CHAPTER 419: CHAPTER 419 I REALLY DON’T HAVE MONEY

Li Haidong glanced at the handcuffs, then at Hu Yaoji. Under Hu Yaoji’s warning gaze, he bent down slowly and picked up the handcuffs on the ground.

When he stood back up, his movements became slow and deliberate, intending to catch Hu Yaoji off guard by throwing the handcuffs as a weapon.

The plan had formed, but before he could act, the moment he raised his head to hurl the weapon, another pair of handcuffs from Hu Yaoji smashed directly into Li Haidong’s head.

The sharp intake of breath was followed by two even shriller screams—Lu Yujing and Jiang Xiaoti were on the verge of hysteria.

"Shut up!" Hu Yaoji barked coldly, pressing the muzzle of the gun to Jiang Xiaoti’s temple.

Jiang Xiaoti’s eyes widened, her lips trembling as she bit down hard. Her whole body visibly shook.

Hu Yaoji shot another icy glare, and Lu Yujing immediately fell silent, mimicking Jiang Xiaoti, biting her lip and trembling.

"You two, cuff the two men in the back," Hu Yaoji ordered, tapping Jiang Xiaoti’s head lightly but repeatedly with the gun barrel.

Though the hits weren’t hard, they shattered Jiang Xiaoti’s last shred of psychological defense: "I’ll do it! I’ll do it! Big brother, please spare me!"

Jiang Xiaoti turned around, her hands shaking as she picked up the handcuffs. By the time she looked at Qin Feng again, tears were streaming down her face. "I... I’m sorry. Let’s cooperate to suffer less pain."

The chance to seize the initiative had been lost. By now, Hu Yaoji was hyper-alert, making it nearly impossible to wrest the gun from his hands.

Accepting his fate, Qin Feng allowed Jiang Xiaoti to cuff him.

He was a man; he could endure some hardship. Jiang Xiaoti, with her fragile and delicate build, wouldn’t survive even a single punch from Hu Yaoji.

"And you, why aren’t you moving?" Hu Yaoji’s satisfaction with Jiang Xiaoti’s compliance resulted in Lu Yujing, who had been hesitant, becoming his next target.

This time, he struck Lu Yujing’s head with the gun barrel, using no restraint whatsoever.

Overcome with pain, Lu Yujing finally broke down in fear. She quickly turned around and picked up the other set of handcuffs from the ground.

As she worked, she muttered an apology to Li Haidong: "Uncle, I’m sorry. They’re forcing me. I just want to survive."

Li Haidong closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Forget it. No need to make things harder on the younger generation.

With the two men in the car now cuffed, only the three women remained. Two of them were already paralyzed with fear, utterly incapable of resisting.

Only Wei Lan remained unnervingly composed from start to finish. She hadn’t screamed—not even made a single sound.

To an outsider, it might seem as though she had been scared into complete silence, losing the ability to speak.

But if one observed closely, they would notice her lowering her phone’s brightness to the minimum and holding it behind her back, blindly operating it by memory to make a secret call for help.

Seizing moments when Hu Yaoji was distracted dealing with the others, Wei Lan occasionally stole glances to check her progress, but not a single call successfully connected.

How could this be?

After multiple failed attempts, Wei Lan began to lose her composure. Her movements became frantic and rushed.

In her haste, the phone slipped from her hand and fell into the aisle between Lu Yujing and Jiang Xiaoti’s seats.

The phone’s screen faced up, casting a faint, eerie blue glow. Hu Yaoji’s gaze quickly locked onto the phone lying in the aisle, and tension filled the air.

Wei Lan’s expression turned as colorful as a spilled palette, an odd mix of emotions playing across her face.

Li Haidong shot Wei Lan a wide-eyed glare, the meaning in his eyes clear: How could you be so careless? After all I endured to cover for you!

Wei Lan widened her eyes in return, glaring back: It’s not like I did it on purpose!

Hu Yaoji stood from his seat, picked up the phone from the aisle, and cast a menacing glare at everyone in the vehicle. "The car is equipped with a signal jammer. Don’t waste your efforts."

Damn it! Wei Lan’s heart sank halfway to the abyss.

"It seems you all aren’t as obedient as I thought. In that case, I won’t be courteous anymore." As a precaution, Hu Yaoji pulled out three more pairs of handcuffs and restrained the remaining women as well.

The car stopped in a dense Banana Forest. The driver disembarked first, followed by Hu Yaoji, who yanked everyone off the vehicle one by one, forcing them to squat on the ground.

The van engine had been turned off, and darkness engulfed the surroundings. The only light came from the flashlight in Hu Yaoji’s hand.

Li Haidong felt utterly hopeless. There wasn’t a house to be seen within miles. Above was the sky, below the earth, and all around were banana leaves taller than a person.

Suddenly, a terrifying thought popped into his mind: This place would be perfect for dumping bodies.

In this despair, Li Haidong couldn’t help but think of Sang Ning. How lucky she was to have escaped unscathed!

As for his own misfortune, he was rudely kicked by Hu Yaoji, who barked, "Now, each of you wire me fifty thousand. Pay up, and I’ll let you go."

Li Haidong initially thought Hu Yaoji would demand an exorbitant ransom to release them. To his surprise, the amount was only fifty thousand.

It was the first time Li Haidong had been robbed in his life. While fifty thousand was merely a drop in the bucket for him, he was unwilling to hand it over just like that.

"My wife and I keep all our money with my son. If you want money, let me contact him," Li Haidong said, his primary goal now to reach Li Juezhou.

His son was incredibly capable. If he could get in touch with Li Juezhou, they would surely be saved.

"Sure," Hu Yaoji squatted down to look Li Haidong in the eye.

Just as Li Haidong quietly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had a chance, Hu Yaoji abruptly slapped him hard across the face several times. "Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to? Stalling for time, trying to call for backup? You don’t even have fifty thousand yet dare to come to New Island? You must think you’re invincible!"

"Don’t hit my husband! It’s just fifty thousand—I’ll give it to you right now!" Wei Lan sprang up, shoving Hu Yaoji away from Li Haidong.

Hu Yaoji fell backward onto the ground, his glare now filled with venom as he looked at Wei Lan.

Li Haidong quickly stepped between Wei Lan and Hu Yaoji. "Don’t touch my wife. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with me!"

Hu Yaoji cursed under his breath before standing up and dusting off the dirt on his clothes. With a venomous look at Wei Lan, he seemed ready to retaliate.

The driver pulled him aside, whispering something in his ear.

Though Hu Yaoji remained some distance away, his eyes stayed locked on Li Haidong and the group, ensuring they didn’t try anything foolish.

Li Haidong exchanged glances with Wei Lan, but it was futile; they were nothing more than helpless prey waiting on the chopping board.

Whatever the driver whispered seemed to agitate Hu Yaoji, as his expression turned noticeably impatient when he returned. "You have ten minutes. Each of you, wire me fifty thousand. If you’re late, you’ll get a bullet to the head."

Starting with Lu Yujing, Hu Yaoji used her phone, following her instructions step by step.

Her bank card’s single-transfer limit was exactly fifty thousand, a trivial amount for her. If paying it meant saving her life, she was more than willing. She transferred the money swiftly, without hesitation.

Impressed by her cooperation, Hu Yaoji’s attitude toward her softened. "You’ve got a good head on your shoulders."

Though she had handed over the money, Lu Yujing’s unease didn’t vanish entirely. To placate Hu Yaoji further, she flattered him, "It’s rare to meet a robber as principled as you."

Hu Yaoji snorted coldly, suspecting she thought his asking price was too low.

But his greatest strength was not being greedy; it was the reason he hadn’t been caught after robbing for so many years.

After draining Lu Yujing, Hu Yaoji turned to his next target: Jiang Xiaoti. "Your turn."

The smooth process with Lu Yujing made Hu Yaoji believe Jiang Xiaoti would be just as easy.

But to his surprise, Jiang Xiaoti dropped to her knees, sobbing so uncontrollably she nearly stopped breathing. "B–Big...brother, I don’t have any money! Please, let me go!"