Yu Hui was in danger
My heart clenched.
Before I could react, Yu Hui's voice suddenly came through the phone, hoarse and weak, as though he were holding back pain. "Sis... don't worry about me! I don't need you to! Whatever you do, don't come, do you hear me-ah!"
Before he could finish, a series of dull thuds followed as fists and feet struck him.
Chaos erupted on the other end, men's curses mingling with the dull sound of clubs striking flesh.
I nearly fell apart. My hands shook, and my voice went shrill. "Don't touch him! Tell me where you are!"
The man on the other end sneered. "Don't try anything. I'll send the address to your phone. Remember, you come alone."
"All right!" I practically screamed my agreement.
The call ended.
A second later, my phone chimed, and a location popped up-an old factory on the outskirts. I knew the place. It had long been abandoned and didn't even have streetlights.
I stared blankly at the screen, my mind a tangled mess.
I forced myself to calm down, then suddenly remembered that Yu Hui had been meeting with Gu Mingze lately to discuss working together. Could this have something to do with him?
I immediately called Gu Mingze. His phone was switched off.
I tried twice more. It was still switched off.
"Gu Mingze, what the hell are you doing?" I cursed under my breath, but a helpless chill welled up inside me.
An ominous feeling spread through my heart.
I gritted my teeth and decided to call the police anyway.
But just as I placed the call, a new video arrived from the other party.
In the footage, several men surrounded Yu Hui. He was covered in blood.
They lashed him with clubs and kicked him, continually slapping at the image in the video. "If you dare call the police, we guarantee you'll never see your brother's body in one piece again!"
At that moment, my heart went completely cold.
An empty terror all but swallowed me whole.
I knew Yu Hui had ended up like this because he was helping settle the family's debts.
If I didn't go, he might very well die.
I couldn't abandon him.
Even if... I had to trade myself for him.
I wiped the tears from my face, put on my coat, and headed out.
On the taxi ride to the outskirts, the driver glanced at the navigation and frowned. "Miss, this area's not safe. Someone was kidnapped around here a while back. What are you going there alone for? It's too dangerous."
I forced a faint smile. "It's fine. I'm going to see someone. I'll come straight back once I'm done."
The driver could tell something was off about my expression, but he didn't ask any more questions.
The farther we drove through the rainy night, the more desolate the road became. Outside the windows, the fog was so thick it seemed it would never dissolve.
The moment I got out, a chill seeped through the soles of my feet.
The factory entrance was dark and gloomy. Its sheet-metal doors were rusted and clanged in the wind.
As soon as I approached, two figures darted out.
Two young men with dyed blond hair chewed gum as they sized me up without restraint.
"Well, well," one of them said with a lecherous grin. "Who knew Yu Hui's sister was such a beauty? Tsk, that face, that figure..."
I took a deep breath, suppressed the fear in my heart, and asked coldly, "Where's my brother?"
The blond spat out his gum. "Waiting for you inside. Come on, quit dragging your feet."
He seized my arm with considerable force and dragged me through the half-open iron door.
The door slammed shut behind me, cutting off the wind and rain outside.
The corridor was pitch-black, with only a swaying lamp in the distance giving off a faint glow. The walls were peeling, broken cardboard boxes and rusty scraps of sheet metal littered the floor, and an indescribable bloody smell hung in the air.
Two or three blonds roughly shoved us farther inside. As the light reached the deepest part, I caught sight of a figure hanging in midair, his face swollen beyond recognition.
"Yu Hui!" I cried out, rushing forward before I could stop myself. But before I could touch him, a rough arm pinned me firmly from behind with such force that I could barely breathe.
Two blonds pinned me against the wall.
Only then did a bald leader emerge from the shadows, a gold chain swinging against his chest and a lecherous smile on his face.
He stopped in front of Yu Hui and looked down at him, saying flatly, "Money in one hand, the hostage in the other. Your brother stole something from our boss. Surely he deserved a little punishment."
"Sis... hurry and leave... they're not human."
Yu Hui roared at me with almost every ounce of strength he had.
But before his words had even faded, several more blows from the clubs landed on him, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
I feigned calm and negotiated with the bald man. "My family has money, but they favor sons over daughters. Let my brother go and keep me as a hostage. Only he can get the money..."
The moment Yu Hui heard my words, he understood.
He knew I wanted to trade my life for her.
Yu Hui struggled violently. "Don't listen to her nonsense! Our family went bankrupt ages ago. We still owe ten million in loan-shark debt. Let her go!"
The man with the gold chain was hardly willing to let this opportunity slip away. He looked at me with a wicked grin. "Miss Yu is quite a beauty. She's a lot more useful than this brat. Even if she can't come up with that much money, she can earn it back with that body."
Of course I knew what he meant, but to save Yu Hui, all I could do now was force myself to remain composed.
Yu Hui had clearly gone mad. He roared and cursed.
But it was utterly useless.
The bald man advanced toward me step by step, his eyes filled with greed and lust.
He said with a sinister grin, "How about you show me a good time first, Miss Yu? As long as you make me happy, I'll knock a million off the ransom. What do you say?"
The other blonds snickered too. "A million for a fuck? Even a gold-rimmed one wouldn't cost that much. What are you hesitating for? Get on your knees and service our boss!"
The bald man had reached me. One hand rubbed at his own thigh, while the other had already gripped my chin...