Kidnapping

The market was bustling with life, filled with the scent of ripe fruit and the chatter of early evening shoppers. Hye Won had been standing at a stall, picking out lychees, her mind half on dinner plans, when she felt it ~

The press of cold steel against her spine.

"Scream, and you're dead," a voice murmured. The breath against her skin was thick with stale tobacco. "Come with us."

Her heartbeat didn't spike. She didn't freeze either.

Instead, her mind flickered through calculations. Two more men nearby. Their presence was obvious among the numerous crowd to her now, the weight of their stares pressing in from the edges of her vision.

Her mind snapped into calculation mode, instinctively reaching out.

Han Chen's reply was instant. He saw through her eyes.

<.... Kidnapping. Probably a trap for me. Don't react ~ you're shielded by my spell. But if you fight, I'll have to wipe every camera within a kilometer and alter memories of too many people. Too messy. I will be there in few minutes.>

Hye Won sighed.

She allowed them to shove her forward, even humming a light tune as they pushed her into a van. "So," she chirped, tilting her head. "Where's the party?"

The thugs exchanged wary glances. The van reeked of sweat and cheap tobacco, but the real problem was what she felt inside.

Three presences—two mid-level Transform Jin warriors and one Master-level martial cultivator. This wasn't just a random abduction. It was planned.

One of the men gripped her arm too tightly. "Where are you taking me?" she asked, voice deliberately a little panicky.

"Shut up." The gun barrel pressed harder into her back. The man smirked. "Women these days. Let's see how long that mouth lasts when your lover boy watches us break you."

Hye Won's expression didn't change other than becoming more indifferent. She maintained the illusion of compliance.

Infact this exact nonchalant behavior without raising her heartbeat is what cautioned the master level character in disguise. So they didn't go overboard in treatment.

---

The vehicle weaved through the narrow backstreets of the nightclub district, slipping past dimly lit alleys and abandoned service roads. The hum of the city faded as they moved deeper, away from the neon-lit chaos above.

Eventually, the car rolled to a stop in a secluded lot, hidden behind a rundown warehouse marked with faded "UNDER RENOVATION" signs. At first glance, it looked abandoned—cracked pavement, rusted fences, a few scattered construction materials left to rot. But beneath the neglect, security cameras were subtly positioned, their lenses tracking every movement.

A metal shutter groaned as it slid open, revealing a steep ramp leading underground. The vehicle eased forward, descending into the shadows.

At the bottom, an unmarked steel door stood waiting. No guards. No signage. Just a discreet panel on the side for entry.

The hidden elevator descended into a concrete bunker, the air thick with the sharp tang of bleach and copper. Blood had been spilled here before.

Heavy chains clamped around her wrists, bolting her to a rusted support beam. The leader tossed a phone at her feet. "Call your boyfriend. Tell him to come alone, no smartness. Or we start sending pieces of you back."

One of the thugs sneered, eyes dark with intent. "No need to wait. Hold her legs. I'll go first—". They have already set up many arrangements here to restrain, cut bodies apart and sack them and clean blood. They thought she would panic, but she smiled.

Hye Won flexed her fingers. The chains creaked. Steel. Solid. But steel bends. Startled, they froze for a moment at the sudden reversal of the victim. They had under prepared. She smiled.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," she smiled as her vision switched behind them.

A shadow flickered behind the nearest man.

A hand passed through his chest.

Bones twisted—then snapped.

The body crumpled. Han Chen stood in the dim light, his presence a quiet storm. Aura overflowing with heavy killing intent. Suffocating feeling spread around him.

"I'm here," he said, his voice eery. "Let's talk."

The Master cultivator instinctively stepped back, feeling the endless soul suppression and , sensing death upon any movement.

Hye Won didn't see his action, instead exhaled sharply and ripped her chains fully apart, twisted metal clattering to the floor, rest held with her hands.

She drove an elbow into the nearest frozen thug's solar plexus, feeling ribs crack. As he staggered, she caught his wrist and yanked ~ a sharp snap, a dislocated joint.

"I'll handle this one," she said coolly, stepping over the man who had threatened her earlier. "He's been looking at me wrong all night."

The Master cultivator attacked Han Chen out of desperation with a qi-reinforced blade, his footwork precise, gang qi shielding his vulnerable positions—

Useless.

The blade shattered on impact. Han Chen flicked his fingers, and the man's limbs twisted violently apart, internal energy spilling over, his body pulled by invisible strings with spirit will like a puppet in air.

By the time he screamed, it was too late. Fire—cold, white—consumed him .

The last remaining thug not engaged till now, who was here from the beginning took the gun and shoot at Hye Won when she was engaged with his companion on ground. He saw how effortlessly this monster,.... their initial target named Han Chen, killed a master level companion.

Now, since death is certain, he chose to inflict pain upon their prey given a chance. Except plan didn't work out as he thought, the bullets all of them moved half a meter in air as if encountering heavy viscosity and stopped and dropped. A glance from Han Chen, that only needed, his extremities twisted effortlessly and dropped dead. The final one had already died, his skull caved in under Hye Won's hand, but she only realized now. 

She stared at the lifeless body, then at her hands still spotless as Qi vaporizing the remains. Her fingers trembled. "Han Chen… I killed someone."

He glanced at her. "And?"

Her breathing hitched. "I feel guilty… I'm panicking, what do I do?"

Han Chen lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

" Then do you see his companions here? "

" No where they go? I didn't notice there escape at all."

" No.... silly, they are dead too. Do you think they can fool me. Why bother, I will clean up," Spiritual fire instantly spread from his feet, avoided Hye Won and cleaned the rest spotless. Hye Won stared at the ashes. Her hands trembled.

Infact Han Chen had seen other party's death as a result of her strike before it even happened with his intent sight. He didn't stop it at all. Looking at the depressing, grief, guilt and anger overflowing from her he embraced her.

"This is the world we live in," he said. His thumb brushed her cheek. "Look around. Do you think these men were innocent?" Her eyes flicked over the dried bloodstained tools lining the walls. Rusted saws. Bone hooks. The lingering scent of old suffering. " Or do you still think we should be like those good guys only beating half to death for them to comeback again?"

The guilt faded. "The first kill always weighs the heaviest, despite how effortless it seemed." he murmured.

He kissed her rough, deliberate. His lips tasted like smoke and something darker. " You didn't threw up, that's a progress." Han Chen paused and smiled. "I know just the way to make you forget that feeling," he said against her mouth.

She pulled back, blinking. "How?"

"Sex, may be a BJ would also do"

"Han Chen!"

"Alrighty" He clapped his hands like nothing happened. " I already removed your contacts and shielded DNA from leaving before entering the alley. No trace left here. Except the van."

They emerged into the underground parking lot in invisible state. The vehicle sat abandoned. Han Chen's hand hovered over the metal ~

And then it simply ceased to exist. It went into his storage ring.

Hye Won stared astonished. "What—?"

"Later."

They slipped back into the city unnoticed. The place they had taken her from was a surveillance-free zone. The kidnappers had planned for misdirection ~ two vehicles, one real, one fake.

But Han Chen had found the other one midway. Retrieved it. Wiped it, now the real one is also done with. Now, they had few minutes to rejoin the surveillance grid, to ensure she had "never disappeared."

By the time they were back on the street, it was as if nothing had happened. Han Chen joined few minutes later and together they went home, carrying an extra set of food items he bought.

Her mother fussed over her pale face. Hye Won only smiled and let herself be pulled into warmth, but later, in the privacy of his room, she trembled. Han Chen was there as always.

He kissed her again, slow and deliberate this time. The heat of it made her forget, made the bloodstains fade in her mind. And for a little while, she let herself believe in the illusion of peace.

________________________

Han Chen's job however wasn't over. He first had to pretend a call with his parents. But some others were also sleepless that night.

3:00 AM – Han Family Estate

The study was thick with the scent of sandalwood and tension. Han Feng paced like a caged beast, his knuckles white around a half-crushed whiskey glass. He had been the one to broker the deal with the Black Crane Syndicate.

Han Tianxing's fingers dug into the armrests of his chair, the polished rosewood groaning under his grip. The patriarch of the Han family had endured many storms, but this ~ this was different. Two subsequent failed attempts at targeting someone. One through law and other physical.

It was past 3 a.m at night, and news channels were flooded with breaking reports. His sharp gaze flickered to the screen, where anchors dissected the shocking footage:

"Chen Energy Solutions' Head and his wife, along with father-in-law , were involved in a high-speed collision. Miraculously, they emerged unscathed ~ without even a tear in their clothes. All three are identified as martial artists, though their exact levels remain undisclosed. The victims insist this was a targeted attack."

The footage replayed in an endless loop. It showed the family conversing inside their electric luxury vehicle, a model from their own company, before an aggressive hit from behind sent them toward the edge of the road. Then, a massive truck came barreling down the curve at 95 km/h. Just as impact seemed inevitable, something eerie happened—a barely visible force dampened the collision after it happened, before the people inside could react, even as martial artists. The front of the car and truck crumpled under the force, but only then did the trio set up their own gang Qi shield as martial masters—more as a decoration than a necessity. Even as the car flipped 10 times and fell down the edge and burned, its passengers remained untouched inside. When the wreck finally settled, they crawled out unharmed from the burning vehicle.

The cameras, of course, didn't last long in the chaos. Only the recovered footage from the car's internal and external view memory provided any clarity. The press had released it almost immediately, as Han Zhong handed a copy to them alongside law enforcement, but proper analysis would take time.

The general public didn't feel much other than the power of qi shield of martial artists. But those who dissected the videos were in for a surprise. What mattered now was that the attack was real, and the vehicles responsible had vanished without a trace in between two checkpoints puzzling everyone.

"Three Master-level cultivators in one family—when did Chen Group become a martial powerhouse?" the TV news continued further news.

Han Tianxing clenched his fists. An operation of this scale should have been airtight, yet the attackers were nowhere to be found. Worse, Han Chen, one of his other targets ~ was now live on television, speaking over phone with his parents who were rescued later as if nothing has happened.

Beside him, Han Feng stiffened. "The Black Crane Syndicate hasn't reported back. That's... unusual."

Tianxing's gaze darkened. The Black Crane Group specialized in assassinations and covert clean-ups. The operation to eliminate Han Chen and his parents had included meticulous planning that had been set in motion, yet there was nothing but silence from their end. No updates. No confirmation of success. Just... nothing.

"Something isn't right." Feng exhaled sharply. "There should've been at least one report."

They made their own inquiries. Two hours later, Black Crane's trackers had supposedly traced their cleaners' location to an isolated lynching site. Their last message was that they were locking onto his girlfriend's whereabouts since they couldn't find him at the scene—yet after that, silence. No report on whether Hye Won was captured, if Han Chen had come to rescue her, or anything at all.

Worse, their vehicle had been seen heading to the site through public surveillance, but no one came out for hours. When agents arrived to investigate, there was nothing. No bodies, no evidence, no vehicle—just like the situation with his parents. Only dried blood few days to months old at the scene, hinted at place remain untouched.

Then, another inexplicable twist ~ Han Chen and his girlfriend appeared in public just minutes after they had supposedly been taken obtained through another public surveillance. The timeline didn't add up. There wasn't enough time for them to escape and return to the city.

The conclusion? They had never left in the first place. But then why had Black Crane's operatives gone to the lynching house? Had they mistaken for someone? That would be a first. And if so, then where were they?

By the time the clock hit 5:30 a.m., the tension in the Han Family's private chamber had reached its peak. Then, without a sound, a shadow moved.

Han Chen was already there.

Seated in the dimly lit room, he had slipped in unnoticed, watching them in silence. Just as Han Tianxing was about to call his son, Han Zixuan to the meeting, he saw a pair of eyes in the dark in the far end in a chair staring back at him.