There were two great gods by my side, and even if I encountered Cao Xiangchen here, I would not have the slightest fear.
As we entered the cave, although the five SWAT officers did not discover it, I had long sensed faint footsteps on the soil layer above. Those were the footsteps of He Bailing and He Jinghui. They were like guardian gods following me, within the scope of the Gate of Eden, protecting the lost angel, ensuring she would never be lost in the chaotic world.
With this thought, we had successfully crossed from a mud pit to a platform on the other side. However, a scream suddenly erupted from behind us. I turned my head and saw that the floor behind us had somehow cracked open, and two SWAT officers had fallen directly in! They were impaled by the sharp spikes below!
But they did not let out a scream even in death. Three SWAT officers reached out to help, but it was too late: "Xiao Guo! Da Rong!"
I pulled the agitated SWAT officer, "Calm down! They can't be saved!"
"Director He, we cannot let them sacrifice in vain!" one of the SWAT officers said.
At this moment, someone nearby coughed, "I didn't expect you to find this cave. Those mists are like nothing to you!"
A strange voice, hoarse and distorted, sounded as if the speaker hadn't spoken for days. A completely sealed mouth struggled to open slowly. His eyes were wide open, and in the darkness, he stared in our direction with a vicious, wolf-like gaze.
I spun around and pulled the trigger of the submachine gun. Bullets whizzed past. Others might not have seen the situation clearly, but with my eyesight, I saw a limping old man suddenly pull a lever nearby. A baffle appeared directly in front of him. This fellow's reaction was so fast that even with my surprise attack, he could save himself at the last moment!
However, no matter how fast he was, he couldn't be faster than my bullets. I felt as if he had been hit, and then I charged forward with the others. But when we found the "person," we discovered it was just a scarecrow!
No wonder. That scarecrow could actually pull a lever. It had clearly been rigged. I directly dismantled it and found a simple internal mechanical structure, a circuit board, and a precise chip. It was a crudely made robot. Read books here.
"Cao Xiangchen is indeed a mad scientist!"
"Now the possibility of it being Cao Xiangchen is increasing!"
"Let's keep moving. I don't believe we won't find him!"
As we spoke, we had already left the cave. Fortunately, I hadn't called for backup. This was indeed just a passage, and we wouldn't find Cao Xiangchen so quickly.
After we passed through the cave and emerged, we found ourselves back in the city. There were too many traces here. Because it was a road, there were many surveillance cameras. However, if one were to lie in ambush for a while at night and wait for the moment when pedestrian and vehicle traffic increased, they could blend in and take the person away smoothly amidst the vehicles.
I finally understood why we had to go through that cave. He must have known the surrounding environment well and knew that coming out there would lead to this road.
Cao Xiangchen had lived here before, so it was easy to understand his familiarity with Guangming City. When others arrived to rendezvous with us, I explained the situation. Upon hearing that someone had sacrificed, everyone was filled with indignation. The trap must have been designed by the culprit, who surely knew we would pass through there. A moment of carelessness would lead to falling into the trap.
I comforted everyone, then went back to find the bodies and take them away. Although the surveillance footage on that section of the road might be difficult to yield anything, we still contacted the traffic management bureau. We could only try every possible method now. We could first calculate the time they left the cave and then conduct a search within a certain range.
Since there were no victims in this case, Xie Chuchu had little work to handle. I hadn't been to the forensic department much recently. After everyone returned, we began to continue searching the surveillance footage. Now, everyone's attention was basically focused here.
The Information Technology Department and the Technical Department immediately joined forces. Hundreds of computers worked together, and countless police officers were concentrated at the scene, repeatedly watching the road surveillance footage according to time segments. The time was estimated to be between 6 PM and 7 PM, which we calculated based on their walking speed, footprint traces, and road conditions from when they left during the day. It should be quite accurate, so investigating this range should not be a problem.
Watching surveillance footage was not a new experience. Even if it was difficult to find anything, we had to stick in front of the computer screen. After all, even a single frame of video could change the entire situation.
Our eyes could only endure with the help of eye drops. Although my eyes were better than average, the prolonged torment was not something I could bear. In the evening, seeing everyone looking drowsy, I ordered takeout and personally brewed coffee for them. It was probably the first time I had been such a considerate leader.
Everyone felt my warmth and naturally knew how to be grateful, working with even greater dedication. Finally, at 3:20 AM, we found some clues. As expected, it was after 6 PM, during the 43rd minute of the video. We discovered the figures of Grandpa and He Xin appearing near a hotel on a road not far from the cave. They seemed to have stayed there for a while, then entered the hotel, and never came out again.
In this situation, it was somewhat similar to what happened with Zhang Zhiwei at the coffee shop before. It seemed they were taking people away in the same manner.
This reminded me of the bizarre subway case from before, the one with the manor, but this time the people were definitely not going for research. They were likely controlled by the Guizai people. The possibility of murder should be small. Even if it was revenge, the Guizai people would not adopt this method. It was not their style.
We located the hotel. When everyone found the place, the hotel seemed to have been sealed off and was immediately under our control. The hotel owner at the time had no idea what was happening and was terrified. I had Xiao Yuande, whom I had ordered to arrest him, bring him over. I immediately asked, "Is this hotel yours?"
"Yes, officer. What's going on? I don't recall doing anything wrong. You must be mistaken..."
I took out the photos of He Xin and Grandpa and handed them to him, "These two people are He Xin and He Jianquan. They came to your hotel before. Do you remember them?"
"These two? I saw them. They probably didn't leave long ago. I originally thought they wanted to stay at the hotel, but they said they were looking for someone, so I let them go upstairs. They should have taken the elevator to the upper floor."