Chapter 190: Nangong Bing Is Assassinated
Lin Zifeng chased out from the hotel only to find two men in black driving a Buick SUV, speeding away towards the outskirts of the city.
Lin Zifeng roared furiously. If only he had returned in time, noticed in time, then this wouldn’t have happened. To have someone taken away right under his watch was a silent disgrace that fueled his anger.
As far as Lin Zifeng could figure, Nangong Bing hadn’t offended anyone recently, had he?
So why had they abducted Nangong Bing? What was their purpose?
Now was not the time to ponder; Lin Zifeng randomly hailed a taxi and said urgently, "Driver, follow that car ahead. Stick to it, and I’ll pay you five times the fare. But if you lose it, I’ll throw you out."
The driver, a balding middle-aged man, upon hearing Lin Zifeng’s offer of quintuple pay, completely ignored the second half of Lin Zifeng’s threat and stepped on the gas, chasing after the Buick that was about to disappear.
And let’s not judge by appearances; though the driver seemed somewhat sleazy, his driving skills were impeccable. With a few stamps on the accelerator and a beautiful yet understated drift, he was quickly catching up to the Buick that had taken Nangong Bing.
"Driver, can you slow down a bit? Don’t get too close."
Lin Zifeng really wanted to know why these people had taken Nangong Bing, but he didn’t want to spook them by getting too close too soon. He preferred to follow them at a distance first to see what he could learn.
"Slow down? Alright!"
The middle-aged man didn’t think twice. Given Lin Zifeng’s promise of quintuple fare, whatever Lin Zifeng said, went. The customer is king, as the saying goes, which seemed to work quite well in this instance.
The taxi tried to maintain a distance from the Buick, trailing about a hundred meters behind, while Lin Zifeng racked his brain trying to recall who Nangong Bing had met recently and whom he had dealt with. Unfortunately, as far as Lin Zifeng remembered, Nangong Bing seemed to have stayed in the office most of the time, hardly interacting with anyone, let alone business rivals. Now that Nangong Bing had been taken in Yanjing, it was clear he had offended someone there. But who that was, Lin Zifeng couldn’t figure out.
Apparently, the Buick’s occupants hadn’t noticed that they were being shadowed. Amidst the bustling night market, with constant traffic, the black-clad men in the Buick paid little attention.
Along the way, Lin Zifeng had the taxi driver dim the lights to avoid being spotted by the vehicle ahead. But as they followed, the Buick carrying Nangong Bing suddenly headed towards the suburbs of Yanjing. As they were about to disappear into the rural area, the taxi driver grew fearful.
In the dead of night, following an unknown vehicle towards the suburbs, and on top of that tailing someone—it was anyone’s guess who the other party was, and who the passenger in his own car might be.
At first, the middle-aged driver thought they were just circling around the city, but as they drove, they ended up in the suburbs, and he finally began to feel uneasy.
"Brother, where are we headed? It’s pitch-black this late at night," he inquired.
Having driven a taxi for several years, he could usually guess the intentions and destinations of his customers. Because Lin Zifeng had promised him five times the normal fare when he got in the car, the driver hadn’t given it much thought and agreed immediately. But now, thinking back, he realized that there is no such thing as a free lunch falling from the sky, and the driver began to feel puzzled.
"Master, as long as you keep up with the car in front, anything that money can solve is not a problem." Lin Zifeng replied briskly, yet his gaze remained tightly fixed on the movements of the car ahead, ready to rush forward if Nangong Bing encountered any mishap inside the vehicle.
But then again, if they really wanted to harm Nangong Bing, they wouldn’t go through such a big fuss to kidnap her. Who would want to do such a thankless task?
"It’s true what they say, if money can solve it, it’s not a problem, but if you only have money and no life to spend it, I’d rather not have the money."
The middle-aged driver was internally terrified, wondering what kind of person his passenger was. If things turned out like in the TV dramas, then wouldn’t he be done for?
He then forced a wide, awkward smile and said, "Look here, big brother, how about you get off, I won’t take the fare, and I’ll even give you an extra hundred bucks, okay?"
While driving, the middle-aged driver kept looking back at Lin Zifeng’s facial expressions, fearing that any moment Lin Zifeng might get angry and throw him out of the car, which would be a loss indeed.
Seeing his driving speed decrease more and more, Lin Zifeng laughed, a laugh filled with desolation, even a touch of bitter humor.
"Master, I’ll give you ten times the amount."
"Ah, look, big brother, it’s not about the money at all. You’re asking me to work for you late at night, I’ve come this far, and my wife and kids are waiting for me to eat dinner. Today’s my wife’s birthday, and as a husband, I should at least go back to be with her, right? Money is good, but it’s not as good as family."
The middle-aged driver quickly threw out the family card, attempting to gain Lin Zifeng’s sympathy with this soap opera-like excuse.
He really didn’t have the nerve to follow any further, now that they had left the national highway and were heading towards the suburbs of Yanjing. As a local of Yanjing, he knew all too well what kind of place the suburbs were. If he continued to follow, his own life might be at stake. The world is so chaotic, it would be foolish to lose one’s life over a little money.
"Ah, master, I understand you have your own difficulties, if you really don’t want to go, then let me go catch the adulterous couple alone. Anyway, I have to catch that couple today no matter what. Otherwise, I’ll be wearing this green hat quite uncomfortably."
As he spoke, Lin Zifeng put on a look of desolate misery, sighing and shaking his head dejectedly.
Upon hearing Lin Zifeng’s words, the middle-aged driver did not slow down but became somewhat perplexed and asked, "What do you mean by that, brother? Can you clarify? "
"Ah. It’s embarrassing to air one’s dirty laundry, but since big brother wants to know, I’ll tell you all about it." Lin Zifeng said with a pained expression and a heavy sigh, "If I may speak frankly, the reason I asked you to follow that car is because my wife is inside. She promised to be home for dinner tonight but ended up going to a hotel with another man. I found out and am now following them as they drive toward the outskirts of town. She’s cheating on me."
"What! There’s actually such a thing? Brother, don’t worry, you’re lucky you met me today. I’ll make sure to help you get justice. Damn it, I hate nothing more than unfaithful women and the dogs that seduce other men’s wives."
Considering Lin Zifeng got into the car from a hotel entrance, the middle-aged driver became even more certain of his guess, and without saying anything further, he stepped hard on the gas to chase after the car.
And he did it with the air of someone who can’t stand to see injustice and rushes to help.
He had intended to use this as a reason to let Lin Zifeng let him go, but now he was gradually falling into Lin Zifeng’s trap step by step.