"The only case that was solved was when the Frontier ard force kidnapped a family mber of a departnt leader from the Hegemony Company. That leader contacted the kidnapper’s head, saying that if they didn’t release the hostage, he would airdrop a Razor Squadron to their hotown."
"The kidnappers thought they might suffer losses if it continued, so they released the hostage."
The implication in Song Sangla’s words was—if you want them to release the person, Director Su, you should first see if you have the sa deterrence as the Hegemony Company.
Su Mo knew this guy was no help, so he didn’t waste any more words and just got up to leave.
Song Sangla nodded in farewell: "Take care, Mr. Su. If there’s any progress, I’ll let you know."
After Su Mo left, Song Sangla closed the door, took a leisurely sip of tea, and made a phone call.
Leaning back in his chair, Song Sangla calmly said, "Hey, yeah, I brushed it off. Be more careful next ti, do more background research, and stop ssing with these tough guys... Yeah, dividends remain the sa as before, credit them to my wife’s company, bye."
...
Su Mo left the Saint Rivelan Public Security Bureau and returned to the guesthouse where Chen Hao was staying.
Upon return, he saw Chen Hao drenched in sweat, yelling into his phone: "I’ve borrowed the money and transferred it, when are you releasing her? Speak! Speak up!!"
Su Mo’s eyes narrowed, and he quickly walked over to grab the phone.
The call had already been disconnected, leaving only the beep tone.
Su Mo questioned, "Did you transfer the ransom?"
Chen Hao hugged his arms tightly, choking, "They said... 200,000 wasn’t enough... they wanted to transfer 400,000..."
Su Mo got a bit angry: "I told you not to transfer it, why did you still transfer it? They are deliberately extorting you, they have no intention of releasing her! Your hard-earned money is all wasted on these bastards!"
Chen Hao wiped his tears and cried uncontrollably, "On the phone just now, Polo was crying... crying... I only have this one daughter..."
Su Mo had no more temper.
This couldn’t be blad on Chen Hao either.
Any father would panic in such a situation.
At this mont, a voice called from behind Su Mo: "Director Su."
Shangguan Li, who had been following Su Mo around without speaking, finally spoke up: "Co over here."
The two of them moved to a corner of the hallway where no one was around.
Shangguan Li asked, "What are you planning next?"
Su Mo replied, "Of course, to keep looking for clues."
Shangguan Li said helplessly, "Are you really planning on fighting to the end with those barbarians across the sea for two people you’ve only known for a few days?"
Su Mo asked, "What do you an, are you also advising to give up?"
Shangguan Li said, "You’re the rcenary Corps Leader, right? What’s the principle of being a rcenary? Get paid to do the job."
"Chen Hao can’t offer you any rewards, and he and Polo aren’t your close friends, just two travelers you t on the road."
"Does this kidnapping have anything to do with you? Has it infringed on your interests in any way? Dude, you’re here on vacation, and now you’re running around helping people solve cases? Don’t tell you’re always such a saint."
Su Mo looked into Shangguan Li’s eyes and suddenly asked an unrelated question: "Captain Shangguan, with your skills, you could easily land a good job in a major company, why did you start your own business as a rcenary?"
Without waiting for Shangguan Li to answer, Su Mo answered for her: "I think it’s because being a rcenary offers freedom, letting you pursue your own path."
"In our line of work, profit cos first, there are plenty of opportunists. Being profit-oriented isn’t a problem. It’s a rcenary’s duty to get paid to do the job."
"I just think that being profit-oriented doesn’t equate to being blinded by money."
"Yes, Chen Hao and Polo can’t offer any reward, and we don’t have a deep relationship, so helping them doesn’t benefit at all."
"But if you only look at profit and ignore everything else, losing all your passion and spirit in the process, what’s the point of having money and power?"
"I’m not saying that with great power cos great responsibility, but at least with more power, don’t have a colder heart."
Shangguan Li looked down and remained silent, then after a while, she chuckled briefly: "You do talk like a free-spirited hero."
Su Mo gave her a light slap on the arm, laughing: "Stop trying to test with those little gas. Is it fun for you?"
"You definitely want to help those two more than I do, otherwise, you wouldn’t have spent the whole morning running around with ."
Shangguan Li turned her face away: "I didn’t do it."
Su Mo laughed good-naturedly: "I’ve figured it out, you’re just like Dongdong, a tsundere who says one thing but ans another."
He called over Dongdong, whispered sothing in her ear.
Dongdong ran downstairs, and a few minutes later, returned with a bound docunt, handing it to Su Mo: "Here, formatted to our template."
Su Mo moved towards Chen Hao and placed the docunt in front of him: "Sign it and stamp your fingerprint. We should still go through the proper procedures."
Chen Hao looked at the docunt in confusion: "What is this?"
Su Mo: "Service contract. I rarely bypass my interdiaries to directly sign with clients, but today is an exception."
"Ser... service contract?" Chen Hao picked up the docunt and flipped through it blankly.
It was a template contract from the Edge rcenary Corps, essentially stating that Captain Edge Su Mo was entrusted by the client Chen Hao to take full responsibility for the rescue of Chen You who was kidnapped by the Frontier ard forces. Upon signing, the service relationship takes effect imdiately.
Chen Hao stood there stunned, murmuring: "But... I have no money left..."
Su Mo joked: "Buddy, don’t you ever look at the price when you check a contract?"
Chen Hao instinctively flipped to the compensation section of the contract.
"1... 1 lunar coin???" He was completely dumbfounded.
Su Mo shrugged and said jokingly: "If you’d like to offer more, I wouldn’t mind."
Chen Hao, though slow to react, realized Su Mo was doing everything he could to help him.
He was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes and he tried to kneel down to bow to Su Mo: "Director Su, I..."
Su Mo reached out to stop him: "Alright, alright, the client is the principal; what client bows to the service provider? Just sign and stamp your fingerprint."
"Thank you so much..." Chen Hao wiped away his emotional tears, took the pen and ink pad Dongdong handed him, and signed and stamped the contract.
The service contract officially took effect.
Su Mo put away the contract and said: "Then let’s begin. From the mont you got off the plane and arrived in Saint Rivelan, tell everything you’ve done and encountered these past few days. Don’t leave out any details, no matter how small."
Chen Hao started to recount truthfully, detailing everything the two had experienced in the past few days.
When Chen Hao ntioned the hospital visit, Su Mo interrupted him: "Stop. You just said that the surgeon had Polo undergo many exams?"
Chen Hao: "Yes."
Su Mo: "Polo only cut her hand on glass, so why all the tests?"
Chen Hao: "The doctor said the glass might cause inflammation and needed to check for any residues inside... I don’t understand the dical stuff, the doctor said it was necessary, so I had Polo go through the tests."
Su Mo: "Does your daughter have anything special about her? Like... a rare blood type?"
Chen Hao: "Yes, she has Rh-negative blood, like her late mother."
"Panda blood..." Su Mo seed to realize sothing, "Are the test results still available?"
Chen Hao pulled out his phone: "Yes, I have the electronic records."
After reviewing the test results, Su Mo squinted and said: "These are all standard tests required for organ transplant surgery... Seems like soone has their eyes on her organs."
Chen Hao was scared out of his wits: "What?! Then what should we do?!"
Su Mo: "Have those test results been shown to anyone else?"
Chen Hao quickly shook his head: "No, only Polo and I have seen them."
Su Mo looked at the end of the test results, where the na "Attending Physician: Wen Ye" was listed.
He sneered coldly: "Old Chen, head to the Black Rose Hotel, and stay in my room. That entire floor is filled with my people, they’ll protect you."
Chen Hao asked: "Where are you going?"
Su Mo turned to leave, leaving behind just one sentence: "I’m going to catch the rat."
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