Chapter 233: Chapter 233 A Fun Plan_1
"Could you not be so aggressive?" Su Xuan said cheerily into the phone.
"Aggressive?" Zhai Defeng replied, "I’ll give you a chance to see just how aggressive I can be!"
"Have you returned from Thailand?" Su Xuan asked.
According to the information Zhong Huilan had provided, Zhai Defeng had moved to Thailand long ago.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
The moment Su Xuan mentioned Thailand, Zhai Defeng hung up.
After that, Su Xuan didn’t rush to take another rideshare fare. Instead, he immediately called Zhong Huilan to inform her that Zhai Defeng was planning to cause trouble for him again that night.
Zhong Huilan said, "Su Xuan, don’t go out tonight. I’ll send people to your house to protect you."
But Su Xuan wasn’t just calling to report the threat. "Ms. Zhong," he asked, "I suspect Zhai Defeng is tapping my phone."
The crackling static he’d heard was what made him suspicious.
"Do you have time to come see me now?" Ms. Zhong asked. "I’ll have a technician check your phone."
"No problem."
Su Xuan immediately drove to see Zhong Huilan.
The technician’s examination confirmed it: his phone was indeed being monitored via base station intrusion. This method of surveillance didn’t require any tampering with the device itself. Instead, they had used his phone number to lock onto his phone’s unique IMEI code. Since the IMEI code is like a phone’s permanent ID, changing his number wouldn’t work. The only way to escape the monitoring was to get a new phone entirely.
"Su Xuan, you can’t use this phone anymore; it’s not safe," Zhong Huilan told him. "We can provide you with an encrypted phone. You don’t even need to get a new number, as one is already built-in."
With that, Zhong Huilan had someone fetch a phone and handed it to Su Xuan.
"This phone has a built-in encryption chip that allows it to continuously change its virtual mobile number over the network, essentially assigning it a new number for every call. Not only that, but it also comes with hardware authentication, silent encryption for calls and messages, a high-level authorization management system, and more. It’s impossible for anyone to monitor."
Zhong Huilan went on to explain in detail just how impressive the phone was.
"Thanks!" Su Xuan gladly accepted the phone and then bid farewell to Zhong Huilan.
"Oh, by the way, Su Xuan, this phone was originally intended to protect witnesses in major cases—it has a tracking function, so we’ll always know your location. Please, don’t turn it off," Zhong Huilan said, watching his retreating figure.
"Got it!" Su Xuan waved a hand without turning back.
***
One last ride, and then it’s home for the night!
In the evening, Su Xuan picked up a new passenger, planning to drop them off before heading home to play with the two little siblings.
As long as I keep spending time with them and give them plenty of love and care, their mental state is bound to improve.
"Uh, hello? Are you sure you’re going to the crematorium?" Su Xuan asked, turning to the passenger before starting the trip.
According to the ride order, the passenger wanted to go to a crematorium on the northern outskirts of the city, but that place had supposedly been abandoned years ago.
But when he turned to look, he was shocked to find the back seat empty! The passenger who wanted to go to the crematorium was gone!
But he just got in and sat right there! What the—? Where did he go? Did he just vanish into thin air?
As the daylight faded, an eerie feeling suddenly filled the car.
Then, Su Xuan chuckled.
He saw him. The passenger was bent low, fumbling for something on the floor.
"Yes, I’m going to the crematorium!" the man said, immediately straightening up and pressing a sharp knife to Su Xuan’s shoulder. He’d been looking for that very knife, having dropped it on the car floor when he tried to draw it.
Su Xuan frowned. "It’s not even dark yet, and Zhai Defeng has already sent you after me? He only sent one person? You think you can handle it?"
Zhai Defeng must have sent him.
The man, however, also frowned. "Zhai Defeng? Don’t know him!"
Su Xuan was puzzled. "You’re not an assassin? Sent by Zhai Defeng to kill me?"
"Are you paranoid?" the man shot back with a glance.
"Not at all," Su Xuan replied. "Then why are you kidnapping me?"
"Don’t you know what you did today?" the man asked.
"What did I do?" Su Xuan asked.
As he spoke, his hand surreptitiously rose, gathering the force of his Ruyi Tai Chi. I’m absolutely confident that one strike will be enough to neutralize him.
But the man’s next words made him abandon the idea.
"Jiang Yan wants to see you!"
"Oh, so it’s Jiang Yan!" Su Xuan lowered his hand. "She’s always calling me stingy, but she’s the stingiest one of all. To think she’d go so far as to have me kidnapped over a hundred yuan. Fine. In that case, I’ll go with you to see her."
At this, the corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile as an amusing plan instantly formed in his mind.
Instead of starting the car immediately, he turned to his hijacker. "Hey, buddy, can I call my family? They’ll worry if I don’t get home, and they’ll start looking for me."
"Make it quick!" The man was also wary of anyone coming to look for Su Xuan.
"Hey, Xiaoyun!" Su Xuan immediately picked up his phone and made a call. "I won’t be home for dinner tonight. A passenger needs to go to the crematorium in the northern district, so I’ll be home late. You and your brother can make yourselves something to eat, okay? Don’t go hungry!"
Before Alice left, she had bought a phone for both Xiaoyun and Shiyazi. Moreover, Su Xuan deliberately used his old phone for the call, not the encrypted one from Zhong Huilan.
"Brother Su, don’t worry about us," Xiaoyun said over the phone. "Grandpa Liu had Grandma Lai from next door come over to look after us. She’s making dinner for us right now, so you can focus on your work!"
"Alright, then."
Su Xuan hung up the phone. As he did, a crackle of static came from the earpiece.
A smirk touched Su Xuan’s lips again.
***
More than two hours later, Su Xuan and his kidnapper arrived at the abandoned crematorium in the northern suburbs. The journey took so long because he had deliberately taken detours and driven slowly.
By now, it was well and truly night.
After entering the crematorium grounds, the man led Su Xuan to the main building, pushed open a large, rusty gate, and shoved him inside.
"Heh! Quite a crowd!"
As soon as he was pushed in, Su Xuan saw a dozen sullen-looking youths holding various makeshift weapons. The moment they saw him, they swarmed forward, tying him securely to a wooden chair.
"Where’s Jiang Yan?" Su Xuan then asked them.
"Su Xuan, we’ve only been apart for half a day, and you already miss me?"
A moment later, a slender figure walked up to Su Xuan. She jutted out a chin so sharp it looked like it could plow a field, revealing a red, swollen face.
Who else could it be but Jiang Yan?
"Whoa!" Su Xuan stared at her face and exclaimed in mock surprise. "Jiang Yan, have you put on weight?"