My Fierce Beta Husband is Surprisingly Sweet | Chapter 84 | Tracing the Shadows | Novela.app

Xun Xin’s team and Yuan Ye gathered at the police station in the dead of night. After Yuan Ye tearfully recounted everything he had seen to the officers, the police began closely tracking the vehicle's whereabouts. His eyes were swollen and red, and he gasped for breath, consumed by self-reproach. "If only I had arrived a little earlier, maybe I could have saved Brother Ting." "I should have chased them. I should have called for help." An officer consoled him, "No, you did very well. You didn't alert the kidnappers, and you provided us with the most critical lead—that license plate. The suspects likely don't realize there was a witness. That is our greatest advantage right now." The person who had taken Li Zhengting clearly understood the distribution of surveillance cameras in the area. They had managed to stay almost entirely out of sight. Even the cameras inside "Delicious" only captured a tall man wearing a hat pulled low, making it impossible to distinguish his features. As the police searched for the car’s movements through street surveillance, they discovered it had quickly entered a blind spot, heading toward an area with no camera coverage. The trail went cold almost immediately. Upon hearing this, Yuan Ye broke down again. "Then... was the license plate I memorized useless?" Before the officer could respond, Xun Xin, who had been closely monitoring the case from the side, spoke up. "No, we can search for the owner's information. There might be other leads there." As he spoke, he glanced at the monitor. Li Zi had been sitting there for hours, watching the surveillance footage on a loop. "We might not find any more clues from the surveillance for now," Xun Xin continued. "The perpetrator clearly scouted the terrain and the camera locations in advance. The timing and the route were meticulously planned. His methods are professional; he wouldn't leave an obvious hole like that." "Right now, we should look for leads through the car owner and Li Zhengting’s social circle." The officer nodded. "Yes, that is the right direction." They discussed the matter intensely, but Li Zi remained deaf to their words. Xun Xin frowned and walked over to her. She had rewound the shop's footage again. Li Zhengting was sitting in the chair she had bought for him, reading the message she had sent about working overtime. Then he stood up, supporting his lower back, and walked into the warehouse. Immediately after, the tall man in the hat followed him inside. That was the extent of what she could see, yet she watched it over and over, back and forth. "Li Zi, stop watching." Xun Xin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you recognize this man?" Li Zi’s body trembled. She turned her head, her bloodshot eyes meeting Xun Xin’s. "I... I don't know him." Or perhaps she did. This silhouette was both similar and dissimilar to the killer from her previous life. Only the physical build was somewhat alike. "There is no one like this in my or Li Zhengting’s social circles." Her voice was dry and raspy, her emotions unreadable. *Why is this happening? I thought I had dealt with every unfavorable factor. In this life, I guided Li Zhengting away from those chaotic circles early on. I’ve kept him right under my nose. Why is this still happening?* *What did I miss? Where did I fall short?* *Brother Ting... he’s almost due to give birth.* *Why is it still like this? In my last life, it wasn't at this time...* Agony, helplessness, guilt, and panic—negative emotions clawed at her heart like a giant hand. Li Zi couldn't help but bury her face in her arms, gripping her hair tightly. *In my last life, I missed the call because of work. In this life, work has left him alone in danger again.* *Is fate truly unavoidable?* That nightmare resurfaced in Li Zi’s mind: Li Zhengting, trailing blood, crawling on the ground as he struggled to call for help. *What do I do? If something really happens to Brother Ting, I...* "Sister Li Zi! Pull yourself together! Brother Ting is waiting for you to save him!" The boyish voice exploded in her ear. Li Zi looked up to see Yuan Ye standing before her, looking anxious. He urged her, "They said they need to know about anyone who might have a grudge against Brother Ting. You’re the one who knows him best!" *Right. I have to pull myself together.* She wiped her face harshly, walked to the table, and began telling the group everything she knew. She mentioned Su Qiang, who had been imprisoned over a decade ago; Xu Chang, who had caused trouble the year before; and she even brought up Wang Song. Xun Xin noted one point: "Why did Xu Chang suddenly attack the bike shop? Did the two of them know each other before?" Li Zi shook her head. "Brother Ting said he didn't know him. But Xu Chang once told him to think about who he had actually offended. Later, Xu Chang was caught, and the matter was dropped." Xun Xin pondered this. "Xu Chang might be an entry point. I suggest you contact the police station back in your hometown to see if we can learn more about this man." "Yes, I’ll ask right away." Li Zi picked up her phone to call Zhou Yi, but she was stopped by an officer. "Besides your hometown, have you had any conflicts with anyone here in Zhennan?" *Someone in Zhennan?* Li Zi bit her lip. If they were talking about enemies here, there was only one. "There is one, though I don't know if it counts. His name is Dai Zong. We worked together to stop him from committing a crime." "Understood." Once the list of key suspects was compiled, the investigation was immediately mobilized. Li Zi also got through to Zhou Yi and actually obtained a piece of information: Xu Chang wasn't the leader of the illegal drug trafficking ring they were chasing, but Xu Chang had changed his name. As a child, he had lived on Xi'an Street for several years. Many people in that criminal group had some connection, large or small, to Xi'an Street. *Xi'an Street...* She then called Liu Yan. As soon as the call connected, Yu Tianwu’s voice came through: "Li Zi-zi~ why are you calling Brother Yan?" She said urgently, "Something happened to Li Zhengting. Give the phone to Liu Yan." There was a second of silence on the other end before the phone changed hands. "Hello? Sister Li Zi, what do you mean? What happened to Brother Li?" Liu Yan asked anxiously. "He was kidnapped from the shop. We’re looking for leads. Tell me, does Li Zhengting have any other possible enemies from Xi'an Street, or do you know anything else?" "Enemies? But you know everyone we know, Sister Li Zi... Wait, before the New Year, I think I saw Su Qiang. I even mentioned it to Brother Li." Liu Yan searched his memory rapidly and found only that one point. "Su Qiang? Your old boss?" Li Zi remembered the name instantly. "Yes, he’s the only one I can think of who might still hold a grudge against Brother Li." "Fine. I’ll contact you if there’s news. Hanging up." Without waiting for Liu Yan’s reply, she immediately relayed this information to the police. Sure enough, a quick check revealed a connection between Xu Chang and Su Qiang. Looking at it this way, Su Qiang was very likely Xu Chang’s boss. But who was the one who actually took Li Zhengting? Who could snatch him so instantly without him noticing? Even though Li Zhengting was pregnant, his combat ability was stronger than the average person's. Unless the opponent was an expert at this kind of thing. But what connection would such a person have with Su Qiang? And how did Su Qiang know where Li Zhengting was? Li Zi felt as though there was still a piece of information that hadn't been linked yet. The police station at Xi'an Street was very cooperative and quickly transferred Su Qiang’s file to Zhennan. Li Zi and Xun Xin looked over it together. She scanned the information rapidly until she saw a familiar name—Su Jin. Wasn't this the man who had tried to take Golden away when they were kids? It turned out he was Su Qiang’s older brother. However, there was still no critical information. The police worked efficiently; the owner of the car and another file were identified—it was the same person: Dai Zong. "Dai Zong? That’s impossible. Wasn't he already arrested?" Li Zi frowned. Why was Dai Zong involved in this? The officer holding the information said, "His urine test was positive; there’s a possibility he’s been using illicit drugs. These drugs might be the link to Su Qiang." But how did Dai Zong know Li Zhengting was at "Delicious"? The number of people involved in this case had suddenly multiplied. Hua Yi, Xie Bing, and Li Qingliu arrived after hearing the news. After being briefed on the situation, Hua Yi said she would go find Dai Zong, who was currently being held at a drug rehabilitation center. Li Qingliu never imagined that in the half-day he was away from the shop, something like this would happen. He was filled with regret. "I shouldn't have gone on that date. If I had stayed at the shop today, he might have been fine." Xie Bing comforted him from the side. Currently, all the clues seemed related, yet they couldn't be woven into a single thread. An entire night was wasted like this. Fortunately, the next day, Hua Yi brought good news. They finally knew how Li Zhengting’s presence at "Delicious" had become known. Hua Yi had also seen Li Xin at the rehab center. Li Xin was Li Qingliu’s ex-wife. She and Dai Zong were assigned to the same room, and during their conversations, they discovered they both knew the same person—Li Zi. And Li Xin had seen Li Zi at "Delicious." Li Zhengting had also occasionally appeared at "Delicious" back then. Even so, there was still no direct lead or evidence to prove that Su Qiang was directly involved in the kidnapping. Because the identity of the person who actually did the deed could not be determined. At this moment, Xun Xin, who had been mentally piecing together the entire sequence of events, suddenly remembered a case Li Zi had once asked him about. His gaze focused on Su Jin—the man who seemed to have played no significant role in this affair. "We need to check Su Jin’s whereabouts over the years, the frequency of his prison visits, and his recent movements." Based on his years of experience, his intuition told him that Su Jin was very likely the breakthrough point.