Chapter 246

Xiao Sun clenched his teeth, slowly placed his service pistol on the ground, and looked at Zhang Shaodong: “Alright, let’s make a deal—you let this girl go, and I’ll take her place as your hostage. If you keep delaying, she’ll die!”

Zhang Shaodong glanced at him, his lips splitting like rotten sausages to reveal a row of stark white teeth: “Heh! If you want her to live, hurry up! Get someone who can make decisions here to talk to me! No more nonsense!”

As he spoke, the small knife in his hand pressed down slightly—a thin line of blood appeared on Lin Xiaoxue’s neck!

Xiao Sun hurriedly said: “Fine, fine! I’ll contact my superiors right away! But you must promise me—before my superiors arrive, you stop her bleeding. Otherwise, if this girl dies...”

“Heh! You think you can threaten me? Do you really believe I’m holding just one person?”

Those words plunged Xiao Sun into icy dread. “Does he have accomplices? Are they holding other hostages?” As Xiao Sun panicked, sharp police sirens pierced the air—he didn’t know if it was responding officers or Captain Gu Changzheng.

“Zhang Shaodong! I’m Gu Changzheng, Chief of the Zizhen City Criminal Investigation Brigade! Am I qualified to talk to you?” A commanding voice rang out as a tall, middle-aged man in uniform, over forty, appeared at the doorway.

Zhang Shaodong stared at the two bars and two stars gleaming on Gu Changzheng’s uniform, rolled his eyes, and sneered: “Heh! Fine, let’s talk! But hurry up—if this woman dies from delay, I won’t be responsible!”

Gu Changzheng smiled faintly: “Good. State your conditions—I’ll see what I can do. But before that, I have a condition.”

Zhang Shaodong chuckled from behind Lin Xiaoxue: “Heh! Now you’re making demands? Funny—you’re the one holding the hostage!”

“My condition actually benefits you. Don’t you want to hear it?” Gu Changzheng paid no mind to his mockery.

“Hmph! Fine! Go ahead!”

Gu Changzheng took one slow step forward, his voice low and firm: “Let our medical staff treat this girl immediately. If you keep her like this, she’ll die. Remember—her life is your life now.”

“Ha! Heh! Hahahahaha!” Zhang Shaodong suddenly burst into wild, manic laughter. The detectives behind Gu Changzheng moved to shout him down, but Gu Changzheng halted them with a gesture. He watched Zhang Shaodong coldly until the laughter ended, then said: “I don’t see what’s funny. If she dies, you won’t live past tonight.” His voice rang with finality—such words were inappropriate under normal circumstances, but facing this situation, none of the surrounding officers felt they were out of line.

Zhang Shaodong stopped laughing, pulled out a phone, opened a video on it, and hurled it toward Gu Changzheng. Gu Changzheng caught it midair—the screen showed a woman in a red dress, her legs spread wide and tightly bound to an extended table, longer than a normal one. Between her legs, a horrifying object made Gu Changzheng’s heart clench—a gear studded with sharp blades.

The extended table was, in fact, a wood-cutting sawbench. Above the control switch, a small silver weight hung by a thin thread, which crossed horizontally with another identical thread wrapped around a stick of incense. The other end of the incense glowed faintly red—Gu Changzheng knew it meant the incense had been lit.

As he watched the video, he strained to identify the location—it looked like a wood processing plant. He handed the phone to Luo Fei beside him and whispered: “Find this place!”

Then he looked at Zhang Shaodong: “I’ve already reported your situation to the Municipal Party Committee, Vice Mayor, and Public Security Bureau Director Zhong Jiaosheng. So don’t worry—we’ll meet your demands. State your conditions.” Gu Changzheng knew negotiation was useless—he decided to act swiftly to prevent further harm to Lin Xiaoxue.

Zhang Shaodong chuckled: “Good. Listen carefully—I want you to release Fang Yuan. Then I’ll tell you where the woman in the video is. And yes, I’ll hand her over to you too.”

Gu Changzheng’s heart sank—he knew neither he nor Director Zhong could possibly agree to this demand.

But with two hostages’ lives at stake, he couldn’t provoke him—what should he do? His mind raced for a response.

But Zhang Shaodong seemed to read his thoughts and gave him no time: “Release Fang Yuan and give him a fully fueled SUV. Then I’ll tell you exactly where the video location is. Time’s running out, Chief Gu!”

Gu Changzheng’s chest tightened—he knew Zhang Shaodong wasn’t bluffing. A typical incense stick is about 21 cm long; depending on thickness, it burns for 30 to 80 minutes. The diameter couldn’t be judged from the video. He could only assume the shortest possible burn time. Plus, the incense had already been lit when the video was recorded. He’d noticed the video was sent via a phone number two minutes ago—meaning Zhang Shaodong had accomplices, and one of them might press the trigger at any moment.

So he had less than thirty minutes—and he had to act cleanly and decisively.

“Fine. I agree. But you know—releasing a suspect from detention in a serious case isn’t easy. I need time!” He glanced at Lin Xiaoxue, his face grim: “So this girl must be treated immediately—stop her bleeding now!”

“I don’t care how you do it—you must release Fang Yuan, or I won’t discuss anything else! No deal otherwise!” Zhang Shaodong stood firm, showing no sign of retreat.

“Good. The situation is being streamed live to the Municipal Bureau and to Director Zhong Jiaosheng and other Party Committee leaders. I’ll also show you video proof of Fang Yuan’s release. Now, I’m giving you the gauze—stop her bleeding. This is my bottom line. If you refuse, even if I lose my position as Chief, I’ll risk taking you out with one shot!”

Zhang Shaodong smirked—he knew the other man had spoken those words only because he was cornered. The terms were acceptable now. His goal was to free Fang Yuan, not to kill Lin Xiaoxue immediately.

He snorted: “Throw the gauze on the floor. Everyone—back out. Close the door.”