Chapter 18
After bidding farewell to Xiao Yuncheng, the gentle smile on Wu Tong's face slowly disappeared as he walked away, until her entire face was expressionless. Wu Tong turned around and strode towards home.
"Ding", the elevator door slowly opened, and Wu Tong walked out with an expressionless face, and the heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor.
Wu Tong paused at the door, his pupils trembling ever so slightly. Standing before his door was a bouquet of pure white daffodils, the same knotted cord, the same bouquet. With trembling hands, Wu Tong picked up the flowers and found a note tucked between the petals. He unfolded it, the handwriting on it mirroring its owner's, gentle yet sharp.
It said: "Tongtong, this time the flowers are still for you."
Wu Tong quickly took out his key and opened the door. With a bang, the door slammed shut. Wu Tong threw the bouquet of flowers onto the coffee table. He flipped over the note. There was a string of numbers written on the back. Wu Tong took out his phone and typed the numbers in. The screen showed that the number was dialing. The call rang only three times before it was picked up. A calm, half-smiley voice came from the other end: "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Wu Tong asked with gritted teeth. Xu Ze on the other side smiled even more. He teased, "I thought you would greet an old friend like me."
Wu Tong was in no mood to listen to his jokes. His fingers dug deep into her palms, and the pain spread along the nerves to her brain. Wu Tong forced herself to calm down and repeated word by word: "Where are you?"
Xu Ze looked up and saw a person tied to an iron pole in the distance, motionless as if he had lost his life. Xu Ze raised the corner of his lips and looked away, saying, "Yunyue Industrial Zone, are you coming?"
Xiao Yuncheng parked the car, opened the door and walked into the police station. On the way to the office, he ran into Lin Chen. Lin Chen noticed that Xiao Yuncheng looked unhappy and asked what was wrong. Xiao Yuncheng did not answer, but just asked him, "Where is Shi Qian?"
"Ah?...Technical Investigation Office, what's going on?" Before Lin Chen could finish the last two words, Xiao Yuncheng had already started walking towards the Technical Investigation Office. Lin Chen was stunned for a long time, and asked Xiao Yuncheng's back in surprise: "Why do you look like you've been heartbroken?"
Thinking of this, Lin Chen realized that Wu Tong did not come back with Xiao Yuncheng.
Shi Qian was watching the surveillance video on his computer screen when the office door suddenly opened. Shi Qian looked up and saw Xiao Yuncheng. Before he could even say hello, Xiao Yuncheng interrupted him with a cold face: "Can you help me locate it?"
To be honest, we didn't get any useful information when we went to Xu Ze's office to investigate. No one knew where the person had escaped to. The police were stuck at this point and couldn't find a breakthrough. Everyone was busy and exhausted. Seeing that the best investigation period was about to pass, they might really be stranded here if they didn't have any more clues.
The sky gradually darkened, and the rows of street lights on the roadside illuminated the entire city. The lights were bright, but they could not illuminate the darkness underground. The night was mysterious and the best place to hide.
Wu Tong walked into the abandoned factory alone. There was nothing in the large open space. The pale moonlight shone directly in, but he could not see the road ahead clearly.
Wu Tong turned on his flashlight and searched around. He walked in step by step, sweat already seeping from his hands. He looked around cautiously and suddenly found an office chair in front of him. It was standing there alone, with its back to Wu Tong.
Wu Tong stopped right where he was. He took a deep breath and said, "Xu Ze."
The voice echoed in the empty factory, and the office chair turned around. Xu Ze sat on the chair with his left leg crossed and his right leg raised. He smiled at Wu Tong and said, "You're here?"
"Why are you doing this?" Wu Tong asked him in a trembling voice. Xu Ze chuckled and stood up. He walked slowly to Wu Tong's side and whispered in his ear: "Tongtong, have you forgotten what they did to us?"
Wu Tong shouted angrily, "That's not like you, letting others take this path!"
Compared to Wu Tong's anger, Xu Ze was much more relaxed. He reached out and gently stroked the side of Wu Tong's face. He was not annoyed when Wu Tong avoided him. He said softly, "I just can't bear this, Tongtong. You almost died in their hands back then. How can I forget? I will make them pay the price." Xu Ze leaned over and moved closer to Wu Tong. His tone instantly turned cold: "I will make them pay the price in blood, just like twenty years ago."
Wu Tong sighed silently and took a step back to distance himself from him: "Where is Chen Hao?"
Xu Ze raised the corner of his mouth and made a "please" gesture. Wu Tong followed him deeper into the place until they both disappeared into the darkness.
"Captain Xiao, we still haven't found it..."
Before the criminal police finished speaking, Xiao Yuncheng suddenly threw the information in his hand away, and it slammed heavily on the table with a loud noise. Everyone was frightened and dared not move, and looked at Xiao Yuncheng without even breathing.
"Captain Xiao, calm down and eat something. You haven't eaten for a whole day..."
"Eat shit!" Before Shi Qian could finish his words, he was blocked by Xiao Yuncheng. He could only face the captain's anger and cry without tears.
The conference room fell into silence. Now Xu Ze could not be found, and there was no news about Chen Hao. Everyone was stuck here. It was impossible not to be anxious. Everyone knew what this meant. As time passed and the murderer escaped, they would never have a chance to turn the tables.
Xiao Yuncheng let out a long breath, barely suppressing his anger a little. He told everyone to keep an eye on the situation, and then he dragged his tired feet out.
Back in the office, Xiao Yuncheng collapsed on the sofa and buried his face in his arms. Wu Tong's face began to emerge in his mind. The face of Wu Tong who was hesitant to speak when he said goodbye yesterday, the face that smiled at him outside the car window...
Xiao Yuncheng scrambled to his feet. He couldn't believe that in this technologically advanced world, with cameras everywhere, someone could simply vanish without a trace. He turned on his computer and pulled up the surveillance footage—the footage from the entrance to the Yunyue Industrial Zone on the day of the incident.
This industrial zone was only developed last November, and only the factory framework has been constructed. At a glance, it's all large concrete buildings. Xiao Yuncheng watched the surveillance footage intently, frame by frame. Just over ten minutes into the video, Xiao Yuncheng suddenly hit the pause button. In a secluded corner of the screen, a sliver of white appeared between the trees.
Xiao Yuncheng immediately enlarged the image and after looking at it for a long time, he finally confirmed that it was the corner of a white shirt. He grabbed his cell phone and immediately called Shi Qian.
"Hey brother, I was just about to call you..."
"Immediately notify the technical investigation team and play the surveillance footage from the Yunyue Industrial Zone on the day of the incident to the 10:17 mark. There's something resembling a white shirt in the lower left corner of the northeastern camera. Immediately conduct an in-depth investigation. I'll be right there!"
When Xiao Yuncheng rushed to the technical investigation office, they had just found a clue. As the almost invisible white cloth moved, they determined that the suspect had gone to the northeastern border area. This was a major discovery!
"Notify everyone to monitor the industrial area northeast of Yunyue and search one by one!" Xiao Yuncheng gave the order sternly. Everyone rushed out, leaving only Shi Qian and Xiao Yuncheng in the office.
Shi Qian told Xiao Yuncheng that the location he had been asked to locate was in. Without saying a word, Xiao Yuncheng followed him to the computer. Shi Qian retrieved the location and asked, "Brother, who are you locating?"
"Wu Tong." Xiao Yuncheng replied. Shi Qian was a little surprised. After a while, the location appeared on the computer screen. The two people's faces froze instantly. The location showed that Wu Tong was in a factory in the northeast of Yunyue Industrial Zone!
"Everyone follow this location! Stop honking the horn and deploy secret surveillance 800 meters away!"
Xiao Yuncheng and Shi Qian strode out of the police station and slammed the car door.
"Captain Xiao, what's going on?!" Shi Qian asked seriously. Xiao Yuncheng's brows were almost locked together. After a while, he finally spoke: "Wu Tong and Xu Ze know each other."
Shi Qian’s eyes suddenly widened!
So, Wu Tong had been involved the entire time, and they were completely unaware?! But Xiao Yuncheng already had a premonition that Wu Tong would go find Xu Ze. He sensed something was amiss in the restaurant, and before Wu Tong left, Xiao Yuncheng impulsively asked for a hug and stuck a tracking chip under his collar.
"So... you've always known this?" Shi Qian finally asked after struggling for a long time. He looked at Xiao Yuncheng who was driving, his eyes filled with indescribable emotions. Xiao Yuncheng shook his head in self-mockery, "I don't know if what he said is true or not."
Xiao Yuncheng picked out what Wu Tong had said and told Shi Qian about it. Shi Qian's initial resentment turned into shock: "How... did he survive until now?"
Xiao Yuncheng lowered his head helplessly and whispered, "According to what he said, Xu Ze should have already controlled Chen Hao, which is why we haven't had any information from him."
Shi Qian gave him a thumbs up in admiration: "Brother, you are this."
But if he hadn't suspected it and hadn't put the chip on, would he never have discovered these things? Xiao Yuncheng thought to himself with self-mockery.
At the same time, Wu Tong was looking coldly at the person in front of him - Chen Hao was covered in wounds, his clothes were stuck to the wounds by coagulated blood, one of his eyes was blocked by blood and he could only raise his head with difficulty and try to see Wu Tong's face clearly.
"······You, you guys·····" Chen Hao didn't even have the strength to say a complete sentence.
Xu Ze walked out from behind Wu Tong, a smile on his face, but his eyes were frozen cold: "If you can't speak, then don't speak."
Wu Tong took out his cell phone, checked the time, said to Xu Ze, "I'll make a call," and walked out. He hadn't contacted Xiao Yuncheng for a day, and didn't know how the police were doing with their investigation. He probably couldn't find anything. Wu Tong shook his head helplessly.
Just when he was hesitating whether to call Xiao Yuncheng, Xiao Yuncheng actually called him! His finger paused on the answer button and hesitated for a long time. Finally, he mustered up the courage to answer the phone. A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone: "Hello? Tongtong."
Wu Tong's throat tightened, and his heart felt extremely bitter. He endured the discomfort of being choked in his throat and replied, "What's the matter?"
"What are you doing?"
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