Chapter 28: 028 A Rather Terrible Misjudgment
Brother Song sat in the room on the second floor of that building, wearing headphones, quite irritated.
Although Wang Heng had found all the pin-hole cameras, the bug hidden in the sofa cushion was very hard for him to find. So what that pair of young boys and girls were discussing in the room downstairs was still clearly audible to Brother Song.
As for the signal jammer, it only affected mobile phone frequencies. And the transmission frequencies of the bug and camera he installed were just outside the affected range.
“This kid, he’s been pretending to be clueless with me all along… Good thing, good thing, even if he were Zhuge Liang, he couldn’t escape from the cage. The problem is, the follow-up matters can’t proceed like this…”
Brother Song fell into contemplation.
After a long while, he let out a long sigh: “I can only wait until dark and give it a try.”
Brother Song tore open the packaging at the top of the instant rice box and took out a pack. This rice came with a heating pack; as long as water was added, it could heat up quickly, which was undoubtedly very convenient in places without electricity.
While waiting for the rice to heat up, he took off his headphones, pulled a small notebook from his back pocket, flipped through it, and examined it carefully.
“Still two hundred thousand left, just depends on how much I can get this time…”
————
Night gradually deepened.
Probably because the house was about to be demolished soon, there was no electricity or running water. After dark, it was naturally impossible to turn on the lights; only the hazy moonlight outside the window provided some illumination.
On the sofa, Pei Ningle curled up into a ball and said pitifully: “I’m so hungry…”
Wang Heng handed her a mineral water bottle: “There’s no food inside the house, only this.”
“He locked us up, that’s one thing, but how could he not even leave a pack of instant noodles!”
“Because a few days without food won’t kill you by starvation, but it could kill you by thirst. Brother Song definitely doesn’t want to cause a death, but he absolutely won’t let us be comfortable either.”
Pei Ningle pouted: “Aren’t you hungry…”
Wang Heng shrugged: “A bit hungry, but I can endure it. So I suggest you drink more water like me to trick your stomach; that way, at least you won’t feel too hungry.”
The young girl hesitated for a moment, took the mineral water, twisted the bottle cap, but didn’t unscrew it.
Pei Ningle’s little mouth flattened: “I don’t even have the strength to open the bottle anymore…”
Wang Heng took the mineral water bottle, unscrewed it, and handed it back.
Watching the young girl drink the water in small sips, he asked: “You’ve seen it too: a small bed in the bedroom and a sofa outside. Where will you sleep later?”
Pei Ningle clutched the water bottle in hesitation for a good while: “Can we not separate? I’m afraid…”
Wang Heng shook his head firmly: “No, we must separate.”
“Why?” the young girl said weakly. “I think you’re a good person…”
“I am indeed a good person, but this is the basic posture. Moreover, the more afraid you are, the less you should show it, otherwise you’ll become the best breakthrough. Suppose I didn’t check thoroughly enough earlier, and there are other cameras inside the house, then they capture you crying your heart out, send the video to your parents for extortion, do you think your parents would obediently pay up?”
Pei Ningle really wanted to stubbornly say her parents wouldn’t care, but thinking rationally, she understood the most likely answer.
So Wang Heng summed up: “So stay calm. That Brother Song absolutely doesn’t dare to tear up the ticket, absolutely doesn’t dare to let things become irreparable. The calmer you are, the more helpless he becomes.”
“I understand.” Pei Ningle’s expression became determined, and she nodded.
Clearly curled up into a ball yet gritting her teeth to pretend to be strong, the young girl looked very cute. Wang Heng subconsciously reached out and patted her on the head.
Pei Ningle shook her head slightly, like a kitten being petted, with a hint of shy annoyance.
Wang Heng suddenly snapped awake.
He pulled his hand back as if electrocuted, cold sweat faintly breaking out on his back. He secretly reminded himself that life was only one; how could he casually court death?
————
In the dead of night, Wang Heng suddenly woke up startled. He sat up on the sofa, feeling quite restless, as if he had just heard some sound…
At this moment, a man’s deliberately lowered voice drifted in from outside the window: “How do you know I won’t tear up the ticket?”
Wang Heng jumped up and stared at the shadowy figure outside the window, not making any rash moves.
He had already recognized him; it was Brother Song.
Moonlight silhouetted Brother Song from behind, outlining the man’s slightly overweight figure, but Wang Heng couldn’t see his expression clearly.
He repeated in a low voice: “How do you know I won’t tear up the ticket?”
Wang Heng cautiously approached two steps but kept some distance from the window, then said: “Your criminal method is clearly tech-based. Why go tech-based instead of calling two accomplices to just grab our mobile phones directly? No reason not to do it that way; it’s much simpler, after all. The only logical possibility I can think of is… you don’t have any accomplices at all.”
Brother Song: “…”
“No accomplices, and no guts for bloodshed either, so your kidnapping action is just to cut off contact with the outside world, then use video and audio to blackmail the family. I’m guessing right, aren’t I?”
As he said this, Wang Heng also lowered his voice.
Pei Ningle was sleeping inside the bedroom, and the bedroom door wasn’t closed. But at this moment, listening carefully, he could still hear faint snoring. Based on Wang Heng’s understanding of Pei Ningle, this girl wouldn’t pretend to be asleep if she woke up; she would have run over long ago.
So, should he wake her up now?
Wang Heng was still a bit unsure, thought for a moment, and decided it was better to chat with this kidnapper first.
Brother Song gave a bitter smile: “So clever, you must have studied at police academy, right?”
Wang Heng shook his head: “No, I’m just an ordinary university student. That said, your biggest problem this time is that you picked the wrong target.”
Brother Song: “Heh, I won’t pick the wrong target.”
Wang Heng: “How do you know she has money? All her clothes and gear probably don’t exceed two hundred yuan total.”
Brother Song said matter-of-factly: “I’m professional at this, kid. Let me tell you, clothes aren’t reliable; you have to look at sudden big spends—she bought a soft sleeper ticket to Rongdu, and didn’t even ask about salary, treatment, or contract stuff. That definitely means she’s not short of money.”
Wang Heng was practically amused: “She’s just clueless, so she seems like she has money! Let me put it this way: I even treated her to lunch; otherwise, she couldn’t even afford a bowl of noodles.”
Even against the light, it was clear Brother Song’s mouth had dropped open. No need to see his expression clearly; Wang Heng could guess the guy was dumbfounded.
Wang Heng sighed: “Indeed, emptying all the money in her pocket to buy a soft sleeper ticket, and not asking about salary, treatment, or anything… she looks like a young lady from a wealthy family who doesn’t lack money. But she’s really not rich; she’s just purely clueless.”
Brother Song forced himself to stay calm: “Doesn’t matter if she has no money; what about her parents?”
This remark made Wang Heng’s head hurt a bit.
Using the girl as a hostage to demand money from her parents—had to admit, the success probability of this move wasn’t small.
————
Gratitude for classmate Altria e’s reward!
