715 A Million Times for You 77 (1/2)

If the other party had demanded money, they would unquestionably have agreed to give it in exchange for her. But at present, this wasn't the case.

Tuoba Gucheng also knew that if he were to allow such an exchange, it would be difficult to capture these people again.

With the whole world fighting against such extremist organizations, S Nation could not set a precedent over this.

He sat there silently for about two hours.

But still, he could not think of a solution to this.

He wanted to save this woman. But this time around, it seemed more difficult than ever.

As the leader of the nation, he needed to be responsible not only toward a single citizen but also toward thousands of others.

The moment he makes a compromise with Pei Yi, it would mean that in the future, people will be more daring to carry out such cases like that of An Xiaoning's this time around.

Lin Shishi entered the room. She knew well and clear how difficult of a spot he was placed in. ”Honey, although saving my sister is important, I'm more unwilling to make you into a person disloyal toward the nation. If a leader of the nation makes the citizens disappointed, he will become the greatest enemy. With this issue becoming a hot topic of discussion online, the other party has intentionally used this method to put you in a spot. From the big picture, I believe our nation's citizens will understand you. If you really compromise and get my sister back in exchange, then any citizen of our nation can become a target to be threatened. My sister may also become a hostage a second time. My sister should be extremely clear about this. I'm sure she won't blame you.”

Tuoba Gucheng looked up at her. ”Do you know what this means? If the negotiation is unsuccessful, there's a high possibility that she will be shot dead by those people, just to demonstrate their strength.”

Lin Shishi's eyes faltered. ”If those people had held her hostage like that, I believe it's because of the relationship she has with the Jin and Lin families, as well as the fact that I'm your wife. That's why things have become like this. If we compromise this time, then next time, they may hold other people related to you hostage. If they don't succeed this time, they'll know your temper and naturally not do such things again.”

”The DK Organization has people all over the globe, and the amount of people they have is massive. They also have such firm beliefs as well. Right now, we don't even know where exactly in R Nation she has been brought to. Only if we catch Xu Baizhi will we gain more understanding about this. However, at this critical moment, Xu Baizhi just had to hide overseas, making us unable to catch her anytime soon. The deadline they've given us is three days.” He appeared to be struggling with many emotions. ”If I could, I would not want any citizen of my nation to suffer any harm. I don't want to receive news of An Xiaoning having suffered a cruel death overseas.”

Lin Shishi was not in any better state either. Something that even Tuoba Gucheng could not handle, she was even more helpless about.

”Honey, nobody wants such a thing to happen. Sister Xiaoning has saved my life before. I don't want this to happen as well. During the cabinet meeting, nobody, including my father and Uncle Jin, approved of this. From the point of view of a bystander, it's better to give up the chance to negotiate to minimize our losses. You just got appointed to this position and don't have a stable foundation yet, you can't let such an incident make the people lose faith in you. Everyone wants to see the government's stand on this issue, but more than this, they want to see if the government can secure the safety of the majority of the citizens. No one wants to see their own country give in to the threat from an insidious force.”

”I suppose your stand is the same as those ministers?”

Lin Shishi nodded. ”Yes. As compared to my godsister, you are more important to me.”

Tuoba Gucheng gazed at her, but there was no hint of him being moved from his eyes. He let out a huge sigh. ”You go and rest first. I'll go to sleep later.”

”Okay.”

Tuoba Gucheng watched as she walked out the door, a wave of sadness overwhelming him.

Her bright and charming face popped up in his mind, but it appeared blurry, as if there was a thick layer of snow covering it. It was so cold he could not feel a tinge of warmth at all.

It made this night feel even colder than it was.

—

After seeing the news online, Ji Yu tried to call An Xiaoning, but his calls never went through.

He was in a frantic state as well.

Despite panicking, he had no solution in mind at all.

He had just come back from a mission that night. Without even sleeping, he went straight to the Jin residence at daybreak to understand the situation.