County Town Kidnapping Case

Hu Ya took out her phone and answered it.

Her expression suddenly changed. "He left the Fighting Gym, but he didn't go home... Your house is only a few steps away. How could he still not be there after half an hour?... All right, wait there. I'll come over right away!"

"What happened?" Lin Xiaosu had already stepped one foot through his courtyard gate, but he stopped.

Hu Ya said, "One of the young trainees at the Fighting Gym left the gym but never made it home. He's missing."

The Fighting Gym she mentioned was a business she had opened with a partner.

Why had she opened it?

Hu Ya loved fighting and didn't know how to do anything else.

"How old?"

"Ten!"

"A ten-year-old isn't that little. He knows his way home. Maybe he went wandering around the streets?"

"I hope so, but things have been pretty strange in the county town lately. A child went missing last week too. They searched for a whole week and still couldn't find him. His parents have been making a scene at the school every day, demanding their child back. The school is at its wits' end. No, I have to go take a look..."

"I'll go with you!" Lin Xiaosu said.

"Let's go!" Hu Ya ran into her own courtyard and rode out on a miniature electric scooter. Lin Xiaosu sat behind her, and the little scooter shot out of the village toward Fengcheng.

Fengcheng was only a tiny eighth-tier county town. In theory, it was separated from Old Tashan Village by just one mountain. But that mountain was rather tall and rather large, so to the people in this little village, the county town seemed ten thousand miles away.

To get from the mountain village to the county town, they had to detour through Shilipu, making it quite a long trip.

Fortunately, the village road project had begun in recent years. Even remote villages had smooth, paved roads now, and the little electric scooter sped along merrily.

Hu Ya was anxious and drove like the wind.

Lin Xiaosu was not anxious at all. Sitting behind Hu Ya with his arms around her waist, he admired the scenery along the way.

It was the sunny third month of spring.

The roadside grass had turned green, the willow trees had grown tender shoots, and beneath them, the Yichuan River shimmered in the sunlight, reflecting Tashan Mountain.

Once they sped past Tashan Lake, they entered the southern part of the county town.

When Lin Xiaosu had been young, the south side of town had been desolate, nothing more than suburban villages. Now it had truly become part of the county town, growing livelier and more prosperous by the day. This entire expansion had been the masterpiece of Luo Gong, the previous county chief. Secretary Luo was known as "Crazy Luo." He was arrogant and domineering in his work. Under enormous pressure, he had forcibly tripled the size of the county town. How had he done it?

His classic saying was: "Turn yellow earth into gold, and blank paper into silver."

What did that mean?

Turn yellow earth into gold—sell land.

Turn blank paper into silver—write IOUs.

No matter what difficulties arose, he got things done first and worried about the rest later.

People had been deeply dissatisfied with his reckless, high-handed ways. Reports against him had flown everywhere. Some said he ruled by one-man decree; some said he messed around with women; some said he accepted red envelopes from developers, one apartment for every bribe. Yet as the southern district expanded and the little county town changed with every passing day, many people began to see Crazy Luo in a different light. Especially after he stepped down, people walking along the broad South City Avenue would occasionally sigh, "Crazy Luo really did accomplish something great."

That was right. Ordinary people could not expect every official to be a moral saint. As long as he could get things done, get them done well, and bring real benefits to the people, then if he pocketed a little money or had a few romantic scandals, people would gossip and laugh, feeling that perhaps it was not such a big deal after all...

The Fighting Gym Hu Ya co-owned was in the southern district. It couldn't be helped; the area had only recently been developed, so rent was cheap.

If it had been in the old commercial district, the rent would have been outrageous. She could never have afforded the investment.

When they arrived at the Fighting Gym, a crowd had gathered outside.

The gym owner, Hu Ya's partner Old Zhou, was pacing around and smoking. Two police officers were questioning people nearby. A young woman, drenched in sweat and too restless to sit still, rushed over the moment she saw Hu Ya. "Teacher Li, I only sent my child here because of you. Now my son is missing. You have to think of something, quickly..."

"Xiao Wang, don't panic. Aren't the police here? We're looking for him..." Old Zhou tossed away his cigarette butt and took over.

"What happened?" Hu Ya stared at Old Zhou.

"It's damned strange. He had just finished a class. The kid was still here, and he left like he always did, but then he just vanished into thin air..." Old Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained what had happened.

Two more police officers came from the other side. "Captain Zhang, there are surveillance cameras at all four intersections. We checked them separately, and the boy definitely wasn't seen passing through any of them."

"What about vehicles?" The middle-aged police captain's expression darkened.

This was the situation they feared most in missing-person cases: the child had been carried into a vehicle in a surveillance blind spot and then driven away.

Vehicles were highly mobile. If they delayed even a little, the trail would disappear into the vast sea of people.

"There were too many cars. We've already compiled the license plates of every vehicle that passed through this area during that period, but tracing their exact destinations will take time."

"Then investigate! No matter how long it takes, investigate!"

The young mother surnamed Wang grabbed Captain Zhang's hand. "Officer, you have to help me find my son! If my son is gone, I... I really can't go on living. I..."

For a moment, everything descended into chaos.

Lin Xiaosu gently patted Hu Ya's shoulder. "Doesn't your Fighting Gym have a camera at the entrance? Show me the footage."

"Th-that camera can only capture about ten meters outside the entrance. It can't see this area."

"It's fine. Just pull it up and let me see..."

Hu Ya opened the footage system on her phone and rewound it to an hour earlier. Lin Xiaosu saw the boy she had mentioned. He wore a blue hoodie and was chubby and adorable.

Now that he knew which child it was, the rest would be easy...

Lin Xiaosu's eyes shifted slightly as he entered Time Reversal...

His heart gave a small jolt. He saw...

Things had already become chaotic around Captain Zhang. The woman surnamed Wang had dropped to her knees before him, sobbing so hard she could barely speak, on the verge of collapse.

Captain Zhang was full of frustration but had nowhere to vent it. He could only repeat over and over, "Ms. Wang, we understand what a child means to parents. Don't worry. As long as there's even the slightest hope, we'll do everything we can. Go home for now and wait..."

Ms. Wang cried, "Jiang Yang is gone. How can I go home? If I go home, my husband will beat me to death. I... I deserve to die! Why wasn't I waiting at the entrance? I..."

Another female officer who had been taking notes pulled her into an embrace. "Sister Wang, don't be like this. Our people are already checking the passing vehicles. The moment there's news, we'll..."

Suddenly, a voice rang out. "Captain Zhang, you may be looking in the wrong direction."

It was Lin Xiaosu.

At that moment, he stood in the narrow gap between two buildings.

Everyone's gaze snapped to his face. Countless brows furrowed at once. Who was this?

Lin Xiaosu said, "This is a surveillance blind spot. The child could have been put into a car here, but it's also possible that he never got into a car and instead went into this passage."

He pointed toward the gap behind him.

The gap was very narrow. A tree stood at the front, along with a huge billboard.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" the female officer said. "This isn't even an alley. It's just a gap, not even a meter wide, and the ground is covered in trash. Who would walk in there?"

"Under normal circumstances, of course they wouldn't. But is this a normal situation?" Lin Xiaosu said.

Hu Ya stepped forward. "What did you notice?"

"There are fresh footprints here. Just as this officer said, under normal circumstances, who would walk through here? That's exactly why the footprints themselves are abnormal!" Lin Xiaosu said.

The police officers exchanged glances. Captain Zhang strode over and stared where Lin Xiaosu pointed. There really was half of a footprint there. "That's an adult footprint, not a child's!"

"What if the child was being carried in his hand?"

Captain Zhang froze.

"Ahem... To be honest, Captain Zhang, I'm from the mountains. I have a special skill. I can smell traces in the air. I'm certain the child was taken into this passage."

The female officer frowned. "Smell traces? What are you, a dog?"

Hu Ya was completely stunned. You could do that? Why didn't I know?

Ms. Wang seized on the idea. "Officer, he's right! Bring over a police dog and let it try. Don't police dogs specialize in tracking?"

"Sister Wang, you... you're making police dogs sound divine. In a city, police dogs are useless unless your child has some distinctive scent on him, like drugs or something..."

Lin Xiaosu had already entered the narrow passage. He walked quickly, reaching the end of it in no time. On the other side was another street. Hu Ya squeezed through behind him. "What are you up to? Since when could you smell things?"

Lin Xiaosu had no answer.

He had clearly seen where the child had gone, but getting others to accept it was another matter entirely.

In the Widow Feng bathing case, he could still use footprints and traces of movement as a cover. But how could he cover it up here? The damned man had gotten straight into a vehicle, and the process had been extremely concealed. A beat-up van had stopped right beside the entrance to this passage. Its door opened from the other side, the child was stuffed inside, and then it drove off. Even if there had been a camera across the street, it would never have caught that action...

Footprints and traces could not support a tracking chain in the city.

Only something as vague and intangible as scent could serve as an excuse.

If a dog could do it, what was wrong with a human doing it?

To keep a family's sky from collapsing, to keep Hu Ya's Fighting Gym from shutting down, I'll do it! I'll be a police dog for once!

"Hu Ya, bring your little scooter over. We'll follow this scent!"

"Okay!" Hu Ya turned to squeeze back through the passage.

Suddenly, a voice came from the other side. "Get in. We'll go together!"

It was a police car.

The female officer poked her head out the window.

"Y-you don't believe me?" Lin Xiaosu said.

"I didn't say I believed you. But the greatest strength of a police officer is never overlooking any possibility..." the female officer said. "Get in!"

The police car sped away, and Lin Xiaosu retraced the route all the way...

"Left!"

"Right!"

"Straight ahead..."

Ahead was a construction site, half-built and abandoned for some unknown reason. After a spring season, the grass had grown tall and thick.

Lin Xiaosu raised a hand. "Stop!"

The female officer stopped the car. The three of them got out and stood at the entrance to the construction site.

Light flickered in Hu Ya's eyes. "There are tire tracks here, and they're fresh."

"Where?" The female officer searched the ground.

Hu Ya raised her hand and pointed down. "This construction site has been abandoned for more than half a year. Not even a ghost would come here. Who would drive a car inside? Other than a thief with something to hide..."

Go!

Let's take a look...

The three of them crept through the overgrown construction site. Several warehouses stood ahead. The moment they reached the warehouse entrance, the female officer, Zhou Mei, lit up. She spotted a van at once.

The van was so battered that no one would want it even if it were abandoned by the roadside. Driving it into an unfinished construction site was suspicious enough, but it had not been parked outside the warehouse. It had been driven inside, which was even more suspicious.

Could they really crack this major case?

Her palms began to sweat.

The three passed beside the van. There was no one inside.

It was dark farther in, and the noise of the county town seemed completely cut off.

The three kept their footsteps extremely soft. After turning past several pillars, they found a corridor ahead, already dim with darkness.

Suddenly, a figure flashed out from a compartment beside the corridor.

The instant the figure appeared, Lin Xiaosu's gaze locked onto him. He saw clearly that this was the man who had kidnapped the boy. But the man's movements were extraordinarily strange. In a single blur, he crossed five meters and arrived before them.

There was a knife in his hand!

A black knife!

"Watch out!" Lin Xiaosu shouted. His eyes could see through everything, turning what he saw into slow motion, but his hands and feet were only those of an ordinary person. What his eyes saw slowed down, yet the speed at which he could command his own limbs was even slower...