HLM – Chapter 26 Fortune and Misfortune Are Intertwined

When the little parrot suddenly cried out, Wang Bo’s heart shattered—it was speaking in Chinese! He had always trained it in Chinese!

The unexpected cry startled the robbers, but they were fierce men. Not understanding what the parrot said, they weren’t afraid at all. Instead, they started yanking at Wang Bo, demanding money.

The prize money was awarded in cash. At the awards ceremony, winners were given a medal with the amount written on it, and after the race, they could exchange the medal and their ID for the cash prize.

Old Wang had received a thick stack of brand-new hundred-dollar bills—an exhilarating feeling. But he hadn’t carried the money with him; he had stored it in the red box in the knight’s room inside the castle.

So now, he only had a few hundred bucks in cash in his wallet…

Not finding any money, one of the robbers grabbed his collar and roared angrily, “Where’s the money? Damn it, where’s the money? What about your prize money?!”

Wang Bo put on a terrified expression and said, “My friend took it. For God’s sake, please let me go. I don’t have any money right now.”

The robbers searched him thoroughly and only found a phone and a wallet. Dissatisfied with the outcome, the big man holding the shotgun slammed him with the butt of the gun, knocking him to the ground. The others began punching and kicking him.

Wang Bo curled up, protecting his head and vital parts with his arms, gritting his teeth against the pain. He made sure to memorize every detail about the robbers and their Nissan vehicle—he would find a way to take revenge!

But these men were more vicious than he had expected. After beating him, they handcuffed him, taped his mouth shut, put a bag over his head, and shoved him into the trunk of a BMW.

For the first time, Wang Bo panicked—even more than when he first laid eyes on the Lord’s Heart. He had never experienced anything like this back in China. Even in movies and TV dramas, scenes like this were rare. These people were actually kidnapping him!

And that damn parrot—useless in a crisis! Usually chirping away joyfully, but now it had gone silent?!

The BMW started moving. Wang Bo tried to save himself. His hands and feet were bound, and his mouth was gagged. His only hope was the Lord’s Heart. He summoned the miniature castle and enlarged it, checking the clock in the knight’s bedroom first.

The car drove for half an hour before it finally stopped. Then it felt like it was descending in an elevator. When it came to a halt again, someone pulled him out of the trunk and dragged him into a room.

After about two minutes, someone removed the bag over his head. It was the same scrawny white man who had been holding a gun earlier. He unlocked Wang Bo’s handcuffs and handed back his phone.

“Who took the money? Call them. Tell them to bring it over,” he said.

Wang Bo tried to suppress his fear and stay calm. “Look, let’s talk this through. I’ll do as you say, but you need to tell me where exactly they should deliver the money.”

The man grinned, showing his pale teeth. “Tell that idiot to get the damn cash ready and go to the entrance of the underground parking lot at the football stadium. We’ll let you go after we get the money. Got it? I made myself fucking clear, didn’t I?”

Wang Bo gave a timid nod, trying to portray himself as weak and cowardly.

But in truth, he knew things were bad. The fact that this man didn’t bother to cover his face during negotiations showed he wasn’t afraid of being identified. It clearly meant they intended to kill him.

He only had one acquaintance in New Zealand—Charlie—but the guy was far away in Wellington and couldn’t possibly help, no matter how long a “donkey whip” he might have.

Fortunately, Wang Bo had an excellent memory. Charlie had once given him Sergeant Smith’s number, and Wang Bo had memorized it when saving his contacts.

After some thought, he called the sergeant.

As soon as the call connected, he quickly said, “Hey buddy, this is Charlie Wang. After the race, you took my eighty-five grand prize money, right? Can you bring it over? I need to return it to a friend in Omarama—I borrowed it from him six months ago, and now he needs it. He lives in a basement out in the suburbs.”

Wang Bo hoped Sergeant Smith wasn’t too dense. His message was loaded with clues: first, Smith hadn’t actually taken his money. Second, six months ago he was still in China, making it impossible to have borrowed money from someone in Omarama. And third, he even hinted at the location—a basement in the suburbs.

Sergeant Smith, while average in appearance and not exactly exuding detective vibes, owed his position to New Zealand’s clean politics. He didn’t get to be a sergeant through connections or bribes but through hard-earned experience as a veteran cop.

After hearing Wang Bo’s strange message, Smith immediately said, “Sorry, buddy, the signal here’s really bad. I can’t hear you clearly. Don’t hang up—I’ll move somewhere with a better signal…”

Wang Bo shrugged helplessly at the thin man, who patted his face and growled, “Don’t try any tricks. A basement in the suburbs, huh?”

“I—I just made that up,” Wang Bo said nervously.

He couldn’t afford to provoke this man. These people were too brutal—willing to kidnap and possibly kill over less than a hundred thousand dollars. Total lunatics!

And in his heart, he cursed New Zealand’s so-called good public safety. Before coming, the materials he had read claimed New Zealand was safe, that even the police didn’t carry guns. But how long had he been here? Already cornered by Maori gangsters once and now kidnapped by robbers? This wasn’t just poor safety—it was abysmal!

Over a minute later, Sergeant Smith’s voice came back. By now, the thin man was getting impatient, repeatedly pulling back the slide of his pistol to make loud clacking sounds and intimidate Wang Bo.

Smith smoothly asked for the delivery address and then told Wang Bo to hang up and wait—he would fetch the money and bring it to the stadium.

After the call ended, the thin man took the phone and locked the iron gate as he left.

Not long after, a parrot quietly flew into the room. Wang Bo’s eyes widened—The General had followed him here!

“This is dangerous! Go hide!” Wang Bo urged anxiously. The parrot looked puzzled, blinking its little black eyes at him blankly. Then it even flew up to fix his messy hair with its beak.

By now, Wang Bo’s hands and feet were free—the man hadn’t re-cuffed him, probably after checking him earlier and confirming he had nothing on him.

But the man was wrong. Wang Bo might be empty-handed, but the castle had everything.

In the knight’s room, the walls held shields and longswords, and the bedside drawer contained several locked hunting rifles.

It made sense—the castle was in the middle of nowhere. Of course the knight had to prepare means of self-defense.

Unfortunately, Wang Bo had never used a gun before and didn’t dare try. What if he missed and accidentally hurt himself instead of the robbers?

If guns were out, what else in the castle could he use?

He slapped his forehead, suddenly recalling a magical item—pepper spray.

Sergeant Smith had given it to him before, saying it was standard issue for small-town sheriffs. After taking control of the castle, Wang Bo had moved all unused items from the inn to one of the castle rooms.

He hadn’t expected that small act to become his lifesaver.

The small-town police pepper spray came in 60ml canisters, good for about 100 uses.

According to the label, a shot to the eyes could cause blindness for an hour, and inhaling it would lead to breathing difficulties for at least five minutes. At this moment, it was more useful than a gun.

Wang Bo retrieved the pepper spray and forced himself to remain calm. He quickly came up with a counterattack plan.

For now, he was still locked in this small room. The door was bolted from the outside. First, he had to find a way to escape.