Chapter 424: The Only Way Out

“Ah, you scared me to death! Yiyi, what’s going on? Have you found Zhanpeng yet? When I came back from work, I heard my son say Zhanpeng still hasn’t come home. I was planning to come help you search,” Jia Chunhua said with a worried expression when she saw Li Yiyi.

Li Yiyi gratefully replied, “Sister-in-law, thank you. The child hasn’t been found yet. By the way, are Dabao and Xiao Bao at home? I need to ask them something.”

“They’re home, they’re home, both of them are here. Come on, I’ll take you in,” Jia Chunhua said quickly, leading Li Yiyi inside.

When they entered, the two brothers seemed to be whispering something, their expressions filled with hesitation.

“I told you to stay home and do your homework, didn’t I? Have you done your homework?” Jia Chunhua asked, furious, as she looked at the two sons who hadn’t done a bit of homework. She immediately grabbed their ears, making both brothers grimace in pain.

Li Yiyi, seeing this, quickly intervened. “Sister-in-law, I need to ask them something. Let’s hold off on the scolding for now.”

Jia Chunhua then realized the importance of the matter at hand and quickly released her grip. “Right, right, you need to ask them something. Go ahead.”

She turned to the brothers and warned them, “You two better answer Aunt Yiyi’s questions honestly. If we find out you’ve been hiding anything, wait until we get home, and I’ll deal with you.”

Li Yiyi called the brothers over. “Dabao, Xiao Bao, you two are the ones who spend the most time with Zhanpeng. Can you tell me, where did Zhanpeng go after school? Do you know anything?”

The two brothers exchanged uneasy glances, clearly hiding something from the adults.

At that moment, Li Yiyi immediately suspected that the two brothers were keeping a secret.

Having a secret was fine, what mattered most was that they weren’t telling lies.

“Come on, tell Aunt Yiyi. Zhanpeng might be in danger right now. You’re his friends, you definitely don’t want anything bad to happen to him, do you? Please tell me.”

When Li Yiyi said this, she noticed the two brothers’ expressions had softened, and she could tell they were starting to open up.

Jia Chunhua joined in, “Dabao, Xiao Bao, think about it. Aunt Yiyi has always been kind to you. You can’t forget her kindness. Don’t be ungrateful, got it?”

Finally, Xiao Bao couldn’t take it anymore and blurted out, “Zhanpeng said he was going to follow the bad man and see what bad things he was going to do. We tried to stop him, but he insisted. We couldn’t do anything.”

Dabao, seeing his brother had already spoken, knew they couldn’t keep hiding the truth anymore. He too confessed, “Yeah, when we were coming home from school today, Zhanpeng saw that man again, the one asking the kids in the military district about the pharmaceutical factory. Zhanpeng said he didn’t want to alert the bad guy, so he was going to follow him to see what he was up to.”

Li Yiyi’s face darkened at the revelation. As expected, what she had feared the most had happened.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly asked the brothers which direction her son had gone.

After getting the information she needed, Li Yiyi rushed out.

Jia Chunhua followed behind, saying, “Yiyi, let me come with you to look for Zhanpeng. It’s getting darker, and having more people will help.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law. You search in that direction, and I’ll go the other way. If we find anything, let’s meet at the broadcast room,” Li Yiyi said gratefully as she squeezed her hand.

“Got it. Don’t rush too much. Be careful,” Jia Chunhua replied, before they each went in different directions.

As Li Yiyi walked, she recalled the pharmaceutical factory. The man had only appeared here because of it.

Now that he was back, it had to be connected to the factory again.

She made up her mind and immediately headed toward the pharmaceutical factory.

When she arrived, the factory was eerily quiet, completely dark.

By now, the workers had finished their shifts, and aside from the guards, there was no one left in the factory.

When Li Yiyi approached, the guard immediately recognized her and gave her a respectful salute, saying, “Hello, Sister-in-law.”

Everyone who worked at the factory knew that it had been built thanks to Li Yiyi’s efforts.

Li Yiyi nodded back and glanced around, unsure how to directly ask questions. So, she casually tried to gather some information. “Comrade, I’d like to ask if you’ve seen a little boy passing by here while you’ve been on duty?”

The soldier thought for a moment before replying, “No, Sister-in-law, I haven’t seen any little boy.”

Li Yiyi frowned and quickly switched to another question. “What about any strangers? Have you seen anyone unfamiliar walking through or stopping by here?”

The soldier thought carefully for a while before suddenly saying, “Actually, now that you mention it, I did see a stranger earlier, before it got dark. He was hanging around behind the wall on the north side of the factory, but we quickly drove him away.”

Li Yiyi’s heart skipped a beat—finally, some useful information. “Do you remember which direction he went after that?”

The soldier nodded, his memory clear. “Yes, I remember. He headed toward the grassy area on the north side.”

Li Yiyi’s face lit up with hope. “The grassy area in the north, got it. Thank you.”

Just as she was about to leave, she heard a familiar voice calling her.

“Wife!” Jiang Hong was running toward her, drenched in sweat, looking like he had come directly from the training field.

Li Yiyi didn’t have time to check on him. She quickly relayed the information she had gathered. “I suspect the man took our son to the north grassy area. I’m heading there to check it out now.”

Jiang Hong, catching up with her, added urgently, “I’ve also asked around. The other directions are all being guarded by soldiers. If that man really wants to harm our son, the only way out is the north side. That area is full of grass, and there aren’t many patrols there.”