Ling Chen felt a bit helpless. He understood Xu Ming’s point: because of him, the Eight Oddities had all beco criminals. Of course, Xu Ming’s words were not ant to bla Ling Chen or accuse him of implicating everyone, but rather to hope that he had a plan to deal with the current situation.
Ling Chen thought for a mont and asked, "Big brother, where is this place?"
"Martial Arts Academy," Qiu Yong replied. "It was opened by an old friend of mine, and it’s been closed for many years, unused and abandoned here. I’ve thought it over, and this place is quite secluded, with few residents, making it a suitable hideout. Until you figure out our next move, we can stay here for a while."
"That works." Ling Chen nodded. For now, this was the only option.
...
"What did you say?"
In the office of the Lonely Wolf’s headquarters, Qiao Zhen abruptly stood up from his chair, looking incredulously at Pang Jiulin. Frowning, he asked, "Are you sure this information is true?"
"General, it’s absolutely true. I’ve confird it multiple tis," Pang Jiulin said with a bittersweet smile. "Ling Chen not only escaped, but he also kidnapped the Prison Director of Yan City Prison. Additionally, he assisted other prisoners in breaking out successfully. According to the current numbers, more than thirty prisoners broke out, led by Ling Chen."
"Sigh!" Qiao Zhen sighed heavily and said in a low voice, "Didn’t I tell you to remind that kid Ling Chen to stay put in Yan City Prison and not do anything? Why didn’t he listen? Did you fail to convey my instructions clearly?"
"No, I was very clear. I told him we would do everything possible to get him out. Who knew he couldn’t hold out for a few days and just escaped. General, what do we do now? We spoke so highly of him to our superiors, and now that Ling Chen has escaped, they’re going to bla us. They might even suspect us of secretly aiding Ling Chen in escaping from Yan City Prison."
"Indeed." Qiao Zhen nodded and said, "That’s quite likely. Jiulin, you’re the new leader of Lonely Wolf, and the superiors will definitely co to you. You must find a way to handle this well, and ensure that this matter doesn’t affect Lonely Wolf."
"Don’t worry, General. I won’t let Lonely Wolf be affected."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the phone on the desk rang.
At Qiao Zhen’s signal, Pang Jiulin took a deep breath and picked up the phone, answering with a greeting.
As soon as he spoke, angry scolding ca from the other end. It was an admonishing superior, and Pang Jiulin didn’t dare to retort, so he listened obediently. After a few minutes, Pang Jiulin let out a bitter smile and put down the phone helplessly.
"How was it?" Qiao Zhen asked solemnly, "What did the higher-ups say?"
Pang Jiulin sighed, "General, I’m afraid Lonely Wolf is in big trouble this ti. The higher-ups have issued a clear order to catch Ling Chen and rescue Yu Peng within ten days. If we fail to do so within the ti limit, they will dissolve Lonely Wolf without any room for negotiation."
"Did they really say that?"
Pang Jiulin nodded and asked, "General, what should we do now?"
"Hmph!" Qiao Zhen couldn’t help but curse, "That brat Ling Chen is just a headache for . I’ve retired, and he still can’t let have so peace. Anyway! Jiulin, don’t worry about anything else. Just follow the superiors’ orders faithfully, mobilize all mbers of Lonely Wolf, and have them participate in the operation to capture Ling Chen. Rember, he must be captured alive, not a scratch on him. Do you hear ?"
"Rest assured, General. Even if you didn’t tell , I wouldn’t harm Ling Chen."
"Once I catch that brat, wait to see how I deal with him."
...
A night passed.
The next morning, Ling Chen woke up from the floor of the bedroom, looking at the sunlight streaming in through the window, and got up to go outside.
Although this Martial Arts Academy had been abandoned for many years, it was quite spacious, especially with a few hundred square ters of the courtyard out back that was once used for students to practice martial arts. The Academy had many rooms, but since no one had lived there for years, the rooms were very ssy.
However, given their current status as fugitives, there were no such concerns; as long as they could sleep soundly, it was enough.
Arriving at the courtyard, Ling Chen saw Tang Guolun was already up, jogging alone and exercising.
"Boss Tang." Ling Chen waved his hand, calling out from afar.
Seeing Ling Chen approaching, Tang Guolun stopped running, panting, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his clothes, smiling, "Why are you up so early?"
"I’m used to it. Besides, given the current situation, how could I sleep soundly?"
"That’s true. So, have you thought it over? Do you have a good plan?"
"Not yet. Based on my years of experience in special governnt departnts, the governnt has certainly received word and is conducting a city-wide search for us. The airport, train stations, highways, these places are probably under blockade; we cannot get near them."
"You’re right." Tang Guolun agreed, "Beijing is the capital of Huaxia, with higher security levels than other cities. If it were just one or two people, we might be able to sneak out using local resources, but we have three or four dozen people. We can’t all leave together without splitting up and going our separate ways."
"That’s what I thought too, so I wanted to discuss it with you." Ling Chen said, hesitating for a mont, as if he was about to say sothing but stopped.
Noticing Ling Chen’s odd expression, Tang Guolun asked, "What do you want to say? We’ve been through hardships together; there’s nothing we can’t talk about."
"Alright," Ling Chen nodded. "Boss Tang, since you put it that way, don’t bla for being blunt. Boss Tang, the dozen or so people you brought out this ti are all criminals, different from us. We were frad, but they are true criminals. By taking them out of prison, aren’t you..."
Before Ling Chen could finish, Tang Guolun couldn’t help but chuckle. He cut Ling Chen off, saying, "I understand what you’re getting at. You don’t want true criminals to wreak havoc on society again. But I assure you, they are absolutely eligible to leave Yan City Prison with ." Pausing, Tang Guolun continued earnestly, "Ling Chen, although I’m a criminal, my nature isn’t bad. And you should know ; I’ve never done anything harmful to society. Among the criminals I brought, each was carefully selected. Also, you might not know this, but they are victims in a way too, not really criminals."
Hearing this, Ling Chen asked puzzledly, "Boss Tang, what do you an? Are they not criminals?"
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