Wenjie felt numb. He found it difficult to think clearly. The older messages to Ding Wei had sounded so harmless.

The kidnappers didn't want any money. That didn't surprise him. Ever since that night with Captain Luo, he had had the feeling, someone was after him. If they wanted him, why were they making it so complicated? Why did they involve his friends? That caused the most stress. 

If it was just him, he could handle it, somehow. But like this? It paralyzed him completely. And all he could think about was Lin Zhiyue's safety. 

"We mustn't lose our nerve. We'll find a solution," said his father.

Wenjie shook his head. How? Just like when he had tried to trick Ding Shenghuo and Xu Zhengqing in the past? They all knew what that had led to. His mother was dead and he had almost died himself. 

"We have to do what they ask. I won't risk Zhiyue's life."

"Wenjie..." Ding Wei whispered. There was a melancholy in his tone that touched something in the younger man. 

But the other's compassion did nothing to improve the situation. They were trapped. There was no escape.

"What's going on? Didn't you find the guys?" Zhijian's voice reached his ear from the background. 

"They were already gone when I reached the exit," Xiao Dao confessed. "And they're threatening to hurt Zhiyue if I don't take Wenjie to the harbor and his father returns to Qingcheng."

Wenjie swallowed. So that was why his father's expression had darkened so much, when he read the news and why Ding Wei had reacted so angrily. 

Zhijian, meanwhile, scratched his forehead and looked at Xiao Dao uncomprehendingly. "They don't want money?"

"No. They probably work for my father." Annoyed, the older man kicked one of the other chairs. 

"What makes you think that?" Wenjie had already asked himself that when he read the messages. There was nothing in it to suggest, Ding Shenghuo had anything to do with the matter.

"Because the whole procedure bears his signature. This secrecy, this back-stabbing, this double- and triple-checking, this complicated procedure. I mean, why the messages to me? They knew we were going on vacation. All they had to do was watch us and wait. At some point, you would have gone over to the main building alone."

That was true. But still. Why should Ding Shenghuo interfere in his life again? He was breaking his word to him. What's more, he would destroy the trust he had worked so hard to build up with Yaobai in one fell swoop. Or did none of this matter because Wenjie had survived and thus reshuffled the cards? It was probably a mistake to think that Ding Shenghuo had any sense of honor. 

Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up. His father had sat down on the arm of the chair. "What he says makes sense. I should have been more attentive. Ding Shenghuo isn't planning to serve ten years. If he's behind this, he's probably trying to get you under his control to blackmail me into helping him. "

That would definitely explain why they wanted Yaobai to fly back to Qingcheng. Someone would be waiting for him there to let him in on the planning of the rescue operation. But something didn't fit. Wenjie pushed his hand off his shoulder and shook his head. 

"Ding Shenghuo doesn't know the position on the Weiqi board." His hands trembled. "But Xu Zhengqing ... and he knows exactly what Ding Shenghuo would do. If we don't follow his instructions, he'll carry out his threat and harm Zhiyue because I escaped from him."

Ding Wei also paled abruptly. 

"Hey, but..." Zhijian interjected. "If you're supposed to come to the harbor, we know where they are. And if you give me the cell phone and bring my computer, maybe I can find out where they are. Then we can free Zhiyue and alert the police, can't we?" A confident grin graced his lips. 

Wenjie wished he could be as hopeful as his friend right now. Instead, an oppressive feeling of emptiness and powerlessness continued to dominate him. "If they find out what we're up to..." he continued.

"They'll do something to Zhiyue. There's no way we can inform the police," Ding Wei said. 

"Then we'll just set a trap for them, free Zhiyue and then go to the police," Zhijian suggested immediately. 

He said it like it was the easiest thing in the world. That almost made Wenjie smile. "Do you think we can do it?" he asked his father. 

"It's worth a try. Better than going along with the demands without a plan." He sighed deeply. "I don't like exposing you to this danger."

They both knew what he meant. His father would prefer to inform the police and not have to respond to the demands at all. But then the criminals would kill Zhiyue or do worse to her. They had no choice but to cooperate. 

"I would also prefer to call Captain Luo," Wenjie said. If only because Zhiyue's abduction was certainly connected to the events in Quingcheng. 

"Dao Dao, can you get Zhijian's computer from upstairs?"

Ding Wei nodded and disappeared into the stairwell. 

Meanwhile, Wenjie handed the phone to Zhijian so that he could have a look at it. He didn't know enough about technology himself, but he had faith in his friend. If one of them could trace the number and find out the location of the sender, it would be Zhijian. Then he had another idea.

"Do you think you could also tap into the video surveillance of the hotel complex? Or the one at the harbor?" 

Zhijian thought for a moment. "Sure." Then the temporary smile on his face disappeared. "But the police shouldn't find out. I already got a warning when I helped you with the code back then." 

"I'll take responsibility for it. It's for a good cause," Wenjie replied.

"Are you sure you want to join the police?" Zhijian joked. 

"Then we can put you in the technical department."

Zhijian laughed. "White hacker for the cops? Well, I don't know. That's the last time I hack into anything."

They both laughed. 

to be continued ...