Chapter 89 (o^^o)
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After saying that, Xu Xingran hung up the phone before returning to the classroom.
By this time, the English class had already been going on for ten minutes.
An Lan looked at Xu Xingran, mouthing a question: How did it go?
Xu Xingran whispered back, “I don’t know if I did the right thing or not.”
At half past five, the final class was over. Before the evening self-study session, some students went out to eat in groups, while others ordered takeout on their phones.
An Lan and Xu Xingran had no mood for dinner. They stared at their phones until six o’clock when the phone rang. The display showed an unknown number.
Xu Xingran didn’t rush to answer; he waited until the third ring to pick up.
“Hello,” Xu Xingran said calmly.
“To release Xiao Chen, there are three conditions.”
Xu Xingran raised an eyebrow, “It seems you really don’t care if the Xiao family collapses.”
“The Xiao family is just one of many alpha families. Without the Xiao family, there’s still the Xu family, the Gu family, the Ye family. You know this better than me.”
Xu Xingran frowned, realizing that if the caller was Xiao Nan, he had calmed down and decided to abandon the Xiao family entirely, choosing solely for the interests of “Eden.”
“First, after midnight tonight, we don’t want to see any news about us in the headlines.”
Xu Xingran didn’t respond, as he couldn’t show any emotional expression.
“Second, your father has half of the password; we need it.”
Xu Xingran and An Lan exchanged glances. Earlier, Xu Zhongshuang had mentioned that he had half of what “Eden” wanted.
“Third, Gu Yunli’s other half of the password must also be given to us. These three things are indispensable. Otherwise, think about the fate of that mixed martial artist Zhang Lin; his fate will be Xiao Chen’s fate.”
After saying that, the call was disconnected.
Three seconds later, Xu Xingran received a video in his email, showing Xiao Chen fighting someone in the ring.
His eye sockets were swollen, and there were many bruises on his body. The opponent in front of him remained fierce, but Xiao Chen looked exhausted.
It was evidently a prolonged battle, and you could hear people talking.
“The guy surnamed Xiao is amazing. This is the twelfth one today!”
“Let’s see when he’ll go down!”
“Haven’t you heard the boss say? Whoever knocks down Xiao Chen today will get a reward!”
In the video, there was a man wearing sunglasses, gloves with exposed fingers, arms crossed, coldly observing the fight.
“This person… If I’m not mistaken, he should be Liang Hao,” Xu Xingran froze the video, capturing the moment.
“The shooter Liang Hao?” An Lan was a bit surprised.
In theory, Liang Hao joined “Eden” to treat a shoulder injury, so he should belong to the “experimental group.” The experimental group consisted of “guinea pigs” who could only survive by continuously defeating opponents from the control group, like Xiao Chen.
However, Liang Hao’s posture in the video suggested that he had become an official member of “Eden.”
“If this continues, I’m afraid Xiao Chen won’t last.” An Lan anxiously expressed his concern.
“Indeed, no matter how resilient Xiao Chen is, he can’t withstand this round-robin battle.”
Xu Xingran returned home and gave the three conditions and the video to Xu Zhongshuang.
The three of them went to Xu Zhongshuang’s study. The study was quiet, to the extent that the sounds of Xiao Chen’s punches and the shouts in the fighting arena from the video were extremely clear.
“Dad, can you contact Uncle Gu?” Xu Xingran asked.
“No need to contact him directly. As long as we take action, Uncle Gu will know how to cooperate.” Xu Zhongshuang, resting his chin on his hand, thought for a moment. “You guys should visit Little Yu; don’t let him worry about An Lan.”
An Lan confirmed that Xu Xingran’s USB drive was still around his neck.
Before going to bed that night, An Lan opened his phone. As expected, all the headlines and hot searches about “Eden” had been removed. An Lan breathed a sigh of relief, wondering what Xiao Chen was doing at this moment.
Did he go to sleep? Is there anything to eat? Are the injuries severe?
Suddenly, he felt useless.
Previously, at the fight club, it was Xiao Chen and the others who took action, and the plan to track Xiao Nan using the pocket watch was also Xu Xingran’s strategy. He felt like a spectator within the plot.
Deep down, there were also many questions.
Compared to the people from the Gu family, Gu Yunli seemed to trust Xu Zhongshuang more. Did this indicate a problem within the Gu family? If so, who was this person? Gu Qingchuan? After all, he was involved in pheromone research, and it felt like he might be in cahoots with Dr. Cheng.
Not everyone on Gu Yunli’s list was necessarily a bad person, but it was challenging to discern whether these individuals, like Xu Zhongshuang, left when they discovered that the “Yunshuang Foundation” had gone astray. However, one person caught An Lan’s attention, someone known by Xiao Chen, Xu Xingran, and Gu Liyu, someone very close.
An Lan tossed and turned, unable to sleep the whole night. Consequently, he woke up the next day with dark circles under his eyes, trailing behind Xu Xingran like a soul.
“I thought you would freshen up a bit before meeting your boyfriend,” Xu Xingran said jokingly. “I even prepared to watch a TV series.”
An Lan directly kicked his leg, saying, “Who knows if Xiao Chen is getting beaten up right now.”
Mentioning Xiao Chen, Xu Xingran’s expression darkened.
They drove to the isolation room of the Alpha Management Committee, a place completely different from where Gu Yunli was isolated.
A long corridor with isolation rooms on both sides, each door with only a number, no windows.
The man in a black suit walking in front of them was the one who took Gu Liyu away that day.
He opened one of the isolation rooms, and the entire space was enveloped in beige cushions. Gu Liyu was wearing a white T-shirt and loose casual pants, probably the standard attire provided here. Metal rings were strapped to his wrists and ankles, likely to suppress the release of pheromones.
Although they hadn’t been apart for long, when An Lan saw Gu Liyu again, the feeling of missing him surged like ocean waves, unretractable and difficult to control.
Separated by a glass wall, they had holes to speak through, and sitting closer allowed them to hear each other’s voices.
“Did you get the things?” Gu Liyu’s first question was about that.
“We got them,” Xu Xingran nodded.
An Lan pulled the USB drive from around his neck and showed it to Gu Liyu.
“How is Xiao Chen?” Gu Liyu asked again.
His expression was very cold, as if the isolation room didn’t trap him; here, he was free from external disturbances, allowing him to think more attentively.
“He’s now part of the ‘control group.'” Xu Xingran took out his phone and played the video for Gu Liyu.
“He can hold on for a while longer,” Gu Liyu replied.
“If he heard, he would probably really want to fight you.” Xu Xingran shook his head with a smile.
“Still no news about my parents?”
“Rumors… your mother was taken away by ‘Eden,’ and it made headlines and hot searches.” Xu Xingran’s tone was half-joking, but his gaze was serious.
“I see.” Gu Liyu looked up at An Lan, softly asking, “Are you afraid?”
His eyes were deep, giving a somewhat trance-like feeling. It seemed like overnight, they had all grown up. Previously, their exam rankings were the most important things for An Lan, but now… except for life and death, there were no major events.
“Not afraid,” An Lan replied.
“You better come out soon.” Xu Xingran lightly tapped the glass with his fingers.
An Lan placed his hand on the glass. Gu Liyu’s gaze dropped, seeing the name written in the palm of An Lan’s hand. His eyes deepened, the slightly furrowed brow smoothing out.
“Should we go find him?” An Lan referred to the name written in his palm.
Gu Liyu shook his head. “Don’t worry, he’ll come find you.”
An Lan tightened his grip on his fingers, nodding. “Okay.”
The visitation time was over, and Xu Xingran took An Lan with him as they left.
They walked through the long corridor, and the man in the black suit stopped them.
“Hey, you guys…”
“What?” An Lan and Xu Xingran turned to look at him.
“Be careful. The news about ‘Eden’ stirred quite a bit of commotion… outside the Alpha Management Committee, those guys are quite arrogant.”
“Thanks.” Xu Xingran smiled.
An Lan followed Xu Xingran to the underground parking lot. They entered the elevator together.
Descending to the next floor, a janitor carrying a bucket and mop walked in.
An Lan and Xu Xingran both moved back.
As the elevator doors closed, the janitor suddenly raised the mop and slammed it towards Xu Xingran. Unprepared, Xu Xingran was hit and pressed against the wall.
The elevator made a “thud” sound.
An Lan lifted his leg to kick the janitor, but the opponent’s skills were excellent. One punch knocked An Lan’s knee down, and in that moment, it felt like An Lan’s knee was pricked by a needle, causing him to immediately withdraw it.
The janitor, slightly surprised at the missed attack, quickly grabbed An Lan by the neck, swiftly pulling off the USB drive around his neck.
Xu Xingran rushed over to intervene but narrowly avoided getting hit in the throat by the janitor’s hand chop.
“Xingran!” An Lan was scared out of his wits.
In the moment the elevator doors opened, the janitor rushed out. Xu Xingran and An Lan caught up, and he swung the bucket at them.
“Call the management committee!” Xu Xingran reminded.
An Lan immediately took out his phone. The exit of the parking lot was about to be sealed, but the janitor managed to dart out through the gap.
“What the heck? Is he even human? Did a monkey reincarnate?” An Lan was astonished.
Seeing the parking garage door completely shut, An Lan and Xu Xingran couldn’t catch up. The security personnel from the alpha management committee finally arrived and dealt with the situation.
Xu Xingran and An Lan sighed at each other.
“Your Alpha Management Committee… are you sure they’re not in cahoots with ‘Eden’?” An Lan said sarcastically.
Xu Xingran patted one of the guards, “Tell your superiors that your surveillance has been breached. And… how did that person get in?”
“What do you mean?” The administrator in charge of Gu Liyu came over. “I just said goodbye to you for less than five minutes, and you’ve caused the underground parking lot to be closed?!”
“Let me rephrase it then. My friend carried a very important USB drive, and as soon as we visited Gu Liyu, he ‘showed off’ a bit. Immediately, a janitor followed us into the elevator, snatched this USB drive, and ran off. Unfortunately, your garage door was slow to close, and instead of stopping the janitor, it trapped us inside.” Xu Xingran looked at the administrator with a cold smile.
The administrator’s brow furrowed.
“Please return Gu Liyu to us quickly. The longer you keep him, the happier ‘Eden’ will be,” Xu Xingran said.
“But he violated the Alpha Management Regulations, assisting the alpha under special isolation to escape during the visit…” The administrator thought for a moment, covering his eyes. “Alright, alright, I understand. I’ll apply for him. If it goes smoothly, you can come to pick him up tomorrow.”
“Thank you then.” Xu Xingran patted the administrator’s shoulder.
Leaving the Management Committee, Xu Xingran parked the car at the entrance of a convenience store.
“What’s wrong?” An Lan asked.
Xu Xingran pointed to his neck. “I’ve got marks from being strangled. If Gu Liyu sees them tomorrow, he’ll probably fight me. We’ll just release pheromones directly in the Alpha Management Committee, get arrested together, and be detained side by side. Will you bring me chicken legs?”
An Lan chuckled, “You don’t even like chicken legs.”
The two entered the convenience store, and Xu Xingran bought adhesive bandages to put on An Lan.
Xu Xingran furrowed his brows tightly. “I should have hung the USB drive around my neck.”
“Who would dare to snatch it if it’s hanging around your neck?”
An Lan looked at the delicious smelling oden, feeling his stomach betray him with a growl.
Xu Xingran smiled, ordered a serving of oden for each, and the two sat by the window to eat.
An Lan blew on the wings while typing with one hand on his phone: [With your skills, how could you lose to a janitor?]
Xu Xingran glanced at it and then smiled, not answering.
An Lan deleted the message and typed again: [This guy is not professional at all. Other janitors wear plastic shoes, and he’s wearing such heavy boots, as if afraid of not kicking someone to death!]
Xu Xingran glanced again, then froze.
“You figured it out?”
“Yeah.” An Lan continued biting a lobster ball.
Xu Xingran lowered his eyes and smiled, “And then?”
“And then? Who knows what schemes you guys are plotting with your heads full of mischief?”
An Lan said irritably.
Xu Xingran still smiled, taking a bite of the fish cake. “Wait until the afternoon, and you’ll know.”
After finishing the oden, the two got back into the car.
Since Xiao Chen was taken away, An Lan hadn’t slept well. Seeing Gu Liyu just now, he finally felt somewhat relieved and drifted off to sleep.
By the time they arrived at the entrance of the Xu family, Xu Xingran saw that An Lan was sleeping soundly and didn’t wake him up. He sat there, watching him sleep.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when An Lan was awakened by the vibration of his phone. It was a social media update with a breaking news notification.
Rubbing his eyes and sitting up, An Lan said, “Hey, we’ve arrived? Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“If I wake you up, you won’t be able to sleep after going back to the room. You’ll just sit there refreshing the news on your phone.” Xu Xingran propped his chin up, leaning against the steering wheel, his gaze on An Lan’s phone, indicating him to check the breaking news.
An Lan opened the news and was surprised. The headline reported that the Alpha Management Committee had been infiltrated by criminals, and crucial evidence was lost here.
At first glance, this news seemed unrelated to ‘Eden,’ but there were many comments below.
[Someone actually managed to steal crucial evidence from the Alpha Management Committee. Could it be related to that ‘Eden’ reported a few days ago?]
[What evidence is it for?]
[It seems to be the ‘Eden’ Golden Apple formula!]
[No way, it’s not a formula. It’s the list of ‘Eden’ members! Otherwise, why would ‘Eden’ bother to take action in the Alpha Management Committee!]
This news had only been out for a few minutes, and there were already over a thousand comments.
More importantly, the news also included a photo, and even with the mosaic, An Lan could recognize Xu Xingran from the attire and figure. At that moment, he was talking to the administrator.
Once this photo made headlines, what action would ‘Eden’ take?
Suddenly, An Lan understood something and looked at Xu Xingran.
“That janitor who grabbed the USB drive… was it your arrangement?”
Xu Xingran smiled, “It was arranged by me, Gu Liyu, and the Alpha Management Committee.”
An Lan swallowed hard, “If it weren’t for you treating me to oden, I would really beat you up!”
D*mn, this plan was too cunning!
First, they had An Lan display the USB drive under surveillance, and then the hired janitor ‘stole’ it. This matter made the headlines, and on ‘Eden’s’ side, they would undoubtedly receive the news, thinking that Xiao Nan had someone steal the USB drive.
But in reality, Xiao Nan hadn’t even touched the USB drive. No matter how he explained it, ‘Eden’ wouldn’t believe him.
His acting skills were indeed okay, but his intelligence wasn’t high enough, and he couldn’t keep calm. He would definitely contact Xu Xingran voluntarily, asking about the contents of the USB drive and who had snatched it. As long as Xiao Nan couldn’t deliver the USB drive to ‘Eden,’ they would continue to suspect him, and even ‘clear’ him away.
Now, all they needed to do was wait for Xiao Nan to make the first move.
“Isn’t this a case of the empty-handed trying to put on a white wolf’s gloves?” An Lan asked.
An empty USB drive managed to ensnare Xiao Nan, the spokesperson for ‘Eden.’
Who said that old ginger was spicier? Xu Xingran, this young ginger, was quite spicy too!
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