“Huo Shao, I’ve discovered something wrong with a particular black SUV.” Yin Shixiong had checked the footage of the black SUV frame by frame. “The license plate number is very unfamiliar. I asked the Traffic Control Bureau to check it out. This license plate number has been invalid for more than a decade, and no one has used it yet.”
“That’s a fake license plate number.” Huo Shaoheng rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “Search the entire city for this car.”
“Yes, sir.”
Maybe it that wasn’t the car they were looking for, and maybe it had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
However, they did not have any other leads at that moment. Hence, they decided to start with this car.
“Anything else?”
Yin Shixiong shook his head, “I’ve seen the surveillance video of the apartment block, focusing on the time that Nianzhi disappeared. Everyone was driving in and out, and no one left the block on foot. Hence, we can first rule out the possibility that they left on foot.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded and asked calmly, “What else?”
His tone was calm, without a hint of fluctuation.
Yin Shixiong sighed inwardly in response to Huo Shaoheng’s restraint and patience. He said, “Zhou Qiyuan has put tabs on all the traffic within the city 15 minutes after the incident. We’ll see if this car shows up anywhere else.”
Huo Shaoheng gazed calmly at the tree-lined path in front of him and issued a few orders.
“Get the police to investigate all registered hotels, guesthouses, and lodgings. Now, ensure that all guests have ID cards. All guests with incorrect ID cards are to be detained.”
This was to prevent the other party from kidnapping Gu Nianzhi and hiding in the hotel before they could bring her out.
The capital had been reorganized over the past few years, and all the major hotels and guesthouses, including the hourly rooms on the streets, were now connected to the police.
As long as they booked a room, the police would definitely be able to find out about it.
Yin Shixiong’s expression froze. “Yes, Sir!”
Huo Shaoheng walked to the side of his private car. Orderly Fan Jian quickly walked over to open the car door for him and let him in.
Huo Shaoheng continued, “Inform the Traffic Control Bureau to set up roadblocks on all non-motorized roads out of the capital. Tell them to block the roads and send traffic police to stand guard. Check on anyone who tries to leave the capital on foot.”
Yin Shixiong could only respond in agreement to Huo Shaoheng’s solemn orders. “Yes, Sir!”
By the time Huo Shaoheng got into his private car and returned to the headquarter of special operation forces’ encampment ground, Yin Shixiong had already passed on Huo Shaoheng’s orders to the police station and the Traffic Control Bureau. Simultaneously, he also asked the Traffic Control Bureau to gather all the traffic surveillance videos in the city.
…
The bulletproof private car stopped in front of his official residence. Huo Shaoheng did not get out of the car. He remained seated in the back seat. His gaze was unfocused as he quietly stared ahead.
Orderly Fan Jian could tell that Huo Shaoheng was in a bad mood. Hence, he did not dare to make a sound. He quietly got out of the car and stood guard in front of the car.
The car’s soundproofing was very good. It completely isolated everything from the outside world. He could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat.
Within the quiet car, it felt like a hypnotic pendulum.
However, he did not sleepy at all.
Although he had not slept for two days and two nights, he still felt wide awake.
His mood was like the cloudy sky before the eruption of the volcano.
It seemed calm, but lava was rolling and bubbling at the foot of the mountain.
Huo Shaoheng closed his eyes and rubbed the space between his eyebrows with his hand.
This was not a simple matter. Although he had tried his best to use every loophole that he could access, he was still two hours late.
Zhou Qiyuan only paid attention to blocking the motorway and the airport. What if the other party brought Gu Nianzhi out of the city on foot and met them somewhere else?
However, the other party only had two hours at most. Even if they walked, two hours would not be enough for them to leave the imperial capital.
Of course, even if the other party had already left the imperial capital on foot, it did not matter.
No matter where she went, he would always find her again.
The last time Gu Nianzhi disappeared in the German Alps, he had initially been unaware. But when he finally found out about it, she was already out of danger. Although he felt regret and guilt, he had never felt worried before.
This time, she had disappeared again. He finally realized what it was like to lose her.
He never wanted to feel this way again in his life.
After he found her this time, he would find a rope and tie her to his body. He would never let her walk alone again.
Such determination was rooted in his heart. He picked up his phone and was about to ask Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze to report their progress when he suddenly heard a few dog barks.
He looked up and realized that short-legged little Ah Ke was jumping outside his car desperately. It wanted to see who was in the car.
Unfortunately, his legs were too short and he couldn’t jump very high. The top of his head peeked through the window before he fell to the ground.
No matter how gloomy Huo Shaoheng’s felt, he was still tickled by the short-legged little Ah Ke’s appearance.
He glanced at his watch and realized that he had been sitting alone in the car for 15 minutes.
Huo Shaoheng took a deep breath and pushed the car door open.
The short-legged little corgi immediately came over with its tail between its legs and sniffed around him. Then, it raised its head and wagged its tail at him desperately. Its dark, watery eyes stared at him as it kept jumping around to look inside the car.
Huo Shaoheng knew who it was looking for. He bent down and rubbed the little Ah Ke’s head. “It’s okay. She’ll be back soon…”
Huo Shaoheng wasn’t confident when he said this, but he had to be confident.
Wouldn’t the short-legged little Ah Ke be disappointed if he lost his confidence?
Gu Nianzhi had been busy for the past half a month and didn’t have time to take care of it. Hence, she had left the short-legged little corgi at Huo Shaoheng’s official residence and instructed his orderly to take care of it for a few days.
After realizing that Huo Shaoheng had returned, the little corgi must have assumed that Gu Nianzhi had come to pick it up as well.
But she didn’t.
Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips, stood up, and walked into the official residence.
The short-legged Little Ah Ke didn’t follow him in. It squatted down beside the large metal door at the entrance and looked steadily ahead.
Huo Shaoheng looked back at it and didn’t call for it. He went into the house alone.
He had returned to the capital in the morning and this was his first time entering his home.
He was still wearing the military uniform he had worn during the Rihe City surveillance parade and the drill. He was drenched in sweat.
After changing into a clean uniform in his own room, Huo Shaoheng headed to basement six of the base office building, where the central control room was located.
Zhao Liangze was looking through the information on the foreigners who had recently entered the country.
Yin Shixiong was already looking through the surveillance footage from the Traffic Control Bureau.
“What did you find?” he asked as he stood behind Yin Shixiong.
Yin Shixiong stared at the screen attentively and said, “This black SUV was parked in the underground parking lot of Nianzhi’s apartment. Judging from the time stamp, it was parked in the parking lot the day before the attack. It only disappeared after the 10-minute surveillance malfunction.”
In other words, the SUV was no longer parked in the underground parking lot 10 minutes after the attack.
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “Continue to investigate.”
Then he walked to Zhao Liangze’s side and asked calmly, “Did you find any clues?”
Zhao Liangze shook his head and said in bewilderment, “There’s nothing unusual. Judging from these people’s visa applications, their backgrounds are normal. I don’t see anyone suspicious.”
“Continue to investigate.” Huo Shaoheng said the same thing.
Just then, Yin Shixiong made a new discovery.
“Huo Shao, come and take a look at this…” Yin Shixiong paused the surveillance footage.
Huo Shaoheng walked over.
He crossed his arms and stood behind Yin Shixiong. On the screen, an 18-wheeler appeared.
Yin Shixiong fast-forwarded the video, and the image changed. A black SUV was now driving into the screen.
He pressed play again.
At the busy intersection of the Third Ring Road, a black SUV with a low-profile and elegant appearance was speeding away from Gu Nianzhi’s apartment. At that moment, a huge 18-wheeler truck suddenly blocked the camera.
The image seemed to freeze for a moment, and then the truck left. Four identical black SUVs suddenly appeared in front of the camera and sped in four directions, north, south, east, and west.
Yin Shixiong quickly paused the surveillance video and said excitedly, “Did you see that?! Why did four identical Black SUVs suddenly appear?! There was only one before!!”
Huo Shaoheng’s heart skipped a beat, and he said, “Replay the video just now and set the speed to the lowest possible!”
Yin Shixiong quickly replayed the video at the lowest possible speed.
The scene jumped almost every second.
This time, they saw it even more clearly.
When the black SUV drove over, and when the 18-wheeler blocked it, the screen blurred and jumped for a few seconds.
When the 18-wheeler left the scene and the four black SUVs drove out in four different directions, the video returned to normal.
Huo Shaoheng frowned, but after looking at it a few times, the result was the same.
“Check this 18-wheeler.” Huo Shaoheng put his hands behind his back. “And the four black SUVs. You can see their license plates, right?”
“I can see the 18-wheeler. The four black SUVs were just discovered.”
He zoomed in on the images one by one and found the license plate numbers.
The two of them were speechless. These four cars actually had the same license plate numbers. It was the fake license plate of the car that had come out of Gu Nianzhi’s apartment.
“This is a setup.” Yin Shixiong muttered.
Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything. He crossed his arms and stroked his chin with one hand. He said in a low voice, “The whole country is looking for this car. Using this license plate, just announce that this car is suspected of being involved in a major criminal case. Let everyone report their findings to the police and reward them handsomely.”
Yin Shixiong quickly sent the message to Zhao Liangze, who then contacted the police to issue a wanted notice.
Huo Shaoheng said, “Check the 18-wheeler truck.”
Yin Shixiong quickly logged into the traffic control’s car search system and checked the truck’s license plate number. This time, it went smoothly.
“Got it. The 18-wheeler truck belongs to an oil company. The driver’s name and address are all available.”
Huo Shaoheng, “…”
He pondered for a moment before instructing Yin Shixiong, “Contact the driver of the 18-wheeler truck first and bring him to the station for questioning.”
“Then submit the footage to the television station and upload it onto the internet privately. Ask the public for clues and offer a high price. Let’s see if there were any witnesses among the vehicles at the scene.”
In other words, while they were looking for the black SUV, they were also looking for clues to see what was going on with the sudden appearance of four identical black SUVs.
The appearance of the 18-wheeler was too coincidental. The time, the angle, and the location of its appearance had accurately blocked the surveillance cameras at that very moment.
