The sun shone brightly and the church bells rang peacefully. What should have been a joyous, blessed wedding day turned chillingly dark after a mysterious phone call.
The bride and groom, Lin Rui—heir to a major city security firm—and his fiancée Song Zhining, were standing at the altar exchanging vows. Suddenly, the chapel doors burst open. Several heavily armed men in black stormed in and swiftly took control of the scene. Guests screamed. Chaos erupted.
Within three minutes, the bride and groom were forced into black hoods and dragged away in a vehicle that sped off.
A few hours later, a video surfaced in the police's encrypted intel channel.
In the footage, the groom and bride were tied to metal chairs in an abandoned warehouse. Behind them loomed the emblem of the "Abyss" organization. A cold, mechanical voice played over the footage:
"Lu Chenzhou, Su Wanqing, you possess a copy of the 'Operation Ice Crow' intel. We want it.""Exchange it for the hostages. We'll send the second location later."
The video ended abruptly.
Su Wanqing watched with a grim expression in the tech department office. "They're after the backup chip we seized," she said quietly.
The chip had been recovered during the raid on the arms deal last chapter. It contained key information about the Abyss organization's weapon shipments, hideouts, and financial networks—still not fully decrypted. But clearly, the organization had caught wind of the breach and was desperate to get it back.
"They're getting more reckless," Lu Chenzhou analyzed calmly. "This kidnapping is both a provocation and a test."
"They're also trying to make us slip up," Su Wanqing added.
She pulled up a map, cross-referencing possible escape routes from the wedding site. Her finger stopped on a location—an old amusement park on the northern outskirts, set for demolition.
"They passed through there. At least as a stopover."
At 9 PM that night, the second contact came.
A raspy male voice over the phone delivered brief instructions: "Tomorrow night, 7 PM. Abandoned circus grounds. Bring the chip. Only you two. Anyone else, and they die."
Then the line went dead.
Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing exchanged a look. No words were needed; they shared a silent, battle-hardened understanding.
"We can't actually hand over the chip," Su Wanqing said firmly. "This might be their move to erase all the progress we've made."
"Then we split up," Lu Chenzhou continued. "We bait them with a fake chip. I'll coordinate with the tech team to finish decoding the real one. You—find where they're keeping the hostages."
"I'll go deliver the chip," Su Wanqing said, unwavering.
Lu Chenzhou paused for two seconds, then nodded. "Then I'll be your wedding chauffeur."
The next evening, at dusk.
The old circus grounds stood in eerie silence. The outer walls were rusted, overgrown with weeds. Su Wanqing, dressed in a modified wedding gown, disguised herself as a bride. In her left hand, a custom chip case. Hidden in her right—an electric shock device. Lu Chenzhou, wearing sunglasses, parked an old wedding car at the entrance.
They walked slowly into the ruins. Dim lights flickered inside, and the air was damp and decaying.
A man in a clown mask stepped forward. "The chip?"
Su Wanqing lifted the case. "Where are the hostages?"
"Check the chip first," the clown said, reaching out.
"Show the people first," Lu Chenzhou said coldly.
Tense silence stretched before the clown gestured. Two men in black dragged the groom and bride from behind a tent. Though not visibly harmed, the couple looked dazed—likely drugged.
"Now we can trade," Su Wanqing said as she raised the chip box—then suddenly tossed it high into the air.
Boom!
The box exploded midair, releasing a blinding flash and high-frequency sonic burst. A diversion bomb planted in advance.
Lu Chenzhou immediately tackled a guard and knocked him out.
"Task Force—go!"
Police special ops had been lying in wait. They surged in like a tide. A fierce gunfight broke out among the wreckage.
Su Wanqing shielded the hostages while firing a hidden pistol from her gown.
Caught off guard by the fake chip, the Abyss members fell into disarray. Several tried to flee, only to be captured by Lu Chenzhou himself.
The fight lasted less than ten minutes.
The bride and groom were safely rescued and taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, the police recovered a treasure trove of intel: Abyss's hideouts, personnel lists, cash flows, and plans for upcoming operations.
"We didn't just rescue the hostages—we've got hard evidence," one tech officer said, barely containing excitement.
Su Wanqing scanned the documents, frowning. "Look at this."
It was a note.
"Blood is just the beginning. The wedding was only the prelude."
Lu Chenzhou leaned in. "They're not done. They're already planning the next move."
Night had fallen. The city shimmered in lights.
Su Wanqing stood outside the interrogation room, watching as one of the core members—the clown-masked man—was escorted in. He removed his mask, revealing a crazed grin.
"You think this is victory?"
"This is just one piece of the plan. He is coming back."
"Who?" Lu Chenzhou asked.
The man only laughed louder. "The Lord of the Abyss. The real darkness… is just beginning."
Su Wanqing's heart sank.
The battle was far from over.
And their true enemy—was only just beginning to emerge.