The artificial lake in the park isn't particularly big, but it's definitely not small either.
The shoreline is about two thousand ters long, and five laps around it make ten thousand ters. For an average person, that's an extraordinarily long distance; to run it in an hour would already be quite a feat. Those in lesser shape might take more than an hour and a half.
Even the world record holder for the n's ten thousand ters took twenty-six minutes and seventeen point five three seconds, but that was on a top-class track designed for competitions, after proper warm-up and preparation. What Chu Ge had to run on was the uneven lake shore.
Moreover, the distance from the park gate to the artificial lake inside is about a thousand ters, making the kidnapper's demand quite stringent.
However, for Chu Ge at that mont, even though he knew the other party was deliberately making things difficult for him, even though he had just gotten out of the car without being adequately prepared for the sudden transition from stillness to movent, he had no choice but to comply with the demands.
After a little more than two minutes, Chu Ge reached the edge of the artificial lake and began running around it at high speed.
While running, Chu Ge quietly pondered. Although thinking this way seed to boost the other's morale and lower his own, he had to admit the other party was indeed very ticulous in their actions.
Driving from Yipin Spring City District to People's Park might have been an impossible task for the average person, but for him, it was entirely doable as long as nothing unexpected happened.
When he arrived at the entrance to People's Park, the demand to run around the artificial lake under a ti limit was imdiately proposed, obviously a very targeted requirent.
This way, he had no ti to carefully discern who among the crowd might be the kidnapper's accomplice, while the other party could observe his every move from afar with night vision binoculars, from angles beyond his line of sight.
It's also worth ntioning that the ti requirent was very peculiar, yet still achievable for him.
If the first demand made by the kidnapper was a coincidence, could the second one be as well?
Chu Ge didn't think so. Coincidence is called a coincidence because it has a low probability of happening. The other party obviously made an assessnt of his capabilities, then presented a ti target that was dangerously close to his limits based on their judgnt criteria.
As for the purpose, primarily it seed to be to drain his energy, secondly to generate negative emotions like anxiety, anger, and suspicion to make him lose his composure. Finally, it might just be a deliberate attempt to tornt him, or for so other reason.
Chu Ge ran rapidly, step by step, while discreetly scanning around, but as he expected, the other party was extrely cautious in their actions. Even he could not find those hidden eyes observing him from the shadows.
After thirty-nine minutes, Chu Ge finally finished the last lap, completing the ten thousand ter run. His chest was heaving as he supported himself on his knees, bending over and gasping heavily before collapsing to sit on the ground, then laying back.
In reality, he wasn't as exhausted as he pretended to be.
He did this entirely to mislead those surreptitiously watching him, not wanting to reveal his true strength. This was to ensure that when they made demands next, they continued to follow their own judgnt criteria, allowing him to make them slightly less vigilant.
As for the ti he took to complete those five laps, it was carefully calculated to be precisely close to the final deadline he estimated.
"Attention to detail determines success or failure," these six words have never been an empty phrase but an everlasting truth.
The phone rang again as Chu Ge "struggled" to take out the phone from his bag and "breathlessly" answered it.
The first thing that rang in Chu Ge's ear was the sound of slow, deliberate clapping, "Clap, clap, clap."
"Chu Ge, you seem really worn out, huh? I thought you were tougher; turns out you're no good either?"
Chu Ge gasped heavily, speaking intermittently, "Forty... forty minutes... not even... is it?"
"How unfortunate."
Upon hearing these three words, Chu Ge frowned. He had no doubts about his ability to estimate ti; was the other party preparing to go back on their word?
Chu Ge took a deep breath, calming the anxiety that involuntarily arose in his heart, "What's unfortunate?"
"It's unfortunate that you indeed t my demand, with thirty-nine minutes and three seconds, which ans our ga can continue. I will laugh last, and you... heh, don't seem to be smiling anymore, right?"
Chu Ge breathed a sigh of relief. Since he ca out, it was obviously to rescue Mu Xiaoting. As long as the other side was still willing to continue, he would play along till the end. Whether this was indeed a ga the other party wanted to play would be revealed only by seeing it through to the end.
Chu Ge continued to pretend to be extrely weak, grinning, "I can't... can't smile anymore? Haha, which eye of yours sees... sees unable to smile?"
"Hahaha, good, very good, I like it when you're this stubborn, so take advantage of being able to smile for a while longer. This ti, because I'm in a good mood, I'll be rciful. There's no need for you to beg , nor will I give you a deadline. Now frog-jump back to the park entrance, when you arrive, I'll contact you again."
Chu Ge sneered inwardly, just as he expected, the other party had slightly relaxed their guard against him.
Frog-jumping from the lakeside back to the park entrance seed like a tiring task, but for him, as long as there was no ti limit set by the other party, he could use this chance to adjust his condition and recover so of the stamina he used during the full sprint.
After lying on the ground for a few more seconds, Chu Ge slowly crouched down on the ground, jumped up "strenuously" with his hands behind his back.
While frog-jumping, Chu Ge's gaze unobtrusively scanned the surroundings. Unfortunately, until he "staggeringly" jumped back to the park entrance, there was still nothing gained beside his Maserati.
So pedestrians who had seen him long-distance running earlier were quite surprised, wondering what this guy was up to. An athlete? Training at night and being so relentless?
Surprise aside, everyone just glanced and moved on. After all, exercising in the park wasn't anything special; everyone saw it daily. At most, this person's workout seed a bit intense.
Admittedly, this was also a clever aspect of the kidnapper's demands on Chu Ge.
"Chu Ge, are your legs sore? Hmm? Can you still drive?" The kidnapper called as soon as Chu Ge returned next to the Maserati, starting off with sarcastic inquiries and mockery.
"Driving is no problem, neither is flying a plane."
"Ha, haha, such big talk, but I'm really having more fun now. A kind reminder: usually, stubbornness doesn't end well. If you can't, you better not force it. If your legs go weak and you can't step on the brakes, or if you're so tired that you mistake the gas pedal for the brake, then your little life might be done for."
"You don't need to worry about that. People like don't et their end so easily. So, where do you want to go next? If you want to beg, I don't mind. Do you really think this is interesting?"
"Initially, I thought it was, but now, I find I like your stubbornness even more, haha. I really hope you keep your stubbornness."
The kidnapper paused slightly, "Alright, enough with the digressions. Now you can leave from beside your car, cross the road, and then follow the street straight ahead. Although you're stubborn, for your safety, I think it's best if you don't drive."
"Okay."
Without asking anything more, Chu Ge crossed the road according to the kidnapper's instructions and started walking forward along the street.
"Now, you can start running. At the 1000-ter mark ahead, there is a car with the license plate 00578, a Hyundai taxi. You have three minutes to sit in the right rear seat of that car. Tir starts now."
Three minutes later, Chu Ge sat in the taxi, and the kidnapper then asked Chu Ge to open WeChat, add an account, and have a video call with this account, maintaining a posture sufficient for the other party to see his every move, without speaking or making any unnecessary movents, not even a change in gaze.
Once the video was connected, Chu Ge saw the image of a woman tied to a chair, with a hood on her head. After two seconds, a hand reached over from the side and lifted the hood off, revealing Mu Xiaoting, whose mouth was stuffed with a towel.
The sudden light made Mu Xiaoting instinctively close her eyes, but before she could reopen them, the hand put the hood back on her head, and then the image abruptly changed back to a piece of black cloth.
The other side evidently muted the audio, leaving Chu Ge with the visuals but unable to hear any sound at all.
Seeing Mu Xiaoting alive was a small blessing amid misfortune. Chu Ge followed all the kidnapper's instructions and maintained the required posture without moving.
The driver found it a bit odd, spoke to him a few tis, but seeing Chu Ge remain silent, he shook his head helplessly and muttered under his breath, leaving it at that.
"No wonder... turns out he's just a fool."
From the driver's comnts and mutters, Chu Ge could deduce that this taxi driver had nothing to do with the kidnapper; the driver was just paid to wait here for him.
After driving for a while, Chu Ge noticed an A4 paper appeared on the black cloth in the video, displaying several bold Song Font characters printed from a computer.
"Once the driver parks, you just stand in place and don't do anything."
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