Zuo Zhenyu furrowed his brows upon hearing the noise.
"What are you here for?" he asked. "Leave quickly!"
If it were a normal day, Zuo Yiming would certainly have obeyed his father's command, but this time, he decided to fight back.
"Father," Zuo Yiming said. "Luo Ling's sister is here."
Upon hearing this, Zuo Zhenyu turned to look at Luo Ling.
Luo Ling nodded.
Zuo Zhenyu was about to say something but then stopped. He waved his hand at Zuo Yiming and the others, saying, "Forget it, you guys go to the side for now."
He turned back and continued discussing the terrain with the head of the police station.
"The robbers are currently in Villa No.32 of Lakeside Mansion. We have found the villa's layout."
"We have also retrieved the villa's interior decoration details from the optical computer database."
"Zuo Jiangjun, we have received eleven reports so far. The kidnapped victims all share one prominent characteristic."
"Oh? What characteristic?" Zuo Zhenyu asked.
Nearby, Lu Lin, Zuo Yiming, and Luo Ling, who were sitting in the corner, also pricked up their ears.
"The kidnapped victims are all relatives of top College Entrance Exam students from last year and this year. These include: the parents of Zhao Yutong, last year's top College Entrance Exam student and an Ice System Twin Stars Technique Awakener; the father and younger sister of Chen Feng, last year's second-place College Entrance Exam student and a Flame System Twin Stars Skill Awakener; the sister and girlfriend of Doflamingo, last year's third-place College Entrance Exam student, a Gold System Awakener whose initial refinement reached 0.99%; the parents of Ashina Duer, a Wind System Awakener from Youai Middle School participating in this year's exam; the grandparents and two aunts of Gao Wei from Tongyuan Martial Arts School, also a participant in this year's College Entrance Exam; and the sister of Luo Ling, a Thunder System Twin Stars Skill Awakener from Golden Sword High School..."
The police officer in charge said, glancing at the three people eavesdropping nearby.
Although Luo Ling had already anticipated it, she still felt dizzy after actually hearing the police report.
Her sister hadn't just been unreachable for other reasons; she had truly been kidnapped.
On the way here, she had thought that her family had no money or power; if there were robbers, they wouldn't target her sister.
She never expected they would target the relatives of top College Entrance Exam students from the past two years.
"Luo Ling, don't worry," Zuo Yiming gently comforted her. "My father will save everyone."
Luo Ling no longer showed her previous strong and stubborn demeanor; her face was pale, and if Zuo Yiming hadn't been supporting her, she might have fainted.
"Do we know the robbers' demands yet?" Zuo Zhenyu asked, rubbing his temples. "What are the Black Shark Society doing kidnapping so many students' families here in Tongyuan?"
Tongyuan was a relatively remote small city on Blue Star. How could it attract a group from the Black Shark Society?
Fortunately, no journalists were present yet. If this incident were exposed, it would cause shock and draw attention from across the entire Blue Star.
The involvement of so many students' families had wide-ranging implications, affecting the students themselves, their universities, their regions and ethnic backgrounds, their home planets, and even their classmates, friends, and teachers.
If this wasn't handled properly, it wasn't just his career on the line; the image of the entire Hua Xia District and even the Federation could be severely damaged and called into question.
"Zuo Jiangjun, we still don't know the robbers' demands," the officer replied.
"After kidnapping so many hostages, the robbers have only blocked the Star Energy Network signal within the villa, thwarted our two previous rescue attempts, and demolished Villa No.31 in Lakeside Mansion."
"Hmm," Zuo Zhenyu acknowledged, his mind rapidly analyzing the current situation.
The current situation was indeed beyond the Tongyuan Police Station's capabilities. The fact that these Black Shark Society robbers hadn't stated their demands yet indicated they likely had significant ones.
They were waiting.
Waiting for this vicious kidnapping case to escalate, for more of the public to pay attention, for higher-ranking Federation officials to get involved. Only when things blew up would their demands possibly be met.
But Zuo Zhenyu knew one thing for sure.
The Federation would never compromise with criminals, especially not those from the Black Shark Society.
"Alright, have your police force send negotiators to create a diversion. I'll dispatch an elite team to attempt..."
"Director Zhang! Zuo Jiangjun! There's movement at Villa No.32!" At that moment, a police officer monitoring the surveillance screens shouted.
"What?!" Zuo Zhenyu and Director Zhang immediately stood up and hurried to the surveillance area.
The video feed showed a woman in a floral dress walking out of the villa, holding a tray made from a cardboard box.
There was also a white flag inserted in the back collar of her dress.
"Zoom in!" Zuo Zhenyu ordered. "What is she holding on that tray?"
"Yes, sir!" The screen zoomed in. When Zuo Zhenyu and Director Zhang saw what was on the tray, they both couldn't help but gasp.
On the tray lay severed fingers.
Men's fingers, women's fingers, some delicate, some coarse.
Row upon row of severed fingers lay on the tray—a horrifying sight.
Blood stained the cardboard, leaving terrifying dark red marks.
"These motherfuckers!" Zuo Zhenyu cursed.
Since arriving, he hadn't even seen the robbers' faces, yet they had already hit him with two displays of intimidation.
A disagreement, and they blew up a villa.
Without a warning, they'd chopped off the fingers of dozens of hostages.
This was a show of force.
This was a provocation.
A provocation testing the limits of everyone present.
"Sister?!" Luo Ling suddenly cried out in anguish.
The woman in the video was indeed Luo Ling's sister, Luo Yu.
The moment she saw her sister, the mental pressure and anguish became too much for Luo Ling to bear. Her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.
"Luo Ling!" Zuo Yiming and Lu Lin exclaimed, rushing to help her to one side.
Zuo Zhenyu had no time to scold the three for watching the video. On screen, Luo Yu walked to the villa's main gate and placed the cardboard tray laden with dozens of severed fingers on the ground.
She cast a furtive glance back towards the villa.
"Quick, prepare for extraction!" Zuo Zhenyu yelled, instantly understanding Luo Yu's intentions from her subtle movement. "She's going to make a run for it!"
But it was too late. Before Director Zhang could relay the orders, Luo Yu, on the screen, rolled on the ground and sprang to her feet.
She reached the gate. Zuo Zhenyu's heart leaped into his throat.
Although Luo Yu's movements weren't textbook, the suddenness might catch the robbers off guard; they might not react in time.
This meant her chance of escape... was high.
The robbers inside the villa clearly hadn't expected Luo Yu to pull such a move.
Inside the villa, Luo Yu had been completely cooperative.
That was precisely why the robbers had chosen her to come out.
They never imagined this seemingly gentle and submissive girl could be so decisive.
Luo Yu took one step. Safe.
Luo Yu took a second step.
The robber assigned to watch her raised his gun and took aim.
Luo Yu took a third step.
The City Defense Army soldiers surrounding the villa quickly activated their Biological Chips, scanning for the kidnappers' positions to provide cover for Luo Yu.
A glimmer of hope appeared in Luo Yu's eyes.
Almost there... just a little further...
It was only a few meters, a distance that would normally take just a few seconds to cross without a second thought.
But now, those few meters seemed like an insurmountable chasm.
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
Luo Yu's body pitched forward, collapsing to the ground.