Silly Bride

Chapter 265

been transferred from the intensive care unit to a regular ward and could now travel in a plane.Jacinta recuperated well from her injuries too.Now, the only thing left for them to do was to return to their country.Winnie was already getting impatient to meet Jacinta.However, upon arriving at the ward’s entrance, Winnie suddenly noticed no one was guarding the door.She instinctively furrowed her brows. “Where are the bodyguards?”Xavier frowned slightly as well. “Maybe they’re inside, or they went to the toilet.”She nodded and picked up her pace.Unexpectedly, right after she pushed open the door, she was met with the scene of the bodyguard lying in a pool of blood.At the same time, the two mercenaries behind her were held at gunpoint.The next second, someone closed the door behind them.After Winnie and Xavier exchanged glances, they shifted their gazes onto the person in front of the bed.Jacinta, lying on the bed, was bound, and her mouth was sealed with duct tape.Someone sat beside the bed, and judging by his outfit, that person was undoubtedly a man. However, his face was covered with bandages, leaving only his eyes, nostrils, and mouth exposed.“Who are you, and what do you want?” Winnie subconsciously questioned that man.That man let out a long sigh and stood up. “I’m so disappointed. We’ve only parted with one another for a few days, yet you’ve already forgotten about me.”As soon as that man spoke, Winnie recognized his voice.She knitted her brows instantaneously. “You’re Harold!”Harold heaved a deep sigh. “Very well. At least you haven’t forgotten about me. Actually, I don’t blame you for not recognizing me because you’ve completely ruined my face!”Toward the end of his sentence, Harold suddenly grew agitated and screamed hysterically.“How should I address you? Vivian or Winnie? I heard your granny calls you Winnie, so I suppose that is your real name?”He touched the bandages on his face. “How should I take revenge against you to vent my anguish and resentment? You and Chris are a shameless couple. I’ll never let anyone of you go. Now that you’ve shown yourself here, I assume Chris should be nearby too.”Winnie’s head ached at the sight of Harold. This man is ruthless. I don’t know what he would do after this.She said with her brows furrowed, “Let go of my granny, Harold. Let’s talk.”“What is there to talk about?” Harold was beside himself. He booted the stool next to him. “You blew up my laboratory, burned my factored, and snatched away my subordinate. Do you think you’re qualified to discuss terms with me?”Winnie attempted to comfort him. “Calm down. All you want is money, right? I can give you a lot of money. Just tell me an amount, and I pay you.”“Ahh!” Harold could not help but bellow as intense resentment churned within him.He gritted his teeth. “Unfortunately, b*tch, I have never been short of the ability to generate cash. I don’t want even a cent from you. All I want now is to torture you and flay you alive. No! That’s not sufficient. I want you to suffer pain worse than death and experience living hell. Can you understand my feeling? I can’t stand to see you all well and alive. Oh god! Who can understand my feeling right now? Argh!”On the verge of losing his mind, Harold kicked the bedside table.“No!” He did not feel better even after repeatedly booting the bedside table. His eyes gleamed maliciously as he stared at Winnie. “I need to kick your granny a few times to feel better. Even kicking you won’t do the trick.”“No! Don’t do that. Listen to me, Harold.” Winnie wanted to step forward but was held back by Xavier.As a result, she had no choice but to stay rooted in her spot. “You need to be clear of one thing. This is Salinsburgh, not Lightspring and this is not your territory. Have you wondered why I dared to let my granny stay in this hospital? That’s because this hospital belongs to General Kane.“Everyone in Salinsburgh knows this, so no one has ever dared to cause a commotion here. You’ve been here for so many years, so don’t tell me you aren’t even aware of basic knowledge like this.“You killed my bodyguard, and that means you caused trouble here. Although not many people follow me to the ward at the moment, my men are still waiting for me outside. If I don’t leave after ten minutes, they will come up here looking for me. By then, the situation will no longer be a simple grudge between us. It will escalate to a fight between two parties. “Once the circumstances get out of control, General Kane will definitely send his subordinates over. Your firearms dealings have progressed rapidly in recent years and are even close to surpassing General Kane’s influence. He has long since thought of you as a thorn in his side.“Now, you’ve foolishly left your turf at Lightspring and come to General Kane’s hospital to cause trouble to the patients and their family members here. Not to mention, you might even hurt those innocent people.“Do you know how many doctors and nurses here are General Kane’s relatives? He has seven wives, so you can imagine how many extended families he has. If you accidentally kill any of them, do you think General Kane will ever let you off the hook?“Since you managed to survive all the predicaments, why are you so anxious to come here and seek death? Ask your men to leave and let go of my granny. I’ll give you any amount of money you want. What do you say?”“Argh! Vivian! Winnie!” Harold closed his eyes and looked up. “You’re indeed an eloquent speaker. It’s no wonder even I was fooled by your words!”He abruptly fired a shot at the bed as he spoke.Even though his shot did not hit anyone, Jacinta and Winnie were scared out of their wits.Just as Winnie wanted to move, Harold’s subordinate immediately aimed his gun at her.She gazed at Harold and uttered anxiously, “Please don’t open fire anymore. I beg you, okay? If you do this, you’ll attract General Kane’s attention and prompt him to send his men here.”“You’re right.” Harold scratched his head with the gun. “You’re absolutely right. I am indeed quite afraid of Shaun, and I don’t dare to cause trouble in his territory, so let’s change the venue. We’ll go somewhere no one can interrupt me.” He paused briefly before adding, “Oh, I’m also bringing Professor White and your friend, that idiot named Rachel, along. Aren’t all of you in this together? There’s no need for you to be separated anymore. Naturally, I’m not excluding that traitor, Chris. If I can catch you, he will not stand a chance to escape me!”With that, Harold turned to yell at his subordinates, “What are you three standing there for? Hurry up and bind them!”Winnie felt extremely dejected while being escorted out of the ward.She didn’t expect she would end up in Harold’s control again when she was so close to pulling that mission off.Soon, they were brought to the car, and just as Harold had mentioned, Riley and Rachel had also been seized by them.Winnie was also clueless about Harold’s plan. While escorting them to the car, those men deliberately separated her and Xavier.Undoubtedly, she wanted to stay together with Xavier.Before getting into the vehicle, Winnie gave Xavier a knowing look.Simultaneously, he was gazing at her too.Moreover, he even mouthed a few words at her in silence.He intended to tell her not to worry because he was there to support her.In the past, Winnie had never trusted anyone besides herself.Caught in that tight spot at the instant, she could not devise any method to handle Harold. In fact, she did not think Xavier could think of any effective solution too.Nevertheless, she inexplicably placed her faith in him when she caught sight of his determined gaze.After getting into the vehicle, Winnie realized that Rachel was in the same car as her. Meanwhile, Harold sat in the passenger seat in front.When Winnie saw Rachel leaning unmoving against the back of the seat, she could not help but frown. “What did you do to her? Why is she unconscious?”Harold glared at Winnie in annoyance. “You should mind your own business. It seems like you’re very concerned about this idiot. So tell me, who do you care about the most? Is it this idiot or your granny? Answer me! Who do you regard with more importance? I’ll treat them exceptionally well in your stead later!”Winnie gritted her teeth and fell silent for a few moments before saying, “I said I’ll give you money. Isn’t it better for you to take the money and leave?”Harold sighed. “Stop provoking me, b*tch! As you mentioned, I don’t want to stir any trouble in Shaun’s territory. If you continue to infuriate me, I don’t mind tossing one of these people you care about and repeatedly running them over with my car on the road!”She knew he was a lunatic who could do something as inhumane as that, so she immediately shut her mouth.Winnie was placing all her hopes in Xavier at that moment. She believed him because he told her he had a plan.However, nothing she had hoped to happen occurred even after they left the city.She could not stop herself from glancing backward at the car behind them. Xavier is inside that car. I want to know the plan he has in mind, or was he merely trying to comfort me? But I don’t need this kind of unconstructive and meaningless consolation.After the momentary dismay, Winnie began racking her brain, thinking about what else she could use to bargain with Harold.While her mind raced, the car suddenly swerved onto a bumpy dirt road, causing the vehicle to move unsteadily and shake violently.A hint of excitement laced Harold’s voice. “Great. We’re very close to leaving Salinsburgh. No one is capable of restraining me soon.”However, as soon as he finished his sentence, the car came to an abrupt halt.Due to inertia, Winnie lurched forward and slammed into the back of the front seat.After the car went completely still, she hastily sat upright and instinctively glanced ahead.Instantaneously, the scene before her eyes shocked her because a tank was blocking their vehicle from moving forward.That was not all. Parked behind the tank were two amphibious fighting vehicles. The polished surfaces of artilleries on the vehicles gleamed under the sunlight, giving them a dominant and powerful vibe.Harold subconsciously turned his head around to look at Winnie. “Are they yours?”Winnie hesitated in silence for a split second before nodding calmly.“That’s right. And that’s why I suggest you let us go at once. Otherwise, all of you will die here today. How do you intend to put up a fight against us with your puny guns?”He narrowed his eyes at her and sized her up. “Who exactly are you?”She glanced at him. “Why are you asking the obvious? I’m someone you can’t afford to mess with.”Harold took a deep breath and tried his best to contain his burning rage.At that moment, someone got out of the tank ahead, and he was holding a megaphone.Winnie widened her eyes in disbelief when she saw that person’s face. That man was none other than Josiah.Clarity washed over her as she finally understood Xavier’s “plan” referred to Josiah. But how did Josiah manage to lay his hands on these combat vehicles?Having said that, Winnie could not be bothered with the details at that instant. Since Josiah was the one blocking their way, she had nothing to worry about now.She gazed at Harold and sneered. “I suppose you didn’t anticipate this, right?”Indeed, Harold didn’t expect that to happen.Josiah started to speak as well. “Harold, I’ll give you one minute to get out of the cars with your men. Otherwise, do not blame me for not showing mercy.”Winnie shot Harold a look. “Why aren’t you doing as he says?”Clearly, Harold’s desire to live was too strong, or else he would truly want to kill Winnie. Worse come to worst, he could’ve chosen to perish with her, but he wanted to live very badly.He suppressed his boiling fury and reluctantly got out of the car.As soon as he did that, his subordinates followed suit.After they gathered around, Harold asked Josiah, “Can you let us leave now?”Josiah roared, “Put down your weapons!”Harold and his men had no choice but to concede and do as Josiah instructed.Josiah lifted his hand after sensing that Harold was no longer a threat.When the men behind Josiah noticed his gesture, they immediately pulled the trigger, firing consecutive shots at the ground near Harold and his subordinates’ feet, causing them to flee quickly into the jungle.After that, Josiah jumped down from the tank to untie Winnie, Xavier, and the others.Xavier hugged Josiah and said