The man had undone half of the ropes when he suddenly changed his mind and proposed a condition.
Wen Ran's face changed. She was about to refuse, but before she could, the man ignored her wishes and leaned down to kiss her on the face. Though it was just a kiss on her cheek, she still felt disgusted, and her stomach churned. Anger flashed in her eyes as she glared at him.
"Beautiful, if you take this pill, I'll untie you," the man said, holding out a small pill.
Wen Ran's face turned pale as she mumbled, "What is this?"
"It's medicine. After you take it, you'll understand," the man said with a disgusting grin, thinking about how he would soon be able to taste the beauty's flavor.
"I won't eat it," Wen Ran protested.
"You don't get a choice," he sneered, pinching her mouth and forcing the pill inside. Wen Ran tried to spit it out, but he didn't give her a chance, and the pill went down her throat.
"Liu, what are you doing outside? Get her in here!" someone shouted from the door.
When the ropes were untied and she was freed, someone shouted from the door, "Liu, hurry up and bring her in!"
The man at the car door turned around and responded, "Coming right now!" He glanced at the door, then turned back inside.
As soon as the man named Liu turned his back, Wen Ran mustered all her strength and kicked him hard in the groin. A blood-curdling scream echoed through the quiet night.
Without wasting a second, she jumped out of the car and ran. The surroundings were pitch black, and she couldn't tell which direction to take. Instinctively, she ran straight ahead.
The sounds of people running towards her reached her ears. Seeing Liu curled up on the ground, one of the men shouted, "The girl's gone!"
"Quick, chase her!" another shouted, and both men started running after her.
The leader, along with another man, soon emerged from the house and yelled at their subordinates, "Make sure you catch her!"
"Yes, Boss!" the men replied, rushing after her.
"How did her ropes get untied?" Liu groaned, clutching his stomach, but dared not mention that he was the one who untied her. Terrified, he stammered, "Boss, it's not my fault. She struggled free on her own. She woke up during the drive. I gave her the medicine; she shouldn't be able to escape."
Normally, in the deep, pitch-black countryside at night, Wen Ran would have been scared. But right now, she couldn't care less. It was as if she was running on pure instinct, the need to survive pushing her forward.
The men chasing her were closing in. She could feel her fear multiplying, and a thought flashed through her mind—if she couldn't escape, she would rather die than let them violate her.
"There's a cliff ahead! You can't run any further!" one of the men shouted as they chased her, still confident that they would catch her.
"Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll jump!" Wen Ran shouted, picking up two rocks and holding them in her hands. Her eyes were cold as she slowly backed away.
"Jump? It's all rocks down there. If you jump, you'll die! Even if you survive the fall, our boss won't let you get away!" one man taunted, his voice dripping with malice.
Wen Ran took a deep breath, turning to look behind her. The darkness ahead seemed endless. She couldn't see how high the cliff was, but she knew the area was unfamiliar, as she hadn't been to F City for years. It wasn't even her hometown anymore.
"Come here, beautiful!" one man sneered as they closed in on her.
Wen Ran, with no more room to retreat, felt all her fear and helplessness vanish in the face of death. Her mind silently whispered, "Brother, I'm sorry," and then she turned around. With her eyes closed, she leaped into the void...
At the same time, two bright headlights pierced the darkness on a mountain bend, heading straight for the summit. The lights cut through the trees, illuminating the mountain's peak as the misty moonlight bathed the scene in a faint glow.
"She really jumped, what should we do? Should we go down and look for her?" one of the men said, sounding uneasy.
"There's a car coming up. Could it be the people looking for her?" another one wondered.
The mountain wasn't a scenic spot, nor was it inhabited. At night, no one ever came here, so the arrival of a car could only mean one thing.
"We have to go down from the road to search for her. We can't follow her down there," one man reasoned.
"Right. Let's head back and report to the boss. Those might be the people looking for her."
The three men glanced at the spot where Wen Ran had jumped. Although the mountain wasn't too high, it was still a dangerous fall, and even if she survived, she'd be seriously injured.
G City, Kangning Hospital
On a hospital bed, Wen Jin had just finished reviewing some documents when a sudden suffocating pain in his chest hit him. He furrowed his brows and placed his hand over his heart.
A few seconds later, the sensation faded, but his eyelid twitched violently. He paused for a moment, then picked up his phone and dialed Wen Ran's number.
The sudden feeling of suffocation and the twitching eyelid filled him with an unsettling premonition. The phone rang several times before it was finally answered, but it wasn't his sister's voice.
Wen Jin's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "Mo Xiuchen, why is it you? Where's my sister?"