Hou Residence.

Hou's father listened to his son's account, sat upright in his chair, took a drag from his cigarette, and cursed, "Damn it, you can't even support yourself, and now you bring back a child."

"She's too pitiful. When I saw her, the soles of her shoes were falling apart." Hou Guoyu wiped the rain from his head and said, "I originally wanted to leave her at the relief center, but she had a pretty bad fever, and I didn't think that worker was a responsible person, so I brought her home."

Hou's father stubbed out his cigarette, didn't say much, just got up, put his hands behind his back, walked to the little girl's side, and touched her head. "Giving her medicine is useless. Call someone to give her an IV at home, give her a shot, otherwise kids can easily get brain damage from fever."

"I don't have money, Dad," Hou Guoyu replied, baring his teeth.

Hou's father glanced at this worrisome son of his and said impatiently, "Go, go, go to bed!"

"Then you take care of her, okay? When the rain stops, I'll take her to the police station." Hou Guoyu was really sleepy, so he left that sentence and went to sleep.

Hou's father had a violent temper and didn't speak nicely, but he was very careful in his actions. He walked to the sofa, picked up his cell phone, fiddled with it for a long time, and dialed a number. "Hello, is this Jiayuan Home IV Service? Yes, this is Old Hou. Come to my house, bring some antipyretics. For a child, she caught a cold in the rain...."

After the call, Hou's father silently walked to the kitchen and decisively brewed a bowl of ginger soup for the little girl.

...

Three hours later, inside the office hall of the Coast Guard Division's special task force.

Su Tianyu sat in his chair, drinking coffee to perk himself up, "How is it, Captain?"

Fang Zheng walked over and replied softly, "Your hunch was right. There is indeed a problem with Tianlan Company. All the managers have run away. We've interrogated everyone we've caught so far, and we can basically confirm that they are all small fry."

"Don't these people know where the higher-ups went?" Su Tianyu asked.

"Don't know." Fang Zheng picked up a cigarette, lit it, and said after thinking for a long time, "Xiao Su, look, this case is very strange. The gun battle happened last night, but the legal representative of Tianlan Company and some of the small bosses didn't run. Instead, they were at the scene waiting for us and cooperated with giving their statements. But this morning, all of these people have disappeared. Why do you think that is?"

"Because something might not have been cleaned up last night, and they needed time?" Su Tianyu raised his eyebrows in reply.

"Yes, that should be the reason." Fang Zheng immediately got up and instructed, "Xiao Su, take some people to investigate the information of the legal representative of Tianlan Company and the investors, quickly, right now!"

"Okay!" After receiving the order, Su Tianyu immediately left with his men.

All afternoon, Su Tianyu was chasing the lead on Tianlan Company, but the information obtained by the Coast Guard Division was relatively fragmented, and coupled with the very strange logic of the case, the task force was racing against time during the investigation.

...

In the evening, around six forty, the heavy rain had stopped, but the outdoors was still overcast, with a cool breeze blowing.

Hou's father was sitting in his living room, watching the news.

At this moment, the little girl lying in the room laboriously pushed open the door, wearing dirty clothes and walking out barefoot.

Her eyes were clear, but her expression was obviously timid.

"You're awake!" Hou's father smiled and stood up, striding over.

The little girl instinctively took two steps back, blinking her big eyes as she looked at Hou's father.

Hou's father slowly walked over, put his hand behind his back, and a rare smile appeared on his face, "Look how dirty you are."

With that, Hou's father pinched the little girl's cheek.

The little girl seemed to feel that he had no malicious intent, and this time she didn't dodge, just stood there quietly.

Hou's father touched the little girl's forehead and felt that her fever had clearly gone down a lot. "Hehe, kids recover quickly. A sleep, and the fever is gone."

The little girl lowered her head, looking at her dirty little feet, and her stomach rumbled.

"Hahaha, hungry, aren't you?" The old man smiled happily, reached out and took her to the bathroom door, "Go wash yourself, and I'll take you downstairs to get something to eat."

The little girl didn't seem to understand and gestured with her hands.

The old man opened the bathroom door and pointed to the sink, "Go wash up."

This time, the little girl understood and timidly walked into the bathroom.

...

Fifteen minutes later.

The little girl wore Hou Guoyu's oversized clothes from when he was about ten years old and shuffled downstairs with the old man in ill-fitting slippers.

Hou's father's wife had passed away many years ago, so his household always consisted of just him and his son. And in the past few years, Hou Guoyu hadn't been very obedient, enlisting in the navy without telling him, and leaving for more than three years.

During this time, Hou's father was at home alone, eating alone, and worrying about his son alone. It could be said that his later years were very lonely.

On the street, Hou's father led the little girl toward the snack stalls. Midway, he saw a children's goods store, paused, and said succinctly, "Let's go, I'll take you shopping!"

Inside the brightly lit children's goods store, Hou's father secretly clicked his tongue at the not-so-cheap prices of the children's clothing. He hesitated for a long time before buying the little girl a discounted dress and a pair of white sandals, based on his own financial situation.

The little girl was very resistant at first, refusing to wear them, but when Hou's father squatted down, smiled, and looked at her, she quieted down again.

After browsing for about half an hour, the old man led the child out of the store and hurried toward the snack street.

The setting sun hung in the west, and the sky was full of colorful clouds.

The little girl wore new clothes and held a colorful pinwheel given away for free by the children's goods store in her right hand, and she rarely showed a happy expression.

Inside a nearby community pharmacy, Hou Guoyu, who had gotten up at six o'clock, sat in his chair playing with his phone and roared, "Haven't you gotten the medicine yet?!"

"Coming, coming!" The clerk walked in.

On the rain-swept street, pedestrians came and went. Two Eastern Europeans were holding a set of surveillance photos, surveying this dilapidated neighborhood.

After walking back and forth for a while, the two Eastern Europeans gradually approached the Hou residence.

"This way!" At the intersection, Old Man Hou was pulling the little girl to cross the street.

The Eastern Europeans were walking from the opposite direction. One of them looked down and saw the pinwheel and the little girl.

The two groups passed each other. The burly Eastern European on the left revealed a hint of a smile and directly said into his headset, "I found the goods."

"Who's with her?"

"Just an old man, I didn't see the young man."

"Take the goods and leave."

"Okay, boss!"

After receiving the order, the two Eastern Europeans suddenly turned around.

"Swish!"

At that moment, the traffic light on the sidewalk turned red, and the cars on both sides of the street started moving.

As Hou's father was leading the child forward, he suddenly felt someone tap his right shoulder.