"Darling, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. After a night's sleep, I already feel much better." Liu A'dou was surprised when Iseline came out of the kitchen. "What are you making?"
Iseline smiled. "It's borscht, I learned it from my mother."
Isn't that a Russian dish? But what country it's from doesn't matter, as long as it tastes good. "Let me taste it."
The taste, of course, was excellent.
"This is a recipe passed down from my mother's mother."
"Your grandmother is Russian?" Liu A'dou asked curiously.
"Yes, but my grandmother left her homeland when she was very young and came to America. My grandfather was American." Iseline's mother was of mixed heritage, and Iseline had inherited her mother's fine genes, turning out to be a beautiful and elegant woman.
Suddenly, Iseline widened her eyes and looked at Liu A'dou. "Tell me about your family."
Liu A'dou thought to himself, "In this world, I don't have any family." "I'm an orphan. I grew up in Wayne Orphanage and started working right after graduating high school. I've been doing that ever since." These were the fabricated details Liu A'dou had created for his identity in this world.
Hearing that Liu A'dou had such a poor background, Iseline's maternal instincts immediately kicked in, and she hugged Liu A'dou to comfort him. "But now you have me."
"I have you." Deceiving such a kind woman made Liu A'dou feel a little guilty, but then again, he was a time traveler.
It was a warm morning, but it didn't mean the day would go smoothly.
When they both showed up at the TV station, they were immediately asked to meet with the station manager, which confused them. It didn't seem like there was any big issue requiring the station manager's attention.
"Come in." Howard, sitting behind his desk, had been preparing something. When he looked up and saw Liu A'dou and Iseline, he immediately stopped what he was doing. "You're here. Please sit."
"Manager, is there something you need from us?" Iseline thought maybe something had gone wrong with their work.
"Do you remember the illegal diamond trade you reported on before?" Howard, busy as usual, got straight to the point.
"Yes." Both of them nodded. That was the first big news they had found since the Independent News Channel was established. "What about it?"
That story should have been fine. Didn't Harvey Dent call and say the evidence was solid and the gangster boss had been re-arrested, with no chance of being bailed out this time?
But the manager looked very serious, clearly bringing bad news. "The gang has issued a threat. They're after the lives of the journalists who reported on this trade. That means your lives." Howard said with a stern face. "Although it's not new for journalists to be threatened for reporting the truth, you need to be extra cautious. Be careful from now on."
"Uh..." Liu A'dou thought to himself, "What is this? We're just reporters." "Should we call the police?"
"This is something Commissioner Gordon told me. If you agree, he's willing to send officers to protect you," Howard said.
"We don't need protection." Liu A'dou hadn't replied yet, but Iseline had already made her decision. "We're just reporting the facts. Are they really going to attack us in broad daylight? I won't be intimidated by these gangsters."
Her righteous speech made Howard look at Iseline with new respect. "Good, now that's the kind of reporter I expect from you, Iseline. A good reporter has to be threatened at some point, and uprightness is the quality that reporters need. Alright, go ahead and work. I don't believe anyone would dare lay a hand on my people."
The station manager was indeed impressive. Although Liu A'dou didn't know exactly what he would do, he trusted that there wouldn't be any major problems.
Liu A'dou thought that the matter would just fade away, not realizing how much hatred the scoundrels had for the journalists who reported on the trade. The gangster boss was facing at least fifty years in prison, and even his lawyer was helpless. His anger was immense, and he was determined to kill Liu A'dou and Iseline, the two journalists meddling in his business, in the most painful way possible. So, he hired a hitman to carry out the job.
This was no longer something Howard could handle.
"Grant the target the most painful death, not by torturing their body, but by making them realize their destruction is inevitable and they cannot stop it. That's the most painful way to die," the hitman told the gangster boss, explaining the goal of this assassination. He had designed a trap for the two young journalists to savor death.
Two days went by without any strange events, and Liu A'dou and Iseline had forgotten all about the revenge plot. They were busy with their work, unaware that the revenge, when it came, would catch them off guard.
It was just another workday when they set off in the broadcast van, ready for an interview. As soon as the van hit the road, Liu A'dou received an unknown phone call.
"Hello!" The voice was low, filled with static noise. Liu A'dou instantly recognized the use of a voice changer. But he wasn't fazed; he could easily revert the voice to its original form.
"This is an independent news station reporter, who is this?" Liu A'dou remained calm.
"You don't need to know who I am. Listen, I've placed a bomb on the vehicle you're riding in. If the speed drops below sixty miles per hour, it will explode." The voice clearly carried a mocking laugh, "Enjoy your final moments."
"..." Liu A'dou glanced at the dashboard. The speed was sixty-five miles per hour, but a red light was ahead. "This isn't a funny joke."
"This is not a joke. It's a death sentence. Goodbye, little reporter. I speak for the poor fool who will end up in prison because of you!" The person hung up after that.
The traffic light turned red, but Liu A'dou gritted his teeth, slammed the gas pedal, and the broadcast van sped toward the intersection.
"Liu??" Iseline cried out in panic as they approached the red light without slowing down. "Slow down!"
"I can't slow down!" Liu A'dou pushed the pedal hard, taking a deep breath. It was time to test his driving skills. The cars coming from both sides were now obstacles.
Honking loudly, Liu A'dou expertly maneuvered the steering wheel like a spinning top, weaving between the cars. He sighed in relief, "Call the police. There's a bomb on the car. If we drop below sixty miles per hour, it'll explode. I'm taking the car to the ring road, where the traffic's lighter."
"A bomb? What's going on?" Iseline was shocked.
"It's revenge. Call the police. Don't worry, we'll be fine with me here," Liu A'dou said calmly. He'd seen bigger storms, and a small bomb wasn't going to rattle him.
But for Iseline, this was the first time she'd been in a car with a bomb, and fear was written all over her face.
"Take a deep breath. There's nothing to fear. You should worry more about what we'll have for dinner tonight," Liu A'dou joked.
Iseline let out a bitter laugh, grabbing her phone to make the call. But after three attempts, the calls wouldn't connect, as if the world had abandoned them.