Chapter Forty-Five: The Human Traffickers

Zhao Baohua had never seen an official as high-ranking as Chen Longming in his entire life. When Chen politely offered him a seat, poured him tea, and handed him a cigarette, Zhao felt dizzied, thinking to himself, "This is what serving the people really looks like!"

Sitting across from Chen, Zhuo Nan handed over a photo of Zhao Jiawen and said with a smile, "Director Chen, sorry to trouble you."

Chen waved his hand dismissively, stating righteously, "This is all part of our duty as police officers." He then picked up his internal phone, dialed a number, and spoke with great authority once the call connected: "Liu Degang, I have an important task for you. I’m going to fax you some information shortly regarding a missing female student. You must organize a capable team and search for her with everything you’ve got. Do you understand?"

On the other end of the line, Old Liu stood at attention and saluted the phone, shouting, "Rest assured, Director! I guarantee the mission will be completed." The volume was so loud that Chen instinctively held the receiver away from his ear. He then softened his tone, adding, "Young Master Zhuo is here with me. Go ahead and get to work."

Chen’s words were perfectly calculated. He indirectly let Liu know that the task was related to Zhuo Nan—first, to ensure Liu took it seriously, and second, to make sure Zhuo Nan owed Liu a favor.

Zhuo Nan understood the game Chen was playing. He chuckled and said, "Director Chen, once this matter is resolved, I will definitely show my appreciation to your comrades."

Chen waved a hand dismissively. "You're too kind, Young Master Zhuo." He tossed a cigarette over, which Zhuo caught, and then Chen leaned in to light it for him.

Xia Qianrou, watching from the side, burst out indignantly, "Don't smoke..."

Startled, Chen dropped the lighter, which clattered onto the desk. He glanced at Xia and asked, "And who is this?"

Zhuo Nan replied sheepishly, "Director Chen, my apologies for not introducing you. This is my homeroom teacher, Ms. Xia."

Chen’s eyes lit up with realization. He hurriedly extended a hand, his gaze sweeping over Xia Qianrou repeatedly. Xia looked at him with visible disgust; she gave his hand a brief, perfunctory shake before pulling away.

Chen felt her smooth, delicate hand and found it hard to let go. He retracted his hand awkwardly and said, "Ms. Xia is so young and beautiful; it truly gives me a new perspective on the teaching profession."

Zhuo Nan knew exactly what was going through the old man’s mind. Seeing the lecherous look in his eyes, he felt annoyed. Not waiting for Xia to speak, he said bluntly, "Director Chen, let’s skip the nonsense and talk about the case."

Chen paused, sensing the displeasure in Zhuo Nan’s tone. Looking back at Xia Qianrou, he suddenly understood. *Damn, Young Master Zhuo, you’re really something else—going after your own teacher... Ah, youth. If only I were that young again. Fine, if the Young Master has his eye on her, I’d better back off.*

He chuckled with a suggestive look in his eyes. "Right, right..."

Zhuo Nan, reading his thoughts, rolled his eyes at him.

A woman’s intuition is sharp, and Xia Qianrou instinctively felt that these two—the old lecher and the young one—were talking about her. She felt a surge of irritation. *What kind of people does Zhuo Nan associate with? And this police chief—he’s nothing but a dirty old man.*

Chen straightened his posture, regaining his official demeanor. "Young Master Zhuo, this case is likely not a kidnapping. If it were, the kidnappers would have already called for ransom. I suspect she might have just gone off to have some fun. Why don’t you go back and wait? I’ll keep looking on my end, and perhaps she’ll return by tonight. If I hear anything, I’ll notify you immediately."

Zhuo Nan realized that waiting around wouldn’t solve anything, so he turned to Zhao Baohua. "Uncle Zhao, let’s head back. Director Chen will notify us if there’s news. Besides, I’ve asked some friends to help look, so I’m sure we’ll have results soon."

Zhao Baohua knew that waiting here was useless, so he stood up. "Alright, let’s go back. Director Chen, I leave my child’s matter in your hands." As he spoke, he pulled an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the desk.

Chen paused and looked at Zhuo Nan. Zhuo hadn’t expected Zhao to do this, but he gave a subtle nod. Chen expertly swept the envelope into his drawer with a stack of files.

Xia Qianrou watched this with disdain, though she kept her expression neutral. Seeing that Chen had accepted the money, Zhao felt a bit more at ease. He offered a polite word and led his wife out of the office.

Zhuo Nan stood up, nodded to Chen, and followed, taking Xia Qianrou by the arm.

Noticing the look of indignation on Xia’s face, Zhuo asked, "Ms. Xia, what’s wrong? Do you think that guy is a hypocrite?"

Xia replied with deep contempt, "So-called 'public servant.' What a sanctimonious fraud."

Zhuo Nan chuckled. "Ms. Xia, that’s just how this society is. You should know that better than I do by now."

Xia Qianrou let out a cold snort but said nothing. She had to admit that Zhuo was right. It was a shallow society where people were driven by greed—it was no longer an isolated case, but a systemic phenomenon.

Just then, Zhao Baohua looked back and noticed Zhuo Nan holding Xia Qianrou’s arm. Xia suddenly realized her hand was still in his grip and pulled away in a panic. Zhuo looked awkward, glancing around to hide his embarrassment.

Zhao Baohua didn’t have the heart to care about the teacher-student dynamic; his mind was entirely on his daughter’s safety. "Zhuo Nan, do you think something has happened to Jiawen?"

Zhuo was worried too, but he tried to reassure him. "Uncle Zhao, don’t worry. Didn’t the Director say it likely wasn't a kidnapping? Maybe she just forgot to come home. Let’s go back and wait."

Zhao nodded, then shook his head, his face filled with anxiety. "Zhuo Nan, I can't. I have to keep looking. You two go on back, and thank you for everything."

Zhuo understood his desperation. "Alright, Uncle Zhao. Let’s look separately. Give me your phone number, and we’ll stay in touch."

Zhao nodded and recited his number. Zhuo dialed it to confirm, then said, "It’s a deal, Uncle Zhao. We’ll act separately."

***

In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Deqing City, Zhao Jiawen was bound hand and foot. She was curled up in a corner, shivering in terror, while two burly men sat to her left.

"Boss, this girl is stubborn. She hasn't touched a drop of water. Damn, I hope she doesn't starve to death," said one of the men, who had a fierce face and tattoos covering every inch of his exposed skin.

The man referred to as "Boss" had eyes that were mismatched—the left one was larger, clearly a prosthetic. Annoyed, he grabbed a bottle of mineral water, walked over to Zhao, and dumped it over her head. Zhao glared at him, struggling and finding the courage to scream, "Let me go! My parents must have called the police by now. They’ll find you soon!"

The man with the fake eye flew into a rage and slapped her across the face. Five red finger marks appeared on her cheek, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, yet the girl didn't shed a single tear.

"You little brat! The transport arrives tonight. Once you're sold off to the Southwest, let’s see how your parents find you then..."

The tattooed man leaned in and said fawningly, "Boss, this girl is pretty good-looking. Why don't we..."

"Don't talk nonsense! You know the buyers on that side only want virgins. Damn it, if she’s not a virgin, how are we going to get paid?" the Boss barked.

The tattooed man whined, "Boss, we don't know for sure if she is. They’ll check when she gets there. If she isn't, we only get five thousand yuan. What’s five thousand to us? Why don't we enjoy her first? If she’s not a virgin, we can just take her back to our hometown and make her a wife."

The Boss was tempted. They had been human traffickers for over a decade. Four years ago, they had met a buyer in the Southwest who offered fifty thousand yuan for every virgin they brought. Fifty thousand! That was far more profitable than selling children. The only catch was that the buyer insisted on verifying their virginity first. Over the past four years, they had delivered over a hundred women, fewer than half of whom were virgins. Fortunately, the buyer was generous—paying the full fifty thousand for virgins and a five-thousand-yuan "hardship fee" for those who weren't. But after all these years, they still didn't have wives of their own. *To hell with the business,* he thought. *Let’s just have our way with her and take her home.*

The Boss looked at Zhao Jiawen on the floor. She had a great figure and a pretty face, and her chest was already well-developed. He felt a surge of lust and, setting his heart on it, told the tattooed man, "Untie her legs. Screw it, we're done with this deal."

He had been coveting her for a while, and the tattooed man didn't hesitate, rushing over to untie her.

Zhao Jiawen realized what they were about to do, and a wave of sheer terror washed over her. She screamed, "No! Please, no!..."