The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 765 - 764 Citywide Search

Chapter 765: Chapter 764 Citywide Search

"Hurry up! Shen Mingzhu, I’ll only count to three. If you don’t act now, forget about ever seeing your daughter again!"

Under Ou Liya’s frenzied urging, Shen Mingzhu had no choice but to tremblingly take the knife from her son’s hand and raise it high.

Cries of shock arose around her.

Pei Ziheng slowly closed his eyes, quietly awaiting the pain to come.

"Mrs. Pei, keep calm!"

"Don’t do it!"

"Put down the knife."

Amidst the shouts of the negotiators and London police, as well as the gasps of the onlookers, Shen Mingzhu suddenly turned and viciously chopped down on the telephone.

"Fuck you! Ou Liya, if you dare touch a hair on my daughter, I’ll kill your entire family!"

Pei Ziheng opened his eyes, staring blankly at Shen Mingzhu, who was furiously hacking at the telephone, unable to react for quite some time.

Venting her anger, Shen Mingzhu hacked at the phone booth dozens of times, the blade getting all bent and the booth was chopped into a pitiful state.

The London authorities and the crowd of onlookers witnessed the entire scene.

The TV station also broadcasted it live, upending the global perception of a Chinese mother.

Fierce became the unique moniker for Shen Mingzhu.

After destroying the phone booth, Shen Mingzhu threw the knife to the ground with a clatter and, without looking back, grabbed Pei Ziheng and left.

A BBC reporter carrying a camera chased after Shen Mingzhu, wanting an exclusive interview.

"Chinese mother, are you giving up on your daughter’s life? As far as I know, Chinese culture favors boys over girls. Is that why you’ve chosen to abandon your daughter to save your son?"

"I would never give up on any of my children; to me, my daughter and son are equally important."

"Then how do you explain your refusal to comply with the kidnappers?"

"I don’t need to explain myself to anyone."

With that, she pushed the camera away, grabbed Pei Ziheng, and ran quickly past the street corner to a black van parked at the curb.

In the front seat were two muscular men in camouflage gear, emitting a formidable presence.

"Did you find it?"

As soon as she boarded the van, Shen Mingzhu asked impatiently.

One of the men nodded at her and said in English, "We’ve locked down the general direction. Our people are searching, and we should have results within half an hour at most."

Shen Mingzhu urged, "Can it be any faster?"

It wasn’t just half an hour that made her tremble with anxiety; even half a minute was too long to wait.

The muscular man looked at her with deep blue eyes, his tone icy and flat, "Finding the target within half an hour is already at the limit."

Indescribable urgency made her tears fall like rain.

"Mom, don’t cry. Guoguo will definitely come back safely."

Shen Mingzhu instinctively hugged her son, finding solace and comfort.

The madness and breakdown in front of the television cameras was half genuine and half feigned, aimed at buying time for the IZO operatives to use GPS technology to track down Ou Liya’s location.

Currently, this technology was still in its infancy, only used by the militaries of a select few developed countries.

The two men in camouflage in the car were just operatives from IZO.

IZO was one of the top ten mercenary organizations worldwide, and Earl’s Bar was one of their contact points.

Pei Ziheng, by chance, based on his past life experiences in the underworld, had learned of this.

He had visited Earl’s Bar the night before specifically to get help from IZO in finding Pei Tang.

Before long, the ring of a phone broke the silence in the car.

Shen Mingzhu instinctively held her breath, her gaze filled with hope as she watched the IZO leader answer the phone.

"Is it my daughter? Has she been found?"

As soon as the leader hung up, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but ask urgently.

The man looked at her, his hawk-like eyes filled with surprise and complexity, "Madam, it seems you truly love your daughter."

Shen Mingzhu was overjoyed, "My daughter has been found?"

"Not yet, but I don’t think there will be any problems. After all, Polar Fox and MPRI have been mobilized. They don’t just find a living person; they can even turn up a grain of ash."

Polar Fox and MPRI were foreign terms to Shen Mingzhu, but Pei Ziheng understood their significance.

Among the top ten mercenary organizations worldwide, IZO only ranked fourth, while MPRI and Polar Fox were the first and second, respectively.

The key was that the top three mercenary organizations were all very mysterious and proud, not just accepting any job that came their way.

But no matter who had engaged these people, with the intervention of these two top mercenary organizations, Pei Tang was sure to be saved!

Noticing Shen Mingzhu’s unfamiliarity with MPRI and Polar Fox, the burly man in the front row gave a simple introduction:

"They are even more formidable than us."

These words undeniably filled Shen Mingzhu with tremendous hope.

Meanwhile, in the East End Slums of London.

Ye Jianli followed two mercenaries in disguise, searching for their target in the crowded, chaotic, and dirty alleys, while keeping in touch with Yan Yi via satellite phone.

"...How many groups have you sent? I’ve already run into two."

Learning that other mercenary organizations were looking for Pei Tang, Yan Yi was unimpressed, "You don’t need to worry about how many people there are. The money will be paid as agreed, and if it’s not enough, I’ll have someone transfer more to you. Have them send more hands if needed, and make sure the person is found safely."

Ye Jianli was extremely moved, "You’re truly my brother. Once we’re back in the country, I’ll have to treat you to a good meal to express my thanks."

"For what?"

"For helping me help Shen Mingzhu find her daughter. I never expected that just mentioning it to you, you would take my request to heart and help me out like this. I used to think you were cold-hearted and indifferent, but I was wrong about you."

To Ye Jianli, Yan Yi’s employment of the top-ranked MPRI organization must have been out of consideration for him.

After all, he had told Yan Yi that he had a liking for Shen Mingzhu, and Yan Yi must have helped Shen Mingzhu out of love for the house and its master.

"Self-love is an illness that needs to be cured."

With that, Yan Yi hung up the phone.

"How come he’s cursing me out again? This guy really can’t take a compliment!"

Muttering to himself, Ye Jianli tucked away the phone and focused on following the two mercenaries in their search.

...

After enjoying the news segment of Shen Mingzhu furiously chopping up the phone booth, Ou Liya finished the wine in her glass with great pleasure and went down to the basement.

In the basement.

Three of the guards sat around a round table, drinking and playing cards, while Pei Tang, her hands and feet bound, curled up on the ground, seemingly asleep.

Ou Liya bent down to pick her up but struggled to lift her after quite an effort.

Although only seven years old, Pei Tang weighed 60 pounds—a veritable little chubby girl.

Annoyed, Ou Liya had one of her subordinates move Pei Tang onto an old workbench.

After quite a struggle, Pei Tang, who had been pretending to sleep, had no choice but to pretend to be awakened.

Seeing her open her eyes, Ou Liya curled her lips into a cruel smile, "Your whore of a mother would rather have a stepson than you, her own daughter. Tsk, tsk, how pitiful."

She said, her cold fingers slithering like a venomous snake from Pei Tang’s tender cheeks down to her waist.

"Don’t be afraid, I won’t take your life. I’ll have someone remove one of your kidneys and saw off one of your legs, and then have you returned to her."

Her intention wasn’t to kill, but to force Shen Mingzhu to face her disabled daughter every day and night, tormented with regret and sorrow, wishing for death.