Wang Wu walked over to Xu Ke smoothly. "Mister Xu…"

"Let's go." Xu Ke nodded, his expression grave.

The real challenge lies ahead!

Wang Wu nodded and walked over to Zhou Yi Yi and Wang Qiya. "Miss Zhou, Second Miss…"

"Yes," the two of them replied, nodding cautiously.

The two women who had come with them for drinks had also wanted to ask Xu Ke to lead them out. However, considering they had remained silent the entire time, they were too embarrassed to speak up now. Even if they had shamelessly asked, Xu Ke wouldn't have taken them anyway.

As soon as Xu Ke made a move, the soldier's expression changed instantly. "Young Master Xu, you can't leave! Please leave Young Master Chong behind."

Ye Chong's condition was visibly worsening. Blood streamed from his arms, and his Dantian had been shattered by Xu Ke's punch. It was a testament to his unusual constitution that he hadn't already passed out. If he were to be taken away by Xu Ke now, the situation would become dire.

Xu Ke retorted, "Why can't I leave? I captured him myself. On what grounds should I leave him behind?"

At his words, everyone was stunned.

What the hell kind of logic is this?

The soldier tried to argue, but Xu Ke gave him no opportunity. He had stalled earlier to wait for Wang Wu to help with the rescue. Now that everyone was here, he had no time to waste dawdling with them.

"Uncle Wu, fight our way out!" Xu Ke shouted.

"Yes!" Wang Wu acknowledged.

In that moment, Wang Wu unleashed the formidable strength of an Innate Expert. His body moved like lightning, charging forward with the unstoppable momentum of a wild python. As he moved, his hands never stopped, delivering a flurry of punches and palm strikes that instantly injured or knocked out all the surrounding thugs.

The first to suffer were the soldier and Ye Chong's other bodyguard.

"ARGH!" Everyone screamed in agony.

"Mister Xu…" Wang Wu urged, as casually as if he were swatting flies.

"Out," Xu Ke nodded, his command directed at Wang Qiya and Zhou Yi Yi.

The three of them immediately ran for the stairwell. Along the way, a few thugs who had slipped past Wang Wu raised their gleaming knives and lunged at Wang Qiya and Zhou Yi Yi.

The color drained from the two women's faces in terror, but Xu Ke's expression remained unchanged. Although having Ye Chong in front of him made it inconvenient to fight, he had other methods…

He simply dragged the limp body of Ye Chong, like a dead dog, and turned to use him as a shield against the incoming blades.

The thugs were scared witless and hastily retracted their knives. Ye Chong was even more terrified, the blades having missed his face by a hair's breadth. After withdrawing their weapons, the thugs could only watch helplessly as Xu Ke dragged Ye Chong downstairs.

If there had been more of them, they could have swarmed Xu Ke, overwhelming him. One of the women would have inevitably been captured. But now, their main force was tied up by the War God-like Wang Wu, leaving only a handful of stragglers who were completely useless. Realizing this, they chose to stand down. Who would dare to advance now? If they failed to rescue Young Master Chong and accidentally killed him, they would be the ones to take the fall. It was better to just get knocked out by Wang Wu.

「In the stairwell.」

That is fucking shameless! These were the words Ye Chong had been screaming in his mind but didn't dare say out loud. After his men had desperately pulled back their knives, allowing Xu Ke to proceed downstairs smoothly, Ye Chong could no longer contain his fury. His own reinforcements had yet to arrive, but Wang Wu had gotten there first. He knew with certainty that his capture by Xu Ke was a done deal. Yet, even with him firmly in his grasp, Xu Ke was still using him as a human shield? This was too much! If not for his fear that Xu Ke would torture him right there in the stairwell, he would have exploded with rage.

Regrettably, he didn't dare. Seeing no one in pursuit, Ye Chong thought to himself, I have to find a reason to escape.

Just then, Wang Wu caught up, having dealt with the men behind them. "Mister Xu, I'm here." He then offered, "I'll take the lead to guard against any ambushes downstairs."

Xu Ke simply nodded at Wang Wu, then continued to lead the way himself, pulling Ye Chong along. Understanding the unspoken command, Wang Wu nodded again and fell back to guard the rear, protecting Wang Qiya and Zhou Yi Yi.

"Young Master Xu…" Ye Chong struggled to speak.

"Speak," Xu Ke said.

Wang Qiya and Zhou Yi Yi instinctively looked over.

"You… didn't you say you wanted to cooperate with me?" Ye Chong asked.

The two women froze. What does he mean? Xu Ke plans to collaborate with the Ye Family?

To their shock, Xu Ke nodded and answered candidly, "Yes, that's right."

Cooperation was a possibility. He couldn't actually kidnap and kill Ye Chong, not so soon after the life-and-death duel. If he caused another major incident, Chen Xiong would undoubtedly be displeased with him, even if he was justified in coming to the rescue. Xu Ke knew very well that no leader liked a troublemaker, even if that troublemaker was technically a good person. So, he had planned to release Ye Chong all along. As for how to get rid of the guy, that was a matter to be addressed after dealing with Ye Fan.

Of course, Xu Ke knew that after having his Dantian destroyed, Ye Chong would never truly cooperate with him. But possibilities could be forced into existence with a little pressure.

At this moment, however, Zhou Yi Yi's opinion of Xu Ke plummeted. She glared at him, her voice filled with anger. "How could you? The Wang Family has been so good to you, yet you're going to cooperate with Ye Chong?" She stopped walking completely.

But Wang Qiya sensed something was off.

Xu Ke frowned. "Keep moving. Don't waste time here."

"I'm not moving until you give me and Xiao Ya an explanation!" Zhou Yi Yi declared furiously. She thought they had escaped the tiger's den, only to realize they had fallen into another trap.

Xu Ke shot Zhou Yi Yi a speechless look.

Ye Chong pressed on. "Then why don't you let me go now? If you abduct me, how am I supposed to cooperate with you?"

"Do you really think your family wouldn't find it suspicious if you returned home completely unharmed after being kidnapped by me? Is your brain as stupid as that subordinate of yours, Soldier?" Xu Ke said coldly.

Releasing him was part of the plan, but it had to be done correctly. A direct release was out of the question.

Anger flashed across Ye Chong's face. You beat me to a pulp and you have the nerve to talk about being 'unharmed'? But still, he dared not say it. He was out of options. This was the last strategy he could think of, but Xu Ke remained unmoved.

Zhou Yi Yi suddenly exploded. "Xu Ke, you really are in cahoots with him, aren't you? Be honest, did you set this whole thing up today?" she accused. "Were you working with Ye Chong just so you could play the hero saving the damsel in distress and win Xiao Ya's affection? I really misjudged you!"

She hadn't truly believed it before, but Xu Ke's words, which seemed to consider things from Ye Chong's perspective, completely convinced her that they were secretly working together.

Seeing this, Xu Ke frowned again and turned to Wang Wu. "Uncle Wu, get them downstairs. Now is not the time for explanations."

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