No one knew she had returned home.
Jiang Zexi felt a sudden panic and quickly called Su Jinning's phone.
Her phone was already unreachable, a cold, mechanical voice repeating the same sentence.
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off. Please try again later."
Jiang Zexi tried several more times with the same result. He could no longer focus on work.
After a lengthy search and investigation, a long time had passed, yet Su Jinning remained nowhere to be found. She had vanished.
Jiang Zexi was on the verge of collapse, acting as if he was going insane.
Everyone was helping in the search, and the police were tracking the taxi's direction using surveillance footage.
They eventually learned that the car had driven out of the city towards the suburbs and then disappeared.
A large-scale search and investigation using police dogs and tire track analysis ensued.
Finally, a clue was found near an abandoned factory. They discovered the taxi parked not far from the factory.
It had already been two days since her disappearance. Everyone suspected that the taxi driver was the one who had kidnapped her.
He was a ruthless individual, extremely perverted and insane.
From the moment he kidnapped Su Jinning, he had no intention of surviving. He had already doused the factory with gasoline, preparing for a mutual destruction.
For the past two days, he had been brutally assaulting and tormenting Su Jinning. Her beauty had captivated and obsessed him.
With a hostage in hand, the police dared not act rashly, approaching slowly.
Unexpectedly, the perpetrator was prepared. This factory was his former bankrupt and abandoned property.
He kept a dog at the factory entrance. The dog, lying behind the door, became alert at the slightest sound from outside.
The urgent barking immediately put him on guard. He pulled out a prepared short knife and held it to Su Jinning's neck.
Su Jinning, tormented to the point of wishing for death, struggled fiercely, wanting to throw herself onto the blade.
Even if rescued, she felt she couldn't go on living and only wished to die. Seeing this, the perpetrator tied her to an iron pillar.
Realizing they had been discovered, the others ceased to hide and began negotiating with the perpetrator.
However, the perpetrator was unyielding. He directly threatened them, forcing them to back away and not approach further.
The rescue operation had reached a stalemate.
Only the factory entrance offered a view inside, as the perpetrator had sealed all other windows and exits.
This left everyone feeling helpless, making the rescue even more difficult. Furthermore, the ground was covered in gasoline, and any spark would ignite a conflagration.
Even the prepared snipers were unable to act, indicating how meticulous and difficult the perpetrator was.
The person he longed for was right before him, yet he couldn't get close.
Jiang Zexi knelt at the entrance, humbly begging the perpetrator to let her go, but this only seemed to excite the perpetrator further.
He toyed with a lighter, the flame flickering, instilling a sense of dread.
Su Jinning roared ferociously, speaking words against her will.
She told Jiang Zexi to get lost.
She said she didn't like him at all.
Jiang Zexi couldn't possibly believe her words. He kowtowed, abandoning all dignity and pride.
He only wanted her to live, to be well.
He didn't care about anything, wouldn't mind anything, as long as she was safe.
Su Jinning became even more distraught. She slammed her head against the iron pillar, blood gushing, only seeking death.
Her boy couldn't be so humble.
She cried out her last words, telling Jiang Zexi to live well, to absolutely live well.
After speaking, she fiercely bit off her tongue. Blood poured out profusely, but she couldn't die immediately and had to endure further torment.
Jiang Zexi, disregarding everything, rushed forward, but was held back by Ling Yucheng and Li Bowen.
Going in would be a dead end and would only hasten Su Jinning's demise.
He roared madly, his voice hoarse and cracking. Overwhelmed by grief and rage, blood surged, causing him to vomit large amounts of blood.
The perpetrator remained unmoved; he had lost all humanity.
He made his demand, asking for ten million in cash, otherwise he would publicly assault Su Jinning once more.
Jiang Zexi readily agreed. Money was no longer important to him.
As long as Su Jinning was no longer harmed, he would give up his entire fortune.
At the same time, this sparked a glimmer of hope in his heart.
As long as the perpetrator had demands, there was still a chance of survival.
The perpetrator smiled sinisterly after receiving the cash. He scattered the bright red banknotes towards the sky like ghost money, a truly bizarre sight.
Hundred-yuan bills fluttered down to the ground, soaked and saturated with gasoline.
His laughter grew more manic. Finally, he used his lighter to ignite one banknote and then slowly let it go, watching the spark fall to the ground.
With a roar, flames erupted into the sky, spreading rapidly like a prairie fire, engulfing the entire factory.
In the end, Su Jinning's body was never found, turning to ash.
If Ling Yucheng and Li Bowen hadn't restrained him, Jiang Zexi would have unhesitatingly rushed into the fire to join her in death.
During the subsequent investigation, everyone learned the perpetrator's identity.
This incident was purely an accident.
The perpetrator's brutal actions were solely to satisfy his lust.
He had once been a millionaire with a prosperous life.
However, he became addicted to gambling, losing his fortune and accumulating significant high-interest debt, while his business also went bankrupt.
After a series of setbacks, he developed suicidal thoughts.
But he was inherently wicked to the core; even in death, he wanted to take someone down with him.
For several days, he drove around in a rented car, and upon catching sight of the exceptionally elegant and beautiful young Su Jinning, he couldn't look away.
What followed was this series of events.
Ling Yucheng's expression remained grim. His hands tightly gripped the steering wheel as he drove at breakneck speed.
Xia Wantang clung to the grab handle on the car door, her eyes fixed ahead, too afraid to even breathe.
The scenery outside blurred past, only a fleeting image, so fast it was disquieting.
She understood Ling Yucheng's feelings, so she remained silent, accompanying him.
Just moments ago, Wen Xuanyuan had sent her a message about Su Jinning's past.
She understood Wen Xuanyuan's intention: to remind her that with what happened to Su Jinning, Ling Yucheng was highly likely to lose control, to be more fearful and apprehensive than usual, and his emotions would be more sensitive.
Therefore, she didn't express her fear or ask him to slow down, minimizing her presence to avoid distracting him.
Currently, she only knew that Zhu Yunfei was missing and was completely unaware of what had happened.
Ling Yucheng hadn't said anything, and she dared not ask, nor did she dare to call Mrs. Ling.
During this time, Ling Yucheng received two phone calls, one from Li Bowen and another from Jiang Zexi.
He did not put them on speakerphone, only responding briefly to each call.