Back To The 80s-Chapter 186: Foolishness_1

Upon hearing this, Jiujiu’s eyes reddened in anxiety. Chen Gang didn’t have time for further explanation. He quickly loosened the school bag on his back and the sandbag around his leg, and bolted off in the direction of Gu Xiaobei’s kidnapping.

Dadong and Xiaodong had fought with their classmates that afternoon. Jiujiu had tried to break up the fight and hurt her leg in the process. Dadong and Xiaodong, however, was called up by the teacher to clean up the playground as punishment. Anxious about the liability that the child’s injury at the school might bring, the teacher had sent for their parents.

The sky was as dark as ink, and a gust of autumn wind began to blow. Large drops of rain started to fall.

Jiujiu was unsure when the brothers would return. Feeling the urgency of informing the adults about the situation, she used the tree trunk as a support to get up. Trying her injured right leg, it hurt, but she was able to walk with a limp. And so she hobbled towards the military camp.

The guard at the entrance was taken aback and informed the soldier on duty to check.

The soldier ran out and noticed that it was the little girl fostered by the squad leader’s family.

"Quickly...my aunt was kidnapped by bad people..." Jiujiu, at last unable to bear it, burst into tears.

The soldier immediately took Jiujiu to the duty room and dialed Guo Huaqiang, who was on duty at the battalion.

......

When Gu Xiaobei regained consciousness, she realized she was bound hand and foot. She glanced down at her clothes which were still intact, and sighed in relief.

Gu Xiaobei surveyed her surroundings. She was in a shoddy structure that looked like a shack. Because of the gloomy light, she could not clearly see the interior layout. From outside, it sounded like it was raining. She had no idea where she was.

A gruff voice from the next room echoed: "Who the hell ordered you guys to kidnap her now? As soon as she goes missing, the troops will be alerted, jeopardizing our entire plan. How can you two be so stupid?"

"We’ve been waiting for days and she only came out today. We feared she might not come out in the following days, so we kidnapped her now." As soon as this voice rang out, Gu Xiaobei recognised it—it was Li Hao. This shabby, shack-like dwelling was actually a suite.

The gruff voice sounded again: "Absurd! Do you realise the enormity of the trouble you’ve stirred up? You two numbskulls, keep a close eye on her these few days." Gu Xiaobei suddenly found the voice very familiar.

Li Hao spoke again: "When are we taking her away?"

"Wait for Lu Zhanguo’s move. How did Chi Xiaoyue relay the command to you? You messed up everything! If we fail this time, you and everyone in this room are done for." The gruff voice spoke menacingly.

The more Gu Xiaobei listened, the more familiar the voice became. She widened her eyes in surprise, was it him? How was it possible?

Thereafter, the sound of a slammed door indicated someone had left. It seemed that she was in an inner room.

After a while, the door opened. Li Hao came in carrying a lantern. His face appeared savage under the dim light.

"You’re awake? Surprised to see me?" Li Hao squatted down in front of Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei remained silent with lowered eyes. She knew there was a possibility that any word she speak might set Li Hao off.

Li Hao continued to talk: "Aren’t you normally quite talkative? On normal days, aren’t you very arrogant? Why so quiet now?"

Gu Xiaobei kept her head down and didn’t utter a word, utterly indifferent to Li Hao’s taunts.

"Actually, you shouldn’t blame me. If there’s someone to blame, blame women, whose jealousy knows no bounds. She insists on having you dead." Gu Xiaobei inferred from Li Hao’s words that Chi Xiaoyue was intent on having her killed this time.

Seeing that Gu Xiaobei remained silent, Li Hao said: "I know you look down on me, but that’s not my fault; blame it on my fate of not being born in a good family. If not for that, would I be in such a state?"

As Gu Xiaobei gave no response, Li Hao said a few more words and feeling a strong urge to smoke, he yawned, muttered something under his breath and left with the lantern.

Once again, the room was plunged into darkness. Gu Xiaobei tried to move her stiff body. Currently, she could either wait for Lu Zhanguo to rescue her or save herself. But waiting for Lu Zhanguo was obviously not practical. There were no surveillance cameras on the road so there was no way to track her down, she had to save herself.

It was pitch-dark and she couldn’t see anything. She decided to wait until daybreak.

......

Guo Huaqiang received the call, enraged to the point he wanted to slam the phone down. Despite being extremely cautious, things had still gone awry. This matter couldn’t be hidden from Lu Zhanguo.

After walking around his office for quite a while, Guo Huaqiang decided to meet Lu Zhanguo.

Lu Zhanguo hadn’t participated in the ongoing drill this time, instead, he was holed up in the air defense bunker. Guo Huaqiang entered the air defense bunker with a flashlight. Seeing Lu Zhanguo sitting against the wall, he switched on the lantern and was at a loss for words.

"Why are you here? Is there a problem?" Lu Zhanguo asked Guo Huaqiang in a grave tone.

"Our little sister is in trouble, she’s been kidnapped." As soon as Guo Huaqiang finished his sentence, Lu Zhanguo’s eyes turned sharp as an eagle’s.

Watching Lu Zhanguo remaining silent, Guo Huaqiang had to continue: "She was kidnapped on her way to school. Chen Gang went after her, but we are not sure whether he would be able to track them down. Should we adjust our plan?"

"No need, you can leave." Lu Zhanguo lowered his eyes and spoke calmly.

"What about our little sister? Shouldn’t we send people out to look for her?" Guo Huaqiang expressed his worry.

"Don’t send out anyone, it will only put Xiaobei in more danger. She should be safe at present. They are just waiting for the right opportunity." For a moment, Lu Zhanguo was in a state of confusion but he quickly regained his composure and analyzed the situation.

"But..." Guo Huaqiang hesitated to continue.

"No buts, proceed with the original plan." After saying this, Lu Zhanguo closed his eyes. He thought, considering the timing, these people should make their move soon. Gu Xiaobei has been very clever, he was confident she would be alright.

......

As soon as the sky cleared next day, Gu Xiaobei woke up promptly. She had spent the whole night drifting in and out of sleep.

Li Hao barged in through the door: "Awake yet?"

"Li Hao, could you untie my hands? I need to use the restroom." Gu Xiaobei spoke as calmly as possible.

"How troublesome." Although Li Hao was annoyed, he undid Gu Xiaobei’s ropes. He didn’t think a woman could run away.

Gu Xiaobei flexed her hand and foot. Li Hao urged: "Hurried up. You just go to the back of the house after you leave. If you don’t come out after five minutes, I’m coming in there to get you."

Gu Xiaobei followed Li Hao out of the room. She noticed another burly man lay on a straw mat in the outer room, snoring loudly. Her heart sunk. Escaping was absolutely impossible.

Outside, she realized that the house was built halfway up the hill, with two low, thatch-roofed rooms and a row of fences like a cattle pen by the side.

Gu Xiaobei looked around. If she ran, there were neither houses nor shelters in sight. They could easily recapture her. That’s probably why Li Hao let her out so confidently.

"You’re going to the back of the house. Wrap it up quick." Li Hao said, gruffly.