The Watch That Got Left Behind (4)

The van's speed was extremely fast. Lu Bancheng was afraid he would lose sight of it, so he continued to accelerate.

The road was predictably empty at this time of night, and within 20 minutes Lu Bancheng had followed the van out of the city heading south. The lights became sparser as they went farther into the suburbs, and the vehicles continued to move rapidly. Even though all his windows were tightly shut, the whistling wind could still be heard.

He maintained a discreet distance behind the van, which finally stopped at the side of the road 30 minutes after meandering around a neighborhood. Afraid he might alarm them, he continued driving past them before he pulled over, too. With the aid of two dim streetlights, Lu Bancheng saw three men emerge from the van one after the other. The last man then bent over and reached for the girl inside the vehicle, after which he easily carried her as all three of them rushed down onto a twisting path.