Chapter 22

“What did you say?” Gu Changzheng thought he had misheard, and asked incredulously.

“Hahaha!” A wild laugh erupted from the speaker, lasting thirty seconds, before a breathless male voice came through: “I said, Jiang Yuanqi is in my hands! I’ve captured him! Got it now, Officer Gu?”

Gu Changzheng fell silent for two seconds—he was genuinely stunned. Twenty years as a cop, and he’d never received a call like this! (Some lunatic!) He cleared his throat and said, “Who are you? What do you want?”

Liu Baoshan laughed again on the other end, but cut it off after just two chuckles: “Captain Gu, I know who you are—you’re the captain of the Jiangdong Branch Criminal Investigation Team. But I worry your rank isn’t high enough. Can you even make decisions talking to me? Hahaha!”

Gu Changzheng frowned. Though he thought the man was insane, the remark was valid—but right now, he only wanted to keep the conversation going. As soon as the man had declared he’d kidnapped Jiang Yuanqi, Gu had already signaled Tech Division to trace the call. He said, “No problem. I’m currently head of the Major Cases Unit. You can talk to me. What do you want?” Gu deliberately dropped the “deputy” from his title and took full responsibility.

“Hehe, Chief Gu! Good! But I haven’t decided yet—I’ll call you back when I have. Don’t bother looking for me; if I don’t want you to find me, you won’t. Alright, bye! Oh, by the way—I’ll tell you who I am, so you don’t go chasing shadows and ruin the fun! Hehehe!” A manic laugh followed, then the voice shouted: “I’m Liu Baoshan! Remember that!” Then came the dial tone—the call ended.

————

A black-canopied boat churned black smoke from its stern, rumbling “teng teng teng” toward the river’s center. Three men were aboard: one had his hands and feet bound and his mouth sealed with transparent tape; another wore a bulging shirt that looked absurdly ill-fitting; the third, a broad-faced man gripping the helm, was Liu Baoshan, Ren Jia, and the kidnapped Jiang Yuanqi.

Jiang Yuanqi, dusty and hunched in the filthy cabin, groaned helplessly through his taped mouth. Liu Baoshan had just snapped a small card and tossed it into the river. Seeing Jiang Yuanqi still whimpering, he said to Ren Jia, “Ren Jia, tear off Jiang Boss’s tape. I think he’s dying to say something.”

Ren Jia nodded, stood, bent over, and approached Jiang Yuanqi. With a sharp “sssslick,” he ripped off the tape—Jiang Yuanqi cried out, “Ow!”

Freed, Jiang Yuanqi didn’t scream or beg. He rubbed his mouth and said, “Brother, if you need anything, just tell me. I’ve got connections in the southwest. If you’re willing, I’ll give you a huge sum and get you out of the country. Just let me go—I swear, I know nothing. I remember nothing—no people, no events.”

Jiang Yuanqi had been knocked unconscious by the sudden collision, but woke up shortly after—he’d heard everything Liu Baoshan and Ren Jia said, and realized he’d fallen into the hands of two killers.

Seeing they weren’t watching him, he kept pretending to be unconscious. Learning Liu Baoshan had kidnapped him for money, he felt slightly relieved—what mattered most was making sure they didn’t want to kill him.

He kept calculating in his mind: only by appearing cooperative, harmless, and useful could he avoid death.

So the moment he got the chance to speak, he immediately told Liu Baoshan he’d cooperate and help them escape.

“Hahaha!” Liu Baoshan threw back his head and laughed. “Jiang Boss, no wonder you’re a big shot—you’ve seen the world! You say that, I almost feel bad asking for more! Alright, I won’t ask for much—get me this much!” He held up a palm.

Jiang Yuanqi said, “Five million?!”

“Hehe! Jiang Boss, are you trying to bribe a beggar?” Liu Baoshan looked down, eyes narrowed at Jiang Yuanqi.

“Then… fifty million?!” Jiang Yuanqi’s voice trembled—this bastard was ruthless!

Liu Baoshan chuckled lowly: “What? Jiang Boss, Xintengle ? No money? Then maybe your life will do.” He pulled the trigger of his Type 77 with a metallic click, pressing the cold barrel against Jiang Yuanqi’s forehead.

Seeing the man’s finger twitching, Jiang Yuanqi dared not bargain further—he truly feared this deranged bandit would shoot him dead.

He took a deep breath, forcing calm: “Brother, don’t get worked up! I’ll pay! Let me call my family to arrange the money.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Liu Baoshan turned to Ren Jia. “Get ready—use your phone to record a video.”

Then he sneered at Jiang Yuanqi: “No need to call. We’ll send a video to your family—let them see you clearly. How’s that? Thoughtful, right? Hahaha!”

————

At 9:40 PM, Liu Dan, Jiang Yuanqi’s wife, received a video from an unknown number. It showed her husband—kidnapped for over three hours.

After hearing her husband’s words, Liu Dan’s mind went blank. She’d guessed the kidnappers wanted money—but never imagined this much! Though the Jiang family claimed to be among the top three wealthiest in Zizhen, raising fifty million in cash was no small feat. Panic surged through her; she turned desperate eyes toward Gu Changzheng beside her.

Since the incident, Gu Changzheng had brought Jiang Yuanqi’s family to the police station. The fact that the kidnapper had called him directly meant the criminal was brazen—and armed. In the past few hours, they’d confirmed the gun had been stolen from the Jiangdong Branch; the officer who owned it, Zhang Hongyu, was now missing. Gu Changzheng had sent Guo Hao to find him. He carried immense pressure—he knew Zhang Hongyu was likely dead. Otherwise, how could his service weapon be in a kidnapper’s hands?

As he pondered, he saw Liu Dan’s pleading gaze. He cleared his throat and said, “Director Liu, don’t panic. I’ll report this to my superiors immediately. We must stall the kidnapper—buy time to locate his hideout. He’ll call you soon. When you answer, stay calm. Drag out the conversation as long as possible…”

Before he finished, “Ding ling ling!”—his phone rang. Everyone turned toward the sound—it came from Gu Changzheng.