escape
The clock ticked away, each strike weighing heavily on the heart. Every minute of waiting felt infinitely long, like a road with no end in sight.
Soon after Liang An and his uncle returned to the old house, two plainclothes detectives came to their door.
After showing their identification, they deftly set up their listening equipment, then opened their laptops and began asking for details one by one.
At the same time, a perimeter surveillance operation was launched, with plainclothes police officers dispersed in concealed locations around the area to bring the entire region under close monitoring.
Time ticked by second by second as we waited, as slowly as if it had been paused.
Liang Xiaohui and her husband huddled together, their eyes glazed over. The long wait seemed to have drained their life force, leaving only their bodies to suffer.
Liang An sat alone in the corner, his face pale. He kept recalling all the details, but to no avail.
Everything about Wen Zhi was unfamiliar to him. He didn't know Wen Zhi's background, his family, his thoughts, or why he was in Xing'an Town. He also didn't have any way to contact him.
Each time their paths crossed only briefly, and then he would fall into misfortune, repeating the cycle of early death and rebirth.
Every time he tried his best to avoid Wen Zhi, but every time Wen Zhi managed to drag him into the abyss of death.
This time, he came to his aunt's house and dragged Ayao into a quagmire of misfortune.
Regret and self-blame overwhelmed him like a tide, a dense, aching pain seeped into his limbs and bones, and his heart felt as if it had been crushed by a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe.
He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, his nails digging deep into his palms, the sharp pain barely pulling him back to his senses.
"Boss, we have news. The kidnappers have contacted the Wen family." Detective Xiao Fang's voice broke the silence in the room.
"We've been ordered to withdraw some of our police force to support the Wen family. The kidnappers are probably targeting the Wen family; Chen Yao was just caught in the crossfire."
"Well, there's still no movement or clues here. How about this, Xiao Fang, you and Lao Liu stay here, the rest of you come with me to the Wen family."
As soon as the words were spoken, Liang Xiaohui and her husband seemed to suddenly reignite like dying embers. They jumped up from the sofa, grabbed Xiao Fang's hand, and asked anxiously, "Have you found A Yao?"
"Yes, the kidnappers have contacted the Wen family to demand a ransom. Other leads are still under investigation. We'll let you know when we have any updates." Xiao Fang gently pulled his arm back.
Liang An quickly stood up and said to the head of the criminal investigation team, "Can I go to the Wen family's house with you?"
The team leader shook his head and quickly led the other detectives away.
The old house has returned to silence.
-----------------
The Wen family's old house is located on the east side of the town. It is a very classical and grand Chinese courtyard house, covering a large area.
Inside the main hall, the kidnapper's recorded phone conversation was playing on a loop. Two technicians were typing rapidly on their keyboards, and the screen displayed sound wave patterns and geographic coordinate grids. They were narrowing down the location by extracting background noise from the recording.
The lead detective leaned over the screen, his fingertip hovering over the shrinking coordinate area: "Notify the perimeter surveillance team to focus their search on the underpass ramps and abandoned factories on Yanshan Road."
The air inside was heavy as Wen Zhi's grandfather, Wen Shan, walked into the main hall carrying a suitcase.
"This is two million in cash. I must save my grandson's life no matter what."
The kidnappers used a virtual number to make the call, and their voices were specially altered. They only said they wanted Wen Zhi dead and to prepare two million yuan in cash before hanging up abruptly. The call was too short to pinpoint their location.
Wen Zhi's parents were on their way. Wen Shan usually doted on Wen Zhi, and upon hearing the kidnappers' demands, he quickly raised two million yuan in cash.
Several criminal police officers at the scene paused on the box of cash for half a second. Having dealt with electronic payments for many years, no matter how large the amount behind the numbers was, it was not as impactful as the solid red banknotes.
Twenty thousand banknotes were stacked tightly together, and even the air seemed to be filled with the luxurious smell of ink.
But no matter how strong the presence of cash was, it couldn't outweigh the safety of the hostages. They snapped out of their daze and focused on their work, waiting for the kidnappers' next call.
-----------------
In the dimly lit timber warehouse of Anshan Timber Factory, Wen Zhi leaned against the cold corner of the wall, his hands tied behind his back, his back pressed against the rough wall.
He concentrated his strength, raised his hand slightly, and rubbed the rope against the wall, struggling to break free from the restraints on his hands.
Chen Yao huddled beside him, her little yellow duck jacket covered in dust, her hair disheveled and plastered to her forehead.
Her eyes were red and swollen, with undried tears clinging to her eyelashes. The tape over her mouth was tightly sealed, and she was making soft sobbing sounds in her throat, her breathing weak.
She had been hungry all day, and fear was rapidly draining her strength, drawing all the power out of her small body.
"Thump--" The ear-piercing sound of a car suddenly stopping as it rolled over the dirt road came from outside. Chen Yao froze, curling up in fear on the cold ground.
Upon hearing the sound, Wen Zhi immediately bent over and fell to the ground, closing his eyes as if his bones had been removed.
"Brother, we specifically went to the overpass to call and demand the ransom, and we haven't even received it yet. What are we doing back here?"
"Sell the goods first, and we'll leave immediately after we get the ransom."
"We're only asking for the ransom, right? Bro, don't be too harsh."
"There's no turning back now. He's Wen Qiliang's son, so this time we'll get our money back with interest. Enough talk, let's get started. If we keep dragging our feet, we'll be the ones who die."
The kidnappers opened the door and came in to find Wen Zhi and Chen Yao lying lifeless on the floor, the ropes around their wrists and ankles still tightly bound, showing no signs of loosening.
He didn't go any closer, but instead stepped outside and closed the wooden door again.
Wen Zhi gasped, hearing a creaking sound coming from outside the door. Heavy timber slid and rolled across the dirt road.
A strong smell of gasoline seeped in through the crack in the door, pungent and acrid, instantly filling the small space.
He dragged himself back against the wall and continued rubbing the ropes together rapidly. The hemp rope on his wrists was already worn rough, and a thin crack appeared in the shadows; he was just a little bit more force away from breaking free.
When he heard the noise outside the door, he quietly pulled his wrist back, covered the crack with his sleeve, closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious, pretending that he was still firmly bound.
With a soft "snap," the loosened hemp rope finally snapped. The sound was drowned out by the heavy scraping noise from outside the door.
Wen Zhi quickly raised his hand, his fingertips trembling with urgency, tore off the remaining rope from his wrist, and then ripped off the tape over his mouth. Ignoring the blood and flesh flying from his wrist, he immediately bent down and quickly untied the rope binding his ankle.
The knot was tied so tightly that his hands trembled, but he dared not hesitate and quickly used his teeth to bite the end of the rope to help pull it.
The rope binding his ankles was finally loosened. He gently kicked off the remaining rope and crawled on his knees to approach Chen Yao, gently patting her face.
Chen Yao was already in a semi-conscious state, showing little reaction to external stimuli. Wen Zhi tried to lift her up, but found he couldn't find a way to do so.
The dragging sound outside the door hadn't stopped, and the smell of gasoline was still pungent. He held his breath, straining his ears to catch any sounds outside. The dragging sound lessened, as if it was nearing its end.
The room was filled with haphazardly stacked pieces of wood, with a few faint rays of light seeping through the gaps.
When he was first locked up and collapsed on the ground, he caught a glimpse of a hidden dog hole in the shadow between two piles of wood. The exit was blocked by a few short logs, and through the gaps, he could vaguely see traces of withered grass.
Time was running out. He put Chen Yao down, quietly moved to the edge of the dog hole, gently removed the log, and laboriously crawled out of the dog hole.
With a "thud," the kidnapper, who was pouring gasoline, was startled and saw a stray cat run past him. He glared at the mischievous cat and continued with his work.
"Boss, everything's ready. Shall we go check on the goods?"
"No need, there's not enough time. Don't damage the lines. I've already set a timer; in two hours, the sparks will ignite along the lines, and everything will turn to ashes. We need to contact the police to collect the ransom and get out of there before attracting their attention."
-----------------
The moment I crawled out of the dog hole, the afternoon breeze, carrying the scent of grass and trees, rushed towards me. Ahead lay a winding, narrow mountain path, with tall bushes on both sides that blocked the view of the outside world.
Wen Zhi's stomach was empty and he felt uneasy. When his feet landed, he felt so unsteady that he almost swayed, but he dared not stop for a moment. He pushed aside the branches and ran forward with all his might.
The mountain breeze kept brushing past my ears, and the winding mountain road seemed to have no end. Finally, a paved road stretched across the road and appeared faintly in the distance.
Wen Zhi rushed to the asphalt road, but when he looked around, not a single car passed by, and he couldn't see a single person.
He checked the direction, gritted his teeth, and continued running towards the other side of the mountain range.
His chest heaved violently, he was panting heavily, each breath was burningly dry, and his legs felt as heavy as lead.
After running for an unknown amount of time, another intersection finally appeared ahead. He turned the corner and saw a familiar stone bench. This was the Bromine River Road where he and Chen Yao had been kidnapped.
The familiar street scene before him was like a newborn force surging through his veins, propelling him forward recklessly.
He followed Bromine River Road back to the main street and finally saw people.
When passersby saw Wen Zhi with his disheveled hair, covered in dust and grass clippings, his hands covered in wounds with reddened skin, and smelling foul as if he had crawled out of a stinking ditch, they instinctively took two steps back, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.
Wen Zhi gave up asking passersby for help. The small supermarket was very close by, so he didn't stop and kept running.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com