Yibo continued to secretly keep an eye on Xian Chu. And the longer he watched her and thought about her actions, the greater his suspicion of her became and more and more doubts about her sincerity spread through him. What was it about her that bothered him so much? Was it the lie of the day before? Or because of how badly she treated Zhan?

No, neither was the reason Yibo didn't trust her. It was more because of everything she had done since the day before. Who was the guy who took her to this party? And why didn't any of the other guests seem to know him? Weren't only very well known or famous people invited to this party?

Why did Xian Chu go inside? Why was she listening at that door? How did she know where to go? Does she know the house? Why did she jump out of the window? Couldn't she have told the doormen she was still in the bathroom before it was forbidden to enter the house? And why was she so hateful toward him and Zhan?

Yibo wondered if perhaps he should address Zhan on all his unresolved issues? But was now really the appropriate time to do so? After all, Zhan was keeping an eye on the other guests and the front entrance. And right now, they have very different things to worry about than Agent Xian. Because they still have no evidence of the illegal dealings of the politician and his wife. And they also still don't know where the son of the two is being held captive and by whom.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Zhan nudged him lightly in the side and asked, "Do you think it's gotten colder in the last hour, as well? And the wind has gotten a lot stronger too."

"Huh? Oh yeah you're right." Yibo replied.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know. It feels kind of weird, don't you think? This is supposed to be a birthday party for the politician, but he's only been here in the garden once before, and that was only very briefly. Besides, no music has been played for an hour. Guests are chatting, drinking champagne and eating some snacks, but it doesn't look like anyone is celebrating here."

"True. To be honest, I've been wondering what kind of party this is, too. Take a look around this place. There must be about 50 people here. But at most a handful are really famous or well-known. There's that musical star. Then there's Wen Rouhan, the head of the big corporation, and his two sons. Behind us is a famous pianist. And then here you are, the Worldwide Famous Idol."

"And number 9 on the Most Wanted list of criminals."

"Yes, but he didn't necessarily gain his fame in the good way."

"I get it, ZhanZhan. Who else is a criminal?"

"A few. But they're not nearly as famous as Number 9."

"I see."

"The rest of the people, mhhh, they're kind of all unfamiliar faces to me. It may be that I haven't been in the country for 5 years, but I was still well informed."

"As was I. So you don't know the guy Agent Xian came here with either?"

"No, I don't know him. Unfortunately, no one wears a name tag. And earlier in our round, we didn't ask for people's names. They were way too busy asking you questions, though."

Zhan turned once in a circle and his gaze fell on the garden gate. "The gate is closed."

Yibo spun around as well. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing good I suppose. No one is allowed in the house and the garden gate is closed. Apparently they don't want anyone leaving the party."

"Should we go see if the gate is locked?"

"Better not. We should keep a low profile."

"Then you two should keep your voices down. And the gate is locked." Replied someone behind them. Zhan and Yibo turned to the person, startled. "Oh oh yes, I'm He Peng and I have no idea why I was invited here."

"Why don't you know?" Yibo asked.

"Because I don't even know the politician and his wife. I came home from work a few days ago and had an invitation to this party in my mailbox. I thought it was a trick or something at first. But since I was curious, I drove here and the invitation was real. But I don't know why they invited me. I'm just a simple office worker, not a politician or anything." Explained He Peng.

"Mhhh, okay. And you said the gate is locked?" Asked Zhan.

"Yes. Since the party sucks and I was getting more and more uncomfortable here, I wanted to get my car and drive home. While doing so, I noticed that the gate is locked."

"Hey ZhanZhan? Does that mean we can't get out of here?" Yibo wanted to know.

"Mn. Looks like it." Said Zhan.

"Maybe it's that woman's fault. I saw her go into one of the rooms when I was in the house to go to the bathroom." He Peng pointed at Xian Chu.

"Did you observe anything else?" Asked Zhan.

"No. But I saw that there are surveillance cameras all over the house. Maybe they saw her go into that room and were looking for her."

"Either way. We should make sure we find a way out of here. I don't have a good feeling." Yibo replied.

"You're right Yibo. We should get out of here."

"Then can you please take me with you? I don't want to have anything to do with all this! Oh yeah, maybe they're looking for the son's kidnapper? Could it be that they think the kidnapper is here at the party?" Asked He Peng.

"How do you know about the kidnapped son?" Asked Zhan.

"Because I was in the house earlier when they were talking about the son. Now seriously you two. I've seen enough movies and series to know that something like this never ends well. I don't know why they invited me. I don't know anyone here." He Peng replied, looking anxious.

When Xian Chu joined them, the rest of He Peng's face color disappeared. And then when she also asked, "Do you have a cell phone signal?" He almost fainted.

But before Zhan and Yibo could reply, Wen Rouhan yelled loudly through the garden, "Hey you assholes! What the fuck are you doing? Why is the cell phone signal gone? Why is the gate locked? Why can't we still go inside the house?"

"Oh now it's getting uncomfortable. You bet. Now it's going to be a stormy birthday party. This is Wen Rouhan. He's the CEO of a major corporation and is known for his rude nature. When he gets angry, which is fast, the sparks fly." Said Xian Chu with a laugh.

It didn't take long for Wen Rouhan and his sons to get into a fight with the doormen and demand to be let inside. A real brawl ensued among them, in which Wen Rouhan obviously had the upper hand. At least until one of them intervened. It was number 9, who held a knife blade to Wen Rouhan's neck and told him to calm down.

Yibo got scared and hid behind Zhan. He Peng also hid behind Zhan. Which Yibo didn't like at all. But in this situation he let it pass. Because he saw that He Peng was just as scared as he was. "ZhanZhan, I'm scared." Whispered Yibo.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Replied Zhan softly. He reached his hand behind him to Yibo and squeezed Yibo's hand tightly. "I'm with you. I won't let anyone hurt you. And Hey Peng, you better stay behind me too."

"Yes I will." Replied He Peng in a whisper.

"What are we going to do now? We can't just stand by and watch." Said Xian Chu.

"Right now, we can't do anything. We're unarmed and they're outnumbered. And anything we do could result in Wen Rouhan's death and endanger our mission." Explained Zhan. At that moment, he didn't care what He Peng could hear. He was a civilian and might also be in danger.

When Wen Rouhan seemed to have calmed down, Number 9 pushed him back to his sons. Then he pointed the knife at the doormen and asked, "Why are we being held here?"

Suddenly, a murmur had been heard over the loudspeaker system and then the politician's voice: "I apologize for the circumstances. But I have no choice at the moment but to keep you all here. Because someone among you has kidnapped my son. I want to know who it was and where my son is! You won't get out of here until I find out. And believe me, you won't make it out of here. I've taken care of everything. Oh, yes, I took one more precaution. I know I won't be able to lure the kidnapper out like this. Therefore, I have refined the champagne that you have all drunk so much with a little poison. And you will get the antidote only if the kidnapper turns himself in and I find out where my son is!"

The guests screamed in terror. Zhan was relieved because he and Yibo only had soft drinks and no champagne. He Peng whispered that he too did not drink champagne because he was there by car and still had to drive. However, Xian Chu's situation was different. She turned pale and explained that she had three glasses of champagne.

Number 9 laughed out loud. "What are you looking for? Your son's kidnapper? Is that why you invited me to this lame party? Because you thought I kidnapped your son? Listen. I may be a bad guy and detest the good. But I don't touch children! Never!" He shouted. But he received no response.

When the guests slowly calmed down again, they began to discuss heavily. At least until suddenly a woman screamed. An older man lay at her feet, whimpering in pain as he held his chest. "My father! His heart is weak! He's dying!" She cried aloud. Suddenly, her father stopped moving.

Another man knelt down next to the old one. But he only shook his head. "He is dead." Terrified screams again. Many guests shouted desperately for the politician to give them the antidote and let them go. But none of them was heard. And only a few minutes passed before a woman slumped to the ground. She held her throat in agony and was dead after less than a minute. Panic broke out among the guests.

Zhan pulled Yibo and He Peng to the garden fence where the two had previously watched Xian Chu. "The fence is not very high, we could climb over it." Suggested Zhan.

"You can forget it. There are the bushes, but there's a high wall behind them. And don't you think he has guards posted at the front of the house too?" Interjected Xian Chu.

"I won't let anything happen to Yibo. I have to get him out of here. He Peng too, of course."

"Are you stupid? You want to help a civilian who might be the boy's real kidnapper?"

"What do you want, anyway?"

"Think about it for yourself. The kidnapper is certainly not going to be a noticeable guy. This was someone who can disappear into the crowd. And besides, it's strange that he was invited here, isn't it?"

"Most of those who are here are ordinary civilians. Any of them could have kidnapped the boy."

"Who says it's a man, anyway? It could have been a woman, after all." Said Yibo.

"A woman?" Asked Xian Chu shaking his head.

"Yes. Someone like you who can also get lost in the crowd. Someone who is trained to do such things." Yibo replied.

"And how do you come to think of me, of all people?"

"Simple. You were in the house earlier, listening at a door. How did you know where to listen? How did you know where the politician's office was? Why did you come here?"

"You're out of your mind. Are you saying now that I did this?"

"Could have been, couldn't it?"

"Well, it wasn't me."

"Stop arguing." Zhan interjected.

"You know what I'm wondering? How does the politician even think the kidnapper is at the party? Until earlier, the garden gate had been open. Everything was apparently fine until then. So what happened in the meantime?" Asked He Peng.

Zhan, Yibo and Xian Chu looked at him questioningly. "Explain in more detail." Asked Yibo to him.

"So something must have happened. I'm not a professional or anything. But I'm good at thinking logically. And I think Yibo wasn't that wrong in his guess. What we know so far is that the inside of the house is full of surveillance cameras. But they wouldn't have watched the footage for no reason. So there must be a reason for them to review the footage. I'm just going to assume that that's what happened. And if it was, then they saw you (he pointed to Xian Chu) on the footage going upstairs and listening at a door and then going into the politician's office. Maybe the kidnapper left something in the office. But because you (he pointed to Xian Chu again) might not have been the only person who entered the office, they didn't just strike and grab you." Explained He Peng.

"But if it was several people, what makes you think it could have been me?" Xian Chu wanted to know.

"I can answer that for you. If they really looked at the footage and several people entered the office, then they saw the people go in and out of the office. You are the only one who is not seen leaving the office." Explained Zhan.

"But then they have all the more reason to grab me. Then why wouldn't they?"

"Because maybe you weren't the only one who used the window to escape. After we saw you climb out the window, we went to get you. But we didn't observe what happened before or after." Assumed Yibo.

"But we did watch the guests. We saw who else went into the house before the doormen wouldn't let them." Opined Zhan.

"Who's actually telling us that the kidnapper is still there? Maybe he's long gone?" Asked Xian Chu.

"If he were gone, they wouldn't have sealed everything off. I suppose there are surveillance cameras here in the garden too. So the kidnapper could really still be there. Or someone working for him." Zhan surmised.

"And how do we find out who it could have been?" Asked He Peng.

"We can't. They won't show us the surveillance footage. We can't offer our help in finding the kidnapper either. Because then we would have to explain who we are and our mission would be over. Maybe we should talk to the guests again and ask them who was where and when, or if anyone saw anything." Suggested Zhan.

Suddenly something occurred to Yibo again. "Where did the young blonde go, anyway?" Zhan looked at him with wide eyes.

"That's right. She's nowhere to be seen." He replied after looking to the guests. Someone like her, being the only blonde, stood out very quickly.

"Remember? She said her name was Anna Wong. A year ago, her mother married a Chinese man. She's an American. But speaks Chinese perfectly. While dancing, she told me she's only been living in China for 7 months. Which seems kind of strange to me. Also, she disappeared after I declined to dance with her. She went to someone and had a conversation with the person. After that, I didn't see her again."

"Anna Wong is the stepdaughter of my employer. Her stepfather is the CEO in the small company where I work. After he got married, he brought his wife and Anna here. He introduced the two of them to us once. We all had to speak English with her because they supposedly didn't understand Chinese." Explained He Peng.

"Maybe that's your connection to the invitation to this party." Yibo opined.

"But why? I don't know them at all. I only saw her once and not even for 5 minutes. I also only see the CEO when he makes announcements."

"Has anything been different in the company lately?" Asked Zhan.

"Mhhh, no. Or maybe yes. They have forbidden us to continue going downstairs to the basement. A lot of us like to take breaks there because it's nice and cool. Until now, no one objected and the CEO even arranged for tables and chairs to be brought down there. But for the last week or so, we've been forbidden to go down there. They even put a lock on the door."

"It sounds like they're trying to hide something there that they don't want anyone to find." Yibo replied thoughtfully.

"Then we really need to get out of here now. We have to go there and see if the boy is being held captive there." Said Zhan.

"And how?" Xian Chu wanted to know.

"We'll do it like I said earlier. Over the fence! And then to the cars."

"Oh great. And what if there are guards there? And have you already forgotten that I drank some of that poisoned champagne, too?"

"Then you stay here and we'll send help. I should be able to handle a few guards. Maybe it's even better if you stay here. We don't know how the poison reacts to agitation. Maybe it will make the poison carry faster."

"All right. Then you climb over the fence and I'll make sure no one sees you. And send help right away."

"Okay." Said Zhan. He let Yibo climb over the fence first, then He Peng, and finally he climbed over the fence himself. Then they crept in a line along the wall of the house in the shadows until they reached the end of the wall, where Zhan took a look. "Just one man." Said Zhan. He told the two to stay there until he came for them, then Zhan disappeared from Yibo and He Peng's sight.

Yibo heard Zhan fighting and was terrified for Zhan. But after not even two minutes, Zhan came back and got them both. He even had the car key from the service car and showed He Peng a bunch of other car keys, from which he picked out his own.

Crouching down, the three of them ran to the parked cars. Fortunately, they were parked in such a way that they could exit without difficulty. Zhan and Yibo drove up in their car. They saw that the gate at the entrance was closed. But it didn't look very stable, so Zhan pressed on the gas pedal, drove on the gate and it clanged apart.

Then they drove up to the road, where Yibo made an emergency call at first, after they had a signal on their cell phones again. He Peng drove up behind them to show them where the company was and take them to the basement.