The mouths of the three security guards were stuffed with money, and they were forced to chew and swallow. Never had they hated money so much.
Lu Ming patted his satchel and said, "You've only eaten a few hundred yuan. There's ten thousand yuan in here. Take your time."
The security guards were directly scared to tears.
People like them were bullies who preyed on the weak. They were fine dealing with ordinary people who had no power, no influence, and no temper. But when they encountered a ruthless person like Lu Ming, all three of them became more submissive than dogs.
One security guard cried and shouted, "I was wrong. I don't want the money anymore. I'll tell you the surveillance password now and help you retrieve the footage. Please, don't make me eat money."
The other two also quickly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
Mission accomplished!
Lu Ming raised his hand and let them go.
The three security guards had witnessed Lu Ming's prowess and dared not harbor any further thoughts. They quickly retrieved all the surveillance footage from the vicinity of the restroom around 11 o'clock.
From the video, it was clear that Chen Xian broke up with Chen Yin Gong at the restroom entrance and went into the women's restroom alone.
Then, there were various people coming in and out.
Twenty-two minutes later, Chen Yin Gong asked for help to check the restroom, and there was no one inside. Only then did Chen Yin Gong rush in, but the child was already gone.
In other words, from the time Chen Xian entered the restroom to when Chen Yin Gong discovered the child missing, only 22 minutes had passed.
How did the human traffickers abduct the child in these short 22 minutes, in front of everyone, and under Chen Yin Gong's nose?
After watching the video once.
Everything seemed fine.
Every woman who entered the restroom looked normal, and they showed no unusual behavior when they left.
Until…
"Wait." Lu Ming suddenly paused and pointed at the screen, "The woman's suitcase is suspicious."
Everyone looked closely.
They then realized that when the woman in the video entered the restroom, her suitcase seemed very light; she even picked it up accidentally. However, when the woman left the restroom, the suitcase was clearly much heavier, and she seemed to be struggling to push it.
This indicated that the suitcase was empty when she went in and filled with something when she came out!
Everyone immediately realized the problem.
Dragon King said, "What a cunning trafficker. They must have drugged the child and put her in a suitcase to take her away, thus avoiding detection in plain sight."
Immediately, Dragon King instructed his subordinates to investigate the woman in the video.
They had to find out everything about this woman in the shortest possible time!
Soon, the results came back.
Dragon King handed the woman's information to Lu Ming: Shao Hongmei, 57 years old, single and divorced, with multiple prior criminal convictions…
Lu Ming read it carefully.
He discovered that this woman named Shao Hongmei was a habitual offender.
She had stolen newborn infants from hospitals, snatched children from supermarkets, and stolen children from widows in the countryside. She had been arrested six times for trafficking and countless times for attempted cases.
How could such a woman still be wandering around so brazenly?
"Did you find her current address?" Lu Ming asked.
Dragon King nodded and sent a detailed address to Lu Ming's phone.
Lu Ming glanced at it and got up to leave.
Chen Yin Gong was about to follow, but Lu Ming stopped him, "What happens next will be bloody and not suitable for a highly educated person like you to participate in. Wait for my news at home. I will bring Xian'er back safely."
With that, Lu Ming left the surveillance room.
…
An hour later.
Lu Ming drove alone on a muddy country road. Following the address given by Dragon King, he found a rural villa.
He stopped the car and knocked heavily on the door twice.
"Who is it?" a middle-aged woman's voice came from inside the yard, sounding quite cheerful.
Lu Ming did not answer and continued to bang on the door.
"Damn it, who the hell are you?"
Soon, the yard gate opened, and a plump, fierce-looking woman appeared before Lu Ming. Lu Ming immediately recognized her identity: Shao Hongmei!
Shao Hongmei looked Lu Ming up and down; she didn't recognize him.
She asked, "Who are you? Banging on my door like that, are you crazy? This door was just bought and installed. Can you afford to pay if I break it?"
Lu Ming didn't say a word and walked straight in!
This action made Shao Hongmei feel something was wrong.
She immediately pulled out a small knife and threatened, "Who are you? Speak up, or I'll take your life!"
Lu Ming didn't take her seriously. He simply closed the yard gate and then opened his phone, finding Chen Xian's photo. "Where is the child?"
Shao Hongmei glanced at the photo. Her surprised eyes showed that she definitely recognized it.
However…
She arrogantly said, "What child? I don't know."
Lu Ming scanned the entire yard and said, "At 11:12 AM today, you drugged this child with ether in the women's restroom at the Science and Technology Museum and put her in a suitcase to take her out. Now, where is the child?"
Shao Hongmei's face changed drastically when she heard this.
It was clear that the other party already had a very clear grasp of her entire operation.
However, Shao Hongmei quickly calmed down.
Since the other party knew everything, why didn't they call the police? Instead, they came alone. Heh, was there anyone this stupid in the world?
Shao Hongmei sneered, "You came alone?"
Lu Ming nodded. "Why?"
Shao Hongmei was amused. "I've seen stupid people, but never anyone as stupid as you. Since you know everything, you didn't call the police and came here to die yourself. Heh."
She blew a whistle.
Then, a rustling sound of footsteps was heard. When Shao Hongmei reopened the yard gate, the entrance was already filled with villagers holding clubs.
Shao Hongmei said, "Do you think I'm doing this big thing alone? Don't even mention if you hadn't called the police, even if you had, it would be useless! In our Yaoxi Village, even the Emperor himself would have to crawl out on his knees!"
The villagers behind her all raised their weapons. Judging by the situation, they had no intention of letting Lu Ming leave alive.
Witnessing such a scene, Lu Ming's anger intensified.
This was not a solitary crime.
It was a group crime!
No wonder so many children had gone missing in Modu City recently; this was the root cause.
Lu Ming took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "It was right not to let Chen Yin Gong come. With so many people, it's going to be a bloody scene. He wouldn't be able to handle it if he saw it."
Shao Hongmei waved her hand, "Villagers, don't let this bastard cut off our source of income. Kill him!"
"Charge!"
A large group of people, brandishing sickles, hoes, cleavers, and scissors, rushed towards Lu Ming, determined to tear him to pieces!