Chapter 203: Pulling In The Ne (2/2)

However, the white van didn’t stop at all. Considering that there might be hostages inside, the police were afraid to push too hard and trailed behind the van the entire time.

I told Xiaotao to stabilize the car so I could launch my Cave Vision to examine the van. The two vehicles were more than fifty meters apart, forcing me to dilate my pupils to the maximum just to see the inside of the van. There was only the driver in the vehicle. ”Zhang Qiang isn’t here, nor is there a hostage. Obstruct the van at once!”

At Xiaotao’s command, the police cars quickly flanked the van from the left and right, bringing it to a stop. I hopped off Xiaotao’s car. As the police surrounded the van, I heard fearful cries. ”Help! Help! It's going to explode!”

Everyone else stopped dead in their tracks, while I went to open the car door. A middle-aged man was in the driver's seat, hands fastened around the steering wheel with tape. He was wearing a bomb vest packed with wires and explosives along with something that had a blinking red light.

”Don't move. Let the bomb squad handle it!” Xiaotao stopped me as I reached out my hand.

I weighed the vest and found that it was very light. I laughed, ”It's fake.”

Once I had removed the vest from the man, I found that the explosives were indeed empty paper packages. The blinking light was really a dismantled digital watch that looked quite like the real thing.

When asked about what had happened, the man explained that he had been kidnapped by a man and two women on his way home from work. They robbed him of his car, placed a bomb on him and taped his hands around the steering wheel. Then, they warned him not to stop once he started driving or else he would die.

Zhang Qiang was an expert in acting. At the time, the threat in his tone probably sounded real and his expression authentic. The man was scared out of his wits and had to do as he said.

Huang Xiaotao angrily slammed the car. ”Damn it, just when we were about to catch him! What a cunning bastard!”

I got the man to describe his car–a red Santana–and license plate number, which Xiaotao shared with the traffic police.

I asked, ”Of the two women, one of them has long hair. What does she look like?”

He thought for a moment and said, ”She’s in her early twenties, quite beautiful. But she looked a little dazed and confused.”

Xiaotao dug up a photo from her cell phone and asked, ”Is that her?”

The man nodded. ”Yes, yes! That's her!”

Xiaotao slapped her forehead and heaved a long sigh. ”I was afraid of this.”

I asked her what’s wrong and she whispered, ”It's the mayor’s illegitimate daughter!”

Zhang Qiang had made a fool out of us and was probably already out of the county. Right now, we felt discouraged but we couldn’t give up that last ray of hope. We still had to go after them. Xiaotao instructed the other officers to go after the couple. She and Bingxin would stay with me while I took a look at the van.

Once in the van, I found only some rags and snack wrappers. There was an empty pill bottle under the driver's seat but the label had been torn off. There was no way I could tell what drug it was by smelling the bottle alone. The bottle itself looked new, without a speck of dust on it.

I hadn’t seen any signs of illness in the two. Did Li Qin's mental illness relapse? Then this was probably a sedative.

I put the pill bottle down and said, ”Xiaotao, they could still be in the county.”

Xiaotao was surprised. ”Are you sure?”

I hesitated. ”I’m only thirty percent sure. I suspect Li Qin’s illness might have relapsed. Zhang Qiang might have taken the hostage elsewhere to dispose of her. After all, it’s more convenient for them to flee after they get rid of the hostage.”

Xiaotao said, ”Then they’ll definitely head to the forest. It’s the most hidden place in the county! Get in the car!”

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