They all then sat by the telephone. The tools the police sent were still installed there. Earlier, after trying it, they didn't remove it at all. Shanquan plugged in the earphones connected to the thing they called "Huaxiang." Caihong also put on another earphone from the Huaxiang. Their faces all looked tense. Waiting for the phone to ring from the kidnappers was really stressful.

Zhengyi drew closer to Caihong. Caihong then removed the earphone that was attached to his left ear. He gave the earphones to Zhengyi. Zhengyi put the earphones in his ears at once.

"Mr. Duanmu! Are you ready?" A voice came from the earphones plugged into their ears.

The two Huahshiangs were apparently connected so that Caihong and Zhengyi could hear what the police were saying to Shanquan.

"Yes, Sir!" Shanquan replied firmly.

"Now we wait for the call from the kidnappers. Remember, Mr. Duanmu, stay calm in answering the call. Don't panic! Try to keep the kidnappers talking."

"Yes, Sir!" Shanquan said.

Then the atmosphere was quiet.

Ring

Finally, the thing they had been waiting for had arrived.

"Wait for the next ring. After that, you will answer the call," said a voice from Huaxiang.

Ring

Shanquan picked up the phone.

"Hello," said Shanquan.

Shanquan frowned.

“Right. I am Duanmu Shanquan.”

Shanquan then listened to the caller speak. Their telephones were not equipped with speakers, so only Shanquan could hear what the kidnappers were saying. Shanquan was nodding.

What do the kidnappers say?

"Can I talk to Xinxiu now? I need proof that he's okay."

Then Shanquan was silent. It was like he was waiting for something.

"Xinxiu! Are you all right?" Shanquan shouted. It seemed that Shanquan couldn't hold himself back, so he forgot the instructions the police had given him.

"Mr. Duanmu! Please calm down. Don't shout like that. Unexpectedly, it can provoke the kidnappers. We all want the kidnappers to feel relaxed. Don't let them get angry and hurt the victim." A deep, firm voice rang out from the earphones. This police voice was different from the police voice they had heard earlier.

Quickly, Shanquan seemed to have regained his composure.

"Did they give you enough food and drink?" Shanquan asked.

Shanquan nodded several times at a fast tempo. His face was so serious.

They let Xinxiu speak. This is a good sign.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," said Shanquan.

After that, Shanquan's face tensed up again. It's possible that the kidnapper had snatched the phone back from Xinxiu's hands. After a while, Shanquan's face looked even more tense.

"That's absolutely impossible. How can I know something that you don't even know," said Shanquan.

Shanquan shook his head many times.

"Okay, I'll give you all the things in the bag. But please free my friend as soon as possible."

Shanquan fell silent again. This time it's a bit long. It seemed that he was listening to the instructions given by the kidnappers.

"I wrote it on paper first so as not to forget!" Shanquan said after about two minutes of listening to the kidnapper's instructions.

Three seconds later, Shanquan said again. "Then please repeat what you explained earlier. I'm afraid there are things I have forgotten."

Shanquan nodded. He wiggled his fingers as if pretending to record everything he had heard.

"Okay!"

After that, Shanquan hung up the phone.

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"Thank you, Mr. Duanmu. Very good. We will try to trace the origin of the call." Again, a voice came from the earphones in their ears. This time, his voice was different from the two people they had communicated with before.

How many police officers are monitoring the telephone conversation we just received?

"Then what should we do now, Sir?" Shanquan asked.

"Right now, you don't need to do anything. We have heard all the conversations between you and the kidnappers here. You should now rest. We hope you will come to our place tomorrow morning to discuss the next steps."

"Where should I come, Sir? To the police station or the house where the police are monitoring calls that come into our house?"

"It's too risky if you go to the police station. Tomorrow morning we will inform you about where you should meet us," said the policeman.

"What time tomorrow, Sir?"

"I think we will inform you at eight in the morning. Most likely through this device. However, if for some reason it turns out that this device is not working, we will inform you through Mr. Mingzhu's pager."

"Okay, Sir! Tomorrow at eight o'clock in the morning, I will prepare to receive instructions from the police," said Shanquan.

"One more important thing, Sir!" The cop hadn't finished speaking yet. "Please don't leave the house empty. I'm afraid the kidnappers will call again outside the hours they have set."

"Yes, Sir!"

After that, it was quiet. Nothing else was heard. The police seem to have cut off the connection.

Everyone presented there stared at Shanquan. From the look on their faces, there was a desire to know what Xinxiu or his captors had said.

"You guys take it easy. Xinxiu is okay. He said the dinner was delicious. He also said that the person who cooked the dinner must be an experienced chef."

Xinxiu is truly amazing! When he is still a kidnapping victim, he still has time to enjoy the dinner served by his kidnappers! I don't know if this was because of the influence of all of us, or maybe Xinxiu basically has a knack for acting weird.

Zhengyi smiled to himself at the thought of Xinxiu's behavior in the kidnappers' lair. He was sure that his other friends were also imagining more or less the same thing.

"That kid is a bit crazy! Maybe the kidnappers are getting stressed by Xinxiu's behavior there," said Yixiong. It was obvious that he could barely contain his laughter.

"Then, the kidnappers treat Uncle Beihai well," said Caihong.

"This is a positive thing. It means that the kidnappers are not barbarians who are determined to do everything without calculation," said Yiren.

"Still, we have to be vigilant. Right now, they are treating Xinxiu well. But maybe, if we make a wrong move, tomorrow they will torture Xinxiu," Zhengyi said.

"You're right," Shanquan said to Zhengyi. "Let's not be easily fooled."

"So, what do they want?" Yiren asked.

"As we expected. They want us to hand over the things that Songfei left with me," Shanquan said. "But they themselves don't seem to know what item Songfei really wants to hide. I have the impression that they are just like us too, still groping about what really happened."

"Maybe they are just the pawns. So they don't know anything about the real problem," said Yixiong.

"That's what I'm afraid of. Even if the police catch them, not much will be revealed either," said Shanquan.

"How many kidnappers were there talking to Dage?" Yixiong asked.

"I heard that there were two different voices earlier. But those two, earlier, seemed to be giving orders to another person. So at least, there are currently three people there," Shanquan replied.

"Then when do they want Dage to hand over those Songfei things?" Yiren asked.

"Tomorrow at eight o'clock at night. But tomorrow at twelve o'clock in the afternoon, they will call again if there is a change of plans. That's why tomorrow morning, I have to get a briefing from the police about what they will do," replied Shanquan.

"Indeed, where exactly are the police monitoring this kidnapping case?" asked Zhengyi.

All eyes were on Caihong.

"I also don't know exactly where the police are monitoring this case," said Caihong.

"You don't know either?" Yiren asked.

"That's right, Uncle! The police told me earlier that not many people should know where it is. But I think tomorrow they will tell me where the house they used to monitor is."

"You said earlier that the range of signals emitted by this splitter-like thing is limited. So the signal receiver must be located in a place not far around our house," said Yixiong.

"I haven't seen stranger cars, which I've never seen, pass on the road in front of our house. The only stranger car that entered the alley in front of our house today is yours." Yiren looked at Caihong. "That means the car carrying the police officers did not pass in front of our house at all. So the house the police were using was not located in the same alley as our house."

"Because the splitter and signal receiver can't be too far away, I think the house is most likely in the next alley. That is the alley where the row of houses is behind our house. It is possible that the house that the police are using is the house right behind our house or the house on the right or left side," said Shanquan.

"There are two entrances to our complex. The main road is a road connected to the highway, while the other road is a smaller one that leads to the rear of the complex. So, maybe the cops came in through the back. We didn't see any stranger cars at all because they headed straight to the next alley," Zhengyi said.

Caihong smiled at the analysis of the middle-aged men.

I hope he doesn't think of us as troublesome old people.

"That's amazing, Uncle! I'm also inquisitive. But tomorrow morning, we'll know when the police tell us!"

Shanquan smiled. "Right! I think we should all endure this curiosity until tomorrow morning."

Suddenly, there was the sound of the gate being opened.

"I almost forgot!" Zhengyi laughed. He rushed to the door in the living room. He opened the door and smiled at the person still standing outside the house.

A few seconds later, a figure appeared from behind the door. He was carrying a backpack and carrying a medium-sized plastic bag.

"Welcome, Qiuzhen," Shanquan greeted in a loud voice.

Qiuzhen, the man who had just entered the house, smiled. He dropped the plastic bag he was carrying on the floor. Then he put the heavy backpack he was carrying on the couch.

"How is everyone? Long time no see. I hope everything is fine." After saying that, Qiuzhen spread his arms wide. With a big smile, he stepped forward, ready to hug everyone presented.