For Sun Keke, there was the panic and fear of being kidnapped. Then there was being locked in this dark, swaying train carriage for two days, scared out of her wits. And on top of that, having no food, only a little water each day, leaving her constantly hungry and thirsty.

But deep down, an even greater fear stemmed from Chen Nuo!

Chen Nuo... who exactly is he?

That Boss Guo, covered in blood, had fled to Chen Nuo's home, bringing with him a horde of vicious pursuers! Those men fought ferociously, each one like a martial arts master from the movies! And Boss Guo claimed to be Chen Nuo's friend!

Then who is Chen Nuo?

And Zhang Linsheng—when had he learned martial arts? Although she had always heard that Zhang Linsheng and Chen Nuo practiced boxing with Teacher Jiang every morning. But just from that, Zhang Linsheng had become a martial arts expert? Moreover, she could clearly sense Zhang Linsheng's respectful and fearful attitude towards Chen Nuo.

Most importantly, there was what Zhang Linsheng had said. His tone implied that as long as Chen Nuo knew they were kidnapped, he would definitely find them. And with his abilities, he would surely rescue them all...

Chen Nuo... What abilities does Chen Nuo truly possess?

Suddenly, Chen Nuo was no longer the boy who liked to hold her hand while they wandered the streets. He was no longer the one who loved to watch her wear skirts, his face lit with a smile that revealed his pearly white teeth. He was no longer the boy who would laugh heartily, even when her father had him in a headlock and was scolding him during dinner at her home.

Zhang Linsheng's speculation was right about at least one thing.

Brother Lei was practically going insane!

Brother Lei learned about Sun Keke's disappearance the day after she went missing.

The night Boss Guo revealed Sun Keke was at Chen Nuo's home, Old Sun had frantically searched for his daughter. Unable to reach her by phone, Old Sun immediately contacted all of Sun Keke's classmates and everyone else he could think of.

All her classmates said they weren't with Sun Keke.

Old Sun rushed to Chen Nuo's house.

On the way, Old Sun also called Bald Lei. He inquired about Chen Nuo's whereabouts and asked if his daughter might have gone to Brother Lei's shop looking for Chen Nuo.

Previously, Old Sun had strictly forbidden his daughter from staying overnight at Chen Nuo's house, fearing the passionate teenagers might cross a line. However, now that his daughter was missing, Old Sun found himself hoping she was safe and sound, perhaps just secretly shacked up with that boy at Chen Nuo's place.

If that were the case, Old Sun planned to break one of his daughter's legs afterward—and Chen Nuo's too, if possible—as long as she wasn't truly missing but just with that boy.

However, when Old Sun arrived at Chen Nuo's house that evening, he found it in complete disarray. The front door was open, the lights inside were off, and much of the furniture had been smashed.

What drove Old Sun mad was the sight of bloodstains on the floor! Sun Keke's phone was in the living room. From this, Old Sun deduced his daughter had been there and had likely disappeared from there!

Then, while Old Sun was still at Chen Nuo's house, Brother Lei arrived.

When Brother Lei saw the ransacked state of Chen Nuo's house, he nearly exploded. Brother Lei felt the hairs on his body stand on end, a chill shooting from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

He was very clear on one thing. In the six months or more that he had known Chen Nuo, it was clear there were two people Chen Nuo cared about most in the world.

One was Xiao Yezi.

The other was Sun Keke.

Brother Lei knew very well that, in Chen Nuo's eyes, these two people were his life!

His home was trashed, there were bloodstains on the floor, and Sun Keke's phone had been left behind. Brother Lei immediately concluded that Sun Keke must have been abducted.

Brother Lei's first thought was: enemies. He had never dared to pry too deeply into Chen Nuo's background, but it wasn't hard to imagine Chen Nuo having an enemy or two in Jinling City.

In Brother Lei's mind, Li Qingshan topped the list!

So, while Old Sun was frantically calling the police, Brother Lei immediately left Chen Nuo's house and headed straight for Li Qingshan's Wind Shelter Hall. Brother Lei gathered all the men he could from his shop. Two vans were crammed with burly men spoiling for a fight, and several canvas bags were filled with makeshift weapons like wrenches, iron chains, and steel rods.

When their vans screeched to a halt at the entrance of Wind Shelter Hall, Brother Lei had no intention of backing down. He knew very well that if anyone harmed Sun Keke, Chen Nuo would be furious—no, he'd be utterly enraged.

If Sun Keke suffered any harm... that killer wouldn't hesitate to go on a rampage!

Chen Nuo was abroad; Brother Lei knew that for a fact. He had even helped arrange the passport. With Chen Nuo out of the country, Brother Lei, as the killer's right-hand man, felt he had to protect his interests. Since Li Qingshan was the prime suspect, Brother Lei knew he had to confront him, fight him if necessary, and do whatever it took to rescue Sun Keke.

If he did nothing, then when Chen Nuo returned, he, Brother Lei, would be finished.

When Bald Lei and his dozen or so men stormed into Wind Shelter Hall, radiating murderous intent, Li Qingshan was on the third floor in his spacious lounge, sipping tea. By the time he received word, a brawl had already erupted in the main hall.

A furious Li Qingshan led his men downstairs, only to find his once-magnificent hall wrecked by Bald Lei's goons. Even the expensive crystal chandelier lay shattered in pieces on the marble floor.

"Bald Lei, have you lost your mind!!" Li Qingshan roared angrily.

Brother Lei's face was swollen on one side from a punch he'd taken in the brawl, making him look even more ferocious. He glared at Li Qingshan. "Li Qingshan! You're the one who's lost it! I think you're courting death this time!"

Li Qingshan's face turned ashen. "If you want a fight, I'm not afraid! With just this handful of men you've brought, I could lock the doors, take you all down, and then dump every last one of you in the Qinhuai River!"

"I fucking don't get it! What got into you, suddenly storming in here to cause trouble for me!"

"Release Sun Keke! Otherwise, today, either you die or I do! You can dump my body in the river, but you'd better remember the exact spot! When *he* gets back, he'll dump you right next to me!"

Li Qingshan staggered, his eyes widening. "Sun Keke... is missing?"

Li Qingshan, abandoning all pretense of dignity, swore vehemently in front of his own men and Brother Lei's crew that he had nothing to do with it. He claimed he had neither the motive nor the guts for such a thing! He even offered proof: he had been dining and drinking with Brother Haonan just the previous night.

Although Li Qingshan tried to call Zhang Linsheng on the spot to corroborate his story, the call didn't connect. Nevertheless, Brother Lei believed him. The old man's fury seemed genuine, mirroring Brother Lei's own, and Brother Lei didn't think Li Qingshan was that good an actor.

Brother Lei then discovered that Zhang Linsheng was also missing, in addition to Sun Keke.

As for Li Qingshan, he still believed Zhang Linsheng was the helmeted killer, Brother Haonan, and assumed the missing Sun Keke was Brother Haonan's woman. Regarding Brother Haonan's whereabouts, Bald Lei only said he had left town on business.

Regardless, Li Qingshan was now just as frantic. He dispatched men with Sun Keke's photo to search Jinling City's train station and long-distance bus stations. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan started calling every influential figure he knew in Jinling City's underworld. Using a mix of coercion, bribery, and intimidation, he inquired if anyone had abducted a pretty girl in Jiangning the previous night.

An old hand like Li Qingshan, established in Jinling City for nearly twenty years, could mobilize resources and connections far beyond what Bald Lei, with his minor operations, could ever hope to match.

By dawn, Li Qingshan had contacted everyone he could, confirming that none of his underworld acquaintances in Jinling City were behind it. Then, he shifted his focus to outsiders.

Several professional human traffickers were quickly rounded up under Li Qingshan's orders. After Bald Lei personally smashed the thigh bones of two of them with an iron wrench, it was confirmed: Sun Keke's disappearance was unrelated to these traffickers.

The neighbors across the hall and downstairs from Chen Nuo's house were also questioned. Especially Qu Xiaoling, the neighbor across the hall. Qu Xiaoling had actually been home that night, but she was drunk and asleep, so she couldn't provide any useful clues.

However, they did learn something from other neighbors in the complex: a cargo truck had stopped at the complex entrance that evening. There were several men with northern accents; one had even bought a pack of Lanzhou cigarettes from the small shop at the entrance. This detail was remembered because the truck had blocked the entrance to the small shop, and the owner had argued briefly with the men.

Brother Lei personally visited the shop owner. After being given a thousand yuan and intimidated by Brother Lei's fierce demeanor, the owner recounted every detail he could recall. Naturally, he couldn't remember the license plate number; ordinary people don't deliberately memorize such things. But the vehicle was a blue cargo truck.

After Brother Lei showed the owner several pictures of truck models for identification, they roughly confirmed the type of truck. It was a Yuejin brand double-cab truck; its cargo bed modified with a small container. Blue body, white container, Yuejin brand.

A group of men with northern accents, Lanzhou cigarettes.

These clues passed from Brother Lei to Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan spent half a day questioning all the influential figures he knew in Jinling City, particularly those involved in the freight business.

On the evening of the second day after Sun Keke's disappearance, Li Qingshan received a clue. It came from an influential figure in the long-distance freight business near Zhongyang Gate. This man, himself a former truck driver, had gathered a group of drivers a few years prior to establish a freight company, which now nearly monopolized the long-haul transport business in the northern part of the city.

This man stated that two days earlier, two men with northern accents had rented one of his Yuejin double-cab trucks—blue body, white cargo compartment. The stated job was to transport a load of timber from Hebei Province back to Jinling. The agreed price for the round trip, driver and truck included, was four thousand five hundred. However, the driver was now unreachable.

Li Qingshan and Bald Lei immediately regrouped their men and dispatched eight cars, two men per car, heading north out of Jinling City.

In 2001, the highway system wasn't the dense network it would later become. Most intercity and interprovincial traffic relied mainly on national and provincial highways.

After the eight vehicles fanned out, searching the northbound highways, they found a lead half a day later. On a national highway leading to Anhui Province, a combination repair shop and small diner, which typically catered to passing freight truck drivers, provided some information. Four men with northern accents, driving a Yuejin truck with a white cargo container, had eaten there and even had a tire patched!

An important clue: these northern men were likely from the Northwest. While eating, they had complained that the noodles weren't al dente enough, lacking chewiness. The owner had chatted with them briefly and gathered that these men from Shaanxi or Gansu were craving good noodles.

The most important clue was...

"They were heading towards Anqing. They took this road."

The grease-stained owner, when questioned by Brother Lei, said with a disarmingly honest smile, "Follow this road. After you pass Anqing, there's a big place, Wang Brothers Repair Shop. You'll definitely find out something there."

"Why?" Brother Lei was surprised by the specificity of the owner's information.

"You live off the land, or in this case, the road," the owner chuckled slyly. Since Brother Lei had been brought by local underworld figures, the owner didn't hold back. "When I patched their tire, I hammered a couple of nails into their rear wheel. The tire won't blow out, but it'll leak slowly. They won't get a hundred kilometers before they need another patch. By my reckoning, that'll be right around Anqing."

"The Wang Brothers' shop is run by old cronies of mine. They're even more ruthless. Once a vehicle goes into their shop, even a perfectly good one will develop 'problems' they can fix."

"Aren't you worried they'll go to a different repair shop on the road, not the Wang Brothers' place you mentioned?"

"In that stretch, all the highway repair shops belong to the Wang Brothers."

Sure enough, just past the Anqing border marker, in the first roadside town, Bald Lei and Li Qingshan found the Wang Brothers' establishment and inquired about the truck.

"Patched a tire. They headed for Henan," the owner said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, revealing yellow teeth. "The driver was a rookie, not a seasoned long-haul trucker. Didn't even watch the repair, just ate in the diner without a care—what experienced driver would do that?"

"When I get a fool like that, I mess with his oil tank a little."

"That truck of his will run for another day at most before the oil leaks out. By my calculation, it'll conk out around Xinxiang."

Bald Lei sighed. "Is the garage in Xinxiang run by another friend of yours?"

The owner grinned, his yellow teeth prominent. "We all make our living on this road. We're all brothers in trade."

Brother Lei shuddered inwardly...

He swore to himself that if his car ever broke down on the road, he'd rather die than let one of these roadside vultures touch it. Even if repairs were unavoidable, he'd have his men watch the mechanics like hawks.

Brother Lei was very meticulous. Every time they reached a new location, he sent a text message. The number belonged to Chen Nuo, who had provided it before he went abroad. Brother Lei had tried calling the number, but it wouldn't connect, so he resorted to sending text messages. He detailed Sun Keke's disappearance, his search efforts, and every new development.

It was all Brother Lei could do for now.

When Chen Nuo woke for the second time, the pain in his body had lessened. After struggling to sit up, the gnawing hunger and thirst in his chest and abdomen had eased. Glancing at the clear lake water beside him, Chen Nuo resisted the urge to plunge his head in and drink his fill.

He rose and limped away from the lakeside. His clothes were dry but caked with mud and grime. They also carried a strange odor from the lake water. Water in the wild isn't as clean as tap water; even after drying, his clothes retained an earthy, musty smell.

In fact, his clothes were already in tatters. Torn and ripped in many places, they barely offered any decency. Chen Nuo felt that any significant movement might cause them to disintegrate completely.

He made a firm decision. Unless absolutely necessary, he would never use 'Teleportation' so recklessly again. The toll on his body was too severe! Even now, having woken up twice from unconsciousness, he felt weaker than he ever had since his rebirth. In a fistfight, any ordinary person could probably take him down in his current state.

There were hardly any isolated homes near Mount Fuji anymore; the area mostly consisted of well-planned villages or tourist zones.

Chen Nuo reached a highway. After getting his bearings, he waited for nearly twenty minutes before a vehicle appeared. The first vehicle ignored Chen Nuo's attempt to wave it down and sped past. The second, a tour bus, finally pulled over for him.

Chen Nuo explained he was a tourist who had accidentally fallen into the lake while sightseeing and had missed his tour group's bus. The bus was heading to Tokyo, which suited Chen Nuo perfectly.

That evening, upon arriving in Tokyo, Chen Nuo borrowed some change from other passengers on the bus and made a call from a roadside phone booth. Shortly after, a car arrived to pick him up. After repaying the money, Chen Nuo was driven back to his hotel. Once in his room, he switched on the spare phone he had left there...

When Chairman Dong Tian heard that the special envoy had returned to Tokyo, he immediately rushed to the hotel. He was still en route when he received a call from Chen Nuo.

On the phone, Chen Nuo's voice was calm, but beneath that calmness lay an undertone that sent a shiver down Dong Tian's spine.

"Arrange the fastest flight possible. I need to go to Huaxia. The sooner, the better!"

Chen Nuo was no longer at the hotel. When he made the call, he was already on his way to the airport. Dong Tian had no choice but to reroute his car to the airport. While on his way, Dong Tian arranged everything.

The fastest commercial flight wasn't available, but Dong Tian managed to arrange a private jet.

Meanwhile, on the Octopus Monster's website.

Several accounts specializing in information brokering within the Underground World simultaneously received a private message from the ID 'Ardent Pyromaniac'.

"High price for any and all information on the Snow Domain."