Chapter 266: Do You Believe I’ll Blow Up Your West Mountain?

"Hmm? Why do you think this tunnel leads directly to Qian Duo Duo's house? Isn't this Qian Duo Duo’s estate?" Su Mali asked, confused.

Jing Shu shook her head. "I don't think Qian Duo Duo knows anything about this incident. I believe Lin Yi, the man impersonating your Uncle Gou, orchestrated the whole thing. He blocked the road to the West Mountain on purpose, making us take a detour, passing by Qian Duo Duo's estate deliberately."

"And then?" Su Mali blinked, unsure of the connection.

"To make it look like your last known location was Qian Duo Duo’s territory," Jing Shu explained, rolling her eyes. "Think about it. After you go missing, if your last known whereabouts were on Qian Duo Duo’s estate, how do you think your father will react?"

Su Mali's eyes widened in realization. "My father will probably go berserk and confront Qian Duo Duo! But if Qian Duo Duo has no idea what's going on, he’ll think my father is being unreasonable, and they might end up fighting each other."

"People at their level shouldn’t act so rashly, right?" Jing Shu touched her nose, thinking that powerful individuals should be more composed.

"You don’t know my father," Su Mali groaned, clutching her head. "Every time I’ve been kidnapped, he completely loses his mind! Oh no, we need to get out of here quickly and let my father know I’m safe, or he really might blow up West Mountain!"

Jing Shu frowned. Lin Yi must have known all this—was his goal simply to provoke a fight between the top two figures in Wucheng? Surely it wasn’t that simple.

"That’s why we need to take the underground tunnel. No one will expect us to go that way. Do you know how many of Lin Yi’s men are waiting for you above? And you’d really prefer to risk being eaten alive by the red threadworms in the rain?"

Su Mali shook her head vigorously.

"Good. Then let’s move quickly. I’m sure we won’t run into any more trouble. Trust me," Jing Shu said, pulling Su Mali along as they headed into the underground passage.

They returned to the same entrance from which they had escaped during the elevator horror earlier. The stones were still scattered on the ground, and the device that had crushed Wang Chuang had been partially repaired by Fatty and his men. As for the bodies, it was unclear where Fatty had disposed of them.

Jing Shu spent some time searching for the ‘elevator button’ to activate the mechanism but found nothing. She figured that only Lin Yi had control over the switches in this massive passage.

"Let’s go." Jing Shu climbed back in and helped Su Mali up. Though Su Mali was scared, she followed Jing Shu’s lead without protest. Despite her reluctance to take the underground tunnel, Jing Shu’s strong-willed nature made it hard for Su Mali to resist—she couldn’t help but obediently follow her, even though she felt ashamed of herself for being so weak.

Jing Shu moved quickly, continuously marking her location on her phone's map within her space. She didn’t know how deep the tunnel went, but there was no signal, and GPS wasn’t working either.

“I’m hungry,” Su Mali whimpered, clutching her growling stomach. She also felt cold, as the temperature in the underground tunnel was much lower.

Jing Shu had been hungry ever since she woke up. She pulled out a compressed biscuit from her pants pocket and handed it to Su Mali. “Chew it 28 times before swallowing.”

Su Mali nodded and took a small bite, chewing it carefully. “Oh my god, this is so good!” She chewed the biscuit like a satisfied little hamster.

With food in her belly, Su Mali picked up the pace. Meanwhile, Jing Shu munched on an assortment of snacks—chocolate, pistachios, nuts, and more—without Su Mali noticing. She didn’t even have to open her mouth; everything went straight into her stomach from her space.

"Three kilometers," Jing Shu noted.

"Four kilometers."

At first, there had been multiple branching paths, including the one they had passed through earlier. But as they went further, the tunnel became more linear, with no more junctions. The passage was crudely dug out, and it didn’t seem like something Qian Duo Duo would have built—it looked more like a smuggling tunnel.

"Poor rich people, their own homes being tunneled under without them even knowing! Whoever did this has grand ambitions."

"The side passages have all been sealed off. It seems Lin Yi wants us to keep heading toward some sort of endgame."

It was now 3:00 PM, and Su Mali had been missing for four or five hours. Who knew what was happening outside?

Jing Shu quickened her pace.

...

"They’ve chosen the underground route, have they? Then let’s proceed with Plan B," Lin Yi said, watching the movements on the nine-screen monitor. His lips curled into a sly smile.

"Understood, boss," came the response from the other end.

...

The rumor spread like wildfire: The daughter of Wucheng's gas tycoon, Su Xiangnan, had been kidnapped and imprisoned by Wucheng’s wealthiest man, Qian Duo Duo, due to his twisted desires!

In no time, the news had reached the highest echelons of Wucheng’s society. Concerned about the severity of the situation, the government immediately dispatched Wucheng’s First Special Forces Unit, with the Second Unit under Li Yitian on standby, ready for action at any moment.

Within just a few hours, thousands of people had swarmed West Mountain—the largest influx since the floods a few months ago.

When Qian Duo Duo heard the news, his first reaction was suspicion. "What’s this old fox up to now? Isn’t he tired of these games? Last time, Su Xiangnan really pulled a fast one on me."

The two had long been at odds. Su Xiangnan, as the heir to the local gas dynasty, had often clashed with Qian Duo Duo, the nouveau riche with government backing who controlled the region’s oil extraction. In twenty short years, Qian had risen to become Wucheng’s wealthiest man.

Su Xiangnan accused Qian Duo Duo of profiteering under the guise of national interests, while Qian accused Su Xiangnan of hoarding national resources. The two couldn’t stand each other.

But despite their rivalry, Qian Duo Duo had the government backing him, leaving Su Xiangnan on the losing side most of the time.

"Let’s talk this out, Brother Su," Qian Duo Duo said, calm and collected as he toyed with a walnut in his hand. "We don’t involve family in these matters. I’ve never even seen your daughter. This must be some kind of misunderstanding."

Su Xiangnan’s face grew even darker. Hands on his hips, he pointed at Qian Duo Duo. "Do you think I’m joking? Do you believe I’ll blow up your West Mountain? One shout from me, and the whole place will go up in flames!"

Just then... BANG!