si-mexico Chapter 189 Kidnapping
Chapter 189 Kidnapping
The place was a bit eerie, so for safety's sake, Deng Xiuzhen asked Qin Yanlin to come along; having a man would make things much safer. To save time, the two first went to the market to buy groceries, and then went to the alley in West Street.
Not far into the alley, a faint smell wafted over, growing stronger the further you went.
The two took out masks and put them on before finally making their way to the old man's house.
The old man, leaning on his cane, stood at the door. As soon as he saw them, he said hurriedly, "Don't rush to cook. Can you help me check if there are any dead rats around here? The smell is awful!"
Qin Yanlin and Deng Xiuzhen suppressed their nausea and looked around. To their surprise, the area was completely deserted. Apart from the old man, they couldn't find anyone else!
The alley was so smelly that they couldn't immediately pinpoint the source of the stench.
Looking around at the dilapidated but locked houses, they realized they needed to figure out what was going on to find the source of the stench.
Otherwise, if a rat dies in someone else's house, and they can't get in to check, how will they solve the problem?
Qin Yanlin went to clean the yard and also checked the drainage ditches, sewers, and septic tanks—places where dead rats might be found or that might cause a foul odor.
Deng Xiuzhen asked the elderly woman, "How long have you lived here? Who else lives around here?"
"I've lived here for decades. It used to be so lively here. But gradually, some people moved away, and others rented out their houses."
I used to chat with them often.
"My legs have been acting up for the past two years. I can't walk more than a few steps, and I can't stand up. My eyesight is also failing, so I haven't left the house at all." The old man shakily got up, trying to walk to the bedside.
Deng Xiuzhen quickly got up and helped the old woman, asking as they walked, "When did everyone in this alley move away? It seems like there's hardly anyone living here anymore."
"Could you turn on the TV for me? I want to check the weather forecast." The old man leaned back in bed, waiting for Deng Xiuzhen to turn on the TV and tune it to Shenzhen Channel.
Then he continued, "In the past two years, there have been fewer and fewer residents in the alley. But there are definitely still a few families living there."
I saw lights at night twice, and someone was even cooking meat, wasn't that right?
Thinking back to the aroma of meat from a few days ago, Deng Xiuzhen felt that someone should be living there.
The old man then told her, "The lights I saw the previous times were to my right and behind."
Having determined the approximate location, Deng Xiuzhen went to the courtyard to call Qin Yanlin.
When they got to the courtyard, they didn't see anyone.
"Yanlin, Qin Yanlin!" Deng Xiuzhen shouted loudly.
But got no response.
"What's wrong?" the old man asked, trembling as he came out.
"My husband is missing!" Deng Xiuzhen thought in a panic.
"Who? Who's missing?" The old man tilted his head, his right hand supporting his ear as he looked toward Deng Xiuzhen.
"The one who came with me..." Before she could finish the word "person," Deng Xiuzhen's vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
When Deng Xiuzhen woke up, everything was pitch black. She tried to grope around, but found that her hands were tied behind her back!
Not only her hands, but also her legs were bound, making her look like a rice dumpling. Even the slightest movement of her hands and feet caused her excruciating pain.
"You..." Deng Xiuzhen tried to speak, but found her mouth was also covered.
In her panic, she heard the door open and then a faint light shone in.
She could sense that it wasn't lamplight, but the sun's light!
She rubbed her shoulder against her shoulder, realizing that it wasn't dark, but rather that her eyes were being covered.
The footsteps grew closer and stopped beside her.
"Mmm!" Deng Xiuzhen tried to speak.
"Pia! Pia!" Two crisp slaps stunned Deng Xiuzhen, and it took her a while to come to her senses that she had been slapped twice.
“You’re in our hands now, so you have to listen to us, understand?” a male voice said.
Deng Xiuzhen felt dizzy, but she still nodded repeatedly.
“We only care about money. Give us the money and we’ll let you go, understand?” the man continued.
Deng Xiuzhen nodded emphatically again.
"Now take the thing out of your mouth, and don't make a sound, understand?" the man said.
Deng Xiuzhen continued to nod.
The rag in her mouth was ripped off, and Deng Xiuzhen took several deep breaths, only to smell that stench again. It wasn't as strong, though; it was about the same as when she entered the alley.
"We only want money. Give us 300,000 yuan and we'll let you go!" Perhaps seeing that Deng Xiuzhen was obedient and didn't scream, the other party's voice visibly relaxed.
"Three hundred thousand...?" Deng Xiuzhen asked hesitantly.
"What, you don't want to give it?!" the man said menacingly.
"No, no, I can raise 300,000. It's just that I don't have much cash at home, and my husband has disappeared. To raise 300,000, I would have to sell the company and borrow money." Deng Xiuzhen quickly explained.
"How much cash do you have at home?" The man seemed to believe her, and his voice softened a bit.
"I only have a few thousand yuan in cash at home, but I have over 70,000 yuan in my bank account. If you let me go, I'll withdraw the money and give it to you right away. Don't worry, I..."
"Do you think we're stupid?" the man interrupted Deng Xiuzhen, scoffing as he continued, "Where do you live? Where do you keep your money and cards? Once we get this money, we'll let you go back and raise the rest!"
"Okay, okay! Do you know where my husband is?" Deng Xiuzhen hurriedly agreed, displaying her fear of death to the fullest extent.
"He's in our hands too. We'll release you all once we get the money!" the man said sternly.
Deng Xiuzhen told him her home address, where her bank cards were kept, and even her password without holding anything back.
As the footsteps faded into the distance, the door closed.
Deng Xiuzhen curled up and pressed her ear to the ground to listen for footsteps.
She tried to calm herself down and analyze the situation carefully until she could no longer hear anything: there were two people who came, but only one of them spoke the whole time.
The slap stung, but the hand was soft and the force was moderate; it must have been a woman's hand.
The woman remained silent, which suggested she was someone he had interacted with before.
If it's just kidnapping and extortion, and you cooperate by paying the money, there's no need to slap you. In that case, the person might hate you a little.
I haven't been in Shenzhen long and haven't offended many people.
The person who might hate you, has connections with you, and knows your whereabouts is probably someone from your own company!
Deng Xiuzhen was startled and mentally reviewed everyone in the company, but she still couldn't figure it out.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but Deng Xiuzhen's stomach was growling with hunger and her lips were cracked, and the two men still hadn't returned.
She really wanted to do what they do in movies and TV dramas: sneak off the blindfold, pull out a small razor blade, and quietly cut the rope.
But she didn't have the abilities of the people in the TV series, and the person who tied her up was too professional, tying her up tightly and securely.
Completely immobile, how easy would it be to untie this thick hemp rope?