Chapter 25

Liu Baoshan stared at him, then burst into wild laughter: “Hahahaha! So you’re Ren Jiahe!” His laughter cut off abruptly—he drew a pistol from behind his waist and pressed the barrel against Ren Jiahe’s forehead!

“Think you’re entitled to bargain with me? Do you even qualify? I dare touch cops—what’s one more dead body to me? Killing you is serving justice! You coward who won’t even spare your own wife!” Liu Baoshan spat.

Ren Jiahe stared wide-eyed at the gun pointed at his skull: “I’m going to take this bullet anyway—I don’t care when or by whom! If you trust me, I’m fully with you. If not, shoot me now and save me the trouble of playing along!” He locked eyes on Liu Baoshan without blinking.

“Hahahaha!” Liu Baoshan laughed loudly, then slammed the slide of the pistol home. “I hate people who bargain with me! Then die!” He tightened his finger on the trigger.

Ren Jiahe trembled violently—he shut his eyes in despair, waiting for the shot.

After a long silence, Liu Baoshan lowered the gun, fished a thin thread from his belt, and pulled it free—its end tied to a tiny key. He gestured for Ren Jiahe to turn around. A flicker of relief crossed Ren Jiahe’s face as he obeyed; Liu Baoshan used the key to unlock the bomb vest strapped to him.

“You’ve got guts,” Liu Baoshan said, peeling off the vest. “Time’s up. Call Jiang Yuanqi.”

Ren Jiahe pulled out a phone and dialed a number.

Jiang Yuanqi in the cabin of the small boat on the river jumped at the sudden ringtone—he bent forward instantly, answering without hesitation: “Hello!”

“Use that phone to dial the number you just heard. Turn on speakerphone,” came Ren Jiahe’s voice.

Jiang Yuanqi was puzzled by the sudden change in command, but dared not ask or delay. He remembered Liu Baoshan’s rule: answer within three seconds—or the bomb at his waist would detonate.

Gu Changzheng’s phone rang on schedule: “Captain Gu, push the bag into the Qingjiang River!”

This time, the caller didn’t switch numbers—and the police cordon was tightening. Gu Changzheng thought: if he could buy even a minute, he might still find them.

He swallowed hard and said grimly: “I’ve done exactly as you said. Where’s Jiang Yuanqi?”

For once, Liu Baoshan didn’t laugh. He replied: “Push the money bag into the Qingjiang River! I’ll say it again—Jiang Yuanqi’s life or death depends on this one move!”

“Hmph!” Gu Changzheng grunted, waved his hand, and six or seven officers strained to drag the bag’s edges and shove it into the river.

Gu Changzheng spoke into the phone: “Done. The bag’s in the river. Now tell me where Jiang Yuanqi is!”

“Hah! Captain Gu, you’re cooperating beautifully! Thank you! As a reward for your cooperation, I’ll tell you where Jiang Yuanqi is: there’s a black-canopied boat on the Qingjiang River—Jiang Yuanqi is inside. Go find him quick!”

Gu Changzheng’s phone was linked to the command vehicle; every word Liu Baoshan spoke was clearly heard by headquarters. The moment he finished, the command center ordered a full-scale search for the black-canopied boat—but found none, only a few sand-dredging vessels operating on the river. Gu Changzheng immediately ordered Luo Fei to contact the water police, who reported dozens of private boats on the Qingjiang: fishing boats used by locals, leisure fishing boats, and a few small motorboats owned by citizens—all legally registered.

Gu Changzheng understood: Liu Baoshan was exploiting the police’s search for Jiang Yuanqi to escape with the money. But how could he possibly carry that much cash past so many officers?

Yet finding Jiang Yuanqi was still critical—if the ransom vanished and the hostage wasn’t rescued, not only would he be held accountable, but the entire Zizhen City Public Security Bureau might face disciplinary action.

The joint task force now spread out, systematically searching every moored fishing boat along the riverbank.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes. Still no trace. Gu Changzheng even feared Jiang Yuanqi had been killed—when his radio crackled with Liu Han’s excited voice: “Captain Gu! We’ve locked the last phone’s location—two kilometers downstream from the Jiangbei dock!”

Gu Changzheng replied “Understood,” then froze—cold sweat poured down his back.

“Liu Han, transmit the exact signal coordinates immediately!” He turned to Luo Fei: “Hurry! Order the water police patrol boats to intercept every sand-dredging vessel on the river! Stop all boats! Halt all operations! Now!”

Luo Fei instantly grasped his meaning: the kidnapper might be on a sand-dredging vessel, using it to smuggle out the money.

He immediately radioed the water police to deploy patrol boats and block all sand-dredging vessels on the river.

At the same time, two figures appeared in the quiet, late-night neighborhood of Jiangpan Haoting—one tall, one broad and muscular—riding a single motorcycle swiftly out the gated entrance.

Inside an unremarkable black-canopied boat, police found Jiang Yuanqi locked in the cabin, along with two cell phones beside him.

On the river, all seven night-operating sand-dredging vessels were secured—but not a trace of the money was found.

All intelligence converged on Gu Changzheng. When Liu Han reported the signal location, he’d already deduced the kidnapper wasn’t with Jiang Yuanqi—and suspected remote-controlled explosives were used to force compliance. So the discovery of Jiang Yuanqi alive was exactly what he expected.

But finding nothing on the sand-dredging vessels surprised him. Had his theory been wrong? Yet why would Liu Baoshan go through such lengths if not for this fortune? He wouldn’t abandon the money.

Money! He suddenly shouted: “Fool! I’m a fool! Marking the boat to find the sword! Marking the boat to find the sword!”

The officers beside him startled—then heard Gu Changzheng roar: “Hurry! Go downstream! The money’s flowing downstream!”