Chapter 297: Imprisoned for Two Years, It

After friendly consultations.

Qian Cheng and the others acted as human ladders below, allowing Yu Dazhang to gain footing with his feet.

Combined with Li Jun and the others pulling from above, they finally dragged Yu Dazhang up.

Immediately afterward, Qian Cheng and the others also crawled out of the hole.

"I thought my chest kept getting heavier and my vision kept darkening—turns out you were blocking the hole."

Qian Cheng gasped for air as he complained.

"What did you find down there?" Yu Dazhang asked.

Feeling awkward, he could only change the subject.

"The layout down there is strange," Qian Cheng replied:

"To reinforce it, the suspect performed subsidence prevention—steel rebar was embedded in the walls, and the soil particles were solidified."

Indeed strange… Yu Dazhang understood.

What Qian Cheng meant was: the suspect was overly professional.

Fang Peng was just a taxi driver, not a structural engineer.

Such professional treatment was utterly inconsistent with Fang Peng's identity.

Even if self-taught, one must combine theory with practice—reading a few books doesn't let you directly apply knowledge to construction.

And Fang Peng had never worked in construction at all.

Could it be…

Is he a genius?

The moment Yu Dazhang pictured Fang Peng's Down syndrome face, he immediately dismissed the idea.

No, he doesn't have that kind of intelligence.

Staring at the hole, Yu Dazhang grew increasingly curious.

Should he try again?

Seeing him approach the hole again, Li Jun warned:

"This time there's no one down there—if you get stuck again, you won't be able to climb out."

The next day.

The hospital reported that the two rescued girls were not in life danger, only suffering from long-term malnutrition and requiring a period of recuperation to recover.

Then Yu Dazhang and the other two went to the hospital.

After consulting the doctor, they met Ru Yao and Shu Rujia.

The two girls' beds were side by side; whether due to illness or prolonged lack of sunlight, their faces were pale and bloodless.

What puzzled Yu Dazhang most was their dull, lifeless eyes—showing none of the excitement or joy expected after rescue.

Did they have intellectual problems?

Carrying his doubts, Yu Dazhang pulled over a chair and sat between their beds.

"I'm…"

He had barely spoken when Ru Yao on the left bed suddenly reached out and grabbed Yu Dazhang's arm.

"Where's Peng-ge?" Her eyes held hope and urgency:

"Did something happen to him? We waited for him so long down there—why did you show up instead?"

Yu Dazhang:????

Did I walk into the wrong movie?

What does that even mean? It sounds like we police broke up a couple.

Shu Rujia on the right bed also exclaimed urgently:

"Don't pressure Peng-ge—he didn't force us, we came willingly, and he treated us well. He even quit his job to take care of us."

Not faking… Seeing their sincere expressions, Yu Dazhang was momentarily speechless.

Did living in the cellar make them stupid—or did Fang Peng brainwash them?

This didn't feel like rescuing hostages—it felt more like arresting a gang.

Even Ma Jian and Liu Miao standing nearby sensed something was off.

The three exchanged glances; then Yu Dazhang stood up, offered his seat to Liu Miao, and stepped out of the ward.

Outside, he thought for a moment and called Li Jun.

"Captain Li, I've hit a snag—the two rescued girls are having psychological issues."

He then detailed the girls' condition.

After listening, Li Jun fell silent for a moment, then replied:

"I remember you know an expert in this field—we even awarded him a bonus before. Ask him first."

Ye Zhiyu?

Yu Dazhang immediately thought of him.

"That guy's a psychology expert, not a psychiatrist," Yu Dazhang explained.

Actually, he didn't really want to ask Ye Zhiyu for help.

After all, the system had its own psychological analysts—could he really keep calling external help every time?

Besides, Ye Zhiyu didn't help for free—he demanded payment.

"Psychology and psychiatry are basically the same," Li Jun guessed Yu Dazhang's thoughts and chuckled:

"Just call him first for advice. If it's serious, I'll apply to borrow a psychological analyst from headquarters."

Talent is a resource—not every branch has a psychology specialist on staff.

"Alright, I'll ask him first then." Yu Dazhang could only nod in agreement.

This was indeed a way to handle it.

A consultation shouldn't require payment, and given his relationship with Ye Zhiyu, even asking the man to come help would be just a word away.

After ending the call, he immediately dialed Ye Zhiyu.

It had only rung twice before a busy signal came through the phone.

Hung up?

Bold of him!

Just as he was about to call again, a WeChat notification chimed in. He opened it—it was a message from Ye Zhiyu: What's up? I'm in a meeting.

Yu Dazhang typed back: I've run into a tricky case, something to do with psychology.

He expected Ye Zhiyu to reply: I'll get in touch after the meeting.

But to his surprise, barely half a minute later, Ye Zhiyu called him directly.

"Go ahead, what's the situation exactly."

Yu Dazhang asked curiously:

"Aren't you in a meeting?"

"Ha, the moment I said President Qu's fiancé was looking for me, the head of HR let me out right away." Ye Zhiyu said smugly:

"You have no idea how high your reputation is at the group right now. A lot of people are talking behind your back, saying you've already earned Qu Wannian's approval and officially become the Qu family's son-in-law."

Hearing him say that, Yu Dazhang immediately recalled the banquet from a couple of days ago.

News really travels fast.

Just two days had passed, and he was already a celebrity at Yisheng Group.

But now wasn't the time for gossip. He then described the situation with Ru Yao and Shu Rujia in detail.

And added his own analysis:

"I get the feeling those two are shielding the suspect, even from their expressions there's almost a hint of worship."

After saying this, Yu Dazhang held the phone and quietly waited for the answer from the other end.

He didn't expect Ye Zhiyu to reply without even thinking:

"Stockholm syndrome, a very rare kind of psychological disorder."

"Rare?" Yu Dazhang expressed doubt:

"Both of them have come down with this psychological disorder—I don't see what's rare about it."

If it were just one person, he wouldn't object to calling it "rare."

But in that basement, the success rate was a hundred percent—however you looked at it, it had nothing to do with the word "rare."

"You can only say the suspect used the right method."

Ye Zhiyu explained:

"People can be tamed, whether you're willing to admit it or not—that's a fact."

"As long as the right method is found, any person or animal can potentially be domesticated into a controllable tool."

"Look at those military training programs abroad…"

The moment Yu Dazhang heard him use that as an example, goosebumps instantly rose all over his body.

"Stop, stop, stop talking nonsense."

He found that Ye Zhiyu was fine in every way, except that sometimes he spoke without thinking.

Some things couldn't be said even in private—if it became a habit, it would affect one's career.

"Fine, fine, fine, you're right." Ye Zhiyu didn't argue with him either and continued explaining:

"There's no particularly good way to treat this condition. Either the psychiatry or psychology department will do, but it requires long-term recuperation and psychotherapy."

So it is treatable… Yu Dazhang knew Ye Zhiyu well enough to know he liked to hold back thirty percent.

"I'll give you an address, come over right now."

Yu Dazhang said in a serious tone:

"I can't wait for long-term treatment. I need their statements urgently—you must have a way."

(End of chapter)