Chapter 25: Lifesaving Money 1

Seeing Arturo alive at Juan's house surprised Gao Guang because he hadn't expected to encounter a living Arturo there.

So, although Arturo had the misfortune of being kidnapped twice, the fact that he was rescued both times, no matter how you look at it, made him a lucky guy, and Arturo's mother was lucky, too, since they didn't have to pay for their rescue this time.

As for the person who asked Gao Guang for help, he was even luckier. Seeing him, Gao Guang was reminded of himself; if it hadn't been for the Captain and his crew's timely rescue, his body would have been dissolved by now.

The person asking for help spoke Spanish, which Gao Guang understood, so he felt obligated to translate for John.

"He's saying let's save him, and he can give us a lot of money," Gao Guang said.

John initially had no reaction, but upon hearing the latter part, he immediately said, "Uh, but we can't fit him in our car, and he's covered in blood."

The person pleading for help immediately said in a weak voice, "I can drive myself, please, save me, I'll give you money, a lot of money!"

Hearing Gao Guang and John's conversation, the pleader switched to English, so John, without hesitation, said, "How much is a lot of money?"

At that moment, Frank roared from the outside, "What are you two doing in the bathroom playing with shit? You've got two minutes, come out and look for cash!"

"Shut up!" John, unable to contain his anger, then yelled, "We've already found the money, just focus on finding your own."

Then John turned to the pleader again and said, "Hurry up and tell us how much you can give!"

"A million US dollars, cash!"

"Uh, wait a second."

Gao Guang suddenly interrupted their conversation, then whispered to the person lying on the ground, "Do you know Peter?"

"I..."

The pleader hesitated, and Gao Guang felt that his indecision reinforced his judgment.

"You're Peter's partner, aren't you?" Gao Guang asked.

As soon as he asked this question, the pleader stiffened, then quickly said, "No, I don't know him!"

Now it was clear, Gao Guang immediately said, "We were hired by Peter to rescue you."

"I don't know anyone named Peter!"

The bathroom was pitch-black, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, so the pleader was speaking into the air in the dark, which didn't allow him to hide his facial expressions well, but Gao Guang and John, with their night-vision devices, could see everything clearly.

Gao Guang saw John looking at him in surprise, so he shrugged and said, "Take Arturo and his mother and leave; this guy is no use to us."

"I'm Matt! I am Matt Davidson! Would Peter hire you to save me? You were sent to finish me off, right?" Matt said.

Matt was still doubtful, so while his words sounded certain, his tone was full of questioning, which meant he wasn't sure if he was being saved or if he was already doomed.

Changing his tone, Gao Guang said, "We'll talk on the car, now we go look for the cash, and later we'll take you out of here."

After speaking, Gao Guang patted John on the shoulder, gestured they would talk outside, and left the bathroom with John, heading straight for the room where Frank was.

Frank and Rubber had overturned all the beds in the bedroom. They were rummaging through everything, but as it turned out, there wasn't a pile of bills under the bedsheets, just a bed and a mattress.

"Go look in other rooms, hurry, make it quick!" Frank commanded, clearly impatient since they were looking for money, which would make anyone anxious.

Gao Guang grabbed Frank and whispered, "Captain, we found Peter's partner, and he's still alive. Arturo and his mother are here too."

Frank paused for a moment before saying, "Still alive? That's not Zeta Group's style. Uh, if Peter's partner is alive, that means..."

Gao Guang whispered, "Your plan can go ahead without any pressure, and there's money to be taken."

"Haha, what luck, what are you waiting for? Get our financial backer out of here first!" Frank said, giving Gao Guang a push on the back. "Let's move!"

Just then, Rubber said with extreme irritation, "F*ck, where's their cash, there's got to be some on hand, there's always some!"

"Here, here!"

John suddenly exclaimed excitedly and then deflated, "F*ck, it's too little!"

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When John shouted, Frank and Rubber rushed over, and then they saw John with his hands full of cash, but the stack of bills was not very thick, totaling less than a hundred thousand.

Frank sighed and said sternly, "Retreat! Take our sponsor with us, quick, retreat!"

Gao Guang urgently said, "Take Arturo with us!"

Frank gave Gao Guang a glance, then said, "There's no room in the car! Let them run for it."

Gao Guang was not noble enough to sacrifice himself to save others, but he was willing to save someone if it didn't compromise safety.

"Bring them outside and let them drive off by themselves!"

Not compromising safety, merely extending a hand to help—this was something Frank could entirely accept. He immediately said, "I'll cover you, take the hostages outside, quick!"

Frank, holding his gun, went outside first, while Gao Guang rushed into the restroom. He pulled out a knife and cut all the ties binding Arturo, and then immediately moved on to cut the ties on Arturo's mother.

Arturo had tape wrapped around his mouth and zip ties on his hands, and his mother was tied up in a similar fashion. However, after cutting the zip ties, Arturo remained motionless, whereas his mother immediately struggled to her feet from the floor.

As for Matt, John had already carried him off earlier.

Gao Guang shouted, "There's one who can move, Rubber, go help the Captain, I'll bring them out."

If someone could move, there was no need to carry them. Rubber could go outside to cover the Captain, but when Gao Guang tried to lift Arturo, he found that Arturo was too heavy for him to carry.

Just as Gao Guang thought of dragging Arturo by the legs, he was stunned to see Arturo's mother suddenly lift her son.

Arturo weighed at least seventy kilograms. His mother didn't look frail but certainly wasn't robust. She wasn't very tall, and despite having been tied up for a long time, she managed to lift Arturo.

Was it truly the strength of a mother's love?

Miracles were few and far between, but what was happening right before Gao Guang's eyes was definitely a miracle. He stood there dumbfounded, watching a woman stagger out of the darkness with her grown son in her arms.

There was a thud as Arturo's head hit the door frame, but he still didn't move, while his mother continued in silence, like a headless fly, changing direction and moving on.

"This way!"

Gao Guang grabbed Arturo and continued in Spanish, "I'll carry him on my back. You grab my arm, and let's be quick."

The woman could only make a barely audible mumbling sound. Gao Guang squatted down, placed Arturo's drooping arm over his shoulder, and then began half-dragging, half-carrying him outside.

Gao Guang wasn't much slower. By the time he got outside, John had just stuffed Matt into the back seat of his car, and Rubber was pointing at a car with its door open, saying urgently, "Let them take this car and leave!"

Rubber was much stronger than Gao Guang; he grabbed Arturo with his bare hands and tossed him into the back seat of the car, curled his legs, slammed the door shut, and said, "The key is in the car, the door is open, forget about them now, let's go!"

Arturo's mother still had tape around her mouth, unable to speak, but after frantically nodding at Gao Guang, she immediately dashed to the driver's seat.

Gao Guang and Rubber ran toward their own car. While running, Gao Guang heard the woman behind them say, "Take us to the United States, we can only die here! Please."

Gao Guang truly couldn't do that, so he sighed softly without stopping his feet, but the woman immediately added, "I will pay five hundred thousand US Dollars!"

"She says she'll pay five hundred thousand US Dollars for us to take them to the United States," Gao Guang said.

Rubber paused and said, "Good, we've got our road money, let them follow. If they get lost, it's not our problem."

Gao Guang looked back and said, "Drive, follow us!"

John had already started the car, Frank had taken his place in the back seat, and Rubber burst into the front passenger seat. That left no choice but the back seat for Gao Guang.

The car sped away, and a Mercedes sedan followed closely behind, Arturo's mother's driving skills were not bad, and the car, a Mercedes S600, was much nicer than the Ford Edge Gao Guang and the others had rented.

Gao Guang looked at Matt, seated between him and Frank in the back seat.

Matt looked pitiful, with his hands tied, his face swollen and bloody, his body drenched and limp, appearing as if he could die at any moment.

"Buddy, to be in such a state and not dead, you're pretty lucky," Gao Guang said.

Matt's condition was woeful, yet Frank remarked on his luck. But Matt offered a tragic smile and said, "Yeah, I've always been lucky, not to die like this."

Frank just smiled without responding, and after a moment, Matt couldn't help but say, "If I'm not wrong, you guys are from King's Defense, right? How much did Peter pay you this time?"

Frank grinned and said, "At least three million."

"At least three million, but Peter doesn't have three million, so the price he's offering you is to kill me, isn't it?"

Matt's mind was very clear. He sighed and said, "Then, can I buy my life for four million? Or... I get it, you want me to bid against him, right?"

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