Chapter 269: I'm Going to Find the Explosives (Second Update)

Wearing his traditional Tang suit, Qian Duo Duo looked a bit disheveled, his face covered in dust from the collapsing villa. However, he quickly composed himself and began issuing orders: "Ba Fu, check which areas have been hit by the explosions and report the current situation. See if there are any casualties! And make sure someone is watching the situation at the castle!"

Managing a sprawling estate like Xishan had its downsides, and with so many areas affected, someone had to be in charge of assessing the damage. Ba Fu, a young man, was already furiously typing away on his tablet, recording and relaying information, as more than 600 people on Xishan mobilized swiftly.

Su Xiangnan furrowed his brows, sensing that something was off. He hadn’t given any orders for the gas canisters to explode! Just as he was about to clarify, his phone rang—it was Jing Shu's number!

A tearful voice came through the phone: "Daddy, it's me. I'm with Jing Shu, and we're safe now. Where are you?"

Everyone in the room let out a collective sigh of relief—this little troublemaker was safe, thank goodness!

Su Xiangnan's heart, which had been tight with worry, softened hearing his daughter’s voice. "As long as you’re safe. Where are you? What about Ah Gou and the bodyguards? I’ll send someone to pick you up immediately. I'm currently at Qian Duo Duo’s guest villa."

It was highly likely that Ah Gou had been a traitor!

"Uncle Gou and the bodyguards are dead. *Sobs*... Jing Shu says the people who kidnapped me wanted to provoke you two into fighting, so don’t trust anyone who’s trying to mislead you into conflict! I... I don’t know where I am exactly. After coming up from the tunnel, it looks like we’re in a castle or something."

"Got it. Keep your phone on so I can track your location. Stay where you are, and I’ll come for you soon. I won’t let anything happen between me and Qian Duo Duo, I promise."

As Su Xiangnan hung up, his emotions were mixed. Something still didn’t sit right with him. There were too many suspicious elements to this. Yet, for now, the safety of his daughter was his top priority. "Quick, track Jing Shu's phone location."

Qian Duo Duo had his own set of concerns. How did Su Xiangnan’s daughter end up in his castle? Weren’t they supposed to be running through underground tunnels? Something didn’t add up, and the more he thought about it, the more suspicious the situation seemed. Was this all some kind of setup?

"Now that your daughter’s safe, how about putting an end to those explosions outside?" Qian Duo Duo said, his voice tinged with impatience. "Energy is tight as it is. You and I both have to contribute a lot toward the artificial sun project."

Su Xiangnan quickly explained, "The explosions outside weren’t my doing! I didn’t order those gas canisters to blow, nor did I authorize any such attacks. Someone else is pulling the strings here, trying to pit us against each other. Now that my daughter is safe, there’s no need for us to fight. It’s clear someone wants to see us tear each other apart so they can profit."

Qian Duo Duo’s expression darkened. He gestured to Ba Fu. "Tell him what we just found out."

Ba Fu stepped forward. "Mr. Su, we just received information that over twenty of your men emerged from the underground tunnels. They set off a gas canister, igniting multiple explosions before fleeing the scene. So far, they’ve destroyed a breeding farm, an agricultural plot, and three residential houses. We’ve already dispatched security to apprehend them."

"This is a setup! A clear frame-up!" Su Xiangnan was adamant. "Qian, I need to fetch my daughter first. After that, we can resolve everything."

"Fine," Qian Duo Duo said, though clearly skeptical. "Let’s go. I’ll come along and make sure this doesn’t turn into some kind of trick."

The journey to retrieve Su Xiangnan’s daughter began, and along the way, the government’s dispatched task force finally made it through the blocked roads and arrived at Xishan. Qian Duo Duo felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Quick, get them to join us. With them here, I’ll feel a lot more at ease."

They followed the location from Jing Shu’s phone and, as expected, it led them to Qian Duo Duo’s castle.

"My own castle has an underground tunnel? How could this be possible?" Qian Duo Duo muttered, his face filled with doubt. He quickly ordered Wu Fu to ensure the safety of his wife and children while deploying more personnel to investigate the castle grounds.

...

"You stay here and wait for your father," Jing Shu said, leaving her newly switched phone with Su Mali, along with a ration of compressed food.

"Where are you going? And why did those people choose Qian Duo Duo’s place? What are they planning?" Su Mali clung to Jing Shu’s sleeve, fear evident in her eyes.

"I need to check something out. There must be more than one tunnel here," Jing Shu said, her tone filled with urgency.

"But we only saw one tunnel when we came up! Let the adults handle this. What can we possibly do?" Su Mali said, her voice trembling with fear.

Jing Shu’s instincts told her otherwise. She felt that she and Su Mali were mere pawns in a much larger scheme. "I suspect Lin Yi wants to blow up Xishan. I have to make sure," she said, heading back down the underground tunnel, leaving Su Mali to await her father’s arrival with tearful eyes.

Jing Shu’s hunch was growing stronger by the second. As she recalled the explosive sounds from earlier, the possibility of Lin Yi’s sinister plot to destroy Xishan became clearer in her mind. A memory resurfaced: about a year ago, the notorious Zhetian organization had stirred up rumors of wanting to blow up Xishan and rob Qian Duo Duo. At the time, it had seemed like an absurd joke. After all, Qian Duo Duo was untouchable, with 600 people serving his family alone...

But now, things felt different. Could this outrageous claim actually come to pass?