Chapter 327 — Running Into a Thief
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Wei Zhao went straight down to the basement. Once inside, he saw row upon row of cells fenced off with iron bars, like a prison. Some cells had people sitting in them, some did not, but as Wei Zhao passed, hardly any of them looked up at him; each wore the same dejected, hollowed-out look.
These, presumably, were all people the Water Blue Gang had seized under various pretexts, waiting for their families and friends to pay ransom and buy them back.
Still, the Water Blue Gang was brazen enough — running an extortion racket like this in broad daylight. The public order here had evidently sunk to a certain depth of chaos.
"Xie Jinbiao?" Wei Zhao could not be bothered to search cell by cell. He simply called out Xie Jinbiao's name.
"Here, here!" A man in one of the cages scrambled eagerly to his feet, walked to the edge of the cage, and waved at Wei Zhao.
Wei Zhao nodded and walked over quickly. The other hostages were plainly used to such scenes by now; not one of them raised his head.
Whoever's family sent the money, that person would be called by name and released; everyone else, no matter what, could not get out. So they treated Wei Zhao's arrival with complete indifference.
"You're Xie Jinbiao?" Wei Zhao looked him over and found him very different from the photo Xie Guangbo had given him. In the photo, Xie Jinbiao was strong and upright; the man before him looked like a walking invalid, thin as a monkey. Still, on close inspection one could tell it was the same person.
"Yes, that's me. Has my father wired the money?" Xie Jinbiao was a little excited. He had thought this time he was as good as dead; he had not expected his father to find a way after all.
Xie Jinbiao had a rough idea of how much his family was worth, but this time the debt was simply too great. He reckoned that even if his father borrowed, he could not borrow that much money, and so he had already half given up hope...
Wei Zhao picked the lock of the iron cage open with a piece of wire, and let Xie Jinbiao out. "Come with me."
Xie Jinbiao hurried to follow cautiously behind Wei Zhao. He was so beside himself with excitement that he had not caught the motion of Wei Zhao opening the door with a wire, and still assumed Wei Zhao was a genuine member of the Water Blue Gang.
Only once they were out the building's main door did Xie Jinbiao, seeing that Wei Zhao said nothing, ask again: "Where's my father? Can I go now?"
"Put this on. Don't say anything foolish. Just follow me!" Wei Zhao set the baseball cap he had taken from the underling onto Xie Jinbiao's head. "If you don't want to die, don't ask so many questions!"
"Huh? You... who are you?" Xie Jinbiao was no fool. Seeing Wei Zhao put the cap on him, he now had a vague sense that something was wrong.
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