Chapter 14: Rescue at the Old Department Store
by xennovelXu Chen hung up the phone, his face grave.
Li Rui blinked:
“Brother Chen, is it really that serious?”
Xu Chen had already called the police. Li Rui and the other boys felt the tension immediately.
In his previous life, Xu Chen never knew what exactly happened in that “incident.”
But Xie Bingran had spent two years in a correctional facility—surely it wasn’t for a minor matter.
And the buzz-cut kid had just mentioned two “adults,” so this wasn’t just childish mischief.
“Let’s go! Hurry and find Xie Bingran!”
With that, Xu Chen headed toward the Old Department Store.
Li Rui didn’t hesitate. He summoned six or seven of their boys and hurried after him.
Before long, they arrived beneath the old building.
The entire structure was wrapped in flimsy tarps and scaffolding.
Xu Chen turned to the buzz-cut kid:
“Where did Xie Bingran go in?”
The kid pointed ahead.
There was a gap in the metal fence—just wide enough to slip through sideways.
“Move!”
Xu Chen led the group through the opening one by one.
Twilight was settling in. The unlit department store looked eerie and foreboding.
Xu Chen looked up, then laid out a plan:
“Seven floors in all. The place is big. Pair up and search upward.
If you find Bing Ge or run into danger, shout out.”
When he finished, Li Rui replied:
“Don’t worry, Brother Chen. Our guys aren’t pushovers.”
He picked up a discarded iron rod from the floor.
Xu Chen held up a hand and said:
“No one acts rashly.
The police are on their way. Don’t cause chaos.
If something happens, make sure Bing Ge and yourselves stay safe. Don’t stir up bigger trouble.”
Xu Chen knew these half-grown kids tended to swing first and think later. A mistake could land them all in deep trouble.
That was one reason he’d called the cops early.
Knowing police were coming would make Li Rui and the others think twice.
After all, reborn Xu Chen wasn’t a kid anymore.
His calm decisiveness in an emergency naturally earned their confidence.
Li Rui said sharply, “Understood! Brother Chen, we’ve got this!”
He turned to the others and quickly assigned tasks.
They split into pairs as Xu Chen had instructed…
Li Rui barked, “Search separately. Shout if you find her!”
Xu Chen added, “And stay safe.”
They nodded and slipped through the glass doors, racing up the stairs in pairs.
Xu Chen and Li Rui searched the first floor together.
Inside, the place had been emptied. Shelves lay scattered amid trash.
The area was open and dark, so they moved apart to search.
Xu Chen didn’t dare call out Bing Ge’s name—he feared it might draw danger to her.
About three minutes later, Xu Chen and Li Rui met again at a stairwell on the other side.
Li Rui wiped sweat from his brow and shook his head:
“Nothing on this floor. She must be upstairs.”
At that moment, the buzz-cut kid came running down from the second floor, panting.
Spotting Li Rui and Xu Chen, he blurted out:
“She’s in the warehouse outside. I saw it through a window in the corridor!”
Li Rui’s face tightened:
“What exactly did you see? Was Bing Ge there?”
The kid caught his breath:
“Those two adults dragged Bing Ge inside!”
Li Rui clenched his teeth, his eyes flashing. He gripped the iron rod.
Xu Chen told the kid:
“Lead the way!”
The kid nodded and dashed outside.
Xu Chen and Li Rui hurried after him.
The Old Department Store was a standalone seven-story state-run market from the ’80s.
The warehouse he’d mentioned was in the courtyard’s annex—a row of connected bungalows.
The three of them sprinted into the courtyard without pausing and reached the warehouse door.
A large sliding iron gate was shut tight, hiding what lay inside.
Suddenly, a muffled “bang” echoed from within.
Alarmed, Xu Chen rushed forward and yanked the gate open.
Inside, the dim, empty space held scattered debris—and three figures.
Xu Chen’s eyes adjusted quickly. He made out their shapes.
Two burly middle-aged men with fierce expressions each held a wooden stick.
One bore a dark, ominous tattoo on his arm.
Xie Bingran lay on the floor, seemingly knocked unconscious.
Li Rui shouted, “Bing Ge!”
The two men jumped. The tattooed man turned and sneered at the three boys:
“What ragamuffins are these?”
At that moment, Xie Bingran stirred. She shot up, as sudden and fierce as a coiled leopard.
She lashed out with a kick at the tattooed man’s ankle.
Crack!
A pained scream followed.
The tattooed man twisted his ankle and collapsed, clutching his leg.
He roared in anger and lunged at Xie Bingran…
His companion panicked. He raised his stick and brought it down toward her head!
Xu Chen’s face went cold. He snatched the iron rod from Li Rui and hurled it at the man.
Clang. A dull thud—and then a cry of pain.
The rod struck the man’s face. He staggered back and fell.
Meanwhile,
Xie Bingran had rolled over and pinned the tattooed man beneath her knees.
She looked smaller and leaner, yet she held him down with terrifying force.
Her fists pounded his face—thud, thud—with relentless fury.
The tattooed man covered his head with his hands, still moaning under the assault.
In the dim warehouse, Xie Bingran stayed silent, her eyes bloodshot.
She hammered at him as if she couldn’t stop.
Beneath her, the burly man had lost any strength to fight back.
At one moment,
Xie Bingran reached down and found a loose brick. She hoisted it high, ready to smash it into his skull.
If it fell, it would be lethal.
Xu Chen shouted,
“Xie Bingran, stop!”
Time seemed to freeze. Every sound halted.
Her hand, brick in grasp, hovered in midair.
Her chest heaved violently.
She blinked and turned toward Xu Chen.
Her icy, blood-red eyes stared at him in a stunned daze.
The tattooed man, wincing in pain, looked up at her like a hunted beast.
Xu Chen hurried in front of her and reached to pry the brick from her hand.
But she gripped it so tightly his fingers couldn’t budge it.
He looked down at her and spoke gently:
“It’s okay. Give it to me.”
She blinked again and finally loosened her grip on the brick.
Xu Chen caught it and tossed it several paces away.
In that moment, Xu Chen couldn’t help but wonder.
In the previous timeline, Xie Bingran had faced these two men too.
No one had stopped her from smashing that brick—so she’d ended up spending two years in “correction.”
But that was just conjecture. Now reborn, Xu Chen couldn’t verify it.
Fortunately…
Xie Bingran wasn’t hurt, and no irreversible damage had been done.
…