Wandaozai, who had just climbed into the car, felt Nie Zhao's nose and said, "Oh no, this guy's stopped breathing."
Then, touching his hand, he added, "His body is freezing cold. He's already dead!"
If she hadn't just survived a brutal beating and an almost certain rape, Nie Han wouldn't have possessed such calm and courage tonight.
Yet the truth was, she had simply been holding on by a thread.
Her parents had passed away long ago, killed together in a car accident.
Because the vast majority of the Nie Family's fortune came from her grandmother Han Yuzhu, and the eldest branch had only Nie Zhao left as an heir, he was destined—barring any accidents—to become the next head of the Nie Family and the supreme leader of the Nie Group.
He was a deeply conscientious uncle. Although he spent year after year traveling abroad for business and was exceptionally busy, whenever Nie Han and her brother were bullied at school or at home, a single phone call was all it took for him to step in, take charge, and have their backs.
He was also their only remaining support in this world.
In the words of their relatives, he was by far the most capable young leader in the Nie Family.
This was the Philippines, a foreign land. He had been brutally beaten, bound in heavy chains, and then just like that, he had died in silence?
Having already endured the flames of war and narrow escapes, Nie Han felt utterly numb, incapable even of tears.
She reached out to check her uncle's nostrils and found no breath. Shivering, she tried again, only to find the same stillness. She trembled harder, and after a long moment whispered, "A-Rou, the Nie Group's headquarters has been losing money for years. It was only after my uncle came back that they turned losses into profits. Even my grandfather, as rare as it is, has been praising him constantly lately. How can he just be dead?!"
Through the original owner's memories, Chen Rou roughly understood the situation.
The Nie Group was a publicly listed company. In recent years, with Hong Kong's economy in turmoil and business hard to come by, the company had suffered losses for two consecutive years—until Nie Zhao's recent return, when he took over company operations, halted the plummeting stock price, and turned losses into profits.
Father Nie, Nie Rong, and Nie Zhao supposedly had conflicting zodiac signs and invariably clashed the moment they met.
Yet because Nie Zhao had fought several brilliant battles to turn things around, even Nie Rong had uncharacteristically praised his son on multiple occasions in public, going so far as to explicitly state his wish to step down and let Nie Zhao take over the succession as chairman of the board.
A family leader on the verge of taking power had just died silently like this. Nie Han hadn't cried, but she was completely shattered.
In truth, Chen Rou was quite baffled herself. Before saving him, she had specifically inspected Nie Zhao and confirmed that his injuries were all superficial and hadn't damaged his internal organs. Although having chains pierced through his collarbones would cause excruciating pain and easily trigger systemic infections, logically speaking, an adult man of his caliber should have been able to hold out against a bacterial infection until she managed to get medicine and sterilize his wounds.
As a former special forces soldier, she had been to Myanmar, the Red Sea, and even the Caribbean. She had rescued quite a few hostages, and in everything she did, she knew what she was doing—she was never reckless. How could her very first time time-traveling end up in such a botched failure?
Or could it be that when they were hauling him into the car, he was accidentally struck in a fatal spot by a stray bullet?
She was driving while Nie Zhao sat in the back. Reaching her hand behind her back, she gave him a feel. Sure enough, his arm lacked the temperature of a living person.
Chen Rou's heart skipped a beat. *Could it be,* she thought, *that the moment I time-traveled, I managed to prematurely kill off the future richest man in Hong Kong—a billionaire who would win the Grand Bauhinia Medal for promoting reunification?*
She was a special forces veteran and a former elite police officer. How on earth could her professional competence be this disastrously bad?
Fortunately, at that moment, Song Yuanchao spoke up from the front passenger seat: "No, no. Based on my experience and judgment, he should only be in a state of suspended animation."
Then, turning to Nie Han, he said, "Little sister, if you don't believe me, pull out a strand of hair and hold it under his nose."
Because Nie Zhao had to lie flat, taking up the entire backseat, Nie Han was kneeling on the floor.
She pulled out a long strand of hair and held it close beneath his nostrils. Wandaozai flicked on the dome light for her, and the two of them leaned in together, holding their breath. Sure enough, they saw the hair trembling slightly.
Still daring not to believe it, Nie Han held her breath and continued to stare, watching as her hair—though the movement was faint—did indeed sway slightly.
In other words, Nie Zhao wasn't breathing-less; his breathing was simply too shallow for a hand to detect.
In medical terms, this was known as a deep coma or a state of suspended animation.
Nie Han finally broke down, tears bursting from her eyes.
Chen Rou let out a breath of relief as well.
Everything suddenly became clear to her, and she understood how an unarmed Nie Zhao had managed to escape this deadly trap with his life.
It must have been that after he slipped into suspended animation, Ghost-head Chang assumed he was truly dead and had him buried.
Yet once he regained his breath, he had dug his way out of the earth and crawled back up from the grave.
Although she still couldn't figure out the exact condition of Nie Zhao's body, as long as the future richest man was still alive, nothing else mattered.
The car emerged from the tunnel, ahead of them lay a three-way intersection. Following Song Yuanchao's directions, she chose a route, and they drove all the way toward Pinili Town.
Next, it was time for everyone to discuss the next step of the plan.
Chen Rou asked Song Yuanchao first: "Comrade Yuanchao, do you know what kind of relationship the boss of Pinili has with Ghost-head Chang?"
Song Yuanchao replied, "Along the Philippine coast, towns act as independent units. Every town has its own armed force, and they're all pirates. They don't respect each other and frequently clash, but the moment danger strikes, they also form alliances to deal with a common enemy."
Wandaozai chimed in further, "Did you ever learn history, little sister? It's just like the Warlord Era, you know."
Chen Rou nodded, then asked Song Yuanchao again, "Do you have any thoughts or plans for what we should do next?"
Nie Han blurted out, "Let's call the police."
She added, "And call my grandfather. The Hong Kong police will come and rescue us."
Wandaozai sneered, "Little Ah-mei, you're way too naive. Don't you know that the Philippine police and the bandits are practically family?"
Song Yuanchao let out a soft sigh and said, "The Philippine police are even hooked into America's military satellite network. The moment we report a crime, the message goes straight up to the satellites. Never mind Ghost-head Chang—even the Americans will know our exact whereabouts."
The Philippines was an island nation with American troop garrisons stationed in its territorial waters, giving them access to the most advanced satellite networks available today. Furthermore, the island's pirates and police shared a shady, ambiguous relationship. The moment they called the police, it would be tantamount to broadcasting their location to the entire island.
There were five people in total in the car, and an unprecedented silence fell over them.
After a long while, Song Yuanchao sighed, "I know how to drive a car, but I don't know how to pilot a boat. Otherwise, we could just hijack a vessel."
Wandaozai hurriedly raised his hand. "I've driven yachts! Even though I've never piloted large ships, I can give it a try. Anyway, as long as we can get our hands on a boat, I can learn on the fly while steering!"
Chen Rou nodded. "Then it's settled. Step two: get a boat—a large one, otherwise we won't have enough fuel to make it to Hong Kong."
"Why go to Hong Kong? Wandao is much closer; I can take you all to my place, you know."
No sooner had Wandaozai finished speaking than Song Yuanchao pressed the muzzle of a gun against his temple and pointed at Chen Rou, declaring, "She's the boss! We do what she says!"