Chapter 2364 — Xiaoshu's Proposal

Now that Wei Zhao was back, she naturally would not let the chance slip by. She had been fretting over the case for some time now—how could she see Wei Zhao and not ask him about it?

"Wei Zhao!" Qiu Lingshan strode over quickly.

Wei Zhao rubbed his nose and smiled wryly. It seemed the more he wanted to steer clear of other people's troubles, the more trouble came looking for him, leaving him no choice but to get involved.

"Lingshan, what a coincidence!" Wei Zhao said, rather helplessly.

"Coincidence? You came back and didn't even contact me?" Qiu Lingshan was a little displeased—especially seeing Wei Zhao out shopping with the young miss and Xiaoshu.

"I haven't had time yet, but I was definitely going to contact you," Wei Zhao said. He was not lying to Qiu Lingshan; he had a Minor Qi-Gathering Pill set aside for her. He could not give one to Wu Chengtian and not to Qiu Lingshan.

"Really?" Qiu Lingshan glanced at the young miss and Xiaoshu, and found that neither of them seemed particularly hostile. Her relationship with Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had actually improved quite a bit—it was no longer as strained as before.

"Really." Wei Zhao nodded. "But you should go about your business first."

Qiu Lingshan nodded, then asked, "Do you have any suspects?"

"I just got back—today is only my third day. Where would I get suspects from?" Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile.

"I see..." Qiu Lingshan sighed in some disappointment, though she knew it was only natural. Wei Zhao had just returned and did not even know the details yet, so she did not press further. "All right, you two go shopping first. We'll talk later."

"Mm, go on with your work." Wei Zhao nodded and walked off with Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu.

Though somewhat disappointed, Qiu Lingshan patiently began reviewing the scene records. Then the hostage's file was delivered to her!

Lei Siling, daughter of Lei Daming, chairman of the Donghai Chamber of Commerce. She was a senior at Donghai Foreign Languages Business College, and her car was an Audi TT sports car. She had likely come to the commercial street to shop today.

The information gave Qiu Lingshan a start. A student again? And the daughter of a wealthy merchant—that matched the earlier cases closely enough. It seemed the culprits were still after money! This realization left Qiu Lingshan no choice but to contact Lei Daming directly.

Lei Daming was at the Hidden Zhao family's residence packing his bags, preparing to depart for Jidun City to start a new chapter in his business career, when his phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello, this is Lei Daming." He did not dare ignore it; he was afraid it might be Wei Zhao.

"Lei Daming? This is Qiu Lingshan from the Donghai City Police Bureau's Criminal Investigation Unit. Your daughter was just kidnapped on the commercial street. Could you come to the Songshan City Police Bureau?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"What! My daughter's been kidnapped?" Lei Daming was stunned, unable to believe it for a moment.

He was well aware of the several kidnapping cases that had occurred in Donghai City recently, but he had never imagined anyone would dare kidnap his daughter. After all, his status spoke for itself—not as chairman of the Donghai Chamber of Commerce, of course, but as the Hidden Zhao family's spokesman!

The kidnappers had dared to abduct even the daughter of Brother Du, a gang boss, so naturally they would not fear the chairman of a chamber of commerce. But he did not believe anyone would dare provoke the Hidden Zhao family! His identity and background were no secret, and the kidnappers would surely have investigated such things before acting.

"That's right. It appears to be the same gang behind the earlier kidnappings, so please come in," Qiu Lingshan said.

"Wait—I'll be right there!" Lei Daming was rather gloomy. He had just fallen from power, and now his daughter was kidnapped? How unlucky could he get? Truly an ill-fated year.

But before Lei Daming could even drive to the Donghai police station, the kidnappers called first.

"Lei Daming?" A harsh, grating voice distorted by a voice changer came through the line.

"Who... who are you?" Lei Daming's heart lurched; he had a faint inkling of what this was.

"Prepare twenty million, or don't blame us for getting nasty!" the other party said coldly. "You needn't doubt our credibility—you've probably heard of the earlier kidnapping cases! Of course, if you don't cooperate, we'll have no choice but to kill the hostage!"

"Wait... I don't have twenty million..." Lei Daming said with a pained expression.

"You don't? You're the chairman of the Donghai Chamber of Commerce with all those businesses under you, and you don't have twenty million? Who are you trying to fool?" The caller grew impatient at his words and snorted coldly. "If you don't want trouble, hand over the money like a good boy. Don't think I don't know your background—a dog of the Hidden Zhao family, and you expect me to believe you don't have twenty million?"

"I..." Lei Daming had not expected them to dig up even his hidden identity. It seemed they dared kidnap his daughter precisely because they did not care about that identity at all! But he was on the verge of tears: "I'm no longer the chairman of the Donghai Chamber of Commerce. I've been removed from the post... the Hidden Zhao family has no use for me anymore. Where would I get that kind of money now..."

"Hmph! I don't care about that. Money for the girl—no money within twenty-four hours, and she dies!" The caller snorted and hung up.

"This..." Lei Daming was at a loss. He wanted to ask the Hidden Zhao family for help, but then he remembered that he had offended Wei Zhao. The Hidden Zhao family probably would not stick their necks out for him—and the kidnappers had made it plain they did not fear the Hidden Zhao family. Recalling how the Yellow-rank guard of Brother Du's daughter had been crippled with a single blow by the kidnappers, it seemed these people were ruthless characters indeed. He just did not know which faction they belonged to.

Regardless, Lei Daming headed for the Donghai police station first. On the way, he mulled over how to approach the Hidden Zhao family so they would step in and help...

……………………

After parting ways with Qiu Lingshan, Wei Zhao took Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu to a nearby shopping mall. They browsed all morning, but Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu bought nothing. At noon the three of them had a meal at a restaurant in the mall.

After eating, Gu Mengyao was sipping a sweet soup, while Shen Yushu kept darting her big eyes at Wei Zhao like a little schemer, as if she wanted to say something but kept holding back.

"What are you up to?" Wei Zhao asked.

"I heard the basement of this mall is a casino. I've never been to a casino before—Arrowhead, will you take me and Sister Yao to check it out?" Shen Yushu said pitifully.

"A casino?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. He had not expected a casino to exist beneath this mall.

"Mm-hmm, a classmate at school said so—said there's a casino down there," Shen Yushu nodded.

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