After learning some details from He Ru, they escorted her to the command vehicle.
If the kidnappers contacted her, Zheng Kaixuan could respond immediately.
At the same time, Zheng contacted the tech team and told them to head to the command vehicle. If the kidnappers called again, they could try to locate the phone in real time. It might not work, but it was worth a shot.
As for Han Bin and Li Hui, their task was to find Chen Zili.
This He Yan case didn't seem like a simple kidnapping. Whatever had happened, Chen Zili was a key figure.
Han Bin thought over the ways they could locate him:
Call him. If his phone was on, they could reach him directly. This was the simplest method—but also the most passive. If he kept his phone off, there was no way to get through.
He liked playing the lottery, so they could try the local lottery shops.
When they were investigating near Huafei Express, they'd learned from a lottery shop owner that another group of people was also looking for Chen. Han Bin had copied security footage of these people; identifying them wouldn't be hard.
With just the two of them, finding Chen wouldn't be easy. So they went to the local police station for help.
At the station, Han Bin handed the lottery shop footage to the officers there and asked them to identify the people who had been looking for Chen.
Since the station officers were responsible for local security, they'd know the area better.
Han also showed them Chen's photo and asked for help searching.
Meanwhile, he looked up nearby lottery shops on his phone, ready to check them one by one.
As Li Hui drove, he asked, "Binzi, Chen's wife is missing. You really think he's still in the mood to buy lottery tickets?"
"His phone's off, his mother and sister-in-law don't know where he is, and he's quit his job. Where else are we supposed to look?" Han countered.
"You think maybe he got kidnapped too?" Li Hui guessed.
"He Yan's already been taken. What would be the point of kidnapping him too? Then there'd be no one left to get the ransom money."
"So you think He Yan's kidnapping might be connected to him?"
"Got any evidence?" Han asked.
"Just a hunch. Turning off his phone right now seems really suspicious."
"The kidnappers called He Ru. If it was Chen, she'd recognize his voice." Han pointed ahead. "Stop the car. There's a lottery shop up there."
They went inside, but Chen wasn't there. The owner didn't recognize him either.
Then the station called—they'd located the men from the video.
According to them, Chen owed them money and refused to pay, so they'd gone looking for him. After warning him, they let him go.
They also sent Han the location where they had seen him.
"Where to now?" Li Hui asked.
Han checked the location. "Near Jian'an Road and Siming Street."
"When was that?"
"Around 1 p.m."
"It's almost 5 now. That's like carving a mark on a moving boat," Li Hui grumbled.
"Just drive," Han said, then checked his phone again. "There's also a lottery shop near that spot. Let's try it."
"Not holding my breath," Li Hui muttered.
"Let's see first. If he's not there, we move on."
About ten minutes later, they arrived. Han waited outside while Li Hui went in.
The shop was smoky, with a dozen men studying tickets.
Li Hui scanned the room, then spotted someone resembling the photo. He called out loudly, "Chen Zili!"
The man flinched, glanced back, and when he saw Li Hui approaching, bolted for the door.
"Out of the way!" Chen shouted as he ran outside.
Han stepped aside, giving him a clear path—then stuck out a foot.
Chen's foot caught, and he tumbled to the ground with a loud smack, crying out in pain.
Li Hui caught up, pulled out handcuffs, and restrained him.
"Police! Don't move!"
"You're police? Why are you arresting me?" Chen said in surprise.
"Why'd you run?"
"I wasn't running—just needed the bathroom," Chen lied.
"Yeah right. If you had to go that bad, you'd have wet yourself already," Li Hui said, hauling him up.
A small crowd gathered to watch.
"Step back, police business," Han told them.
Li Hui shoved Chen into their SUV.
"Officer, you must have the wrong guy."
"If you're not guilty, why run?" Li Hui shot back.
"I thought you were debt collectors coming after me again," Chen explained.
"Even if they were, that's no reason to sprint away."
"You see my face? And my arm, my back? That's why I ran." Chen gave a bitter smile.
"How much do you owe?"
"Principal plus interest—over a hundred thousand yuan."
"Does He Yan know you owe that much?" Li Hui asked.
Chen shook his head. "You're here because He Ru hired you to find He Yan, right?"
"I don't even know why I'm here," Li Hui said dryly. "Her husband doesn't care, but we're out here busting our butts."
"Thanks for the trouble."
"Chen Zili, do you have any leads on your wife's disappearance?" Han asked.
"No."
"Do you know where she is now?"
"No."
"Do you worry about her?" Han asked, watching him closely.
"Of course."
"Yeah right. If you really worried, you wouldn't be hanging out in a lottery shop," Li Hui said.
"Officer, I have no choice. Look at my injuries. If I don't find a way to pay them back, they won't let me go," Chen said helplessly.
"How do you plan to get the money?"
"By buying lottery tickets. If I win, I can pay them back and still have plenty left," Chen said, eyes lighting up—whether with hope or delusion, it was hard to say.
"You're not worried your wife's in danger?"
"I am. I went looking for her early this morning. If those debt collectors hadn't cornered me, I'd still be searching now."
"Your wife's been kidnapped," Han said.
"What?!" Chen looked shocked. "That's impossible."
Han frowned slightly. "Sounds like you know where she is."
(End of Chapter)