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墨書 Inktalez
Finding transaction records online was a time-consuming and laborious task, not something to be rushed. Centered around Dongxing City, Mary began searching for records of merchants dealing in Beef Tapeworm. Meanwhile, it was getting late, and after a long day, it was time for everyone to rest.
Sitting on the bed, I found it hard to fall asleep. Besides worrying about Liu Fei'er, I was more concerned about whether I could continue my investigation. Delusional Disorder was already a difficult condition to treat, requiring medication for control. My Warden father had taken me to various Big Hospitals for examinations, but none had provided a cure; they could only manage the symptoms.
However, during my year in the psychiatric hospital, my condition had stabilized to the point where I no longer needed medication. It seemed that after this incident, I would have to resume taking my medication.
I spent the night in this anxious state.
Morning arrived.
After waking up, I listened to the police from the City Bureau recounting events. I learned that Liu Yinyan had called the City Bureau nearly seven or eight times last night, inquiring about the progress of the investigation. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours yet, and Liu Yinyan was already in such a state of panic; it made me wonder where his usual calm demeanor had gone.
“By the way, any news from Jesse?” I asked Liu Dao, who looked exhausted.
It seemed Liu Gang had returned from Liu Yinyan's villa.
Liu shook his head and said, “Last night when you all returned to the City Bureau, Gu Chen and I stayed at Liu Yinyan's house. That old man was so worried he made us call the City Bureau several times, which kept Gu Chen and me up all night.”
Yawning, Liu Jixu added, “But Jesse and his team didn’t sleep well either. I tentatively asked them what clues they found. Vivian looked completely unhelpful, but Jesse did share one clue with me.”
“What clue?” I inquired.
Liu scratched his head and replied, “He told me that if you want to take someone away without being noticed, you definitely need Transportation. The cameras in Dongxing City are dense enough that you can always track the vehicle's location. Once we find that vehicle, we can uncover more clues.”
I shrugged; it seemed Jesse couldn’t test the lipstick and had found another route instead. However, both paths led to the same goal—our breakthrough point was Beef Tapeworm while Jesse’s was a car. It would come down to who could move faster and break through first.
But as we waited, night fell.
I played mobile games out of boredom while Guan Zengbin sat idly on the couch. Liu was running around busily; I couldn’t tell what he was up to.
In a moment, Mary was still searching for the transaction records of the Beef Tapeworm. Although she had already found a dozen hidden sellers, determining which one Chen Lin had purchased from would take time.
Gu Chen was stationed at Liu Yinyan's house, responsible for keeping in touch with us.
The information left by the kidnappers was pitifully scarce. Without more details, we had no better way to investigate. However, the fact that the kidnappers hadn't called today showed their composure. The more composed they were, the more passive we felt.
Unlike typical kidnappers, these ones were unnervingly calm.
Just when I thought there was nothing left to investigate today, Mary suddenly exclaimed, "I have results!"
Our spirits lifted as we rushed to Mary's side. She said, "Using certain techniques, I found businesses in Dongxing City selling Beef Tapeworm Adults. These sellers provide tapeworms or Roundworms to dieters who don't want to starve themselves. However, one thing is clear: Adults cannot be shipped via express delivery."
"So," Mary pointed at an image on her computer, "purchasing an Adult must be done face-to-face. The shop Chen Lin chose promised that as long as it was within Dongxing City, the buyer could decide the location. I hacked into the system and found the conversation between Chen Lin and the Boss during their transaction."
With that, Mary enlarged the image.
We examined it line by line. Previously, Chen Lin had been asking whether this Adult had any harmful effects and if it truly helped with weight loss, while the seller naturally responded with assurances of "no harm and quick weight loss." But that wasn't the key point; what mattered was the following exchange between Chen Lin and the Boss:
Chen Lin: "Alright then, it can only be ********, can't it be shipped?"
Boss: "No, that would get detected. It's illegal to sell parasites. Choose a location; we'll deliver it."
A minute later.
Chen Lin: "Then come to the underground parking lot at 74 Dongfang Road; I'll wait for you there."
Boss: "Okay, our guy should arrive in about an hour. He'll be riding an electric bike and wearing a red outfit."
Chen Lin: I’m waiting for you all.
This was a conversation between Chen Lin and the Boss regarding the delivery location, from which we can analyze quite a bit.
Mary opened a video, showing a parking lot.
She pointed to the timestamp in the video and said, "I found the surveillance footage from the parking lot where Chen Lin made a transaction with the vendor a month ago. Fortunately, the footage is only cleared every two months, so I was able to retrieve this segment."
We all watched the video. A minute later, two figures appeared at the entrance of the underground parking lot. One person stood at the door and did not enter; only his build was visible, not his face.
The other person walked straight in. Although he wore a mask, it was clear from his stature and clothing that it was Chen Lin. After entering the parking lot for a short while, a guy on an electric bike rode in through the entrance, wearing a red short-sleeve shirt.
Chen Lin greeted him first. The guy rode over and took an opaque bottle out of his bike's basket.
He opened the bottle for Chen Lin to look inside. Chen Lin instinctively took a step back, seemingly startled. The guy smiled and leaned the bottle closer to Chen Lin, as if explaining how to swallow whatever was inside.
In the end, the guy took four hundred yuan from Chen Lin and rode off on his electric bike.
Chen Lin quickly left the parking lot as well, departing with another person.
The video wasn’t long, but it revealed a lot of information.
From what we could see, Chen Lin and another person had walked there. Timing-wise, after Chen Lin placed his order, the guy had already arrived. This clearly indicated that Chen Lin’s previous location wasn’t far from here; he could reach it on foot in no time.
When discussing the location with the vendor, Chen Lin hesitated for about a minute. As a kidnapper, he naturally wouldn’t expose his home address during this transaction, so he definitely didn’t disclose where he lived. However, in that minute, he wouldn’t just randomly mention an address either.
A minute is quite short, suggesting that this location was almost an instinctive choice made by Chen Lin.
That means the kidnappers were very close to this parking lot before. Setting aside that abandoned building, the kidnappers must have spent time near this parking lot about a month ago.
With this thought in mind, I didn’t waste any more time and said directly, “Let’s go check out this parking lot.”
It was already past ten at night as we drove to Parking Lot 74.
This parking lot operated with an automatic card system, where the balance was settled based on the parking duration. In other words, without a card, it was impossible to park inside. The card issuing office was located in a booth nearby, but there was no one there now.
We decided to park outside and walked into the underground parking lot. This underground parking lot only had one level, but it was spacious enough to accommodate over a hundred cars. There were all kinds of vehicles inside, including luxury cars as well as regular ones.
Standing in the center of the parking lot, I looked around at the cars surrounding me.
The others were also scanning the area, hoping to find some clues.
“What is a parking lot for?” I slowly asked.
Liu replied somewhat exasperatedly, “A parking lot is obviously for parking cars. What else could it be for, selling vegetables?”
“Well, perhaps the car that Jesse and the others are looking for is right here in this parking lot,” I said, tugging at my hair as I looked at Liu. “From a psychological perspective, a person's decisions made over a period of time are likely connected to their previous experiences.”
“For example, if I ask you where you want to eat tonight,” I continued, “you wouldn’t choose a restaurant you’ve never heard of before. Similarly, Chen Lin must have come to this parking lot before or at least heard of it; the former is much more likely!”
“That car is right here!” I declared firmly. “A month ago, they parked it here after taking Liu Fei'er, and they probably switched to another vehicle when they left.”
As soon as I finished speaking, a familiar voice came from outside: “Jesse-kun, could that car be here?”
The speaker was Moriko.
We looked up to see Jesse and the others walking in. We exchanged glances, surprised that we had indeed crossed paths here.
Jesse paused when he saw us, then burst into laughter. "I didn't expect you all to find this place too, and even beat me to it. Looks like you're not just sitting around; this makes things more interesting!"
I shrugged. "Just luck."
Jesse pursed his lips and said, "How about we make a bet?"
"What kind of bet?" I felt a flicker of irritation at Jesse's challenging tone.
"Let's see who can find Liu Fei'er first," Jesse proposed. "If I win, this beautiful lady must join me for dinner."
It seemed Jesse had a bit of a crush on Guan Zengbin. I asked, "What if I win?"
Jesse chuckled. "If you win, then my two assistants will join you for a romantic candlelight dinner. What do you say?"
I waved my hand dismissively. "You should make that bet with Guan Zengbin; she's not my property. What right do I have to use her for this wager?"
"Oh?" Jesse's eyes lit up. "I thought she was your girlfriend. It seems that's not the case. So, beautiful lady, are you willing to take this bet with me?"
"Of course I'm in," Guan Zengbin replied with a smile. "If you win, I'll accompany you. If you lose, you'll head back immediately; the police don't need an outsider detective."
Jesse nodded. "Alright then."
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