Chapter 51: This Has Got to Be Superman

Almost as soon as he deduced the location, Chen Yu sprung into action.

He did not change into any form-fitting gear, remaining in his loose loungewear and the slippers on his feet.

First, he dashed into the kitchen, retrieved a large 1.5-liter bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator, unscrewed the cap, and tilted his head back to gulp down nearly half the bottle.

Keeping the body properly hydrated is the foundation of maintaining physical endurance.

Next, he walked over to the storage cabinet by the entryway and rummaged through it to pull out an unassuming black backpack.

The items he packed into it left everyone watching the livestream dumbfounded.

A roll of high-strength nylon rope.
A multi-function Swiss Army knife.
A high-intensity flashlight.
A roll of black electrical tape.
And... an entire jar of salt and a small flask of high-proof white liquor fetched from the kitchen.

[??? What on earth is he doing?]
[Bringing these things... is he going on a wilderness survival trip?]
[I don't understand, but I am utterly shocked! He is way too calm! His daughter has been kidnapped, and he still has the composure to prepare all this?]
[No! Haven't you noticed? From the moment he received the call, he hasn't shown a shred of panic! Every single step looks like... like he is executing a plan that has been rehearsed countless times!]
[Who on earth... is this man? Is he really just a kept man living off his wife?]
[What about President Jiang? Why is there no movement from Jiang's side? Go help him quickly!]

Jiang Zhiyun certainly wanted to help.

She had already contacted Director Wang of the Municipal Bureau. Upon learning that the daughter of the President of the Jiang Group had been kidnapped, the director attached the utmost importance to the case, immediately establishing a special task force and preparing to deploy their most elite forces.

However, when Jiang Zhiyun shared the livestream feed and the criminal investigation experts of the task force witnessed Chen Yu's series of eerie and chillingly calm preparations, they fell silent.

"President Jiang," Director Wang's voice on the phone was grave beyond measure, "your husband... does he have some kind of background we aren't aware of? His current behavioral pattern is completely unlike how an ordinary citizen should react."

"The psychological fortitude and tactical preparation he is displaying are more seasoned than the finest reconnaissance agents in our unit."

Clutching the phone, Jiang Zhiyun stared at the familiar figure on the screen, temporarily at a loss for how to respond.

The Chen Yu she knew was somewhat lazy, rather detached, a man who did nothing besides care for their child and hole up at home, indifferent to everything in the world.

Yet the man on the screen right now was cool, collected, and steady.

"Do not make any rash moves yet."

The criminal investigation experts offered their advice: "The kidnappers' emotional state is unstable, and the risk of us forcefully intervening is too high. Your husband seems to have a plan of his own, and the professionalism he has demonstrated gives us reason to believe he might be better suited to handle the current situation than we are. We will deploy perimeter surveillance, lock down the target location, and stand ready to provide backup at a moment's notice!"

Jiang Zhiyun's heart was twisted into a tight knot.

She could only watch helplessly as Chen Yu shouldered the black backpack, opened the door without a moment's hesitation, and stepped outside.

He didn't even take the elevator, choosing instead to sprint downward through the emergency stairwell.

His speed was blindingly fast, yet his footsteps were so light that almost no echo could be heard in the hollow stairwell.

Reaching the underground parking garage, he bypassed the Cullinan that Jiang Zhiyun had left for him and walked straight to the Yamaha motorcycle.

He straddled the bike, expertly inserted the ignition key, and twisted it.

"Vroom—"

The next second, the motorcycle tore out of the garage.

[Holy shit!!! He knows how to ride a motorcycle too? Is this fucking biker a veteran rider?]
[That lean! That racing line! Professional, right? This is definitely not his first time riding!]
[I'm losing my mind... A full-time stay-at-home dad who can write bestsellers with his pen and showcase professional riding skills on a bike?]
[Where is he going? He seems to have a very specific destination! Does he already know where the kidnappers are?!]

The viewers were completely losing their minds.

They thought they were tuning into "The Warm Daily Life of a Stay-at-Home Dad," but the plot had first morphed into "Taken" and was now somehow veering straight into the set of "Fast and Furious"!

Riding the motorcycle, Chen Yu wove flexibly through the congested city traffic during the evening rush hour.

His brain at that moment operated like a supercomputer; his grandmaster-tier criminal profiling skills allowed him to instantly calculate the optimal travel route and even anticipate the movements of the vehicles and pedestrians ahead.

Countless times, he brushed past danger by a hair's breadth, making the hearts of everyone in the livestream and the task force monitoring room leap into their throats.

The East District Abandoned Steel Mill.

Inside a dilapidated warehouse.

Zhou Tianhao was pacing back and forth with growing anxiety.

Nearby sat two punkish youths with dyed yellow hair, impatiently playing games on their mobile phones.

They were the so-called "professional team" that Zhou Tianhao had hired for twenty thousand yuan.

In the corner of the warehouse, Niannian was bound to a rusted iron pillar with a thick hemp rope. Her tiny body was curled into a ball, and her mouth was stuffed with a filthy rag, allowing only muffled whimpering sounds to escape as tears streamed down her face like broken beads.

"Hao哥, can that brat actually scrape together ten million? You aren't fucking playing us, are you?"

One of the yellow-haired youths spat on the ground and asked impatiently.

"Shut your mouth!" Zhou Tianhao roared irritably. "His wife is Jiang Zhiyun! Do you know the Jiang Group? A net worth in the tens of billions! Ten million is nothing to her! If he dares not pay, I'll tear up the ticket!"

Though his words sounded fierce, his heart was utterly hollow.

He stared fixedly at his phone, waiting for Chen Yu's call.

Time ticked away second by second, and the agreed-upon hour was fast approaching.

Chen Yu's call never came.

"Damn it!" Zhou Tianhao slammed his cigarette butt onto the ground and ground it beneath his heel, cursing, "This bastard! He dares to play with me!"

He picked up his phone, preparing to call back and issue another threat.

Suddenly!

"Bang!!!"

A deafening crash echoed from the other end of the warehouse, as if a heavy iron door had been violently smashed open by some massive force.

Immediately following that, every light in the warehouse went *snap* and extinguished entirely.

"Ah!"

The sudden darkness terrified the two yellow-haired youths into screaming, causing their phones to drop to the floor.

"What's going on?! Who the fuck cut the power switch?!"

Shocked and furious, Zhou Tianhao roared into the darkness.

The warehouse was pitch black, you couldn't see your own hand in front of your face.

"All of you, hold your ground! Don't move around!"

Zhou Tianhao pulled his phone from his pocket and activated the flashlight function.

"You two, go see what the hell is going on!"

Zhou Tianhao commanded the two yellow-haired youths.

"Hao... Brother Hao... We... we're scared..." One of the youths' voices was trembling.

"Scared your ass! Go! Or I won't pay you a single cent!"

Driven by the prospect of money, the two yellow-haired youths stood up tremblingly, also turning on their phone flashlights. Two beams of light cut through the dark, one behind the other, as they cautiously crept toward the doorway where the loud crash had originated.