When Xiao Lou woke up, everything was pitch black. It was so quiet that he could almost hear his own breathing. He tried to reach out and grope, but found that his hands were tied behind his back with tight ropes that made his wrists ache.
He seemed to be sitting on the cold cement floor, his eyes covered by a black cloth.
Xiao Lou never imagined that one day he would also have such a thrilling experience as "kidnapping".
Recalling what had just happened, he felt a sudden numbness in his neck after turning the street corner, and quickly lost consciousness. His attacker must have been watching him closely, observing his movements. Taking advantage of the absence of others, they shot him with a tranquilizer gun and then took him away.
The fact that the man's shoes were brand new suggests that he wasn't just an ordinary street thug, but someone who paid attention to his appearance. Ye Qi and Lao Mo were likely kidnapped by this person as well.
Since he was brought here after losing consciousness, he didn't know where he was. To make matters worse, he was connected to Lao Mo via Telepathic Connection and couldn't tell Yu Hanjiang about the situation. Xiao Lou tried to contact Lao Mo via Telepathic Connection, but there was still no response from Lao Mo in his mind. It was very likely that Lao Mo and Ye Qi were still unconscious.
Xiao Lou quickly calmed down and carefully analyzed the current situation.
Undoubtedly, they were kidnapped by members of a mysterious organization. Perhaps Qingshui Town is their base, which is why these "outsiders" attracted their attention.
Last night, when they were investigating Tianya Club, all four of them were wearing invisibility cloaks and would not be seen by others; how were they able to locate them and kidnap them?
One possibility is that someone was secretly watching their movements as early as when they were investigating the organ transplant case at the hospital. This surveillance continued after they arrived in Qingshui Town, and today they seized the opportunity to abduct them. If this is the case, there must be an organized mole within the hospital.
The second possibility is that they accidentally triggered the alarm in the Tianya Club's secret warehouse after arriving in Qingshui Town, thus arousing the organization's suspicion. Today, when they all went to Uncle Zhong's birthday banquet, the other party confirmed their identities and simply took them away.
Regardless of the possibility, falling into the hands of this organization will certainly not end well.
What will happen to these insane lunatics?
Silencing them is the quickest way—after all, Cheng Shaofeng and Uncle Zhong have already been silenced one after another, haven't they?
What worries Xiao Lou most is that, because his hands are tightly bound, he can't use many cards. For example, Bai Juyi and Tao Yuanming require him to use his hands to take out the cards and summon the card characters in order to continue using their associated skills. The card holder in this secret room is hidden and hasn't been taken by the kidnappers, but unfortunately, Xiao Lou can't move his hands and can't take out any cards at all!
What should we do? Will Captain Yu find the clues he left behind?
Xiao Lou's heart was pounding. In the instant he was anesthetized, he left a card at the scene.
— drone.
He had less than three seconds to react. As dizziness overwhelmed him, the man in leather shoes was already in front of him. He mustered his last ounce of strength and grabbed the dragonfly-sized drone... If Yu Hanjiang hadn't been hurt, he should have been able to find the drone he left behind after the card was dropped into the air, and after retrieving the card, he could have seen the footage from the surveillance cameras.
Hopefully Captain Yu is alright; currently, only Yu Hanjiang can save them.
Just as Xiao Lou was thinking of a solution, he suddenly heard footsteps.
The sound of leather shoes on the ground echoed clearly in the quiet space. Xiao Lou pricked up his ears alertly to listen carefully—there were three people. One of them had very regular footsteps, walking slowly and calmly. The other two followed closely behind him.
" Brother Rong, these people have actually tracked down to Qingshui Town. What should we do?" It was a woman's voice.
"Dare to pluck the tiger's hair? What do you think the consequences will be?" A deep male voice, tinged with a mocking smile, uttered as he made a "throat-cutting" gesture with his hand. The two men beside him immediately understood.
"Before we kill them, let's make use of them," a young man suggested. "The old man is useless, but the young people and children can have their hearts, livers, and kidneys taken out. Maybe we can find a suitable match. If all else fails, their corneas can be used."
"..." Xiao Lou was horrified. These lunatics, were they planning to hollow out their organs?
"Let's go check if the three of them have woken up yet," Brother Rong said in a low voice.
The footsteps grew closer, and Xiao Lou immediately pretended to be asleep.
He heard the sound of the iron gate opening, and then the clatter of leather shoes approached him. A pair of cold fingers gently pinched Xiao Lou's chin. Xiao Lou felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had been bitten by a venomous snake.
The man asked with a half-smile, "Are you awake?"
The man tightened his grip slightly, making Xiao Lou's jaw ache. Xiao Lou dared not move, trying his best to keep his breathing steady. Seeing that Xiao Lou wasn't reacting, the man released him, saying calmly, "Keep an eye on them."
Xiao Lou only breathed a slight sigh of relief after the other person left the room.
Judging from the footsteps and the echoes of speech, this is an enclosed space of about 10 square meters. The door is a heavy iron door, and the floor is likely paved with cement, not wooden flooring or common tiles. The footsteps are weaker in some areas, possibly because the floor is not paved with cement.
When the man came into the house, he brought a
A strange fragrance.
Xiao Lou had no idea where he was. With his eyes covered and his hands tightly bound, he could only rely on his hearing and sense of smell to get more information so that his teammates could rescue him.
***
At the same time, Shao Qingge waited anxiously for the call to connect.
Following Xiao Lou's instructions, he notified Long Sen and Qu Wanyue to stay in the hotel and not go out. He also sent a message to Liu Qiao, telling her to rest at the hospital today.
All three of them replied to Shao Qingge, and they are all fine at the moment.
Then Shao Qingge dialed Xiao Lou's number, but all he got was a busy signal. Xiao Lou's number went through, but no one answered. Shao Qingge persisted and dialed three more times, but ten minutes passed and still no one answered.
What's going on? Did something happen to Xiao Lou too?
He had no choice but to call Yu Hanjiang, but the message said, "Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off."
Shao Qingge finally couldn't sit still any longer, so he drove out and went to the hotel to find Long Sen and Qu Wanyue.
Seeing Shao Qingge's pale face, Qu Wanyue immediately invited him inside, poured him a glass of water, and said, " CEO Shao, you just had surgery. Why aren't you resting at home? What are you doing out here? What if your heart..."
" Xiao Lou is in trouble." Shao Qingge interrupted her in a low voice, "And Ye Qi, Lao Mo, Captain Yu, we can't get in touch with any of them!"
"What?!" Qu Wanyue's eyes widened. "What exactly happened?"
"I can't get through to any of the four of them by phone, and my Telepathic Connection with Xiao Ye is also down. Telepathic Connection only drops when the other person is unconscious." Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint in them. "I suspect that when they went to Qingshui Town to investigate the case, they alerted the organization and were captured."
"Oh my god..." Qu Wanyue looked at Long Sen in disbelief, "Those people are heartless. They captured Professor Xiao and the others. Could they be trying to kill them to cover their tracks? What do we do now? Go and rescue them?"
"We 're a three-hour drive from Qingshui Town. Is it too late to get there now?" Long Sen was at a loss. Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang always led the way in Hearts and Spade escape rooms, but now that he couldn't contact either of them, his mind was in complete chaos.
"..." Shao Qingge pressed his temples, which felt like they were about to burst. He had no experience in finding his missing teammates! What should they do? Qingshui Town was far away, and even if it were nearby, without clues, finding someone would be like looking for a needle in a haystack!
"Want to save me?" Suddenly, a message popped up in the WeChat group. The sender was Xiao Lou.
" Xiao Lou?" Shao Qingge sat up abruptly and quickly typed, "Where are you? What's going on?"
"At midnight tonight, Qingshui Town Xishan Cemetery will prepare 5 billion gold coins in large denominations, pack them in a box, and place them in front of the 10th tombstone from the left in the 18th row of the cemetery." Xiao Lou sent a message, then typed, "The remaining 5 people in the group, come over, not one less. Once I get the cash, I'll release you friends."
"..." Shao Qingge, Qu Wanyue, and Long Sen exchanged glances and looked at each other in bewilderment.
" Professor Xiao's phone is probably being controlled by them," Qu Wanyue said softly. "This group is using Professor Xiao's phone to send messages demanding a ransom."
"Paying a ransom to save your teammates? It can't be that simple." Shao Qingge frowned slightly, knowing his understanding of spade and plum blossom. Guardian knew things wouldn't be that simple. After the last poker hurdle, Shao Qingge now had more than enough savings to come up with 5 billion gold coins. Besides, kidnapping for ransom didn't seem like this organization's cold-blooded and ruthless style; the more likely explanation was...
"They want us to pay money and then kill us?" Long Sen came to his senses and said in a trembling voice, "If they send us all over, they can not only get a large sum of cash, but also wipe us all out, right?"
"..." Qu Wanyue's back stiffened slightly, and he nodded seriously, "That's possible. The chat history in the WeChat group has definitely been exposed. Not only Professor Xiao, but Lao Mo, Xiao Ye, and Captain Yu's phones may also be in their hands. They saw our chat history and know that we are investigating organ smuggling, so of course they won't let us come back alive!"
"That's not right." Shao Qingge suddenly picked up his phone and looked closely at the message sent by " Xiao Lou." He noticed the number "5" and his eyes narrowed slightly. "The other party wants all the remaining 5 people to be present, which means they only kidnapped 3 people."
"Three? There's still someone who hasn't been kidnapped?" Long Sen scratched his head. "Could it be Captain Yu?"
"It must be Captain Yu!" Shao Qingge immediately stood up and said quickly, "Xiao Ye and Lao Mo were never separated, and they were tied up together. Xiao Lou's phone has been taken over by the other party. Only Captain Yu, although I can't contact him, his phone shows 'switched off' instead of busy or 'out of service area'."
"His phone is off? If Captain Yu is worried about us calling him, he can silence his phone. The fact that it's off likely means something is wrong with it, like it's out of battery or broken. Is that why we can't reach him for the time being?" Qu Wanyue quickly concluded.
"Yes, as long as Captain Yu isn't caught, Professor Xiao and the others will definitely be saved." Shao Qingge believed in Yu Hanjiang's abilities, but he couldn't just wait around. After confirming the message in the group chat again, Shao Qingge said, "Let's get the cash first, then pick up Liu Qiao and head to Qingshui Town to meet up with Captain Yu as soon as possible."
Shao Qingge found a large suitcase and summoned an ATM on the spot. The ATM requested a large amount of gold coins, and Shao Qingge withdrew all 50,000 gold coins. The three of them quickly filled the suitcase, then loaded it into their private car and went to the hospital to pick up Liu Qiao.
Liu Qiao had already received the news and made an excuse to ask the doctor for leave.
Wait for them at the entrance of the hospital.
After getting on the bus, Liu Qiao didn't say anything, but sat quietly in the back seat, lost in thought.
Shao Qingge sped along in his sports car. Just as they left the city and entered the highway, his phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number. Thinking it was the kidnappers, Shao Qingge quickly answered, whispering, "Hello? Who are you?"
"It's me." A deep, familiar male voice came from beside him. " Yu Hanjiang."
"..." Hearing that familiar voice, Shao Qingge felt like someone drowning in the sea had finally grasped a lifeline, his eyes brimming with undisguised joy, " Captain Yu! Did you know that Xiao Lou, Xiao Ye, and Lao Mo are in trouble?!"
"I know." Yu Hanjiang's tone was calm, but his fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged. He suppressed the urge to grab those people and beat them up, took a deep breath, and said to Shao Qingge, " Xiao Lou left me with Drone. I saw him being drugged and taken away."
Yu Hanjiang rushed back to the coffee shop and found that Xiao Lou was not there and he couldn't get through to him on the phone. He had no choice but to look for him everywhere. In the end, he found the dragonfly-sized drone hiding under a street lamp at the corner of the street.
The drone card is very useful. You can play it and then remotely monitor it from the terminal holding the card; you can also recall the drone and view the images monitored over a period of time from the drone's internal camera system.
Yu Hanjiang first saw the scene inside the hotel that Xiao Lou had just filmed. The local police questioned the guests who attended the banquet. The glass of wine that General Manager Zhang was holding was the most suspicious, but unfortunately General Manager Zhang could not remember what the waiter looked like.
But Yu Hanjiang knew who the waiter was— the mysterious assassin who shot him at Cheng Shaofeng's house on the first day of the locked room incident.
Unfortunately, he lost track of them halfway through. On the way, he encountered a group of thugs who came out to rob him, but Yu Hanjiang took them down one by one, and a large number of them were taken down. Unfortunately, his phone was smashed in the chaos.
Yu Hanjiang continued watching— there was a blank space in the drone surveillance video, which must have been because Xiao Lou took back the card.
About half an hour later, the drone started working again. In the video, Xiao Lou was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. A tall man got out of a black van, walked up to Xiao Lou, bent down and gently patted Xiao Lou's face. After confirming that Xiao Lou was unresponsive, the man waved behind him, and two people got out of the van and carried Xiao Lou directly into the vehicle.
The drone happened to capture Xiao Lou's face.
His eyes were closed, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were peacefully asleep. Seeing him being carried away without any resistance, Yu Hanjiang was furious—he wished he could jump into the scene and cripple all those bastards!
He would never let them get away with touching a single hair on Xiao Lou's head!
Suppressing his anger, Yu Hanjiang then contacted Shao Qingge to confirm the safety of the other teammates.
Shao Qingge asked, " Did you find any other clues with the drone left behind by Professor Xiao?"
" The drone captured the license plate number of that van, Bin A-78964. Xiao Lou left me a very useful clue, and I'm going to find the van's location right away. Even if we have to turn the entire Qingshui Town upside down, we must find them." Yu Hanjiang paused, then said resolutely, "I won't let anyone get hurt."