The hotel doesn’t want to bear this responsibility, and Huo Sining understands this, so she clearly states that the hotel won’t be held responsible for the incident.
Upon learning that he doesn’t need to be responsible for this incident, the hotel manager imdiately breathes a sigh of relief. The expression that was previously scared to the point of losing color relaxes instantly, as if he narrowly escaped a disaster.
However, he is very puzzled by the behavior of Huo Sining and her husband.
Normally, a couple in this situation would have been in disarray, seeking police help, seeking out any connections they could mobilize to find their child.
But Huo Sining and Gu Xu, on the contrary, are calm and unhurried. They can even return to their room to whisper to each other. They neither report to the police nor inform reporters, and they don’t even seem particularly anxious. Mr. Gu just called soone to check so surveillance footage, then did nothing else.
The hotel manager is completely baffled; this is clearly a kidnapping. Can checking surveillance caras really help find and rescue the child? Who is this Mr. Gu calling? Could it be Superman, soone even more capable than the police and those in the underworld?
The hotel manager is very doubtful, but since he’s an outsider in this matter, and since the involved parties don’t want to report to the police, he finds it inappropriate to bring it up again, lest he be seen as botherso.
In his mind, though, he’s already labeled these two parents as unreliable. Parents who can remain this composed after losing a child are ones he’s never seen outside this pair.
Huo Sining and Gu Xu didn’t expect that a re negotiation with the hotel would lead the hotel manager to harbor such suspicions about them.
Even if they knew, Huo Sining wouldn’t bother to explain further. The things that happened between her and the little chubby girl are best kept to as few people as possible. So, she didn’t even disclose the disappearance of Niuniu to Zhou Shitao and Ji Kun because she has a hunch that by tomorrow morning at the latest, the little chubby girl would probably be back.
Zhou Shitao and Ji Kun, busy at the ancient tomb, returned very late. Upon returning to the hotel, they vaguely overheard hotel staff discussing sothing about a missing child and kidnapping in the lobby.
But after more than ten exhausting hours at the ancient tomb, they are too tired to pay much attention. They rely listen, not taking it seriously.
Zhou Shitao let it pass, but Ji Kun senses sothing unusual, feeling vaguely that sothing isn’t right, yet he can’t link this hotel’s kidnapping case to the little chubby girl.
On one hand, he thinks no one would be bold enough, because the child isn’t just any child; she is the child of Huo Sining and Gu Xu. Any kidnapper would have to be insane to dare ddle with them.
On the other hand, Huo Sining is capable in her own right, with Wu Jun and Gu Xu, both special forces, around. Ordinary kidnappers wouldn’t even have the chance to get close, let alone snatch the child from them. It’s absurd.
Because of this impossibility, Ji Kun doesn’t pay much attention. Both master and apprentice return to their room, freshen up, and each goes to bed.
Before falling asleep, Ji Kun feels a vague unease. He considers calling his little junior sister’s room to ask about the situation. However, seeing the ti, he thinks it’s too late; the couple must already be asleep. Thus, he puts the phone down again.
Forget it. If the child were really missing, they would have notified them right away. Such a significant matter wouldn’t be hidden from their master. Moreover, if still worried, they could just knock on the door first thing in the morning. As long as Niuniu is in the room, there’s nothing to worry about.
With these thoughts, Ji Kun stops overthinking. He falls asleep the mont his head hits the pillow.
In their room, Huo Sining and Gu Xu are not sleeping.
Although not worried about Niuniu’s safety, they can’t completely rest easy. They definitely can’t pretend nothing happened and sleep directly. So, they sit on the bed, one playing on a phone, the other browsing on a tablet, waiting patiently for whatever might happen.
After the kidnapper sent a ssage demanding one hundred million, there were no more instructions or information.
During this ti, Huo Sining and Gu Xu occasionally try calling that phone number repeatedly, only to find it is always turned off. Evidently, the kidnapper is cautious, and this act seems preditated, given how thoroughly the details are planned.
Yu Fei’s searched through a lot of information but found nothing truly useful. However, he did manage to trace the phone number to so suspicious footage.
The phone number was from a card bought at a newsstand near the Fucheng long-distance bus station. Yu Fei confird with the newsstand’s owner that the number was indeed sold there.
Based on the ti the card was activated, Yu Fei retrieved surveillance footage from several bus stations nearby, capturing an image of a suspicious person.
Since the surveillance was at a distance, it’s a bit blurry. The person appears to be a man, roughly between 1.72 to 1.75 ters tall, but the facial features aren’t clear.
"If we can confirm who this suspicious person is, we could then trace his network of contacts and uncover if he has accomplices. Unfortunately, there’s not much of this footage that’s usable."
Yu Fei is frustrated by this but understands it’s unavoidable; such cases require pieceal exploration.
Gu Xu and Huo Sining console Yu Fei with a few words, Gu Xu especially. Knowing Niuniu’s true identity now, he isn’t as frantic or distressed as he was before. His tone is much calr, no longer overly anxious and flustered.
Seeing that the captain didn’t scold him, Yu Fei also relaxes a bit. But since things aren’t resolved, he doesn’t dare sleep either, staying in the office to continue working tirelessly in the search.
Not long after, he receives another call from Gu Xu: "We’ve found the person. Go and rest; you’ve worked hard."
Yu Fei is stunned, his mouth agape in disbelief. Curious, he asks, "Found the person? Where? How? That’s amazing! I’m completely at a loss here. How could soone be faster than ?"
Of course, Gu Xu can’t tell the truth, so he pulls out an excuse to brush off Yu Fei:
"Many dostic monitoring facilities aren’t adequately installed or maintained; this isn’t your fault. I know your capabilities very well. I have a friend in Fucheng who’s connected, with lots of manpower, so finding soone is faster. In such situations, manpower is more reliable than high-tech."
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