Chapter 170: Kidnapping

At the Baxley City Police Department, Li Mochen, led by a police inspector, walked directly into the chief's office. There he saw Li Mei, her face pale, sitting at the desk inside.

The chief was not present; according to the inspector, he was on his way. Li Mochen sat down beside Li Mei: "What exactly happened? It was Wednesday afternoon—why did you only tell me now? It's been almost thirty-five hours."

"I only got a call from Ms. Hazel yesterday at noon, saying Hazel hadn't come to school. She was very worried."

Li Mei's lips were purple: "The Jax couple didn't take it seriously at all; they didn't even plan to report it. I could only use my connections here to ask familiar police officers to look into it. They investigated and found that on Wednesday afternoon, near Baxley Riverside Middle School, someone witnessed a girl suspected of being kidnapped. That's the road Hazel must take to go home. Moreover, although the witness didn't see the girl's face, they were certain she was wearing the Baxley Riverside Middle School uniform and had light blonde hair."

Li Mochen frowned slightly, knowing it was highly likely that Hazel had been kidnapped.

Just then, a portly middle-aged man walked in: "Ms. Li Mei, and Mr. Wiltenstein, right? I recognize you; since last Friday, there have been shows and news about you everywhere. Mr. Peyton has already called me, saying I should help you as much as I can."

"Mr. Cadiren!"

Li Mochen also stood up and shook hands with him: "Please, we hope to find Hazel's whereabouts as soon as possible. You know, I'm in the process of adopting her; she's very important to me."

"But this is quite troublesome."

Chief Cadiren sighed: "The golden 24 hours after her disappearance have already passed, and the Jax couple still hasn't filed a report. Before the case is officially opened, I can only promise to do my best to mobilize officers to help you search, and then use personal connections to inquire. But don't get your hopes up. To be honest, in such matters, you'd be better off finding another way than relying on the police."

Li Mochen's expression shifted slightly, then he turned to Chu Siguo and Li Mei: "Chu, and Aunt Mei, please step outside for a moment."

When the office was left with only him and Cadiren, Li Mochen placed a paper bag in front of Cadiren: "Mr. Cadiren, you seem to have more to say. Could you elaborate for me?"

The latter weighed the paper bag, knowing it contained at least a hundred thousand gold shields. He showed a satisfied smile and deftly swept the bag into the left drawer.

"It's really not necessary, Mr. Wiltenstein. Even just for Mr. Peyton's call, I would do my best to help you. Hmm, let me be honest with you: if it were a local Baxley City gang, I'd have Miss Hazel delivered to you within a day at most. But you should also be prepared—there are some criminal organizations and desperadoes who don't even care about the police. You'll have to find a way on your own. Of course, I'll investigate as quickly as possible and promise to tell you within five hours which side made the move."

"Five hours?"

Li Mochen frowned, seeming somewhat dissatisfied.

"That's the fastest possible."

Cadiren spread his hands: "I don't think you need to worry too much, Mr. Wiltenstein. For a pretty girl like Hazel, the only purpose of kidnapping her is human trafficking—selling her to distant lands, the dark world, or the beds of the powerful, then controlling them with drugs. But this kind of thing usually only happens to immigrant girls without status. I don't understand why they would target a student from Baxley Riverside Middle School."

He only realized he had strayed from the topic at this point, so he paused: "Hazel is very beautiful. For a girl like her, the original goods are the most valuable. You might not like hearing this, but that's how it is, so they're unlikely to harm her now. In short, Mr. Welton, you can go home and wait for news. Perhaps after you finish your competition, there will be results here."

Li Mochen had no choice but to take his leave. He had a match in the afternoon and had to return to school or the Storm Stadium before noon; he really couldn't stay here long.

All he could do was have Li Mei wait here for news and then contact Li Tailai again.

The strength of Nathan Sports Group was undeniable; the Baxley City Police Department could not ignore Mr. Peyton's entrustment.

But beyond that, he wanted to do more for Hazel, that pitiable girl.

Just as Li Mochen returned to school and took the school bus to the Storm Stadium, Carl Holton, who was accompanying him on the bus, answered his mobile phone.

Iby Brian—his opponent in the round of sixteen—had encountered an unfortunate car accident at noon, resulting in a broken arm, and had notified the tournament committee of his withdrawal.

"In other words, our lucky prince has advanced by luck again?"

William Jacob was at a loss for how to comment, so he could only tease: "So far, there have been eight rounds, and six of them were walkovers. Amo, I want to buy a lucky bracelet too."

Li Mochen ignored him, looking curiously at Carl: "You guys didn't do this, did you?"

"How could we? For someone destined to lose to you? We don't do illegal things either. What do you take Nathan Sports for? A criminal organization?"

Carl Holton complained: "It couldn't be the betting companies either; they wouldn't do anything too outrageous at this moment. At a time like this, when everyone is watching, they'd risk an investigation by the Betting Regulatory Commission, which would be more trouble than it's worth. I suspect this is mostly Iby Brian's own doing—he couldn't do it alone, but he could conspire with others. Your opponent today is also a member of the Arcadis camp."

Louise Linden, who heard this, also agreed: "That guess is very plausible; it's a very clever move."

"So, even though he was shouting loudly in the media, he never intended to fight Amo from the start? Wow—now this guy not only successfully avoids fighting Amo, preserving his reputation, but also makes Amo a target of public criticism, right?"

William Jacob began to think: "He's no match for Amo anyway; he was bound to lose this fight. The situation is probably not good. I guess those who lost money on the bets will be even more convinced that the fight between you and James Lanster was rigged. They'll hate you, Amo."

In fact, they were already seeing the expected result.

As soon as the bus approached the Storm Stadium, the streets were already filled with protesting crowds, and they were in a state of high agitation. They held up various signs and fiercely charged the lines formed by police and security guards. Among the debris thrown were dangerous items like bricks and stones.

William Jacob stared blankly at the scene outside the window.

"It looks like they want to kill you—"