Chapter 36 — The Infuriating License Plate
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
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"But our snipers are already in position. There's a ninety percent chance they can drop the robber where he stands," Qiu Lingshan pressed.
"Ninety percent, you said so yourself. And the other ten? What if Miss Gu gets hurt? Then neither you nor I will be able to wriggle out of it." The chief dressed her down. "I told you not to act rashly. Give the robbers what they want first, and we'll think of something after."
"Understood." Qiu Lingshan was thoroughly dejected. She had wanted to let her men take a risk, to bring the snipers into play and put the thugs down. But now she did not dare issue any such reckless order. With the chief refusing to back her, what was she supposed to do?
The police's helplessness only made the bald man smug. Quickly he herded his men into the black Hyundai van parked at the curb, started the engine, and roared away.
Since the thugs held two hostages, Qiu Lingshan dared not act rashly either, and could only watch as they climbed into the black Hyundai and sped off.
"Miss..." Uncle Qing stared at the receding shape of the van, sick with anxiety. He had called Mr. Gu a moment ago, but the line had refused to connect the whole time. Now that the robbers had taken Gu Mengyao hostage, he was well and truly panicking.
"Mr. Li, the police will take care of this matter. Please set your mind at ease." That said, Qiu Lingshan pulled out her radio. "All squads, attention. All squads, attention. The robbers' vehicle is a black Hyundai van, plate Song A74110. It has just left the bank. If you sight it, prepare to shadow it."
"74110?" After issuing the order, Qiu Lingshan muttered the plate number over again. These robbers truly did not take her seriously at all — to stick a number like 74110 on their car. At the thought she pulled out her radio again, keyed in a call number, and said, "Traffic division? This is Qiu Lingshan, criminal investigation. Run a plate for me: Song A74110... Yes. What? A Buick sedan? Not a Hyundai van?... You're certain? All right, then. Nothing more."
Damn these cloned plates — and flaunting such an outrageous number on top of it. This was plainly a jab at her, a naked provocation. In that moment Qiu Lingshan was furious enough to burst. And in the end the robbers' plate had come true after all: 74110, which, spoken aloud, ran together into "anger the police hotline to death."
The moment he was inside the van, the bald man ordered his men to lash Gu Mengyao's and Wei Zhao's hands together. Then he eyed Wei Zhao with a certain satisfaction. "You — what business was this of yours? What were you barging in for? The one we wanted was Miss Chu. But you had to put on airs and play the hero. So don't blame us for dragging you along."
At the bald man's words, Wei Zhao's heart gave a jolt. These men knew Gu Mengyao — something neither of them had bargained for. They had assumed the hostages were picked at random, and that the bald man had fastened on Gu Mengyao merely because she was pretty and he wanted some cheap advantage. Never had they imagined that these men had planned it all along, that they had come for Gu Mengyao.
"You... you know me?" Gu Mengyao was startled as well. She had not expected these thugs to know who she was. Astonished, she could not keep herself from asking.
"Know you? How could I not? The daughter of the Gu Group's chairman." The bald man was savoring the pleasure of looking down on her. "If I didn't know you, why would I bother seizing you?"
"What... what do you want with me?" Gu Mengyao was already sensing that something was wrong. These men seemed to have planned this from the very start, to have been aiming at her all along.
"Want with you? Heh — you tell me." The bald man split his great mouth wide, baring a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Go on. What do you think there is about you worth my taking?"