Finding someone within the compound was straightforward.
But once outside the compound, it became far more difficult.
After all, this place was a den of snakes and dragons, with many eyes watching them. The most troublesome part was that due to government inaction, the city had no surveillance coverage. Cars were a rare sight on the streets, with bicycles and motorcycles capable of carrying four or five passengers being the most common. Poverty had left those struggling to make a living increasingly numb. The disappearance of an outsider was nothing unusual, and even if witnessed, no one would intervene.
Li Xue had urgently dispatched people to search. Since the city wasn’t large, they could turn it upside down within an hour to find the person.
But that was assuming no complications arose.
As expected, complications arose exactly as feared.
They failed to locate Ran Yuan.
The worst-case scenario had unfolded.
Restless factions had kidnapped Ran Yuan, either to claim a share of the profits or to sabotage the collaboration.
Even worse, none of these factions had come forward to negotiate.
These groups were no pushovers. Even if the government deployed troops, it would take over a month to eradicate them all.
After all, they were armed and maintained private militias.
Faced with life-or-death stakes, they would never surrender without a fight.
A powerful dragon is no match for a local serpent. Even Li Xue, who wielded immense authority in Vietnam, found herself powerless.
“I’ll have people continue investigating which faction kidnapped Secretary Ran, but there’s little more I can do. Persuading the Dark Emperor to intervene would be a wise choice,” she reported truthfully.
Even if they located Ran Yuan, she might not be able to secure her safe rescue.
Compared to her, the Dark Emperor, whose influence spanned the globe, clearly held more sway.
Those local serpents might not respect her, but they would undoubtedly defer to the Dark Emperor.
After all, that man was a madman. If provoked, any faction could vanish overnight.
The best approach was undoubtedly to convince the Dark Emperor to assist.
But the Dark Emperor’s temperament was unpredictable—whether he would help depended entirely on his mood.
Even an outsider like her knew this; Li Yan, as Li Yuan’s own brother, couldn’t possibly be unaware.
By the time Li Yan finished his shower, Li Yuan had already left, dumping the entire mess onto him.
The moment he learned of Ran Yuan’s predicament, he had contacted him.
But that lunatic had blocked him!!
The longer this dragged on, the greater the danger to Ran Yuan. Left with no choice, Li Yan had to seek out Jiang Xiaoman in person.
She was the only one who could reach that mad dog Li Yuan and persuade him to help willingly!
Rose, rudely awakened, opened the door to see Li Yan’s detestable face and immediately frowned, preparing to slam it shut.
“Wait, Jiang Xiaoman, we need to talk…” Li Yan’s voice was frantic with urgency.
“What do you want to discuss? Your legendary three-second performance? Or begging me to delete the video? Sorry, but I have nothing to say to you.”
Her sarcastic remarks made his face flush with humiliation.
“Ran Yuan is in trouble.”
Rose frowned, her expression turning even more mocking. “What, blaming me again? Here for revenge?”
“That’s not what I meant… Can you call Li Yuan? He’s the only one who can save Yuan Yuan.”
“You brothers are truly something, actually seeking help from an outsider like me. Is this the legendary plastic brotherhood? Then again, if it weren’t plastic, how could two brothers share the same woman?”
Rose revealed a mocking smile, pushing his buttons once again.
Watching the taciturn Li Yan before her, she felt immensely satisfied.
Taking out her phone, she quickly pressed the camera button.
“What are you doing?”
Li Yan frowned as he asked.
“Can’t you tell? Kicking a man when he’s down. When I’m in a bad mood later, I’ll take this out and look at it—guaranteed to brighten my entire day.”
Her smile could only be described as malicious.
Veins bulged on Li Yan’s forehead, his clenched fists tightening and loosening repeatedly as he barely restrained the urge to strangle the woman before him.
He must have been insane to seek her help. Jiang Xiaoman wished nothing but death upon Ran Yuan—not adding insult to injury was already generous, let alone offering assistance.
With a cold expression, he turned to leave.
“What, not going to save your white moonlight anymore?”
Rose taunted.
Without giving Li Yan time to react, she dialed Li Yuan’s number and put it on speaker.
Unfortunately, Li Yuan—who had anticipated Li Yan would seek Jiang Xiaoman’s help—had blocked her number as well. If he was unhappy, everyone would suffer alongside him. Not even Jesus could intervene, let alone a mere Jiang Xiaoman.
“Seems your clever plan backfired. I’m not as important as you thought.”
Rose spoke with feigned regret.
Li Yan’s brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly. Since he couldn’t reach Li Yuan, he had to find another way—anything was better than wasting time here.
“Saving Ran Yuan doesn’t necessarily require Li Yuan.”
From behind him, Rose’s confident voice rang out.
“You have a way?”
Li Yan spun around abruptly, his eyes filled with suspicion.
Even Li Xue had no solution—what could a prostitute from the Lower City District possibly do?
“Even ants have their own methods. Go summon Uncle Chi and Sister Xue to my villa. I need to take a shower first—my body’s full of your filth, it’s disgusting.”
With those words, Rose directly closed the door.
Li Yan: “…”
Was he… being looked down upon?
Hah, she didn’t seem to mind when she was enjoying it earlier.
Remembering his humiliating performance, his expression darkened further.
By the time Rose finished her shower, all the important figures were condescendingly waiting for her.
“Xiaoman, do you really have a way to save Secretary Ran?”
Li Xue anxiously approached, grasping her hands as she inquired.
How could she not be anxious? Since Ran Yuan had been taken from her territory, if higher-ups needed a scapegoat, she would undoubtedly be the first target.
“Have we identified which faction took her?”
Rose soothingly patted the back of her hand as she asked.
“It was the Hundred Zhang Sect!”
Where there’s wealth, there’s bravery—as long as the payment was sufficient, those at the very bottom would naturally reveal what they had witnessed.
Ran Yuan was kidnapped around 7:10 PM, and witnesses identified the perpetrators as low-level members of the Hundred Zhang Sect.
Hearing this, Rose’s lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile: “Good. Saves me the trouble of hunting down that bastard later.”
“You know them?”
Li Xue asked in surprise.
How could she not know?
Yi Jinglong, the leader of the Hundred Zhang Sect, was the very culprit who had sold the original host to the Lower City District.
As a wealthy heiress, Jiang Xiaoman wouldn’t have fled the country in panic without making any preparations.
Although she had been driven out of the country, she had substantial savings. The inheritance left by her mother was enough to support her comfortably for life.
Not long after arriving in Yue Kingdom, she was seduced by Yi Jinglong.
With his sweet words and skillful techniques, he quickly charmed her into a daze. Later, Yi Jinglong secretly set a trap that got Jiang Xiaoman addicted to gambling.
At first, she won every bet, gradually fueling her greed. In the end, she not only lost all her savings but also incurred massive usurious loans.
The scoundrel who had sworn to treat her well forever ultimately deceived her, sold her for a large sum of money in the Lower City District, and fled far away.
It was only many years later that Jiang Xiaoman discovered Yi Jinglong’s appearance had been orchestrated by her father, all to ensure she would never have a chance to return to her homeland. This became the final straw that crushed her.
Meanwhile, Yi Jinglong used the money he had swindled from Jiang Xiaoman through his schemes, along with the proceeds from selling her, to travel here and establish the Hundred Zhang Sect. He began engaging in illegal activities such as smuggling and issuing usurious loans. As his business grew larger, he transformed from a deceitful gigolo into a dominant dark force ruling over the region.