Chapter 23: Rescuing the Hostages

Old Mo and his companions got off the car a little more than a mile away from their hideout. The four of them proceeded on foot to the overgrown hill behind an abandoned elementary school.

The school was built into the hillside, higher at the back and lower at the front, with a two-meter-high wall enclosing the entire grounds.

Standing on the hill behind the school, Old Mo surveyed the area below for a moment before saying, “Shen Xin, Ziran, you two find a big tree and climb up for a bird’s-eye view. Jiawang and I will sneak into the school for a look around. If we find the target, Shen Xin, teleport her out. Then Jiawang and I will make our escape. Understood?”

“Understood!” Shen Xin glanced around, then climbed up a large camphor tree with Tang Ziran. Old Mo and Chen Jiawang vaulted easily over the wall, then began searching the back of the main building, starting from the first floor.

The first floor was completely empty.

On the second floor, they saw seven or eight people gathered around playing cards.

Reaching the third and highest floor, Old Mo finally spotted, through a broken window, a classroom in which a hostage was tied to a chair. Four burly men were inside, smoking and chatting.

Old Mo hadn’t brought his twin blades this time—his ability was blade mastery—but he had brought plenty of throwing knives.

He drew two knives from his belt and hurled them through the shattered window. Two of the men inside dropped instantly.

The blades pierced their temples with unerring precision, exiting through the other side.

Before the other kidnappers could react, he whipped out two more knives and threw them.

In an instant, every kidnapper in the classroom was dead.

With a swipe of his claws, Chen Jiawang smashed a hole in the already battered window. He was first to climb in, grabbing the hostage and heading straight for the window.

Seeing this, Shen Xin teleported both of them out.

Just as Shen Xin was about to retrieve Old Mo as well, he realized Old Mo had vanished.

However, before long, Old Mo appeared on the second floor, his throwing knives quick and deadly, taking out every kidnapper who came to investigate.

Without pause, Old Mo swept through the second floor, eliminating every last one of them, before finally leaping out from the front of the school.

Back in the car, Chen Jiawang was driving as usual, with Tang Ziran in the passenger seat.

Old Mo and Shen Xin sat in the back, flanking the blindfolded hostage to keep her safe.

Chen Jiawang whistled cheerfully as he drove, while Shen Xin glanced at Old Mo, hesitating as if to speak.

Old Mo understood Shen Xin’s meaning, but seeing the hostage still safe, said nothing.

As they neared the drop-off point, a speeding SUV overtook them.

Since awakening his abilities, Shen Xin’s eyesight had only grown sharper. With a fleeting glance, he could see inside the passing vehicle.

What he saw shocked him.

There were six people in the SUV, five of them in tactical gear. Though he couldn’t quite make out their armbands, he was certain they, too, were bounty hunters. Most crucially, there was also a blindfolded girl in their car.

Seeing the SUV heading in the same direction as theirs, Shen Xin felt a surge of unease and said, “Did everyone see that SUV that just passed us? There are five bounty hunters inside and a blindfolded girl. They’re going the same way we are.”

Old Mo was alarmed. Without hesitation, he tore off the girl’s blindfold and pressed a blade against her delicate neck, demanding fiercely, “Speak! Who are you? What are you plotting?”

“Please, don’t kill me! My dad’s rich! My name is Hu Zixin, my dad is Hu Changyi, he’s wealthy—please, I beg you, don’t kill me!”

The girl looked eighteen or nineteen, her clothes and demeanor matching that of a rich heiress—and her tear-streaked face was no act.

Old Mo breathed a silent sigh of relief and asked, “Where’s your home? Take us there. Don’t be afraid, we’re here to rescue you.”

“I live on Riverside Avenue in Niuhua District, in a complex called Luxiang Mansion. My dad’s a big boss—whatever you want, he can pay. Please, don’t hurt me.”

The group was instantly thrown into confusion. This address didn’t match the mission handoff site. Who should they trust?

Old Mo pondered, then asked, “If we take you home, how much reward can we expect?”

The girl hesitated, then said, “It should be at least a hundred thousand, maybe up to a million.”

Old Mo immediately realized they’d been duped. “Change course, head to Luxiang Mansion!”

Before long, they arrived at Luxiang Mansion. Old Mo and Chen Jiawang escorted the girl inside.

After about ten minutes, the two men returned. One look at their faces and Shen Xin knew they hadn’t managed to claim the promised two million bounty.

It was Chen Jiawang who lost his composure first. After starting the car, he cursed under his breath for a while before apologizing, “Sorry, Shen, Ziran. We really lost out this time—only got a million, so it’s just two hundred and fifty grand each.”

Shen Xin and Tang Ziran remained expressionless; this time, their roles had been almost negligible. As long as they got paid, it was fine.

Old Mo, however, seemed a little out of sorts. After killing over a dozen men, he ended up with less than thirty thousand for himself. Shen Xin mused, “If I were Old Mo, I’d have lost my mind by now.”

But to his surprise, Old Mo appeared completely at ease, eyes closed and humming a carefree tune.

They reached the compound before five o’clock. Shen Xin pulled Old Mo aside and asked, “Uncle Mo, isn’t this mission a bit strange to you?”

Old Mo patted Shen Xin’s shoulder. “That’s the bounty game. There’s no guarantee of truth, especially with private commissions.”

Shen Xin grew serious. “Don’t you think this was a setup? A trap for bounty hunters!”

He suspected his team wasn’t the only one deceived. If other groups had managed to claim the reward, so be it, but he had a hunch most had been tricked—maybe even wiped out. It was like fishing: bounty hunter teams were the fish, the mission issuer the fisherman. Some teams might have been completely eradicated.

Unexpectedly, Old Mo just smiled and said, “You’re still too naive. Do you think being a bounty hunter is easy? What is a bounty hunter? When you’re needed, you’re a hero. When you’re not, you’re trash, a traitor, a troublemaker.”

Shen Xin was baffled. “But aren’t super-powered people rare in Niucheng these days? Bounty hunters should be in high demand—why discard them?”

“Who knows? I have to pick my daughter up from her tutoring class. Shen Xin, you’re a college student—please, set a good example. Don’t fill my daughter’s head with violence.”

Shen Xin was left speechless. He had plenty of retorts, but swallowed them all.

After all, there was nothing glamorous about being a bounty hunter—it was a job where you risked your life for money.

What was there to boast about?

At that moment, Shen Xin seemed to understand Old Mo’s good intentions.

Maybe being a bounty hunter brought fast money, but the risks were just as great.

Today, you might feel triumphant and proud; tomorrow, you could be dead.