Drowsiness.
Severe pain.
.....
Chu Ci's body twitched slightly, he opened his eyes, and then closed them tightly again.
The high fever paralyzed his senses, and it took several minutes for his nerves to pick up the information and relay to the brain that behind him were hard walls and that he was lying on the dusty ground. Then it dawned on him that he had been kidnapped.
The dramatic events of the past day and a half had gone by like a flash: encountering security guards in a warehouse, answering a phone call from a mentor while being at a gunpoint, trying to leave a distress signal, hanging up the phone and then being knocked out....
Chu Ci exhaled hot air and tried to sit upright, but as soon as he moved, he sucked in a mouthful of cold air due to the sharp pain from his ribs.
--Yeah, I'm hurt, he thought.
The kidnappers set the car on fire, and pushed him towards the highway. It was so dark, there was no one around, not a soul to be seen even if he called for help, and as they were passing through the bushes, he decided to take a desperate gamble. He knocked into the kidnapper struggling to leave the kidnapper's blood on broken branches and dead leaves…
Then he was pulled up by several people and punched until he lost consciousness from the beating.
Why didn't they kill me? In a haze, this thought flashed through Chu Ci's mind.
Everyone knows that I came from a poor background, and had no connections, even if I got kidnapped there was no possibility of getting ransom. From the gangster's standpoint, it was unrealistic to escape with a big living man who could run away and cry for help. Stubbing him to death and burying him in the wilderness, would've undoubtedly been more convenient for them
Unless they still had a use for me.
What value did I hold to them?
Chu Ci was forcing himself to calm down and think over his current situation, when suddenly a loud noise drew his attention. He reluctantly opened his eyes, and after his eyesight adjusted to the dim surroundings, he was startled.
...Ding Dang?
It was a dilapidated room of no more than five or six square meters, the only light was coming from the concrete barred window on the ceiling. It was impossible to tell if it was early morning or late afternoon. The grey sky light reflected the silhouette of a young girl on the floor, who was painfully trying to regain her consciousness and vaguely uttering : "...help...help...help...!"
Chu Ci immediately looked towards the door, but fortunately the volume of Ding Dang's voice wasn't too loud, so it shouldn't have roused the vigilance of the kidnappers outside.
"What's going on..." mumbled Ding Dang in a low voice, struggling to sit up. But she was too weak, her whole body went limp as soon as she made the effort - fortunately, Chu Ci reached out in time to assist her, otherwise she would have fallen and gotten a concussion on the spot.
"...Chu Ci? Great, great. I knew you were okay! --"
Chu Ci quickly put his index finger in front of his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
Ding Dang suddenly shut up, only to hear the vague sound of the criminals' conversation and footsteps outside the door which gradually got further away...."
The tense nerves of the two young people relaxed a little, and Chu Ci frowned and asked, "Why are you here?"
He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. As Ding Dang's trembling, which had stopped so easily, immediately started again, and even grew more and more intense, and the black grape-like eyes were rapidly filled with tears: "I, I wanted to turn myself in, I wanted to expose the gang, but halfway there I got...just..."
Chu Ci instructed her to lower the volume, "Turn yourself in?"
Ding Dang nodded with a shaky head.
"...Feng Yuguang's affair has something to do with Ding Dang?"
Ding Dang first nodded, then shook her head. She seemed very agitated and at a loss for words. It took her half a day to force herself to calm down and say: "No, yes... it's me, I killed Xiao Feng!"
Chu Ci raised his eyebrows.
"On that.. that night of May 2nd, Xiao Feng asked me out to sing at the Nocturnal Palace KTV. He often tried to ask me out on a date in those days, but I couldn't go... Although I turned him down, he still insisted on going to the downtown KVT by himself and waiting for me to come over..."
Ding Dang hugged her knees, as if she were a frightened and scared animal.
"I stayed home late until midnight when my father and Hu Weisheng came back and said, 'That Feng guy won't be able to haunt you anymore. I didn't understand what that meant at the time. It wasn't until two days later that you were taken to the Municipal Public Security Bureau by the police that I realized that Xiao Feng had died that night, and the man who killed him must have been, must have been-- "
Chu Ci interrupted her, "Who is Hu Weisheng?"
Ding Dang swallowed her saliva.
Chu Ci stared at her.
"...It's my boyfriend," Ding Dang admitted with a shudder, "It's my father, he had to call me, he had to..."
Actually, regardless of who Ding Dang was dating, it didn't pose a problem for Chu Ci. But the young girl's appearance at the moment was really too odd, it didn't feel like it was due her parents being tyrannical and deciding on a love interest for her, but it was as if she was being tortured by a more horrible and cruel secret, that made it difficult to talk to people easily.
"He's a drug, drug dealer..." Ding Dang finally broke down and held her head. "My father said that Hu Weisheng hid a bag of an extremely powerful drug sample that he had stolen from other people's transportation chain while having worked for a particularly big boss. It is said that the big boss asked people to synthesize this drug by pure chemical means, and that many of the raw materials used in its manufacture were not subject to the control of the state. What is even more frightening is that it can be absorbed through skin contact, and even one milligram can be addictive. And after becoming addicted, the symptoms can only be relieved by taking the same drugs. "
Chu Ci's face color changed slightly.
—— It is made from pure chemical compounds without the use of plant chemicals, bypassing most state-regulated ingredients, and more importantly, it is also skin absorbent.
Once this kind of drug structure was released and mass production was achieved, it would be popular all over the world in minutes. It was not an exaggeration to say that it could even cause the Second Opium War.
Ding Dang was sobbing: "My father and those people have a crooked mind, they wanted to develop the same drug. However, the structural formula was really too complicated. They stole a lot of controlled raw materials from the chemical factory, and some of the failed results were highly toxic. After I secretly investigated, I found out that my dad and Hu Weisheng used one of those failed compounds to sell it to Xiao Feng as a drug. That's what got him killed..."
Chu Ci had a splitting headache and pressed his brows tightly.
"Impossible," he blurted after a moment, "I can't think of any compound that could be this powerful."
Ding Dang shook her head to show that she didn't understand, and wiped her tears.
Chu Ci asked, "Where did you say Hu Weisheng stole it from just now, and who researched this drug?"
"I, I don't know ah." Ding Dang lifted her tear-stained face and said pitifully, "I never asked, I only heard heard Hu Weisheng mention it to my father once - he didn't dare to name the big boss, but he did mention that during the early years, around the southwest, they respectfully called that man as K of Spades..."
K of spades.
A door lock clicked, Ding Dang's entire body jumped in shock, and they both looked towards the closed door at the same time.
The door was pushed open, and the first thing that appeared was the gun's muzzle. Ding Dang didn't manage to let out a scream as Chuc Ci had covered her mouth. Then the kidnapper they all knew, Wang Le, the chemical factory electrician, walked into the room with a gun and stood in front of the two hostages, staring gloomily at them.
"Are you done talking?" He asked coldly.
Chu Ci was silent, and the frequency of Ding Dang's trembling could be seen by the naked eye.
"You," Wang Le pointed the gun at Chu Ci, "Come out with me."
.
City Bureau, interrogation room.
Yan Xie pulled out the chair, signaled with his eyes to Gao Pan Qing not to record anything, and sat down.
Ding Jiawang was handcuffed to the interrogation chair behind the iron table, it was unknown whether it was because of the uncomfortable position, or if it was caused by madness and fear due to the prospect of death, but his entire body seemed to be exceptionally aged, and what little hair was left was hanging down in front of his forehead. He was unable to stop the frustration and decadence seeping out from the marrow of his bones.
--but experienced detectives knew that the likes of Ding Jiawang, those who were convinced they wouldn't be caught, tended to get tougher and tougher with each passing moment. Because he subconsciously refused to believe that he would fail, always thinking that as long as he continued to resist, as long as he gritted his teeth and didn't confess, there was a slight chance things would take a turn for the better.
"Why are you here if you're looking for my daughter?" The corners of Ding Jiawang's mouth moved, giving a smile that resembled sarcasm, "Trying to force a confession? Or did you prepare some false evidence to blackmail me? It's no use, I don't know anything."
He is indeed an engineer, probably the most educated person in a drug manufacturing gang, so he even thought of the possibility of the police tricking him into a confession.
But Yan Xie was relaxed, he poured a glass of water in front of him and said, "Let's talk."
Ding Jiawang looked at him warily.
"No need to be on guard, I don't want you to say anything, your wife already told us everything she could." Yan Xie took a sip of water in front of him and smiled, "Although she doesn't know much, still it's barely enough to piece together a general idea - so now you don't have to open your mouth, I'll talk, just listen."
".... " Ding Jiawang still didn't say anything, as if he had anticipated the possibility that his wife might not be able to handle the interrogation, and didn't express much surprise.
"First of all, your gang is formed out of the working relationship between you, electrician Wang Le and security supervisor Diao Yong. Chi Rui, who has a record of illegal gun making, belonged to "outsiders". I guess the reason why he joined is that he liked to go to the chess and card room, secretly participate in gambling, and that's how he got acquainted with electrician Wang Le at the gambling table. At the beginning of the establishment of the gang, your main activity should not have been the manufacture of drugs, but the smuggling of various raw materials from chemical plants to synthesize some controlled drugs - Adderall, Modafinil, Flunitrazepam, add Molly at most. But the profits from these illegal prescription drugs were very limited. Even if you continued to sell flunitrazepam to illegal karaoke places like "Sanchunhua" the income earned was still stretched thin."
Yan Xie slightly leaned forward, crossed his fingers, and propped his strong elbows on the table.
"Until you met the old client of "Sanchunhua"- Hu Weisheng."
Ding Jiawang's finally became short of breath.
"Hu Weisheng had once worked as a dealer under a powerful and well-hidden drug lord, and although he was out of that organization, he secretly brought something out." Yan Xie said one word at a time: "You found a business opportunity in this item and officially started making drugs."
Outside the interrogation room, Technical Investigation Division.
"There are a total of 33 small-scale private enterprises and factories related to processing and packaging in the Wuhai Industrial Zone. Including the gas station where Chi Rui once appeared, the number of factories within 40 kilometers in diameter is 18."
"Director Huang, the location is here! Wang Le called his family for the last time at 8:30 the day before yesterday, and the cell phone signal location was near the post office north of Fuyou Road, Pingzhuang, Wuhai District!"
"So there are six processing and packaging factories within forty kilometers in diameter with the post office as the center of the circle, and if you cross-reference it with the area around the gas station where Chi Rui had appeared earlier-"
"Three! After overlapping the areas of operation of the two suspects, Chi Rui and Wang Le, there are three processing plants left in the end!"
"List the registration information, geographical locations and detailed topographic maps of these three factories," Huang Xing stood up from his seat and said in a deep voice, "Summarize the list and send it to Deputy Chief Yan."
"I don't know what you're talking about '', Ding Jiawang's muddy voice sounded in the interrogation room. I'm not producing drugs. "
"Whether you make drugs or not is just my guess before a sufficient chain of evidence is formed. Of course, it's okay to call this a speculation. But I said we're just talking now, not taking notes, so you don't have to be too nervous. "
Yan Xie adjusted to a more comfortable sitting position.
His finely tailored shirt fit his body perfectly, outlining his broad shoulders, narrow waist and muscular curves, his cuffs were rolled up to his strong elbows, his fingers were relaxed and crossed, and the intricate suspended tourbillon on his watch dial stood out in the light.
Sometimes, when Yan Xie entered the interrogation room, he didn't look like a criminal investigation deputy chief, but more like a cold, professional and intimidating lawyer, even his smiling expression held a trace of blood.
"The main purpose of your daughter Ding Dang's relationship with Hu Weisheng was for his drug trafficking channels, and furthermore the bag of stuff that Hu Weisheng had hidden. As an expert, you knew its value from the first glance. You also realized if you could find out the structure of this new type of drug and achieve its mass production, you could even build an underground drug city—"
"But contrary to the expectations, your academic abilities did not live up to this ambition." Yan Xie smiled, "Feng Yuguang's autopsy results showed a lethal amount of scopolamine, and I'm certain that the bag of real Blue powder is not going to poison an addict to death. In other words, your imitation has completely failed."
The moment he heard blue powder, Ding Jiawang's body obviously had a violent shock.
"That's why when you discovered that there was a possibility that Chu Ci could be aware of the theft of the chemical ingredients, you advocated not to silence him, but rather to kidnap him. Because you had become very aware of your limited talents and had known you might not be able to achieve mass production of this precious bag of blue drug samples for the rest of your life, so there was an urgent need for this highly talented student who finished his master's degree at the country's top university at the age of twenty-one to come and assist from the sidelines."
Ding Jiawang's face became increasingly gray, cold sweat was pouring down his face, and soon his back was wet.
"...You're making all this up..." he muttered hoarsely, "I had nothing to do with the theft of controlled chemicals by the intern I brought with me..."
"You'd better reconsider, Engineer Ding."
Yan Xie's eyes were sharp but his tone was flat, and every word was slow and strong, as if it could nail into the marrow of Ding Jiawang's brain: "Kidnapping can still be turned around, but if Chu Ci died, the nature of the whole thing would change. With full cooperation with the police, you can strive for commutation of sentence. You have a wife and child. Why must you hurry to your death? As an educated man, you can think about it for a few more minutes, this is the last chance I'm giving you. "
Time was dragging very slowly.
"I don't sell drugs," Ding Jiawang twisted his handcuffs nervously, and repeated mechanically in the loud noise: "No, I didn't make drugs, let me go..."
Yan Xie slightly sighted.
Just then Ma Xiang's voice sounded on the Bluetooth headset: " Brother Yan, we have brought Diao Yong out. We will head to the interrogation room!"
"I see." Yan Xie let go of the headset and turned to Ding Jiawang. He shrugged regretfully: "It doesn't matter. Although you choose to give up this opportunity, there will be people competing for it."
Ding Jiawang seemed to feel something. He raised his head in panic. Yan Xie stood up and patted Gao Panqing: "Go ahead."
Gao Panqing nodded: "No problem, Brother Yan."
Ding Jiawang subconsciously said: "What, what?"
"Do you think we were counting on your confession? No, the police have a professional profile on which of the criminals from the gang are the most prone to psychological breakdown. You were not our goal from the very beginning, as you are textbook stubborn. You did not disappoint us."
Yan Xie stood in the doorway and smiled. His features were very handsome, but his smile looked somewhat bossy and gangster-like: "Let's make a bet. In ten minutes I'll get that security supervisor Diao Yong to spill the beans, and even spit out several nests of rats from your drug factory - Lao Gao, start the timer for him."