After understanding Lu Ming's thoughts, Su Wanran no longer blamed him for his 'rambling' and even felt that Lu Ming's approach was quite correct.
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Although Lu Ming's actions were risky, the potential rewards were substantial.
The car drove smoothly.
Midway.
Lu Ming's phone suddenly chimed. He glanced at it. It was a text message from Dragon King, with no detailed content, just three words: "Have clue."
Lu Ming's expression instantly turned serious.
Although Lu Ming had been helping Su Wanran with her affairs during this period, he had not forgotten his original purpose for coming to Mist City: to find the whereabouts of his goddaughter, Chen Xian.
Chen Xian had been sold to Mist City, and the remitter was the Origin Project, which was Su family's company.
He steadied his mind.
Lu Ming suddenly asked, "Wanran, can you investigate the company's internal fund flow?"
Su Wanran was stunned for a moment, not immediately comprehending. "What, you want to check our Su family's accounts? Does this have anything to do with helping me become the family head?"
Uh...
Lu Ming touched his nose. "I can't tell you for sure right now."
Su Wanran smiled. "You're being quite mysterious. But I'm very sorry, I don't have the authority to check the accounts."
"Oh? As a vice president, you don't have the right?"
"Yes." Su Wanran explained, "To counterbalance me and Su Fei'ang, Grandpa implemented a system of power division. Su Fei'ang manages the money, and I manage the people. Without Su Fei'ang's approval, I can't get a single cent and can't get anything done. Similarly, without my approval, Su Fei'ang can't mobilize a single person in the company, and any project he wants to do is just talk."
Old Master Su's balancing act was quite clever.
Lu Ming sighed slightly.
If Su Wanran managed the money, he could check the Su family's accounts and see who recently remitted five million yuan, thus identifying who had taken Chen Xian.
Even for the sake of saving Chen Xian, it was necessary to push Su Wanran to the position of Su family head.
After driving for another ten minutes, Lu Ming pulled the car over to the side of the road and said, "I just received a text message. An old friend in Mist City wants to have dinner with me, so I'll wait for him here. You should go back first. Contact me if anything comes up."
Su Wanran asked curiously, "You have friends in Mist City?"
Lu Ming nodded. "An old colleague from before."
As he spoke, he opened the car door and stood beside it. Su Wanran got into the driver's seat, closed the door, waved goodbye to Lu Ming, and then drove away.
Five minutes later.
A seemingly inconspicuous black Buick stopped in front of Lu Ming.
Since the purpose of coming to Mist City this time was to find Chen Xian, everything had to be low-key. Dragon King had put away all the luxury cars and specifically went to the second-hand car market to buy this unremarkable Buick.
"Warlord, get in. I have important clues to tell you."
Lu Ming got into the car.
Dragon King stepped on the accelerator, and the car drove off.
What neither of them noticed was that a car was following them. It was none other than Su Wanran!
Su Wanran hadn't left. She had parked her car in a hidden spot and followed after Lu Ming got into the other car.
Su Wanran sneered, "Lu Ming, I'd like to see what kind of identity you're hiding. I hope you can surprise me, so I can be more determined to pry into you."
In the Buick.
Dragon King said, "Warlord, I've obtained some intelligence, but I don't know if it's related to Chen Xian's disappearance."
"Speak."
"It's like this. My subordinates just reported that a woman on the pedestrian street lost her child and suspects she was abducted by traffickers. The woman is squatting on the ground, crying uncontrollably. Her little girl is also five years old, the same age as Chen Xian."
This clue seemed to have little connection to Chen Xian's disappearance.
Even if a little girl was abducted this time, the perpetrators were a Mist City gang, with no connection to the gang in Modu. Moreover, the gang in Modu had been wiped out by Lu Ming.
However, perhaps some information about local buyers could be obtained from the local gang.
As long as there was the slightest chance of finding Chen Xian, it was worth a try.
Even if it turned out to be unrelated to Chen Xian, helping a mother find her lost child was a great deed in itself.
Soon, they arrived at the pedestrian street.
Towering buildings and bustling shopping malls lined the street, with countless customers coming and going.
In such an environment, it was truly easy for children to be abducted.
Soon, Lu Ming saw the mother who had lost her child. She was slumped on the ground, weeping inconceffantly, like a puddle of mud, filled with despair and helplessness.
Police officers were present to maintain order, and kindhearted people were offering her tissues.
"That's her," Dragon King said. "Qiao Qingqing, 31 years old, a housewife."
"Mhm."
Lu Ming nodded and walked out from the crowd, directly approaching Qiao Qingqing. He first friendly offered her a clean white handkerchief.
Qiao Qingqing didn't take it, just remained slumped on the ground, her despair evident on her face.
Lu Ming squatted down and said unhurriedly, "Let me introduce myself, my name is Lu Ming. I have extensive experience in finding missing children."
Qiao Qingqing's unfocused gaze immediately snapped to him.
She looked at Lu Ming with a glimmer of hope. "Can you find my daughter? Please, help me find my daughter, please!"
As she spoke, she was about to kowtow.
Lu Ming quickly stopped her, slipped the handkerchief into her hand, and said, "If you want to find your daughter, cooperate with me and provide me with some clues."
"I'll cooperate, I'll definitely cooperate," Qiao Qingqing nodded repeatedly.
Lu Ming asked, "Tell me how your daughter went missing."
Qiao Qingqing recounted, "I brought my daughter to the pedestrian street at noon today. After eating, we browsed a few clothing stores, and then we rested at the mall entrance. I let the child sit on a rocking chair while I watched nearby. Later, I received a call from a friend and chatted with her for a while, not paying attention to the child's movements. When I hung up the phone, the child was gone!"
"Is it that mall?" Lu Ming pointed to the mall opposite and asked.
"Yes!" Qiao Qingqing replied, "The mall's surveillance cameras are broken. The police can only try to retrieve footage from other cameras and review it bit by bit."
There were so many surveillance cameras on the pedestrian street. If one was patient enough, traces would surely be found.
The problem was, this would take time.
By the time the child's movements were discovered, the traffickers would have likely already sold the child, just like Chen Xian.
At that point, finding the child again would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Lu Ming nodded and asked again, "How long has it been since you discovered the child was missing?"
Qiao Qingqing checked her phone. "About an hour."
"An hour, there's still a chance," Lu Ming stood up and said to Dragon King, "The 'Blaze Plan' has been in effect for some time now. It's time for it to show its effectiveness. Go, immediately bring 30 of the best war dogs to help find the child!"