When Zhong Hua woke up, she found herself in a dimly lit warehouse. The air was thick with the smell of rust and dust, and old machines and junk were piled up all around her. Her hands and feet were tied to a chair with thick ropes, and her mouth was taped shut, so she could only make muffled noises.
"Awake?" A figure emerged from the shadows—it was the man who had played the deliveryman. He was toying with a dagger in his hand, the blade reflecting a cold light in the dim light.
Zhong Hua instinctively shrank back, her eyes filled with fear. She tried to calm herself, looking around for a possible escape. The warehouse had only one small window, high off the ground, boarded up. The only door was locked from the inside, and she could faintly hear footsteps outside.
"Don't waste your energy, you can't escape from here." The man seemed to see through her thoughts, grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, "Just stay put, and you can leave once your boyfriend brings his things."
Zhong Hua whimpered, her eyes filled with accusation: What exactly do you want? Where is Gu Yanting?
"What do you want? Of course, I want your boyfriend to bring something in exchange for you." The man squatted down in front of her and used a dagger to lift her chin. "Tsk tsk, you're not bad looking at all. No wonder President Gu took a liking to you. Too bad you've chosen the wrong person."
Mentioning Gu Yanting, Zhong Hua's eyes turned icy. She abruptly turned her head, avoiding the tip of the dagger, her eyes flashing with an indomitable light.
Just then, the warehouse door was pushed open, and another man walked in: "Brother Biao told you to keep an eye on her and not let her try anything funny."
"Got it." The man stood up, kicked the iron bucket next to him, making a clanging sound. "Behave yourself, or you'll regret it."
The two ignored Zhong Hua and went to a corner to smoke and chat.
Zhong Hua closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. Fear was useless; she had to find a way to save herself, or at least buy time for Ah Yu. She remembered Ah Yu saying that Gu Yanting cared most about that ledger—it was evidence of his crimes. It seemed they wanted to use her to threaten Ah Yu into handing over the evidence.
No, we absolutely cannot let Ah Yu do that! That ledger is the key to bringing down Gu Yanting; it's evidence that countless people paid a price to find. We can't let it all go to waste because of her.
But how can I let Ah Yu know what she's thinking? How can I buy her some time?
She secretly observed the two guards and noticed that while they were vigilant, they weren't particularly professional, especially when they were smoking and chatting, their attention would wander. She tried to twist her wrists; the rope was tied very tightly, making her skin sting, but it didn't seem entirely impossible to loosen. Perhaps, she could slowly wear the rope down when they weren't looking.
Meanwhile, Ah Yu had arrived at Zhong Hua's office. Police were investigating the scene, collecting fingerprints and scent samples. Lin Wanqing also rushed over, her face pale.
"How is it? Any clues?" Lin Wanqing held Ah Yu's hand, feeling the coldness and trembling of his palm.
“It was A Biao who did it. He called and asked me to exchange the ledger for Zhong Hua.” A Yu’s voice was hoarse. “It’s at the West City Chemical Plant, tomorrow at noon.”
"The West City Chemical Plant?" Lin Wanqing frowned. "That place has been abandoned for a long time. The terrain is complex and easy to defend but difficult to attack. They obviously came prepared."
“I know.” Ah Yu looked at the scattered documents on the ground, her eyes bloodshot. “Wanqing, what should I do? That ledger…”
“We can’t give it to him.” Lin Wanqing said firmly, “Gu Yanting is just looking out for you because he knows you’ll do anything for Zhong Hua. If we give him the ledger, not only will all our efforts be wasted, but if he gets acquitted, none of us will have a good ending.”
“But Zhong Hua…” Ah Yu’s voice was filled with pain, “I can’t gamble with her life.”
“We’re not gambling; we need to find a way.” Lin Wanqing took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm. “The police have already intervened; they have a professional rescue team. What we need to do now is cooperate with the police and provide all the information we have, instead of acting impulsively.”
"Cooperate with the police? By the time they've made their arrangements, Zhong Hua might already be..." Ah Yu didn't dare to think any further.
“Ah Yu, listen to me,” Lin Wanqing looked into his eyes and said earnestly, “Zhong Hua is very strong, and she wouldn’t want you to give up justice for her. Think about how difficult it has been for us to get to this point, how many people have been hurt by Gu Yanting, and this ledger is the key to giving everyone an explanation. If we give up because of personal feelings, all our previous efforts will be in vain.”
Lin Wanqing's words were like a bucket of cold water, bringing Ah Yu's chaotic thoughts to a slight jolt. He knew Lin Wanqing was right, but emotionally, he couldn't bear to watch Zhong Hua fall into danger.
“I understand… but I…” Ah Yu’s fists were clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into her flesh.
Just then, Officer Zhang, who was in charge of the case, came over: "Mr. Yu, Ms. Lin, we have found out where A Biao is. He has indeed had several unusual contacts with the prison recently. We have also sent people to investigate the West City Chemical Plant. The terrain is indeed complicated, and the other party may have weapons."
"Officer Zhang, we must rescue Zhong Hua as soon as possible!" Ah Yu said urgently.
“We know.” Officer Zhang nodded. “But kidnapping cases are no small matter, especially since the other party came prepared. We need to develop a detailed rescue plan. We’ve already tracked the phone call you received. The number was a temporary SIM card, so we can’t find its specific origin, but we will continue to follow up.”
"But they only gave us one day!"
“We understand that time is of the essence,” Officer Zhang patted Ah Yu on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we will do our best. However, I need your cooperation. Tomorrow at noon, go to the West City Chemical Plant as they instructed, but you can’t actually bring the ledgers. We will arrange for someone to impersonate you, and at the same time deploy a special task force to rescue you when the opportunity arises.”
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