"Ah—" The woman who realized what was happening struggled violently, her cries muffled as she was held tightly. The two men carried her and shoved her into the van. The door slammed shut with a bang, and then they sped away, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

The entire incident took less than five seconds; a kidnapping had just occurred right under Zhong Yun’s nose. He had remained crouched there, utterly unresponsive. Only after the van had put some distance between them did he slowly open the door of the sports car, start the engine, and stomp on the accelerator, launching forward in a blur.

Naturally, the sports car hadn't broken down; Zhong Yun had merely restrained all four wheels, making it appear as if the vehicle had malfunctioned.

The appearance of the kidnappers had served him well. Initially, he’d been hesitant about laying a hand on this woman, but now, having 'rescued' her from them, she would surely feel some obligation.

Thinking about his plan to visit his parents the next day and not wanting to waste any more time, he pressed the gas pedal hard, and the sports car instantly rocketed past two hundred kilometers per hour.

The car’s performance was extraordinary. Though Zhong Yun hadn't driven top-tier sports cars in his previous life, he imagined they couldn’t be much better than this. He glanced at the emblem on the steering wheel; he didn't recognize it, guessing it belonged to some new company.

While Zhong Yun was lost in these thoughts, he had already caught up to the van. He saw the rear door slide open, revealing a pitch-black gun barrel. A hulking brute, grinning savagely, aimed and pulled the trigger at Zhong Yun.

With a deafening "Boom!" the whole contraption exploded. The brute’s gun-holding hand was blown to shreds, eliciting a pig-like shriek of agony.

Damn it, have kidnappers in this country become this audacious? Zhong Yun nearly cursed aloud. If it had been anyone else, they would have been shot dead just now.

Even though this area was close to the suburbs, it was still one of the largest cities on the coast; the kidnappers' sheer lawlessness was appalling.

His foot slammed the accelerator to the floor. Whoosh! The fiery red sports car lunged forward, slamming violently into the rear of the van. The car's nose crushed a deep indentation into the larger vehicle. An immediate curve lay ahead. The sports car kept pushing the van, crossing lanes, until it smashed into a massive tree beside the road.

With a cracking, tremendous sound, thick smoke billowed out. Countless leaves, like snow whipped up by a gale, fluttered down in a soft shower.

"Screeeech!" A car passing by on the road heard the commotion and screeched to a halt. Its window rolled down, revealing a dark head peering out. Confirming it was a traffic accident, the driver hastily fumbled for his phone and began frantically dialing. "Hello, there’s been a traffic accident on this road. A red sports car rammed a white van into a large tree by the roadside…"

The call abruptly cut off there. The caller’s eyes bulged wide, his throat seemingly constricted; he could no longer utter a word.

He watched as the red sports car executed a flawless reverse maneuver, parking neatly on the roadside. The door flew open, and a tall man stepped out. He walked to the still-smoking van, grabbed the handle, and with a wrenching "Clang," pulled the door open, lifting a woman out.

The caller watched, wide-eyed, as the tall man carried the woman to his car, started the engine, and sped off into the distance, tires spitting sparks, vanishing in an instant, leaving behind a vacuum of unanswered questions.

"Hello? Hello? Are you there?" On the other end of the line, the police dispatcher urged impatiently, but his dazed soul couldn't be recalled.

"Are you alright?" Zhong Yun glanced sideways at the woman in the passenger seat. Her clothes were disheveled, her face pale, and her eyes furtive, like a rabbit recently caught in a snare.

Hmm, although deeply frightened, she didn't seem physically hurt.

The speed of that van must have been over a hundred kilometers; the occupants weren't wearing seatbelts, so slamming into a tree like that—if Zhong Yun hadn't secretly shielded her, she would certainly have been injured.

"Who exactly are you? Where are you taking me?" After a while, the woman's gaze finally focused. She looked at Zhong Yun with an expression akin to a young bride in ancient times confronting a virile stranger, a mix of terror and loathing.

"I am a good Samaritan who champions righteousness," Zhong Yun ignored her hostility, smiling like a hero of the Lei Feng spirit.

Having just survived a kidnapping, the woman was like a startled bird, showing immense hostility towards everything around her. She naturally categorized Zhong Yun as one of the kidnappers. This man had appeared too coincidentally. If it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have lowered her window, allowing the bandits to seize her so easily, without even time to call the police.

As for why he had come to save her, her highly stimulated nerves instinctively suggested it was part of his larger scheme.

"What do you want? Money? How much?" The woman struggled to compose herself, racking her brain for a way to escape.

"What kind of person do you take me for?" Zhong Yun looked genuinely aggrieved, as if transformed into an ancient chivalrous hero who expects no reward for his favors.

A chill ran through the woman’s heart. If he didn't want money, he must have a far greater objective. It had to be admitted, her mind worked quickly.

"However," Zhong Yun’s tone shifted, "if you insist on giving me something, I suppose I cannot refuse."

The woman was overcome with relief and began frantically searching through the car cabin. After a moment of fruitless searching, her expression was on the verge of tears.

"Are you looking for this?" Zhong Yun retrieved a woman’s handbag from near his feet and waved it in front of her eyes.

"Yes, yes…" The woman snatched it back, rummaged through it, pulled out an exquisite wallet, dumped all the cash out, and shoved it toward him. Then, she pulled out the stack of bank cards nestled in the slots. "The total money in these cards is five hundred thousand. This is all my savings. The PIN for all of them is 123456."

"Screeeech!" Zhong Yun slammed on the brakes and stopped. He took the wad of cash, stuffed it into his pocket without counting, and took all five or six cards. "Considering your sincerity, I will reluctantly accept them." A classic case of profiting and then feigning reluctance.

"Stay here and don't move," Zhong Yun said before opening the door and stepping out. Only then did the woman realize they were at the entrance of a bank.

Each card allowed a daily cash withdrawal limit of fifty thousand. Zhong Yun had to use several different ATMs to collect the full amount. He internally marveled, money from rich offspring sure comes fast.

He felt not a shred of guilt. Considering the sports car alone, he estimated it couldn't be bought for less than several million—and that was its price before he left Earth. Accounting for twenty-plus years of inflation, it could easily be worth over ten million. For someone who could afford such a car, thirty thousand was barely a speck of dust.

If Zhong Yun hadn't happened to intercept the woman, the situation would have been disastrous. Those thugs in the van looked like desperate outlaws; falling into their hands would have led to an outcome far more horrific than death. For kidnappers, silencing the victim after getting the money was the safest course. Relying on them to keep their word and release someone was less plausible than trusting the smooth talk of Wall Street.

"Should I drive you home?" Feeling quite pleased after making a small profit, Zhong Yun asked casually.

The woman hadn't used the time Zhong Yun was withdrawing the money to run away, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't muster the strength. Perhaps the shock had been too severe; she still hadn't recovered and felt utterly drained.

Seeing Zhong Yun return the cards, the woman was slightly surprised. Hearing his question, she shook her hands frantically. "No, no, I can get back myself." All she wanted was to immediately escape this terrifying man.

Before she got out of the car, Yun gave her a meaningful look. "Do you think I'm a bad person? Let me tell you, I’m not." With that, he sped away. Whether she believed him or not, he didn't care.

Originally, with his capabilities, acquiring money should have been simple. If he had a decoder, all the money in the banks would be his for the taking.

However, he had separated from Yun Qi in a hurry. His mecha-key held a pile of items, but they were all energy blocks, weapons, and other essential personal treasures—no decoder.

He did have a personal light-brain, but it couldn't connect to Earth's low-level network, leading to this awkward predicament: an emperor from a nation whose technology far surpassed Earth’s was reduced to obtaining wealth through violent means.

In terms of rapid wealth accumulation, the use of hypnosis was superior. Hypnosis wasn't omnipotent; controlling someone's immediate actions was simple. But only mind control could thoroughly alter a person's perception, though using it required a certain cost.

This is why he resorted to extortion, coupled with the use of hypnosis. Even if the woman encountered him again, she wouldn't recognize him. For such a small sum of money, she was unlikely to escalate the matter significantly.

With a large amount of cash tucked away, Zhong Yun made a U-turn back towards the city center and checked into a luxurious hotel, having "borrowed" a taxi driver’s ID card.

It was precisely the scheduled communication time with Wei Wei and Ruo. He had made numerous promises to comfort the two pregnant women who couldn't accompany him, one of which was to communicate with them daily.

Perhaps due to the vast distance, the image received by Zhong Yun's communicator always had a delay of a few seconds, making him realize that spatial sensors weren't completely synchronous either; when the distance became too great, transmission still required time.

After soothing his two emotionally unstable wives, Zhong Yun connected with Yun Qi and reported that he was safe. This conversation lasted until dawn.

Changing into a clean set of clothes, Zhong Yun walked out of the hotel. Dawn was just breaking, and there were few cars on the street. He hailed a taxi. "To the nearest tea restaurant."

Watching the streets flash by outside the window, he pondered in his mind. Since his old home had been demolished and rebuilt as a new residential area, his parents had likely moved long ago. But where they moved to was uncertain.

Fortunately, he had many relatives. His second uncle even worked in the county government. He was sure to find them by inquiring there.

He wasn't going back to his hometown first; he wanted to try his luck at his brother-in-law’s place. His brother-in-law ran a small company in this city. He just didn't know if the company still existed.

"Driver, do you know how to get to Jinghui Software Company?" Zhong Yun asked the driver, testing the waters.

"Know it? How could I not know Jinghui, such a big company?" The driver glanced at Zhong Yun through the rearview mirror. "Judging by your look, you’ve just returned from out of town, haven't you?"

The driver was indeed knowledgeable. Zhong Yun’s accent was local, but his speech sounded awkward and unfamiliar, immediately leading the driver to guess he was someone who had been away from his hometown for many years.

Zhong Yun was already feeling surprised. His brother-in-law's company was small—calling it a software company was generous; they mostly just built websites for people. Including his sister, there were only five people. "Is the boss surnamed Chen?"

"Chen Xiang."

That must be it. It was unlikely that the company name was the same, yet the boss’s name was also identical. He hadn't expected his brother-in-law to build the company up so much. "I’ve been away from here for over twenty years, so I’m not very clear. I have a relative who works at Jinghui Company. I remember that over twenty years ago, Jinghui was just a very small operation."

The driver’s face showed understanding, and they started chatting. Many taxi drivers were great conversationalists, and this one was no exception, pouring out information about Jinghui Company like opening a sieve.

Speaking of Jinghui Company, its story was quite legendary. Ten years ago, Jinghui was still an obscure little company, but it unexpectedly rose to prominence by launching a network game that swept the nation. It carved out a significant slice of the online gaming pie, stabilized its footing over several years, and became a well-known enterprise.

In the following years, Jinghui enjoyed smooth sailing, developing several other popular games, and its scale continued to grow. Last year, it ranked among the top fifty companies in the province.

Zhong Yun listened with rapt attention, genuinely delighted by his brother-in-law’s success. His sister and brother-in-law were both very filial; if his brother-in-law was earning money, his parents would also be able to live well. This eased some of the anxiety he had carried.

His parents used to run a small shop and hadn't saved much while putting him through school. After he disappeared, he had genuinely feared they would fall into poverty. They were old now, and he was their only son.

"We're here."

The driver's voice pulled his thoughts back. Zhong Yun paid the fare and got out.

The tea restaurant was already packed. Looking at the bustling hall, Zhong Yun’s spirits lifted. In the past, the tea restaurant was his favorite haunt. After more than twenty years, the chance to taste authentic dim sum again was a true pleasure.

After finally finding a seat, Zhong Yun ordered over a dozen small plates of dim sum at once, setting them out on the table, which caused the surrounding diners to stare.

Zhong Yun paid them no mind, sweeping through the food like a whirlwind. He ordered another dozen plates, stacking the embroidered bamboo steamers used for buns high in front of him.

Under the dumbfounded gaze of those nearby, Zhong Yun, eating like a famished ghost, finally let out a contented sigh. He called the waiter to settle the bill. It turned out he had single-handedly consumed over five hundred yuan worth of food. Calculating at ten yuan per small plate, that meant over fifty dishes—even though they were small portions, the quantity was enormous. Most groups of five or six people couldn't eat that much.

Leaving the tea restaurant, Zhong Yun hailed another taxi. "To Jinghui Company."

Jinghui Company was located in the city’s renowned office building district—a hub of commercial prosperity. The city's landmark building, the Commerce and Trade Tower, stood right there.

Jinghui Company rented an entire floor of the Commerce and Trade Tower for its offices.