Chapter 153 Little Lightning Charges Forward 2 Before it could even regain its footing, Little Lightning…

Money makes the world go round. Shen Qinghuai had just spent a lot of money to redeem his second daughter, Yaoyao. His reputation for doting on his daughter was well-known, so the assassins naturally wanted to see if they could make a big profit.

Therefore, they were not satisfied with the conditions offered by Shen Qinghuai.

"A mere million? You think you can buy his eldest daughter's life? That's a bit stingy. That's what they told me to tell you." My friend, acting as a mouthpiece, didn't forget to add a word of advice, "Besides, if you want them to reveal the mastermind, you can't do it without spending some money."

Shen Qinghuai gritted his teeth and raised the price to five million, finally obtaining a few names—

Hsieh Yu-ling, Wu Li-li, Fang Jia-dong, Lü Min-jie.

In addition, the friend added a message: "The reason the assassins were willing to contact you this time is because their leader knows your daughter."

"What?" Shen Qinghuai was somewhat shocked and asked curiously, "Who is it?"

"He won't let me say. I can only give you a few hints. He came to Hong Kong last year and immediately joined the Yau Ma Tei pontoon gang. You know, the pontoon gang is suppressed by the Kowloon Brotherhood, and he gave the Brotherhood a hard time as soon as he arrived by stabbing one of their gambling den members."

"摣Fit人" is a Hong Kong gang slang term meaning the person in charge or leader of a certain region or business.

Although not the gang leader, he is an extremely important middle-level manager in the gang.

Shen Qinghuai was genuinely surprised by the young man's ruthlessness and asked, "Have you seen him before? Is he from the mainland? What does he look like?"

“I’ve met him twice. He’s from the mainland and speaks with a Beijing accent. He’s tall and thin, a very quiet young man, and he’s extremely ruthless. He never wastes words when he’s ready to fight.”

Are there any particularly obvious or easily recognizable features?

"Yes, the second time I saw him, it was raining heavily. He was dealing with a fraternity leader. His shirt was plastered to his body, and you could see many scars on his body."

"scar?"

"Yes, it's probably from fighting. I can't see it very clearly through his shirt, but his body is full of dents and bumps, so it's easy to guess."

Shen Qinghuai was startled, and a bold guess formed in his mind. He asked, "Is his surname Liu?"

"No, my surname is Qiu."

"Surname Qiu? What's your given name?"

“Qiu Shifang. Shi as in soldier, Fang as in local area.”

"Impossible, my eldest daughter has no friends with that name."

"I don't know about that. The pontoon boat gang all call him Qiu Guan."

"Official Qiu?"

"Yes, he's very handsome, even more handsome than Adam Cheng on TV, and his surname is Qiu."

"Okay, can you ask him for me if he'd like to talk to me on the phone?"

"good."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Qinghuai was filled with mixed feelings. His intuition told him that this person was most likely Liu Kun, but how could it be?

He actually went to Hong Kong to mingle in the underworld? Did he get triggered by something? Was Xiaoman the trigger?

If so, why did he change his surname to Qiu? It shows that he still misses Xiaoman.

No wonder he had the assassin contact them; he probably knew something and was trying his best to thwart their plans.

Ten minutes later, his friend called back, but the other party refused to talk and asked Shen Qinghuai to keep the matter a secret.

"Keep it a secret?" Shen Qinghuai didn't understand. If it really was Liu Kun who did something to protect Xiaoman, why wouldn't Xiaoman know?

Wouldn't that earn him points?

My friend, however, had his own interpretation and countered, "If word gets out, aren't you afraid of ruining the assassins' reputation?"

That's right. If a hitman proactively informs the victim's family that someone wants to buy her life, it's against the rules of the trade. He'll be ostracized and resisted by his peers, and he'll lose future business.

No wonder the assassin asked for such an exorbitant price; it was like gambling with his entire career.

Shen Qinghuai did not insist further, but simply asked a friend to convey his gratitude and greetings.

This was probably the only thing he could do for Qiu Shifang besides giving him money.

*

Yau Ma Tei, the Red Chip Hall of the Floating Boat Gang.

The young man had long hair that covered his eyes, wore sunglasses, and had a cold expression.

The phone rang, and a polite voice came from the other end: "Mr. Qiu, Mr. Shen asked me to tell you that he is very grateful for everything you have done for his eldest daughter, and the five million will be transferred immediately. Also, he hopes that you will not be too sharp and take good care of yourself, so as not to make your friends worry."

The man, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, asked, "That's all? Did he ask who I am?"

He asked me if my surname was Liu.

"Of course not."

"I say the same thing."

"Thanks, Mr. Ye. I'll treat you to a horse race sometime."

"You're too kind. By the way, are you really not planning to find a girlfriend? I have two stunning Miss Hong Kong contestants who didn't make the finals here."

"No, I'm not interested in women."

"Then...then I'll pick out two super handsome henchmen and send them to you?"

"No need, I'm not interested in men."

Aren't you lonely living alone?

"I have a cat."

"Oh, okay, I won't bother you anymore."

"Bye." The man hung up the phone, stroking the cat in his arms. He muttered to himself, "Did you hear that? Her father recognized me."

"Meow." The white cat with black spots stretched lazily, rolled over in the man's arms, and revealed its chubby belly.

The man scratched himself lightly and chuckled, "You hate him too?"

"Meow."

"It's not good for men to be too smart, right?"

"Meow."

I miss her so much.

"Meow."

"Silly cat."

"Meow."

"Go have some fun."

The cat leaped down from the man's arms, squatted on the ground, and licked its paws.

The man, a cigarette dangling from his lips, squinted at the cat. Bright light streamed down from the roof of the dilapidated warehouse, and in the shadows, it seemed as if a pretty girl with delicate features was smiling at him.

He smiled, stubbed out his cigarette, and walked toward the single beam of light. He reached out his hand, only to realize it was just an illusion.

His smile vanished instantly. He stood there in the sole ray of light, frozen in time like an ice sculpture.

He didn't come to his senses until his henchmen rushed in, panicked, to report that a fight had broken out at the docks.

The man lit another cigarette, opened a drawer, took out a pistol and a dagger, tucked them into his left and right waistbands, and headed towards his battlefield, exuding a murderous aura.

In the ensuing chaos, white knives went in and red knives came out.

The gushing blood seemed to release all the pent-up frustration he had been holding back.

The moment the other person fell to the ground, he still wanted to take him down with him, unexpectedly pulling out a gun and pointing it at his heart.

After the piercing gunshot, the young man fell to the ground, blood gushing out, winding into a hideous red, but he smiled with satisfaction.

That's good. If he dies today, at least he did something good for her before he dies. It was worth it.

*

Wu Shirong hadn't seen Qiu Xiaoman for a while, so he was quite happy that his boss had arranged for them to go on a business trip together.

After boarding and sitting down, he subconsciously glanced at Qiu Xiaoman, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the hickeys on her neck, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

They were both adults; he understood what that meant. A strange pang of sadness welled up inside him. He turned his head away, pretending not to see it, and bent down to adjust his seatbelt.

Qiu Xiaoman finished fastening her clothes and looked up to see him repeatedly pushing the buckle in and taking it out. Thinking he was in a playful mood, she laughed and teased, "What, are you worried there's something wrong with the buckle?"

"No." Wu Shirong didn't dare to look her in the eye, quickly fastened the buckle, closed his eyes and lied, "I'm a little afraid of heights, I'll take a nap. Call me when we get there."

"Okay." Qiu Xiaoman's seat was by the window, and she went to enjoy the panoramic view of the city after takeoff.

She stared out the window, her long, white neck making the two hickeys all the more glaring.

Wu Shirong had just opened his eyes when he was burned and had to close them again. He kept telling himself, "That's her business. You're just her colleague and have no right to interfere. Be careful not to make her dislike you."

He did it; he didn't say a word until he got off the plane.

The two went to the baggage claim area to pick up the two dogs, each taking one, and then went to hail a taxi.

I was refused a ride! The reason? I had a dog!

When Qiu Xiaoman and Wu Shirong were on their business trip, they were dressed in civilian clothes, and the police dogs were also discreet and not in uniform, so people thought they were walking pet dogs and refused to give them a ride.

Qiu Xiaoman wasn't angry, because it was the driver's prerogative. She could only wait for the next taxi.

She received the same response from seven or eight people in a row. Getting a little impatient, she pulled out a hundred yuan.

Wu Shirong advised, "Why bother? Your money didn't grow on trees. Why don't we take the bus?"

"I'm in a hurry." Qiu Xiaoman was about to stop the next driver when a familiar face with a smile waved from across the street.

"Long time no see!" Qiu Xiaoman greeted him warmly.

It was Chu Hao, who had taken her to the Pudong Police Dog Base before. He smiled and jogged across the road to take the dog from Qiu Xiaoman's hands: "Sorry, I was a few minutes late because of traffic. Let's go."

Qiu Xiaoman glanced at his car; it was an ordinary sedan. She breathed a sigh of relief and asked curiously, "Your own car?"

“From the company. Old Wei said to buy a few ordinary cars to make it easier for plainclothes officers to investigate cases. Otherwise, are we going to drive around in police cars everywhere? It's too high-profile, and it might scare away criminals.” Chu Hao chuckled. He also recognized Wu Shirong, greeted him, and casually took the dog from Wu Shirong's arms.

The two followed him into the car, took the case file prepared by Chu Hao, and headed straight for the police station.

The two went over the case on the way.

It is a series of headless heart-ripping cases.

Headless means the deceased had no head.

"To pluck out the heart" means that the deceased's heart has disappeared.

Because five consecutive cases were like this, it is speculated that the murderer is the same person, that is, a serial killer.

“The suspicious thing about these cases is that the other party seems to know that we have police dogs. There is a lot of blood from other animals such as chicken, dog, and duck at the scene to confuse his own scent. The body was dumped near a slaughterhouse, making it very difficult to track by scent alone,” Chu Hao explained while driving. “In short, so far, our police dogs have found nothing.”

Qiu Xiaoman nodded: "According to the case file, he always commits the crimes on Friday nights. Today is Wednesday, which means he might commit another crime the day after tomorrow."

"Yes!" Chu Hao sighed. "We need to hurry, or we'll become another victim."

After reviewing five case files, Qiu Xiaoman concluded: "The victims included both men and women, and their ages were not fixed. The murderer must have randomly selected the victims. The time of death for all the bodies was Monday of the week preceding the week of death, which means we have at most less than four days to race against him."

Chu Hao stopped at the intersection to wait for the traffic light and sighed, "Yes, the victims all disappeared on Friday and were found on the following Monday."

“This case is difficult; the eyewitness accounts are inconsistent.” Qiu Xiaoman glanced at Wu Shirong. “This is a challenge for you as well.”

Wu Shirong didn't look at her, and gave a muffled "hmm".

Qiu Xiaoman didn't think much of it. After comparing the ages and genders of the five victims, she concluded, "The victims are all elderly people or women, so it seems the murderer isn't a strong, middle-aged man. The victims are also all relatively short, with the women around 1.5 meters tall and the men around 1.6 meters tall. The murderer can't be very tall; he's likely a middle-aged or elderly man under 1.7 meters tall, or a taller middle-aged or elderly man with a physical disability. Have you gone through the list of people with criminal records?"

The light turned green, and Chu Hao stepped on the gas: "We've passed. There are three that match your guess: one is in jail, one disappeared after being released, and one died last month."

Qiu Xiaoman frowned and pondered for a moment, then looked at Wu Shirong: "Do you think it's possible that she's a slightly taller woman?"

“Impossible.” Wu Shirong said firmly, looking at the road ahead.

Qiu Xiaoman asked curiously, "Are you so sure?"

"The methods are too cruel. I have never seen such a vicious woman." Wu Shirong continued to look at the road ahead.

Qiu Xiaoman knew that this was the logical way things were, so she didn't object. She needed more clues, and her immediate priority was to go to the scene where the body was dumped.

The car was parked in the police station courtyard. The two followed Chu Hao inside for a case analysis meeting. After the meeting, they took the dog and drove to the road behind the slaughterhouse.

"This garbage dump is where the body was dumped." Chu Hao got out of the car, took a few steps, and stopped.

Qiu Xiaoman opened the car door, and before she could even stand up properly, Little Lightning rushed out and excitedly explored the surroundings.