Chapter 321: Chapter 321

They immediately initiated a city-wide search for the vehicle and eventually found the van abandoned in the Southern Suburb, completely incinerated, with any and all traces destroyed to a crisp.

Chuchu’s cell phone and bag, however, were discarded in the Northern Suburb.

With leads pointing in such opposite directions, it made finding them all the more challenging.

From the moment they discovered the two missing until locating the van and cell phone, it was merely two hours. Yet, in this brief period, the culprits had vanished as if into thin air, without leaving any further trace.

Jiang Kechu slammed his fist against the wall, his voice grave, "I shouldn’t have let Chuchu leave alone."

Li Shan wanted to say, "If only I had known, I would have accompanied her." But then he felt it was pointless and remained silent.

The old master said expressionlessly, "Where there is passage, traces shall be left. Continue investigating those who have grievances with Chuchu."

Jiang Kechu nodded and called Chen Ke, instructing him to place Lin Jiayi, Zheng Yun, Li Gang, Yang Fan, and Zhuo Yao—who was in another city—under surveillance.

Then he scrutinized the surveillance footage over and over himself, desperate to find any sign of them.

At this time, Beijing’s CCTV coverage was not extensive enough, and the quality was low, far from the intelligent systems that would come a decade later, contributing limited assistance.

As soon as Yan Hui got in the car, someone struck him with a chop to the neck, rendering him unconscious.

To prevent him from regaining consciousness, the abductors used a cloth soaked in chloroform, pressed over his mouth and nose to deepen his unconsciousness.

Chuchu didn’t know how much time had passed before she gradually came to, drowsily aware that she seemed to be crammed in a narrow box, jostling about, bouncing off its interior walls—this jolting was what eventually woke her.

Her head ached tremendously, the back of her skull burning, inhibiting her ability to think clearly for a long time.

The jarring pain prompted an instinctive grasping for something—anything. But the space was so cramped that she couldn’t fully extend her arms, ultimately resorting to bracing her elbows against the walls on either side to stabilize her head against the relentless shaking and bumping.

As the motion slowly subsided, her thoughts began to sharpen, and she realized something: she had been kidnapped.

Furthermore, she was currently being transported along a rugged road likely somewhere in the wilderness.

She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, for how long she had been abducted, or if Jiang Kechu and the others had realized she’d been taken. She thought Jiang Kechu would probably feel guilty. Chuchu didn’t want him to blame himself.

If someone was determined to abduct her, if not today, then it would be tomorrow, the day after, or some other time. Therefore, this incident had nothing to do with Jiang Kechu—it could even be her own doing.

The only person she recalled was the man in grey clothing, so averagely ordinary he could disappear in a crowd without a second glance. Yet unexpectedly, his skills were formidable, his ferocity startling.

Chuchu believed this man was merely a thug; the real mastermind behind her abduction was someone else.

Among the jolts and bounces, Chuchu considered everyone with whom she had conflicts or grievances. The list was not short—there was Lin Jiayi, who had been swindled by her; Jiayi was a wolf in sheep’s clothing and could very well have arranged Chuchu’s abduction. However, considering Jiayi had just gotten married and was probably more focused on winning Simon over to take her to Europe to meet his family—that seemed more likely.

Then there was Zheng Yun, a far more ruthless character. Chuchu felt that Zheng Yun’s potential involvement was higher than that of Lin Jiayi.

There was also the previous encounter with Li Gang; Li Gang’s house had fallen, and Li Gang himself wasn’t particularly fierce, certainly not as much as Zheng Yun.

Yang Fan, forget it, Yang Fan is just a social climber always looking to take small advantages. As for kidnapping, even if he were given another chance, he wouldn’t dare to do it.

Zhuo Yao? Zhuo Yao hates her, but kidnapping requires funds, and Zhuo Yao probably doesn’t have enough money to hire such capable people.

Wei Feng? Wei Feng isn’t that cruel. She’s just a girl filled with sentiments of love and affection, and she left with Chen Xiran a long time ago.

After such analysis, it seems like Zheng Yun is the most likely suspect.

However, there’s another possibility: maybe these people were after her grandfather. The old man’s resources and power are immense, and since she is his only living relative, it’s very possible they intended to use her to blackmail her grandfather.

Or is it a simple kidnapping for ransom? To kidnap her for money?

If that’s the reason, then the kidnapper must be someone who knows her very well, someone close who knows that Xiao Bai’s company is thriving and that she has a close relationship with Yan Hui...

Wan Chu’er quickly dismissed this last reason; she couldn’t think of any close person who would do such a thing.

So now there are two directions: either Zheng Yun hired someone for revenge because her actions almost destroyed his great future and ambitions, or it’s someone targeting her grandfather, a person whose power and status are not low.

Wan Chu’er’s thoughts were in turmoil, not knowing if her grandfather and Jiang Kechu would be able to find her. She had such a severe headache that she passed out again.

Time passed, unknown how long, and Wan Chu’er woke up again.

This time she was no longer locked in a crude, pitch-black box, but was being carried on someone’s shoulder.

Her hands and feet were securely tied, and her eyes were covered with a cloth, her mouth sealed with tape.

The weight on her shoulder made her stomach uncomfortable, but she bore it without daring to move an inch. She needed to listen carefully to figure out who these people were.

Unfortunately, this group of people kept on moving without a word, and after almost an hour of traveling, not a single word was spoken, not a sound was made.

Although no one spoke, she managed to get a sense of the environment she was in.

They were moving through the mountains, and they were ascending because the person carrying her bumped her head with his knees several times, or they would throw her onto the slope and then climb up before continuing to carry her.

Judging from the footsteps and the friction sounds with the surrounding trees, there should be four people.

One point puzzled her: besides the four people on the move, judging from the breathing sounds, there were five others apart from herself, meaning there was someone else also being carried.

Could it be that someone else was kidnapped along with her? She wondered if she knew them.

The more Wan Chu’er thought about it, the more serious her heart became. From what she heard on the way, these people were highly skilled; they had been walking for so long, but their breathing remained even, and their self-discipline or organization was also very strict.

These were not ordinary people, at least not common kidnappers.

Wan Chu’er increasingly felt that her kidnapping was actually aimed at her grandfather.

She wondered what the person behind the scenes wanted to obtain from her grandfather; it was probably not a simple matter.