Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 206 My Brilliance

"Captain Zhang, I’ve got the information," a young female officer said seriously to the middle-aged man beside her. "The female teacher named Xiao Ran is indeed a major suspect in the case. The criminal suspect, Qu Zhiqiang, had close social ties with her before he was imprisoned."

"Send someone to the kindergarten immediately to keep an eye on Xiao Ran," Captain Zhang nodded. "Team One, pull up the surveillance footage near Xiao Ran's residence. Team Two, check Xiao Ran's recent call records to see if Qu Zhiqiang has been in contact with her since his release from prison."

"Yes, Captain!"

Shortly after, both teams of officers had updates.

"Captain Zhang, the surveillance footage shows that Qu Zhiqiang did appear near Xiao Ran's residence after his release from prison. He stayed there overnight and left early the next morning."

"Captain Zhang, Xiao Ran has recently made multiple calls to the same unknown number. We suspect that the owner of that number is Qu Zhiqiang."

Captain Zhang nodded, just about to give an order when his phone rang.

He pressed the answer button, and a woman's voice came through the line. "Hello... are you Captain Zhang?"

"My name is Chen Ting, I'm Shan Shan's teacher..."

"Oh, Ms. Chen, I remember you. What’s the matter?"

"Well..." Chen Ting hesitated before speaking, "Today, Xiao Ran insisted on taking a child home, and I’m a bit worried..." She proceeded to explain her concerns in detail to Captain Zhang.

"Ms. Chen, I understand the situation. Thanks for letting me know, there is no need to worry."

After hanging up the phone, Captain Zhang turned around with an extremely serious expression and said to everyone, "Team One and Team Two, grab your gear and follow me. Team Three, get the cars ready. Team Four, keep watch. The traffickers might make a move again today. We need to deploy early. Damn it, they actually dare to abduct children. It's time to take them down once and for all."

…

Meanwhile, Qu Zhiqiang was cruising down the street at a leisurely pace. In an effort to avoid attracting attention, he had switched from the usual minivan to a black sedan. He was waiting for the teachers and students at the kindergarten to leave so he could make his move and snatch the child in daylight.

As Qu Zhiqiang neared the kindergarten, he noticed that the school seemed to have dismissed the kids unusually early that day, and the area around it was eerily quiet.

The few street vendors left in the area were no longer shouting their usual sales pitches but instead remained oddly silent.

"Qu ge..." the scar-faced man, who was driving, asked, "What should we do now? Should we just grab the kid and drive off?"

Qu Zhiqiang gazed ahead at Xiao Ran and the little boy standing by the gate of the kindergarten.

"Scar, how’s your driving?" Qu Zhiqiang asked.

The scar-faced man thought for a moment before answering, "I don’t have a license, but I’ve been driving for years. I'm pretty good."

"Good," Qu Zhiqiang said, pointing toward Xiao Ran. "Run her over."

"Run her over?" The scar-faced man hesitated.

"What? You scared?"

"It’s not that I’m scared," The scar-faced sighed helplessly, "Running her over is easy, but you'll have to give me an extra five thousand. I’ll need to cover the car repairs."

"Hahaha!" Qu Zhiqiang laughed heartily. "No problem! I’ll give you ten thousand, just make sure you hit her hard!"

A newspaper vendor, noticing the slowly approaching black car, lowered his head and muttered softly, "Suspicious vehicle spotted at six o'clock. Group A, please confirm identity. Over."

"Group A, copy. Over."

A moment later, the response came.

"Group A has confirmed the individuals in the vehicle are the suspect Qu Zhiqiang and his accomplice. Over."

The newspaper vendor nodded and switched the walkie-talkie channel.

"All units, be advised. The suspect Qu Zhiqiang is in a black sedan at six o'clock. Begin closing in."

With that, a large number of police officers nearby began focusing on the black sedan. But in the next moment, the car accelerated, heading straight for the school gate.

...

Why hasn't he arrived yet?

I stood anxiously, growing impatient. I had an appointment with the psychologist tonight, Qu really knows how to waste my time.

Just as my patience was wearing thin, I suddenly spotted a black sedan approaching in the distance.

The sedan was moving slowly, which seemed odd. Could it be Qu ge'scar?

Was my money finally here?

I was about to move forward, pulling Chen Moran along, when the sedan suddenly accelerated toward us.

Before I could react, within the span of a single heartbeat, a group of people rushed in from all sides. They shouted and yelled, frantically speaking to both me and the black car.

But I couldn’t hear them anymore. What caught my attention was that the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in the distance suddenly split open.

Then, a deafening sound followed, and the ground beneath us trembled violently.

Just as the black sedan was about to hit me, I quickly grabbed Chen Moran and leaped to the side.

He was my 60,000 yuan! The whole world could go to hell, but I couldn't afford to lose my 60,000 yuan!

Unexpectedly, the earthquake was nothing like I had imagined. The ground didn’t bounce up and down, but swayed from side to side.

I lost my footing and fell flat on my face.

Thankfully, I was fine, and my 60,000 yuan was unharmed.

Once the earthquake passed, I could exchange him for money.

But just as I was caught off guard for a moment, I saw that black sedan reversing toward me.

It seemed determined to take my life.

I was hit, and everything went black.

...

I've been at this so-called {End Point} place for three whole days now.

It reeks here, worse than any of the old men I know.

What am I supposed to do from here on out?

That person called Qi Xia seems pretty impressive, but he’s not buying my act. He says he’s married and doesn’t like other women.

It's truly disgusting.

I've been with so many married men, and they were all thrilled, so why was he pretending with me?

Just because he looks decent, he thinks he can play games? Men like this are the hardest to deal with.

And that damn Zhao Haibo—ugh, heard he was a doctor, so I let him cop a couple of feels, thinking he’d give me money to spend after we make it out later. But when I was beaten by Yun Yao, he actually fucking chickened out!

I swear, I’ll kill Yun Yao...

But how?

As she was always surrounded by Qi Xia and that thug, I couldn't make a move.

Was there any way to make Yun Yao willingly give her life to me?

Lost in thought, I suddenly noticed the rabbit mask that was brought back yesterday.

Oh my God…

That’s the perfect method!

If I disguise myself as a rabbit… wouldn't she come to her own doom?

With that thought, I grabbed the mask and snuck out of the school, making my way toward the rabbit's game venue under the cover of the dark night.

I didn't expect this hellish place to be crawling with bugs; as soon as night fell, the noise of insects was deafening. The insects rustled and scurried around me, as if buzzing in my ears. But it didn’t matter. As long as I reached the rabbit’s game venue and disposed of her body, the escape game would be mine.

I would pretend to be the rabbit, waiting for others to come to their doom. It would be even better if Yun Yao came, so I could get my revenge.

I am so clever, always able to find the shortcut to what I want.

So… Yun Yao, can you figure out that it’s me behind the rabbit mask?

Ah!

She’s here, she’s here!

She even brought a fat old man with her—could that be her lover?