Chapter 56: Urgency

Outside the media room.

There was, of course, no LCD screen on the wall—that was just Lin Zhonghai’s trick to scare Xiao Hua.

Sister Na lay on the ground, her mouth stained with blood, already lifeless.

Zhong Yuan and Zhong Da stared grimly at the large door before them.

The door was made of reinforced steel, and the lock was no ordinary one—it resembled the kind found on safes. In other words, forcibly breaking through was impossible.

It seemed they had to find another way. Zhong Yuan glanced around, thought for a moment, then instructed Zhong Da, "Go find the machine room. Try to cut off the power to this room."

Zhong Da hesitated for a moment, casting a worried glance at the heavy door, then turned to find the machine room.

Zhong Yuan remained where he was, staring at the lock for a while before suddenly walking away to check the other rooms along the corridor.

The other doors were ordinary wooden doors but all locked as well.

After surveying them, Zhong Yuan randomly chose one and kicked it open.

Inside was a modest-sized room, sparsely furnished with just a few miscellaneous items in the corner, seemingly unremarkable.

Yet Zhong Yuan frowned after a quick look around.

He turned and kicked open the room opposite, which was noticeably larger. It was simply furnished like a guest room and even had a private bathroom.

After a brief glance, he returned to the previous room.

Inside, he tapped the wall with the butt of his gun.

Sure enough, he quickly found a clue. Most of the walls were brick, but in the corner facing the door, there was a section made of plasterboard.

Zhong Yuan kicked the plasterboard, instantly creating a large hole. Behind it was a wooden frame, then a layer of plywood. With a couple more kicks, the plywood peeled back. Through the gap, it was pitch dark inside. Zhong Yuan shone his flashlight in and roughly made out a space similar in size to the room outside. The floor was covered with an off-white carpet, and a mattress lay against the corner.

The bedding was neatly arranged.

After a brief inspection, Zhong Yuan kicked the plywood several more times until it was fully pried open. Using the flashlight’s beam, he scanned the room.

Apart from what he had already seen, there was nothing else. However, one unusual feature was a full-length mirror spanning the entire wall at the foot of the bed.

Zhong Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly as he studied the mirror.

The flashlight’s beam flickered across the glass, and he confirmed his suspicion.

There had to be another space behind this mirror—after all, perverts rarely disliked voyeurism.

Moreover, this room had no visible door at first glance, which was clearly impossible.

The plywood he had just broken through was nailed to wooden studs; both inside and outside, plaster and putty with latex paint concealed any signs of an exit. In other words, that spot was not a normal doorway but likely a hidden entrance for emergencies.

Therefore, the actual entrance to this room must be behind the mirror.

Zhong Yuan soon found a seam in the mirror but opening it was not straightforward—it seemed to require a switch.

Clearly, this was no ordinary living space, so any switch would not be inside the room. But if Lin Zhonghai had entered, how did he plan to get out?

Judging by Lin Zhonghai’s habit of bringing Xiao Hua down to this floor while leaving his men above, he likely wouldn’t have them guarding behind the mirror while he was doing certain things.

Could it be remote-controlled?

Zhong Yuan squinted at the mirror; his reflection was cold, with furrowed brows and a slight downturn of the lips—a warning to strangers.

Suddenly, he drew his pistol and fired two shots at a corner of the mirror.

The glass shattered on impact, revealing a door and a pane of transparent glass behind it.

Beyond the glass was another room, considerably larger and furnished like a living room. From Zhong Yuan’s vantage point, he could see a wooden door on the right wall of that room.

That door was an ordinary wooden door.

Zhong Yuan mentally mapped the layout. If he was correct, that door led to the room beyond the reinforced steel door.

At that moment, the door opened.

Lin Zhonghai entered.

He immediately looked toward the glass.

Their eyes unexpectedly met; Lin Zhonghai hesitated briefly, then smiled.

He raised his hand, forming a pistol gesture, and fired two imaginary shots at Zhong Yuan’s head. His smile grew more brazen.

Zhong Yuan stood still.

Lin Zhonghai then made a “wait” gesture and turned to leave through the door. Moments later, a wooden rack was pushed in.

Naked, Xiao Hua suddenly appeared in view.

Zhong Yuan’s eyelids twitched slightly, but his face remained impassive.

As the rack was fully moved into the room, Lin Zhonghai slowly turned it around. Just as Xiao Hua was about to see the mirror, Zhong Yuan slipped to the side.

Lin Zhonghai laughed heartily.

The faint sound of laughter drifted through the door crack. Hidden in the corner, Zhong Yuan’s gaze grew even colder.

Suddenly, the room went dark; the light from across the glass vanished.

Simultaneously, seven or eight vehicles arrived outside the villa.

As the cars stopped, twenty or thirty men poured out—some armed with guns, others with knives—each wearing a fierce expression, shouting as they rushed inside.

As the group reached the door, a young woman burst out.

She was panicked, crying out, “They’re downstairs! Sister Na and the others are dead!”

Someone grabbed her roughly, demanding, “Where’s Hai? How is he?”

“H-Hai... Hai’s in the media room. He’s fine!” she stammered, but was quickly pulled aside and handed over to another.

“Put her in the car first!”

A man in his thirties with a scar at the corner of his eye said grimly, then led the others inside.

“Xiao Zhang, take four men to enter the cellar through the north door. Move everyone inside out. Xiao Ma, take two men to look for the others’ bodies and confirm if they’re really dead. Zong Pa, you and Xiao De guard the stairway. The rest, follow me downstairs!” the man issued orders as they reached the stairwell. He glanced down, then pointed to two men to scout ahead.

The two raised their guns and without hesitation stepped forward, peering down the stairs before descending.

“Brother!”

Zhong Da stood at the entrance, peering inside before whispering.

At that moment, Zhong Yuan appeared, blocking Zhong Da from looking further.

“Someone’s coming,” Zhong Da warned in a low voice, unaware of Zhong Yuan’s odd behavior.

Zhong Yuan frowned.

They had been downstairs for about ten minutes.

Could Lin Zhonghai’s men have arrived so quickly?

“How many are there?” Zhong Yuan asked.

Zhong Da answered, “From the sound of footsteps, quite a few.”

Zhong Yuan raised an eyebrow. It seemed Lin Zhonghai was not as easy to deal with as others claimed.

Perhaps Lin Zhonghai knew about Xiao Hua’s problem even before his men reported it.

“Let’s go! Get out first!” Zhong Yuan said, leading the way out.

Zhong Da followed closely. Once out of the room, they closed the door and hid in the room opposite.

Just then, a flash of light swept down the corridor.