Rise of the Wasteland Chapter 21 - Kidnap

Chapter 21        Kidnap

It was four o’clock in the afternoon on the 2nd of August, 2030. There were forty-eight hours remaining until the cataclysm, and time was running out.

Zhou Qingfeng silently sat on a Chevrolet full of bullet holes as he sped past the East River. Manhattan, the central business district of New York, was just right in front of him.

He can view all the skyscrapers in Manhattan through the shattered car window. Wall Street, the headquarters of the United Nations, the Empire State Building, Times Square, as well as the Broadway Theater were all the Americans’ pride. All of these places were once the center of the world. He, however, did not wish to enter such a famous city in its current situation.

“Can you tell me what’s happening?” Zhou Qingfeng was lying on the back seat. He pressed a button on the gun, popped out the empty magazine, then replaced it with a new one. The gun was now fully reloaded.

Zhou Qingfeng felt crazy after he killed a robber in Brooklyn and robbed two New York cops. Everything happening right now had once again changed his view on New York’s public security.

A car-chasing drama was actually taking place in one of the most bustling central business districts in the world. The large Ford Pica chased non-stop from behind as they kept firing at the Chevrolet. Zhou Qingfeng angrily yelled, “Where the f*ck is the NYPD? No one showed up despite all these violent incidents!”

The young lady with him smiled as she saw Zhou Qingfeng’s silly expression. “Aren’t you from the NYPD? Thanks for your outstanding performance during this dangerous situation. I’ll go to the NYPD by myself and express my gratitude for you to the Chief Officer after all these things come to an end.”

Even when the bullets were raining all over the place, this young lady still maintained a high degree of pride and confidence. Zhou Qingfeng can only silently complain, The Chief Officer is probably pursuing me. He’ll be outraged if you were to express your gratitude.

“Can you please tell me what’s going on right now?” Zhou Qingfeng realized that the current situation was getting worse.

The young lady sat extremely close to Zhou Qingfeng; so close that they can feel each other’s breath. She stared at the corpse in the front seat and said, “Someone was trying to kidnap me. My personal assistant was hit, and he died on the spot. Raj, the one currently driving, is my bodyguard. My name is Lena Fox. You should know me.”

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head without much hesitation. “Sorry, but no, I don’t.”

The young lady was shocked as she repeated, “I’m Lena Fox. Perhaps you’re confused, but please look clearly at my face. I always appear on several media channels. Don’t be shy, it’s your fortune to meet me.”

“Still, no I don’t,” Zhou Qingfeng expressionlessly replied to her. He had only been in this world for at most one day. How was he supposed to know Lena Fox?

Nevertheless, the young lady refused to believe Zhou Qingfeng. She thought that the Chinese officer was joking around with her. She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Alright then, you don’t know me, but I want to know you. Can you please tell me what’s your name?”

“Victor Hugo.”

“Oh… Are you for real?”

“Of course.”

“Okay then! Nice to meet you, Mr. Great Man. I’ll introduce myself again. My name is Lena Fox, and I’m the current CEO of New York Fox Foundation. I’m the only heir to that fifty billion worth of property. For whatever reason, someone tried to kidnap me. Thanks for your help; I’ll give you a great deal of reward in return.”

“The way you introduce yourself makes me wanna kidnap you as well,” Zhou Qingfeng roasted her.

“I love your sense of humor.” Lena Fox’s pride can be seen even by a blind man, as she once again elegantly reached out to Zhou Qingfeng as a sign of her friendly attitude.

This chick appeared to be the standard for an American socialite. She was young, pretty, wise, elegant, and most importantly—she was rich. She must have been chased by tons of love-struck fools.

However, all these things hold no meaning for Zhou Qingfeng. Any form of foundation, status or wealth will disappear for everyone after forty-eight hours, and this young lady will be no exception. He shook her hand only because both of them were facing the same situation.

“Have you reported to the police?” asked Zhou Qingfeng.

“Of course, so stop worry about those idiots behind us. The police in New York should arrive to come and rescue us if we wait just a little bit longer. I’m literally a VIP. The SWAT team must be anxious to rescue me.” Lena Fox was extremely confident about it.

At that instance, a police helicopter with a rumbling motor flew above the Chevrolet. It matched Lena Fox’s words exactly.

Zhou Qingfeng looked up to the sky as he thought to himself, This helicopter is probably here to capture me, not to rescue you little chick. I need to come up with an idea. I can’t get caught here.

The Chevrolet sped past the East River and entered the Manhattan area. The Ford Pica that originally chased them had now disappeared. They seemed to have escaped via another route.

From the Chevrolet incident to the car accident, to Zhou Qingfeng fleeing to Manhattan, the entire kidnapping took no more than five minutes. In a metropolis like New York City, police officers were everywhere. The kidnappers hence did not have the courage to keep chasing the hostage, and they will escape once their plan failed. 

Zhou Qingfeng and Lena Fox were finally relieved as they saw the Ford Pica leaving. The driver, Raj, then said, “Miss Fox, I think we’re safe now. I suggest that we head back to the headquarters, as your guards are over there.”

“No, we should head to the hospital. Mr Hugo is injured. Contact my father. He’ll send someone here to protect us,” said Lena Fox.

Bodyguard Raj looked at Zhou Qingfeng through the rearview mirror as he slightly nodded his head. “Alright. This police officer’s injury is not too serious, but a simple hemostasis and bandaging are required.”

In the end, Zhou Qingfeng was sent to a public hospital located in Downtown Manhattan.The emergency doctor on shift threw merely a few glances to him before letting a nurse to clean up his wound. During this period, Lena Fox had been with him as she kept praising his braveness.

“It must be God’s work for me to meet you. Those kidnappers will successfully kidnap me for sure if it weren’t for you. You’ve created the golden ten second, and because of that Raj is able to arrive just in time.

“Can i record down your police ID? I’ll contact my lawyer and give you a good opportunity of promotion to convey my gratitude to you.”

“He he he….The name on your badge is not Victor Hugo. You’re truly something to tell me a fake name.”

“You seems to be in a bad mood. Is it because of the residual effects of trauma? Or because you’ve killed the kidnapper? Don’t worry, you’re doing it for justice. I’ll find the best psychologist for you.”

Lena Fox kept talking to Zhou Qingfeng to show her care for him. Zhou Qingfeng however was hurried to leave the hospital. He knew that the police will arrive in any time. To be honest, he felt weird as the police had yet to arrive despite the bandaging process took more than ten minutes.

“Thanks for your deep consideration. I truly appreciate it. Erm...May i go to the toilet?” After the bandaging process, he found an excuse to escape from the emergency room. He can see his own reflection from the mirror. Although he was in a difficult situation, he was grateful to be alive and have his limbs still attaching to him.

“Hurry up, hurry up,  i need to leave this place.” Zhou Qingfeng urged himself. After re-adjusting his peaked  cap, he strode and left. He still needed to find Angie in order to lay his hand on the robotic dog, but time was running out.

However after he walked for seven to eight metres, Lena Fox came out from the emergency room and shouted, “Hey, my hero. You’re heading to the wrong direction. Toilet is… Oh My God!”

Lena Fox’s words was interrupted as she panicked and stare at Zhou Qingfeng. Several robust and burly guys with strong murderous intent rushed into the hospital.

Those kidnappers appeared again!

Chapter end