Chapter 32

Chapter 30 3. panic room-04

The news that the only child of the wealthy businessman and the movie queen had been kidnapped spread explosively across the internet and print media, quickly dominating the headlines of almost every media channel and becoming a hot topic everyone was eager to discuss.

For a time, reporters crowded outside the garden mansion in the suburbs where the businessman and the movie queen lived.

Although intimidated by the police cordon and not daring to approach, the streets nearby were still swarmed with camera crews and even a few drones, circling like vultures that couldn’t leave during a dry season, waiting over a gazelle on the verge of starvation.

The social attention on the case was so high that the police felt enormous pressure.

Relevant leaders kept showing up in person or calling Captain Shen Zun for updates, while the team also had to deal with endless media harassment and investigate tips from informants and concerned citizens.

For a while, everyone in the criminal investigation team was spinning like a frenzied top, and they had no choice but to request support.

But the case had so many leads, and each seemed urgent and impossible to delay. The officers ran back and forth, and when forced to waste precious time on the road, they cursed not having grown wings to fly directly to their destinations.

“The hospital called. The attacked nanny’s injuries are too severe, and she’s been moved to the ICU!”

A female officer responsible for liaison ran into the temporary conference room allocated for the kidnapping case, speaking clearly and quickly: “They said she won’t be out of danger anytime soon, so we probably can’t question her for the time being.”

“In that case, put the nanny on hold for now!”

Shen Zun responded without a second thought. “Old Deng and Xiao Zhang, hurry to question the bodyguard with the fractured left leg. Also, interrogate the driver carefully and be sure to rule out the possibility of internal collusion with the accomplices!”

His large hands pounded the thick walnut-colored table with a “bang bang” sound.

“Trace the origins of the van immediately! Send another team with the tech group to the traffic police department to investigate the cause of the accident! All road surveillance, whether private or public, anything that could have captured the road conditions, search it thoroughly to quickly track the van’s escape route! And Liu Yang’s household communications monitoring and recordings—are the tech personnel all in place?!”

Shen Zun stared at his notebook on the table, giving instructions item by item to avoid any omissions.

Beside the notebook was an ashtray, nearly overflowing with used cigarette butts, but no one had time to care. Shen, meanwhile, held a half-burned cigarette, taking a deep drag with each sentence, the curling smoke forming a haze over his face.

Half an hour later, two officers arriving at the traffic police department reported their findings.

“The brakes on the car were tampered with.”

One officer stood in front of the wrecked car, watching as the tech team and the traffic police mechanics dismantled the brake system to inspect the brake discs and lines, while summarizing their current findings.

“A simple speed-measuring device and a pop-up lock were installed on the brake disc. When the car reaches a certain speed, the lock pops out and jams the brake pad, preventing the foot brake from fully engaging,” the officer explained. “As for the exact speed for the lock to activate, they still need to retrieve the chip data from the speed device.”

On the other end, Shen Zun crushed his cigarette and quickly jotted down the key points.

“According to the driver, the accident car was specifically used to transport the kidnapped young master. Liu Lingxiao’s school is a bit far from their suburban villa, and they leave just after seven every morning…”

Shen Zun flipped through his notebook to the driver’s testimony page.

“Since the past few days were the weekend, the young master didn’t need to go to school. The driver said that after picking up Liu Lingxiao on Friday afternoon, he had the car cleaned and waxed at a nearby dealership…”

Shen Zun hung up and called Officer Old Deng, responsible for questioning the driver.

The call connected quickly. Shen immediately asked, “Ask the driver if he drove especially fast on the section of Jinxiu Road?”

A minute later, Old Deng relayed the driver’s response: “He said that section of Jinxiu Road is very quiet. Around seven in the morning, there are hardly any cars. He usually drives seventy to eighty kilometers per hour.”

In the background, a man’s flustered self-defense could be faintly heard: “I didn’t speed! Really didn’t speed!”

“That’s it!”

Shen Zun hung up and shouted to the remaining people in the room: “Immediately send people to that dealership and detain everyone there. Conduct a thorough investigation to find the person who tampered with the car!”

……

4:37 PM

“Boss! Liu Yang’s private email received an anonymous message. The tech team’s preliminary assessment shows the sender used at least two layers of international proxies, likely sent by the kidnappers!”

Shen Zun leapt from his chair and hurried to the female officer: “What did the email say?!”

The officer opened the forwarded screenshot on her computer and read aloud: “Go to the Wangxiang Terrace in the mountaintop park. We’ve sent you a gift.”

Seeing the word “gift,” Shen Zun’s pupils dilated sharply under the rush of adrenaline—a veteran detective’s instinct told him that this so-called “gift” was anything but pleasant.

Xinhai City, in the southern coastal region, is hilly. Aside from a few islands, only several small hills dot the main urban area.

The highest is called Wangyue Mountain. The government built a park at the summit, named Wangyue Mountain Summit Park. Wangxiang Terrace sits in one corner, offering visitors a view of the city’s famous landmark—the Lingang Lighthouse—hence its name, “View the Homeland.”

Shen Zun didn’t hesitate. He ordered the local police to seal off the summit park and sent An Pingdong, Qi Shanyu, and several young detectives speeding to Wangxiang Terrace, where the “gift” was allegedly left.

Qi Shanyu and his partner ran up Wangyue Mountain. By the time they reached the summit park, the area had been cordoned off by local officers.

On this non-holiday day, few visitors were in the park, only a few middle-aged and elderly walkers, who were questioned for possible clues.

“Did you find anything unusual?!”

An Pingdong strode past the cordon and, ignoring all formalities, directly asked the senior officer among the local cops.

The officer shook his head.

“Alright, then let’s get to work!”

An Pingdong signaled Qi Shanyu and the others to begin.

Wangxiang Terrace is a cliffside platform shaped like an eagle’s beak, protruding toward the coastline. It features a delicate pavilion and a four-sided corridor for rest, photography, and sightseeing.

Unsure of the object they were searching for or its size, An Pingdong, Qi Shanyu, and several forensic officers meticulously searched every inch of the terrace.

Qi Shanyu lifted the trash can at the end of the corridor and pulled out its contents.

Due to few visitors recently and lax cleaning, the trash had piled up, giving off a sour, rotting smell.

Qi Shanyu laid a forensic plastic sheet on the ground and emptied the trash, examining it glove by glove.

This was his second trash can of the day. From a recent dismemberment case, he wryly thought: I’m getting experienced at trash searching now.

Leftover burger wrappers, empty soda cups, crumpled flyers, shredded receipts…

Suddenly, he noticed a thickly balled-up stack of tissues, slightly stained with trash-can grease but otherwise clean. Inside, another similarly wrapped bundle could be seen.

Qi Shanyu’s heart leapt; a sense of foreboding washed over him.

He carefully pinched a corner and slowly unwrapped it.

The bundle had four layers, each meticulously wrapped.

At the final layer, he saw several small dark red bloodstains on the otherwise white tissue.

“I think I found it!”

Qi Shanyu shouted.

Police and forensic officers immediately gathered around him.

“Let me see.”

A female forensic officer, Feng Ling, who had been covering for Liu Yi while he was on vacation, stepped forward. Using tweezers, she slowly peeled back the final bloodstained layer to reveal its contents.

It was a human right ear.

Judging by its size, there was no doubt—it belonged to a child.