Just as he was thinking this, the car suddenly braked, almost throwing Zhang Liunian out.
"What's going on?" Zhang Liunian sat up and looked ahead. He saw a banner being held up, signaling roadwork or something similar, and the car couldn't pass.
Zhang Qian was also unaware of the situation. He got out to inquire and returned a moment later, saying that something had happened on this road and it needed repairs, so cars could not proceed.
"If we don't change direction, we'll have to walk," Zhang Qian said to Zhang Liunian in the car, looking at the blocked road.
"How far to the precinct?" Zhang Liunian asked expressionlessly.
"About half an hour on foot," Zhang Qian estimated, having been to the area before.
"Alright, we'll walk," Zhang Liunian grabbed his things and got out of the car, deciding to walk.
"What about this car?" Zhang Qian couldn't rest assured leaving Brother Liunian alone. But this car was provided to them by Mr. Xue, so they couldn't just leave it here.
"Park it to the side. We can drive it back when we return."
"Okay."
After parking the car, Zhang Liunian and Zhang Qian continued on. Unbeknownst to them, after they left, the group of people who had been blocking the road stopped their actions. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, sent his subordinate to notify their boss.
Zhang Liunian didn't notice any of this. They were currently heading towards the precinct. As they walked, they encountered another incident.
The location was at a three-way intersection. They were about to cross the road when, to Zhang Liunian's left, a crying child was being forcibly held by a human trafficker and pushed into a car. 138 Reading Network
"Bad guys, bad guys..." The child seemed to be only five or six years old and could only say "bad guys."
What was critical was that at this moment, apart from them being the closest and hearing the commotion, no one else noticed this incident.
Zhang Qian immediately became anxious, cursing, "May human traffickers die a horrible death," and rushed towards them.
Zhang Liunian didn't stop him. He also charged forward. His speed was much faster than Zhang Qian's. In just a couple of strides, he overtook Zhang Qian. But just as he was about to get close to the trafficker, he suddenly saw the trafficker look back at him and smile.
Smiled?
Shouldn't the trafficker's first reaction be panic upon seeing someone discover his crime? Why would he smile?
Zhang Liunian instantly sensed something was wrong and slowed his pace. However, he had been moving too fast, and even slowing down couldn't stop his forward momentum.
The result was a sharp intake of breath, and his brain registered the pain from his thigh.
Zhang Liunian's thigh was suddenly injured, forcing him to stop. He looked down and saw that a very thin wire had cut his right leg. If he hadn't slowed down, he might have lost his leg then and there.
Zhang Liunian broke out in a cold sweat. He turned and quickly called out to Zhang Qian to stop.
"Don't come any closer!"
But Zhang Qian was already there. Upon hearing this, he couldn't stop himself either. Just as he was about to fall victim, Zhang Liunian pulled him at the critical moment, and they both fell to the ground.
"What happened?" Zhang Qian, having fallen, ignored the scrapes on his hands, propped himself up, and looked confused.
What happened?
Why did Brother Liunian suddenly stop, and why didn't he want him to come closer?
Why had he pulled him with such force just now, causing them to fall together?
"There's fine wire ahead, it's deadly," Zhang Liunian, who had fallen beside him, replied with a pale face when he heard his question.
"What? Wire?" Zhang Qian was stunned and quickly looked ahead. He truly saw a very taut, thin wire stretched across. If they hadn't paid attention, they would have been crippled.
The thought of being crippled made him tremble all over.
Who put this wire here? What a malicious mind! How many people could this harm?
"Who has nothing better to do than to tie wire here? I curse them to die a horrible death, to fall into a cesspit while using the toilet..." Zhang Qian was truly scared. He got up and let loose a torrent of curses.
Zhang Liunian sat up and tore off a piece of cloth from himself to tie around his leg, which had almost been sliced open.
When Zhang Qian finished cursing, he turned and saw Zhang Liunian injured. He immediately became anxious. He hadn't noticed Brother Liunian was injured just now. If he had, he wouldn't have rushed over. He bent down and looked at Zhang Liunian anxiously, saying, "Brother Liunian, you're injured. Let's go to the hospital quickly. Sister-in-law specifically told me not to let anything happen to you. You mustn't scare me!"
Zhang Liunian smiled dismissively, "It's nothing serious, just a minor injury."
"What minor injury? This wire is so thin, it might have severed your leg. Let's turn back now and go to the clinic to check the situation."
Zhang Qian didn't believe he was fine. Having been with him for so long, he knew his Brother Liunian too well. Whenever anything happened or he got injured, he would just say he was fine.
He clearly remembered several times before when he had nearly died, but in his words, it was "nothing."
He didn't believe his Brother Liunian when he said he was fine.
Thinking of this, Zhang Qian unceremoniously helped Zhang Liunian up and prepared to leave.
However, after taking just one step, he remembered the human trafficker. He turned to look and saw the trafficker still standing there, beating the child. The child seemed to have fainted and was motionless.
Seeing this, Zhang Qian immediately shouted, "You damn beast, put the child down."
Hearing the voice, the trafficker looked up. Not only was he not flustered, but he provocatively said, "It's my own child, what business is it of yours? Get lost."
Although he said that, his malicious smile seemed to say, "You can't control this, can you?"
Zhang Qian was furious at his words. He let go of Zhang Liunian and was about to charge towards him, but Zhang Liunian stopped him.
"Brother Liunian, this person is a human trafficker. I must go and rescue that child," Zhang Qian said anxiously, turning back when he realized he was being held.
"He's not a human trafficker. If he were, he would have left by now instead of waiting for us to approach. They're acting." Zhang Liunian had stopped because he sensed something was wrong with this person. It was precisely because of his vigilance that his legs weren't lost.
"What? They're acting?" Zhang Qian's mouth widened in surprise, unable to believe Zhang Liunian's words.
How did a child abduction case suddenly turn into an act?
However, Brother Liunian was right. If that person were a trafficker, he wouldn't still be standing here waiting for them, nor would he provoke them.
"Why are they acting?" Zhang Qian asked dazedly.
"Of course, they want to plot against us. Let's go," Zhang Liunian replied in a low voice. He turned to leave, but then he saw a group of people appear out of nowhere behind them.
The leader was none other than Zhu Laosi.