Chapter 5: The Kidnapping Case in the County Town

Huya took out her phone and answered the call.

Her expression suddenly changed: "He left the boxing gym but hasn't gone home... Your house is just a few steps away, how could he still not be there after half an hour? ... All right, wait there, I'll be right over!"

"What happened?" Lin Xiaosu had already set one foot inside her own courtyard gate, but paused.

Huya replied, "A young student from the boxing gym left after class but hasn't returned home—he's missing."

The boxing gym she referred to was one she co-owned with someone else.

Why did she open it?

Huya simply loved fighting; she was good at nothing else.

"How old?"

"Ten!"

"A ten-year-old isn't that little; he knows how to go home. Maybe he's just wandering around the shops?"

"Hopefully, but the county town has been pretty strange lately. Just last week, another child disappeared—searched for a whole week and still not found. The parents raise hell at the school every day, the school is exhausted. No, I need to go check..."

"I'll go with you," said Lin Xiaosu.

"Let's go!" Huya dashed into her yard, rode out on a tiny electric scooter, and Lin Xiaosu hopped on behind her. The little scooter zipped out of the village toward Fengcheng.

Fengcheng was only an eighth-tier small county town, separated from Old Ta Mountain Village by a single mountain in theory, but the mountain was tall and broad, so from this tiny village, the town seemed impossibly far away.

To get from the little mountain village to the county town meant taking a detour via Shili Pu, quite a distance.

Luckily, in recent years, the "road to every village" project had been launched—even the remotest villages had smooth, hardened roads, making the electric scooter ride joyful.

Huya was anxious and sped along.

Lin Xiaosu was not; sitting behind Huya, arms around her waist, she admired the scenery along the way.

It was early spring, March.

The grass by the roadside was green, the willows tender. Underneath the willows, the Yichuan River shimmered, reflecting Ta Mountain.

Passing Ta Mountain Lake, they entered the southern part of the county town.

When Lin Xiaosu was a child, the southern district was desolate, just a suburban village. Now it was part of the county's map, growing busier and more prosperous by the day. This area was the handiwork of the previous high-ranking county official, Luo Gong, known as "Crazy Luo." Luo was brash and domineering, pushing through enormous pressure to expand the town threefold. How did he do it?

His famous saying was: "Yellow earth turns to gold, blank paper becomes silver."

What did he mean?

Turning yellow earth to gold—selling land.

Blank paper for silver—writing IOUs.

No matter what difficulties arose, he forced things forward regardless.

Such reckless methods drew much criticism—complaints everywhere. Some accused him of autocracy, others of womanizing, others of taking bribes from developers, one bribe per apartment. But as the southern district expanded and the small county town transformed, many began to reassess Crazy Luo, especially after he stepped down. Walking the broad southern avenue, people would sometimes sigh, "Crazy Luo really did something good."

Indeed, ordinary folk can't expect officials to be saints; as long as they accomplish things, bring real benefits, if they pocket a bit or indulge in some harmless fun, people complain, laugh, but feel it's not such a big deal...

Huya's boxing gym was in the southern district—recently developed, with cheap rent.

If she'd rented in the old commercial area, the rent would have been prohibitively expensive, beyond her means.

Arriving at the gym's entrance, they found a crowd gathered.

The gym's owner, Huya's partner Old Zhou, paced around smoking, two policemen were gathering information, and a young woman, sweating and restless, rushed over as soon as she saw Huya: "Teacher Li, I only sent my child here because of you. Now my child is missing, you must do something..."

"Don't worry, Wang, the police are here. We're searching..." Old Zhou flicked his cigarette and took over.

"So what's the situation?" Huya fixed her gaze on Old Zhou.

"It's really bizarre. We just finished a class, her kid was there, left as usual, but he simply vanished..." Old Zhou wiped his brow and explained.

Two more policemen arrived from the other side: "Captain Zhang, all four intersections have cameras. We've checked them all—didn't see the child pass by."

"What about vehicles?" The middle-aged captain's expression darkened.

This was the worst fear in missing person cases—a child carried into a vehicle in a blind spot, then spirited away.

Vehicles are highly mobile; any delay and they're lost in the sea of people.

"There were a lot of vehicles. We've already logged all the license plates passing through this area during that time, but tracking their exact movements will take time."

"Check! However long it takes, check!" The anxious mother, Wang, grabbed Captain Zhang's hand: "Officer, you must find my son. If my son is gone, I... I can't go on, I..."

Chaos ensued.

Lin Xiaosu gently patted Huya's shoulder: "Isn't there a camera at your gym entrance? Let me see the footage."

"But... it only captures up to ten meters from the door, not here."

"No matter, just show me."

Huya opened her phone, accessed the system, and rewound to an hour ago. Lin Xiaosu saw the boy she'd described—a cute, chubby child in a blue hoodie.

Now that she knew the child, the rest was easier...

Lin Xiaosu's eyes flickered—she began to reverse-trace through time...

Her heart skipped—she saw...

Captain Zhang's side was in turmoil, Wang had knelt before him, sobbing uncontrollably, verging on collapse.

Captain Zhang was frustrated but could only repeat, again and again: "Ms. Wang, we know how important your child is to you. Rest assured, if there's even a glimmer of hope, we'll do everything we can. For now, please go home and wait..."

Ms. Wang cried: "Jiang Yang is gone, how can I go home? My husband will beat me, I... I deserve to die, why didn't I wait at the door? I..."

A female officer doing the paperwork hugged her: "Sister Wang, don't do this. We're already checking all vehicles that passed by. As soon as there's news, we'll..."

Suddenly, a voice rang out: "Captain Zhang, you may be looking in the wrong direction."

It was Lin Xiaosu.

She stood in the gap between two buildings.

Everyone's gaze snapped to her—eyebrows knitted in confusion. Who was she?

Lin Xiaosu said, "This is a surveillance blind spot. The child could have been carried into a car here, but he might also have gone into this gap."

She pointed behind her.

The gap was narrow, with a tree and a huge billboard in front.

"Nonsense," said the female officer. "That's not even an alley, just a gap barely a meter wide, full of trash. Who would walk there?"

"Under normal circumstances, of course not. But are these normal circumstances?" Lin Xiaosu replied.

Huya stepped forward: "What did you notice?"

"There are fresh footprints here. As the officer said, who would walk here? So the footprints themselves are abnormal!" Lin Xiaosu said.

The officers exchanged glances. Captain Zhang strode over, checking where Lin Xiaosu pointed—indeed, half a footprint: "That's an adult's footprint, not a child's!"

"What if the child was being carried?"

Captain Zhang froze.

"Well... to be honest, Captain Zhang, I'm from the mountains. I have a unique skill—I can sense residual traces in the air. I'm certain the child was brought into this gap."

The female officer frowned: "Sense traces? Like a dog?"

Huya was baffled. You can do that? Why didn't I know?

Wang was inspired: "Officer, he's right. Bring a police dog—it should be able to track, shouldn't it?"

"Sister Wang, you've overestimated police dogs. In cities, they're useless unless your child has a distinct scent—like drugs..."

Lin Xiaosu was already in the gap, moving quickly. The gap ended soon, opening onto another street. Huya followed: "What are you up to? Since when can you track by scent?"

Lin Xiaosu was at a loss.

He knew exactly where the child had gone, but getting others to accept that was difficult.

Solving Widow Feng's bathhouse case, he could disguise clues with footprints and behavior. Here, how could he hide it? That man had gotten straight into a vehicle, and the act was so concealed—a broken van parked right at the gap's mouth, door opening from that side, child bundled in, van driving off. Even if there were cameras opposite, none could catch it...

Footprints and traces couldn't support a tracking chain in the city.

Only the nebulous notion of "scent" could serve as a cover.

If dogs can do it, why can't people? For the sake of this family's world not collapsing, for Huya's boxing gym to stay open, I'll risk it! I'll play the police dog!

"Huya, bring your scooter over. We'll follow the scent!"

"Okay!" Huya turned back to the gap.

Suddenly, a voice called out from the other side: "Get in, we'll go together!"

It was a police car.

The female officer leaned out the window.

"You... didn't you just say you don't believe me?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

"I never said I believe you. But a cop's greatest virtue is not ignoring any possibility," she replied. "Get in!"

The police car sped off, Lin Xiaosu tracing backwards...

"Left!"

"Right!"

"Straight ahead..."

Ahead lay a construction site, half-built, halted for unknown reasons. After a spring, the grass had grown thick.

Lin Xiaosu raised his hand: "Stop!"

The female officer stopped, three of them got out and stood at the entrance.

Huya's eyes glinted: "There are fresh tire tracks here."

"Where?" The officer searched the ground.

Huya pointed: "This site has been idle for half a year. No one comes here. Who would drive in except someone up to no good?"

Go!

Let's see...

The three crept through the overgrown site. Ahead were several warehouses. At the door, Officer Zhou Mei's eyes shone—she spotted a van.

It was dilapidated, unwanted even if left by the roadside. Driving it into an abandoned site was suspicious enough, but it wasn't parked outside the warehouses—it was inside, even more so.

Could it be—they were about to crack a major case?

Her palms sweated.

They passed the van—it was empty.

Behind, it was dark, the city's bustle entirely shut out.

Their footsteps were hushed. Turning past a few pillars, they reached a dim corridor.

Suddenly, from an alcove beside the corridor, a shadow flashed out.

As soon as it appeared, Lin Xiaosu's gaze locked onto it. She clearly saw—this was the child’s abductor. But his movements were extraordinary; in a blink, he crossed five meters, confronting them.

In his hand—a knife!

A black knife!

"Careful!" Lin Xiaosu shouted. Her vision surpassed all, but her limbs were only ordinary. What she saw played in slow motion, but her own reactions were even slower...