Reborn : Space Intelligent Woman

Chapter 2777: Chapter 2777: Found Richard Lee

Then, Richard Lee froze mid-swing, his heart leaping into his throat. He heard footsteps. Someone was standing just on the other side of the door.

A surge of wild hope burst inside his chest. He raised the steel pipe once more and slammed it against the corrugated metal with all his strength.

”Help! Help! I am trapped inside this warehouse! Please! Somebody get this door open!” Richard Lee shouted.

”Is there someone inside?” A stern, clear voice echoed back from outside the threshold.

”Yes! Yes! Yes! I am trapped inside! Please, break the lock! Get me out of here!” Richard Lee responded.

The person outside fell silent for a brief, agonising moment before speaking again with a measured tone.

”Who are you? And why are you locked inside this facility?”

”I am Richard Lee! Executive Director of the Lee Family!” Richard Lee shouted without thinking twice. ”I was kidnapped by two armed assailants! They knocked me unconscious and trapped me inside this locked warehouse! Please, break the chain! I will reward you handsomely with millions the second I am outside!”

Another heavy silence followed. Richard Lee’s chest tightened as panic began to set in. Had the passerby walked away?

Just as he was about to lose his mind, the voice outside finally sounded again.

”Understood. Hold back from the door. We are cutting you out.” The person stated.

”Yes... Yes... Thank you. I will personally ensure you are compensated for this!” Richard Lee nearly broke down crying tears of pure relief.

What Richard Lee failed to realise in his desperate relief was that the men standing outside were not local industrial workers or random passersby. They were an elite unit from the specialised task force assigned specifically to hunt him down. Following the massive midnight raids, the People Security Bureau had placed the entire Newark West Industrial Zone under an absolute military-grade lockdown. Every transit route had been blocked. Every cargo vehicle was systematically inspected before being allowed near the perimeter.

Simultaneously, multiple investigative squads had been dispatched to breach and sweep every single commercial property registered under the Lee Family’s name. Their directive was absolute. Secure all physical evidence, rescue any remaining victims, and locate the missing Richard Lee at all costs.

Therefore, when the search team arrived at Warehouse No. 16 and caught the thunderous metallic banging coming from inside, they immediately surrounded the perimeter with rifles drawn. At first, the team assumed they had stumbled upon another hidden cache of kidnapped victims. But the moment the man inside loudly identified himself as Richard Lee and babbled about being knocked out and abandoned, the tactical officers immediately knew they had hit the jackpot.

The team leader instantly relayed the alert back to the central command center. Within seconds, the director’s orders flashed back:

Breach the lock and extract Richard Lee immediately.

Place him under high-security arrest the moment he crosses the threshold.

Do not give him a single microsecond to resist or flee.

Obeying the command, an officer stepped forward with heavy hydraulic bolt cutters, snapping the heavy-duty padlock in two with a sharp CRACK before heaving the massive steel door open. Blinding morning sunlight instantly poured into the dark interior.

Richard Lee winced, his pupils contracting sharply against the sudden glare. Yet, to him, he had never felt sunlight so glorious in his entire life. With an unmistakable expression of relief washing over his bruised face, he stumbled out onto the concrete pavement.

Finally...

Fresh air.

Freedom.

Unfortunately, that blissful feeling of liberation lasted for less than two short seconds.

CLICK!

Cold, rigid steel handcuffs snapped ruthlessly around both of his wrists, jerking his arms forward.

Richard Lee froze dead in his tracks, all the colour draining from his face in an instant.

”Wait! What the hell are you doing?” Richard Lee was surprised.

The team leader stepped forward, his posture rigid, pulled an official document from his tactical vest, and looked down at him with zero emotion.

”Richard Lee, you are hereby placed into immediate state custody for formal processing regarding multiple felony charges, including high-level human trafficking, mass child abduction, illegal false imprisonment, organised criminal conspiracy, facilitating illicit human experimentation, and multiple related high offences. If you attempt to resist arrest, flee, or destroy potential evidence, our officers are fully authorised to use all necessary force, including deadly force if required. Please cooperate.”

”What? What absurd nonsense are you talking about?!” Richard Lee’s face turned completely ghost-white, his jaw slacking in sheer horror.

His breathing turned shallow and erratic, wild panic instantly taking over his features. How? How? How on earth had everything been exposed overnight?! Then, his pupils suddenly shrank into microscopic points.

The rabbit mask’s words...

That sadistic woman’s final, haunting words before she left him paralyzed on the cold ground:

”Those recordings are not for me.”

”They are for someone else.”

Richard Lee finally understood the horrifying, catastrophic truth behind her words. She had never cared about extorting his money. She had used his own voice, his own words, and his own recorded confession to completely annihilate the entire Lee Family dynasty in a single stroke!

”You have got this all wrong! You are misunderstanding things. I was forced! I was tortured into saying those things! I didn’t do anything willingly!” Richard Lee screamed hysterically, thrashing against the officers holding his arms.

”Mr Lee, you will have endless opportunities to explain your side of the story to the state prosecutors in an interrogation room. For now... save your breath and cooperate.” The investigation leader remained entirely unfazed, looking at him as if he were a common criminal.

Richard Lee clenched his teeth so violently that his jaw muscles throbbed with intense pain. His eyes burned with pure, unadulterated hatred.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***