Chapter 73 Rescue

It can be seen that the group who are suspected of pretending to be Zhao Zikun's gang are very experienced.

The second car they arranged for the pick-up was no longer a van, but a small truck. After Zhou Mingtang was transferred into the car, he still couldn't see anything.

During the transfer process, Wen Yue and the system saw the surrounding scenery clearly.

But it was useless. It was a very ordinary path with trees on both sides and few people. The system had no way to match the location according to the surrounding scenery.

Not to mention Wen Yue, who didn't even know Xiangjiang Island.

So it wasn't until the police tracked down the abandoned car that Wen Yue learned from the system that when the car was changed, the kidnapping gang had already entered the territory of Shatin.

Wen Yue saw clearly the four people who appeared during the handover process, but according to the system, three of them were minions, and "Brother Hou" was not among them.

This is very intriguing.

In most gangs, the boss's status is usually higher than others. His words are the most effective during the operation, and he may get the most money after the operation.

Therefore, the boss is usually the core of a gang. He is either the strongest and bears the heaviest tasks in the gang, or he is good at calculation and can grasp the general direction of the operation. In

Ye Tianhua's gang, he plays such a role. Although he appeared last, he has a high martial arts value and can reverse the results in many cases.

Although he was beaten down by Wen Yue before he entered the gold shop when he was caught, it was not because he was not good enough, but because Wen Yue had a golden finger.

Being able to grasp the general direction of the action is mainly reflected in Ye Tianhua's sharpness. He can detect danger at the first time and decide the time and plan of action. It is also because of this that the people in his group will believe in him and even accept such a harsh condition that he can only contact them one-way.

So the question is, what type of boss is "Brother Hou"?

It should not be a high force value.

When the kidnapping target is a child of a wealthy family, the time when force value is most needed should be the kidnapping process. Even if the "Brother Hou" group has bribed people, this process will be full of various changes.

If the boss has a high force value, it would definitely be best to have him in place, but "Brother Hou" did not show up.

Is that calculating?

Possibly.

But to be honest, Wen Yue didn't think the kidnappers' plan was flawless. Their success relied on the trust that Zhou Jiahao and his wife had in the school, and the school obviously failed to live up to that trust.

Looking closely, the plan of "Brother Hou" and others was more like using money to pave the way, and it was very likely that the person who paid for this was not him.

As for changing cars midway, it was nothing, it was a basic operation of the kidnappers.

But this does not mean that "Brother Hou" is useless. Maybe his ability lies in fighting wits and courage with the police. After all, in the original book, Zhou Jiahao also chose to call the police, and he successfully got the ransom and escaped in the process of mediating with the police.

But Wen Yue felt that this "Brother Hou" should be more capable than that.

Considering that now, whether it is the police or Zhou Jiahao himself, or she and the system, they all believe that the kidnappers are likely to be instructed by someone, and the school staff are also bribed by this mastermind.

Wen Yue thinks that the person who is in contact with the mastermind is most likely this "Brother Hou".

Then the question comes.

If "Brother Hou" really eats both ends and makes two payments by kidnapping one person, then is this the first time he kidnapped Zhou Mingtang?

It would be fine if it is the first time, but if not, when was the last time he did this?

Twenty-two years ago?

There are many ideas, but she will definitely not get the answer before "Brother Hou" is arrested, so she simply doesn't think about it, rubs her eyes and asks the system: [Have they arrived? ]

[They have arrived. ]

[I want to watch the video broadcast. 】

They timed it very accurately. When the system synchronized the images to Wen Yue, Zhou Mingtang was being dragged down from the back of the carriage by two middle-aged men.

As they moved, the surrounding scenery gradually became clear.

This is a shabby courtyard. The courtyard is quite large, estimated to be hundreds of square meters. There are three rooms lined up in a row opposite the gate. The houses are very old, and the original color of the bricks and tiles can hardly be seen. There are also broken parts on the eaves and windows, as if they have been in disrepair for many years.

Looking outside, it is all dense forests, without any landmark buildings.

As soon as she saw the scenery, Wen Yue felt disappointed: [Tong, can you find out where this place is based on the scenery? ]

[...It's a bit difficult. ] The system didn't want to admit that it couldn't do it, so it said it reluctantly.

Sure enough.

Wen Yue sighed, raised her head and continued to watch the video broadcast.

As the four people got off the car, two people walked out of one of the rooms.

The two people walked in one after the other, and the first one to speak was the middle-aged man walking in front: "Is this Zhou Mingtang?"

"Check the photo, I caught him correctly." The flat-headed man in charge of arresting people said.

The middle-aged man asked again, "Is he okay?"

"He's fine, he was dizzy, and he will wake up after the effect of the drug wears off."

The middle-aged man nodded: "As long as he wakes up, it's fine. Let's keep him alive for now and talk about it after we get the money." Then he leaned to the side, tilted his head and said, "Take him in."

The two people who supported Zhou Mingtang responded and took him inside. After entering the door, they turned left and entered a slightly empty room. After throwing the man in, they retreated.

Although there was only a door between them, it was difficult for the sounds outside to come in. Wen Yue felt that it would be difficult to get more information before Zhou Mingtang woke up, so she asked the system to turn off the broadcast and asked: [The middle-aged man wearing a black coat just now, is he Brother Hou? ]

[That's him. ]

Wen Yue nodded and didn't say much.

He closed his eyes and thought for a long time and said: [I want a panoramic photo of this yard, and... frontal photos of the five kidnappers, one for each person. ]

Wen Yue had never met these five people, so the system could not find their information, but there was some hope from the police. There

are only a few people who abide by the law in the first half of their lives and suddenly decide to do something big when they reach a certain age. Most kidnappers were already frequent visitors to the police station before they embarked on this path. Maybe the police can find their names through the photos.

Just like robbers scout the area before they act, kidnappers usually prefer familiar places when choosing a hiding place. This yard may not be their home, but the yard is definitely located in an area where one of them often moves around.

With the names of these kidnappers and photos of the yard, the police will definitely be able to locate their hiding place more quickly.

After selecting the evidence, Wen Yue raised her hand to check the time on her watch. It

was five twenty-five.

The police reporting center was not off work yet.

So the system used the same trick again and placed the envelope at the door of the police reporting center.

In theory, it would definitely be easier to find the envelope if it was placed inside the door. But after the system did this twice in a row, in order to avoid missing important information, Superintendent Lu instructed the police officers at the reporting center to pay attention to the ground at the door.

So it is not easy to put the evidence in the lobby of the reporting center without attracting attention. Wen Yue did not want to be on the front page of the next day because of the supernatural incident, so she let the system put the evidence outside the door.

The reporting center closes at 5:30, so staff like Zheng Xiaolian will definitely rush to complete the report registration work in the last five minutes.

Therefore, more people will go out five minutes before and after work, and the probability of them finding the envelope will also increase accordingly.

Sure enough, at 5:28, someone found the envelope, and after seeing the words "Please give it to the staff" printed on the envelope, this person returned without much hesitation and handed the envelope to the staff.

At 5:35, Superintendent Lu, who was in the special operations team, got the envelope.

After reading the envelope, he handed the photo directly to the person in charge of the action team. After a brief discussion, the two decided to split into three groups. One group continued to investigate the several bribed staff members of St. Paul's, one group continued to follow the route of the truck driven by the kidnappers and check the checkpoints, and the last group started with the photo sent by the mysterious person.

...

When Superintendent Lu got the photo, Zhou Jiahao had already returned home.

He had to go home. Xiangjiang Middle School basically finished school before four o'clock, and St. Paul's Middle School was no exception.

He could call the bodyguards who didn't pick him up after school in advance and ask them not to tell Zhuang Shaoyun about it, but it was almost six o'clock and Zhou Mingtang hadn't returned yet. Zhuang Shaoyun would definitely guess that something was wrong.

If the newspapers under Dongjiang Newspaper Group had not released the notice in advance, he could still coax Zhuang Shaoyun by saying that Zhou Mingtang was delayed at school or went to a classmate's house, but with the notice, this trick could not fool Zhuang Shaoyun at all.

After considering it, Zhou Jiahao decided to tell Zhuang Shaoyun about it in person.

They have been married for many years, and he knows how to not irritate her so much, and also knows how to comfort her when she is in great pain after hearing the news.

When Zhou Jiahao got home, Zhuang Shaoyun had just returned from work and was talking to the two children who had finished their homework.

Seeing him, the three of them smiled. Zhuang Shaoyun stepped forward and took the briefcase from Zhou Jiahao, untied his tie, and said with a smile: "You just said that you had something to tell me about Mingtang. What is it?"

"Ayun." Zhou Jiahao spoke.

"Hmm?" Zhuang Shaoyun responded, looking at him with a smile.

Zhou Jiahao couldn't bear to watch for a moment, turned his head to the right, and saw the two children sitting or kneeling on the sofa looking at them, and said: "Let's go to the study to talk."

Zhuang Shaoyun also knew Zhou Jiahao very well. Looking at his expression and listening to his tone, he had a bad feeling in his heart before getting to the point.

When he entered the study, he saw Zhou Jiahao grabbing his hair several times, but he still couldn't say it, and his eyes turned red: "Did Mingtang get into trouble?"

Zhou Jiahao looked up at Zhuang Shaoyun. There were tears in her eyes, but they were bright. The tears were because of pain, and the brightness was because of expectation.

He knew that as long as he shook his head, she would immediately burst into laughter.

But he nodded: "Yes, Mingtang is now..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhuang Shaoyun interrupted and asked: "Was he kidnapped? Was he kidnapped by Zhao Zikun?"

He felt extremely difficult before he said it, but when he really said it, Zhou Jiahao calmed down and said: "Mingtang was indeed kidnapped, but it cannot be proved that he was kidnapped by Zhao Zikun now."

"If not Zhao Zikun, who else could it be? Ah Yue's newspapers received a warning some time ago!" Zhuang Shaoyun said this excitedly, tears streaming down her face. She asked while crying, "Why? We have arranged so many bodyguards for him, why did he still get into trouble? Didn't he promise me that he would never get rid of the bodyguards at any time..."

Zhou Jiahao hurried forward and hugged her in his arms, stretching out his hands. He wiped her tears and said, "No, it has nothing to do with the bodyguard. Mingtang was taken away from school. But you don't have to worry. A mysterious person sent the police photos of the robbers and their hiding places. The police will definitely find out where they are soon and rescue Mingtang smoothly."

Zhuang Shaoyun didn't believe it. She shook her head and cried, "Don't lie to me. What mysterious person has photos of the robbers? If he is so powerful, why doesn't he just tell the police the location of the kidnappers?" "

Zhou Jiahao was speechless. He didn't understand why the mysterious man could take photos but didn't directly tell the police where the robbers were hiding.

Seeing his silence, Zhuang Shaoyun couldn't help but think of the worst. She quickly grabbed Zhou Jiahao's arm and said, "Maybe those photos are a trick of the robbers. By the time the police realized they had fallen into a trap, it would be too late. Jiahao..."

"Don't worry, Ayun, Sir Lu told me that they will arrange people to split into several groups. Some will follow the photos to investigate, and some will follow the car to investigate. They also arranged police officers to monitor the phone. If the robbers call to ask for a ransom, they will find out where they are based on the signal."

Zhou Jiahao put his hands on Zhuang Shaoyun's shoulders, lowered his head and looked into her eyes and said, "Ayun, Mingtang will definitely come back safely. Before that, you promised me to hold on, okay? "

Looking at his determined eyes, Zhuang Shaoyun finally nodded with tears in her eyes: "Okay! I'll wait!"

...

Because they were not sure whether their family had been targeted, the police in charge of monitoring came after dark, riding in the family's nanny car, and the two policemen who came were also simply disguised.

Generally speaking, robbers will not contact the family immediately after kidnapping someone, which can easily expose their location.

They will not delay for too long. After all, for the robbers, the longer the time is delayed, the greater the risk. They will definitely want to get the money as soon as possible. Ransom.

But the situation of the robbers who kidnapped Zhou Mingtang was different. If they were really instructed by someone, they might kill him directly after taking him away to silence him.

So when waiting for the phone to ring, Zhou Jiahao and his wife, as well as the two police officers who were sent, were all sweating. Whether it was

Zhou Jiahao, Zhuang Shaoyun, or their home phones, every time they rang, they could experience hope and disappointment in just a few seconds.

Fortunately, after staying up all night, the kidnappers finally called.

The call went to Zhou Jiahao's business mobile phone. As soon as Zhou Jiahao pressed the answer button, a slightly cold middle-aged man's voice rang on the other end of the phone: "Good morning, Mr. Zhou, I'm Zhao Zikun."

Hearing the three words "Zhao Zikun", Zhou Jiahao, who had been nervous all night, hurriedly asked: "Did you kidnap my son?"

"Oh."

A smiling voice came from the phone, "Mr. Zhou, you are very smart, um, you answered the phone quickly, and waited all night?"

Hearing this, Zhuang Shaoyun couldn't help crying and said: "I beg you, let my son go!"

"Mrs. Zhou, we will definitely let him go, but you should know the conditions, right?"

Zhuang Shaoyun hurriedly said: "I know, I know, how much it costs!"

"Don't be in a hurry," the person on the other end of the phone said, "You are not sure whether your son is in my hands, how can you talk about money?"

Everyone on this end of the phone knew what the kidnappers were planning, but they did need to confirm whether Zhou Mingtang was in their hands, so they hurriedly said: "We want to talk to our son."

"Okay."

After a rustling, the middle-aged man's voice rang again: "Your daddy and mommy's phone, tell them quickly that you are doing well in our hands."

As soon as the man finished speaking, Zhou Mingtang's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Daddy and Mommy! Save me!"

Hearing his voice, Zhuang Shaoyun could no longer hold back her tears and asked him how he was doing and whether he was injured. Hearing his mother's concern, Zhou Mingtang couldn't help crying out: "I'm not injured, I, I'm scared, soooo..."

A mother is strong. Hearing her son's cry, Zhuang Shaoyun stopped crying and said in a firm tone: "Mingtang, don't worry, Daddy and Mommy will definitely rescue you!"

"Um... "

Zhou Mingtang only responded twice on the other end of the phone, and the voice became distant. Soon the middle-aged man's voice sounded again: "Mr. Zhou, Mrs. Zhou, is it enough to confirm? If not, I can send you more sufficient evidence."

"No!"

Zhuang Shaoyun shouted hurriedly. Although the other party did not say it clearly, she and Zhou Jiahao both knew what "more sufficient evidence" would be.

Zhou Jiahao also said quickly: "Enough! We have confirmed that Mingtang is in your hands. You can ask for any amount of money. I just ask you not to hurt him!"

"Since Mr. Zhou is so knowledgeable, I won't beat around the bush with you." The middle-aged man deliberately lowered his voice, creating a gloomy atmosphere and said, "I want 30 million. You deliver the money to the designated location at 12 noon tomorrow. We will release him after we get the money."

Zhou Jiahao was not afraid of the kidnappers asking for ransom. After knowing that the kidnappers might be instructed by someone, he was only afraid that the kidnappers would kill him directly without calling him and asking for ransom.

But he did not dare to have too much expectation that the kidnappers would hand over the person after paying the money.

If the kidnappers were really instructed by someone, what was the other party's purpose? Let him be frightened for a few days, and then pay him a sum of money?

This kind of thing, probably only a mortal enemy would do.

Although he has offended many people, there is really no one who hates him to the extent of spending money to make him unhappy.

In fact, the people who instigated him behind the scenes are more likely to be people from the Zhou family, his cousins ​​and even his own brother. And if they did this, they would not do it simply for money.

So Zhou Jiahao felt that paying money to redeem someone would probably not work.

Although he knew this, Zhou Jiahao did not dare to refuse the other party. Agreeing to pay money could at least stabilize the other party, but if he refused, his son might really not come back.

As for how to answer, Zhou Jiahao looked up at the two police officers who were holding a piece of white paper with the words "promise to delay as much as possible" written on it.

Zhou Jiahao knew that the kidnappers would kill the hostage after getting the money. The longer he delayed, the longer his son would live, and the greater the chance that the police would find someone to rescue his son.

"Thirty million is no problem, but one day..." Zhuang Shaoyun tightened her hands around Zhou Jiahao's arms, he stretched out his empty hand, patted her shoulder gently and continued, "It's too short, I'm afraid I can't raise enough money."

"I only give you one and a half days! Whether you can raise enough money is your problem!" The person on the other end of the phone raised his voice, "If you can't, the deal ends here..."

"Don't--"

Zhuang Shaoyun shouted, "We will try our best to raise money, don't hurt Mingtang!"

The person on the other end of the phone laughed, "I feel relieved with what Mrs. Zhou said." After speaking, he was about to hang up the phone, but suddenly remembered, "By the way, don't call the police. Once we find out that you called the police, you will never see your son again."

As the phone was hung up, Zhuang Shaoyun couldn't help it anymore, bowed her head and burst into tears.

Zhou Jiahao reached out and patted her shoulder, comforting her: "Ayun, we will definitely rescue Mingtang."

"Yeah," Zhuang Shaoyun responded, and then remembered something, looked up at the two policemen, and said with an uneasy look, "The kidnappers asked us not to call the police, but we..."

Before the truth came out, Zhou Jiahao didn't want to tell Zhuang Shaoyun that someone had ordered the kidnapping.

It's not that he wanted to protect his relatives. After all, people are selfish. After he had his own small family, the most important people changed from parents and brothers to his wife and children.

He was worried that Zhuang Shaoyun would have an emotional breakdown after knowing these things, and go directly to Zhou's house to confront someone.

Before knowing that they guessed the truth, the mastermind behind the scenes might let the kidnappers ask for ransom, but once they knew that they were about to be exposed, they would probably break the jar and let the kidnappers kill the hostages directly.

So Zhou Jiahao did not tell the truth, but only said: "Ayun, the kidnapper is Zhao Zikun. You can't trust his words. We must cooperate with the police."

Zhuang Shaoyun almost forgot about this matter after crying several times. After Zhou Jiahao reminded her, she remembered and murmured: "I know him. Brother A Yue was kidnapped by him. Wen Rongsheng paid the ransom but failed to save him."

"That's right."

"Then can we still save Mingtang?"

The female police officer who had just finished reporting the situation to her superiors and returned to the living room said: "Mrs. Zhou, don't worry. Our people have determined that the kidnappers are in the Shatin area. If everything goes well, we may be able to find their specific location today."

Zhuang Shaoyun asked: "What if it doesn't go well?"

"It can't be unsuccessful!" Zhou Jiahao said without waiting for the police to answer, "Mingtang is a lucky person, he will definitely come back safely."

Zhuang Shaoyun couldn't help crying, took a deep breath and said, "You are right, Mingtang will definitely come back, then the money..."

"The money must be raised." said the police.

"I understand." Zhou Jiahao said immediately.

If the mastermind behind the scenes is really a member of the Zhou family, they will definitely know whether he has raised money or not by just asking around, and judge whether he intends to redeem the person or cooperate with the police through his whereabouts.

In order to confuse them, he not only has to raise money, but also make a big scene so that everyone knows.

...

In Hong Kong movies and TV dramas, the police are always very fast. No matter how difficult the case is, it can be solved in a few days. In kidnapping cases, the kidnappers can always find the hiding place of the other party before they kill the hostage and take action quickly.

But in reality, all police stations in Hong Kong have accumulated a lot of old cases, not to mention kidnapping cases. It is better after 2,000 years. Technology has developed, and there are more cameras on the road, so it is easy to find the whereabouts of kidnappers.

In the 1990s, once the kidnappers got the hostages in the car, it was difficult to track them because there were too few cameras. They could only notify the staff at each intersection to stop the car when they saw a suspicious vehicle.

But not every intersection had staff, and it took time for the police to pass the message internally. Once the kidnappers drove the car onto a small road, it was like water entering the sea and it would be difficult to find them.

Zhou Mingtang's situation was a bit special. After he was kidnapped, the police received a total of three letters of reminder.

Although the police were not 100% of the mysterious people who sent the letters in the envelopes, they still allocated some police forces to follow the reminders and found out the identities of the five people at 10 o'clock in the morning on the second day after Zhou Mingtang was kidnapped. Because one of them was from Shatin, they locked down the approximate range. At

4pm, through the identification of villagers who were familiar with the terrain near Shatin, they finally found the location of the yard and arranged for people to go nearby to investigate.

At 8pm, the police confirmed that the kidnappers were hiding in the yard in the photo, and quickly formulated an action plan, and at 2am, they officially took action!