Chapter 123: Chapter 59: Kidnapping (Requesting Subscription and Monthly Tickets)
"Yes, I’m Luo Fei. Director Yang, I just heard from Zhou Weimin that Sun Ling is missing. What exactly is going on?" Luo Fei politely shook hands with Yang Guo and then inquired.
"By the way, this is Sun Ling’s agent, Liu Yin. She’s the one who knows the details best. If you want to know anything, just ask her." Yang Guo pointed to the plump woman in her forties next to him.
Upon hearing this, Luo Fei and the others looked towards the plump woman.
"It’s like this, in preparation for the concert at 7:30 pm, we arrived here around 6 pm with Sun Ling. I had to step out to handle something with the Bureau of Culture and Sports. At that time, Sun Ling and her assistant Xiaocai were backstage here. I finished my business with the Bureau and came back at 6:30." The plump woman spoke, glancing at the young girl with red eyes beside her.
Luo Fei and the others quickly understood that the young girl was likely Sun Ling’s assistant, Xiaocai, as mentioned by the plump woman.
"After I returned, I didn’t see Sun Ling or Xiaocai backstage. Seeing the concert time was approaching, I called Sun Ling, but no one answered her phone. Then I called Xiaocai, and she told me Sun Ling was missing and she was looking everywhere for her. When I heard Sun Ling was missing, I also went out to look, but after searching for a long time, we still couldn’t find her, so I called the police."
"Something must have happened to Sun Ling. I’ve known her for so many years, I understand her personality. She wouldn’t just disappear without reason. Something must have happened. We’ve been to countless cities, big and small, and I never thought such a thing would happen just two days after arriving in Ningjiang County. Officer, you must find Sun Ling." The plump woman continued, her tone slightly disgruntled.
Luo Fei detected the dissatisfaction in the plump woman’s tone, her underlying message being that after visiting so many cities without incident, something happened right after coming to Ningjiang County. Ningjiang County’s security was too poor.
However, Luo Fei didn’t comment, and instead, he turned to the young girl with red eyes beside the plump woman and asked, "When exactly did Sun Ling go missing?"
"It was just after Sister Liu went out for a bit. Sister Sun Ling said it was too stuffy inside and wanted to go out for some air. At that time, I was busy preparing clothes for Sister Sun Ling, so I didn’t go with her. But by 6:20, I noticed Sister Sun Ling hadn’t come back in, so I went out to find her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere." The young girl’s voice was tense as she said this.
"Could Sun Ling have been kidnapped?" Zhou Weimin asked incredulously.
"There are so many people at the music square, people coming and going, I doubt someone would be bold enough to just blatantly kidnap someone," Yang Mei retorted.
"Indeed, kidnapping someone at the music square would be too foolish," Zhou Weimin nodded in agreement.
Luo Fei thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "I’m afraid someone might be that foolish."
"What?" Yang Mei looked at Luo Fei in confusion.
Zhou Weimin and the others also turned their gaze to Luo Fei.
Luo Fei said, "Sun Ling is such a public figure, and she’s about to hold a concert soon. She wouldn’t just disappear without reason, so I suspect Sun Ling has been kidnapped."
"Are there really people that foolish?" Zhou Weimin frowned, looking at Luo Fei.
"Has my Sun Ling really been kidnapped? Who would be so bold to kidnap a celebrity? They say remote places breed rough people. I think they’re desperate for money. If I’d known, we wouldn’t have come." The plump woman’s face was filled with regret.
Everyone present felt uncomfortable hearing the plump woman’s words. After all, they were all from Ningjiang County, and being described as living in a backwater full of ruffians certainly didn’t sit well with them.
However, no one said anything. After all, Sun Ling was missing, and such words from her agent in a moment of anger were understandable.
Luo Fei said, "The kidnappers probably saw Sun Ling alone outside and acted on impulse, kidnapping her."
"If Sun Ling really is kidnapped, it shouldn’t be long before the kidnappers call," Liu Haiquan said.
"If the kidnappers are after money, at least we can ensure Sun Ling’s safety until they get paid. But I’m worried that the kidnappers aren’t after money," Luo Fei said calmly.
"If not for money, then why did they kidnap Sun Ling?" The plump woman’s voice was a bit sharp as she asked.
"There could be many reasons. For example, four years ago, the big star Liu Hua was kidnapped by a fan. The fan couldn’t accept Liu Hua’s marriage and wanted to die together. If the police hadn’t discovered it in time, Liu Hua would have died then," Luo Fei answered.
"Luo Fei, do you suspect that a fanatic fan kidnapped Sun Ling?" Yang Mei looked at Luo Fei and asked.
"It’s a suspicion. We can be sure that the person knows Sun Ling, recognized her identity upon seeing her, and then kidnapped her. The kidnapper recognizing Sun Ling is very likely a fan of hers," Luo Fei explained.
But then Luo Fei furrowed his brow again and said, "But wait, if it’s really a fan, they might have been following and watching Sun Ling since she arrived in Ningjiang County. So when they saw Sun Ling alone, they kidnapped her right away."
"The possibility seems very high," Zhou Weimin nodded in agreement.
"So what do we do now?" Sun Ling’s agent, the plump woman, asked anxiously. Sun Ling was her only famous artist, and if something happened to Sun Ling, her life as an agent wouldn’t be easy.
"Luo Fei, what should we do now?" Zhou Weimin also quickly asked Luo Fei, as he had great trust in Luo Fei’s abilities.
"Is there anything here that Sun Ling has used, like clothing or shoes?" Luo Fei asked Sun Ling’s young assistant.
"Ah!... There’s a scarf here that Sister Sun Ling just wore." The young assistant first showed a look of surprise but then spoke up.
Not just the young assistant, the plump agent and Yang Guo and others all looked at Luo Fei in confusion, not knowing why Luo Fei asked this.
But Yang Mei and Zhou Weimin, who understood Luo Fei, knew that Luo Fei wanted to track and find Sun Ling by the scent on Sun Ling’s clothes.
"Give me the scarf." Luo Fei said.
The young assistant immediately went over and took out a gray-white scarf.
Luo Fei took the scarf and smelled it carefully.
Next to him, the director of the cultural and sports bureau, Yang Guo, lightly asked Zhou Weimin, "Old Zhou, what does Luo Fei mean by this?"
Zhou Weimin explained, "Luo Fei’s sense of smell is extremely keen, even better than a dog’s. Previously, Luo Fei once tracked down a criminal suspect just by the tissue the suspect used to wipe his nose."
"So amazing?" Upon hearing this, Yang Guo’s face showed a surprised expression. Not just him, others who were unaware also looked at Luo Fei in amazement, not daring to believe someone’s nose could be this powerful.
Luo Fei smelled Sun Ling’s scent on the scarf, then followed the scent in the air left by Sun Ling out of the backstage, turned right towards the park on the right side of the music square. Sun Ling was probably thinking of sitting in the park.
Luo Fei walked in front, followed by Zhou Weimin and others.
Crossing the sidewalk, they soon arrived at the park.
In the park, on a bench, Luo Fei smelled Sun Ling’s scent most strongly here, indicating Sun Ling stayed here the longest.
Suddenly, Luo Fei found a pair of sunglasses behind the bench.
Luo Fei stepped forward to pick up the sunglasses.
"These are the sunglasses Sister Sun Ling was wearing when she came out," the young assistant exclaimed.
"So, Sun Ling must have been kidnapped here; otherwise, her sunglasses wouldn’t be left here," Zhou Weimin said.
Luo Fei remained silent; the most important thing now was to quickly track Sun Ling’s scent and find her as soon as possible.
Feeling the scent wafting from the right, Luo Fei didn’t linger, continuing to walk to the right, with others quickly following.
Yang Guo and the plump woman had previously doubted Luo Fei’s nose could be this sharp, but now they were fully convinced.
After walking less than thirty meters from the bench, Luo Fei reached the road below the park.
Luo Fei stopped, frowning, because Sun Ling’s scent disappeared from here.
This means the kidnapper must have taken Sun Ling into a car here; only then can it be explained why there’s no scent of Sun Ling in the air from here.
"What happened?" Yang Mei asked when she saw Luo Fei suddenly stop.
"No scent of Sun Ling." Luo Fei said, frowning.
"What do you mean?" Yang Mei asked in confusion.
"The kidnapper probably parked the car here and took Sun Ling into the vehicle, causing the scent molecules on Sun Ling to leave too little in the air, so I can’t smell the scent anymore," Luo Fei explained to Yang Mei.
"What do we do then?" Sun Ling’s agent asked anxiously upon hearing Luo Fei can’t smell the scent anymore.
Zhou Weimin and a few others also looked at Luo Fei.
"Luo Fei, what do you think?" Zhou Weimin also asked.
Luo Fei didn’t hold back, thought for a moment, "Zhou, you take the people from the police station and check the surveillance footage on this ring road that might have captured the suspect’s vehicle. I’ll go with Yang Mei to check the hotel where Sun Ling stayed before. If the suspect is an avid fan of Sun Ling, constantly monitoring Sun Ling, there might be a chance the surveillance footage near the hotel captured the suspect’s movements."
"Okay, let’s do that," Zhou Weimin nodded.
Then Luo Fei looked at Sun Ling’s agent, asking about the hotel where Sun Ling stayed in Ningjiang.
Juhai Hotel
This is the hotel where Sun Ling and others stayed in Ningjiang these past two days.