209: 209.

Peaks and turns 209: 209.

Peaks and turns Jessica had left less than 15 minutes ago when Aurora arrived in a helicopter.

She yelled at Lu Li, “Get in quick, we can talk on the way.”

Lu Li boarded the helicopter with “Number 0,” and Aurora handed him a tablet, saying,

“Here’s the intelligence summary.

The perpetrator is Carlette, a core member of the Lotus Group…”

Lu Li flipped through it.

The suspect was quite notorious, having kidnapped numerous wealthy politicians,

including the owner of Laisler Automobile Company and the CEO of the President Hotel Group.

But, in every case, after receiving the ransom, they ruthlessly killed the victims.

“The kidnapper has absolutely no credibility and is a sadist!”

Aurora clenched her teeth, her face full of disgust,

“After every crime, they would send parts of the body and photos to the victim’s family.”

Lu Li nodded, “Definitely a scumbag.”

At that moment, the tablet displayed a photo of a Fran-descended man.

He had a neatly trimmed mustache and looked like a handsome, genteel gentleman.

Swiping further down revealed surveillance footage from the kidnapping scene.

There were over ten videos, with the top spots held by the three main rescue targets—

Luke’s granddaughter, a veteran of the National Action Party, and a counselor from the Fran Embassy.

Lu Li clicked to view them and saw the method of operation was the same each time.

A group of stout men abducted the victims and swiftly gunned down the security guards, completing the process in less than 10 seconds, frighteningly skilled.

“20 people kidnapped in one day, a crazy yet professional crime syndicate…

where are they?”

“We still do not know the kidnappers’ location.”

Aurora angrily said,

“But we’ve partnered with Luke’s security team to form an urgent rescue group.

With the connections of the wealthiest man, we will soon root out those sons of bitches!”

As she spoke, the helicopter hovered above a hotel and gently landed on the rooftop helipad.

A middle-aged man in a suit briskly approached.

“I am Martin, Mr.

Luke’s security consultant.”

Awei bowed slightly, with a very respectful expression,

“Mr.

Lu Li, it’s an honor to meet you again.

Your skills at the previous banquet were quite impressive.”

Lu Li nodded, then followed as Martin led the way into the hotel.

Aurora asked from behind, “What’s the situation?

Have you located the kidnappers?”

“Uh… well…”

Martin hesitated, “All we know is they’re in the slums.”

Hearing this, Aurora immediately demanded sternly,

“The slums house 4 million people, you need to provide a more precise location!”

Martin froze, his eyes wide as he shouted,

“Believe me!

I want to catch those bastards more than anyone!”

This man had failed to spot a poison dart assassin at the banquet and now had lost his employer’s granddaughter, placing his career in grave danger, and he absolutely despised the kidnappers.

Aurora’s expression softened slightly:

“Please hurry!

You know the scum’s style.

If we don’t find them by tonight, the hostages might not survive!”

Martin’s face grimly nodded, “I’ll give it my all.

I’ve contacted the victims’ families, hoping to get some useful information from them.”

Lu Li frowned as he listened from the side.

This time, unlike before, the enemy hadn’t left any trace.

~~~~~~~~~

The trio entered a conference hall on the hotel’s top floor.

It was noisy, crowded with many people—all family members of the victims.

Everyone was there, even the Counselor’s wife, who was frantically shouting in Fran Language.

Many men in suits and ties, security personnel, held small notebooks as they inquired and recorded, hoping to find the slightest clue.

When Lu Li and his two companions entered, a thin, haggard woman was pleading, holding an album:

“Please, save my daughter.

She’s young, she just received a scholarship from the National Autonomous University…”

The album portrayed a bright young girl’s growth from childhood.

The woman’s clothes were old and worn, and her face was weathered; this was her only way to beg.

When Aurora saw this, her anger became uncontrollable:

“You bastards!

I want to skin them alive!”

Seeing her agitation, Lu Li gave her shoulder a gentle pat.

Aurora instantly calmed down and took a deep breath, saying,

“Sorry, my sister was kidnapped when I was young.

Despite the ransom my parents paid, she was still harvested for her organs and died in agony.”

Lu Li comforted her, “We’ll find those people.”

His words were not merely to comfort; he had a crude method, which was to deploy six Flying Swords for a carpet search.

But in a city with 4 million people in extreme poverty, searching would be a challenge, especially since Lu Li couldn’t be more than a kilometer away from the Flying Swords.

In short, it was quite inconvenient; for now, it was better to try Martin’s method, even if it was a bit more precise.

However, bad news soon arrived as some of his men came one after another to report:

“Sorry, sir, we found nothing.”

“There are 20 kidnapping cases throughout the city, with no discernible pattern among the victims, many of whom are foreigners.”

“One of them was a student from Xia Country.

We questioned his classmates and couldn’t find any valuable leads.”

“Damn it!”

Both Martin and Aurora looked terrible.

The rescue operation was clearly drawing attention.

Hardly had the bad news arrived when Lady Maria’s call came through.

Aurora stepped aside to take the call and returned shortly, pulling Lu Li aside to whisper:

“The lady asked me to convey this, you must think of something.

That elder statesman is an important ally about to become the Minister of Defense.

Saving him will smooth the process for your license and purchasing heavy firepower.

Also, try to rescue the kidnapped Xia Country person unharmed and return him to Xia Country’s Embassy.

This will be a diplomatic focus for the lady in the future.”

…

Things were getting more complicated.

Lu Li mused,

“Then let’s try.

Get the helicopter and take me around the slum.”

Aurora nodded forcefully, “Alright, we must find those bastards!”

At this point, the powerless security personnel began escorting the victims’ families out.

The Counselor’s wife muttered in dissatisfaction to the embassy staff,

“Why aren’t these people calling the police?”

A worker from the Fran Embassy shook his head, “Calling the police here is a complete waste of time; it’ll get us nowhere.”

This blunt statement seemed completely normal to the Moxico people present.

Indeed, they hadn’t bothered to call the police themselves; it seemed only the Xia Country people had.

Lu Li, too, was unconcerned as he was about to leave with Aurora.

But just then, his phone rang.

It was a call from Jessica!

“Is there a problem on her end?”

After connecting, the phone transmitted the sound of celery being twisted, a “creak” akin to a human bone breaking!

Through the phone, Jessica cried out, “Honey, someone’s kidnapping me~”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Ah Da is about to kill them all~”

“Wait a second!

Tell Ah Da to leave one alive!”