Shi Xinxin couldn't help but wonder, her mind racing through every possibility, "So, where is he now?"
She glanced at the ceiling, then at the floor, muttering, "He couldn't possibly be stuck in some secret room, could he..."
As she spoke, a sound like gunfire suddenly erupted from the next room. The immense sonic wave shook the floor, causing it to crack, and instantly interrupted Shi Xinxin's thoughts.
She frowned, her gaze immediately locking with Sheng Chenjin's. He met her eyes with a silent understanding, and they nodded at each other.
Shi Xinxin moved silently to the door. Hearing the hurried footsteps and the crisp sound of shattering glasses in the banquet hall downstairs, punctuated by occasional frightened screams.
She surmised the hotel must be in complete chaos. Shi Xinxin turned back to look at the person behind her. Receiving confirmation, she opened the door with a gentle hand and stood still. Her vision instantly widened, allowing her to see a haze emanating from the doorway of room 205, carrying a foul, pungent odor, like something explosive.
Shi Xinxin hurried to the door of 205 and peered inside. The room was in disarray. The leather sofa was overturned on the floor, and the marble surface was pockmarked with burn marks, wisps of smoke still lingering.
"It seems Elder Feng acted ahead of time. He managed to take everything so quickly..." Shi Xinxin murmured, her brow furrowed.
A hint of helplessness crept into her eyes. Everything had been planned, but she had overlooked Elder Feng's preemptive strategy.
This left her with no clue as to where the person and the items had gone. She took a deep breath and quickly entered the room with the acrid smell, attempting to find any trace.
Sheng Chenjin walked beside her, then typed a message to Bai Feng on his phone screen.
Noticing Shi Xinxin's slightly trembling shoulders, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand. He placed his broad, strong palm on her shoulder.
"It's alright, Xinxin. I've had everyone outside on high alert. We won't let anyone related to Elder Feng escape."
Shi Xinxin felt a flicker of hope. She felt the warmth from his hand on her shoulder, as if it were seeping through her bones and nerves to her heart.
She nodded, closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, a spark of determination was visible.
"Let's go, we should go down and see. There are bound to be many people outside the hotel now, and it's easy to overlook someone."
She was once again the unyielding Shi Xinxin. Sheng Chenjin slowly let out a sigh of relief and followed her as they briskly walked down the stairs to the hotel's exterior.
As expected, Shi Xinxin saw Sheng Chenjin's men stationed at every corner, which eased her anxiety somewhat.
Bai Feng saw his boss approaching through the crowd and said calmly, "Mr. Sheng, we just apprehended Feng Xiao. He was carrying a silver briefcase."
Upon hearing Feng Xiao's name, Shi Xinxin quickly looked at him, "Where is he now?"
Bai Feng replied in a low voice, "He's already been taken to the car by our men, and all his belongings have been searched and secured."
Sheng Chenjin gave him a satisfied look. Shi Xinxin, however, ignored everything else and rushed towards the car Bai Feng had indicated.
Meanwhile, on the hotel rooftop, a bird call echoed across the vast sky. A figure in a black trench coat stood at the edge, their gaze fixed on the single person moving against the flow of the crowd below.
"Heh, Shi Xinxin, you're still too inexperienced," he sneered dismissively. He picked up the black leather case placed on the ground and strode away.
Here, Shi Xinxin felt a mixture of excitement and suspicion.
She saw the silver briefcase Bai Feng mentioned on the car, but her intuition strongly suggested something was amiss.
As if a thought planted in her mind guided her, Shi Xinxin inexplicably looked up, towards the hotel rooftop in the distance.
All she saw was an empty roof, with only the hotel's branded flag fluttering in the wind.
Perhaps she was overthinking it, Shi Xinxin mused silently. She withdrew her gaze and stepped forward to open the silver briefcase.
Sheng Chenjin walked over at the same moment. Upon seeing what was inside the case, his expression turned as grim as Shi Xinxin's.
"What's going on?" Shi Xinxin asked first, her voice filled with astonishment.
Inside the silver briefcase placed before her, there were no medical reagents at all, only stones of various sizes.
But Shi Xinxin quickly realized. She offered a faint, tight-lipped smile.
Indeed, she had been tricked by that person, completely bamboozled.
Sheng Chenjin's voice was ice-cold, "Where is Feng Xiao? Bring him out."
"There's no need," Shi Xinxin said, forcefully closing the briefcase with a bang. "Elder Feng always sees things through to the end. He's likely already taken Feng Xiao with him."
Sheng Chenjin rubbed his temples with a hint of a headache. He had overlooked too many details, giving that person the opportunity to pull off such a deception.
"I'm sorry, Xinxin. It was my oversight that allowed him this victory," he apologized to Shi Xinxin, despite his first taste of defeat.
He knew how intense the animosity between Elder Feng and Shi Xinxin was. He feared she wouldn't be able to cope if she had to accept the reality of losing.
But Shi Xinxin was not someone who could be easily defeated. She smiled faintly, "Why apologize? It's not over yet. You can't tell who wins until the very end."
Her bright, expressive eyes looked at Sheng Chenjin.
Her face bore the familiar pride that Sheng Chenjin knew so well, the pride that belonged to Shi Xinxin.
The sunlight at that moment wasn't dazzling, but she seemed to be bathed in a golden glow, completely and utterly reflected in Sheng Chenjin's eyes.
He smiled, "Alright, then let's win this game together."
As if sharing years of unspoken understanding, Shi Xinxin smiled at him, the curve of her lips perfectly matched.
"We should contact Jiang Ling now, see if he knows Elder Feng's whereabouts."
Shi Xinxin took out her tablet and logged into her account.
She knew Elder Feng well enough to know that he would always opt for a subtle solution rather than making a public spectacle. Therefore, Jiang Ling was at least safe for now.
After all, he was the sole heir of the Jiang family. No matter how extreme Elder Feng's ideology, he would never do something so self-defeating.
This was why Shi Xinxin was so confident she could reach Jiang Ling.
Sheng Chenjin instructed Bai Feng to deploy men around the perimeter, securing every corner and not letting any suspicious activity go unnoticed.
Shi Xinxin found Jiang Ling and slowly typed a message into the chatbox, then pressed send.