CHAPTER 268: A WEB OF INTRIGUE

She couldn’t figure it out; why couldn’t she untangle this relationship?

If an insignificant person were kidnapped, and the Mafia godfather had to personally step in, then this godfather must be incredibly weak. If this were a movie, in such a situation, the godfather should coldly say, "I’m not familiar with this person; do as you please," and then John would simply put a bullet in her.

That would be logical, reasonable, and fitting for the plot.

Wen Nuan hung there, her fear reaching its peak, her anxiety escalating. She dared not look down. Below was wreckage; falling would surely mean being impaled by sharp iron shards and wood.

As she was lost in thought, she saw a car approaching in the distance. It was a flashy sports car, its brilliant red color highly visible in the night. On the pier, there were only John, Julie, and six men; the others were hidden. As the car approached, the two also drew their guns, aiming at the sports car. The convertible top was already down. The car drove very slowly, gliding gently to the center.

Wen Nuan’s eyes widened. Who was it?

Who was in the sports car?

Please, please, don’t let it be Ye Feimo.

Please don’t.

The sports car stopped. The two men approached the car, aimed their guns, and ordered the person to get out.

The car door opened, and a man with a charming, exquisite face and captivating eyes emerged from the car. He was tall and slender, wearing a very stylish black trench coat, somewhat like the coolest male protagonist in a Hollywood action film. His appearance immediately made him the center of attention.

Wen Nuan was slightly startled. It was the man who had flirted with her that morning. Who was he?

Mo Yeyan, was he the Mafia godfather?

A Mafia godfather flirting with her—this world must be fantastical. It was absolutely an anti-human thought, impossible, absolutely impossible.

John sneered, waving his hand. The six men pointed their guns at Mo Xiaobai, telling him to stay away from the car. He looked up at Wen Nuan, who was high in the air, and smiled slightly. His eyes held a reassuring smile.

The night was deep, and Wen Nuan couldn’t see very clearly. She vaguely felt that this man seemed different from the man she had seen that morning.

The man she had seen that day was full of charming allure, a beautiful flower-like man, captivating and incomparably noble. But now, this man, though smiling, exuded a terrifying coldness like Yama.

He stood smiling amidst a hail of bullets, fearless and unafraid. His cold gaze swept across, yet it possessed a powerful and ruthless dominance that made people tremble, as if he were a man who had walked out of hell, carrying an irresistible authority.

"Let her go!" he said. Wen Nuan’s eyes widened. This voice... this voice... Feimo’s voice. The sea wind was too strong. Wen Nuan’s heart pounded violently. When she first saw him get out, she felt a slight relief that it was someone else, not Feimo. But how could his voice sound like Feimo’s? She must have misheard.

The sea wind scattered his voice. She hadn’t heard clearly, or perhaps it was just a similarity, not truly him.

Wen Nuan’s chest trembled slightly.

"This person is truly important to you, to risk your life like this. Mo Yeyan, you never thought you’d have a day like this, did you?" John’s gun pointed coldly at him, his eyes dangerously narrowed. "You’ve driven us to the brink, leaving our brothers without even a place to stay. What more do you want? My territory, my routes, you’ve taken over everything. What else do you want?"

His emotions were a bit agitated, and the pistol moved up and down. Wen Nuan was terrified he would open fire. Julie said, "John, stop wasting words with him. Let’s disable one of his arms first, for Harry’s revenge."

Mo Xiaobai pursed his lips, his gaze coldly challenging, a hint of mockery crossing his lips. "John, ’cut the grass but leave the roots, and it will grow back with the spring wind.’ That’s an old Chinese saying, you understand its meaning. I didn’t want to completely eradicate you, but you went too far. The rules of the underworld dictate that if you dare to collude with the FBI, you must accept my sanction. This is your own doing; you can’t blame anyone else. If you had just cheated me with any other buyer, perhaps that one transaction would have been the end of it. The Mafia would vent some anger, steal some of your money, and not touch anything else of yours. It doesn’t matter how we play; those are our rules. But you dragged the feds into this. This is what you deserve. No one else would spare you. Don’t think you’re so miserable; I’ve already been very merciful."

Julie roared, "Nonsense! You merciful? From America to Mexico to Rome, how many of our people have you killed? And now you say you’re merciful? Mo Yeyan, I want your life today!"

She excitedly reached for the trigger but was stopped by John. Wen Nuan’s heart nearly stopped too.

"John, what are you doing? I want to kill him! We designed this to lure him here precisely to kill him! The sooner we kill him, the sooner this is over!" Julie was a fierce woman, as intense as fire, consumed by the desire for revenge for her comrades. John, however, did not think so. Mo Xiaobai’s gaze was cold, with a somewhat blank chill. He looked up in Wen Nuan’s direction. Seeing her gaze, he smiled, a smile that melted like winter snow and felt like a spring breeze, immediately dispelling the fear in her heart, and her emotions slowly calmed down.

Regardless of whether he was Feimo or not, she felt a sense of calm right now, a firm intuition that he would definitely rescue her.

"Julie, don’t be foolish. If we kill him, we won’t be able to leave Rome either. Opportunity for negotiation is paramount," John said. Julie was furious but suppressed it with all her might. John said, "Mo Yeyan, you dared to come alone tonight, which means there’s still a chance for things to turn around, doesn’t it?"

"Just release her, and you can have whatever you want," he said, his smile still cold but not sharp, as if he didn’t want to provoke John’s sensitive nerves, lest the man make a move.

Julie looked back at Wen Nuan with a cold sneer. "So, we really did catch a trump card?"

Since that was the case...

Julie turned back abruptly, pointing her gun at Wen Nuan. She suddenly pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Wen Nuan’s shoulder. Wen Nuan first felt a numbness in her body, followed by an excruciating pain like an axe chopping bone, spreading across her shoulder. Blood immediately stained her jacket. Wen Nuan’s eyes widened. Her wrist hurt, and her shoulder hurt. The intense pain almost made her unable to breathe.

Mo Xiaobai’s eyes were bloodshot, his face instantly pale. His fists clenched tightly, veins throbbing on his forehead. The fury bursting from his muscles was fiercely suppressed.

"Julie!" he roared, his gaze ruthless, filled with a tragic anger as if he would drag her down with him, like a wild beast whose mate was lost, roaring, and the entire pier echoed with the sound.