Chapter 105 Rooftop of Tianhai Hotel

I took a deep breath and immediately answered the phone. As expected, the man's familiar voice came through: "Heh heh, Detective He, I still think calling you that is more fitting. Alright, I actually think I've killed enough people. That's why I foolishly called you police dogs. I'm done."

"You can't escape, don't waste our time here, surrender immediately!"

"You f***ing keep telling me to surrender, do you think I'm as stupid as you? I'm telling you, Zhao Mei is in my hands right now. If you f***ers don't cooperate with my demands, I'll immediately throw her into a pot of boiling oil, roast her into crispy pork belly, and flay her skin to hang at your police station's gate!"

"You sick freak, calm down!" He Xin snatched my phone and simultaneously connected a data cable. She exchanged a glance with Yuan Hezhim, who immediately began typing on his keyboard.

"You're He Xin, right? I've seen you. You're quite cute. I like girls just like you the most. I wonder if I'll have the chance to admire your beauty!"

"Go to hell! What gives you the right to look at me? I'm telling you, f*** your grandma, get over here right now!"

"Haha, it seems your ability to curse is no less than mine. But it's time to get to the main point. The handover is tonight at 9 PM. Hmm, the location should be at the Jiaoming Mine. You should know where that is!"

Yuan Hezhim quickly found the exact location for us. It was a remote place, but the mine seemed to still be in operation. Why would the killer choose to do it here? Was he lurking around the mine?

Every criminal has a psychological safety zone. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't go too far from their residence to commit a crime, unless absolutely necessary.

He Xin originally wanted to say a few more words to stall for time, but the other party hung up the phone after saying that.

"The numbers from both calls were different, and we couldn't find any ID information. They're probably burner phones bought from a roadside stall," Yuan Hezhim said.

"Can't you pinpoint his location?" I asked.

Yuan Hezhim shook his head and said, "No, that was less than 2 minutes just now. With current technology, it takes at least 1 minute and 50 seconds."

I took the phone and saw that the call duration was 1 minute and 47 seconds. This guy was quite cautious, as if he knew our police investigation methods very well.

"Are we really going to the Jiaoming Mine?" Liu Yuning asked anxiously.

I said, "We have no choice but to go. Right now, we are in the light, and he is in the dark. For now, we can only follow the kidnapper's instructions."

"I hate people like this the most. That's 5 million yuan! How can we gather that? We can only ask Director Huang!"

As Liu Yuning left the technical department, the 110 alarm center suddenly received a report that Zhao Mei had been kidnapped. The call came from Zhao Mei's parents.

It seemed the killer had also notified them. We checked the time; there were still 3 hours until 9 PM, so we immediately sent people to find Zhao Mei's parents.

They didn't live in a villa but had bought a house in the Hetaixiang community in Fuming City. When we found them, a few female officers comforted them for a while, and then I asked, "Has Zhao Mei been back recently?"

"She rarely comes back after getting married. She spends most of her time at the villa. She likes to paint and is an art teacher!" Zhao Mei's father said.

I asked, "Has she said anything strange to you recently, or done anything out of the ordinary?"

"She hasn't contacted us for a long time. If it weren't for the kidnapper's call, we wouldn't have known she was in trouble!" Zhao Mei's mother recalled.

It seemed that Zhao Mei was quite indifferent to her parents after getting married. It was clear they hadn't been in contact for a long time, yet her parents were still very worried about her.

"What about the phone number that called?" I asked again.

Zhao Mei's father picked up his phone and handed it to me. I took it and found that this number was different from the two numbers the man had called before. He Xin was present and connected a data cable to the phone.

"Did the kidnapper ask you to bring 5 million yuan? Did he mention the time and place?"

"Tonight at 9 PM, on the rooftop of the Tianhai Hotel!"

"Huh?" I felt a jolt internally. Why was the transaction location different? Was the killer doing this intentionally? And why choose such a tall hotel? How would he escape after getting the money?

Several questions surfaced in my mind, and I couldn't figure it out immediately.

I mentioned the place the killer had told us before. Zhao Mei's father was surprised, "Then what should we do? Where should we go?"

"Let's check out the hotel first. The mine is too remote!" I suggested. Truthfully, I wasn't confident myself; I was gambling at this point.

Zhao Mei's parents exchanged glances, their faces full of anxiety. They didn't know how to decide. After some hesitation, they followed my suggestion. When the ransom was mentioned, Zhao Mei's father shook his head and said, "How can we possibly scrape together 5 million yuan? That criminal is too much. Doesn't he know our family situation?"

I could see that their house was quite nice, but for a family like this, 5 million yuan was indeed very difficult. I thought for a moment and then said to He Xin, "We'll probably have to substitute it with something else!"

"But it would be very dangerous if the kidnapper finds out!" Zhao Mei's mother said.

"I'll request this from Director Huang and see if he has any solutions!"

As I spoke, I called Director Huang. He already knew about the case. Before I could explain fully, he said, "This is indeed a bit difficult, but I've already applied to Director Zhang. There should be news from his side soon!"

"We need to hurry; we're running out of time!"

"Don't worry, we'll make it. I'll deliver the money to you as soon as I have news. You just prepare how to deal with the kidnapper!"

I said goodbye and hung up the phone. I explained the situation to Zhao Mei's parents, who seemed a little more at ease. He Xin and I continued to wait.

Around 8 PM, we had already obtained the money and loaded it into Zhao Mei's father's car. Just then, Zhao Mei's father's phone rang again. He hurriedly picked it up. Seeing it was an unknown number, he looked at me in fear, "Officer He, what should we do?"

"Relax, answer it," I instructed.

Zhao Mei's father cautiously answered, but his hand trembled uncontrollably.

"Hello, hello! I am Zhao Mei's father!"

"Yes, I know it's you. I haven't told you how to get the money over yet, so I'll tell you now. Put all the money into an armored vehicle, and have Detective He drive it over. When you arrive downstairs at the hotel, I will naturally tell you what to do. Alright, proceed according to these instructions now!"

Beep beep...

The other party hung up again.