A Harmonious Duet

Mo Qiong led the police into the hotel. Along the way, they could see traces of fighting in the living room, a cleaver and iron rod on the second floor, and children standing silently against the wall.

Mo Qiong could simply tell the police the situation as it was.

When inspecting the children, the police noticed they were quite withdrawn. Only the eldest child, after repeated reassurances from everyone, finally spoke.

When asked why the children wouldn't speak, that child said, "We can't talk, we can't cry... If we make a sound, we get beaten..."

They were beaten every time they spoke, and beaten again if they cried. No matter who it was, after being beaten a hundred times for crying, no one would dare cry a hundred and first time.

It was simple, brutal, and effective. They had brought the children from north to south, and even with people passing by, not a single child made an unnecessary sound.

This child revealed that they had been constantly transported, but that was all.

As for where his home was, which cities they had passed through, or who was involved in the transportation, he knew none of it.

Regarding the family information of these children, Mo Qiong provided details for five of them himself, noting their parents' situations and registered residences.

At this moment, he not only proactively notified the parents of the five children but also provided the relevant information to the police.

"Not bad, young man. You remember these details so clearly?" a police officer said.

Mo Qiong smiled. "Because a friend's younger brother was abducted. It's been four years, and he's still missing. So, I pay special attention to these matters. I've read several posts on forums about finding lost children, all posted in the last few months, so I remember them clearly."

The police officer nodded and patted Mo Qiong's shoulder. "There are many such cases. Like the one you mentioned, missing for four years, they're definitely no longer with the traffickers. The children's situation... is also very complicated."

Mo Qiong said, "Some of these children are from the north. They were transported all the way here, so they must have been transferred through several places. I think these people must be connected to a much larger network."

The police officer replied, "That's for sure. Higher authorities will intensify the interrogations. Perhaps your friend's brother was also taken by this group."

"That's what I thought. Um, I have a few questions for them. Is it okay if I ask?" Mo Qiong inquired.

"You can ask them here. Once they're taken away, they're no longer my responsibility," the police officer said.

Mo Qiong was taken aback. "Why?"

The older police officer chuckled. "We're just a county station. We can't lead the investigation into a nationwide criminal syndicate..."

He explained briefly, and Mo Qiong understood.

Catching a few individuals wouldn't uncover everyone behind them. Therefore, these people would be sent to the city, where major task forces would conduct interrogations, combining their cases with similar ones from other regions.

Interrogation records of traffickers caught across the country would be compiled and meticulously analyzed by the task forces to identify which groups were actually working together. Several related cases would then be merged into one, and once everything was clear, a nationwide arrest and rescue operation would be launched.

The county bureau would only handle the initial, rough interrogations before handing them over to the city.

Because of this, there weren't many strict rules here. The few police officers didn't mind Mo Qiong questioning a child who had been missing for four years.

At the county bureau, a human trafficker sat in a chair, shouting about needing to go to the hospital.

"Hey... hey... take me to the hospital..." The trafficker was the one whose teeth Mo Qiong had knocked out, half his jaw missing. He could barely speak coherently. The police had only given him basic treatment, but the pain was unbearable.

With a creak, the door opened, and Mo Qiong entered with a police officer.

Upon seeing them, the trafficker immediately fell silent and hunched in his chair.

The police officer sat at the table and opened his notebook. Mo Qiong walked directly to the trafficker and looked down at him.

"Wh-what's going on... Is he an undercover cop?" The trafficker was terrified of Mo Qiong and trembled all over.

Seeing Mo Qiong enter the interrogation room, he assumed he was also a police officer.

The police officer said nothing and didn't give the usual pre-interrogation statement. This actually indicated that it wasn't a formal interrogation, and theoretically, the trafficker could refuse to speak.

But the trafficker didn't know that, and no one told him.

"Have you seen this?" Mo Qiong took out the Longevity Lock.

The trafficker looked at the Longevity Lock with a dejected face and shook his head. "Never seen it..."

Mo Qiong said indifferently, "Think carefully before you answer."

The trafficker shivered and looked again, but still said, "Brother! Don't hit me... I... I really don't recognize it."

Mo Qiong was disappointed. The trafficker probably wasn't lying; his eyes showed no change when he looked at the Longevity Lock.

Of course, maybe he had forgotten, or perhaps he was a cunning individual Mo Qiong couldn't read.

After a moment's thought, Mo Qiong changed his question. "How did you transport the children? Where were you before coming here?"

The trafficker honestly replied, "From Feixi... We used a minivan."

"And before that? Don't hold back!" Mo Qiong glared at him.

The trafficker stammered and quickly recounted the entire journey he knew.

The police officer listening in the back watched the compliant trafficker with surprise, rapidly recording the numerous clues he provided.

Generally speaking, unless someone was a true master of deception, violence could break down their resistance.

Just like the methods they used to keep the children so docile, the trafficker was now like a little chick in front of Mo Qiong.

They weren't afraid of police officers; they were afraid of ruthless people.

Things that some police officers might not have been able to get out of him were now being told to Mo Qiong. His psychological defenses had completely collapsed.

This state could also be achieved by police through violence, but that would be torture.

However, Mo Qiong was not a police officer, and his fearsome reputation was established before they were caught.

Interrogating them back then wasn't about forcing confessions; it was just about subduing them.

Fighting them before capture and fighting them after capture are two different things, with different natures.

Mo Qiong stopped fighting at this moment, but the impression had already been deeply etched into the human trafficker's mind.

This human trafficker had previously had half his teeth knocked out by a blow, leaving him with a psychological shadow from Mo Qiong's beating. Now, he was terrified just seeing Mo Qiong.

Mo Qiong simply stood in front of him, and the human trafficker dared not hide anything.

After confessing almost everything, Mo Qiong continued to ask, "Anything else? I still need to question others. If I find you've hidden something... well, I have a bit of OCD, and I can't stand things that are asymmetrical."

As he spoke, Mo Qiong looked at the trafficker's remaining teeth.

The human trafficker's eyes welled up with tears, and he pleaded, "Big brother, I really have nothing else to say. I'm just a small fry. They might know more than me, but this is all I know. Please let me go."

Mo Qiong nodded to the police, signaling that this one was done.

The police officer smiled at Mo Qiong and took the man out, bringing in another one.

Several hours later, Mo Qiong had interrogated all four human traffickers, and the process had been incredibly easy.

Looking at the detailed confessions, the police confirmed it was a massive ring, spanning seven provinces and involving at least hundreds of criminals. Unfortunately, these confessions lacked formal legal standing, and these individuals only knew the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps this information could be integrated into other trafficking cases for piecing together and comprehensive analysis, but that would be the task of the special investigation team.

"Not bad, young man, you got so much out of them," the old police officer said with a smile.

Mo Qiong chuckled, "Easy come, easy go. They're all caught now, so it doesn't matter who asks."

"It's just bullying the weak and fearing the strong; we need tough people like you to deal with them. By the way, I noticed you kept asking about this Longevity Lock, but it seems they don't recognize it," the old police officer said.

Mo Qiong nodded, "According to their confessions, they all joined in the last two or three years. As for what happened four years ago, only one of them might know."

"Right, there's one more at the hospital. If you want to ask, ask them all," the old police officer said.

He was the only human trafficker who had been sent to the hospital for treatment.

Mo Qiong personally went to the hospital to find him. He had already undergone surgery.

"Hello, I've come to see you," Mo Qiong said as he and the police officer entered the hospital room.

"Don't come any closer! I was wrong, I was really wrong!" The human trafficker burst into tears upon seeing him.

Mo Qiong walked straight to his side, sat down, and took out the Longevity Lock. "Do you recognize this?"

The human trafficker blinked. "Longevity Lock."

"Do you know whose it is?" Mo Qiong asked with a smile.

"Qin... Liang. It's written on it," the human trafficker whispered.

Mo Qiong sneered. Compared to the other four, this man's seemingly normal answer was actually very strange.

He definitely knew what Mo Qiong wanted to ask, but he deliberately gave a nonsensical answer. In contrast, the other four had directly said they didn't know, unlike him who was pretending to be foolish.

"Did you throw it into the scrap yard in Heifei?" Mo Qiong asked abruptly.

"It wasn't me..." Before the human trafficker could finish, he froze.

Mo Qiong pressed, "Then who?"

The police officer also looked at him, as it was clear he knew something.

The human trafficker remained silent.

CRACK! Mo Qiong kicked him off the bed.

The human trafficker cried out in pain and looked at Mo Qiong in terror. "I... I've been arrested! Aren't the police going to do anything!"

The police officer who had entered with Mo Qiong quickly pulled him back. "Don't! We're in a hospital."

Seeing that the police officer did indeed intervene, the human trafficker breathed a sigh of relief. Little did he know, Mo Qiong kicked him again.

He cried out in pain, "Why are you still hitting me!"

Mo Qiong calmly replied, "Because I'm willing to accept mediation."

The human trafficker was stunned, and the police officer beside them was amused.

"I'm sorry, I didn't like the look of him, I got impulsive. Could you please mediate, officer?" Mo Qiong said to the police officer.

The officer blinked. "If it's just a verbal dispute that led to a physical altercation, we can try to mediate... You can pay him some medical expenses."

"Okay, no problem," Mo Qiong said.

"I don't accept!" the human trafficker said quickly.

Mo Qiong asked, "What if the other party doesn't accept mediation?"

The police officer frowned. "Then you'll be punished. For a minor offense, it's a fine of 500 yuan and detention for no more than five days."

Upon hearing this, Mo Qiong kicked him again.

As the human trafficker wailed, Mo Qiong said, "I'm sorry, I got impulsive again... Please mediate, officer."

"I don't..."

The human trafficker was about to protest when he saw Mo Qiong raise his foot. He immediately changed his tune. "I accept, I accept..."

Seeing him back down, Mo Qiong squatted in front of him. "Tell me, where did you send the child Qin Liang four years ago... I want to know everything about him."

"They've all been caught, so just confess. You don't have to say anything, but I will never let this go."

"Don't worry, you won't have to trouble the police. I'd rather be detained than not beat you until you can't take care of yourself."

Hearing this, the police were shocked and said, "You're still a college student, right? Detention goes on your record."

Mo Qiong calmly replied, "I don't care."

The police said generously, "Ballsy! I'll go write a self-criticism now, saying I couldn't hold you back."

"I'm truly sorry about that," Mo Qiong said.

"It's nothing. Beat them up for me too. If I step in myself, it won't just be a self-criticism," the police officer chuckled.

Seeing them play along so well, the human traffickers broke down.

One was willing to be detained, and the other was willing to write a self-criticism. This was truly despairing.

"Big brother, I'll talk, I'll talk. I surrender, I truly surrender..."