Chapter 328: Not Found
Chapter 328: Chapter 328: Not Found
Still, the more one thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed.
It was one thing for those vines to protect Gu Xinsheng from the sniper, but could they really have gone and choked the sniper unconscious?
’Have these vines become sentient or something?’
Gu Xinsheng coughed lightly. "Perhaps someone was helping us in secret. In any case, what matters is that we caught him."
"Yes, sir." Su Hao found it strange but didn’t dwell on it. All that mattered was that the man was caught.
"What’s the current situation at the plantation?" Gu Xinsheng didn’t dwell on the issue. After having his men take Brother Qi and his group away, he asked again.
"Reporting to the Chief! Most of the violent criminals in the plantation have been captured. A few who resisted stubbornly were killed on the spot. We’ve rescued a total of two hundred eighty-three people. It’s just..." Su Hao snapped to attention to report, his face twisting with anger as he spoke of the rescued victims’ tragic condition.
’These bastards here are animals, not men. They tortured these people so horrifically... it’s hard to say if they’ll even survive.’
"Just what?" Gu Xinsheng demanded.
"Chief, you’d better see for yourself," Su Hao said, his voice low. "Their condition is just too tragic."
"Let’s go." Gu Xinsheng started to walk as soon as he heard this. When he saw Su Qing following, he considered that the scene was likely too gruesome for a young woman to witness. He turned to Su Qing and said, "Qingqing, you and your friends shouldn’t go in. I’ll have Liu Peng and Captain Qiao wait outside with you."
"Uncle Gu, I have to go take a look," Su Qing said. "An elder of mine went missing a while back. I don’t know if she’s among these people, so I need to check."
"Hmm?" This was the first Gu Xinsheng had heard of it.
Qiao Wensong, who was standing nearby, quickly chimed in, "Yes, that’s right. That elder of Su Qing’s went missing in Yun Province some time ago."
Gu Xinsheng glanced at Cheng Beilin and Du Haoran beside Su Qing, and it all clicked. ’So that’s why Su Qing went to Yun Province. No wonder she got involved in this case. I never would have thought she’d actually find these criminals’ den!’
But when he thought about the process, Gu Xinsheng still felt a wave of residual fear. He said, "Alright, then let’s go see it together."
Gu Xinsheng didn’t say more for the time being. Firstly, there were too many people around. Secondly, he had to let Su Qing keep up appearances in front of her friends.
Though she had already seen the victims’ tragic condition, looking upon them again still ignited a towering inferno of rage in Su Qing’s heart.
"Damn it, these people are nothing but animals!" Liu Peng swore, unable to contain his anger as he took in the scene.
Qiao Wensong frowned and said to Gu Xinsheng, "Chief, we have a tricky problem. Most of these people, especially the ringleaders, are from Xiangcheng. They’ll probably have to be extradited. According to our investigation, they’re members of the Xiangcheng Gang. Those gangs are said to have influence in both the criminal world and with the authorities in Xiangcheng. If they’re sent back, and some loophole is exploited, I’m afraid they won’t be punished at all."
’The thought of that outcome is enough to make me sick!’
It would be a disservice to all their hard work making the arrests, and more importantly, an injustice to the people who were tortured to within an inch of their lives.
"Yes. I will do my best to coordinate on this," Gu Xinsheng said. He felt the same as Qiao Wensong; the thought of these men being returned to Xiangcheng only to evade punishment would make his blood boil. However, many things were out of his hands. He could only do his best.
Su Qing, listening from the side, grew pensive. She narrowed her eyes, her mind clearly working on something.
Su Qing made a full circuit of the area with Gu Xinsheng’s group but found no trace of Wang Xuehong. Her heart sank. Wang Xuehong had been missing for over two months; it was highly probable she had been brought here. Given her captors’ methods, an ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to hold out for long. It looked like the situation was likely worse than she feared.
But no matter what, she had to find out what happened to Wang Xuehong.
After the group emerged from the wooden huts, Cheng Beilin whispered to Su Qing, "I don’t know the specifics, but it’s common knowledge that those gangs in Xiangcheng have their hands in everything, both legitimate and illegitimate."
Su Qing nodded and whispered back, "By the way, I heard from Brother Cheng that your kidnapping was likely the work of someone who hired the gang. Do you know who it was?"
Cheng Beilin gritted her teeth at the question. "I can’t be certain, but there’s one person I think is very likely. It’s just a pity that Brother Qi refuses to talk. No matter how I questioned him, he wouldn’t say who was behind it."
"Who do you suspect?" Su Qing asked.
"An Zhiwei," Cheng Beilin said angrily. "We’ve never gotten along. We got into another argument at a banquet last month, so I suspect she’s the one who hired them."
"The An Family!" Du Haoran said in surprise. He was on good terms with An Zhihan but didn’t know the other family members well. Still, he was aware of the An Family’s various feuds and said angrily, "As I thought, none of the others in the An Family are any good!"
At the same time, Du Haoran grew anxious. "If these men are really extradited back to Xiangcheng, they’ll be even less willing to name the mastermind."
"Hmph. It’s not up to him," Su Qing said with a cold snort.
"Qingqing, you have a plan?" Cheng Beilin’s eyes lit up when she heard that.
"Mhm. Don’t worry, I’ll get him to talk," Su Qing said with a nod.
Cheng Beilin was overjoyed. "That’s great! Thank you, Qingqing."
Su Qing gently patted Cheng Beilin’s hand, then turned to Gu Xinsheng. "Uncle Gu, I’d like to see the one called Brother Qi. I want to ask him a few things."
Though Su Qing and her friends had spoken in low voices, Gu Xinsheng had caught the gist of it. He hadn’t realized this friend of Su Qing’s was from Xiangcheng or that this involved some personal feud.
After a moment’s thought, Gu Xinsheng nodded. "I’ll have Liu Peng bring him to an empty wooden hut. You can go ask your questions there."
Liu Peng had told Gu Xinsheng about Su Qing’s skills. Plus, now that everyone had been captured, there was no longer any danger. So, Gu Xinsheng was comfortable letting Su Qing leave his side.
"Thank you, Uncle Gu," Su Qing said with a wide smile.
Brother Qi had been scared half to death by the vines Su Qing controlled earlier. Then he was captured. Before he could even recover from the shock, he was brought to an empty hut. As soon as he walked in, he saw Su Qing and her friends waiting for him. A sense of dread washed over him, and he immediately yelled, "I’m from Xiangcheng! You have no right to deal with me! By law, I should be extradited back to Xiangcheng! Any questions should be asked by the Xiangcheng police department!"
"Thanks, Brother Liu." Su Qing completely ignored Brother Qi’s yelling and thanked Liu Peng.
Liu Peng nodded at Su Qing and left the hut.
This made Brother Qi panic even more. He still remembered the way Su Qing had kicked the other man. "You... What are you going to do?"