Chapter 1230 — The Bargaining
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Dad, I love you. If there's a next life, I'll still be your daughter... Tell my hubby Wei Zhao that I love him too — if there's a next life, I'll still be his little wife... Tell sister Tang Zhi and... mmm — don't you cover my mouth — mmm—" Feng Xiaoxiao struggled, arms and legs flailing.
"Fine, then talk — go on and talk!" The man snatched up a towel and stuffed it into Feng Xiaoxiao's mouth, gagging her tight!
Only when Feng Xiaoxiao's voice had finally fallen silent did the man, face dark as a thundercloud, pick up the phone, seething with rage. Damn it all — was there anyone left in this world who wasn't afraid of dying? He himself was a man sworn to die, so naturally he didn't count; but was Feng Xiaoxiao one too?
The man was fit to burst with fury. The situation had been going so well, so overwhelmingly in his favor, and now this death-defying declaration of Feng Xiaoxiao's had him more than a little rattled.
"Feng Tianlong, you can be certain now that your daughter is in my hands, can't you?" The man's voice was tightly restrained. "The little girl's watched too many heroics on the screen — her brain's gone soft. You won't simply stand by and watch your daughter walk to her death, will you?"
"Give me time to think it over." Feng Tianlong sighed. "This isn't a decision I can make on my own. Your second-in-command has already been handed over to Yanjing — I have to call my superiors for instructions."
"I don't care whether you can make decisions or not — all I want is results!" the man declared, leaving no room for argument. "I'm giving you two hours; more than enough to negotiate. If there's still no word after two hours, I'll trigger the bomb and blow your daughter up with me. Of course, I'll die too."
"Wait — two hours won't do. It's too tight. It's after hours right now; I can't guarantee there'll be any result within two hours." Feng Tianlong stopped the man from hanging up.
"Very well, then I'll extend it a little — three hours ought to be all right, surely?" The man nodded as he spoke. Time was no great matter to him; as long as Feng Tianlong was genuinely negotiating on his end, giving him a little extra time did no harm. He had come to do this with his mind already made up to die, after all — he wasn't afraid of whatever Feng Tianlong might try.
"Make it five hours." Feng Tianlong glanced at his watch. "Five hours, and I'll give you your answer. You know I don't want my daughter dead — I need all the time I can get to work things."
"Deal!" Hearing this, the man felt a weight lift from his chest. How many hours was never the point; what mattered was that Feng Tianlong, asking for more time, plainly had no intention of giving up his daughter's life — he meant to save her. And the more it was so, the happier the man grew. His one fear had been that Feng Tianlong might not care about Feng Xiaoxiao.
That said, the man wasted no more breath and simply hung up.
"Phew—" Feng Tianlong let out a long breath, his heart in utter turmoil. Especially those last few words of his daughter's — he felt a wild urge to burst into tears. How understanding the girl was! She had refused to make things hard for him; she had already made her peace with dying.
But how could he bring himself to watch his daughter walk to her death?
"Captain, we've traced their position. The signal originates from the Qianhua Riverside compound, high-rise building A-19 — the exact floor isn't clear yet, but our scouts are already on the scene running a signal sweep. We should have the answer shortly." Li Yifeng reported everything he had learned so far to Feng Tianlong.
"Understood. Xiao Li, keep monitoring — alert me the moment there's news." Feng Tianlong nodded. The man had made it plain he didn't care about being tracked; so unless Feng Tianlong's expectations were wrong, it should be easy enough to lock onto the direction the phone signal was broadcasting from, and an answer should come at once.