BTMDY Chapter 112

When Lin Shen received that text message, he didn’t even feel surprised.

 

In fact, this was exactly the message he had been waiting for.

 

Knowing Lin Wangye’s way of handling things, it was completely out of character for anyone to hold a deep grudge against him and try to forcefully abduct him or take his life. It just didn’t make sense.

 

When he first heard that Lin Wangye was missing, Lin Shen felt as if struck by a thunderbolt. His mind went completely blank for a long moment. By the time he snapped out of it, he didn’t even care about the exhaustion from a whole day of work outside; he grabbed Lu Chengxuan and rushed back to the hotel as fast as they could.

 

Of course, it was impossible not to panic in a situation like this.

 

When the police checked the surveillance footage and confirmed that Lin Wangye had been taken by force, Lin Shen almost blacked out on the spot. On the way back to Ningchang, it felt like he was on some giant swinging ride, his heart tightening in painful spasms, chest heavy, gasping for breath.

 

Luckily, Lu Chengxuan was always the calmest one.

 

Faced with such a huge crisis, while Lin Shen sat beside him like an ant on a hot pan, nearly losing his mind with worry, Lu Chengxuan remained almost terrifyingly composed. He broke down the situation in meticulous detail, explaining everything step by step, leaving nothing vague.

 

He even predicted how the case might unfold.

 

When Shi Yuan called, they only knew that Lin Wangye was missing.

 

But Lu Chengxuan had already suspected that it might be a kidnapping and had mentally prepared Lin Shen for it.

 

Sure enough, Lin Wangye had indeed been abducted outside a construction site.

 

He had also said that just tracking the car with the fake license plate might not lead them to the center of the case. And indeed, the trail went cold right after that car was found.

 

If it weren’t for the complete lack of motive, Lin Shen might have almost suspected Lu Chengxuan himself.

 

The world is so big. No matter how desperate you are, running around the streets like a headless fly isn’t going to help much—just leave you exhausted.

 

The only real way was to rely on the police to gather clues and conduct investigations.

 

Some parts of the investigation involved internal procedures and operations that family members couldn’t take part in.

 

Often, the most torturous part was this very process.

 

During the anxious waiting, it was easy to let your mind run wild, imagining the worst possible scenarios.

 

Shi Yuan acutely felt how powerless he really was.

 

During the time Lin Wangye was missing, he barely slept. He could only rest briefly when his body and mind were utterly spent, but even short naps were haunted by nightmares of Lin Wangye calling for help, which woke him up abruptly. Then he’d resume his fruitless search for clues, only to find nothing.

 

Looking back to the hours before his disappearance, Lin Wangye had still been excitedly planning a weekend outing with Suihe and his grandparents.

 

The weather had been perfect lately—sunny turning to cloudy, with just the right temperature.

 

This sudden event, no one could have predicted, cast a heavy shadow over everyone’s hearts—one that wouldn’t lift.

 

It wasn’t the first time Lin Wangye had gotten into trouble.

 

The cycles of grudges, debts, and human emotions never really end; life is a kind of cultivation.

 

Fate, both cruel and compassionate, sometimes gifts those once overlooked with something unexpected, calling it love.

 

It could be the strongest armor.

 

And also the most fragile weakness.

 

Shi Yuan felt almost shattered by the harsh reality, like a faded painting, its colors dimming with the hopeless wait and silence.

 

His jet-black coat made his handsome face look even paler.

 

The numbness in his nerves left no trace of emotion on his brow or eyes, only an indifference cold enough to freeze.

 

When Lin Shen received this message, he was frantically waiting at the police station for updates. As a family member, staying calm, avoiding rash actions, and keeping communication open with the police at a critical moment proved crucial.

 

When a message came from the kidnappers, it was best to let professionals handle it. Responding recklessly could easily lead straight into a trap, letting the other side control the situation.

 

The second Lin Shen got the text, he immediately ran to share the news with the investigation team. While the police traced the message’s location, Lu Wei mobilized a criminal psychology expert she had connections with to arrive on-site and provide guidance for responding to the message.

 

The location came up quickly: a small island in the Pacific.

 

Years ago, to sell more phone numbers and collect package fees, small roadside shops sold SIM cards without requiring an ID. Although telecom authorities began major reforms in recent years, it wasn’t something that could be fixed overnight—there were still plenty of loopholes to exploit.

 

This kind of false IP location wasn’t some high-end tech; anyone with a little know-how could pull it off.

 

If you couldn’t rely on IP for tracking, you could only negotiate and stall with the other side.

 

This case was also unusual for the police. In most kidnapping cases, the victim’s family usually received ransom messages almost immediately—sometimes they only realized someone was missing after the message arrived.

 

Waiting three days after the abduction to start ransom demands didn’t make sense.

 

Most of the time, kidnappers sent their demands immediately after taking the victim.

 

They counted on frightened family members not daring to call the police, maximizing their chances of a successful ransom and at least buying some time.

 

Once the police got involved, achieving their goal wasn’t so simple.

 

This principle didn’t require any professional skill—any fool could understand it.

 

Lin Shen hadn’t received any news immediately after the case broke. These past few days, he had been practically racing to the police station. The kidnappers must have known he had contacted the authorities; the police would know everything.

 

And yet, the text message still came through.

 

Lin Wangye had been missing for three straight days. For Lin Shen and Shi Yuan, whose nerves were already fraying to the breaking point, receiving this message was almost like a piece of good news.

 

At the very least, it proved that the worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.

 

Sending a message like this always had a purpose. To achieve that goal, Lin Wangye was being used as a bargaining chip—so for now, he had to be in a relatively safe state.

 

Following the expert’s guidance, Lin Shen immediately replied to the message.

 

[No matter what you want, first prove to me that he’s safe!!!!!]

 

Lin Shen was naturally impatient and easily lost his temper over trivial matters in daily life, but when it came to serious situations, he could stay steady. The more critical the moment, the calmer he became.

 

His emotions were relatively controlled; the exclamation marks at the end of the message were mostly to create the illusion of panic.

 

The other side was clearly ready. A few minutes later, a photo arrived.

 

When the photo appeared, Shi Yuan felt his deadened heart shake violently, like the earth itself was splitting beneath him. His eyes immediately filled with blood, and the pain in his chest was unbearable.

 

The photo wasn’t very clear, and the lighting was a bit dim.

 

Lin Wangye’s brow was slightly furrowed. A pair of white fabric-gloved hands were gripping his neck, forcing him to look up. The rough handling clearly made him uncomfortable.

 

The photo showed almost nothing of the surrounding scene. Apart from Lin Wangye, the only other thing in frame was that day’s issue of the ‘Ningchang Times’.

 

Lin Shen noticed Shi Yuan’s breathing becoming fast and heavy beside him. He forced down the panic rising in his chest, compelling himself to stay calm, and placed a firm hand on Shi Yuan’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t panic. At least he’s okay for now. First, tell Lu Chengxuan about this.”

 

Detective Li, the head of the criminal police, instructed immediately after seeing the photo for a few seconds.

 

“Adjust the photo’s clarity and brightness. Notify all precincts to send plainclothes officers to the relevant sales points. Check if anyone is wearing hats, masks, sunglasses, or otherwise trying to hide their identity. Move fast.”

 

At the same time, the criminal psychology expert replied to the message:

 

[What do you want?]

 

The kidnappers were just one step away from their final goal, yet their behavior was unusual. Even knowing Lin Shen had the money—any amount they could ask for—they didn’t immediately make outrageous demands. Instead, after a few repeated questions, they fell silent.

 

Everyone was completely baffled. Even the experienced Detective Li couldn’t figure out what the kidnappers were trying to do.

 

They had already sent the ransom message. If they wanted money or some object, there had to be a clear answer—surely they weren’t suffering from some kind of indecision needing time to think it over.

 

The case had reached a deadlock again, and all progress had to revolve around that photo and the newspaper.

 

When the kidnappers first made contact, Lin Shen had already decided to go all in. Even though he hated bowing to evil forces, if it came down to Lin Wangye facing danger, he was ready to hand over everything he had.

 

And yet, at a moment like this, there was still no word.

 

Now, not only Shi Yuan, but even Lin Shen’s own nerves were about to snap.

 

For several consecutive days, the two of them practically lived at the police station, twenty-four hours straight. They didn’t even have time to change clothes or shave. Mentally and physically, they were completely exhausted, pinning all their hopes on the police finding some clue from that newspaper.

 

While waiting in the lounge, tense and worn out, someone suddenly pushed the door open.

 

Just as Detective Li was scrutinizing the photo for new leads, the case unexpectedly found a new breakthrough beyond the previous investigative tasks.

 

Following the information Lin Shen had provided, the police had been investigating the Lin family.

 

This afternoon, Wu Yingxia and her son Hu Haoyang were arrested.

 

Lin Shen wasn’t even surprised by the outcome.

 

Every member of the Lin family—except for Lin Qianqian—had reason to resent him. It was more than likely that someone had decided to strike back and teach him a lesson.

 

During the period after his father passed away, he had already seen how petty and narrow-minded these people were, even if they weren’t of much use. Drawing clear boundaries had been his way of finding peace.

 

What he hadn’t expected was that Hu Haoyang’s arrest wasn’t because of the kidnapping, but due to being implicated in illegal business operations and taken into criminal detention.

 

On the way to the interrogation room, Lin Shen learned that the investigation into the Lin family hadn’t gone smoothly. There were simply too many people involved. Without a specific direction or concrete evidence, it was hard to find anyone connected to the case if someone was deliberately hiding the truth.

 

Not long ago, Hu Haoyang had been detained by the authorities for illegally buying and selling import-export permit approvals.

 

The evidence for illegal business operations was solid. Since police were already keeping tabs on the Lin family, the authorities traced Hu Haoyang’s recent activities and phone records step by step.

 

Before they could uncover anything significant, his mother, Wu Yingxia, suddenly panicked and rushed to turn herself in, insisting that they had arrested the wrong person.

 

But her reason for surrendering had nothing to do with the illegal business charges that had actually led to Hu Haoyang’s detention.

 

Instead, she admitted that she had sent people to kidnap Lin Wangye.

 

She even handed over a mobile phone as key evidence.

 

Upon investigation, the police found that this phone had been frequently contacting an unknown number with an altered IP address. One recent call had occurred just minutes before Lin Shen received the message from the kidnappers.

 

At this moment, Wu Yingxia and Hu Haoyang had both been transferred to the municipal police station because of their involvement in new criminal cases, and they were being interrogated separately.

 

Family members had no right to participate in this process.

 

Shi Yuan didn’t really understand the inner workings of the Lin family, nor did he care. He simply felt a massive weight lift off his chest upon learning that the suspected mastermind was finally caught. He sat side by side with Lin Shen in the hallway, holding his breath as they waited for the interrogation results.

 

Lin Shen, meanwhile, cleared his mind and went over all the known information, piecing it together.

 

It was this mother-and-son pair who had targeted Lin Wangye.

 

The Lin family had many people with vested interests, and without crucial evidence or leads, it would have been nearly impossible to trace the crime to these two so quickly—maybe even impossible at all.

 

After all, this mother-and-son duo had the strongest alibi.

 

The turning point came when Hu Haoyang was suddenly arrested for illegal business operations.

 

Although the pair had schemed together, the information they each held was different.

 

Hu Haoyang was extremely arrogant and competitive. Lin Shen guessed that Wu Yingxia probably didn’t know her son would manipulate import-export trades to make money. When he was suddenly arrested, she must have thought the kidnapping plan had been exposed. In a moment of panic, she tried to take the fall herself and turned herself in.

 

Given their intelligence—or lack thereof—Lin Shen wasn’t surprised in the least.

 

Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and the son of a mouse will dig holes.

 

Hu Haoyang had been accepted to a prestigious university and had some ability, but his perspective was limited. Within the context of the Lin family’s foolish relatives, he was one of the more competent ones.

 

His father insisted on supporting the Lin family. With a strained relationship with his own son, the only person he could cultivate to assist was Hu Haoyang.

 

Perhaps that’s what fueled the ambitions of these two.

 

Thinking of this, Lin Shen felt both anger and amusement.

 

If these two had taken a moment to consider how much feudal nonsense Lin Pengcheng carried, they should have realized he would never hand over his property to anyone else.

 

Unless his own son died.

 

Yet Lin Shen still couldn’t figure out one thing: why Hu Haoyang’s illegal business dealings had gone unnoticed for so long, only to be exposed at such a coincidental moment.

 

He spent a long time pondering it. Then, seeing the detective who had just escorted him from the lounge to the interrogation room coming out, he stood and asked,

 

“Excuse me, can I ask something? Why did the judicial authorities suddenly arrest Hu Haoyang?”

 

The detective, having been tense for three days and seeing the suspect caught in such an almost comical way, relaxed a bit. Not touching on confidential matters, he replied casually:

 

“Any involvement in import-export trade like this risks severe punishment. He was reported under his real name to the prosecutor’s office.”

 

“By whom?”

 

“Lu Chengxuan.”

 

*

 

Character notes:

 

Lu Chengxuan: The prophet, the second in charge of the investigation.

Hu Haoyang: His illegal business wouldn’t earn him more than a few years in prison; as for the kidnapping case, without evidence, he could argue his way out.

Wu Yingxia: The ‘wolf’ who exposed herself.

 

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