IJCFIARFS Chapter 74

Mr. Ruan’s body was cremated.

When the staff brought out the urn, Ruan Jiaojiao tried to take it, hoping for a few moments of distance from Hortez. But as soon as she moved, Hortez gestured, and one of his men stepped forward to collect the urn instead.

“Jiaojiao misses her grandpa… loves him,” Hortez said, gently stroking her hair. He leaned close, his soft words sending chills down her spine. “When we return, I’ll arrange a grand funeral and keep his ashes in the basement right below your room.”

He paused, smiling coldly. “If your uncles happen to die, they’ll be placed nearby as well. Don’t worry, Jiaojiao. They won’t be far… they’ll stay with you for a very long time.”

Fear flickered in Ruan Jiaojiao’s eyes. She instinctively tried to pull away, but Hortez held her firmly. Just as her panic mounted, a deafening explosion shattered the silence.

“Boom!”

The blast was followed by muffled screams from outside. Hortez’s face darkened instantly, while Ruan Jiaojiao looked around in shock. Moments later, Hortez’s phone rang urgently.

The voice on the other end was panicked. “Boss, we’re ambushed! Heavy weapons everywhere— we can’t hold out!”

Hortez’s expression grew even colder. How dare someone mount an assault on him?

“Fight back, show no mercy,” he ordered, his voice sharp as steel. He didn’t care who it was; whoever dared challenge him like this would suffer dearly.

Immediately, he commanded Chester, his tech specialist back at the villa, to activate all network defenses and prepare everyone for battle. Chester, a top hacker, and Hortez’s trusted subordinate, had joined not just for the money but for his twisted enjoyment of others’ suffering. Since coming to this land with Hortez, he had reveled in countless atrocities, finding satisfaction in people’s pain.

But this time, Chester found his tech expertise challenged to the core. The “intranet” he’d set up was completely out of control. Warning signals were going off everywhere, yet the display showed everything as normal. The system was giving faulty information, causing Hortez’s men to be deployed in all the wrong places, leaving them unable to reinforce his position.

Gunfire and screams echoed closer. Realizing something was wrong, Hortez tried contacting Chester again, only to find the line dead—his entire network was cut off!

The extent of the ambush quickly became clear: his drug factories, his estate, and even his hidden “safehouses” had all come under coordinated attack.

With an icy glare, Hortez grabbed Ruan Jiaojiao and started toward an exit, determined to escape.

Frozen in terror, Ruan Jiaojiao barely registered that this might be her chance to break free.

Outside the crematorium, Marceau’s and Wright’s teams, equipped with clear objectives, took down Hortez’s remaining men, leaving only a small force to confront him directly. They announced through a loudspeaker, offering Hortez a deal: hand over Ruan Jiaojiao, and they’d let him live.

Hearing this, Ruan Jiaojiao’s mind snapped into gear. This was her opportunity to escape Hortez!

Desperate, she cried out, “Hand me over! I want to go! Please, let me go!” She clung to the ground, digging her heels in as Hortez tried to pull her along.

Hortez turned, his face full of disbelief, as she broke into tears.

“I don’t hate you anymore, Hortez,” she said, pouring every ounce of sincerity she could muster into her voice. “Live, if you can. Live for me… I think I’ve realized I love you. Please, don’t let me down.”

Hortez’s expression wavered, his eyes searching her face as if trying to comprehend. He stroked her face, eyes gleaming like those of a venomous snake, causing her stomach to twist with revulsion. But she forced herself to meet his gaze, brimming with what looked like love.

“I only want you to survive, to give us a chance,” she whispered, knowing this might be her only chance to escape.

Hortez’s eyes softened for a brief moment as he kissed her fiercely, tightening his hold around her.

“Jiaojiao, you finally fell in love with me…” he whispered, a glint of triumph in his gaze.

Outside, the noise of gunfire continued. Ruan Jiaojiao’s heart raced, almost tricked into believing her own words as his grip tightened. But she quickly reminded herself that this was an act.

“Hortez…” She leaned into the kiss, her fingers trembling with excitement at the thought of her escape. “Of course I—”

Her words were cut off by a sudden, searing pain in her thigh.

A gunshot echoed around them, and she realized Hortez had shot her.

She looked at him in disbelief, pain, and betrayal clouding her vision. Hortez’s face softened, his eyes holding a cruel tenderness.

“Jiaojiao,” he whispered, “you put on a good show. But I give you zero points for honesty.”

As her shock mounted, he smirked, tightening his grip on her. “Did I ever say you could leave me? No.”

He caressed her cheek as she whimpered in pain. “I don’t mind your lies. You’ve lied to me before. But if you want to walk away from me, that’s disobedience. So now… let’s make sure you stay put.”