Hearing this, Yu He jolted, all sleepiness vanishing instantly. "When and where was she kidnapped?"
As she spoke, she immediately got out of bed and rushed to the study. In her haste, she accidentally stepped on the little piggy that had excitedly trotted over, causing it to let out a yelp.
Yu He turned on her computer and, while it was booting up, scooped it up and placed it on her lap to comfort it.
"Twenty minutes ago, Qiao Qiao came to the complex to find me. Grandma Yu went to the clinic first. As soon as she left the complex gate, a van suddenly stopped. Two people got out and abducted Grandma Yu!" Qiao Wei said anxiously. "I've already called the police. They're checking the complex's surveillance for the license plate and canvassing the area."
"If only I had paid more attention earlier and remembered the license plate."
He felt some self-recrimination, even recalling that Qiao Qiao's visit to him at the time seemed somewhat deliberate!
If he hadn't let Grandma Yu go first, she wouldn't have been kidnapped!
"Drive your car to the clinic to pick me up," Yu He said, hanging up the phone. She then plugged a USB drive into her computer, and a string of code quickly appeared on the screen.
Simultaneously, she opened her phone and tried calling Grandma Yu.
The call connected, but no one answered.
Yu He's expression was impassive, her aura chilling. Even the little piggy sensed its young mistress's distress. It had been snorting and acting affectionately, but now it lay on her lap, not daring to move.
Soon, Yu He successfully hacked into the complex's surveillance cameras, found the recording at the entrance, and quickly rewound it to find the van Qiao Wei had mentioned.
The license plate was a Bei Shi plate.
Next, she quickly accessed the traffic system's surveillance and tracked the van's direction of departure.
Just then, a car horn sounded from outside.
Yu He immediately put down the little piggy, returned to her room to quickly change her clothes, and then grabbed her phone, acupuncture kit, and laptop.
Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya had already arrived for work at the clinic. They were a bit surprised to see Yu He rushing out with her laptop.
"Did something happen to Yu He?" Xiao Qing asked.
"That's strange, why is Grandma Yu so late today? She's usually here so early," Xiao Ya commented.
"We'll postpone consultations for today. Inform the patients that it's delayed by a day," Yu He said, then hurried out.
Xiao Qing and Xiao Ya exchanged glances, a feeling that something had gone wrong settling upon them.
In their impression, no matter what happened, Yu He was always calm. This was the first time they had seen her so rushed and anxious.
At the entrance, Qiao Wei saw Yu He emerge and immediately got out of the car, opening the rear passenger door for her.
"It went towards the outskirts heading to Bei Shi," Yu He said after getting into the car.
Qiao Wei immediately started the car.
Meanwhile.
Grandma Yu vaguely woke up to the jarring bumps. When she opened her eyes, she found her hands tied behind her back with rope and herself lying in the dusty back of a dilapidated van.
Two burly men sat in the front seats, smoking and watching short videos with the volume turned up high. A strong smell of smoke and the distorted laughter from the videos filled the entire compartment.
Grandma Yu initially wanted to pretend to be asleep and secretly find her phone to call for help, but the strong smell of smoke in the compartment made her cough violently.
"Cough, cough, cough."
The sound from the short videos suddenly cut off. The two men in the back, both with close-cropped hair, turned around in unison. One was fleshy-faced, the other sharp-featured and gaunt, both with cigarettes dangling from their lips.
"Boss, this old lady's awake!" said the thin man with the sharp features.
"Nonsense, I'm not blind!" the fat man with the fleshy face cursed.
"What should we do? Should we knock her out again?" the thin man asked.
Grandma Yu instinctively shrank back. "Who are you? Why are you taking me?"
"We're just doing what we're paid for. Who sent us isn't important," the fat man said, slowly exhaling smoke. "If you cooperate with us and come with us to the destination, we won't harm you."
"Who sent you?" Grandma Yu tried to calm herself, glancing out the window at the surroundings. They were heading towards the outskirts.
Seeing that no one answered, she continued, "How much money do you want? I'll give you money."
The thin man's face immediately showed greed at the mention of money. "How much can you offer at most..."
"Shut up!" The fat man slapped him. "We're working for one party. You want to get paid by both and do nothing? You're dreaming."
He then looked at Grandma Yu. "If you can give each of us a million, we'll let you go right now!"
Grandma Yu: "..."
The thin man rubbed his face, suddenly feeling wronged by the slap.
"Okay, I can give you money. Let me go now, and I'll get the money for you," Grandma Yu said immediately.
As long as she could get back alive and not worry Nian Nian, a little financial loss was nothing.
"Everyone shut up. We've arrived, switch shifts!" the driver said at this moment.
Grandma Yu's heart sank. She looked outside; they were in a small village, with no people around.
She thought they had reached their destination and quickly tried to memorize the terrain.
The fat man and the thin man got out from both sides, went to the back, and used a hood and a rag to cover Grandma Yu's mouth and head. Then they forcibly dragged her out of the van and into another vehicle.
The car drove for some distance, seemingly heading into the mountains, the road bumpier than before.
"Take her hood off."
At this moment, a familiar female voice sounded in the car.
Grandma Yu was stunned. The hood was removed from her head, and what greeted her eyes was a face she recognized: Qiao Qiao!
She was sitting in the passenger seat. Even though she was wearing a mask, Grandma Yu recognized her face and voice.
"Mmm mmm!" Grandma Yu looked at her in disbelief.
She couldn't imagine that the person who had apologized to her yesterday and promised to reform would be kidnapping her today!
"Shh~" Qiao Qiao made a silencing gesture. "Grandma Yu, I'm sorry, I don't want to do this to you. You've been kind to me. Don't worry, as long as you cooperate, I won't hurt you!"
"Mmm mmm!"
Qiao Qiao signaled to the man with the scar in the back seat. The man with the scar pulled the rag from Grandma Yu's mouth.
"Qiao Qiao, what are you doing!" Grandma Yu immediately asked.
What am I doing?
Of course, using you to lure Yu He out!
But Qiao Qiao didn't say it, only a sinister smile curved her lips as she waved her phone.
"Grandma Yu, shall we play a game? Hide-and-seek. Later, I'll use your phone to call Yu He and ask you to tell her to find you in the small wooden house at Duanhun Cliff. If she comes, I'll let you go."
Grandma Yu didn't know where Duanhun Cliff was, but she could tell it wasn't a good place. Seeing that they were heading into the mountains, in such a desolate area, no one would know if something happened.
She couldn't see the road ahead clearly. As if to prevent her from memorizing the route, the windows of this car were all covered with curtains, blocking the view outside.
This place was too dangerous; she couldn't let Nian Nian come!
"Okay!" Grandma Yu agreed.
Seeing her cooperate so readily, Qiao Qiao thought she was afraid of death and her smile of disdain deepened. She dialed Yu He's number.
Yu He answered instantly. "Grandma?!"