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墨書 Inktalez
In the early morning of August 22, members of the project team gradually arrived at Jingzhong City.
At this moment, Old Shao was alone in his office making a phone call, while Wang Chao and Jiang He stood outside the office waiting. However, they were not bored, as they had spotted something quite interesting. At the far end of the corridor, a man weighing around two hundred pounds was facing a potted plant.
The corridor had a single entrance, and at the end was a storage room that was closed off. This meant that the man was not waiting for anyone in particular, which puzzled Jiang He and Wang Chao. They noticed beads of sweat forming on the man's neck as he occasionally wiped it with his hand, appearing quite nervous.
The man was muttering to the potted plant, "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. You can do this. When you speak, don't look into others' eyes. Deep breath, deep breath. You can do it. Green, give me some encouragement. Can we really adapt to this environment? If you don’t speak, does that mean you agree…"
This man was Guan Deng. After receiving a call from Old Shao, Guan Deng immediately purchased a plane ticket to Jingzhong City. All of this was done online without having to speak to anyone. After landing, he was afraid to communicate with the taxi driver and ended up taking several buses to get here.
Wang Chao whispered to Jiang He, "That guy is so strange. He’s been standing there since we arrived—probably over half an hour now. What is he doing?"
Jiang He quickly replied, "I have a ninety percent chance of believing he’s also part of our project team. We are at the Jingzhong City Public Security Bureau, standing at the door of the conference room; not just anyone can come in here or else the police would stop them. Since no one stopped us when we arrived, it must mean Old Shao informed them."
"And since only Old Shao is inside the conference room, just like us, waiting for him, he must be a member of the project team." Jiang He looked at Guan Deng and added, "But I don’t understand why he’s talking to a plant."
Wang Chao glanced at Guan Deng and then back at Jiang He, feeling a sense of wonder: members of this project team were all quite peculiar; they hardly resembled detectives.
Inside the conference room, Old Shao was on the phone with Minister Li. He was almost certain that this matter was related to hypnotist Wei Demian. From the moment Old Shao discovered that black business card in his pocket, he knew his old adversary Wei Demian was back in action. This was also the direct reason Old Shao decided to form the project team; if Wei Demian were left unchecked, Old Shao feared another person like Wu Zui might emerge.
Old Shao made this call secretly because he could not yet confirm whether there were individuals in the project team who might be susceptible to Wei Demian's manipulation. Just like his mentor Shih Huacheng once said, everyone has weaknesses; once those weaknesses are found, it becomes easy to control them.
Among the members of this project team, aside from Wang Chao, everyone else shared a common trait that made Old Shao determined to use them: they all had numerous weaknesses. A perfect person with just one weakness could be fatal; however, someone riddled with weaknesses could be unpredictable.
After hanging up the phone, Old Shao finally stepped out of the conference room.
He saw Jiang He, Wang Chao, and Guan Deng, but he did not see Xu Yiman. Old Shao sighed lightly; he had already notified Xu Yiman, but she had not responded. Since both Wang Chao and Jiang He were already present, it was about time for Xu Yiman to arrive if she was coming.
However, from the current situation, it seemed that a Forensic Doctor was not needed on this case. Moreover, the Jingzhong City Bureau also had a Forensic Doctor. Although they might not possess the same skills as Xu Yiman, they would suffice.
Old Shao slowly spoke, "It's almost dawn now, and I can't give you any time to rest. This case is quite simple; it's a Kidnapping Case. The elderly spouse of a sixty-year-old man, Ding Derun, has been kidnapped. The kidnappers are demanding forty thousand for her release."
Wang Chao and Jiang He both looked at Old Shao, while Guan Deng slowly approached them, still keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact.
Old Shao understood Guan Deng's personality and didn't look at him. He extended two fingers, saying, "The kidnappers demand that Ding Derun pay the ransom in exchange for his spouse. You will accompany me to meet Ding Derun shortly."
"A Kidnapping Case?" Wang Chao asked with some confusion. "Isn't our task force supposed to handle major cases?"
Old Shao nodded. "That is true, but when Ding Derun reported the incident, he claimed that the kidnappers insisted he call the police and demanded our task force's involvement; otherwise, they would kill her. The kidnappers are provoking the police, so we need to apprehend them as quickly as possible."
With that, Old Shao led the group outside while explaining, "Typically, kidnappers target children rather than the spouses of sixty-year-olds. The leverage of children is far greater than that of a spouse. The fact that the kidnappers chose this route indicates they know Ding Derun will do anything to save his wife."
"There's one more thing," Old Shao continued as he retracted one finger. "The kidnappers specifically demanded forty thousand for the ransom, and coincidentally, Ding Derun has exactly that amount in his bank account. This is unusual; the precision of their demand suggests familiarity with him. I've already instructed the Jingzhong City Criminal Police to investigate Ding Derun's relatives. Wang Chao, you've been with the criminal police for over ten years and are familiar with these procedures; you'll be responsible for liaising with them. I'll take you to meet the captain of the Jingzhong City Criminal Police shortly."
Wang Chao nodded in agreement. "Understood."
As they spoke, they arrived in the lobby.
"Once it gets light out, Ding Derun will go to the bank to withdraw money. We only have a few hours to set up our plan. Guan Deng, I will give you Ding Derun's phone number shortly; monitor it immediately. If anyone calls, trace the signal's source right away so we can locate the kidnappers."
Guan Deng had no words, but Old Shao knew that Guan Deng would definitely follow his instructions.
Then, Old Shao turned to Jiang He. "Jiang He, you are the most observant in the project team. The kidnapper will definitely call to demand money today. This kidnapper has a clever grasp of money, but I don't know if it's a coincidence. Four hundred thousand Renminbi weighs about ten kilograms; one bag is enough to carry it, making it convenient for escape. At that time, the three of us will go to deliver the money, understand?"
Upon hearing Old Shao's words, Jiang He nodded seriously.
"Good, then everything is arranged."
As Old Shao spoke, Captain Ma of the Jingzhong City Criminal Police Team approached him. "Around ten o'clock last night, I followed your instructions and checked Ding Derun's relatives. We have now gathered all the information. We contacted various local police stations and found all of Ding Derun's relatives in Jingzhong City, but did not discover anything suspicious."
"Well, this does not surprise me," Old Shao said to Captain Ma. "However, let those officers at the police station keep an eye out. Although the possibility is low, it is not impossible."
"Understood," Captain Ma nodded. "The investigation into those out-of-town relatives is still ongoing. Given the urgency of the situation, we won't be able to clarify everything immediately. However, we haven't heard from any other relatives that someone is coming to Jingzhong City."
Old Shao stroked his beard thoughtfully. "If they really came to kidnap someone, they certainly wouldn't tell anyone else. However, it's very likely that an acquaintance leaked some information; otherwise, even those behind these kidnappers probably wouldn't know so much."
"Those behind them?" Jiang He caught the implication in Old Shao's words.
Old Shao shook his head. "I'll discuss this matter in detail later. You just follow my orders for now. Captain Ma, take us to find Ding Derun. What is his current situation?"
Captain Ma shrugged and grabbed the car keys as he headed outside. "Since last night, Ding Derun has called us dozens of times. In those calls, his fear and anxiety were evident; he is completely flustered now, otherwise he wouldn't be insisting so strongly that we accompany him."
Captain Ma opened the car door. "But it's strange; these kidnappers don't want police involvement yet insist on having police accompany the victim. This is truly odd."
Old Shao got into the car. "So, the kidnappers are extremely arrogant; this is a provocation to the police. If we can't catch them soon, the police's honor will be ridiculed. Just watch, this case is definitely not as simple as just a Kidnapping Case."
After that, the three fell silent, and Jiang He was deep in thought.
The car started, but suddenly a figure appeared in front of it.
Jiang He focused his gaze and realized it was Xu Yiman.
Having not seen Xu Yiman at the conference room door, Jiang He had already assumed there was a seventy percent chance she would choose to withdraw. He never expected Xu Yiman to arrive at this moment.
Old Shao was also somewhat surprised. He said, "Time is tight, so there's no time to waste. Get in the car; since you're back, you must be ready to continue working with the task force."
Xu Yiman didn't hesitate and got into the car immediately.
During this time, Xu Yiman had been reflecting. Old Shao was right; some things cannot be avoided forever. There was a feeling deeply rooted in her heart; she knew she might encounter more situations like this in the future. She might still tremble with fear or find herself unable to move, but at least Xu Yiman wanted to change her current state.
Some things will be remembered for a lifetime; the more one tries to escape, the harder it becomes to do so.
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