The street lamp on the street is like a lonely night watchman. No matter how strong the night wind is, he cannot extinguish his oil lamp.
Hoffman stood under the streetlight, with one hand across his chest and a cigar in the other, smoking.
To be honest, the painting style is a bit abstract.
A slave owner looks like a big boss no matter how he looks. He should be staying in a manor, sitting on a large and comfortable sofa, listening to his subordinates report that they have shot and killed the boss of a rival gang.
The black man was squatting on the roadside, wearing a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, bobbing his head to listen to music, and rapping along.
"What are you going to do?"
The cowboy sister was still shameless and followed Lin Baici.
"wait!"
Lin Baici stood on the roadside, chatting with Gu Qingqiu.
Xia Hongyao couldn't wait to start reasoning. She listened carefully to the conversation between her two aces, thinking that they were discussing the case of missing children, but the more she listened, the more something was wrong.
The development history of Hong Kong Island?
If you were reborn in this era, how would you make a fortune?
What are these talking about?
Later, they even turned to Ryugu Island, saying that Airi Sannomiya must be waiting impatiently.
Hey, the Hong Kong Ghost Ship has not been completed yet. Do you think Dragon Palace Island is a bit far away?
After the old woman left home and left the residential building, everyone waited for another quarter of an hour. Hoffman was the first to go upstairs.
The black man followed immediately.
"Shall we go up quickly?"
Xia Hongyao urged that if you want to find someone, you must get some photos of the missing child.
"Slave owner, don't open the door violently, let me do it?"
The black man volunteered.
He fiddled with the big gold ring on his left ring finger, pulled out a gold-plated iron wire from it, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it a few times. The hidden lock of the security door was easily opened with a clicking sound.
.
"OK!"
The black man turned around and made an OK gesture, probably waiting for others to praise him, but Hoffman had already opened the door with a cold face.
Everyone goes in.
Hoffman was not seen rummaging through the boxes. He stood in the living room with his right hand stretched out. After waiting for a few seconds, the photo albums that the old woman had seen before flew out and landed in his hand.
Hoffman flipped through it, selected three or four outstanding photos, threw the album to the black man, and then turned and left.
"Isn't this too pretentious?"
Xia Hongyao pouted: "Xiao Linzi, Xiao Loach, we must find that child faster than him!"
Lin Baici and others got the photo and came out. Hoffman had already knocked on a neighbor's door and was asking about the situation.
The cowboy sister and the black man planned to go over to listen, but the Korean girl didn't, so she just followed Lin Baici and the others.
There are six households in total on this floor.
Gu Qingqiu observed the security doors and door environment of six houses, and finally chose the second one on the right.
Gu Qingqiu knocked on the door.
After waiting for a few seconds, someone answered, sounding like an old man.
Gu Qingqiu spoke authentic Hong Kong, which made it easy to communicate. After chatting for a few words and explaining his purpose, the other party opened the door.
"Are you from the government?"
The old man next door was wearing pajamas and reading glasses and was very cautious: "Why aren't you wearing work clothes?"
"The old lady was injured and was sent to the hospital. Let's find out about her situation!"
Gu Qingqiu explained.
"Hey, if my daughter is not around, I just can't do it. No one will care about me even if I get hurt."
The old man sighed.
"Where is his son and daughter-in-law?"
"I heard he went abroad!"
The old man added: "When I was working abroad, about seven or eight years ago, I could still see people during the Chinese New Year, but then I never saw them again!"
"Maybe the contact has been cut off, right?"
Gu Qingqiu guessed: "Did the old lady spend time with her grandson? She kept shouting that she wanted to go home and make clay pot rice for her grandson!"
"Her grandson was lost when he was five years old!"
The old man adjusted his glasses: "Since then, her brain has been a little abnormal. After her son and daughter-in-law didn't come back, she lived alone and became even more nervous."
"Do you know where her grandson was lost?"
Xia Hongyao asked, and took out a small notebook to take notes carefully.
"That's not clear. Some people say it's an amusement park, while others say it's on the way home from school!"
The old man was very enthusiastic: "Go to the police station to check, she reported the crime at that time!"
"Then you know how many years have passed since now, right?"
"Two...it's been more than twenty years, right? I can't remember!"
The old man recalled it.
"How many?"
Xia Hongyao was stunned.
"More than twenty years is too long!"
The old man yawned: "Is there anything else you can do?"
They obviously want to close down.
"No more, thank you!"
Gu Qingqiu thanked him.
After the old man closed the door, Xia Hongyao immediately wailed: "The disappearance case more than 20 years ago, what nonsense is this?"
At that time, there were no cameras on the streets, so if someone was lost, it was almost impossible to find them.
The traffickers sold the children into the valley. Communication was not developed and transportation was inconvenient. After more than ten years, a five-year-old child would not even know that he had been trafficked.
"Twenty years and a generation have passed, and even fewer people know about the disappearance."
Gu Qingqiu pondered.
"Yes!"
Xia Hongyao frowned. This was also a troublesome matter. The people who knew about it were all dead of old age. Even if he walked around the streets and investigated, he couldn't find anyone.
"Let's go to that child's school!"
Gu Qingqiu took out a photo.
Above is a photo of an old woman and her grandson at the school gate. This photo should have been taken when she first entered elementary school.
"No need to ask other neighbors anymore?"
The cowboy sister reminded: "In case this old man's testimony is wrong..."
"No!"
Gu Qingqiu looked confident and walked downstairs.
"Why are you so sure?"
The cowboy girl frowned, thinking this woman was very arrogant.
“You’re right to believe in Little Loach!”
Xia Hongyao supported Gu Qingqiu unconditionally, but to be honest, she felt it would be safer to ask again.
"Alumni, explain it to her!"
Gu Qingqiu asked Lin Baici the question.
"Aren't you worried that I don't know?"
Lin Baici was speechless. How embarrassing would it be if he couldn't answer?
"No!"
Gu Qingqiu smiled slightly.
The cowboy sister looked at Lin Baici, waiting for an answer.
"Those two security doors are different from those in my husband's house. They were replaced later!"
Lin Baici pointed.
"so what?"
Cowboy asked.
"It means that those two houses may have been purchased later and renovated, and they were not moved in at the same time as the old woman."
Lin Baici explained that if you are not a neighbor at the same time, there is a high probability that you will not know the situation of your wife's in-laws' family.
"It's also possible that the security door is broken and has been replaced!"
The cowboy girl argued.
"The possibility you mentioned exists!"
Lin Baici pointed the cowboy sister to look at the shoe rack next to the security door: "Do you see anything?"
"Just some shoes?"
Cowboy sister doesn’t know why
"The mistress of this house must be a slut!"
The black man's Kyushu dialect is not very good, but the pronunciation of the word "slut" is very pure.
The black man mentioned this store. There is a shoe cabinet at the door. It is full of women's shoes. There are more than twenty pairs. There are even several pairs on the ground next to it.
These shoes are quite sexy, and some of them are super high-heeled, studded with diamonds...
They are the kind of shoes mostly worn by women engaged in special professions.
"I don't know if it's cool or not, but this house is occupied by tenants."
Lin Baici explained: "The shoes are of different sizes, and there are at least three women living there!"
"NO, NO!"
The black man shook his head: "Only two live here!"
"Go and take a look, there are only two sizes of shoes!"
The black man smiled very confidently, and he also had this kind of meticulous observation.
"Have you never thought that two of the women have the same shoe size?"
Lin Baici asked back.
"Well……"
Black man is stuck.
“There are several pairs of shoes of the same size with different levels of wear!”
Lin Baici had sharp eyes and could see clearly from a few meters away.
People have different foot shapes and different walking postures, so the parts where shoes are worn are also different.
"This reason is not sufficient!"
The black man is still talking harshly.
"Those two pairs of red high-heeled shoes are exactly the same, but the degree of wear and tear is different, which is enough to prove that they belong to two different women!"
Gu Qingqiu found it disgusting and thought he had no brains and insisted on arguing.
"Uh-huh!"
Xia Hongyao took notes carefully and asked humbly: "Is there any other way to judge?"
Gu Qingqiu and Lin Baici looked at each other without answering.
But actually there are.
Different smells can also be used as a basis for identification.
"On this shoe rack, there are several pairs of walking shoes for elderly people."
Lin Baici continued: "Generally speaking, the elderly do not go out to work, so most of them do not rent a house, so there is a high probability that they will be the first homeowners to move in!"
"That makes sense!"
The cowboy sister nodded, thinking this guy was very smart.
A smile appeared on Xia Hongyao's face unconsciously, feeling proud.
"You know how powerful it is, right? This is my trump card."
Holding a pen in a high ponytail, he wrote down quickly in a small notebook.
"Any more?"
The black man is not convinced.
"Actually, it's the simplest thing. Have you seen the anti-slip mat in front of the door?"
Lin Baici gestured: "Can you compare?"
"FUCK!"
The black man cursed in annoyance, not at Lin Baici, but at himself.
He understood.
Because the anti-slip mat in front of the old woman’s in-law’s house was the same as the one in front of the house that Gu Qingqiu asked about, it means that the two families most likely bought it at the same time.
If not, it was given as a gift by a certain party, which means that the relationship between the two families is good, and there is a high probability that they know the other party's family situation.
Someone must know about something as big as a disappearance.
Hoffman looked at Lin Baici and then at Gu Qingqiu. His expression turned a little ugly.
It’s not scary if a person has high combat effectiveness, and it’s not scary if he has a high IQ. What’s scary is that these two are combined in one person.
Like Lin Baici's analysis just now, it is clear and logical, which is enough to show that his IQ is superior to others.
You must know that Lin Baici is so young and must have not received special training, so he is definitely born to be able to perform like this.
Hoffman suddenly felt a little regretful. This revenge trip was probably the wrong one.
The group of people went downstairs and came to the roadside.
"Hey, Lao Hei!"
Gu Qingqiu greeted the black man.
"WHAT?"
The title "Lao Hei" is a bit insulting, but the black man curled his lips and did not show any anger.
The main reason is that he also wants to rely on these two people to purify pollution.
"Go get a car!"
Gu Qingqiu calls on the black man.
"My name is Django!"
The black man said his name, then ran away cursing.
Xia Hongyao thought he would have to wait for a while, but who knew that in less than five minutes, he came back in a brown Buick MPV.
"So fast?"
Xia Hongyao was shocked. How do you say this? Racial talent?
The cowboy girl looked calm, obviously she was used to this kind of thing.
Crunch!
The MPV stopped.
The window is lowered.
"GO!GO!GO!"
Django urged everyone to get in the car.
…
The grandson of the old woman goes to Kwun Tong Primary School.
There were not many cars at night, so Jiang Ge drove there in 20 minutes. If he was familiar with the route, it would be faster.
The school door is closed, but the light in the security room is on.
"Old Hei, go get some money!"
Gu Qingqiu ordered.
"I told you my name is Django!"
Django went to get money.
"I'll go too!"
The Korean girl felt that she should make some contribution, otherwise others might not take care of her.
Gu Qingqiu was noncommittal.
Everyone has some kind of space god taboo on their body, and some gold is kept in it as a spare, but if you give this thing as a gift, you will probably be regarded as a lunatic.
After waiting for more than a quarter of an hour, Jiang Ge came back and handed a stack of Hong Kong dollars to Gu Qingqiu: "More than 10,000 yuan, is that enough?"
Gu Qingqiu took the money and said smoothly: "Open the door!"
"I'll do it!"
The cowboy sister ran over, jumped over the door, waited for a few seconds, and then opened the door from the inside.
Not a single movement was made.
Gu Qingqiu went in, walked to the security room, pushed the door open and entered.
There was a middle-aged man in his thirties, with some bald heads, who was the janitor and security guard of this elementary school.
He was concentrating on watching a ghost movie when he heard the sound of the door opening and was startled.
"Who are you?"
The security guard yelled and went to grab the electric baton placed on the table.
Lin Baici frowned, rubbed his nose, glanced at the security guard's big feet in flip-flops, and then went to open the window.
The air in this room is not very good.
"Ask you something!"
Gu Qingqiu threw a thousand dollars on the table: "The answer satisfies me, these are yours!"
The security guard glanced at the money and became less angry: "Who knows what you want to ask?"
"What makes you satisfied?"
Money can make all the difference, and Gu Qingqiu's money immediately made the security guard's attitude improve.
Gu Qingqiu didn't waste any time. He took out three photos and showed them to the security guard: "Do you know this kid?"
"..."
The security guard was silent. He didn't recognize him, but if he said that, he probably wouldn't be able to get the money.
"Do you know all the security guards who have worked here before?"
Gu Qingqiu was not surprised. The security guard was in his thirties. It was estimated that when the child disappeared, he had not come here to work: "Write down their address!"
The security guard didn't move.
"If you don't obey me, not only will you not get the money, but you will also lose your life!"
Korean girl threatens.
"I write! I write!"
The security guard found a piece of paper and wrote five names, followed by their home addresses. Two of them did not have phone numbers.
"Who has worked here the longest? The most serious?"
Gu Qingqiu asked.
"Cao Yingrong!"
The security guard answered all questions, mainly about the fierce Korean woman, and a black man also came in. He looked tall and scary.
Gu Qingqiu asked a few more questions, and when he was satisfied, he took another thousand yuan and put it on the table.
Before leaving, she threatened the security guard: "Don't call these people. If you inform them, you will be miserable!"
"No!"
The security guard waited for these people to leave. He immediately picked up the money on the table and counted it carefully. Then he remembered to check the door.
…
Forty minutes later, Jiang Ge drove the car to an old community.
"Do you have to follow us?"
Xia Hongyao was disgusted, so he just let the guy Hoffman follow him secretly. In the end, he parked the car next to him without any concealment.
After hearing Lin Baici's reasoning just now, Hoffman knew that he would never be able to find the missing child faster than these two.
Then we can only follow.
Hoffman didn't make any excuses, and at least he looked like a big boss.
Cao Yingrong lives on the seventeenth floor.
The stairs are quite cramped and full of debris. When the elevator goes up, it makes a creaking sound, which makes people nervous.
After getting out of the elevator, he found room 1702. Without Gu Qingqiu's instructions, Jiang Ge knocked on the door.
"What's the matter with you?"
An old man's voice sounded from the door. After looking at these people through the peephole, he cautiously did not open the door.
"We want to inquire about a disappearance!"
Gu Qingqiu asked: "More than twenty years ago, a child named 'Xiaotang' disappeared. Do you still remember?"
"Remember!"
At Kwun Tong Primary School, when Cao Yingrong was working as a security guard, two children disappeared. Of course he remembered it very clearly.
"Can you open the door and talk?"
Gu Qingqiu spoke softly: "Don't worry, I won't let your work go in vain!"
Cao Yingrong hesitated for a moment, probably knowing that he couldn't escape, so he opened the door and invited everyone into the house.
Looking at the home furnishings and hearing the voices of several people in the bedroom, Xia Hongyao judged that this family's life was relatively poor.
Gu Qingqiu opened the way for money and directly took 10,000 yuan and put it on the table: "Can you tell me about that child?"
"It has nothing to do with our school. The child was lost in a vegetable market in Kwun Tong after school in the afternoon!"
Cao Yingrong recalled the past: "His grandma would come to school from time to time to make trouble, saying she wanted to pick up her grandson. She became mentally ill!"
"Why!"
Cao Yingrong sighed: "The school also lost some money to their family!"
After Gu Qingqiu asked a few innocuous questions, he added: "Do you know who knows more about this case?"
"It should be a policeman named Cai Yonghao. He has come to the school to investigate several times!"
Cao Yingrong looked at these people suspiciously, including men, women, and several foreigners of different nationalities, which made him confused about the origins of these people.
Gu Qingqiu asked some more questions, and after making sure he didn't miss anything, he left a wad of money and said goodbye.
Gu Qingqiu didn't need to tell him the next destination, Jiang Ge also knew it.
He drove everyone straight to Kwun Tong Police Station to investigate information about Cai Yonghao.
…
Cai Yonghao retired three years ago.
Everyone went to his house again.
When Cai Yonghao heard about everyone's intention, he was a little surprised: "Twenty-seven years have passed since this disappearance case. There was no surveillance at that time. Even if there were clues at that time, if you look for it now, you won't be able to find it!"
Time will destroy everything.
"Maybe that child is already dead!"
Cai Yonghao sighed: "I used to want to solve every case. Later, as my work experience increased, I was no longer so naive."
"There are some things that you can't help, do you understand?"
Cai Yonghao has a sense of resignation and decadence.
"That child disappeared in the market?"
Gu Qingqiu asked.
"Most likely!"
Cai Yonghao poured tea for everyone.
"Have you ever learned about the situation from those stall owners at that time?"
"Sure, this is a set procedure!"
Cai Yonghao answered all questions: "But no one knows!"
"There are probably quite a few children coming to the vegetable market every day. Who would pay attention to someone they don't know?"
Xia Hongyao felt that the difficulty of this task may have been marked incorrectly. It should not be easy, but should be at least three stars in difficulty.
If it happened in modern times and the streets were under surveillance, it wouldn't be so troublesome.
"Can you get those files? I want to take a look!"
Gu Qingqiu continued to throw away money: "Of course, I won't let your work go in vain!"
"no problem!"
Cai Yonghao agreed happily.
A child's missing file is not a big secret. I can rely on my connections to get it out.
Moreover, Cai Yonghao was in charge of this case, and he wrote most of the files. If it hadn't been too old and he had forgotten some details, he could even retell them to Gu Qingqiu.
…
At noon the next day, in a cafe, everyone was waiting for Cai Yonghao.
As soon as Cai Yonghao sat down, he took out a document bag from his bag and handed it to Gu Qingqiu.
Whoosh!
A hand stretched out from the side and grabbed the document bag.
It's Hoffman!
This guy is like a ghost, appearing without anyone noticing.
"I'll beat your lungs out!"
Cai Yonghao was shocked.
"What are you doing?"
Lin Baici grabbed Hoffman's hand.
"I'll see first!"
Hoffman looked grim.
"no!"
Lin Baici refused.
"You want to eat shit?"
Xia Hongyao rolled up her sleeves: "Slave master, I have tolerated you for a long time!"
The slave owner glanced at Lin Baici and the others, and said in a calm tone: "You three, come together!"
These words were really arrogant and made Xia Hongyao angry.
"Did it work for you?"
Gu Qingqiu's six words made the originally cold and arrogant Hoffman twitch his brows a few times, and then he let go of the document bag.
indeed,
It would be embarrassing if you didn't see the key point and still relied on them.
FUCK!
After killing that ghost ship god, I have to kill all these people, otherwise if these things spread, I will be completely embarrassed.
Hoffman sat in the next seat.
Gu Qingqiu opened the document bag, took half of it himself, and gave the remaining half to Lin Baici.
Here are some transcripts from the vegetable market stall owners.
Gu Qingqiu flipped through the pages.
"You can't take these things away!"
Cai Yonghao reminded.
Lin Bai resigned and went to the bathroom. When he came back, he had a camera in his hand, and he began to take pictures of the file.
"Do you still have such a good thing?"
The cowboy girl was surprised.
No electronic equipment can be used in the God's Ruins. Lin Baici's camera is obviously a taboo item for the Gods.
"You kid, your family is very rich!"
Django is envious.
This was what Lin Baici asked Hua Yueyu for before he came in, just in case of emergency, but he didn't expect to actually use it.
There were a lot of files, and by the time Lin Baici and Gu Qingqiu read them carefully, three hours had passed.
"Let's go to the vegetable market!"
Gu Qingqiu paid and left.
"FUCK!"
Hoffman originally wanted to read the dossier, but then he heard this sentence.
Seeing Lin Baici and his entourage leaving, Hoffman wanted to take the file and read it on the road.
"You'd better not grab it, or you won't follow us!"
Gu Qingqiu warned.
"Fuck you!"
Hoffman cursed, gave up the file, and followed everyone.
Now that he had made it clear and shameless, Hoffman was too lazy to drive by himself and got directly into the MPV.