Chapter 37 — Who Kills Whom?

...

"All you can do is curse at women. What kind of skill is that?" Wei Zhao curled his lip and looked at the bald man. "Hey, baldy, robbing the bank wasn't your real goal, was it? The bank job was just a cover. Your real target was Gu Mengyao, wasn't it?"

"Hmph. So what if you figured it out? You're still my prisoner, aren't you?" By now the bald man had no reason to deny it. As he saw it, this poser Wei Zhao was a fish on his chopping block, to be done with as he pleased; there was no harm in letting him know his purpose. So what if he told him?

"You won't get far. The police will follow you, and then they'll wipe you out," Wei Zhao said, looking at the bald man with a touch of pity.

"Impossible. I planned my escape route long ago," the bald man said smugly. "The cops are probably running in circles by now, heh heh. There's more than one van like this, you know."

"Is that so?" Wei Zhao actually felt a flicker of admiration for the bald man—he had some brains, at least, wasn't a total fool. But none of it mattered. His worst move had been letting Wei Zhao into the van, and that alone doomed this operation to failure.

Meanwhile, Qiu Lingshan gripped the walkie-talkie tensely, keeping in constant contact with every squad.

"Captain Song, this is Liu Wangli of the First Squad. We've spotted the Hyundai van with plate Song A74110. Requesting instructions." Liu Wangli's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Follow them. Be careful and cautious—don't let them notice you," Qiu Lingshan ordered.

"Understood." With that, Liu Wangli told the driver to start the car.

Qiu Lingshan breathed a sigh of relief. Hmph, no matter how clever you are, you never imagined I'd have watchers posted at every intersection, did you? Let's see where you run this time. She was still gloating when another report came over the radio.

"Captain Song, this is Zhang Xiaohang, captain of the Second Squad. We've spotted the Hyundai van with plate Song A74110. Requesting instructions."

"What?" Qiu Lingshan was stunned. Then: "Where did you see it?"

"On Central Ring Road. Requesting instructions," Zhang Xiaohang said.

"Central Ring Road? That's not right—Liu Wangli of the First Squad saw it on Weimin Road earlier." Qiu Lingshan was baffled. How was the kidnapper driving? Had he circled around and come back? Still, she ordered: "Follow them. Whatever you do, don't let them notice you."

"Understood." Zhang Xiaohang carried out Qiu Lingshan's order.

"Captain Song? This is Sun Jiaxia of the Third Squad. We've spotted the Hyundai van with plate Song A74110. Please advise." Sun Jiaxia's voice came over the walkie-talkie.

"You saw it too?" Qiu Lingshan's head throbbed. In that instant she realized sharply that they might have been tricked—the other side had probably deployed more than one vehicle bearing the 74110 plate. They had played right into the enemy's hands. Qiu Lingshan was about to die of rage.

To be strung along by these kidnappers like this—Qiu Lingshan was furious. If only Captain Yang were here; he would have seen through their scheme at a glance. And she, she had fallen for it just like that. How humiliating.

The voice of the Fourth Squad's captain came over the radio again. Before he could finish, Qiu Lingshan asked, "Did you spot the Hyundai van with plate Song A74110?"

"Yes, Captain Song. You're amazing—we've seen the Hyundai van with plate Song A74110. What now?" the Fourth Squad captain asked.

"Follow it." Qiu Lingshan felt like she was falling apart. She could now be almost certain that after the first and second 74110s were tailed by her own people, the kidnappers had used those two roads to slip away. By now they were surely long gone...

...

"Why kidnap?" Wei Zhao narrowed his eyes. He was eager to know what this man wanted with Gu Mengyao. If it were simply money, this bank robbery had already netted no less than a million—did they mean to extort Gu Pengzhan with her as well? That was a dangerous game; more likely than not, the extortion would fail and the police would catch them instead.

"Why? Good question." The bald man curled his lip and pointed at the sacks of cash on the floor. "Simple. Money."

"Money?" Wei Zhao frowned. "A kidnapping? Using her to threaten Gu Mengyao's father, and then making him pay a ransom?"

"That's none of your business." The bald man, annoyed that Wei Zhao was asking far too many questions, said sourly.

"No harm in telling me. At least I should die knowing why, shouldn't I?" Wei Zhao's expression now seemed terribly curious, so innocent it was hard to refuse.

The bald man looked at Wei Zhao and thought, no harm in telling the brat; I'll have to kill him sooner or later anyway. So he said, "Someone paid us to kidnap the girl."

"Kidnap her and then what?" Wei Zhao asked.

"They haven't said yet. We're waiting for a call," the bald man said.

"And who told you to kidnap her?" Wei Zhao pressed.

"Don't know. Brother Cihua set it up," the bald man said.

"Who's Brother Cihua?" Wei Zhao asked again.

"Damn you, kid, why so many questions? Motherfucker—ask one more and I'll kill you." The bald man, worn out by Wei Zhao's interrogation, cursed him out.

"Oh, all right then. Don't move, or I'll kill you." A gun suddenly appeared in Wei Zhao's hand, pressed in an instant against the bald man's temple.

"You... you..." The bald man's eyes bulged. Would someone please tell him what the hell was going on? Weren't the kid's hands tied? How did he still have a gun?

Inside the van, the other kidnappers were frozen in shock, unable to make sense of it—Wei Zhao had a gun to their leader's head.

"You... you... how did you get the rope off?" The bald man couldn't figure it out. And truly, he couldn't: weren't Wei Zhao's hands both bound together?

"Oh, I was a clumsy kid. When I played cat's cradle, I'd always end up tying my own hands into a dead knot, and after a while I learned to undo it myself," Wei Zhao said.

"Unbelievable." The bald man's jaw dropped. That worked too? Cat's cradle could make you that good? Still, he was astonished: "Then how do you have a gun?"

"Lifted it off that Ma Liu." Wei Zhao jerked his chin at Ma Liu, who was nearest to him.

Ma Liu instinctively patted his trouser pocket and gave a start. His gun was indeed gone. It seemed it really had ended up in Wei Zhao's hands.

This time the bald man was completely speechless. He was convinced. What kind of game was this? The kid was too damn good. In his heart, though, he cursed Ma Liu's ancestors for eighteen generations.

"All right, nobody move. Your leader's head may look nice and smooth and shiny, but one bullet and it'll basically explode." Wei Zhao spoke lightly, but the bald man couldn't help shivering.

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