Chapter 37 — Who Kills Whom?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
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"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...
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