Chapter 306 - 218: Sudden Kidnapping (Part 2)
Both items are from high-end luxury brands, together costing a hundred thousand.
"This..." Su Mo quickly reacted, "Did you spend the compensation money from the sheriff on this yesterday?"
Chen Hao nodded gently.
Su Mo handed the watch back, saying irritably, "You’re something else. I thought it was some small gift. I’m not accepting it."
"There’s so much money, why waste it on something so expensive... Do you still have the receipt? Hurry up and return it."
Chen Hao pressed Su Mo’s hand down with a determined attitude, "Mr. Su Mo, please accept it. That money wasn’t meant for me."
"Typically, hitting someone might only get you three to five thousand in compensation. They were willing to give me a hundred thousand all because of you."
"Though I drive a taxi and my family doesn’t have much money, I’ve taught Pomelo since she was a child to earn money steadily and never resort to crooked means."
"This morning I went to the security booth to return the money, and they adamantly refused. I thought handing over a big bundle of cash to you might be strange, so Pomelo and I bought two gifts of about equal value. You must take them."
Su Mo and Shangguan Li couldn’t help but look at each other.
This Chen Hao is... so honest.
A hundred thousand is no small amount for someone like him at the lower end of society.
He actually resisted the temptation, turning the money into gifts to return it, just to set an example for his daughter.
He’s truly an honest and genuine person.
Seeing Chen Hao’s firm attitude and Pomelo’s clear eyes, Su Mo and Shangguan Li knew they shouldn’t refuse, or they’d seem pretentious.
Shangguan Li took the lead and accepted the gifts, patting Pomelo’s little head and said gently, "You have a good father. Listen to him in the future, alright?"
"Uh-huh." Pomelo nodded obediently.
Su Mo smiled and said, "Since we’re here, let’s have fun together. KK, Dongdong, you guys take Pomelo with you."
"Coming!" The two ran over, took Pomelo’s hand, and ran to the seaside, soon bursting into laughter and cheers.
Chen Hao laughed awkwardly, "Excuse me, then."
...
Chen Hao and his daughter spent the entire day with Su Mo and the others at the seaside, had dinner together, exchanged contacts, and then left.
Pomelo was on winter vacation and had topped her class in the final exams, so Chen Hao promised to take her on a seaside trip.
Of course, since the family wasn’t wealthy, they opted for budget travel, booking a heavily discounted red-eye flight at dawn and choosing the cheapest guest house for lodging.
The guest house was far from the seaside, so they found two shared bicycles and chatted while riding, feeling comfortable.
Back at the guest house, Chen Hao walked into the room and reached to open the wardrobe, "Pomelo, take a bath first, throw your dirty clothes in the basket, and I’ll wash them."
At this moment, Chen Hao felt his clothes being tugged, and Pomelo’s frightened voice came, "Daddy...who are they..."
Chen Hao turned around in shock.
There were two men in black sitting on the sofa, their heads shaved short, faces masked, silently watching them.
"You..." Chen Hao looked around, realizing he hadn’t entered the wrong room, and quickly shielded Pomelo behind him, "Did you come to the wrong room? This is my room!"
The man in black took out a photo, comparing it with Pomelo, nodded to his companion.
The two stood up, walking over with fierce eyes.
Chen Hao realized something was wrong, picked up Pomelo, and ran toward the door.
However, people appeared on both sides outside the door, all wearing black masks, holding iron rods, surrounding Chen Hao and Pomelo in the middle.
Pomelo burst into tears from fright, and Chen Hao held her tightly in his arms, questioning in distress, "You...what do you want?"
The response to Chen Hao was an iron rod crashing down on his head.
"Boom," a massive shock hit from the top of his head; he collapsed to the ground, his daughter’s cries growing fainter by the ear, finally losing consciousness.
...
The next morning.
Su Mo awoke from the soft bed, stretching comfortably.
After freshening up, he went to the dining hall, where many Edge Mercenaries were already eating.
KK was holding a handheld gaming console, "Divine Source, activate!"
Then started fiercely playing "Divine: Origins."
Dongdong had seven or eight plates of food in front of him, devouring them ravenously.
Shangguan Li was sipping morning tea.
Su Mo grabbed a bit of food, enjoying a delicious breakfast while gazing at the sea view through the window.
"Ring, ring, ring." At this moment, his phone rang.
He picked it up and saw it was Chen Hao calling.
"Hello, Old Chen, what’s up?"
Chen Hao’s trembling sobs came from the other end, "Mr. Su Mo...my...my daughter’s gone missing..."
Su Mo frowned, pulling Dongdong and Shangguan Li over, "Stop eating, something’s happened."
He resumed the phone, "Old Chen, don’t panic, report to the Public Security Bureau first, and I’ll bring people over, just give me your location."
With the address provided by Chen Hao, Su Mo rushed to the guest house.
A Public Security Bureau car was parked outside the guest house, officers moving around, conducting routine inquiries and taking photos.
Chen Hao was slumped on the ground, covering his head with a towel, blood flowing profusely.
Su Mo approached quickly, asking, "What happened?"
The sheriff stopped Su Mo, "What are you doing? There’s an incident here; no outsiders allowed in."
Su Mo showed him a business card.
Only then did the sheriff recognize him as someone he’d been told to take care of and stepped aside for him to enter.
Chen Hao saw Su Mo as if grabbing onto a lifeline, "Mr. Su Mo...my daughter...we came back yesterday...many men in black...when I woke up, she was gone..."
Chen Hao seemed incoherent, Su Mo couldn’t understand well.
The sheriff next to him, looking at the notes, explained to Su Mo, "Yesterday he returned to the room with his daughter and found unknown people inside. They maliciously attacked him; he was knocked out with an iron rod. Upon waking, he discovered his daughter was missing."
Su Mo: "Kidnapping?"
Sheriff: "Initially judged as a kidnapping case."
Su Mo wondered, "The people living here aren’t rich, why target them for kidnapping?"
The sheriff shrugged, indicating he also didn’t understand.
Su Mo looked up at the ceiling, his gaze falling on the cameras: "Have they been checked?"
The sheriff lightly coughed, patiently said, "Mr. Su Mo, we’re professionals; we’ve checked everything that should be checked. The cameras were deliberately damaged yesterday, nothing was recorded."
Su Mo: "So, there’s still no clue who did it? No idea what they want?"
Sheriff: "Indeed."
"Ring, ring, ring." Just as everyone was clueless, Chen Hao’s phone rang, a stranger’s number.
"Hello..." Chen Hao picked up and listened for a moment, his eyes widening, emotions growing agitated, "Who are you?! What do you want?!"
Su Mo and the sheriff approached, signaling Chen Hao to stay calm, instructing him to turn on speakerphone.
A husky voice processed by a voice changer came from the phone: "Chen Hao, your daughter is with us, if you don’t want her dead, transfer 200,000 yuan to the account in the text before 12 noon."
Immediately after, Pomelo’s crying voice sounded from the phone: "Daddy!..."
Chen Hao shouted in horror, "Pomelo!"
The sheriff called in technical experts, connecting a line to the phone’s data port.
The expert typed on a laptop, moments later opening a document and typing for everyone:
[Signal not in Saint Rivelan, on the other side of the sea]
The sheriffs all frowned.
The other side of the sea?
That’s at...
The kidnapper’s voice re-emerged: "12 noon, 200,000 yuan, money means release, no money means killing."
Chen Hao was so anxious that the wound on his head split open, bleeding, "Don’t hurt my daughter! I can come up with the money!"
The kidnapper laughed arrogantly, "Then pay up, or watch us kill her."
Su Mo took the phone, saying earnestly, "Listen up, my name is Su Mo, Su of revival, Mo of silence. If you haven’t heard of me, you can look online to see who I am."
"What you’ve kidnapped is my friend’s daughter; if you return her safely today, I can pretend nothing happened."
"If she’s injured, even slightly, Muto Dongying will be your fate, weigh it carefully."
The phone went silent for a moment, the sound of keyboard typing followed.
Half a minute later, the kidnapper cursed: "Idiot, think you’re hot stuff because you’re a mercenary? If you’ve got the guts, follow the online trail to our turf!"
Su Mo: "Alright, you said it yourself. Don’t regret it."