Chapter 845: Sudden Kidnapping

Several kids caught smoking marijuana were brought to the nearby police station, sitting in a row on chairs, heads hung low in dejection. Chen Shi asked, “Where did you get the marijuana?”

“We found it outside the town, dropped in the wasteland. We were playing there, stumbled upon it by accident, opened a bag, smelled something sweet, thought it was tobacco, and rolled it up to try smoking it…”

“Is marijuana easy to smoke?”

The young boy nodded vigorously, then shook his head just as vigorously.

“If you get addicted to this stuff, your life is over, understand? Was there anything else on the scene besides marijuana?”

“Nothing else, uh… I remember some bags of marijuana had red stains on them. Could it be blood? We’ve told you everything, can you not tell our parents or the school? Otherwise, we’re definitely getting expelled.”

“Scared now?”

Chen Shi planned to visit the scene himself, leaving the young boys to the local police’s discretion. He suggested that while the issue could be minor or major, sparing them too easily might not actually be in their best interest.

Leaving the station, Lin Dongxue remarked, “I wonder if these kids are addicted.”

“They shouldn’t be. Drug addiction takes longer than tobacco to develop, but the negative effects after addiction are far stronger.”

The slow onset of addiction is one of the terrifying aspects of drugs. Many people start casually, thinking they won’t get addicted after one or two times and feel they won’t succumb. The danger is always accepted step by step until it’s too late.

Arriving at the scene, they found some bloodstains and drag marks on the roadside, though faint. A murder definitely occurred here, and Chu Wei had disposed of the body. The marijuana leaves, no longer of any value to him, were carelessly discarded by the roadside.

“If he’s abandoning the drugs, why would he specifically take the body?” Lin Dongxue speculated, “This suggests he doesn’t want the police involved; he’s planning to take action against the gang himself.”

“How can he seek revenge when he’s struggling to survive?”

“I need to tell you something…”

“What!?”

After a pause, Lin Dongxue decided it wasn’t related to the case. “Never mind, let’s catch Chu Wei first.”

“We’re going to grab some food in town.”

On their way back to town, Lin Dongxue suddenly felt someone watching her. She looked back, but seeing nothing, she quickly dismissed it, focusing on choosing lamb rolls from the hot pot restaurant’s menu.

The restaurant was dimly lit, almost empty at this time. Chen Shi said, “I don’t know how it tastes.”

“Based on my experience, if the sauce is good, the hot pot usually isn’t bad… I’ll go get some sauce.”

As soon as Lin Dongxue left, Chen Shi’s phone rang on the table. He saw it was Lin Qiupu calling and answered, “Where are you?”

“In Xiao Yu Town, found some leads, we’ll discuss more when we return. We’re eating right now.”

“Ah? Why are you answering her phone? Where’s Dongxue?”

“She’ll be back in a moment.”

“Finish up and come back soon. Can you make it by six for a meeting?”

“I’ll try.”

After hanging up, Lin Dongxue didn’t return. The waiter came to set up the pot, and Chen Shi asked, “Have you seen the lady I was with?”

“Saw her getting sesame sauce just now.”

Getting sauce shouldn’t take this long. Chen Shi, concerned, took Lin Dongxue’s phone to look for her. The sauce station was empty, but near a potted plant by the emergency exit, a bowl of sesame sauce lay spilled on the ground.

Chen Shi’s heart sank. He pushed open the emergency exit and dashed down the stairs, ending up in a clothing store. He grabbed a clerk, showing Lin Dongxue’s photo on the phone, “Did you see a girl?”

The clerk shook her head. Another clerk added, “I saw a man and a woman come down not long ago. The woman seemed drunk or something, staggering, and the man was helping her.”

Hearing this, Chen Shi rushed out to the street. Not many cars were around, but he spotted Chu Wei’s truck starting up.

Chen Shi ran after it with all his might. In the rearview mirror, Chu Wei, smoking a cigarette, smirked coldly, pulling the unconscious Lin Dongxue into his arms to taunt Chen Shi. The truck sped away quickly. Chen Shi was falling behind when a car coming from a side street at an intersection hit him with a screeching halt, knocking him to the ground.

Lying on the pavement, Chen Shi pounded the ground in frustration, unable to understand why Chu Wei would kidnap Lin Dongxue.

“What did youdo? Why was my sister kidnapped!” Lin Qiupu, having received the news, rushed to the scene and found Chen Shi despondently sitting outside the hotpot restaurant. He grabbed Chen by the collar, lifted him up, and shook him fiercely.

Other officers intervened, persuading Lin Qiupu to calm down.

“You two were supposed to be on this case together, I gave you so much freedom and resources. How could you not take care of her? How could you let this happen!” Lin Qiupu shouted.

Chen Shi, frowning, showed no sign of remorse. He said, “I don’t understand why Chu Wei would kidnap her. Is there something you haven’t told me?”

“Talking about this now isn’t helpful. We need to find her!”

Under the influence of ether, Lin Dongxue was groggy, feeling numb all over. She opened her eyes to find herself in an old room with peeling walls and a buzzing air conditioner covered in dust. A fluorescent tube above provided harsh lighting. She wanted to lie down but realized she was secured in place.

A blurry face leaned in to examine her, and in her daze, she murmured, “Old Chen…”

“Damn, you are beautiful. You should be a model, a star, not a cop. What a waste!” Chu Wei extended his hand, then withdrew it, knowing he couldn’t afford to touch her; she was his leverage.

He took out an old DV camera, adjusted it, and aimed it at Lin Dongxue. “Say something, princess.”

“You… who…” Lin Dongxue struggled to speak, her head dropping again.

Chu Wei turned the camera to himself. “Don’t worry, I haven’t laid a finger on her. Who would have thought, someone like you has a daughter as lovely as a flower, a cop. You don’t deserve to be her father. But it’s a fact, she has your blood, no matter how much you try to change your identity over twenty years.”

Chu Wei adjusted his position so the camera could capture Lin Dongxue. “I’ve been following you for twenty years, done so much for you, and you treat me worse than a dog… Now it’s time we had a proper talk. After seeing this video, call this number…” He held up a piece of paper with a number written on it. “I’m a dead man walking, my days are numbered, so you better hurry! Of course, for someone like you who’d sacrifice his own wife, his brother, maybe even his daughter wouldn’t be too much. If I don’t hear from you by midnight…” Chu Wei glanced at Lin Dongxue behind him, giving a meaningful smile to the camera, “You get what I mean, right? Chief Lei.”

The video cut off, leaving the implication of his threat hanging in the air. Chen Shi, having gathered himself after the accident, was filled with urgency and anger. He needed to find Lin Dongxue fast, but first, he had to understand Chu Wei’s motives and how this situation had escalated so dangerously.