Inside the wardrobe, several clothes hangers were empty. However, it was clear that someone had hurriedly taken a few items of clothing.
"Do you understand now? Not only did they take Fang Nan away, they also gave her several coats, as if they were worried she'd catch a cold." Wu Gang said with a wry smile, "So at first, I thought you sent someone to pick her up. Because only your men have the skill to knock out my men, and Fang Nan let your men into the room without having to pick the lock, and even calmly let them smoke and drink water, and took her coat when they left..."
There were no signs of forced entry, and there was a possibility that guests were being offered cigarettes and water.
"Could it have been done by someone Fang Nan knows?"
Wu Gang's expression changed: "I have the same suspicion."
He carefully picked up the cigarette butt and handed it to me: "Do you recognize this cigarette butt?"
I glanced at it... a giant panda.
“These cigarettes belong to Fang Nan’s family. She doesn’t smoke herself, but the cigarettes she keeps at home are for you. Even though you haven’t been here for several years, she’s always kept cigarettes at home. I’ve looked, and the cigarettes are in a cabinet next door. I even found fingerprints on the cigarette pack… they’re Fang Nan’s.”
I was stunned.
In other words, Fang Nan personally opened the cigarette pack and gave it to the visitor?!
“It was done by someone Fang Nan knows, it must have been someone Fang Nan knows.” Wu Gang gritted his teeth.
A strange feeling suddenly arose in my heart.
Just then, my phone rang in my pocket!
I picked it up and glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar number.
"Hello?" I frowned and answered the call.
"Chen Yang?" A strange voice, pleasant and gentle, said, "Don't make a sound now, and don't show any expression on your face. I know there are people next to you, just listen quietly... Fang Nan is in my hands, right beside me. If you care about her safety, you'd better do as I say—now, find an excuse to leave the room, don't let anyone else notice, and act naturally..."
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter 115: Profound and Unfathomable
Hearing this, I forced myself to keep my expression unchanged, though I could feel the muscles around my eyes twitching. Then, I glanced at Wu Gang, who was standing not far away, and said into the phone in a nonchalant tone, "What are your demands?"
"Very good." The voice on the phone remained calm: "Your tone is good. Keep it up and don't let anyone else notice... Hmm, come out now, outside the house. If you want Fang Nan to be safe, don't do anything rash."
I took a deep breath, and Wu Gang frowned beside me and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Oh, something's come up. The signal's bad here. I'm going outside to take this call," I said casually.
Wu Gang was a little impatient, and there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes, but he didn't say anything and just waved his hand.
I know that at this moment, nothing is more important to him than Fang Nan's whereabouts. He was talking to me about Fang Nan when he was suddenly interrupted by an "irrelevant" phone call, so he was naturally unhappy.
Without saying much, I had Tu help me downstairs in my wheelchair and pushed me outside.
"Okay, now you can speak," I said in a deep voice into the phone.
There was a moment of silence on the phone, then a sigh came through: "Hmm, you're younger than I expected. But you're quite calm... I never imagined that someone as young as you would be so captivating to Fang Nan."
Upon hearing this, my heart skipped a beat! I then abruptly hung up the phone and looked around!
He's watching me! He can see me!
My action immediately alerted Tu, who was standing next to me.
This is, after all, a city, surrounded by high-rise buildings, so it's not surprising. There are several office buildings less than 100 meters away, and across the street next to it is a cluster of high-rise residential buildings.
"Who exactly are you?" I looked around for a while, but had no clue, so I had to pick up the phone again: "Why did you kidnap Fang Nan? If it's to get back at me, you might as well just say what your purpose is."
"Don't worry, as long as you listen to me, I won't hurt Fang Nan." The voice on the phone seemed to chuckle: "Keep it a secret from Wu Gang and his gang, don't make a sound. I'll contact you later. For now, figure out how to get away from Wu Gang and his men. I'll contact you when you're alone."
After saying that, the call was disconnected.
I immediately gestured to Tu, then whispered, "Someone's watching me! Up high!"
A glint of light flashed in Tu's eyes. He quickly looked around, then frowned and said, "Boss, we can't confirm. The environment here is too complicated. We'll have to send people to search everywhere."
I tried calling the number back, but it said the phone was switched off.
I immediately went inside and briefly told Wu Gang that I had something to take care of, which immediately enraged him: "What did you say? Now that Nannan is in trouble, what other nonsense could you possibly have that's more important!"
I didn't say anything, but Wu Gang wasn't stupid either. His expression immediately changed: "Do you have some clue... or about that phone call earlier..."
"No." I shook my head: "The call just now was from one of my people. It was about some business..." As I spoke, I winked at Wu Gang and gestured for him to be quiet.
Tu Fei quickly searched the room, his movements light and silent. He felt his way from the ceiling to the chandelier, then from the corners, the telephone, the lampshades, and so on... He checked every little detail...
"I really have something urgent, I can't delay..." I mumbled, continuing to wink at Wu Gang. Wu Gang realized what I meant and immediately mumbled in agreement, "You... what nonsense are you talking about! What about Nannan's matter..."
Finally, Tu, who was searching, raised a hand and gestured to me. Then he carefully lifted the lampshade of the floor lamp in the room, and when he turned it over, there was a listening device the size of a button!
This thing was hidden very well, and its color was the same as the lampshade. You couldn't see it at all unless you looked very closely.
I nodded, gestured to Tu to "don't move," then quickly pulled out a cigarette case from my pocket and made a writing gesture. Wu Gang immediately pulled out a pen and handed it to me.
"Someone's eavesdropping! Let's turn the tables!" I quickly wrote two lines.
Wu Gang saw this and nodded solemnly.
He immediately retrieved some paper from the room and began writing rapidly, his voice trembling with anger as he shouted, "Chen Yang, is business more important to you than Fang Nan?! You…"
He then handed me the paper: "What are you planning to do? Was that phone call from the other party?"
I took the pen and paper, and feigned a sigh, saying, "I'm sorry... it's urgent, I can't ignore it..."
As I spoke, I nodded vigorously while scribbling rapidly on the paper: "He's trying to get me to go out alone! He asked me to get rid of you, so his target must be me."
After thinking for a moment, I continued writing: "The caller was a man. His voice didn't reveal his age, but he wasn't very old either. The number he just received was: XXXXXXXXX. Find a way to trace the number immediately!"
We communicated through paper, but deliberately started arguing loudly to mislead the other party who was eavesdropping on our actions. Then I pretended to speak loudly, as if I had a falling out with Wu Gang, and then left Fang Nan's house with Tu.
Tu and I drove out of Fang Nan's house, but just drove aimlessly around the surrounding streets. Wu Gang had already immediately mobilized his forces to track down that number, and in less than ten minutes, they found it. The number was a black market number bought on the market, and the owner's information could not be traced. However, according to the call records, they finally found that the call they had just made came from a building not far from us, about 200 meters away. Wu Gang's men, of course, had well-trained people who immediately searched that place, and eventually found a discarded cell phone on the rooftop.
There were no fingerprints, no traces whatsoever.
After reviewing the surveillance footage from all the entrances and exits of the building, no suspicious persons were found.
When Wu Gang informed me of this result over the phone, Tu and I had already been driving around the nearby streets for nearly two hours.
It was frustrating, but it also made me even more determined not to underestimate the power of the people who kidnapped Fang Nan!
The other party had not contacted me, while Wu Gang personally led a group of people, temporarily arranged an ordinary van, and followed us discreetly, maintaining contact at all times.
There was also a red DHL delivery truck parked at the street corner, which was actually Wu Gang's persona in disguise.
Finally, after waiting for so long, my phone rang again. Seeing yet another unfamiliar number, I quickly answered.
"Hey, Chen Yang."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, I received his call. Wu Gang was already monitoring me this time. As long as I could maintain the conversation and stall for as long as possible, he might be able to use technology to locate him!
"You finally called." I sighed deliberately. "So, what do you want? Is Fang Nan alright? I want to hear her voice, I want to talk to her!"
"Hehe..." The other person chuckled softly. Completely ignoring what I was saying, they simply said, "You've disappointed me greatly, Chen Yang. You think you can fool me with such petty tricks? I hate being lied to. Hmm, that white van following your car, and that red DHL delivery truck on the street, are they Wu Gang's men?"
"You..." I was speechless for a moment.
"I'll give you one more chance. Don't try to lie to me again." The other person's voice was calm and unhurried. "Now, I'm giving you one last chance. Shake off Wu Gang and his men immediately... I need to be 100% sure that Wu Gang's men aren't following you before I contact you again."
"I..." I was about to speak when the other person laughed and said, "See that DHL car on the street? I'm asking you to go full throttle and ram it! Then shake off Wu Gang!"
"Why should I trust you! I need to confirm Fang Nan's safety first!"
The other party chuckled, and then a woman's short cry of "Ah..." came through the phone. The sound was short, but I immediately recognized it as Fang Nan's voice!
“If you don’t do as I say, you’ll hear her screams. Shake them off, and someone from the XX Taxi Company will contact you in twenty minutes. But if Wu Gang’s men or the police are following you, you’ll regret it.”
Snap!
The call ended!
I felt a surge of anger welling up inside me, but my forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"Boss, what should we do?" Tu asked calmly, looking at me.
"Damn it!" I gritted my teeth, pointed at the DHL delivery truck in the distance ahead, the people inside being Wu Gang's men in disguise: "Ram it!"
"What?"
"Run it over! Butcher! I said run it over!" I shouted angrily.
Tu stopped talking. He quickly shifted gears, then stepped on the gas. The German-made Mercedes-Benz instantly accelerated, its engine roaring as it swerved and charged headlong into the DHL delivery truck on the left side of the street…
Bang!
A terrifying metallic clang rang out, the car shook violently, and before the astonished eyes of the people in the other car, our front end slammed into the side of their vehicle. German-made cars are indeed sturdy; we easily flipped that DHL van over.
The van that Wu Gang was in sped up behind us upon seeing this, and Wu Gang shouted into his walkie-talkie at me, "Chen Yang, are you crazy! Those are our own people! You're really going to run them over!"
"Sorry," I said briefly, immediately hanging up the walkie-talkie and yelling at Tu, "Reverse! Shake him off!"
Tu quickly shifted gears and turned the steering wheel, causing our car to reverse a few meters on the spot. Then, it immediately swerved. The sturdy Mercedes-Benz only suffered some damage to its front end; its overall performance was not significantly affected. With a roar, it crashed into Wu Gang's van, which was cutting in from behind, like a monster.
Bang!
The impact was truly spectacular, with sparks flying everywhere. Wu Gang's car was just an ordinary white minivan, and its steel plates were nowhere near as sturdy as a Mercedes. The impact completely broke the rear of Wu Gang's vehicle, causing the minivan to swerve sideways and nearly flip over. Our car windows were also shattered. Tu, however, had already swerved quickly and floored the accelerator, speeding away.
I saw Wu Gang stumble and climb out of the car in the rearview mirror, pointing in my direction and shouting something.
"Wu Gang, keep an eye on your surroundings. That guy can see your men following us, and he even knows the model and appearance of the car, which means he's watching us from nearby!" I picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "Quickly send people to search the area!"
"Fuck you, Chen Yang, you almost killed me just now!" Wu Gang's angry voice came through the walkie-talkie, followed by a shout: "Where are you going now?!"
I gritted my teeth: "I can't say! Don't follow me! Otherwise, Fang Nan..." I steeled myself and hung up the phone.
Damn it! I was incredibly frustrated. Both times we'd met, I'd been completely outmaneuvered. They'd captured Fang Nan, and I was forced to do whatever they said. Now, I was starting to feel a bit wary of this opponent. I didn't know who they were, where they came from, or how many people they had. They'd kidnapped Fang Nan, but hadn't even offered any terms yet…
XX Taxi Company. Being from Nanjing, of course I know where it is; it's quite far from where I am now! That bastard on the phone was ruthless! He only gave me twenty minutes!
The two consecutive collisions naturally attracted the attention of the traffic police. Our car was badly damaged, making it quite conspicuous. We hadn't driven more than two blocks when a traffic police motorcycle caught up with us. The motorcycle behind us flashed its lights, signaling us to stop, but at this critical moment, how could I possibly stop? I could only have Tu speed up and try to shake off the police.
With Tu's almost insane driving skills, he recklessly drove through the streets. The domestic traffic police were inferior to the US police in terms of equipment and personnel. He broke through several encirclements and blockades along the way. Although he was not intercepted, it was almost impossible for him to completely shake off the police.
"What do we do?" I glanced at Tu. "We have to shake them off!"
Tu nodded: "Boss, sit tight."
We crossed an intersection, made a sharp turn, and a police car behind us crashed into a bus. Our car then sped across a side street and immediately plunged into the entrance of an underground parking lot.
"Get out of the car, boss. Our car is too conspicuous. We need to change to another one." Tu opened the car door and quickly flicked off the broken glass from his body.
There were quite a few cars in the parking lot. He quickly broke the window of a dark green Mitsubishi Jeep, forced the car to start, then picked me up and we sped out from the other end of the underground parking lot. At another entrance in the distance behind us, we could just hear the sound of sirens.