124: Chapter 124 Finding Evidence

The stairs were very narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time.

Laoshu walked in front, with Cao Kun following behind.

When they were halfway down, Cao Kun suddenly struck.

He covered Laoshu's mouth with one hand, used the other to lock his throat, and pressed his knee against the small of his back.

The movements were clean and efficient, taking only three seconds.

Laoshu tried to struggle, but Cao Kun's strength was too great; his arm clamped around his neck like iron pincers.

A few seconds later, Laoshu lost consciousness from lack of oxygen and slumped down limply.

Cao Kun let go, and Laoshu collapsed on the stairs like a puddle of mud.

“Quick!” Cao Kun said to Xiao Li.

Xiao Li immediately rushed over and fished a ring of keys out of Laoshu's pocket. Her hands were shaking, and it took several attempts before she finally opened the lock to the cubicle.

“Sisters, come out quickly! We're saved!” Xiao Li cried out, her voice carrying a hint of a sob.

The girls were stunned, failing to react for a moment.

They had been imprisoned for so long that they had grown accustomed to despair; the sudden arrival of hope left them at a loss instead.

Lin Xiaoyan was the first to stand up: “What are you waiting for?! Do you want to die here?!”

She rushed out of the cubicle and helped open the locks of the other cubicles.

Xiao Li also snapped out of it and went to open the second cubicle.

“Quick! Put on your clothes! Follow me!” Cao Kun lowered his voice. “Brother Qiang and the others could return at any moment!”

The instinct for survival finally triumphed over fear.

The girls began to move. Xiao Li supported Wang Tingting.

She was coughing even more violently now, her face as pale as paper.

Lin Xiaoyan carried Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun's eyes were vacant, and she was still mumbling to herself: “Mama... Mama...”

There were two other girls as well.

The short-haired girl was named Liu Qian, and the long-haired girl was named Zhang Yue.

They supported each other as they stood up, their legs trembling.

“Give me the keys.” Cao Kun searched Laoshu's body for his phone and unclipped the electric baton from his waist.

Then he dragged the unconscious Laoshu, locked him in an empty cubicle, bound his hands and feet with zip ties, and sealed his mouth with tape.

“Let's go! Out the back door!” Cao Kun led the way up.

The girls followed behind him, stumbling along.

Xiao Yun couldn't walk steadily, so Lin Xiaoyan was practically dragging her.

Wang Tingting kept coughing, each cough sounding as if she were about to hack up her lungs.

Upon reaching the first floor, Cao Kun signaled for them to stop.

He walked to the window and carefully lifted a corner of the curtain to observe the situation outside.

The alley was empty; there was no movement.

“Follow me.” Cao Kun opened the back door.

A cold wind instantly rushed in.

The girls shivered, but no one backed down.

Freedom was right before them; no matter how cold the wind, it couldn't stop their steps toward survival.

Cao Kun led them across the yard to the corrugated iron fence.

There was a small gate here that was usually locked, but Cao Kun had observed long ago that the lock was broken and would open with a single push.

Outside the gate was an even narrower alley where two black SUVs were parked. Seeing Cao Kun emerge, the car doors opened, and two plainclothes Enforcement Officers stepped out; they were Liang Lingmeng's people.

“Quick, get in the car!” one of the Enforcement Officers said.

When the girls saw the Enforcement Officers, tears instantly gushed out. They knew they were truly saved.

Xiao Li helped Wang Tingting into the first car, and Lin Xiaoyan carried Xiao Yun into the second.

Liu Qian and Zhang Yue squeezed in as well.

The car doors closed, and the vehicles silently drove out of the alley.

Cao Kun did not get in.

“Big Brother Cao, aren't you coming?” Xiao Li leaned her head out of the car window.

“I still have some things to handle,” Cao Kun said. “You go to a safe place first; the Enforcement Officers will protect you.”

“It's too dangerous!” Xiao Li shouted.

“Don't worry.” Cao Kun closed the car door and said to the driver, “Go!”

The two cars drove off into the night.

Cao Kun stood in place until the taillights disappeared before turning back into the house.

He had one more thing to do.

Returning to the first floor, Cao Kun began his search.

Brother Qiang's bedroom was on the second floor, but he searched the first floor first.

Soon, he found a machete under the sofa cushions. It was thirty centimeters long, and the blade had dark red stains on it.

He didn't know if it was rust or blood.

There were also several packets of white powder contained in transparent plastic bags.

Cao Kun picked up a packet and sniffed it; it had a pungent chemical smell.

Drugs.

He placed these on the table and then went up to the second floor.

There were three rooms on the second floor.

The master bedroom was Brother Qiang's, the second bedroom was where A Biao and Laoshu took turns staying, and there was another room filled with junk.

Brother Qiang's bedroom was a mess, with clothes thrown everywhere and cigarette butts all over the floor.

A laptop sat on the desk, with several mobile hard drives next to it.

Cao Kun turned on the computer; it required a password. He tried a few numbers.

All were incorrect.

Cao Kun frowned.

He looked around the room and saw a photograph pinned to the wall.

It was a photo of Brother Qiang with a young girl.

The girl looked about twenty years old, heavily made up, but with vacant eyes.

A line of text was written on the back of the photo: “Lili, 2019.3.8”.

Lili?

Maybe she was Brother Qiang's girlfriend, or... another victim.

Cao Kun entered “201938”.

The computer unlocked.

The desktop was cluttered with icons.

Cao Kun clicked on “My Computer” and found the D drive. Inside was a folder with a very blunt name: “Goods”.

He opened it to find it filled with video files. The filenames were all dates and the names or codes of girls: “2023.11.05_Xiao Li”, “2023.11.12_Xiaoyan”, “2023.10.28_Xiao Yun”...

Cao Kun clicked on a recent video.

The image was shaky and the angle was low, looking as if it were a secret recording.

The background was that small room, and on the bed was Xiao Li. Her eyes were vacant, and there were tear stains on her face.

A man's voice said off-camera: “Give us a smile, don't look so miserable.”

It was a video of Xiao Li being forced to receive a client.

Cao Kun turned off the video, his stomach churning.

He continued to look through the folder and found photos as well. They were all nude photos of the girls, some with scars on their bodies.

Animals.

He packed the computer and the mobile hard drives into his bag.

He also found several cell phones in the nightstand drawer, all of which had been confiscated from the girls.

There was also a ledger recording daily “income” and “expenditures”.

Cao Kun collected the ledger as well.

Just then, he heard the sound of a car outside.

He walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain.

It was Brother Qiang's van; he was back.

An hour earlier than expected.

The vehicle stopped at the front door. Brother Qiang and A Biao got out, dragging a girl along with them.

The girl was about twenty years old, wearing a cheap dress. She was shivering from the cold, with tear stains on her face and her mouth sealed with tape.

“Laoshu! Where the hell are you?” Brother Qiang roared.

No one responded.

“Damn it, slacking off again!” A Biao cursed as he dragged the girl into the house.

Cao Kun quickly went downstairs and hid in the kitchen on the first floor.

The kitchen was small, piled with instant noodle cups and takeout boxes, and it smelled terrible.

He heard the front door open and the footsteps of Brother Qiang and A Biao.

“Laoshu! Dammit, where did you go?” Brother Qiang's voice rang out in the living room.

“Brother Qiang... look...” A Biao's voice was trembling slightly. “The knife... and this...”

They had seen the machete and the drugs on the table.

“Something's happened!” Brother Qiang's voice changed instantly. “Quick! Go check the Basement!”

...