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墨書 Inktalez
From beginning to end, we never saw where Liu Yinyan's wife was, nor did we know if she had really hired a private detective. Similarly, we had no idea what Jesse looked like. If the kidnappers had known about this in advance and disguised themselves as Jesse to approach Liu Yinyan, it was certainly a possibility.
In my mind, I envisioned the gentlemanly figure who pretended to be Jesse. I wondered who this person truly was and who his two assistants might be. However, this person's age didn't seem very advanced; he didn't look like a fugitive at all.
"Right now, we can almost deduce that Lin Da was deliberately sent in by the kidnappers, but they wouldn't do so without a purpose," Captain Shao said, leaning against the wall with his eyes fixed on the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought. "From our current clues, Lin Da is a key breakthrough point. To obtain any useful information, we need to get it from him!"
Gu Chen scratched his head and said, "But Lin Da is tough to crack; he seems quite stubborn. How can we extract useful information from him?"
Captain Shao straightened up and looked toward the interrogation room not far away. "As long as he isn't mute, we have a chance."
"Alright then, Mary will continue investigating the surveillance," Captain Shao said calmly. "The rest of us will keep interrogating Lin Da. Guan Zengbin, you’ll be in charge of taking notes."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
However, before we could take action, Mary suddenly spoke up. "A call just came in."
"A strange number?" Captain Shao asked.
"No," Mary shook her head and turned her phone screen toward us. "It's Liu Yinyan calling."
Captain Shao frowned slightly and walked over two steps. "Answer it."
We gathered around Mary as she answered the call from Liu Yinyan.
A sharp voice rang out; it was the distinctive tone of the kidnapper using a voice changer. I suddenly recalled what Mary had mentioned before: after restoring the effects of the voice changer, the kidnapper's voice sounded like that of a young man aged twenty to twenty-five. But this person wasn't Jesse; we had all heard Jesse's voice before. So who was this young man?
"Good afternoon, officers," came a lazy voice that sounded quite nonchalant, almost like an old friend greeting another. But we all knew that the owner of this voice had kidnapped one of the top figures in Dongxing City's venture capital scene—someone not to be underestimated.
Captain Shao remained silent for a moment before responding, "Hello there. Have you eaten?"
The other party seemed taken aback by Captain Shao's calm demeanor and replied with surprise, "From your voice, are you Shao Shilin? I've heard of you before—the head of the Special Cases Unit who has cracked many major cases and caught quite a few criminals. I just wonder if you have the ability to catch me."
Previously, Captain Shao had repeatedly reminded Liu Yinyan to try to negotiate with the kidnappers. However, Liu Yinyan had always been straightforward, a trait that Captain Shao excelled at: "I'm just lucky. What are you planning to have for lunch? We can order takeout for you."
"Haha!" The man laughed. "Officer Shao, you're quite amusing. But there's no need for your concern. Takeout can't compare to home-cooked meals, you know? To be honest, I'm quite the chef. You should come over sometime and try my cooking."
Captain Shao smiled back. "We should find an opportunity then. I can cook too. What do you usually make? Do you go to the market yourself? Meat or vegetables? Beef stew? Stir-fried shrimp?"
The man replied, "Aren't you curious about what I want to do?"
"Seems like it's not those two dishes?" Captain Shao completely ignored the man's words. "Or maybe it's pork rib soup; that's quite delicious. Otherwise, having hot pot wouldn't be bad either. Come on, it's past one o'clock; I'm getting a bit hungry."
The person on the other end clearly grew impatient. "How about Braised Fish!"
With that statement, the call was abruptly ended. It seemed the other party was very cautious; calls never lasted more than three minutes.
Mary said, "Liu Yinyan's phone is turned off, and the SIM card must have been physically damaged. The kidnappers are very careful and likely possess some counter-tracking skills; they might have someone knowledgeable in that area."
"Should we continue interrogating Lin Da now?" Gu Chen asked.
Captain Shao shook his head and slowly tapped his finger on the table. "Wait. If the kidnappers want something, they will definitely call again. As long as we keep circling around them, we can always find a clue in their words, even if it's just a tiny bit; it could be key to solving the case."
Given Captain Shao's over twenty years of experience in solving cases, his instincts were remarkably accurate. Sure enough, not long after, an unknown number called again—it was the kidnapper.
"Sorry about that, Captain Shao; the signal was a bit poor," the man said.
Captain Shao snorted coldly. "Poor signal, or are you afraid we'll find you?"
"Isn't that amusing?" The man continued. "I called because I hope you can find me; otherwise, how can this game continue?"
This time, Captain Shao didn't beat around the bush—perhaps fearing that further circling would provoke the other party into angering him and causing more trouble: "Game? Did I ever say I wanted to play any game with you?"
"You have to play this game whether you want to or not; otherwise, Liu Yinyan and Liu Fei'er won't be safe." The man replied.
Captain Shao fell silent for a moment before asking, "Alright, I'll play this game with you, but you must ensure the safety of Liu Fei'er and Liu Yinyan. And let me tell you, sometimes there are things that should never be touched; once you do, there's no turning back. Now release the hostages, and perhaps you'll still have a chance to escape."
The man burst into laughter. "Escape? Many people here have been escaping for half their lives or even their entire lives. Where else could they go? Sometimes life is quite dull—robbery, rape, arson, murder. We've experienced too many thrilling things in life; now we can't stop, do you understand?"
"Oh?" Captain Shao asked, puzzled. "Then what do you want to do?"
The man replied quietly, "Sometimes, the act of committing a crime itself can become addictive. How many crimes are committed for money, for power, for women? Yet during the process of committing crimes, one realizes that repeat offenders commit crimes simply for the sake of committing crimes, not for anything else."
"Committing crimes for the sake of committing crimes?" Captain Shao responded. "That's an interesting perspective; have you ever considered becoming a psychologist?"
The man snorted coldly. "To kill someone and dismember their body. To walk down the street and snatch a wallet right in front of most passersby. To burn a beautiful house to the ground. Ah, what wonderful moments."
"Life is meant to unleash primal urges; we are born with aggression and destruction," he said coldly. "But society now stifles this inherent nature—doesn't that infringe upon a person's rights?"
"Those who refuse to suppress their instincts are sent to prison or executed! Survival of the fittest—this is a law that has evolved over billions of years. Yet humanity insists on suppressing this natural law; in truth, we are the ones who truly adapt to nature."
At this point, his voice carried an excitement that had been suppressed. I imagined that if one were to see his face now, it would be one filled with fervor and exhilaration. Those without faith are pitiful; yet those with extreme beliefs can be terrifying.
In criminology, criminals are categorized into several types. Those who kill for money or sex are merely acting on impulse; such individuals aren't particularly frightening because we know what they want.
However, take this kidnapper on the phone right now—between twenty and twenty-five years old—if given enough power, he could very well become a second Hitler. That is the truly terrifying kind of kidnapper; they don't want money or power but seek things we cannot even fathom.
Captain Shao referred to such individuals as living criminals.
In real life, we may have encountered people deceived into pyramid schemes. Pyramid schemes brainwash their members over time, trapping them in a financial dream. No matter how others advise or explain things to them, they refuse to believe anyone else is right and instead think you're hindering their wealth.
We feel pity for such individuals because they are lost in their own world.
But what about brainwashed criminals?
We can only find them terrifying.
Because they are fighting against the principles of all humanity, we call it terrorism.
"What do you want to do?" Captain Shao asked seriously, having sensed the danger in the man's thoughts.
The man replied, "You finally asked the right question. What do I want to do? I want to play a game with you. From now on, every hour, I will cut off one of their fingers until you find this place. Of course, if you can't find it, they might die—who knows?"
"Then let the game begin."
The call ended.
We were all lost in thought. From the conversation, it was clear that this person was somewhat unstable; perhaps he even had a mental illness. If he wasn't apprehended soon, who knew what he might do?
Sometimes, being reckless can be a bad thing, but it can also be a good thing.
A person who desires nothing—how terrifying that would be.
"Is the kidnapper really going through all this trouble just to play this game with us?" Gu Chen said. "Is it just for excitement? Is it to create chaos in the city?"
I suddenly recalled what Lin Da had said to us in the interrogation room:
Sometimes, excitement can become a kind of faith; it can become a person's very life.
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