"Why do you say that?" Tang Yumeng hurriedly asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Lin Chuan's mouth curled up slightly as he said, "Ever since we got on the highway, someone has been following us. After the Kowloon Mountain interchange, those two who were tailing us left the highway, and then this rear eight-wheeled truck showed up and has been relentlessly chasing us. We hadn't gone much farther when this big truck blocked the road right here."

"So... the truck driver is with them?" Tang Yumeng hurriedly pointed to the freight driver not far away.

"No!" Lin Chuan shook his head and said, "If they were together, he wouldn't dare to stay here."

"Then..." Tang Yumeng was astonished and asked, "Then... what should we do now?"

"Let's head to Linjiang first," Lin Chuan replied.

"But the road is blocked." Xiao Xue also woke up alarmed and quickly pointed to the rear eight-wheeled truck and the tall mound of sand and gravel ahead, saying, "How do we get past? Unless we fly over it!"

"It's fine." Lin Chuan smiled, released the brake, and then drove the car the wrong way on the highway.

"You're crazy, this is a highway!" Tang Yumeng exclaimed.

"There's a reversible interchange one kilometer back from here," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"Reverse driving is prohibited on highways," Tang Yumeng quickly said. "Lin Chuan, let's just wait for the police here instead."

"No way," Lin Chuan shook his head and said, "If we stay still here now, the other party might have a backup plan. If their backup plan takes effect, then we'll be in trouble. Being stuck on the highway is already a very troubling matter, and if anything else happens, we'll really be out of luck."

Tang Yumeng took a deep breath and could only follow Lin Chuan's advice.

"What about... the cars behind us?" Xiao Xue hurriedly spoke up.

"That's their problem now," Lin Chuan replied, "They are definitely targeting us, so right now, ensuring Secretary Tang's safety is the most important thing."

Lin Chuan turned on the hazard lights and the fog lights, speeding along the outermost emergency lane. Fortunately, there weren't many cars on this stretch of highway, encountering only about a dozen or so vehicles. Lin Chuan encountered only three cars on his way driving against traffic. Those three cars were obviously scared silly when they saw Lin Chuan. Who would have thought someone would dare to go the wrong way on a highway? Not to mention fines and fees, just one collision could be fatal.

After going against traffic for one kilometer, Lin Chuan immediately got out of the car, dismantled the highway median barrier, then moved its position. He then drove the vehicle straight through the divider and continued along the emergency lane of the oncoming traffic direction.

"Lin Chuan, be careful!" Tang Yumeng repeatedly reminded him.

"Secretary Tang, don't worry," Lin Chuan said with a smile, "You can trust my driving skills."

Lin Chuan drove with full concentration, not uttering a word. He was afraid of encountering some reckless drivers speeding on the emergency lane. Luckily, there weren't many cars on this road. Otherwise, he indeed might come across such people.

Although he didn't encounter such reckless youths, Lin Chuan still drove with great vigilance, gripping the steering wheel very seriously. He knew that at this moment, he was playing with life and death—a single lapse in attention could have deadly consequences.

Fortunately, after driving about five kilometers, Lin Chuan once again saw a movable reversible interchange. Excitedly, he pulled apart the guardrail and drove the car through. The vehicle finally returned to the normal flow of the highway.

"Phew, what a relief," Tang Yumeng took a deep breath.

"Why is there not a single car on this highway?" Xiao Xue asked in amazement.

"Are you silly? Didn't you see the traffic jam up ahead?" Lin Chuan said with a laugh, "To clear that up, it will probably take at least four or five hours. Moreover, working on the highway is quite troublesome. Unlike on ordinary roads where you can get a bunch of people to help, the highway can only be handled by the highway emergency team, and the fees are ridiculously expensive."

"No wonder," Xiao Xue suddenly realized.

Lin Chuan said cheerfully, "We'll be arriving at Linjiang very soon."

"What about the minister and the others?" Xiao Xue hurriedly asked.

"If they're smart, they'll naturally come over. If they're clueless, then that's nobody's fault," Lin Chuan said with an indifferent smile.

"That's not a nice thing to say, you know?" Tang Yumeng gave Lin Chuan a disapproving glance.

After driving for about another ten minutes, the car exited the highway at the Linjiang toll station.

.........

Jiangbei City.

In the office at Qinghua Pool, Mr. Hu was getting extremely anxious. Today was the day of the plan's execution, and the time had already passed the scheduled moment, but why was there still no news from the front? What in the world was going on? Why was there still no response? This made Mr. Hu quite irritated.

"Hurry, ask what's going on!" Mr. Hu gritted his teeth and said, "Why is there still no news? Is the person dead or alive? Shouldn't there be some message by now? How long am I supposed to wait?"

"Yes!" The underling immediately nodded.

However, it wasn't long before Mr. Hu's phone rang. The number was from the front, finally bringing news.

"Mr. Hu..." The other party's voice was very silent.

"Speak, what happened?" As soon as the Northeast Tiger heard it, he immediately had a bad premonition.

"I'm sorry." The other party's voice was very low, saying, "The mission failed, and the target still managed to escape."

"Why did this happen?!" The Northeast Tiger exclaimed in shock.

"It's unclear for now, I will continue tracking and investigating. I'll report back to you immediately once I have any results." The other party said and then hung up the phone promptly.

Bang...

In a fit of rage, the Northeast Tiger swung his phone fiercely towards the room's mirror. With that throw, the large mirror instantly shattered into a pile of glass fragments. The Northeast Tiger was furious as he cursed loudly, "Damned fools, a bunch of useless trash, what use do I have for you!"

In the room, whatever could be smashed had been smashed to pieces. Outside the door, the underlings scattered, none daring to approach and incur his wrath at such a time.

After calming down, the Northeast Tiger personally drove to a location, needing to meet with a mysterious client. The matter was of great importance. It would have been fine if the plan had succeeded, but now with the mission failed, trouble followed—and if it wasn't dealt with promptly, it could turn into an even bigger problem later on.

Jiangbei Hotel.

Arriving at room 2012, the Northeast Tiger knocked on the door and then heard a male voice inside telling him to come in.

The Northeast Tiger stepped inside; the room was dark with no lights on. A man with his back to him sat on the sofa, his appearance impossible to discern.

"Boss, I have come to report an extremely important matter." Knowing he had botched a major job, the Northeast Tiger stood behind the man, speaking uneasily.

"What's the matter?" The man didn't turn around.

"Yesterday, I sent someone to kill Lin Chuan and Tang Yumeng, but unfortunately, the plan failed." The Northeast Tiger said, not daring to meet the man's gaze, looking down as he spoke.

The mysterious person stiffened, then abruptly stood up and, with his back to the Northeast Tiger, scolded, "You're too presumptuous! Why didn't you consult me before taking action on your own?"

"I... I thought it would be a pleasant surprise for you if it was successful." The Northeast Tiger stammered out.

"Useless fool," the mysterious person cursed bitterly.

"Boss..." the Northeast Tiger said helplessly, "What should we do now? They must already know that it was us."

"What about evidence?" the mysterious person scoffed, "Without evidence, who would dare make accusations?"

"That's..." The Northeast Tiger said with an awkward laugh, "I'm just worried they might find evidence. After all, no matter is completely flawless. If they manage to trace it back to us... What then? It would be hard for us."

"Hmph, you hired the people, you solve it!" the mysterious person snapped back, "It would be best to make them disappear from Jiangbei City."

"I heard the driver involved is already dead," the Northeast Tiger mentioned.

"Well, isn't that just fine?" the mysterious person sneered, "Just treat it like a traffic accident, right? Who would know this was a murder?"

"That's..." The Northeast Tiger thought for a moment and said, "Makes sense. I'll handle this matter."

"Go," was all the mysterious person replied.

Lin Chuan and the others hadn't arrived in Linjiang when they received a call from Luo Guoqing and the others, inquiring about Lin Chuan's condition. Learning that Lin Chuan would soon arrive in Linjiang, Luo Guoqing showed frustration: "Damn it, we drove too slowly, got stuck in traffic, and clearing it up might take a long time."

"Find a way," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"Yes, I've already contacted the traffic police to lead the way by motorcycle in the opposite direction," Luo Guoqing nodded, "We should be able to arrive on time."

Linjiang, Linjiang County Party Office.

Liu Dagu, the fat deadbeat, together with a bunch of County Party officials, was waiting outside the County Party building. Every time he saw this County Party building, Lin Chuan couldn't help but be reminded of the White House; still, the County Party building of Linjiang truly was luxurious, resembling a scaled-down American White House.

"Secretary Tang, welcome, welcome!" smiled Liu Dagu as he walked over.

"Secretary Liu," Lin Chuan said jovially as he approached, then said, "Secretary Tang has had a tiring journey by car and boat; arrange a place for rest first."

"Yes, yes, yes," Liu Dagu hurriedly nodded and said, "The Zhushi Trade Delegation will probably arrive around noon. I'll notify you when they're here."

Liu Dagu had wanted to shake hands with Tang Yumeng, to feel her soft, delicate hand, but was unexpectedly blocked by Lin Chuan. This annoyed Liu Dagu. He squinted and glared at Lin Chuan spitefully, as if blaming him for ruining his plan, finding him utterly detestable.

Lin Chuan smiled and said, "Secretary Tang, let's get in the car. We'll go straight to the hotel to rest."

"Yes!" Tang Yumeng nodded.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.