Chapter 97

Song Wen made arrangements for Zhu Xiao and Lao Jia to take the evidence to Zhang Congyun’s house, but he became increasingly uneasy.

If all three parties were looking for Huo Shaoqing, their preparations might be the most inadequate. With this in mind, Song Wen called Fu Linjiang: “Hey, Linjiang, you must intercept Huo Shaoqing, and be careful of Zhang Congyun. He might also go to the airport with dangerous items. I suspect he might retaliate against Huo Shaoqing.”

The phone was filled with noise, and then Fu Linjiang’s helpless voice came through: “Captain Song, we haven’t arrived yet.”

Song Wen was stunned. “Didn’t you just leave?” According to the schedule, they should have reached the airport by now.

Fu Linjiang sighed. “The direction to the airport entrance is heavily congested. Our car is stuck outside. The drivers in front are familiar with this road and said that the traffic volume here today is several times higher than usual.”

“Who could it be?” Song Wen frowned. Was it Zhang Congyun’s doing? Or was it someone from the Huo family?

Fu Linjiang replied, “Not sure, but it’s probably not a coincidence. We asked a few drivers just now, and they all said they received company orders yesterday and were paid in advance.”

“I see. Hurry up and find a way to get there as soon as possible,” Song Wen said. “You should contact the airport control from the bureau and prepare for a possible escalation of the situation. I’ll inform Commissioner Gu.”

Fu Linjiang said helplessly, “Alright, we’re stuck without moving an inch here. There are only two kilometers left. If it doesn’t work, I’ll run over first.”

Song Wen tried to calm himself down and called Commissioner Gu to report the situation. Commissioner Gu became nervous after listening and urged him to find out more.

After hanging up the Bluetooth headset, Song Wen began to consider various possibilities. If Lu Siyu’s speculation was correct, then Zhang Congyun was undoubtedly very dangerous. Would he kill at the airport? No… he probably wouldn’t act at the airport. If he brought dangerous items, he might not be able to get close to the airport. But once he brought those dangerous items to the outskirts of the airport and received Huo Shaoqing’s call, the situation would spiral out of control.

As he was lost in thought, Song Wen’s car had already arrived at the residential area where Huo Chen lived. He showed his credentials at the entrance and was led into the reception room by a butler-like person.

The villa where the Huo family lived was the thirty-sixth one. Song Wen pressed the doorbell, and a butler opened the door, ushering him into the living room.

The Huo family’s villa had four floors, decorated luxuriously. However, Song Wen had no interest in admiring it. He anxiously asked, “Where’s your boss, Huo Chen? I’m a police officer and need to speak with him about an important matter!”

According to the timing, Huo Shao’s plane should have just landed. It would take some time for him to disembark and leave the boarding area. However, while Song Wen was anxious, the people here seemed completely unperturbed. The butler-like figure bowed slightly and said, “Mr. Huo knows. He asked you to wait for him here, he’ll be down soon.”

Song Wen could only sit on a nearby chair. Then, he turned his head to the side and suddenly froze. The reception room was decorated unusually, with a huge transparent glass cabinet on one wall in the west. The glass cabinet was about one person tall and filled with blue jelly-like substances, which were illuminated, emitting a somewhat eerie blue light.

Song Wen was puzzled. Concentrating, he realized that it was an ant farm enclosed within the glass cabinet. The blue glass jelly was translucent, allowing one to see the ants’ activities inside.

In the depths of the glass cabinet, the ants were busy building their nests. It was conservatively estimated that there were thousands of ants in this tank, black dots bustling about busily.

Song Wen furrowed his brows slightly. It was surprising that Mr. Huo kept so many ants at home. While he didn’t object to people having unique pets, having so many ants displayed in the reception room made one feel uncomfortable.

As Song Wen was thinking, a voice came from behind him, “When I have nothing to do here, I like to watch these ants. Sometimes, I can watch them for a whole day.”

Song Wen turned his head and saw a middle-aged, well-built man entering from the doorway. It was Mr. Huo Chen, the boss he had previously looked up information about.

Song Wen handed over his police officer’s identification: “Mr. Huo, this is truly a unique hobby.”

“Don’t you think it’s similar to our society? There are thousands of worker ants and soldier ants, and the upper class are like princesses and father ants. Only the elite can become the rulers of the ant colony…”

Huo Chen smiled, as if he himself were the ruler of the ant colony. He boasted of being smart, wealthy, and powerful, manipulating ordinary people as if they were in the palm of his hand.

Song Wen didn’t have time to chat with him and tried to be brief: “Mr. Huo, we suspect that your son Huo Shaoqing is related to a car accident that occurred last Christmas Eve. We hope Mr. Huo can cooperate with our investigation.”

Huo Chen sat down on the swivel chair near the desk: “Officer Song, so what do you want me to do?”

“Your family went to the airport to pick him up, right? I hope you can hand him over to the police…”

Before Song Wen could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Mr. Huo: “Wait a moment, Officer Song. Are you saying my son had an accident? Last year’s accident? As far as I know, my son didn’t commit any traffic violations last year. You police need evidence, don’t you?” His gaze towards Song Wen was as if he were looking at a tiny ant.

Song Wen had already anticipated that it wouldn’t be so easy. Being interrupted like this annoyed him slightly. Huo Chen’s calm demeanor irritated him even more. He patiently explained, “Mr. Huo, I just want to ask, where is your Porsche now? We conducted an investigation earlier. There are over a dozen cars in Nancheng with the same model, color, and car accessories as yours. However, one of them is currently unaccounted for, which happens to be your Porsche.”

Huo Chen remained calm: “I sold that car to a friend’s company. It was a cash transaction, and they handled everything themselves.”

“Then let me ask again, where was your son Huo Shaoqing on the night of last Christmas Eve until Christmas morning?”

“My son was at home all Christmas Eve.”

“Really? Aren’t the people in this bar Huo Shaoqing?” Song Wen had prepared for this, pushing a photo in front of Huo Chen.

“With such a blurry photo, I really can’t tell if it’s my son or not. Besides, if you want to arrest my son, go find him. Why come here to ask me?” Mr. Huo picked up a cigarette, smiling at Song Wen. He didn’t care if his lie was exposed; he was testing the police’s knowledge.

Song Wen knew clearly that this person was clearly pretending to be ignorant while fully understanding the situation. Huo Chen completely misused his eloquence from the business world and carried himself with an arrogant attitude. Suppressing his anger, Song Wen said, “Mr. Huo, Huo Shaoqing should have already landed by now. I hope you understand his situation. Besides us, the victims’ families from the accident are also looking for him. We suspect that Huo Shaoqing might be in danger. I hope you can cooperate with the police!”

Huo Chen lit a cigarette and took a puff. “Oh. Thanks for the reminder, Officer Song. I believe I can still protect my son. You don’t need to bother about these matters.”

Foolish, truly foolish…

Song Wen knew that Huo Chen was deliberately delaying time by talking to him. He must have made careful arrangements at the airport, confident that he could bypass the police and protect Huo Shaoqing. Perhaps in his mind, he even thought that Song Wen’s words were just bluffs.

Rolling up his sleeves, Song Wen was about to say something when Huo Chen’s phone, placed on the table, suddenly rang. It was the default ringtone of a Guo phone. Though it was just a moment, Song Wen’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the screen displaying “son.” It was a call from Huo Shaoqing, indicating that he had landed.

Huo Chen hesitated visibly, unsure whether he should answer the call in front of Song Wen.

The phone kept ringing incessantly, and after four or five rings without the caller hanging up, Huo Chen finally answered, “Hello…”

“Dad, save me!” Suddenly, a cry for help came from the phone. The cry was loud enough for Song Wen standing nearby to hear clearly.

Song Wen’s eyebrows raised. The worst had happened. Their people hadn’t arrived first, and Huo’s men hadn’t picked up Huo Shaoqing. Although they didn’t know how, Zhang Congyun had managed to get ahead.

Huo Chen’s face instantly turned pale. He wouldn’t mistake his son’s voice.

“Hello… Hello! Shaoqing?! Where are you?” Huo Chen held the phone, trembling.

The other end of the phone was filled with noise. Then, there was a thud, as if the phone had been thrown out the window, and then the call was abruptly cut off. Huo Chen’s heart sank.

“Mr. Huo, do you finally believe what I said?” Song Wen spoke up.

Huo Chen looked up at him, seemingly still wanting to resist. Trembling, he dialed a number on his phone urgently, “Hello, didn’t you pick up Shaoqing?”

“Boss, we’ve been waiting at the terminal, but Shaoqing never showed up…”

Huo Chen hung up the phone and looked at Song Wen, his eyes filled with shock. Finally, he believed it. Then, he seemed to be struck by lightning, his face turning gray. He sat there, stunned, staring at Song Wen, as Song Wen made a call to the municipal bureau for assistance: “Yes, I’m at Huo’s residence… It’s now confirmed that Huo Shaoqing has been kidnapped by Zhang Congyun… Coordinate with the airport, block all roads. The other party’s goal might not be just kidnapping but also revenge murder…”

Murder?!

Hearing this word, Huo Chen seemed to come alive again. His eyes darted around, looking at Song Wen, as if seeing the last straw for his life.

The fifty-year-old Huo Chen suddenly knelt down on the ground, trembling, grasping the hem of Song Wen’s clothes. “Officer Song, please, save Shaoqing. He’s my only son. I… I’ll cooperate with your work.”

Song Wen looked down at Huo Chen. “Mr. Huo, I hope you can tell me the truth. Was last year’s car accident related to Huo Shaoqing?”

Huo Chen gritted his teeth, looking at Song Wen without saying a word, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

He had always doted on his son, giving him the best of everything. But today, despite the meticulous arrangements he had made, thinking he had cleverly evaded the police, he seemed to have handed Huo Shaoqing over to Zhang Congyun himself. In the end, he didn’t know if he had helped or harmed him.

The glass tank in the living room cast a blue light on Huo Chen’s face. The change in his attitude over the past few minutes made him look like a ridiculous clown.

Song Wen, looking down at him from above, realized that Huo Chen’s stature wasn’t tall. There was a huge ring on the middle finger of his right hand. Suddenly, Song Wen remembered the peculiar marks found on the glove at the chemical plant where Chen Yanqiu died. The glove had an odd mark on the middle finger.

“Mr. Huo, didn’t you start your business and co-founded a chemical factory with someone before?” Huo Chen had once ventured into business with someone, but the information obtained by the police before was not very clear.

“So, were you the one who disposed of Chen Yanqiu’s body at Qinghe Chemical?” Song Wen took a step forward as he spoke.

For a moment, Huo Chen’s eyes trembled violently.

He had previously inspected the factory where he had invested, knowing it was remote and later abandoned. So, after Chen Yanqiu’s death, he made the decision to dispose of the body. He never expected that the police would not only investigate the Christmas Eve accident but also this case…

A few minutes ago, in the bustling hall of Nancheng Airport, the crowd surged as usual. Various flight information was broadcast over the speakers. Near the international flight exit, several of Huo’s bodyguards were anxiously waiting in the VIP channel. They were craning their necks, but despite everyone leaving, there was no sign of Huo Shaoqing.

At this moment, a man wearing a hat and mask emerged from the staff exit of the airport, following a few disembarking staff members. Then, he thanked the flight attendants who had escorted him out.

Nancheng Airport had three exits, but most people only knew about the regular and VIP channels. In fact, there was also a channel exclusively for flight attendants and cabin crew to enter and exit.

Zhao Liu’er reached out a hand, pulled down her clothes to cover the ticking timer. She trembled as she spoke, “Huo Ge, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I had no choice, I had no choice.” As she spoke, she took out a phone from Huo Shaoqing’s body and handed it to the driver in the front seat.

“The password,” the driver in the front seat took Huo Shaoqing’s phone and asked in a somewhat aged voice.

Huo Shaoqing licked his lips nervously, not speaking. Zhao Liu’er glanced at him, grabbed his arm, and pleaded, “Huo Ge… listen to him, otherwise, if he presses the button, we’ll both die… he’s not lying… he demonstrated it to me yesterday…”

So, the situation now was… he was being kidnapped? Sweat beaded on Huo Shaoqing’s forehead. He rattled off a few numbers, and the driver in the front seat opened the phone’s contact list, selected “Dad,” and pressed the dial button. His voice was low and hoarse, “Now, say something to your dad.”

It took a while for the call to connect. Huo Shaoqing shouted, “Dad, save me…”

He only managed to say those three words before the driver lowered the car window slightly and then threw the phone out of the window.

As the sound of the phone shattering came, the last shred of hope was shattered. Huo Shaoqing felt a cold sensation rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He shouted at the driver, “Who are you? Why are you kidnapping me?!”

The driver in the front seat turned to look at him, revealing an old face under the brim of his hat. His eyes, however, were sharp and filled with hatred. “I’m the one who’s going to kill you.”