Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
They rushed towards the man, but their movements were synchronized, making little noise. The dim lighting of the surroundings helped them remain unnoticed.
After a while, they were only ten steps away from him. Huang Ping placed his right hand on the gun at his waist and signaled to his companions with a glance. He said, "You all stay back. I'll go ahead and check things out first to avoid alarming him or scaring off his accomplices."
The group nodded in agreement. "Be careful, Huang Ping."
"Don't worry, I’ll be fine." Huang Ping quickly approached the man. As he got closer, he took a good look at him.
From behind, Huang Ping noticed that the man had white hair and was wearing somewhat antiquated clothing, reminiscent of the Republican era seen on television. He was quite thin, standing about five feet seven inches tall, slightly hunched over, and walked slowly—his movements were those of an elderly person.
Seeing the old man's appearance made Huang Ping furrow his brow as he muttered to himself, "This person looks so old; he can barely walk. Could he really be the one who kidnapped Cute?"
Shaking his head, Huang Ping took two or three steps closer to the old man, pulled out his identification to show him, and smiled as he asked, "Excuse me, sir. I'm from the municipal police department; my name is Huang Ping. What’s your name? We are investigating a kidnapping case that occurred here recently. Have you seen any suspicious individuals?"
The old man took Huang Ping's identification and examined it carefully before looking up at him again. After confirming that everything was in order, he returned the ID and pointed to a shop ahead. "Officer Huang Ping, my name is Wang Hongtao. I live in that shop over there. I've heard about your case, but I haven't seen anyone suspicious."
"If you have no other business, Officer Huang Ping, you can come meet my wife. She has been in the shop; perhaps she saw those kidnappers. You can ask her." Wang Hongtao said as he began leading Huang Ping toward his shop.
"Mr. Wang, I have a few colleagues nearby. Let me call them over first; you go ahead and I'll catch up shortly." Huang Ping smiled at Wang Hongtao and waved to his companions not far behind, signaling them to come over quickly.
While waiting for them to arrive, Huang Ping recalled what he had learned about identifying Ghostly Beings earlier that day. He instinctively glanced down at Wang Hongtao's feet and noticed a dark shadow beneath him. A sigh of relief escaped him; although he didn't believe in Demon Gods, his increasing encounters with such phenomena had begun to shake his convictions.
Soon enough, his companions arrived, frowning with concern as they asked, "Huang Ping, how's it going over there?"
"We should keep moving and not keep anyone waiting," Huang Ping said as he led the group of officers in pursuit of Wang Hongtao, explaining the situation briefly along the way.
"Yellow Team, this Wang Hongtao shouldn't be a suspect, right? Just look at him struggling to walk; how could he have the strength to kidnap someone?" The officers turned to see Wang Hongtao, who resembled an elderly man in his eighties. Their guard against him lowered, as they subconsciously believed he lacked the capability to commit a crime.
Huang Ping did not argue. He nodded and said, "Let's check his shop. If he has accomplices, we can't be too sure."
After about seven or eight minutes, Wang Hongtao led Huang Ping and the others into a secluded alley at the end of the street. There were hardly any passersby, and no shops were open except for Wang Hongtao's small store, which had a dim light glowing from within. A white paper lantern hung at the entrance, giving off an eerie vibe.
"Partner, we have guests. Hurry up and come out!" Wang Hongtao shouted into the shop before quickly stepping inside. He extinguished the white paper lantern outside and waved to Huang Ping and the others with an unusual smile on his face. "Comrades, please come in and sit! I'll have my wife prepare some food for you."
Huang Ping nodded at Wang Hongtao and smiled back. "Mr. Wang, you go ahead; we'll be right in."
Once Wang Hongtao's figure disappeared, Huang Ping turned to his colleagues and asked, "This shop isn't far from the crime scene, and there are no patrol officers nearby. If Wang Hongtao is indeed behind the kidnapping, he definitely had the opportunity to hide Cute in this shop. Who was responsible for checking this street this afternoon? Have they inspected this shop?"
Huang Ping's gaze fell on a nearby officer. A middle-aged officer in his forties stepped forward, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Yellow Team, I was responsible for checking this street. However, when I came by this afternoon, the shop was closed. I knocked for a long time but didn't see anyone come to open it. Eventually, I moved on to check other shops."
Upon hearing this officer's words, Huang Ping furrowed his brows tightly and shot a cold glare at him. The officer dared not meet Huang Ping's eyes; he quickly looked away and pointed at several nearby shops. "Yellow Team, please don't be angry. Although I didn't find the shop's boss, I heard from other shops that Wang Hongtao's store sells items related to funerals. They mainly deliver burial clothes and paper money to the city's funeral homes. Because of their unique business, they usually only open at night."
Huang Ping's expression softened slightly upon hearing the officer's explanation. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Old Wu, do you know how many people are inside that shop?"
Old Wu shook his head apologetically. "Yellow Team, that shop operates on a completely different schedule from the surrounding ones; people next door aren't very familiar with what's going on inside. I couldn't find out anything."
Comment 0 Comment Count