Chapter 91 – Hostage Coercion
Lawson left first, while Ansair, Nadia, and the two children stayed a few more days.
Lottie and Hailey needed large quantities of magic meals, which couldn’t be bought at the Mo Yu shop, so meals were delivered to them every day, morning, noon, and night.
A week later, as expected, Hailey successfully awakened her Merfolk bloodline. However, when Ansair poured seawater on her, little Hailey screamed in pain, tears streaming down her face.
The transformation was painful even for adults—how much more so for a child?
Though Hailey had awakened, Lottie showed no signs yet. Seeing the webs between his sister’s fingers only strengthened Lottie’s resolve to stay.
After confirming Lin Jiu’s identity, Ansair learned that Vera was his sister. Vera’s plight weighed heavily on his mind. Before leaving, Ansair felt compelled to do something to quell his anger.
The Elton family couldn’t openly retaliate against the Liao family, as it might expose Lin Jiu. So, Z country’s partner companies discreetly targeted the Liao family’s businesses.
The Zhou family had already fallen, with its members sentenced to prison, where they remained.
As in-laws, the Liao family had also been heavily affected. Just as they were struggling to recover, their manufacturing and production sectors were ruthlessly suppressed by Mohong Group, their entertainment industry by Huasheng Entertainment, their dining industry by the Mutant Seafood Shop Alliance, their jewelry business by the Ji family, and all their other industries by the Jiang and Fu families. The Liao family found themselves unable to move forward in the business world.
Under these circumstances, Ansair dealt the final blow to the Liao family.
The Liao family had never imagined that Lin Jiu, who had grown up almost as an orphan, would have such powerful backing. Messing with Lin Jiu was akin to shaking up the entire business world of City A and City B.
The Liao family thought they had distanced themselves from the Zhou family scandal quickly enough, expecting only a tarnished reputation but believing their business could continue. They hadn’t anticipated this outcome—their collapse came just as swiftly as the Zhou family’s.
The Liao family could no longer hold on. Old Master Liao was still in the hospital, and Liao Tingyue had sold off the family’s assets, taking his wife and children abroad, leaving all the mess behind for the bedridden Old Master Liao and the recently awakened Liao Tingwang.
Upon hearing the news, Old Master Liao was so enraged that he vomited blood and fainted.
After returning from City A, Liao Tingwang questioned why he had woken up. Old Master Liao merely told him that he had awakened naturally. Liao Tingwang wavered between believing his father and trusting Lin Jiu.
Old Master Liao was rushed to the emergency room. After regaining consciousness, he immediately instructed Liao Tingwang to find someone named Hailier. Hailier had a life-saving drug, and Old Master Liao urged Tingwang to seek him out to save his life.
Liao Tingwang began to realize that what Lin Jiu had said might be true—he likely hadn’t woken up naturally after all.
Deciding to meet this man, Tingwang wanted to find out what was really going on.
He drove himself to the place Old Master Liao had mentioned.
In an old villa on the outskirts of the city, Liao Tingwang met the man his father had spoken of—Mr. Hailier.
Hailier had brown hair and blue eyes, dressed impeccably, exuding elegance and nobility in every gesture. It was clear from first glance that this man’s status was far from ordinary.
Instead of asking about the life-saving drug, Liao Tingwang opened with, “Was my waking up related to you?”
Hailier smiled. “Your father asked me to help revive you, even though he knew that the drug had a high chance of sending you away permanently. But he decided to use it anyway. I must say, you’re quite lucky—you really did wake up.”
Liao Tingwang’s expression remained unreadable. “What are your conditions for saving me?”
Hailier responded with curiosity, “Your father didn’t tell you? Oh, if he told you where to find me, it means his health is failing, and he sent you here to ask for more of the drug, didn’t he?”
Hailier wagged his finger. “As I’ve said before, I can save your father, and I can save you too, as long as you both take Lin Jiu and immigrate to M country. If not, your father will die, and so will you. The radiation levels in your body are dangerously high. Without the drug I have, you won’t survive long. Otherwise, you’ll likely just…”
Hailier mimicked the sound of an explosion—“boom.”
Liao Tingwang understood then. The high radiation in his body was another way this man controlled them. If they didn’t follow his demands, he would die from the radiation overload. And such a death would leave no trace, as radiation-induced deaths were not uncommon. His death would hardly stand out.
Although he had only recently awakened, Liao Tingwang had already grasped the situation. Almost everyone now knew that Lin Jiu was an enhanced human. Could it be that this man was targeting Lin Jiu because of his enhanced abilities?
Liao Tingwang said, “Since you know so well about our connection to Lin Jiu, you must also be aware that the relationship between him and the Liao family is irreconcilable. Even if the entire Liao family emigrated to M country, he would never follow.”
Hailier shifted his posture. “No matter how distant you are, you are still his father. Blood ties can’t be easily severed. You can try to see if he would let you die without helping.”
Liao Tingwang was momentarily dazed. Indeed, they were blood relatives, and deep down, he didn’t want to sever that connection. However, Lin Jiu’s attitude made it clear that trying to reconcile with him would be incredibly difficult.
Hailier added, “Think about it—about yourself and your father. If you both are determined to die for Lin Jiu, I won’t stop you.”
After leaving the old villa, Liao Tingwang didn’t return to the hospital but instead drove directly to City A.
He had made up his mind. Since Lin Jiu was aware of his excessive radiation levels and had even given him caviar to suppress it, perhaps Lin Jiu could also solve Old Master Liao’s problem. Hailier’s threats might be powerless against him.
When Liao Tingwang arrived in City A, he happened to catch Lin Jiu just as he was leaving the Moyu Shop.
Abandoning his car, Liao Tingwang hurried toward Lin Jiu.
Si Xu had left work early that evening to pick up Lin Jiu. The two planned to head to the Demon Sea Dimension to complete a couple more tasks and gather as many magic points as they could.
Neither of them expected Liao Tingwang to suddenly appear.
“Lin Jiu, I need to talk to you.”
Liao Tingwang was still thin, but compared to before, he could now walk without assistance.
Before Lin Jiu could respond, Liao Tingwang started speaking, clearly anxious.
“There’s a man named Hailier. He gave me an injection that revived me. In return, he wants us to take you to immigrate to M country. The radiation in my body is his way of controlling me. He’s using both my life and the old man’s to blackmail you into emigrating. Be careful.”
Having said his piece, Liao Tingwang turned to leave, but Lin Jiu stopped him.
“Where are you going now?”
Liao Tingwang replied, “Back to the hospital.”
After a brief pause, he added, “The old man’s not doing well. I can’t leave him alone there.”
Si Xu asked, “Do you know where this man is located?”
Liao Tingwang nodded. He gave Si Xu the exact location of the old villa before immediately driving back to City B.
Liao Tingwang didn’t have Lin Jiu’s contact information. If he had, he wouldn’t have had to make this long trip.
Si Xu quickly contacted people in City B and sent them to the old villa, hoping to catch Hailier.
While Liao Tingwang was still on the road, he received a call from the hospital. Old Master Liao had suddenly suffocated and died.
Liao Tingwang couldn’t believe his ears. “What do you mean, suffocated? Explain clearly!”
The hospital provided details. During the night rounds, the old man’s vitals had been normal. But by the time the nurse returned to his room, Old Master Liao was already dead. After examination, it was determined he had suffocated.
Liao Tingwang’s body shook uncontrollably. He knew what had happened—it was Hailier, no doubt about it.
His hands trembling, Liao Tingwang could no longer drive. He quickly changed lanes, intending to pull over on the emergency lane to calm down.
The sound of car horns blared from all directions. Drivers behind him saw a large bulldozer speeding down the emergency lane at maximum speed. They tried to warn the car ahead to move out of the way, seeing that the bulldozer had no intention of slowing down. It was going to crash.
But the private car seemed oblivious, not hearing or seeing anything. The drivers behind could only watch in horror as the bulldozer plowed the car off the highway and sped away.
All the passing drivers were stunned. Some stopped to help, while others continued on, with some good-hearted drivers reporting the accident to the authorities on behalf of the car’s owner.
The team from City B arrived at the old villa Liao Tingwang had mentioned, but it was empty—there wasn’t a single person inside, and it looked as though no one had ever lived there.
That night, while Lin Jiu was still asleep, Si Xu received the news.
Lin Jiu was awakened by the sound of Si Xu’s voice. Sitting up, he locked eyes with Si Xu, who was standing on the balcony.
Si Xu hung up the phone, walked back into the bedroom, and relayed the news to Lin Jiu.
Liao Fengluan had died in the hospital.
On his way back, Liao Tingwang had been run off the highway by a bulldozer. Kind-hearted people rushed to help, but they found only blood in the car with no sign of a body.
Liao Tingwang had disappeared.
Lin Jiu sat on the bed, stunned, unable to react for a long time.
Sisu approached him and held him. “The police are conducting a full search. As long as he hasn’t crossed the border, they’ll find him.”
Lin Jiu closed his eyes, unsure of how to feel at that moment.
He had just filled the space in his heart where a father had been missing for twenty years. Though he felt little emotion, at least he had come to understand that this man was his father, that he had a father. He didn’t need to be close to him, but as long as the man was alive, the place in his heart for his father was filled.
And now, that space was suddenly empty again.
Both the spaces for his father and mother were empty once more.
Lin Jiu asked, “Did they capture him to use him as leverage against me?”
It seemed the only possibility. Otherwise, Liao Tingwang would likely be dead, not just missing.
Lin Jiu wasn’t one to sit idly by. He instructed the system to track Liao Tingwang’s movements. With surveillance cameras everywhere, as long as they used any identifiable technology, the system could trace it.
Lin Jiu told the system to go ahead and investigate, no matter how much magic power it would cost.
Neither of them slept for the rest of the night. Lin Jiu couldn’t sleep and couldn’t enter the Demon Sea dimension to complete tasks, so he went to the smart kitchen and began making silver carp caviar, jar by jar.
Si Xu stayed with him the entire time, receiving updates on the search and rescue progress.
As dawn approached, the search team had identified a suspicious vehicle and was tracking it.
By daybreak, Si Xu received word that the search team had been attacked. The assailants were several powerful ability users.
With ability users involved, the case was no longer just a police matter—it was now in the hands of the Special Security Division.
Lin Jiu had been making Silver carp caviar all night. When he emerged from the smart kitchen at sunrise, Si Xu was still on the phone.
Lin Jiu waited for him to finish the call.
After a few words, Si Xu hung up. “What’s the update?”
Lin Jiu replied, “They found them. The group went to City H and then headed out to sea.”
Si Xu immediately called the City H coast guard, instructing them to pursue the group.
Si Xu also prepared to head there himself. They absolutely couldn’t let the group take Liao Tingwang out of the country.
Lin Jiu said, “I’m coming with you.”
