After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

Chapter 160 : Hand of Flame

In the narrow, dim tunnel, Yan Ni was being dragged along.

Her shoes had long since fallen off somewhere, her clothes were slightly torn, and her wet hair clung to her scalp, giving her a thoroughly bedraggled appearance.

The drainage pipe had a diameter of 15 meters, requiring adults to bend their knees and stoop to pass through smoothly.

Murky water mixed with silt covered their ankles, with only two small flashlights for illumination.

In this dark world, over 5 meters below ground, everyone could feel the obvious oppression and stuffiness.

It was as if they had left the modern civilized environment and returned to some ancient, primitive era.

Besides Yan Ni, Wang Qiang had brought three subordinates here.

One walked in front clearing the way, two followed behind to cover the rear, moving at a pace not much slower than on the surface.

If viewed from above through the soil layers, the crisscrossing underground pipes would look like a complex maze.

Wang Qiang and his men wound their way through, like lab rats trying to find the correct exit.

Of course, they weren't going in circles in the pipe maze.

Because the escape route had been etched into Wang Qiang's mind long ago.

Whenever the subordinate leading the way reached a pipe intersection, he would give vocal directions.

Before long, their position had already left the park's territorial range.

Yan Ni, barefoot in the murky water, accidentally stepped on a somewhat sharp pebble.

Instantly, piercing pain shot up from her sole, causing her to stumble and fall into the water.

The sudden noise from the hostage startled the three criminals walking in front and behind.

They halted, raising their guns to aim at Yan Ni in unison.

"It's nothing! Keep moving!"

Wang Qiang ordered in a deep voice, then grabbed Yan Ni's slender arm, directly lifting her from the murky water.

Completely disregarding her current condition, he dragged her along, accelerating their pace.

Yan Ni bit her lip without a sound.

Besides the new wound on her foot, she had several other injuries from being dragged around.

The current predicament and ordeal were enough to break the defenses of most girls in this world, but a glimmer of hope still burned in Yan Ni's eyes.

She had seen Manager Shen earlier.

She firmly believed that the other was certainly finding a way to rescue her.

Before she was found, she absolutely couldn't give up first.

Combining all the events that had occurred before, at this moment, Yan Ni had roughly guessed Shen Han's undercover identity.

She couldn't help but think: So Manager Shen is a police officer, no wonder she had the courage and ability to confront drug lords.

No wonder she was so different from those around her.

As Yan Ni's thoughts turned, Wang Qiang's three subordinates showed obvious agitation.

They were on the run now, and the fragile Omega was completely a burden.

They felt that since they had already escaped the Federation military's pursuit, they should kill the hostage to avoid slowing themselves down.

At this point, one of the subordinates walking behind directly spoke his mind.

"Brother Qiang, let's just kill her here. It's very inconvenient to bring her along!"

Hearing these words, Yan Ni's body immediately began to tremble uncontrollably.

This was what she feared most!

If she died in this pitch-black tunnel, would the police be able to find her body?

What about her parents? What about her sister with the congenital disease?

As she was gripped by fear, Wang Qiang's voice resonated through the gloomy passage.

"I'll decide how to handle the hostage!"

"You think we're safe now? If we don't bring her along, what if we need to fight later? Should I use you as human shields?"

After hearing Wang Qiang's words, the three subordinates in front and behind fell silent.

But Yan Ni felt as if she had just walked through the gates of hell.

Her body still trembled, not knowing when this nightmare she was in would end.

The group continued to advance.

In a place invisible to all, Wang Qiang's lips curled into a vicious and mocking arc.

He hadn't killed Yan Ni after entering the tunnel, not because of what he had just said.

He knew that after tonight, Vice Chairman Zhou Boxin would likely be unable to protect himself, and had lost his usefulness, but the Omega beside him still had value!

She was a plaything he had specially found for a certain small foreign country's leader.

In their previous video call, the other party had been very satisfied with this Omega's appearance and was willing to pay a hefty sum to purchase her.

Now, with the situation as it was.

The only way out Wang Qiang could think of was to escape to the small country ruled by that leader.

As long as he could get that transaction fee, hire a few people locally, he could slowly rebuild his business.

But the premise of all this was that he had to bring the Omega beside him over there.

Wang Qiang hadn't told his subordinates that near the pipe exit, there was another hidden passage.

That hidden passage could be used to escape by inflatable raft, but it could only carry two people.

......

Shen Han led a team of 12 soldiers, racing like lightning to a riverside.

"Everyone out of the vehicles. We're 2 kilometers from the pipe drainage outlet. All team members, run to position!"

"Snipers and observers, find your own shooting positions. The rest, follow me to ambush near the exit."

As Shen Han's orders were issued, the team members immediately sprang into action.

The noise from the off-road vehicles was too obvious; they couldn't drive directly to the ambush position.

Calculating the time, even if the criminals moved in a straight line, their speed would be very limited in the underground pipes. The soldiers should have gotten ahead.

As she led the run, the discomfort in Shen Han's eyes grew increasingly intense.

Initially, it had just been itchy, but now it had turned into a stabbing pain.

Shen Han knew her eyes might be infected, but she couldn't stop to check now.

Yan Ni wasn't just a hostage taken by criminals; she was her friend.

She couldn't waste a single second on the way, because every fleeting moment could be the last bit of time to save her.

Shen Han would never forget how Yan Ni looked when she knocked on her rental room door to bring her money.

That girl was self-respecting and kind-hearted; why should she become a victim devoured by evil?

She imperceptibly increased her speed again, leading her team members straight to the ambush point.

The sound of river water washing against the grassy banks carried a sense of urgency.

Shadows flashed along the riverbank, like predators in the dark night!

......

"Brother Qiang, there's light coming in ahead! We must be near the exit!"

The subordinate walking in front called out joyfully.

Without waiting for Wang Qiang to speak, he had already accelerated through the water towards the light source.

As they approached the pipe's water outlet, the water level at their feet had reached their calves.

Amidst the rumbling sound of flowing water, Wang Qiang's voice sounded again: "All of you go out and scout first."

The two subordinates at the back had long wanted to rush towards the exit like the one in front.

They had only stayed behind for fear of offending Wang Qiang.

Now hearing his words, they immediately started running.

They didn't want to stay in this cold and dark pipe a second longer.

"Wait, give me the flashlight!"

Wang Qiang grabbed one of the subordinates, directly ordering.

The subordinate didn't think much of it - they were about to get out, why did the boss still need the flashlight?

He handed it over and continued running towards the opening.

Watching the last subordinate about to run out of the pipe, Wang Qiang immediately turned with Yan Ni, walking briskly towards a corner ahead.

Yan Ni didn't know what he was planning to do; the fear welling up in her heart gave her an explosive burst of strength.

She suddenly broke free from his grip and sprinted towards the drainage outlet.

"Help-"

Before she could finish the word "me," her hair was grabbed by Wang Qiang.

The force of the man behind her was shockingly strong, directly yanking her whole body backwards.

"Getting uppity, are you?"

Wang Qiang held the flashlight in one hand and gripped Yan Ni's neck with the other, pushing her head into the murky water.

As muddy water flooded her mouth and nose, pain and deep despair swept over her simultaneously.

Yan Ni struggled in suffocation, feeling she might die here.

Two or three seconds later, Wang Qiang released his grip, pulling her out of the water.

The Omega in his hands was his money tree; he naturally wouldn't actually drown her.

At this moment, Wang Qiang suddenly felt something was amiss.

Why was there no sound from outside?

He wasn't sure if those three subordinates had abandoned him and fled directly.

At this point, he had only one thought: quickly take the hostage to the hidden passage and leave on the raft!

Outside the drainage outlet, by the river.

The three criminals were pinned to the grass by special forces team members, their mouths stuffed with dirt, unable to move.

Shen Han guarded the opening, hearing no more splashing sounds from inside.

She frowned and immediately bent down to enter the pipe.

Several meters away, the flashlight's beam flickered briefly before completely disappearing.

Two silhouettes turned into the left passage.

Shen Han pursued with her gun drawn.

Halfway through, she picked up a fist-sized rock from the water. When she reached the corner, she forcefully threw the rock towards the side of the pipe wall.

The sound of the rock impact mixed with gunshots, fierce sparks erupting in the pitch-black underground pipe.

Only when the gunfire temporarily ceased did Shen Han dart into the corner passage.

In the darkness, a gust of wind rushed towards her.

Shen Han ducked, then began close-quarters grappling.

"Yan Ni!"

The familiar voice, wrapped in sounds of fighting and flowing water, spread in all directions.

Yan Ni, thrown aside by Wang Qiang, immediately cried out in response: "Manager Shen."

After just three words, she collapsed into the water, sobbing.

The girl's mournful weeping was suppressed and pitiful.

She was afraid her voice would distract Shen Han, so even her crying was careful.

As soon as Shen Han engaged with Wang Qiang, she knew his combat skills were no weaker than her own.

In close-quarters combat, both of their guns were knocked into the water.

Earlier, the gunshots that had erupted in the pipe had already prompted the special forces team members outside to enter the opening.

A group of people splashed through the water, advancing. They would reach Shen Han and Wang Qiang's fighting position in about half a minute.

Wang Qiang dared not continue the entanglement.

With his hands and feet occupied, he suddenly headbutted towards his opponent's nose bridge.

If this hit connected solidly, Shen Han's nasal bones would likely suffer a comminuted fracture.

In the confined space, she couldn't dodge, so she simply grabbed her opponent and quickly fell backward.

The two crashed into the murky water.

Wang Qiang's attack had already missed its mark, his head striking Shen Han's shoulder instead.

He was about to raise his fist for an even fiercer blow.

Suddenly, a hand engulfed in flames preemptively struck his lower jaw.

Raging flames erupted within inches, as if they could incinerate all impurities!

The sensation of burning and intense pain appeared simultaneously. Wang Qiang felt as if his body had taken flight.

After a brief dizziness, he slammed heavily into the side of the pipe, then plunged into the water.

The special forces team members waded through the water, arriving. The beam of a powerful flashlight illuminated the entire dark area.

Shen Han, coughing, propped herself up slightly. After personally witnessing Wang Qiang being handcuffed, she lost consciousness.