Miss Forensics – Chapter 63.1

Content Warning: This chapter contains scenes of intense violence and torture that may be distressing for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Ransom

At late night, ten o’clock.

Being the CEO of a large listed company with assets exceeding a hundred million is no easy task. Lin Youyuan is still in the conference room, haggling back and forth with representatives of a foreign company for a project worth tens of millions.

It’s a lively scene, with back-and-forth arguments and verbal battles.

The other party has been in China for over half a month, and everything from eating and drinking to personal needs is taken care of by Jingtai. They stay in five-star hotels, dine on gourmet cuisine and sushi, and even indulge in activities like taking baths and playing golf in their free time. Jingtai’s entire team is putting in their utmost effort.

Unexpectedly, the other party is unwilling to concede even a 0.1% profit and insists on them prepaying the initial capital.

Lin Youyuan’s eyebrows twitched. He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, simultaneously suppressing his anger.

At that moment, the secretary knocked on the door and hurriedly walked in, saying, “Sir. Lin…”

He raised an eyebrow, holding back his anger. “What’s the matter?”

The secretary glanced at the others who had stopped their discussion, leaned down, lowered her voice, and said by his ear, “Miss, she… “

He sat alone in the main seat, and the other employees were seated far away.

The secretary opened a tablet and handed it to him, saying, “Sent to your inbox five minutes ago.”

The screen was completely silent. Lin Yan appeared on it like a dead dog, limbs chained, suspended in mid-air. Even her neck was circled with a thumb-thick chain, her hair disheveled, and her body covered in blood.

Lin Youyuan muttered a few words through his teeth: “Useless, piece, of, junk.”

“Sir. Lin, what should we do now?” The secretary swallowed nervously, a look of panic on her face.

Lin Youyuan picked up a teacup, took a sip, and, treating the tablet like an ordinary report, closed it and handed it back to her.

“What do you mean, ‘what to do’? We don’t even have one cent.”

Clearly, there were representatives from the foreign company who understood Chinese. Hearing this, some became visibly uneasy. This played right into Lin Youyuan’s hands. He waved his hand, signaling the secretary to leave and continued discussing business.

As the secretary walked out, she became increasingly frightened. Turning back and forth, she watched as time ticked away, with less than two hours remaining until the deadline set by the kidnappers for the ransom payment.

She gritted her teeth, took out her phone from her pocket, and reluctantly made a call, “Hello, is this the Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau? I’m reporting a case on behalf of the Jingtai Group…”

* * *

Since the operation began, Feng Jianguo has been standing in front of the training room’s large screen, not eating or drinking all day.

Seeing that they have arrived at the hospital downstairs, Song Yuhang pressed the intercom button: “Team One, Team Two, Team Three, secure the stairs, be ready for firepower support at any time.”

“Snipers, occupy the high ground.”

A head popped up from the control station on the opposite beach amusement park: “Snipers are in position.”

“Team Four, Team Five, Team Six, advance alternately, move with me in a tactical formation for search.”

Several special police officers carrying explosion-proof shields quickly approached. Song Yuhang held a gun, leaned against the wall, and the loose strands under her helmet were all wet.

The group silently moved along the wall.

The perimeter drones transmitted real-time footage back to the city bureau, and Feng Jianguo couldn’t help but sweat for them.

“Director Feng, something’s wrong!” someone rushed in and shouted.

Without turning around, he instinctively burst out, “What the hell is wrong?! Can’t you say auspicious words at a critical moment like this?!”

The young police officer rushed in, cradling a tablet, looking flustered and forgetting to salute, “It’s not… not good… Forensic Doctor Lin… Forensic Doctor Lin is in trouble!!!”

Duan Cheng, just bringing tea for Feng Jianguo, saw him push the tablet in front of him. He swallowed hard and said, “Jingtai Group just reported a case. Forensic Doctor Lin has been kidnapped and is missing, and a large ransom is being demanded. This is the video sent by the kidnappers.”

The screen was opened, and everyone in the training room instinctively stopped what they were doing.

Just from the background, it was impossible to determine where it was. Lin Yan didn’t say a word, not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t.

A thumb-thick iron chain was looped around her neck, hanging her head in mid-air. A knife was inserted into her shoulder, and it was unclear whether she was alive or dead.

Just from this segment of the footage, even seasoned detectives like Feng Jianguo, with decades of investigative experience, couldn’t discern any clues.

At the end of the email, the ransom demanded by the kidnappers was one hundred million, a staggering amount!

Feng Jianguo paced back and forth, pinching his brow fiercely. Suddenly, he turned around, grabbed the teacup from Duan Cheng’s hand, and slammed it onto the ground.

Tea splattered, shards of porcelain scattered everywhere, and the others dared not make a sound.

Feng Jianguo breathed heavily, “Damn, they sure know how to pick their timing. One billion! Why don’t they just rob a bank?!”

The arrest operation reached a critical moment, with almost the entire available police force in Jiangcheng City on the front line. Not to mention a detective squad, Feng Jianguo couldn’t even assemble a surveillance team at the moment!

Zhang Jinhai watched the recorded video, and after a long pause, he found his voice and stuttered, “Sh-shall we… inform Captain Song… and have her recall some of the team?”

Feng Jianguo, hands behind his back, paced back and forth and decisively rejected the suggestion, “No, we can’t distract her. We haven’t confirmed the connection between these two cases. Lin Yan’s life is at stake, as well as others’. We can’t take that risk.”

Despite his words, Lin Youyuan was already in his sixties this year, and despite his frequent remarriages, it was unlikely for him to have more children.

Lin Yan, as the sole heir of the Lin family and the future CEO of Jingtai, her life was exceptionally valuable. Otherwise, the secretary wouldn’t have rushed in to report the case in such a frantic manner.

“Have the Jingtai people arrived?”

“They have, waiting in the reception room.”

“Block the news first. Not a single word about this can leak out. Technicians, analyze the video location and the opponent’s server immediately. It must be fast!”

Experience counts in the end.

Feng Jianguo put on a wide-brimmed hat and walked briskly outside, saying, “It’s good they’re here. I’ll inquire personally.”

After Feng Jianguo left, Duan Cheng approached Zheng Chengrui, saying, “Old Zheng… Forensic Doctor Lin… she… she…”

Zheng Chengrui was typing on the keyboard, sweating profusely, “Can’t decrypt it. The background is a warehouse, no reference points at all. There must be hundreds or thousands of warehouses like this in Jiangcheng City.”

Duan Cheng was getting anxious, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he leaned on Zheng Chengrui’s shoulder, “What if we just tell Captain Song? I think she’ll find a solution.”

Zheng Chengrui glanced at him, pushed him away, and lowered his voice, “Are you crazy? Still thinking about taking the civil service exam? Didn’t you hear what Director Feng said? Not a single word can be leaked.”

Duan Cheng choked for a moment, “I…”

“But… but…” He was as agitated as an ant on a hot pan. Although Forensic Doctor Lin had a sharp tongue and a violent streak, they were colleagues. Every time they watched her dissect a corpse, he could learn a lot. Could they just watch her miss the deadline for the ransom and die in vain?

The Lin family is really something, he thought. They have a fortune of millions, yet they can’t bear to part with a mere hundred million.

While Duan Cheng was getting anxious, Feng Jianguo knew that this wasn’t the first time for the Lin family.

When he entered the reception room and saw the secretary instead of Lin Youyuan, he felt a pang of unease.

“Please have a seat.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the secretary stood up abruptly, not waiting for him to speak, and spoke fluently.

“Hello, Director Feng. I am Director Lin’s secretary, representing Jingtai Group in handling this matter. We really can’t come up with this one hundred million. We just completed the second round of financing for this fiscal year…”

He had heard this reasoning many years ago.

The person who had raged in the training room now maintained the dignity befitting a city-level public security bureau chief when facing outsiders.

Feng Jianguo didn’t waste words with her, “The kidnappers sent the email at 9:30, but you reported the case at 10:10. Now, there’s less than an hour and a half left until the ransom exchange. Where do you want me to find people for you?”

The secretary kept wiping the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, saying, “Apologies, apologies. Director Lin is in a meeting. It’s really, really… can only rely on the comrades from the police, comrades from the police.”

Before she could finish, the computer screen of the nearby technician lit up.

“Director Feng, the kidnapper sent another message.”

Lin Youyuan watched as Lin Yan in the video was tortured, her head forcefully pushed into the water, struggling desperately. The iron chain dragged on the ground, making a clattering sound. The wound on her shoulder started bleeding again, tinting the once clear water a faint red.

She gritted her teeth, remaining silent. Her hair was yanked, pulling her up, and the assailant grabbed a handful of white powder from the side, sprinkling it on her wounds.

The secretary covered her eyes, her heart pounding, “What… what is this?”

Soon, she found out.

Coarse salt grains embedded deeply into the flesh, melting in the blood. Lin Yan, in excruciating pain, couldn’t bear it any longer. A scream erupted from the depths of her throat.

Lin Youyuan forcefully closed the laptop, closed his eyes, and sat alone in the dark conference room, his eyebrows lightly twitching.

“You motherf***er!” A roar echoed from the man, his voice hoarse and gravelly. He slapped Lin Yan across the face.

Lin Yan still didn’t relent, tightly biting his arm until he forcefully slammed her head against the wall, again and again, the echoing sound of “bang, bang, bang” reverberating in the warehouse.

The wall quickly bore a large patch of bloodstains. When Lin Yan fell down, a chunk of flesh had been bitten off from his arm.

The man, in excruciating pain, kicked her chest several times. He dragged her forward by her hair, leaving a trail of blood wherever they passed.

LP: Sorry for not updating yesterday!

One more thing… is the site really filled with ads? I’m using auto ads for adsense so I don’t really know if the ads are much more aggressive to your side than mine, which I only see at least 2-4 ads. Please tell me if this is the case and I’ll adjust it!