Chapter 1228 — The Purpose of the Kidnapping

"You and I have nothing to talk about." The man glanced at Feng Xiaoxiao. "And I've no breath to waste on you either. Put away your little schemes — don't imagine I can't see what you're thinking!"

Feng Xiaoxiao felt a sudden gloom. This one was plainly no fool; he had seen through her wish to slip away, and so had no mind to chat with her at all.

That said, the man paid her no further attention and dialed Feng Tianlong's number.

"Hello, this is Feng Tianlong." Feng Tianlong's voice came through the line.

"Feng Tianlong, is it? Hello there!" The instant the man heard his voice, he cackled aloud. "Hearing you puts me in a truly excellent mood!"

"Who is this?" The other's tone plainly startled Feng Tianlong into a pause. "What business do you have with me?"

"Oh, I've certainly got business with you!" The man glanced at Feng Xiaoxiao beside him. "Feng Tianlong, your precious daughter is in my hands right now. Well? Quite a shock, hearing that, isn't it?"

Feng Tianlong's heart clenched. Xiaoxiao, in his hands? Then just who was this man? What did he want? Was it as he said — or merely a scam call?

"Who exactly are you? What do you want?" Feng Tianlong was, after all, a man built for great undertakings; anxious as he was, his tone stayed steady.

"Feng Tianlong, surely you haven't forgotten so quickly whom you've made an enemy of?" The man gave a cold laugh. "It seems your memory isn't what it once was."

"If you won't even tell me who you are or what you want, there's no need for us to keep talking," Feng Tianlong said mildly.

He knew that if the man really had taken Feng Xiaoxiao, he must be after something. Rather than guessing back and forth, better to make him come out and say it. Feng Tianlong could not afford reckless speculation — secrecy was at stake here too; what if the man had been sent by someone to pry out hidden matters?

So Feng Tianlong was quite certain: if he stopped guessing, the other side would instead tell him the truth.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, the other's voice came tinged with irritation: "Feng Tianlong, if you dare hang up, your daughter is dead!"

"State your purpose. There's no need to threaten me — and whether my daughter is truly in your hands remains to be seen." As he spoke, Feng Tianlong glanced at Li Yifeng, who understood at once and began swiftly issuing orders to the technicians: trace the caller's location.

"Heh heh, Feng Tianlong, my purpose is simple: your daughter's life, in exchange for the safety of our second-in-command." The man had laid out his aim. He had meant to lead Feng Tianlong by the nose and pump a little inside information out of him, but Feng Tianlong was plainly no vegetarian; the plan had fallen through, and he had no choice but to speak his true purpose.

"Oh? Your second-in-command?" Feng Tianlong was briefly startled — and in that moment he could be entirely certain of the man's affiliation. "You're with the Red Conch?"

"Haha, so Mr. Feng isn't so slow after all. That's right, I'm with the Red Conch!" The man laughed heartily. "Since you know who I am, then one word: do you agree to my terms or not?"

"You want me to release your second-in-command?" Feng Tianlong frowned and asked mildly.

The man this fellow had come for was the bald one Wei Zhao and Feng Xiaoxiao had captured at the underground racing circuit! The Red Conch was an international criminal organization — and now that Feng Tianlong held their second-in-command, how could he possibly let him go so easily?

But if the man truly held Feng Xiaoxiao as a bargaining chip, what was he to choose? The greater good, or his own flesh and blood?

Feng Tianlong had never imagined that even as an agent, he too would face a moment of choice.

In that instant, for the first time, his heart was not calm — though on the surface he still wore his unruffled, steady look.

"Yes, it seems Mr. Feng understands my meaning." The man said, "The choice is yours, Mr. Feng. Your daughter can't be much more than seventeen or eighteen, surely — just at the age when a girl is like a flower, like jade. For her to die like this would be a pity."

"How do I know Xiaoxiao is really beside you?" Feng Tianlong glanced at Li Yifeng, who shook his head — clearly he had not yet traced the man's location.

"They're using an overseas telecom number; we'll have to break through several gateways..." Li Yifeng scribbled this line swiftly on a sheet of white paper and set it before Feng Tianlong.

Feng Tianlong nodded slightly, understanding: Li Yifeng meant for him to keep stalling, to buy the technicians time to crack it.

"Haha, Feng Tianlong, don't think I don't know what you're up to!" The man laughed with some disdain. "You just want to string a few more words out of me, to drag out the time so your men can find where I am — am I right or not?"

"Hmph. Think whatever you like. I simply want to confirm that my daughter really is with you!" Feng Tianlong had not expected his ruse to be seen through — but even so, he would not admit it.

"Fine, then I'll let you hear your daughter's voice, to set your mind at ease — and then we'll discuss whether this trade is workable." The man spoke as if it were nothing to him, then said to Feng Xiaoxiao, "Little girl, say something to your daddy!"

"..." Feng Xiaoxiao shut her mouth and said not a word.

Feng Xiaoxiao had been straining her ears at the man's conversation with her father the whole while; when she heard that her father was trying to stall for time to pin down their location, her thoughts turned at once to how she might help him drag things out.

When she heard the man demand that she say a word to her father, she hit upon a plan! If she simply refused to open her mouth, surely that would buy time — enough for her father to fix her location?

So Feng Xiaoxiao shut her mouth and said nothing.

Only that way, with her father unable to be sure whether she truly was in the man's hands, would the call drag on! It was the only thing Feng Xiaoxiao could do — the only thing at all!

Feng Xiaoxiao had no idea where she was. It was an unfamiliar room, seemingly in some ordinary dwelling, yet the living room held little furniture — only a sofa — and from where she sat she could not see out the window, so she had no way to judge her exact location.

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