Animal Detective-Chapter 65: The Situation Inside

"What’s he trying to do?"

Shen Xin asked.

A kidnapper calling the police... The operator who took that call must have been dumbfounded.

Chen Chao’s expression turned grim. "He’s demanding someone. He wants Liu Ying—the doctor from Tingyang District Second Hospital who performed Zhang Qin’s induced labor."

"I’ve asked Zhang Jian. He said that at the time, Zhang Qin couldn’t carry the baby to term, and they suspected the induced labor was botched, causing damage to her uterine lining. They even went and caused a scene at the Second Hospital about it."

"And now? The call’s been transferred to us. Li Shanjie’s message is that we’re to bring Liu Ying to him and let him ’deal with her.’ Otherwise, he’ll kill both Zhang Qin and Chen Zhongyuan."

Shen Xin’s eyes widened.

’What is he thinking?’

Even though Shen Xin had never been a detective, he knew a demand like that was completely out of the question.

The police were there to rescue hostages, not to deliver another one to the kidnapper. Did he really think they were idiots?

Besides, in a situation like this, you couldn’t trust a single word the suspect said.

"So the plan is still to try and persuade him, lure him out, and then... a kill shot?" Shen Xin finally asked, his voice low.

Chen Chao nodded slightly.

It was the safest option.

Meanwhile, Yang Fuming finished briefing Li Fenglan and placed the call.

The call connected quickly. Li Shanjie’s voice came through the line. "What’s the status? Hurry it up. I’m not a patient man."

Listening from the side, Shen Xin found Li Shanjie’s voice to be unnervingly calm.

He didn’t sound flustered or nervous, despite being surrounded by police.

’This isn’t good.’

’It means he really doesn’t care if he lives or dies.’

Yang Fuming didn’t rush to put Li Fenglan on the line. Instead, he seized the opportunity to state a condition.

Making demands of a kidnapper was all about timing.

Get it wrong, and you’d only send him into a rage.

You had to have a fallback, like a topic to divert his attention or, in this case, someone like Li Fenglan, who was scheduled to speak with him anyway.

Yang Fuming said, "Li Shanjie, we’ve sent people to contact the Dr. Liu you mentioned. But it’s the middle of the night—take a look at the time. Contacting someone takes time. Before we proceed, we need to confirm the hostages are safe. That’s a prerequisite for any further negotiation."

Chen Chao also took the opportunity to explain to Shen Xin how to handle hostage situations.

For a detective, no amount of lecturing could compare to the lasting impression of firsthand experience.

Once you’d been through it, you wouldn’t panic the next time you faced a similar situation. You’d know what to do.

Chen Chao explained that in over half of these types of hostage cases, the resolution involved creating an opportunity for SWAT to wound or kill the suspect.

Every action they took had to revolve around one thing: creating an advantage for the police.

There were many tactics to choose from. Persuasion by relatives, finding an opportunity to deliver food and water—sometimes with sedatives like Valium mixed in—were all common strategies.

Sometimes, simply trying to wear the suspect down was a good strategy.

A person’s stamina is finite. If you refuse his demands and just wait him out for half a day, or even a full day, he’ll eventually get tired and leave an opening.

But it was a delicate balance. You had to avoid pushing the suspect to the point of desperation.

Shen Xin took mental notes of everything.

Over the phone, Li Shanjie scoffed. "Why don’t we add each other on WeChat? I can start a video call and give you a look."

"Great," Yang Fuming said instantly. "We can have a face-to-face chat."

"Cut the crap. Don’t take me for an idiot," he shot back. "I’m giving you one more hour. I want to see Liu Ying here before two o’clock. Otherwise, I’ll start with this adulterer."

Yang Fuming pressed on, "Two o’clock is impossible. You should know the Second Hospital was downgraded, so Liu Ying went back to her hometown in Ji Port. She’s working at Ji Port First Hospital now. Ji Port is dozens of kilometers from here; it’ll take time for her to get over. How about this: while we get in touch with her, you let us confirm the hostages’ safety first."

"Or you could open the door and let one of us come in to check on them."

Li Shanjie’s voice rose. "Cut the fucking crap! If you don’t want to see a dead body, then hurry up and get her for me!"

Yang Fuming’s brow furrowed slightly. He immediately said, "Li Shanjie, getting Liu Ying here is going to take a while. But in the meantime, I have someone here who wants to talk to you. It’s your aunt, Li Fenglan."

He handed the phone to Li Fenglan.

Li Fenglan tremblingly called out his name, "Shanjie..." but couldn’t bring herself to say another word.

The other end of the line went silent.

Yang Fuming motioned for Li Fenglan to take a deep breath and calm down, but it was no use. She just stood there, mouth agape, unable to speak.

He quickly waved over Li Jiuliang, who was standing nearby, gesturing for him to take over.

But before Li Jiuliang could reach them, Li Shanjie spoke from the other end of the line. "Auntie, this has nothing to do with you. Don’t get involved."

With that, he hung up.

"This... what are we going to do?" Li Fenglan cried, frantic with worry.

Yang Fuming sighed. He quickly had Li Jiuliang take his mother aside to comfort her, then beckoned Sun Zhao and the others over. "Something’s not right," he said in a low, serious voice. "Li Shanjie is extremely resistant to showing us the hostages’ condition."

Refusing a video call is one thing, but he could have just snapped a photo and sent it over. It would have taken no effort.

"Commissar, are you saying... Li Shanjie might have already done something?" Sun Zhao asked with a frown.

It had been an hour since they’d located Li Shanjie and confirmed that Zhang Qin and Chen Zhongyuan had been kidnapped.

And it had been nearly half an hour since Li Shanjie himself had called the police.

During that time, they had set up a perimeter, hoping Li Shanjie would emerge by himself and be isolated.

But he hadn’t. In fact, even before calling the police, Li Shanjie had locked the storeroom door from the inside.

Now, no one knew what was happening inside.

Yang Fuming nodded. "It’s a possibility. Feng Kaiwei, what are the chances of a wall breach?"

The materials storeroom was in the northeast corner of the dyeing and printing workshop, constructed using two of the main factory’s walls.

Under these circumstances, breaking through the wall was an option.

Feng Kaiwei replied, "It would be difficult. The No. 1 Cotton Mill has been around for years, and this workshop is part of the old factory building. I took a look—it’s a brick-and-a-half thick wall. Things were built to last back then; it won’t be easy to get through."

"If we try to cut through, the noise will be too loud and will alert Li Shanjie. If we opt for an explosive breach, we’d need a large charge. We don’t know the internal layout or the situation inside, much less where the hostages are. I’m worried a forced blast risks hitting the hostages."

Yang Fuming folded his arms and nodded. "So the key right now is still to figure out what’s going on in there."

Only when they knew the situation could they devise a proper plan of action.

Just then, Zhang Jian spoke up. "Political Commissar Yang, what if I go talk to him? Li Shanjie wanted revenge on me, and now I’ve been rescued. If he knew that, he’d definitely let me in so he could try to get back at me. I could wear a hidden camera and record what’s actually happening in there."

"Zhang Jian, what are you thinking?" Sun Zhao snapped.

We just went through all the trouble of rescuing you. There’s no way we’re sending you back in there to Li Shanjie.

Yang Fuming also shook his head, refusing flatly.

"Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll take Li Fenglan over to the door to talk to him in person. I’ll try to get a look inside and see if the hostages have moved, and whether that gives us an opening for an explosive breach."

"Director Lv will be here soon. He’s bringing the building’s blueprints. You all can study them carefully."

With that said, he immediately went back to confer with Li Fenglan.

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then pulled Chen Chao to the side.

"Captain Chen, I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’ll work."