Home Invasion Kidnapping (Please Vote)

The next morning, the bookstore welcomed a special guest.

Hong Fei greeted her with a broad smile. "Ms. Mei, I'm very glad you could come. What would you like to drink—coffee, juice, or milk?"

"Milk. Hot or cold is fine, thank you."

May's tone and smile both carried a sense of distance. Clearly, she did not trust Hong Fei that much. Of course, Hong Fei preferred to believe it was a warning.

She was warning the young man before her not to entertain any improper thoughts.

Naturally, Hong Fei had not thought too much about it. He genuinely believed May was well suited to managing the bookstore.

After serving her warm milk, Hong Fei sat down and said, "Ms. Mei, have you considered it?"

Rather than answering immediately, May asked, "Mr. Hong, may I know why you want me to run this bookstore?"

"Of course." Hong Fei smiled as he explained, "Because you've run a shop before. It wasn't a bookstore, but I think the basics are similar. And honestly, I'm not very interested in running a bookstore. It was left behind by my parents, though, so I didn't want to close it outright. Also, because of Peter. We're friends, so naturally, I considered someone I knew first."

May knew Peter liked Hong Fei very much, but Peter probably did not see Hong Fei as merely a friend.

After a moment of silence, May nodded. "I'd be very willing to accept this position. That way, I'll have more time to spend with Peter. Thank you."

Hong Fei immediately waved his hand happily. "No need to be polite. I should thank you too. You've solved a major problem for me."

"Before I officially start, I'd like to know what you, as the owner, have in mind for the bookstore. Or rather, what are your expectations?"

Hong Fei shook his head. "No, none at all. Like I said, I have no interest in running a bookstore, much less any ideas about it. You'll be in charge of everything. I'll leave you some funds to use. You can keep things as they are or make major changes. Do you think one million is enough?"

May was instantly startled, but she quickly frowned and looked at Hong Fei warily. "One million is too much. I don't think a bookstore needs that much startup capital."

"Then how much do you think would be appropriate?"

May turned to look around the bookstore and shook her head. "I'm not sure yet. I can't give you a specific number."

"That's fine. Once you officially join, you can take your time thinking about it. There's no rush." After some thought, Hong Fei added, "Oh, right. The upstairs is all rooms. How about I arrange one for you and Peter directly? It's no smaller than where you live now. It would be more convenient for your work, and more convenient for Peter if he wants to read."

Without even thinking, May shook her head and refused. "No need. We're living quite well where we are."

Hong Fei could tell at once that his enthusiasm might have made her wary, but he really did not have Brother Mengde's sort of hobby!

"Mr. Hong, I'll need at least a week. I still need to hand over my current work. I'll come over on the first of next month."

"No problem."

May briskly got up and left, while Hong Fei let out a heavy breath.

May did not seem particularly relaxed, but was Master Hong any better?

Such a pretty widow was indeed attractive, but Hong Fei had no designs on her.

At least, not for now.

He wanted to hire a clerk, and May happened to want a new job. They had simply hit it off. With a plot character whose background he knew so well handling things, Hong Fei naturally felt more at ease.

After settling the matter, Hong Fei directly closed the store and went upstairs to knock on Frank's door.

The moment Frank opened it, he had nothing nice to say. "What do you want?"

Hong Fei walked in and sat down. "Have you watched the news?"

"I don't have time for that."

Hearing that, Hong Fei looked around at the guns, ammunition, and fitness equipment filling the room, then frowned. "Are you treating my place like a warehouse?"

Frank said, "Get to the point."

"Fine. I came to tell you that Kingpin is back."

Frank immediately locked the door. "How do you know?"

"From the news, of course. Didn't I tell you? In the public eye, he's a great philanthropist and spice merchant."

Frank sat down with a grim expression. "What do you want to do?"

The corners of Hong Fei's lips rose into a malicious smile.

After a long while, Hong Fei left Frank's room and returned to the bookstore. Frank did not remain long either. A few minutes later, he changed clothes and left through the back of the building.

Yet even after eleven that night, Hong Fei had not seen the person he was waiting for.

"Don't they want this land anymore?"

Naturally, Hong Fei was waiting for Hall from Fisk Industries, the young man who had no law license but did have a lawyer father.

But that did not seem to make sense. Hall was young and hot-blooded, and he did not seem to have a particularly good temper. Even if Fisk Industries had changed its mind and no longer wanted the land, Hall surely would not easily let go of his grudge against Hong Fei. After all, Master Hong had humiliated him in front of a group of thugs.

Kingpin, who had gone out to handle important business, had already returned. What were you still holding back for? Why not hurry up and bring people over to smash up the store?

After patiently waiting for nearly another hour, the clock struck midnight, and Hong Fei sighed as he got up to close the door.

Before going upstairs to sleep, Hong Fei specifically opened Shinigami Eye to take a look at the surging Dragon Qi indoors. Only then did he go to sleep comfortably.

Three in the morning.

Most of the city had already fallen into darkness. It was also the time when most people were sound asleep.

Yet at that moment, Hong Fei was suddenly awakened by an unusual sound.

Someone had opened his bedroom door.

Soon afterward, a series of footsteps followed. They varied in weight, clearly belonging to more than one person.

Hong Fei lightly rolled out of bed and used his phone to check the living room surveillance feed. Under night vision, three men were slowly pacing through the room. They had no guns, but each carried a baseball bat. More importantly, Hong Fei recognized their faces. They had all come to the bookstore with Hall before.

After a brief thought, Hong Fei turned off his phone and lay back down.

Not long after, the bedroom door was pushed open, and the three men approached one after another.

Hong Fei seemed to abruptly awaken from his sleep. His eyelids trembled slightly, and the three men immediately raised their baseball bats.

Hong Fei frantically lifted his hands to fight back, throwing a flurry of wild punches, only to be struck by the baseball bats until he screamed repeatedly.

Then, his hands and feet were pinned down, and a towel with a pungent smell was instantly pressed over his nose and mouth.

Hong Fei immediately held his breath. After putting up a brief show of struggling, his movements rapidly weakened until he passed out.

Afterward, one of them hoisted him over his shoulder and carried him downstairs. They passed through the bookstore's broken window into an alley, twisted and turned through several streets, then stuffed him into a beat-up car.

In the back seat, Hong Fei kept his eyes closed, allowing his body to sway from side to side with the vehicle's momentum.

In his mind, a clear driving route gradually appeared across a complete map of New York.

About forty minutes later, the vehicle began slowing down and gradually came to a stop.

The route on the map was complete, and Hong Fei continued to be carried farther inside.

Before long, he was thrown onto a chair, his body tightly bound with ropes.