“Boss, things have been a bit tense lately. We should wait until after the New Year.”
After the voices inside died down, Xiao Huaidong carefully withdrew from the courtyard.
The officer surnamed Liu saw him come out and quickly asked in a low voice, “How is it? Did you find anything?”
“Let’s go to the rendezvous point. There’s a major discovery.”
By the time the two arrived, the other two officers were already waiting.
Xiao Huaidong immediately explained what he had found.
The three officers were extremely excited.
Officer Liu said, “Brother Xiao and Xiao Li stay here and keep watch. Xiao Wu and I will go back to find the station chief and gather everyone.”
An hour and a half later, Station Chief Zhou personally led more than a dozen colleagues armed with equipment, guided by Officer Liu, and met up with Xiao Huaidong.
“They’re all in this courtyard. Not a single one escaped!”
Xiao Li reported to Station Chief Zhou.
“Then what are we waiting for? Leave two people at the front and back to guard. The rest, follow me and rush in to make the arrests!”
Station Chief Zhou looked at Xiao Huaidong. “Comrade Xiao, come in with us.”
Officer Liu added, “Brother Xiao, we’ll have to trouble you to open the door.”
Xiao Huaidong nodded slightly to both of them, then leapt up onto the wall.
The main gate was quickly opened from the inside.
“Station Chief Zhou, they’re in that room.”
Xiao Huaidong pointed toward the eastern room.
Station Chief Zhou immediately gave the order, “Brothers, charge in and arrest them!”
“Bang—”
Xiao Li kicked the door open first, and everyone rushed in.
“Who’s there?!”
The traffickers, awakened in panic, shouted loudly.
More than a dozen flashlight beams shone toward the speaker.
“Not good, boss, there are po—”
“Don’t move! Stay still!”
In less than two minutes, the two traffickers sleeping in the outer room were dragged out of their bedding and handcuffed without even having a chance to resist.
“Station Chief Zhou, it’s them. The children should be locked in the inner room.”
Xiao Huaidong glanced at the two traffickers and smashed the lock of the inner room with a single punch.
As the door was pushed open, a foul stench poured out.
When the flashlights shone inside, everyone was shocked by the sight before them.
The floor of the inner room was covered with a layer of damp straw, on which seven unconscious children lay. In the corner, piles of excrement and urine had accumulated. The air was thick with a suffocating stench.
“Damn beasts—treating children like this!”
Xiao Li, furious, kicked each of the traffickers.
Xiao Huaidong stepped in first, scanning the room—but he didn’t see Gu Dahu or Gu Qingling.
The other officers quickly followed.
The children ranged from eleven or twelve years old to as young as three. Their faces were filthy, lips cracked, and their complexions unhealthy.
“Animals. With all this noise, none of them woke up. They must have been drugged.”
Officer Liu grabbed one of the traffickers by the head and punched him.
“So what if we did? If we’re caught, we admit we’re unlucky. But don’t think you’ll get anything out of us!”
The trafficker’s mouth bled from the blow, yet he still looked defiant, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
“Bastard, I’ll beat you to death!”
Officer Liu raised his fist to strike again, but Station Chief Zhou stopped him.
“Didn’t Comrade Xiao say they captured eleven people this time? There are only seven here. Find the other four.”
Officer Liu spat on the ground, glared fiercely at the trafficker, and went with several officers to search the other rooms.
After searching every room thoroughly, they couldn’t find a single person.
“Speak! Where are the other four?”
Station Chief Zhou pressed his weapon against the head of the trafficker who hadn’t been beaten.
The man sneered. “Either shoot me now, or forget about getting anything from me.”
“Damn it! Not talking? I’ll smash your mouth in first.”
Xiao Huaidong stood at the doorway, sweeping his flashlight around while recalling what he had once read in the newspaper. There seemed to be something about a cellar.
Could Gu Dahu and Gu Qingling be locked in a cellar?
He searched the courtyard inch by inch. Finally, near the wall, he found a cellar covered with a stone slab. His face lit up as he quickly stepped forward.
“Station Chief Zhou, I suspect they’re in the cellar.”
The other officers hurried over.
With a lift of his hand, Xiao Huaidong easily moved the stone slab. As his flashlight shone downward, a figure flashed past his sight.
“Station Chief Zhou, someone’s really down there!”
Excited, Xiao Huaidong jumped down without hesitation.
The moment he landed, something cold and hard pressed against his lower back.
The officers who followed down saw that Xiao Huaidong had been taken hostage and immediately aimed their weapons at the trafficker.
“If you don’t want him to die, let me go.”
The trafficker hiding in the cellar was extremely cunning. Short in stature, he hid completely behind Xiao Huaidong.
No one dared to act rashly.
Xiao Huaidong took a deep breath, then suddenly roared. He drove his elbow backward with force, striking the trafficker’s head. Caught off guard, the man instinctively leaned back.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Huaidong turned and grabbed for the knife with his bare hands.
During the struggle, his arm was slashed open with a long wound. Ignoring the pain, Xiao Huaidong subdued the trafficker in one decisive move.
“Brother Xiao, you’re injured!”
Officer Liu and the others handcuffed the trafficker and kicked him several times.
“I’m fine. Just a minor injury.”
Xiao Huaidong didn’t care at all.
Soon, deep inside the cellar, Xiao Huaidong found Gu Dahu and Gu Qingling hidden under straw, along with a very beautiful young girl and a boy around eleven or twelve years old.
“These beasts… who knows how many families they’ve destroyed.”
Station Chief Zhou cursed angrily and ordered everyone to bring the victims out of the cellar.
“Comrade Xiao, if not for you today, we wouldn’t have been able to rescue everyone or wipe out this trafficking den. When we get back, I’ll submit a report and request a reward for you.”
Station Chief Zhou patted Xiao Huaidong’s shoulder, clearly impressed.
“Chief, since everyone has been rescued, I don’t have anything else to do here. I only came to find the two children from my family. Now that I’ve found them, I’ll take them home. Their mother must be anxiously waiting.”
Looking at Xiao Huaidong’s still-bleeding arm, Station Chief Zhou said with concern, “How about this—I’ll have Xiao Liu take the children back, and you go to the hospital. That cut is long; it definitely needs stitches.”
Xiao Huaidong waved it off. “It’s fine, really. I’ll just disinfect it when I get back.”
Xiao Liu offered his bicycle. “Brother Xiao, use my bike to take the two children home.”
Xiao Huaidong didn’t refuse. After thanking him, he placed Gu Qingling on the crossbar, carried Gu Dahu on his back, and rode off.
In her sleep, Xiao Nanchu heard loud knocking on the door.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the sofa, covered with a wool coat. Gu Erhu was sleeping on the other end.
The sky outside was just beginning to brighten.
Her father’s voice came from the courtyard gate.
Soon, she saw her father walk into the living room with one child in his arms and another on his back, accompanied by Xu Huaying.