With Xiao Ye's wit, she must have placed the other end of the eavesdropping device on the group of kidnappers.
Unfortunately, Ye Qi's eavesdropping device card has a distance limit; the maximum eavesdropping range is 500 meters. At this moment, there was no sound from the eavesdropping device, indicating that Ye Qi was located more than 500 meters away.
Yu Hanjiang put the eavesdropping device in his ear, started the car, and while searching around the town, he called Shao Qingge: " CEO Shao, can you get in touch with Xiao Ye?"
Shao Qingge's voice carried a hint of helplessness: " We can't get through to him via Telepathic Connection. He should still be unconscious."
"Where are you?" Yu Hanjiang glanced at his watch. It was already 9:30 p.m., and there were only two and a half hours left before the "ransom payment at midnight" mentioned in the WeChat group. Time was running out.
"It will be more than an hour before we reach Qingshui Town." Shao Qingge had already sped up to the highway speed limit; any faster and he would be stopped by the traffic police. He was very anxious.
"Don't move when we arrive. Listen to my instructions. I'm currently locating Ye Qi and the others," Yu Hanjiang whispered.
"Investigate their location?" Shao Qingge was taken aback and asked, " Captain Yu, do you have a way to find their exact location?"
" Xiao Lou's drone captured the kidnappers' license plate number, and with the help of the local police, I've located the black van. There was no one in the van, so they must have been moved. Luckily, Ye Qi left a clue in the van, and I have his eavesdropping device," Yu Hanjiang explained. "I'm currently driving around Qingshui Town searching extensively. As long as I hear a sound, I can pinpoint their location within a 500-meter radius."
" Did Ye Qi leave an eavesdropping device?" Shao Qingge gripped the steering wheel tightly, feeling a pang of self-reproach. The fact that Ye Qi left an eavesdropping device proved that Xiao Ye was conscious when he was tied up. But Shao Qingge was asleep at the time, and Ye Qi might have used the Telepathic Connection but didn't receive a response from Shao Qingge. That's why he left an eavesdropping device in an emergency, placing his hopes on Yu Hanjiang.
If he hadn't slept in today, he might have discovered Ye Qi's kidnapping immediately.
"I got a new phone, but I've found my phone number. Please call me if you need anything," Yu Hanjiang said.
"Okay." Shao Qingge took a deep breath, ignoring the self-reproach in his heart, and said, " Captain Yu, be careful, we'll get there as soon as possible."
After hanging up the phone, Shao Qingge slammed on the gas pedal.
With a powerful surge of acceleration, the white sports car sped away like lightning on the highway—
At this moment, Xiao Lou remained sitting quietly on the ground, motionless.
It was pitch black in front of him, and he couldn't determine the exact time and place.
He and Lao Mo were connected via Telepathic Connection, and now that they've both been kidnapped, he needs to find a way to contact his teammates outside. However, his card abilities don't refresh until midnight, and besides, his hands are bound, making it impossible to activate the card …
The only option is to wait for the card skill to refresh and then try to activate Qin Guan's Telepathic Connection to establish a connection with Yu Hanjiang.
What time is it now?
He was all alone in the quiet space. He kept trying to contact Lao Mo, but Lao Mo didn't respond.
I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly, a hoarse voice rang in my mind: " Professor Xiao?"
Xiao Lou was shocked and immediately asked, "Old Mo, what's the situation on your end?"
Old Mo woke up groggily, momentarily disoriented. But the darkness before him and his bound hands quickly made him realize his current situation—he had been kidnapped.
Old Mo explained with a wry smile, " Ye Qi and I were wandering around the hotel at noon, trying to see if any suspicious people were coming in or out. Not long after, we saw Grandpa Zhong being escorted into the hotel. We hid around a corner to observe, but then someone attacked me from behind. I quickly lost consciousness, as if I had been shot with an anesthetic."
His experience was similar to Xiao Lou's; the other party had a professional anesthetic gun that could instantly incapacitate an adult.
Xiao Lou asked, " Is Ye Qi with you? What's your surroundings like?"
"Xiao Ye wasn't with me. My eyes were covered, so I couldn't see or hear anything, but I kicked the ground just now and heard an echo. It felt like I was locked in a secret room."
Is the ground paved with cement?
"Yes, it must be cement," Old Mo said confidently. He was very sensitive to the quality of building materials. Cement floors have a different temperature and a different gloss than wooden boards and tiles. His bottom was right next to the cold cement floor, which made the old man shiver.
"Has anyone come in?" Xiao Lou wanted to know more details.
"I don't know. I just woke up, and then I heard you calling me in my head." Old Mo frowned, looking worried. "Have I been kidnapped? Professor Xiao, where are you?"
"I've been kidnapped too, and I'm probably locked up in the same place as you, but in a different room." Xiao Lou paused, then comforted him, "Don't worry, we have teammates outside, they'll find a way to rescue us. Lao Mo, we need to stay in touch. If we lose contact, that's when the 12 o'clock card skill refreshes, and I need to keep track of that exact time."
"Understood," Old Mo said understandingly. "After the skills are refreshed, you can try to contact Captain Yu, right?"
"Well, I hope he hasn't been kidnapped," Xiao Lou said helplessly. "If Captain Yu has also been kidnapped, we'll try to reunite and escape together. For now, let's not make any rash moves."
"
OK."
Old Mo and Xiao Lou simply started discussing the case through a mental connection.
****
Yu Hanjiang drove around Qingshui Town three times, not even missing the most deserted dead ends, but the eavesdropping device remained completely silent.
There are two possibilities: either Ye Qi and the other two were taken to a place far away from Qingshui Town, beyond the 500-meter range of the eavesdropping device, where they couldn't hear anything; or Ye Qi placed the eavesdropping device on the kidnapper, and the person carrying the eavesdropping device didn't make any sound.
It's unlikely that it would make no sound at all; at the very least, walking would produce footsteps.
Therefore, it is more likely that Ye Qi and his group are not in Qingshui Town at this time.
As it got later and later, Yu Hanjiang's phone rang again: " Captain Yu, we've arrived." Shao Qingge sent him a location via WeChat; the four of them had just exited the highway and were parked in a remote suburb.
Yu Hanjiang said, "Wait for me where you are, I'll come and meet you right away."
He quickly drove to the location where Shao Qingge had posted the message. Shao Qingge got out of the car, walked briskly to Yu Hanjiang, and anxiously asked, " What are the results of the eavesdropping device investigation? Have you narrowed down the scope?"
"Not very optimistic." Yu Hanjiang's face was extremely cold. "Xiao Ye's eavesdropping device can only hear sounds from 500 meters away. They may have been taken to a place far away from Qingshui Town. I've circled the town several times, but I can't hear any movement from the eavesdropping device."
"What should we do? Time is almost up." Shao Qingge frowned and looked down at his watch.
— At 23:30, only half an hour remained until the agreed-upon 24:00.
Just then, another message popped up in the WeChat group.
Xiao Lou typed: "Tonight at midnight, Xishan Cemetery. Don't be late. All five of you must come together, not one less. Otherwise, you will immediately see the corpses of these three friends."
Yu Hanjiang immediately replied: "I need to confirm the safety of these three people. Let me speak with them."
The other party said, "No need for the call. Let me show you, they're still alive!"
Three photos were sent to the group chat.
Xiao Lou and Lao Mo were both blindfolded and had their hands tightly bound behind their backs, sitting on the ground; Xiao Ye was huddled unconscious in a corner like a shrimp. The three of them were locked in three separate rooms, which had no windows or lights and were like dark basements, making it impossible to tell where they were.
Looking at Xiao Lou in the photo, Yu Hanjiang felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Fortunately, Xiao Lou didn't appear to have any external injuries, so he probably wasn't beaten or abused. Yu Hanjiang took a deep breath and said in the group chat, "See you at Xishan Cemetery at midnight. Money on delivery, person on hand."
The other party said, "Don't call the police. If any other police officers besides Captain Yu are found at the scene, you will immediately see video footage of these three friends being dismembered. Understand?"
"..." Yu Hanjiang almost threw his phone in anger.
"Understood, we will cooperate as much as possible." He suppressed his anger and calmly finished typing.
"Great, see you there." The other party replied using Xiao Lou's phone.
Yu Hanjiang put away his phone and looked up at his four teammates: "Xiao Ye, Lao Mo, and Xiao Lou's phones have all been taken over by them. They saw our chat history in the WeChat group and know that we have a lot of information. Their goal is to lure us in with a ransom and then—wipe us out."
"So, they demanded that all five of us go together to deliver the ransom. If we actually go, it's like walking into a trap." Shao Qingge's face was grim, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "I believe that if we don't meet their demands, these beasts will immediately film a video of three people being dismembered and send it to us on Xiao Lou's phone."
"..." Liu Qiao, Long Sen, and Qu Wanyue all shivered at the same time.
Thinking of the kidneyless corpses they had seen in the hospital, and then of the dismembered images of Xiao Lou, Xiao Ye, and Lao Mo, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, as if a cold wind was rising from their feet to their very core.
This is the biggest crisis their team has ever faced. If not handled properly, Xiao Lou and the other two might really be torn to pieces!
"Damn it!" Long Sen couldn't help but swear. "If the five of us go together, we'll likely walk right into a trap and get arrested as a group. And Professor Xiao and the others definitely aren't at Xishan Cemetery! Shouldn't we leave someone behind to rescue them?"
If all five go together, they'll all be wiped out. If they split up and fail to meet the enemy's demands, Xiao Lou and the other two could be killed.
Moreover, even if the five of them could defeat these people in a direct confrontation, using force would only endanger Xiao Lou and the other two if they went to Xishan Cemetery together without rescuing them.
With their teammates still in the hands of the kidnappers, wouldn't the five of them have to behave themselves if they went to Xishan Cemetery?
If they're all arrested, wouldn't we be doomed?!
For a moment, everyone was caught in a dilemma.
Suddenly, Liu Qiao said, "I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work."
Yu Hanjiang turned to look at her: "You say it."
Liu Qiao took out a card and said, "My [ Twin ] card can copy anyone I've seen within the last half hour. I'll pretend to be Captain Yu, then summon Little Red Riding Hood to impersonate me. That way, we'll have five people in the car." She paused and added, " Little Red Riding Hood will follow me the whole time, so at least on the surface, our five-person team will be complete."
Qu Wanyue's eyes lit up: "That's a great idea! Xiao Liu can impersonate Captain Yu, and Captain Yu can then find a way to rescue people!"
Yu Hanjiang asked, "The time you spent pretending to be someone, and the time Little Red Riding Hood existed?"
How long were they respectively?
The Twin card, Liu Qiao originally played in Spade 4. Liuxi Village used it, and later she even impersonated a shark in the World Weekly Routine. She rarely used it in subsequent dungeons, and Yu Hanjiang is also unaware of her card situation.
Liu Qiao said, "I can impersonate Captain Yu for an hour, and Little Red Riding Hood can follow me indefinitely as long as I don't take it back."
Little Red Riding Hood is Liu Qiao's fairytale card. It can stay with its owner forever, like a little follower who can't speak.
Yu Hanjiang thought for a moment and then nodded decisively: "Okay, let's do it this way."
Liu Qiao used the twin card. Soon, a twin of Yu Hanjiang appeared before everyone, identical in height, appearance, and even voice. Then, Liu Qiao summoned Little Red Riding Hood, tidied the little girl's clothes, and Qu Wanyue helped to style Little Red Riding Hood's hair with the same style as Liu Qiao's. From a distance, it really did look like Liu Qiao following behind Yu Hanjiang.
I should be able to get through in the dark without any problem.
Yu Hanjiang looked at Liu Qiao approvingly: "Try to speak as little as possible to avoid arousing suspicion."
Liu Qiao, disguised as Yu Hanjiang, nodded in the same voice: "Don't worry, Captain Yu, I will try my best to imitate your tone of voice."
Shao Qingge turned to Yu Hanjiang and said, "The five of us will go to Xishan Cemetery now to pay the ransom and act accordingly. The rescue of them... is up to you, Hanjiang."
This is the first time Shao Qingge has called Yu Hanjiang by his name. After knowing him for so long, he has always called him CEO Shao or Captain Yu, which feels very distant.
But at this moment, Yu Hanjiang saw a hint of determination and trust in Shao Qingge's eyes.
They are brothers who have been through thick and thin together.
Shao Qingge extended his hand, and Yu Hanjiang also extended his hand. The two held hands tightly, giving each other some encouragement.
This organization possesses a large number of firearms, and its members are cold-blooded and brutal.
No one knows whether they will come back alive.
Shao Qingge and his group face the risk of being wiped out and all silenced. Yu Hanjiang, on the other hand, might face the despair of not being able to find Xiao Lou's hiding place, thus leading to the annihilation of his teammates.
Yu Hanjiang turned his head to look at the distant sky.
The dark night sky was dotted with stars. They were currently located directly north of Qingshui Town, about a 20-minute drive from Xishan Cemetery.
Liu Qiao can impersonate Yu Hanjiang for up to an hour.
The real Yu Hanjiang only has this one hour to search for Xiao Lou.
Yu Hanjiang turned around without hesitation, waved to his teammates, and said calmly, "Don't worry, I will bring them back safe and sound... If the operation fails, I will die with you."