Rebirth: Controlled Nuclear Fusion

Part 148：Caught

In the car, Xia Xiaoyu leisurely listened to music, feeling somewhat speechless about her best friend's attempt to steal someone else's boyfriend. She glanced at the time—it had already been over ten minutes. Over the past few days, she had been accompanying Jiang Fan at Research Institute No. 3, working on chip research. Now, finally, with a rare moment of relaxation, she and Qiao Yifei had planned to go clubbing, only to run into Jiang Fan here.

Xia Xiaoyu got out of the car, intending to hurry Qiao Yifei, but as soon as she stepped out, she saw a few burly men holding knives, forcing Qiao Yifei and Jiang Fan into a van nearby. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly hid herself, panic surging within her.

What should she do? What should she do?

This was her first time encountering such a situation, and she didn't know how to respond! It wasn't until she heard the sound of the van speeding away that her anxiety deepened.

"Stay calm! Stay calm, you must stay calm!" she told herself, taking deep breaths to steady her nerves.

Yes, she had to remember the license plate number first, then call the police.

Xia Xiaoyu peeked her head out, but to her dismay, the van had already disappeared. Frustration overtook her.

It was all her fault for panicking earlier and failing to note the plate number!

Without wasting another second, she pulled out her phone and dialed the police, but they informed her that it would take ten minutes to arrive at the scene. Xia Xiaoyu couldn't afford to waste time. She had seen the cold gleam of the knives in those men's hands with her own eyes!

If she delayed, Jiang Fan and the others might be in grave danger.

Thinking of this, tears welled up in Xia Xiaoyu's eyes as panic overwhelmed her.

Then, she remembered Long Lao.

Yes, she should call Long Lao! Jiang Fan was his student; he surely wouldn't ignore this!

Xia Xiaoyu quickly dialed Long Lao's number. At that moment, Long Lao had just finished a task at the National Rocket Propellant Fuel Base. He was returning to his residence when he saw Xia Xiaoyu's call.

"Hello?" Long Lao's tired voice answered.

"Academician Long, it's bad! Jiang Fan has been kidnapped!" Xia Xiaoyu exclaimed urgently.

Upon hearing this, Long Lao was immediately struck with panic.

"What? Say that again!"

"Jiang Fan's been taken... and they had knives..." Xia Xiaoyu sobbed as she spoke.

"Xiaoyu, calm down, don't cry. Tell me exactly what happened!" Long Lao urged.

After gathering her thoughts, Xia Xiaoyu told Long Lao everything, step by step. Long Lao quickly ordered her to stay put and not leave. He immediately called No. 1.

Upon hearing the news, No. 1 grew tense with worry. Jiang Fan was now one of the most valuable talents in Long Guo.

His recent breakthroughs were unparalleled—nuclear fusion stable for 118 seconds, lithium iron phosphate batteries, ITER magnetic materials, "Longkan" magazine, 7nm chips, 4nm chips, 1nm chips.

Who else could rival such achievements? It was no exaggeration to say Jiang Fan was the future of Long Guo. No. 1 would never allow any harm to come to him.

Without hesitation, No. 1 called Wu Yingjie, the director of the Kyoto Public Security Bureau.

"Who is this?" Wu Yingjie, startled awake, answered irritably.

"It's No. 1."

Wu Yingjie immediately sat up with a start, leaping out of bed and saluting respectfully. "Greetings, leader!"

"Activate the first-level emergency plan immediately. I need you to trace the whereabouts of two vans that were at 18 Yong'an Road five minutes ago..." No. 1 commanded.

"Understood!"

Wu Yingjie quickly contacted the duty officers, instructed them to pull up the surveillance footage, and began activating the first-level emergency plan. All 16,901 officers in Kyoto were urgently summoned, and the streets were sealed off.

Soon after, No. 1 received another call from Wu Yingjie.

"Leader, we've located the vans. They're heading towards the northern suburbs. We've sealed off all highways..."

"Good. Mobilize all available forces to intercept them. No matter what, protect a person named Jiang Fan. I'll send you his photo shortly!"