"I think I was knocked down behind a factory," Wen Yonghong said, touching his forehead. "I don't remember anything else."
"Hmm. Do you remember the date it happened?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"October twenty-third. I was hit when I went home to get clothes on Friday."
"Friday?" Guo Xuyang repeated.
No wonder. This explains why Brother Jun didn't arrange for anyone to take the person away. Because he reported for duty on Thursday. He knocked out Brother Jiang in a bar that night.
"Where is your home?"
"My home is in Huanran Community."
"Can you walk now?"
"I should be able to."
"Alright, you call the police now. This should involve a major human trafficking case. Leave after the police arrive." Guo Xuyang said as he set the middle-aged man's arm back in place.
Then he used rope to tie his arms and legs together. At the same time, he took out the man's phone, had the man unlock it, and handed it to Wen Yonghong.
"Don't tell the police I was here, and don't say anything about me. Make the call now. This is Unit 1, Apartment 101, Building 5, Huayuan Community."
After Wen Yonghong finished his call, he hypnotized the two men, making them completely forget about him, and then left the room. He waited in the community until the police arrived and entered the room before leaving.
While Xiao Yu was still surveying the scene, she received a call from the bureau saying that the last missing person had been found.
She hurried back to the bureau and was surprised to find that the missing woman was unharmed. She asked the woman detailed questions about her situation.
"What's your name?"
"Wen Yonghong."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty years old this year."
"Where do you live?"
"Huanran Community, Maicheng."
"Tell me what happened."
"After school on the afternoon of October twenty-third, I went home to get warmer clothes. I was grabbed and fell behind a dilapidated factory, then I was knocked unconscious."
"How did you call the police?"
"I can't remember that. It seems like someone handed me a phone and asked me to call the police. I didn't know anything after that."
Xiao Yu knew she had encountered a master, someone elusive. She then interrogated the middle-aged man.
"Name?"
"Li Shiqi."
"Age?"
"Forty-six."
"What is your relationship with Wen Yonghong?"
"No relationship."
"How did she end up with you?"
"Someone delivered her."
"Who?"
"I don't know him."
"If you don't know him, why did you take in this woman?"
"They said she was Brother Jun's person. Brother Jun would arrange for someone to pick her up."
"Brother Jun? Who is Brother Jun?"
"I don't know him."
"If you don't know him, how do you know Brother Jun's people would pick her up? And how do you know the other party was Brother Jun's person?"
"This, this..."
Li Shiqi finally couldn't stand it and confessed everything.
It turned out that Li Shiqi was a local. He later received several houses and some money from demolition compensation, so he stopped working and lived off rent.
When people are idle, they develop more vices. He liked to play mahjong. At first, he bet a few hundred yuan without much thought. Later, he was led astray by someone with intentions, and the stakes became higher and higher. Sometimes, millions of yuan were won or lost in a single night. While he was happy when he won, he also got desperate when he lost.
Over time, he squandered all his houses and was left with a mountain of debt. To repay the money, he was drawn into human trafficking, selling women and children.
Because his house was in a secluded location and in an old neighborhood, people who couldn't be dealt with promptly were temporarily kept there under his care.
He only knew that Brother Jun operated in both the underworld and the legal circles, but he had never actually met the man. It was the same this time, and he didn't expect his nest to be raided.
"Brother Jun?" Xiao Yu muttered. "I wonder if this Brother Jun is *that* Brother Jun? If it is, this case might be difficult to handle."
She walked out of the interrogation room, made a phone call, and reported the events of the past two days and the information she had gathered to her superiors, requesting that a special task force be formed to handle the case. If the information collected in the past two days was true, this case was likely significant.
Her superiors took her report very seriously, urging her to prioritize her own safety and to ensure the safety of the two people at the bureau.
Wang Erkang learned about the situation as soon as Xiao Yu finished interrogating Li Shiqi. He couldn't believe his son was so audacious as to be involved in human trafficking.
But this was his only son. He couldn't just watch his son go to prison; he couldn't allow his lineage to end.
He made a swift decision, picked up his phone, and dialed.
"Go to the hospital now and take my son away, hide him first. Yes, no matter what, don't let anyone find him. Find a few reliable people to get rid of a few people here. Someone will cooperate with them then. Okay, no problem. If you handle this well, I'll double the agreed-upon amount."
Wang Erkang was preparing to go all the way, with no turning back. He had no other options now. Anyone who stood in his way would be eliminated.
The person on the other end of the phone smiled playfully after Wang Erkang hung up.
"He's desperate, isn't he? Well, as long as he gets through this, this underworld kingdom is still mine." He thought for a moment and picked up the phone.
"Find two capable individuals and go to the bureau. Be quick and clean. Regardless of success or failure, flee immediately. Be careful not to get caught."
After being outmaneuvered last time, he felt something was wrong. In all these years, he hadn't encountered such a formidable person who could break bones and cripple someone. He was still lying on the bed like a mummy, half-dead.
"Take the ** away. Where should I take him?" He pulled out his phone.
"Arrange for a large truck to go to the hospital to pick up a person. Yes, that's right. First, have the ambulance bring him out, then drive straight east, heading directly to the port. See if we can make it out to sea today? Yes, that's right. Make sure this person stays alive. Yes, go now."
"Whether you can escape depends on your own fate," he muttered.
He thought about how Wang Erkang, an ordinary person from a grassroots police station, had climbed step by step to his current position. If it weren't for him, Wang Erkang wouldn't be where he is today.
Of course, he had also received considerable benefits from Wang Erkang. He held a large share in the entertainment and catering businesses throughout the city.
Contentment brings happiness. He often told himself this. After all, he had enjoyed everything he deserved, with a family and several mistresses.
He owned properties in this city and others, and even abroad, he had several mistresses and children.
At this point in life, what else could he pursue?