Chapter 21

Ren Jia had become numb by now; perhaps his innermost killing instinct had been awakened by Liu Baoshan. He no longer felt fear, fully focused as he drove the battered Volkswagen at high speed down the road toward the riverbank!

Liu Baoshan held a gun in his hand, lounging lazily in the back seat. He glanced sidelong at Jiang Yuanqi, still unconscious, and a faint, barely noticeable smirk curled on his lips.

The car quickly reached the riverbank. Before Ren Jia could speak, Liu Baoshan suddenly said, “Drive to the edge of the reeds!” Ren Jia replied, “Oh!” and stomped the accelerator, speeding the car to a patch of reeds taller than a man.

Liu Baoshan looked left and right. Here was the small boat he had hidden earlier—the place he planned to hide. Now that Ren Jia had served his purpose, according to his plan, he would dispose of Ren Jia right here.

At that moment, a voice came from the car radio: “Ladies and gentlemen, we repeat an alert issued by our city’s Public Security Bureau... The suspect is cruel and meticulous. Any citizen with information on the suspect’s whereabouts is urged to immediately call 110 or contact Officer Gu directly...”

As the three-minute broadcast ended, Liu Baoshan, who had been quietly preparing to shoot, changed his mind. He pointed the gun at Ren Jia and said, “Take off your hood and fake beard!”

Ren Jia’s body trembled slightly. He stared intently at Liu Baoshan, then slowly removed the hood and tore off the fake beard, tossing them aside.

“Heh! I remember now! No wonder you looked familiar when I first saw you?” Liu Baoshan sneered. “You’re the husband of the famous dancer—Director Ren!” Ren Jia blinked in surprise. “Do we know each other?”

“You don’t know me, but I know you. Honestly, you were already in my sights from the start. But after observing you for days, I decided you still fell far short of him—I chose him instead!” Liu Baoshan said, pointing at the unconscious Jiang Yuanqi in the car.

Ren Jia broke out in a cold sweat. Heh! After all this running around, he was still in this man’s hands!

Once his identity was exposed, he calmed down. “So? You’re not going to turn me in for the fifty-thousand-yuan reward, are you?”

“Hahahaha! I have no interest in that kind of money! But I’m interested in you. Here’s the deal: help me pull off this job, and I’ll give you ten million. How about it?” Liu Baoshan leaned close to Ren Jia. “You’ve got no way out anyway. Do this one job, get rich, and we can smuggle ourselves out!”

Ren Jia understood he meant escaping abroad—but how could he possibly trust this bloodthirsty bandit? Yet the man had already decided to kill him; if he didn’t play along, he’d be dead in seconds.

Ren Jia knew he had no choice. He gritted his teeth and said, “Tell me what to do.”

Liu Baoshan laughed heartily as he saw a wolfish gleam in Ren Jia’s eyes. “Hah! Now that’s the look of someone who’s killed before! There’s rope in the bag—tie up the lamb first!”

“But he’s still unconscious,” Ren Jia said, pointing at Jiang Yuanqi in the car.

“Don’t be careless. This old bastard is cunning. He’s been awake the whole time—just pretending. Here,” Liu Baoshan handed Ren Jia a gleaming dagger. “Stab his thigh a few times. See if he wakes up.”

Before Ren Jia could respond, a cough came from the car, followed by Jiang Yuanqi groaning, “Ugh! Why’s it so dark? I can’t see a thing!”

Liu Baoshan froze for a moment, then burst into loud laughter, clutching his stomach until he couldn’t straighten up. Ren Jia thought inwardly: This lunatic has such a low sense of humor? What’s so funny?

But Liu Baoshan kept chuckling as he pointed the gun at Jiang Yuanqi. “Fucking hell! You’re a good actor! Stop pretending! Whether you can see me or not doesn’t matter—I’m after money, not your life! Come out now, let him tie you up nice and easy, or I’ll have to do it myself—and you won’t like that! Come out!”

“Oh, by the way, let me introduce myself—I’m Liu Baoshan, the Boss who’s ruled the Northeast for over a decade! That’s the newly crowned killing demon, Ren Jia! You heard the radio, right? Tell the cops it was us who kidnapped you! After I’m done with you, I’m going after something even bigger! Hahahaha!”

—————

At Hongde Building, boss Bao Xiaoxiao sat trembling on the sofa. Gu Changzheng had just finished questioning her. Everyone knew Hongde Building was holding its anniversary celebration—and many knew Jiang Yuanqi would be there tonight, since he was the owner of the entire Yinzuo Building, including Hongde.

According to current investigation findings, the assailant was a stranger, not among the invited guests, and had clearly planned this for a long time, thoroughly familiar with Jiang Yuanqi’s habits. His immediate killing of the bodyguard and abduction of Jiang himself clearly indicated a kidnapping.

He walked to the parking lot outside the restaurant, now cordoned off. Outside the perimeter, a line of fully armed special police officers held back curious civilians. Forensic expert Old Zheng emerged from Jiang Yuanqi’s Mercedes, while his assistant Xiao Lin held an evidence bag containing two bright yellow bullet casings.

“Old Zheng, what kind of gun?”

Many witnesses had seen Liu Baoshan shoot the driver. When Old Zheng arrived, the driver was already dead—the cause of death was obvious. His job was to determine the weapon used.

Seeing Gu Changzheng approach, Old Zheng said, “Both wounds are through-and-through. One bullet is lodged in the driver’s seat cushion; the other is trapped in the left front door panel. Based on entry angles, eyewitness accounts are correct—the assailant stood at the passenger side and shot directly through the open door. The bullets are Type 64 pistol rounds; the firearm is a Type 77 police pistol.”

“What?” Gu Changzheng exclaimed in shock. “You’re sure?”

Before Old Zheng could reply, his assistant Xiao Lin snapped, “Officer Gu, even I can tell a Type 77 police pistol at a glance. How could Teacher Zheng be wrong?”

“No, no—that’s not what I meant!” Gu Changzheng hurried to explain. “Our police firearms are strictly controlled. How did it end up in the criminal’s hands? I’m just stunned. Could it be...?”

“I don’t know the answer to that. But I can confirm it’s a Type 77 pistol. You can check—the bullets have serial numbers. Match them to the registered gun, and you’ll find the owner.”

Gu Changzheng nodded, recalling the surveillance footage from the parking lot: the speeding car slamming into the Mercedes, the dead bodyguard, the gunman firing openly on the street, the kidnapped Jiang Yuanqi... Heh! These two are bold. That was Gu Changzheng’s first impression of Liu Baoshan.

As he thought, his phone rang. He saw an unknown number on the screen and answered: “Hello?”

“Officer Gu! Jiang Yuanqi is in my hands!”