Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter 21: The Kidnapping Attempt

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was August 2nd, 2030, 3 pm. Time was running out—there was little more than 48 hours before the Catastrophe.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qingfeng was currently in a Chevrolet riddled with bullet holes that was speeding along the East River. Ahead of him lay Manhattan, the center of business in New York, and the United States at that.

Through the broken car windows, he admired the scenery of the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan.

Wall Street, the United Nations Headquarters, the Empire State Building, Times Square, Broadway… These were the pride of the Americans in this city which at one point was the center of the world.

Zhou Qingfeng felt rather reluctant about entering this world-famous city under the current circumstances.

“Can someone please tell me what the h*ll is going on?” Zhou Qingfeng was crouching over the backseat as he ejected the empty magazine of his gun and replaced it with a new one, the gun barrel clicking as he snapped it in place.

Zhou Qingfeng felt like he was losing his sanity, killing robbers in Brooklyn, and then stripping two New York police officers. Oddly enough, the scene before him refreshed his perception of New York’s public order.

There was actually a high-speed car chase happening right then in one of the most prosperous central districts in the world.

The large Ford Raptor was still following closely behind them, continuously firing gunshots at the Chevrolet that picked up Zhou Qingfeng. He yelled out furiously, “Where the f*ck is the NYPD? Why is nobody stopping this stupid violent b*stard?”

Seeing Zhou Qingfeng’s frustration, the young lady who was lying beside him chuckled. “Aren’t you one yourself? Thank you for your outstanding performance during my time of need. I will personally convey my gratitude toward you to the director of NYPD when all of this is over.”

How could this young lady maintain her haughty pride and self-confidence in the midst of this crossfire? Zhou Qingfeng mumbled to himself in his head, ‘The director of NYPD is after my head, his blood will probably boil if you go up to him now and praise me.’

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” Zhou Qingfeng had a feeling that things were worsening by the second.

The young lady was so close to Zhou Qingfeng they could clearly hear each other’s ragged breathing. She gave a quick glance at the corpse in the passenger seat and said, “Someone wanted to kidnap me and my assistant was killed on the spot. The person driving is my bodyguard, Raj. I’m Leila Fox. You probably know who I am.”

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head without hesitation. “Sorry, I don’t.”

The young lady was taken aback and repeated slowly, “I’m Leila Fox. Perhaps you’re a little bit in shock right now but take a close look at my face. I’m always on the news. No need to be shy, it’s an honor for you to know me.”

“I really don’t recognize you,” Zhou Qingfeng said blankly. He had only been in this world for a day, how could he possibly know this Leila Fox?

However, the young woman was not convinced and thought that this Chinese policeman was pulling her leg. She shrugged her shoulders casually and tilted her head at him. “Alright, you don’t know me but I want to get to know you. Can you tell me your name?”

“Victor Hugo.”

“Oh… Are you for real?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Literary Master. Let’s start over. My name is Leila Fox, the current CEO of Fox Finance Group New York. I’m the sole heir of the $50 billion fortune, you know.

“For some unknown reason, someone wanted to kidnap me. I am extremely grateful for your help. I will be sure to repay your kindness generously.”

“When you put it that way, even I kinda feel like kidnapping you,” Zhou Qingfeng said teasingly.

“You’re a funny guy.” Leila Fox’s enormous pride was practically protruding from her bones. She once again gracefully extended her hand toward Zhou Qingfeng, expressing her friendliness.

From the looks of it, this girl seemed to be a textbook American upper-class socialite—a classic white, rich, and beautiful girl. She was young, pretty, intelligent-looking, elegant, and wealthy to boot. The men who would pursue her were probably numerous enough that they could form a line around the Earth.

However, this did not matter to Zhou Qingfeng. In forty-eight hours, every finance group in America would vanish, and the one this lady owned was no exception. Nevertheless, given the lousy circumstances, with the two of them crouched together in the cramped car, he had nothing better to do than to reach out and shake her hand.

“Have you called the police?” Zhou Qingfeng asked.

“Of course, so don’t worry about the idiots chasing us. We just need to hold out for a little longer and the NYPD should be here to rescue us soon. Mind you, I’m a super important person so the police must be anxious to save me asap,” Leila Fox added confidently.

Right then, it just so happened that a police helicopter flew over the roof of the Chevrolet, the rumbling sound of its rotors further affirming Leila’s claim.

Zhou Qingfeng glanced up at the sky and could not help but mutter to himself silently, ‘They might just be here to arrest me, not to save you, young lady. I need to find a way to escape right now. I can’t afford to be arrested at a time like this.

Once the Chevrolet drove across the East River and entered Manhattan central, the Ford Ranger that had been tailing them earlier disappeared abruptly. Zhou Qingfeng wondered if they might have lost them at one of the crossroads.

The attempted kidnapping, the car crash, and then the sudden encounter with Zhou Qingfeng before fleeing to Manhattan, all happened within five minutes. In a big city like New York that constantly had cops roaming the streets, no kidnapper would dare to chase their targets down the streets in broad daylight. They must have fled the scene swiftly after realizing that their mission had failed.

After the Ford Ranger had disappeared from sight, Zhou Qingfeng and Leila Fox released their bated breaths. Raj, the bodyguard, and newly appointed driver, turned to them and said, “Miss Fox, we should be safe now. I suggest we return to headquarters now. You should be safer under our security team’s watch.”

“No, let’s go to the hospital first. Mr. Hugo is injured. Please let my father know what happened and he’ll arrange for people to come and guard us,” Leila Fox said firmly.

The bodyguard took a quick look at Zhou Qingfeng through the rearview mirror, nodded slightly and said, “Understood, Miss. I can tell that this police officer isn’t severely wounded but we should stop the bleeding as soon as possible.”

Eventually, they arrived at a public hospital in lower Manhattan. The doctor in the emergency department merely took a few looks at Zhou Qingfeng and had a nurse routinely clean up the wound and bandage it. The entire time, Leila Fox stayed by his side and did not drop the subject of his commendable bravery.

“God must be smiling on me, seeing how He made it possible for us to meet today. If you hadn’t bought those ten seconds for Raj just now, I would probably be bound inside the kidnapper’s car by now.

“Could I have your police registration number? I’ll arrange for my lawyers to contact you and I’ll make sure that they pull some strings for you to climb up the ranks. A token of my gratitude.

“Hehehe… The name on your badge isn’t Victor Hugo though, how peculiar of you to give me a fake name.

“You don’t seem to be in a good mood. Is it PTSD? Is it because you killed the kidnapper? Please don’t dwell over it, everything you did was in the name of justice. Don’t worry, I’ll find you the best psychologist in town if you need it.”

Judging from the way Leila Fox was talking to Zhou Qingfeng, the concern she showed was quite genuine. However, Zhou Qingfeng only wanted to leave the hospital; he knew that the police might appear at any moment. To be honest, he was surprised that the police were taking so long—there was still no sight of them even after ten minutes of bandaging his wound.

“Thank you for the consideration, truly. Uh… I need to use the bathroom for a minute.” After his wound had been snugly bandaged, Zhou Qingfeng excused himself and walked out of the emergency department. He examined his reflection in the glass windows. Though he looked rather distraught, fortunately, he still had both arms and legs and most importantly, he was still alive.

“I have to leave this d*mned troubled place right now,” Zhou Qingfeng urged himself. After adjusting the police cap on top of his head, he strode out in the opposite direction. He had to find Angie and figure out a way to nab the robot dog. There was not much time left and he had wasted too much of it already.

However, before he could take more than a few steps, Leila Fox came running out of the emergency room, shouting, “Hey, my brave hero, you’re going the wrong way! The toilet is… Oh… My God!”

Leila Fox was suddenly interrupted as she stared at Zhou Qingfeng’s general direction with a look of horror. Standing right behind Zhou Qingfeng were several burly men with murderous looks on their faces.

The kidnappers had found them once again!