Chapter Eight: Rescue

"Sir, I just asked the security guard. He confirmed that a food delivery person went in and hasn't come out yet," Li He said, leaning forward slightly from the backseat toward He Qi'an.

"Look, is that the delivery scooter?" Zhang Ming pointed ahead.

He Qi'an and Li He looked up. Under the glow of the headlights, the scooter lay overturned in the downpour, looking strangely ominous.

"Get out!" He Qi'an commanded in a low voice, immediately opening his car door. Li He followed suit, and Zhang Ming hurriedly killed the engine and stepped out.

He Qi'an walked up to the scooter. Seeing the open delivery box filled with rainwater, his expression darkened.

The three men quickly entered the second unit. When they reached the elevator, they found that one car was stopped at the 13th floor.

"Sir..." Zhang Ming swallowed hard, unable to stop himself from glancing at his captain.

He Qi'an strode into the elevator, followed quickly by Zhang Ming and Li He, who pressed the button for the 13th floor. Once inside, He Qi'an pulled his sidearm from his holster and performed a quick check. Li He did the same, also clicking on his flashlight and checking its battery level.

Zhang Ming watched them, feeling both a surge of adrenaline and a touch of trepidation. He had joined the force less than six months ago, and every assignment so far had been minor; he had never encountered a homicide case before. He steadied himself and lowered his head to check his own weapon.

"Ding."

They reached the 13th floor. He Qi'an stepped out, scanned both sides, and signaled, "This way."

The three moved silently to the door of apartment 1302. He Qi'an raised his hand, signaling Li He and Zhang Ming to stop, their hands hovering over their holsters. He Qi'an pressed his ear against the door to listen.

"Thump!"

Hearing something fall inside, he straightened up and immediately began knocking.

"Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!"

The sudden knocking froze the people inside.

Inside, Ai Lin was in a disheveled state, her clothes torn and her face bruised. She was being held tightly by a tall delivery man who had his hand clamped over her mouth and a kitchen knife pressed against her waist. Trembling and weeping, she was terrified to her core, but when she heard the knocking, a glimmer of desperate hope ignited in her eyes.

"Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!"

The knocking continued. The delivery man breathed heavily, leaned down to Ai Lin's ear, and whispered a threat, "Don't make a sound, or else... hmph!"

"Who is it!" the delivery man shouted.

He Qi'an and his team heard the man's voice and exchanged glances.

"Plumbing service. The pipe upstairs is clogged, and I need to clear it from your unit. Open up, I'll be quick!" He Qi'an said in a gruff voice.

The man was furious. "What time is it? Come back tomorrow, I'm sleeping!"

"I can't do that. There's water everywhere upstairs; your ceiling is going to start leaking any second. I can fix it fast—ten minutes, just ten minutes. Open the door!"

The man cursed under his breath, keeping his hand clamped over Ai Lin's mouth. Ai Lin stared at the door, praying that the person outside would come in and save her. She thought back to what Lin Xiaoyan had said when she left work, and she was filled with overwhelming regret. Why had she ordered takeout? She could have just eaten instant noodles!

"I'm sleeping! Go away, I'm not fixing it!" the delivery man growled.

Outside, He Qi'an’s expression turned cold when he heard the refusal. He signaled to Li He, who nodded and pulled a piece of wire from his pocket. He approached the door and tested the handle.

Hearing the sound of the handle, the delivery man inside grew alert. "What are you doing?"

Li He looked at He Qi'an and nodded.

He Qi'an nodded back and continued to pound on the door. "Open up, open up! I need to fix the pipe. Just open the door and let me in; the people upstairs insisted it be fixed today..."

As He Qi'an kept knocking, Li He quickly inserted the wire into the keyhole and began to turn it gently.

"Damn it!" the delivery man cursed under his breath. He looked at the person in his arms and pressed the knife against her neck. "Move, into the room!"

Ai Lin, tears streaming down her face, was forced into the room. The delivery man tied her up, gagged her, and warned, "Stay still, and don't you dare make a sound, or I'll finish you right here!"

He Qi'an heard the silence inside and urged Li He in a low voice. Li He was sweating profusely, working as fast as he could.

"Bang, bang, bang... Open the door, open the door..."

The delivery man quickly took off his clothes, went to the wardrobe, found a man's garment, and threw it on.

"I'm coming, stop knocking! It's the middle of the night, are you annoying or what?" the man shouted. He then shut the bedroom door, giving Ai Lin a final, warning glare.

Ai Lin closed her eyes in terror, frozen in place.

The man quickly shut the bedroom door, tucked the kitchen knife into his waistband, and went to open the apartment door. As he reached for the knob, the door suddenly swung open from the outside. His expression changed instantly, and his hand flew toward his back.

Seeing the man's movement, He Qi'an lunged forward, kicked him, and quickly subdued him.

"Li He, check the room."

"Yes!" Li He began his search immediately.

The delivery man, pinned to the floor, roared, "Who are you people? What are you doing? This is trespassing! Let me go!"

Zhang Ming looked at his captain and Li He, hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed Li He to help search.

Li He saw the discarded food containers and the messy living room. Suddenly, he heard a sound coming from the bedroom. He hurried toward it.

"Don't go in there! My wife is sleeping in the room, you hooligans! I'm calling the police!" The delivery man, seeing Li He head for the bedroom, shouted in panic.

"Shut up!" He Qi'an growled, pinning the man down firmly.

Li He opened the door and saw the bound woman. Upon seeing someone enter, Ai Lin immediately made a sound, pleading for help.

"Zhang Ming, come here and help!" Li He called out, picking up a blanket from the floor to cover Ai Lin.

Zhang Ming walked in and froze when he saw the bound woman. That phone call... it was real!

"Hurry up! Call 120 for an ambulance, untie her, and I'll go help the boss!"

Zhang Ming snapped out of his shock and replied, "Right!"

...

At that moment, Lin Xiaoyan lay in bed, shivering from head to toe. She was praying that the police would save Sister Lin.

She checked the time: twelve o'clock!

Lin Xiaoyan’s face turned pale, her hands trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes began to throb with pain again. After thinking it over, she decided to make one more call.

Mao Hong was in the middle of investigating Lin Xiaoyan’s information.

"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang. Mao Hong looked at the caller ID; it looked familiar. She scrolled up and saw it was indeed the same number as Lin Xiaoyan’s.

"Hello?"

"Hello... hello, I..."

Mao Hong recognized the familiar, nervous, and hurried voice. It was indeed Lin Xiaoyan.

"I just wanted to ask... did you send the police?" Before making this call, Lin Xiaoyan had struggled with herself for a long time.