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墨書 Inktalez
When the man saw the fluttering Renminbi in the air again, a mix of emotions surged within him. Compared to fifty thousand, the four hundred thousand felt more like a rain of money. The moment Wang Chao pulled out a photo of Ding Derun, the man recognized him instantly as the elderly scammer from years ago.
Upon realizing that this four hundred thousand belonged to Ding Derun, tears welled up in his eyes.
The kidnapper had used four hundred thousand to comfort a wounded soul, yet the man still handed over the forty thousand he had found to the police.
After his wife left, he had relied on his own hands to make a living. He never picked up money from the ground, not even a single cent, because years ago, he had tasted that kind of despair. He had cursed that old man more than once in his dreams and had dreamt of his wife countless times.
But curses only added to his own sorrow and pain; they could never harm the one being cursed.
The reason the kidnapper chose this place and made Jiang He scatter the money in such a manner was solely for this man's sake.
This was the kidnapper's purpose—simple yet utterly unbelievable.
However, the outcome was different from years ago. Once everyone learned that this money had an owner, they all chose to return it. Wang Chao counted; it was exactly four hundred thousand, not a cent less. Standing in the dilapidated alley with the four hundred thousand in hand, watching the tattered yet clean people and the smiling children, Wang Chao understood why the man chose to live here.
Some people may be poor, but their spiritual world is rich; others may be wealthy, yet their spiritual world is barren. The residents here were all poor; if each of the forty families received ten thousand, they could buy some furniture, enjoy a big meal, purchase new clothes for their children, or even cover several years of tuition.
Yet often, there are things more important than money in people's hearts.
Humans are ultimately not like monkeys in the mountains, scrambling for food tossed by tourists.
Some remain like monkeys; others stand up and become human.
Wang Chao returned to the City Bureau with exactly four hundred thousand.
Meanwhile, Ding Derun was discovered by someone in a nearby square.
At that moment, Ding Derun had been waiting for the next command from the kidnapper, but the kidnapper remained silent. After waiting for about five minutes, Ding Derun could no longer hold back and asked, "It's been five minutes past the deadline. I've been waiting for your command. What about my wife? Can you let her go?"
The kidnapper's voice was ethereal. "Then the game is over. You will know the outcome soon enough. Regardless of what the result is, it is your own choice. Goodbye."
With that, the kidnapper hung up.
Ding Derun quickly redialed, but it was evidently a disconnected number.
He had no idea what was happening. Looking at the blood splattered across the car window, he felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. The game was over, but where was his wife? He got out of the car and wandered aimlessly to a square, sitting down in a daze. Without his phone, he couldn't receive any calls.
The police brought Ding Derun back.
"Where's my wife? Where's my wife?" Ding Derun's first words upon seeing Jiang He were frantic.
Jiang He replied, "I received notification that your wife, Pang Suzhang, has been found by Old Shao. She is currently safe and healthy and is being questioned at Kant's Home."
Ding Derun knelt on the ground. "That's good, that's good."
However, Jiang He handcuffed Ding Derun's wrists. "We've reviewed the surveillance footage. On your way to Shangde Road, the footage shows you hit and killed a man. Old Shao is involved; regardless of whether your wife is rescued or not, you cannot escape responsibility. You caused a chain collision at the intersection and killed a civilian. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Knowing his wife was safe brought him some relief, but now he resorted to defiance. "This has nothing to do with me! You all know this was what the kidnappers forced us to do! If I hadn't done this, my wife would have been doomed!"
While Ding Derun was being interrogated in the interrogation room by Jiang He and Wang Chao, Old Shao was at home questioning Pang Suzhang.
From Pang Suzhang's description, Old Shao had already gotten a sense of one of the kidnappers' appearances and had instructed a nearby officer to take notes. At that moment, what Old Shao most wanted to know was what kind of game the kidnappers had played with Pang Suzhang and whether it was the same as the game Ding Derun had played with them.
"What kind of game is this?" Old Shao asked Pang Suzhang.
Pang Suzhang finally spoke up, "It's not me playing the game; it's my old partner Ding Derun and my son Ding Mo Cheng. As you can see, I have two phones next to me. One phone lets me hear a kidnapper talking to my son, and the other lets me hear a kidnapper talking to my partner."
"Are you saying the kidnappers just let you listen in on the calls?" Old Shao glanced at the two phones.
Pang Suzhang nodded, "That's right. I have no idea what the kidnappers are planning."
"Do you know what games the two of them are playing?" Old Shao asked again.
Pang Suzhang looked at her phone and took a sip of water. "It seems like my husband’s task is to drive. I heard the kidnapper telling him to go down this street and then another one. The kidnapper is demanding that my husband get there as fast as possible. I even heard crashing sounds on the phone..."
"Do you know how many car accidents you've caused in total?" Wang Chao stared seriously at Ding Derun.
"I don't know," Ding Derun said, lowering his head. "But this has nothing to do with me, you know? If you have the ability, go catch the kidnappers! I'm just a victim here; you all know that."
Wang Chao slammed his hand on the table, glaring fiercely at him. "Thirty-seven cars! Do you know how many people were injured because of you?"
"No, it really has nothing to do with me," Ding Derun replied.
"Because of you, one hundred twenty-three people were injured!" Wang Chao's tone was harsh. "What's worse, from the surveillance footage, it's clear that you drove straight into that man without even hitting the brakes. You could be charged with intentional homicide; do you understand?"
Ding Derun struggled against his handcuffs but couldn't move much. Still fuming, he said, "Officer, you can't say that! How can this be murder? I've already told you, if it weren't for the kidnappers, I wouldn't have done this. This should all fall on them."
Ding Derun added, "And you can see from the surveillance that this person was loitering for a long time. Although you can't see her face clearly in the footage, you can see her silhouette hesitating, looking left and right—clearly checking out the vehicles around her. I'm not wrong about this, am I?"
"Wang Chao, just say what you want directly. There's no need to beat around the bush," he said.
Ding Derun snorted coldly. "At this point, I won't hide anything from you. I'm involved in scamming, okay? Can't I see what she's trying to do? From the surveillance footage, it's clear she was scamming. Besides, I was driving so fast at that time, and I'm getting old; my reflexes aren't what they used to be. I didn't have time to react and hit the brakes."
Jiang He countered, "No, you drove straight into that man. I've been in your car; it's stable, and your driving skills are good. I have an eighty percent chance of believing you had time to react, but you chose not to brake. If you had braked immediately, I'd say there's a ninety percent chance you wouldn't have hit him, and he definitely wouldn't have died."
Ding Derun disagreed with Jiang He's reasoning. "If you weren't sixty years old, you shouldn't be driving. I admit my reflexes are slow; it wasn't intentional to hit him. Besides, it was a woman! Why do you keep insisting it was a man? Regardless of whether it's a man or a woman, it has nothing to do with me. What nonsense about a man; clearly, he was cross-dressing—what a pervert..."
"Cross-dressing?" Old Shao looked at Pang Suzhang with some confusion. "Can you elaborate?"
Pang Suzhang explained seriously, "This is a game the kidnappers played with my son. They made him dress up like a young girl and stand on the road. Whenever a car came by, they would make him jump out and dance for those cars like a performer; they were deliberately humiliating my son."
"Do you know which road it was?" Old Shao suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked.
Pang Suzhang pondered for a moment before saying, "It was called Welcome Street! Yes, that's right—Welcome Street! But I'm only familiar with this area; I'm not well-acquainted with other roads in Jingzhong City."
Shangde Road and Welcome Street.
Old Shao quickly took out his phone, opened the map, and entered these two place names into the map of Jingzhong City. Soon enough, both streets appeared before him. Looking at them, Old Shao realized that these two streets were right next to each other; if one drove straight down Welcome Street, they would end up at Shangde Road.
"What about the timing?" Old Shao asked. "When was he standing on Welcome Street?"
"The game started simultaneously," Pang Suzhang replied. "My father drove to Dongsen Road while my son went to Welcome Street. When my father reached Phoenix Road, my son began putting on women's clothes and wore a wig. By the time my father got to Shangde Road, my son had started dancing."
A thought struck Old Shao's mind: when Ding Derun was driving, he must have encountered his own son dressed as a woman.
“Officer, you must catch the kidnappers! They are just messing with people!”
Pang Suzhang struggled to find the right words and finally settled on “messing with people.” After all, technically speaking, the kidnappers hadn’t really kidnapped her; they had merely locked her in another one of their homes.
However, Old Shao felt that it was far more than just a prank.
He dialed Jiang He’s number. “Jiang He, check immediately if Ding Derun has seen a man dressed as a woman.”
Jiang He put the call on speaker. “Ding Derun is right here.”
“Have you seen a man dressed as a woman?” Old Shao asked.
“Yes, but he’s dead.”
“He’s your son.”
Both of them spoke at the same time.
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