robots.

However, Hou Rui, having received training on Zero Island, knew that the stiffer and more rigid such administrative personnel appeared, the more terrifyingly efficient and accurate they would be when executing orders. This was because they had been trained essentially as components of a machine. According to the original words of the instructors on Zero Island, if one encountered these mass-produced robots, absolute misfortune was bound to follow.

Just as Hou Rui's vigilance peaked, the three-person group led by Sister Hong stood directly before him.

"Hello, Mr. Hou Rui. I am Chen Yanhong, a staff member from the office affiliated with the Foreign Affairs Office. Regarding your recent ordeal in Cairo, I need to confirm a few matters with you on behalf of the state," Sister Hong said, her expression solemn as she looked at Hou Rui's still-paleness and spoke at a slightly brisk pace.

Hearing this, Hou Rui's heart skipped a beat. After all, with such a major incident happening to him, it was unrealistic to expect it to completely escape the notice of the relevant authorities. Yet, Hou Rui never anticipated that the moment he stepped off the plane, state department personnel would already be waiting for him.

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Seeing that Hou Rui did not answer immediately, a young man trailing behind Sister Hong questioned him with an unfriendly tone.

"Hehe, there's no problem. But I've just flown for ten hours, and my body hasn't fully recovered. Could I answer your questions in a few days? I'd like to go home first to see my parents," Hou Rui replied, putting on a modest smile and using a consultative tone. However, the excuse for delay he put forward was righteous and unassailable.

"You!" The young man behind Sister Hong did not expect Hou Rui to actually—and dare to—refuse him. Just as he was about to reveal his identity, Sister Hong abruptly intervened.

"Well then, Mr. Hou, take a few days to rest and attend to your personal affairs first. Here is my business card. Please contact us whenever it is convenient for you. Our inquiries follow standard procedures; the sooner they begin, the sooner they conclude." Sister Hong reached out to stop the subordinate who was about to speak, turned around, and handed Hou Rui a business card. She maintained an understanding demeanor, showing none of the overbearing airs typical of government officials wielding power.

"Alright, alright. Thank you for your understanding. I will contact you as soon as I am settled," Hou Rui eagerly took the easy way out. Accepting the card, he pulled a bewildered Jin Shanshan around Sister Hong's group and continued walking toward the airport exit.

After the two of them walked away, the subordinate whom Sister Hong had just restrained was about to question her when Sister Hong gave a decisive order: "Notify the surveillance team to immediately place this individual under twenty-four-hour communication monitoring. The moment any issue is discovered, take him into custody immediately."

"Understood, Team Leader." Only then did the young man comprehend the profound intention behind Sister Hong's long-term strategy of letting Hou Rui expose his own flaws.

While the state machinery represented by Sister Hong and her team began to operate quietly, Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan had already reached the airport lobby. Amidst the bustling crowd, Hou Rui habitually continued to observe his surroundings.

Directly ahead of Hou Rui, aside from a few individual travelers pushing luggage carts, was a tour group of thirty-four elderly people. They appeared to have just arrived at the airport and were preparing to travel somewhere. Wearing uniform caps and holding small flags, they brushed past Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan.

Glancing further to the right, Hou Rui spotted a couple passionately kissing in a parting embrace. Stepping around them to continue his survey, he noticed two stylishly dressed girls standing by a pillar, heads bowed as they played on their phones and listened to music. Just as Hou Rui's gaze lingered briefly on the pillar and then shifted away, an inconspicuous, short middle-aged man wearing thick-rimmed glasses slowly emerged from behind the pillar.

Through thick lenses, this middle-aged man—someone who would instantly vanish if thrown into a crowd—stared silently at Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan through the narrow gap between the two girls. His eyes tracked their figures, revealing a look of deep interest. Shortly afterward, when Sister Hong and her three companions also strode over, the middle-aged man instantly concealed himself behind the pillar once again. From beginning to end, neither Hou Rui nor Sister Hong's faction detected the presence of this middle-aged man.

If Old Xiao had been present, he would have instantly recognized that this bespectacled fellow was none other than the Wood Demon, whom Hou Rui had overlooked. He had finally tracked him down!

Remaining completely oblivious to this second wave of danger quietly closing in on them, the moment Hou Rui and Jin Shanshan stepped out of the airport lobby doors, someone Hou Rui would never have expected in his wildest dreams was waiting for them by the driveway. Wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a tailored suit, Zhou Xing was actually smiling as he pulled open the car door for Hou Rui.

"Why are you here?" Hou Rui asked in astonishment as he looked at Zhou Xing's face. Although his tone sounded calm, a monstrous tempest was raging within his heart!

Why would Zhou Xing come to pick him up? What kind of conspiracy was this vicious, smiling tiger plotting this time? If the intention was to deal with him, there would be no need for Zhou Xing to show his face personally, right?