Chapter 167 They're Here!

Seeing the bounty posted online, Chu Yuxuan calmly called his bodyguards, instructing them to bring "Liu Jun" back to the villa. At the same time, he summoned Xiao Qing and Lao San.

Earlier, Wang Long had told the extra that there was a small role for him to play, offering him 500 yuan for the day.

As a result, the extra still thought he was acting. Upon entering the villa, he asked Lao Wu, who had picked him up earlier: "How did I do in the afternoon scene? When's the official shoot starting? Hey, I gotta say, those bodyguards you hired are pretty professional—they stayed in character all afternoon and didn't say a word to me. Nearly drove me nuts!"

Lao Wu was sitting at the dining table, eyes glued to his computer. The screen displayed footage from the surveillance cameras he had installed around the villa, switching between views as he carefully monitored the surroundings. Annoyed by the extra's chatter, this top-tier hacker impatiently pointed toward Chu Yuxuan and said, "That's the boss, go talk to him."

The extra followed Lao Wu's direction and spotted Chu Yuxuan, who gestured for him to come over.

"Boss, how'd I do? If you liked my performance, how about giving me a bigger role? Don't let my age fool you—I know martial arts! If you don't believe me, I can show you a split right now—"

"Alright, alright," Chu Yuxuan laughed, "No need to push yourself at your age. Have some food and rest for a bit. I'll arrange for someone to take you back later. Oh, and here's your pay."

Chu Yuxuan handed him 500 yuan.

The extra's face immediately fell, realizing he hadn't impressed the boss. "Boss, please give me another shot! I promise I'll do better! Watch, I'll show you a few expressions—happy, angry, sad—and look, I'll do the split— Oh! D*mn! Pulled my groin! It hurts! It hurts!"

Everyone else: "..."

Chu Yuxuan was speechless but didn't want to mock someone just trying to make a living. He gave Li Bin a look and said, "Help him up and take him upstairs to rest."

Once the two of them were upstairs, Chu Yuxuan glanced outside at the darkening sky and said, "Lao Si, Lao San, Xiao Qing, go get the gear. We head out in half an hour."

The three of them headed to the storage room, opened a hidden compartment, and emerged ten minutes later carrying five gear bags. The delicate, petite Xiao Qing was even carrying a sniper rifle, an image that seemed completely out of place.

The six bodyguards lounging in the living room were wide-eyed, suddenly feeling that their pistols were nothing more than toys in comparison.

At that moment, Lao Wu suddenly exclaimed, "UAV!" (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

Chu Yuxuan immediately jumped up from the couch, striding toward Lao Wu while shouting upstairs, "Li Bin! Stay away from the windows!"

Li Bin, thinking it was the police outside monitoring them, responded, "Got it! I'll close the curtains!"

"Don't move! Don't do anything!" Chu Yuxuan barked, frowning as he looked at the computer screen.

Lao Wu maximized the image, but they could only faintly make out a small red dot blinking in the air. It was so high that it was hard to notice unless you looked carefully. "It's high up," Lao Wu said, "and it's here to monitor us."

The six bodyguards looked at each other in confusion, each of them warily drawing their guns.

"Didn't expect them to come so soon... perfect. Let's give them a good look at Liu Jun," Chu Yuxuan muttered, thinking to himself. Lao Wu switched through other camera angles but couldn't spot anyone controlling the drone. He asked, "Boss, should I send our own drone to scout?"

"Don't alert them," Chu Yuxuan immediately ordered. "Act like we haven't noticed it. It's still early; they won't act recklessly. Let's wait and leave in an hour."

Time passed quickly, and the drone kept appearing intermittently, as if trying not to be noticed. After a few minutes of surveillance, it would fly away to a distant spot, only to return later to hover over the villa.

Now, the drone appeared on the monitor once again. Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath. "Let's move!"

The brothers grabbed their gear and left through a small door leading to the garage, while Chu Yuxuan and the six bodyguards, dragging the bound extra, exited the villa. They deliberately let the drone capture "Liu Jun" on camera, pretending to be alert as they hurried into the garage.

As the scene played out, the extra finally began to realize something was wrong. He glanced at Chu Yuxuan, his eyes filled with fear. Chu Yuxuan, too tired to explain, handed him some more cash and said with a smile, "Stay here for the night. I'll let you know tomorrow if we need you."

Without giving the extra a chance to ask questions, he pulled Li Bin aside and quietly instructed, "Keep an eye on him. If he asks anything, just make something up. And don't let him near the windows. In the morning, send him away."

"Understood, Boss!" Li Bin replied.

Chu Yuxuan nodded, left two bodyguards behind, and then led the rest of the group to an abandoned factory they had scouted earlier.

Upon arrival, they drove the cars straight into the factory to avoid being seen by the drone. He sent four of the bodyguards to stand guard at the entrance.

All of this elaborate setup was meant to make the enemy think they were being watched by the police and had no choice but to hide Liu Jun in such a remote location.

The factory was isolated, and at this time of night—past 10 PM—it was dead silent, pitch black.

Lao San pulled out some makeshift lights, barely illuminating the inside of the factory.

Soon after, Chu Zhiqing arrived with his bodyguards, just as Chu Yuxuan had planned. After all, the credibility of this operation depended on his father's appearance.

The father and son chatted for half an hour, and when the time seemed right, Chu Yuxuan sent his father away, saying, "You should go. Be careful on your way back... Oh, and have your men drive my two Hummers back to Emerald Lake, to make it look like I've gone home."

"Mmm..." Chu Zhiqing nodded but frowned. "You think they'll come tonight? I doubt it. Even if they do, they'll want to observe us for a couple of days first."

Chu Yuxuan stroked his chin. "We've left such an obvious bait for them. I think they'll jump at the opportunity. Now that they've confirmed Liu Jun isn't dead, the longer they wait, the more anxious they'll become."

Chu Zhiqing's face was still tense with concern. He couldn't shake his worry for his son. "Let me leave more men with you. It's too dangerous."

Chu Yuxuan waved him off. "The more men you leave, the more they'll send. Don't make it harder for me. The fewer people we have here, the easier it will be for me to handle them."

Chu Zhiqing hesitated, his lips tightening, then glanced at the brothers one by one. Noticing that Xiao Qing wasn't there, he asked, "Where's Xiao Qing? That girl's skilled. Why didn't you bring her?"

Chu Yuxuan simply smiled, saying nothing.

Chu Zhiqing clicked his tongue and, after one more reminder to be careful, left with his men.

It was a dark, windy night—perfect for trouble. Yet, the four brothers, sitting in the factory, were not tense. Instead, they exchanged idle glances, looking more bored than anything else.

By 3 AM, Chu Yuxuan was smoking cigarette after cigarette. Lao Si leaned against an oil drum, lost in thought, while Lao Wu was fully engrossed in a Chinese language learning video on his laptop. Who on earth was the girl inspiring him to study so hard?

Lao San, the big guy, had somehow scrounged up a few small iron marbles, flicking them one by one toward the others.

Chu Yuxuan looked down, spotted one at his feet, and, squinting, flicked it at Lao Si's marbles, hitting them dead-on.

Lao Si blinked, picked up a marble, and lazily flicked it, knocking Lao San's away.

Lao San laughed and, copying them, flicked one near Lao Wu, but his was too forceful, sending two marbles flying far away.

Lao Wu shrugged and got up to retrieve them.

These four men, all in their late twenties, were acting like little boys, enjoying the calm before the storm.

Just as Lao Wu was about to flick another marble, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that his computer screen had frozen. The network icon in the corner showed a red exclamation mark!

"Oh my God! Is this tactic that widespread now?" Lao Wu exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling. "They're here!"