With nothing better to do after returning home, Ye Feng took out his phone and started playing with it. Although his phone was quite old, it was still good enough for reading news and playing simple games.
As soon as he opened the trending news section, a bright red highlighted headline caught his eye:
"Shocking Scandal! Rising Actress Exposes Casting Couch by Company Executive, Now Blacklisted and Missing!"
"Seems like even in this unfamiliar world, there are still predators around. Though the editor who managed to break this news is quite impressive," Ye Feng commented before continuing to scroll down. After all, in this world, he was merely existing as an ordinary person.
As he scrolled further, there were just celebrity gossip and everyday life stories. Ye Feng quickly lost interest and turned off his phone to prepare dinner, completely unaware of an inconspicuous piece of foreign news:
A notorious foreign mercenary squad has vanished without a trace, reportedly heading to an Eastern country for unknown purposes.
......
"Miss Su, someone is here to see you," Ah Fu's voice came from outside just as Su Yuxin and Li Mucheng finished their embrace.
Su Yuxin knew who had come for her, and she looked at Li Mucheng reluctantly: "Mucheng, I have to go. Father sent someone for me."
"Go ahead, Yuxin. We'll meet again when I'm better."
"Yes, please take good care of yourself. I'll definitely come back when I can."
"Alright, have a safe journey."
"Goodbye, Mucheng~"
After bidding farewell to her dear friend Su Yuxin, the smile on Li Mucheng's face visibly faded. She gazed at the setting sun through the window, seemingly mumbling something.
"Yuxin... it's not too late to turn back now. Can't we go back to how close we used to be? Please don't continue down this path, I beg you..."
......
"Tch... why do I feel so unsettled?"
Ye Feng looked out the window with complicated feelings, even the noodles he had just made didn't seem as appetizing anymore.
"Must be because I haven't been sleeping well these days."
After careful consideration, Ye Feng settled on this conclusion and opened his system interface out of boredom.
Everything displayed on the interface remained unchanged, with Li Mucheng's profile progress still stuck at 50%, as if everything had reached a stalemate.
"This won't do. At this rate, who knows how long it'll take to truly gain freedom just by completing one task. Where on earth is this Su Yuxin from Task Three? The task doesn't give any hints at all. At least when kidnapping Li Mucheng, they revealed she was a corporate heiress, but now the difficulty just keeps increasing."
Just as Ye Feng was pondering, a crisp system notification interrupted his thoughts.
[Emergency Task Released. Please proceed to designated location within the time limit to complete the mission]
Hearing this announcement, Ye Feng was momentarily stunned. This was his first encounter with a so-called emergency task in the system. Nervously, he quickly opened the system page to check the task details while preparing to head out.
[Emergency Task: Kidnap Xie Yuyan from West Alley]
[Time Limit: 10 minutes]
[Task Completion Rewards: Master Key x1, Firearms Mastery (Intermediate), 15 days of Life Time, Enhancement Point x1]
[Task Failure Penalty: 30 days of Life Time]
"Damn it!"
After reviewing the task, even someone as composed as Ye Feng couldn't help but curse. The thought of losing the life time he had worked so hard to earn was infuriating. Although the emergency task's rewards were quite substantial, its sudden appearance put him at a disadvantage.
On one hand, he had no preparation; on the other hand, time was extremely tight, leaving no room even for thinking. If the destination turned out to be dangerous, he would be finished.
Seeing the situation, Ye Feng took out a half-face rabbit mask from his wardrobe, along with a dagger hidden in the compartment, and quickly ran out the door.
......
"Slap!"
Along with the sound of a slap, a man in a suit was glaring angrily at the bald man before him.
"Useless! You can't even keep watch over one woman, what good are you?"
The bald man who had been slapped didn't hesitate before dropping to his knees with a "thud" in front of the man.
"Boss, this isn't my fault! We had caught the girl and got her in the car, but somehow her handcuffs opened by themselves, and she injured several of our brothers."
"Handcuffs opened by themselves? Do you take me for a fool? I told you she was a dangerous person from the organization requiring special treatment, and you thought just handcuffs would be enough?"
"I'm sorry, Boss! I, Baldy, was careless. Our men injured her, she couldn't have gone far. I'll personally bring that woman before you when we find her!"
Seeing the man's face growing increasingly dark, the bald man frightfully kowtowed several times.
"I'll give you ten more minutes to find her. Remember, this is the old district. If anyone discovers this... you'll all answer to the President with your heads."
"Yes! Please rest assured, sir!"
"Remember, keep a low profile and don't let ordinary people notice. And no bloodshed - the police station is watching us closely."
The bald man, grateful for the reprieve, quickly got up and led his subordinates in pursuit of the woman's escape route.
"Tch, truly a bunch of incompetent fools."
......
"Hah... hah... hah..."
At this moment, a figure was darting through the unlit alleys of West Street. From the silhouette, it appeared to be a woman.
The woman was breathing heavily, looking back every few steps as if watching out for something.
No... not good, the drug is taking effect.
Xie Yuyan realized the dire situation. Although she had managed to break free from the handcuffs in the car, during the fight she had been cut on her abdomen. While the wound wasn't deep, the blade had been coated with a special anesthetic poison - anyone cut by it would gradually lose mobility before falling unconscious.
Damn it... is this how it ends? I can't accept this... I won't accept this!
Xie Yuyan bit her lip hard, trying to stay alert while continuing forward.
Though she didn't know where to go, as long as she got further away from those people, she might survive.
"Xie Yuyan?"
Just as she was about to leave the alley, a man wearing a rabbit mask appeared at the exit, blocking her path.
"Sorry, I don't know who you're talking about."
Xie Yuyan calmly answered the man's question, showing no signs of weakness.
"Is that so? Then why is your hand reaching for the knife hidden at your waist?"
"......"