Chapter 79:
“…We now have a high suspicion that that taxi… was very likely a setup by the culprit.”
Hearing this hypothesis, Jinglin’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. ‘I’ll have Ah Wei use GPS to locate that phone. Everyone, be prepared.’
The situation suddenly became more tense. She continued to search along the route to Su Huiquan’s cosmetic surgery clinic, at the same time keeping her eyes peeled— “Wait… 471…” After checking the license plate, she immediately reported, “Chief, I think I see that car.”
‘Where?’
“Near the intersection of Keelung Road and Guangfu South Road.” She confirmed the message on her phone. “It’s almost at the cosmetic surgery clinic.”
‘Good. Big Head has already gone there to lie in wait. I’ll have him go and surround it first.’
But in the next second, the taxi suddenly changed direction.
“No, he’s gone into a small alley.” To keep up, she almost collided with a motorcycle on the side.
‘Be careful, Jinglin. Don’t lose him.’
She bit her lip. “I know.”
**
Turning off her phone, Zhou Jingxun, with nothing to do, carefully observed the driver’s clothes. He was dressed neatly, was about forty years old, and had a rather refined appearance… but what she found strangest was that there were no traces of betel nut chewing on the corners of his mouth.
Besides a pack of cigarettes, there was no betel nut or plastic cup in the ashtray or on the dashboard…
But this smell was really disgusting. She pinched her nose and happened to see the license placed on the passenger seat.
The photo on the license… was clearly a different person. Zhou Jingxun’s expression couldn’t help but change slightly.
As if he had noticed the change in her expression, he suddenly spoke.
“You speak Korean, miss?” he turned and smiled, “are you a student studying abroad?”
She tried to remain calm. “N-No.” Good thing I have a mask on.
“Or are you a mixed-race? Even with a mask, I can tell you’re a beauty.”
“I’m Taiwanese.” She listened closely and, amidst the sound of the engine, she noticed a faint vibration. “Driver, is that your phone?”
“Yes, it’s a phone… but it’s not ‘mine’.” He squinted, and the steering wheel suddenly turned. “You noticed the person on the license is different from me, right, Zhou Jingxun?”
Zhou Jingxun trembled all over, and this obvious body language was hard to hide even with a mask.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if it weren’t for that call just now. It was Choi Eun-hee who called you, right? I understood.” He let out a strange laugh. “I never thought a big fish would actually run out of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.”
“Stop the car, stop the car.” She pulled on the door handle, only to find that the lock was completely embedded and wouldn’t budge.
And the car suddenly accelerated, swerving and speeding. If it weren’t for the seatbelt, she would have been thrown around and dizzy.
“Ha, you can’t escape.”
“Who are you?” her heart suddenly beat faster, and she suddenly remembered what her father had said, “what are you kidnapping me for?”
‘It’s directed at you…’
At her? What did she do wrong?
He laughed wildly. “You just need to know that someone has paid a high price for you… as long as you’re obedient, I guarantee you won’t get hurt.”
In her haste, she turned on her phone again. Probably noticing her intention, he, who was tall and had long arms, turned and snatched the phone away.
“Give it back.”
He pushed her away and threw the phone into the glove compartment. A series of honks came from behind. He looked up and saw a white Honda. “That car seems to have been following us for a while. Is it here to save you?”
Zhou Jingxun looked back and vaguely saw that the driver of the car behind was a young woman. She waved her hand vigorously, and the other person seemed to have seen her, flashing her headlights several times.
It must be someone looking for her. Zhou Jingxun wanted to smile, but she was immediately thrown off balance again.
“Tsk, I can’t shake them.” He growled and accelerated again.
“Director, your daughter is waving at me.” Zhou Jinglin reported through the radio. “But the culprit is still accelerating.”
This direction is… the Shuiyuan Expressway.
With the difference in performance between the two cars, if they got on the elevated highway, she would definitely be left behind.
‘Can you keep up?’ Zhou Zengxiang’s voice was tense.
She let out a “tsk” and said with little confidence, “I’ll try to get in front of him.”
‘Little Zhou, I’m almost there.’
This voice… “Senior Big Head?”
Lu Tingfeng turned on his siren, and the service vehicle quickly turned back from the clinic, the accelerator almost floored. ‘I’m almost there. You keep an eye on him.’
“Roger that.”
**
A piercing honk sounded in her ears, and Zhou Jingxun screamed as the culprit accelerated through a large intersection.
“Stop… please stop.”
“In your dreams.” He seemed to be enjoying the high speed and even turned on the radio.
He’s crazy, he’s crazy. Her eyes were blurry with tears, and she held her backpack tightly to her chest.
Suddenly, she felt the small spare knife.
It was a self-defense weapon that Kim Hyun-joo had given her after her house had been robbed. Since she had received it, she had never let it leave her side.
With a courage she didn’t know she had, she unbuckled her seatbelt, hid the knife in her sleeve, and threw herself at the gearshift.
“What are you doing?”
The gearshift was knocked into neutral at high speed. The man swung his elbow to stop her, and her face was hit hard.
But it only fueled her anger. She gripped the small knife and stabbed him hard in the right arm.
“Ah.”
Blood stained his shirt, and the whole car began to skid and spin, destroying her intention to stab him a second time. The piercing sound of the brakes drowned out their screams, and the car suddenly veered toward the side of the road.
In that instant, she remembered that serious car accident. She covered her head with her hands, her back against the front seat, and curled up on the floor mat in the back.
This was the last thing she did to protect herself.
**
Zhou Jinglin was surprised to see what was happening before her. The speeding taxi had suddenly tilted sharply to the right and had crashed into a fruit stand.
After a loud bang, the little yellow car that had been swerving all over the road finally stopped.
“There’s been an accident. The taxi crashed for some unknown reason.”
‘Jingxun… how is Jingxun?’
“Director, please calm down. I’ll check immediately.”
Zhou Jinglin’s heart was beating fast as she got out of the car. She quickly ran to the driver’s side.
The door was locked. She used her service pistol as a window breaker, shattered the driver’s side window, and pulled the central lock.
The siren stopped right next to her, and Lu Tingfeng arrived soon after.
“Little Zhou, how’s the culprit?”
The driver’s side was clearly deformed, and the culprit’s leg was trapped. “He can’t move. Senior, call an ambulance.” While Lu Tingfeng was on the phone, she turned to check the back seat.
Compared to the mess in the front, the back was mostly intact. Zhou Jinglin opened the car door and immediately found Zhou Jingxun curled up on the floor mat, with blood on her.
“Miss Zhou, hang in there. Are you okay?”
The violent impact had made her dizzy, and Zhou Jingxun’s eyes were a little blurry when she opened them. “Ugh…” she raised her hand and let go of the small knife, “who… are you?”
Good, she’s conscious. “I’m here to save you. The director is very worried about you.”
At the mention of the “director,” Zhou Jingxun reacted as if a switch had been flipped. She struggled to her feet, tears streaming down her face, and was helped out of the car by Zhou Jinglin.
“It’s okay.” She gave a gentle smile and patted Zhou Jingxun. “I’ll take you back to the bureau… it’s okay.”
**
Saying it was okay was a lie.
When Zhou Jingxun stepped into the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Zhou Zengxiang, who was waiting for her, immediately gave her a harsh scolding.
“Was I right?”
He angrily threw a pen next to her. “You were lucky this time. If you had been a little more reckless, you wouldn’t have gotten out of it in one piece. You actually ran away? You’re completely lawless…”
The chief’s office had become a place for the director to lecture his daughter. All the detectives could only watch from behind the glass, carefully, and afraid that they would be the next to be scolded.
Zhou Jinglin, who had actually participated in the rescue, was just as restless as the others. She kept an eye on the situation inside while pretending to be working, until Fang Zijun came to find her.
“Chief.”
“The original taxi driver was tied up in the trunk, bruised and swollen. The culprit woke up on the way to the hospital, and it’s preliminarily determined that he only has a fractured lower leg, and his life is not in danger.” He gave a helpless smile and took out his phone, handing it to her. “Here, you take this.”
The phone had a beautiful, stylish metal case. “Whose is it?”
“The director’s daughter’s, in the glove compartment.” He moved closer to her and lowered his voice. “I’ve contacted the director’s wife. She’ll be here as soon as she’s done with her surgery.”
“As expected of the chief.” Zhou Jinglin secretly smiled and put the phone away. “The director’s daughter must be looking forward to her mother coming to save her.”
“I’m afraid she’ll have to wait a while.” And Zhou Zengxiang was not in a good mood this time. “In any case, you just follow her. Let Big Head handle the culprit… we have to find out who’s behind this.”
“Yes…” at the mention of “following her,” she inexplicably thought of Tang Yingli, and only then did she realize that Yingli was not at her seat. “Huh, where’s the teacher?”
“The teacher just went to the holding cell, right after she confirmed that this kidnapping had happened.”
The holding cell? “Why did she suddenly go there…”
“The only thing I can think of is to find her old professor.”
Although the Chomsky case was over, George Miller was still in the holding cell at the station.
But despite several interrogations, Miller had remained tight-lipped about the person who had given him the information. And now that this incident had happened, Yingli was probably going to try her luck again.
“I won’t say any more. That’s all for now.” Lightly patting her shoulder, Fang Zijun walked away coolly, leaving her waiting where she was. Zhou Jingxun’s phone had a beautiful purple case. She stroked it and looked at the office, sighing with worry again.
