Chapter 580 - 595: Hijacking

An Ning’s spiritual power scanned the bus ahead. It had changed its route!

Before they left, Zhao Xin had shown An Ning a map. None of the planned routes matched their current one.

Zhao Xin took An Ning’s right hand and wrote a single word in her palm: "Wait!"

An Ning tapped her fingers on the back of Zhao Xin’s hand, signaling she understood.

’I can definitely save myself,’ she thought. ’I have so much high-tech gear in my space. I could even fly a lap around the sky right now if I had to, it just wouldn’t be a good idea.’

An Ning closed her eyes, and her spiritual power entered Yu the Elder’s bus.

Inside, the driver was the same man, driving steadily. But the accompanying security guards had shifted their positions to look backward. The bulges at their waists told An Ning this was a premeditated hijacking.

’What about the back?’

According to the seating arrangement, the professors were in the front, the assistants were in the middle, and the other accompanying personnel were in the back.

Just as An Ning’s spiritual power moved toward the back, the bus ahead suddenly accelerated and turned into an alley. Not only could An Ning’s bus not keep up, but a truck that abruptly appeared in front of them forced it to a screeching halt.

"Shit!"

An Ning couldn’t help but curse.

"I’m going out!"

An Ning scrambled over Zhao Xin, pulled open the window, and with an agile flip, she was out.

’My elderly apprentice is still on that bus!’

"An Ning!"

Zhao Xin hissed in a low voice and went after her.

Meanwhile, Wang Qiang in the bus behind them also sensed something was wrong. He forced the driver to stop, but by the time he got out, the first bus was nowhere to be found.

"Damn it!"

Wang Qiang slammed his fist against a wall, then quickly turned back, trying to contact Zhao Xin or Xu Cheng on his communicator.

After waiting for a while with no response, Wang Qiang had no choice but to turn around and initiate the backup plan.

At the same time, An Ning was performing a parkour routine through the city at a speed that defied human mechanics.

She leaped from the roof of a three-story building onto the top of the bus. The THUD of her landing startled several of the hijackers inside, who jumped to their feet.

The driver up front slammed on the brakes. An Ning fell off the side of the bus, rolling three times on the ground before she came to a stop.

"Kill her!"

"No, no, no—she’s my assistant! She’s very useful!"

Yu the Elder stood up, shouting an explanation. A hijacker pressed a weapon to his head. One man spoke the Huaxian language, while the other spoke some unknown tongue.

Xu Cheng was terrified, but he played the part of a frightened translator perfectly. Trembling, he stood up and relayed messages back and forth, explaining for one and pleading with the other.

In any case, An Ning was brought onto the bus. Given how she’d chased the bus, her hands and feet were tied.

An Ning didn’t immediately rescue Yu the Elder and Xu Cheng. This bus was filled with some of the most intelligent people in the world. If she did anything that exceeded the limits of human capability, someone would notice.

The danger of exposing herself was too great. An Ning chose to wait—to wait until she was only with her own people, or for the perfect opportunity.

A bus full of scientists from various countries had been hijacked in a city in Country F. Such an obvious target, yet it had gotten away without a hitch.

An Ning began to wonder, ’Are these really just hijackers?’

The bus drove into a large warehouse. The scientists, their hands tied behind their backs, were led off one by one.

There were even more men in black inside the warehouse.

Every scientist was searched and forced to change their clothes. They weren’t even allowed to keep a single button or a fountain pen.

An Ning was searched as well. Thankfully, it wasn’t a humiliating experience; she figured the hijackers were pressed for time.

After a quick change of clothes, a search, and an injection of local anesthetic, the scientists were split into groups of four and loaded into different vehicles.

An Ning and Xu Cheng squeezed together, managing to get close to Yu the Elder. Along with one other scientist, the four of them were taken to a panel van.

The four of them were violently stuffed into four large black plastic bags. Holes had been poked in the bags beforehand so they wouldn’t suffocate.

Then, in the total darkness, the four of them, tongues numb, were unable to speak. They could only pray.

An Ning’s spiritual power, however, was busy. She used it to observe the route outside and to leave clues for Zhao Xin.

She shaped her spiritual power into a small blade, carving the symbols she and Zhao Xin had agreed upon onto the walls they passed.

The van continued on until it reached a cordon. The police had set up a barrier and were inspecting every vehicle that passed through.

When their van was ordered to be opened, a woman with a sorrowful expression and a large pregnant belly cooperated with the police. Beside her was a child who was crying nonstop.

"My poor child, to lose your parents so young."

"Go ahead and look."

The police gave the van, supposedly carrying corpses, only a cursory inspection before waving it through.

Treated as corpses, An Ning and the others couldn’t move or speak. The panel van passed through the checkpoint smoothly.

’Something’s fishy here,’ An Ning thought. ’When you go through customs, they practically tear your luggage apart to inspect it, but a huge van gets waved through just because a pregnant woman and a child shed a few tears?’

’This runs deep.’

For some reason, An Ning started to feel a thrill of excitement.

She had an unusual fascination with danger.

The van successfully evaded the inspection and escaped the checkpoint. After getting away, it picked up speed and soon left the city behind.

The landmarks along the road grew fewer and farther between, and An Ning no longer knew where they were.

Meanwhile, back in the city, Zhao Xin finally made contact with Wang Qiang. Following the clues An Ning had left, the two of them tracked the trail to the checkpoint.

"They were taken out of the city. We’re not dealing with ordinary people here."

Wang Qiang completely agreed with Zhao Xin. He and Zhao Xin moved to a deserted spot to talk.

"I’ll go assemble the team. You head out and follow them."

Zhao Xin nodded. This was their backup plan.

A team that had been on an overseas mission had been on standby from the moment they boarded the plane, all for one person.

"Wang Qiang, don’t be rash. An Ning is incredibly strong. You can tell just by looking at these markings."

Wang Qiang nodded and left quickly.

Zhao Xin also departed swiftly. He changed his clothes, adopted a new identity, and smoothly passed through the checkpoint driving a beat-up old car.

Within three hours, news that scientists had been abducted from the mathematics summit in Country F finally reached the various nations.

When it came to who had the fastest information network, news agencies were second only to diplomats.

Back home in Huaxia, news mogul Jiang Xia heard the report immediately. Only one thought crossed his mind: An Ning was there.

On one hand, Jiang Xia’s rational side told him An Ning would be fine and that going there himself would be pointless.

But on the other hand, his heart was pounding wildly, and he couldn’t calm it down.

Finally, Jiang Xia shot to his feet and roared at the people in the meeting, "To hell with being rational!"

"Zhang Hui, find me the next flight. I’m going to Country F."