CHAPTER 369: CHAPTER 369: NO ONE CAN LEAVE

"I got it, big brother." Song Yuanhuan might have roughly explained the situation to Song Yuanming, so at this moment, Song Yuanming looked quite responsible. He lifted his hand to wipe his face, and his whole appearance seemed much more alert instantly.

"Take good care of your sister-in-law and nephews, got it?" Song Yuanhuan frowned with unease, especially because the house was full of children and women, and he couldn’t let go of his worries.

"Mhm." Song Yuanming nodded, shouldering the burden. "Brother, you be careful too."

"Sure." Song Yuanhuan laid the sleeping Song Chengguang, who resembled a little piglet, into bed next to the boy and girl twins. He meticulously tucked the blanket around him before his tall and upright figure resolutely exited the bedroom door.

Song Yuanming and Xu Xiuxiu were probably facing this kind of situation for the first time, both quite nervous. They took deep breaths and listened intently to the noises from next door. Xu Xiuxiu’s hearing was exceptionally sharp; she clearly heard the knocking from next door, followed by the abrupt cessation of the loud, unruly card-playing. A quiet atmosphere filled with tense caution pressed down on them.

Xu Xiuxiu nervously waited, her breathing even involuntarily coming to a halt. In a vague blur, she heard Song Yuanhuan speaking to the people in the next room, her anxiety further escalating.

"Hello, I’m a guest in room 035 next to you," Song Yuanhuan stood at the door of room 034, going directly as a disturbed customer. "This hotel’s soundproofing isn’t very good. Your card playing and the children’s crying are really loud. Could you please keep the noise down a bit? I have a whole day’s drive back to my hometown tomorrow. We’re all far from home; I’m sure you gentlemen can understand and give a little convenience!" Song Yuanhuan said with a smile, his words all polite formalities.

But his insightful eyes scrutinized the men who had opened the door from head to toe. As a professional soldier, Song Yuanhuan’s acuity was extremely high. Initially, he might not have fully believed Xu Xiuxiu’s words—encountering a trafficker’s den on the way home during the festive season was indeed an incredibly unlucky incident. However, it turned out that Xu Xiuxiu was right. The brash and sneaky demeanor of these men before him certainly didn’t seem like that of good people. Moreover, several men huddled in one room at the year’s end, despite playing cards, seemed very suspicious. Knowing something wasn’t right, and having encountered it, he wouldn’t just ignore it.

"When you’re away from home, there’s no need to make such a fuss. Just grab a couple of wads of paper and stuff them in your ears. Now get lost, hurry up and scram." The one who replied was a particularly impatient fellow. After hearing Song Yuanhuan’s reason for knocking, his tense posture visibly relaxed, and then he waved Song Yuanhuan off with an extremely annoyed expression.

"Ah! No, big brother, this is something that would be convenient for everyone..." Song Yuanhuan made an expression as if he had been helplessly chased off but still wanted to reason with them.

"I said, can’t you see when you’re not wanted? I already told you to scram, don’t make me angry, alright?" To the side, another man wearing thin clothes with his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders in the dead of winter, exposing a somewhat disturbing conventional gang tattoo, took a drag on a cigarette with a nonchalant air, and shoved Song Yuanhuan.

Song Yuanhuan stumbled back a few steps and saw the door being slammed shut with a bang, his conflicted expression instantly turning grim.

These people were definitely human traffickers, no doubt about it. Even though he hadn’t had the chance to see inside the room during the brief exchange, the low calls and cries of several children had reached his ears, sounding weak from possibly being starved for days.

Thinking this, Song Yuanhuan took out a cigarette from his pocket, struck a match to light it, and then stepped down the stairs of the hostel toward the outside. It was close to the dead of night by now, and the hostel’s corridor was barely lit, save for a dim, rudimentary lamp. Frowning deeply in thought, Song Yuanhuan left the hostel.

He wasn’t gone long, however, returning in less than ten minutes, moving quickly. Upon reaching the third floor, the first thing he did was open the door to Xu Xiuxiu and the others’ room, glanced inside to ensure everyone was fine, and then immediately shut the door again, striding with an easy step and a ferocious air towards the neighboring room.

Knock, knock, knock—

Xu Xiuxiu sat beside the bed, her ears perked up, and it wasn’t long before she heard Song Yuanhuan knocking on the door, the force of his knocks noticeably stronger than before.

"What, you again! How annoying! Why can’t you just sleep peacefully at this hour instead of bothering us?" The tattooed man who had pushed Song Yuanhuan away earlier opened the door. Holding a cigarette in his mouth, he looked disdainfully at Song Yuanhuan as soon as he saw him, his tone dripping with scorn as if tempted to hit someone.

"I’m just here to ask you to keep it down," Song Yuanhuan stated coldly, standing at the door, his voice icy. Compared to his previous polite and ingratiating demeanor, he now exuded an intensity that was downright chilling.

"Oh, looks like you really are looking for a beating, huh." The tattooed man flicked his cigarette away, then blew out a puff of smoke with quite a stance. Truth be told, disregarding his looks, just on attitude alone, the tattooed man pulled it off convincingly.

But Song Yuanhuan, having called the police and knowing the officers would be arriving soon, had no intention of holding back or joking around. Since his leg injury and joining the military academy, he hadn’t had the opportunity to properly exercise for many months. Nowadays, human traffickers weren’t like the Mafia; they hadn’t the means to get their hands on guns and ammunition. Thus, dealing with these people, Song Yuanhuan felt, required no subterfuge—just direct confrontation, which he saw as good practice.

With a loud thud, Song Yuanhuan frowned, lifting his foot and sending the tattooed man flying into the room with a kick. The tattooed man crashed against the wall with a loud noise.

"Second brother." The few playing cards lazily in the room were interrupted by the commotion and instantly stood up, each grabbing nearby items—some with knives and others with clubs. "Damn it, asking for it. Brothers, get him. Kill him for me. This guy’s been out for a while; he might’ve called the cops. We’ve been slaving away for two months, just waiting to deliver the goods and then we get paid and go home for the New Year. We can’t let this bastard screw things up, or none of us are getting away," posited the ring leader, clearly having some brains.

After all, from the very moment Song Yuanhuan stepped into the room unarmed, turned sideways to casually shut the door, and decided to trample them like caged turtles, closing in to beat a trapped dog, it was clear that they had run into tough resistance. This man with the standard military buzz cut, was clearly either a cop or a military man. Since the intruder had barged in, he likely knew exactly what they were up to. If they didn’t take care of him tonight, none of them would be getting away.