54: Chapter 54 Bizarre Kidnapping in the Street

Lin Ning saw the message from Jin Er and went straight to the studio that evening.

When he entered, the three of them, including Jin Er, were lounging lazily on the sofa, watching TV.

"What's up? What's going on?"

Jin Er gestured with his chin toward the dining table, and when Lin Ning turned, he saw five or six takeout containers laid out on it.

Jin Er: "We went to that Malatang shop today. We ate it and felt like it had that shell added to it. We spent the whole day asking around about other things, but didn't find anything unusual."

Xu San smacked his lips and said, "Adding that stuff is damn immoral, but it doesn't seem like a big deal, right? Did your boss get it wrong?"

Lin Ning was stunned upon hearing this. Adding drugs to food didn't seem to be a serious crime. He remembered the sensational cases [the donkey meat burger containing no donkey meat resulting in a 300,000 fine and a 4-year sentence, and the perilla sauce incident resulting in a 15,000 fine and a 1-year 2-month sentence]. It seemed like this stuff wasn't as illegal as the "donkey meat."

But where did that deep red color come from? And for everyone involved?!

After thinking for a moment, Lin Ning said, "Then let's put it aside for now; there's no rush, we can keep asking around slowly. Don't we have other orders on hand? Let's do those first and keep an eye on the Malatang shop when we have time."

Jin Er and the others didn't mind, "Sure."

From the next day on, Lin Ning ran around for two days, checking basically everyone who could have close contact with Ou Jiarui or influence the experiment.

After finishing, Lin Ning told Chen Zhi about the few people he had recorded and also mentioned Yang Heping, "Something's a bit off, but it shouldn't be a major offense."

Chen Zhi flipped through the files of those individuals and nodded.

Lin Ning's work was done, but Chen Zhi's work had just begun.

Thinking of this, Lin Ning felt a bit schadenfreude; after all, Chen Zhi had been criticizing him for not being steady these past two days.

He chuckled at Chen Zhi and said, "You trust me that much?!"

In reality, the background check work for all personnel hadn't stopped at all; it was just that there were too many people and the time was too tight.

As for Lin Ning, he was like an insurance policy on another path, and it could also be considered an experiment.

Seeing Lin Ning acting cocky, Chen Zhi didn't dampen his spirits; after all, he had done the work. "Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

Lin Ning's smile froze on his face. What did that mean? A triple affirmation—equal to an absolute negation.

Lin Ning gave a huffy "Hmph" and turned to leave.

Anyway, the work was finished, who would want to look at his old face?

He spent half the night at the Fighting Gym, feeling completely refreshed.

The last bit of negative emotion in his heart dissipated. It's no wonder they say men are aggressive creatures; this stuff is a great stress reliever.

By the roadside were brightly lit skyscrapers, and on the road, a long river of traffic lights.

The early summer night breeze blew against Lin Ning's face, comfortable and pleasant.

Turning into Chengyang Road, since it was a residential area, there were few cars on the road. The dim yellow streetlights, the faint scent of locust flowers, and the warm, quiet atmosphere had a unique charm.

Yanjing really is a good place, balancing movement and stillness.

Humming a little tune, Lin Ning was in a great mood.

Suddenly, he saw a few people struggling not far ahead, and a delivery guy in a yellow uniform was being dragged into a van while struggling.

Damn, Lin Ning twisted the throttle and zipped over. That wasn't just any delivery guy, it was Jiang Yu!

Upon reaching them, Lin Ning jumped off his electric scooter and entered the fray to help.

Just as he dragged Jiang Yu out of the van, a fist hit him in the head. Although it didn't hurt because he was wearing a helmet, Lin Ning's ferocity was ignited.

He swung back immediately.

At this moment, Lin Ning completely understood what Officer Li Feng had once said: when you really get into a fight, wild swinging is the most effective. At a time like this, who the hell can remember any techniques? Just go berserk.

But Lin Ning's speed, reaction, and strength had been enhanced by the Golden Finger. In less than three minutes, five people were lying on the ground.

Pulling the trembling Jiang Yu back a few steps, his first instinct was to call the police.

Damn it, he got a bit carried away while fighting, but after it was over, seeing an old man and an old woman there, Lin Ning decided he had to call for backup as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, he was afraid he'd have to deal with more parents for the rest of his life.

While waiting for the police, Lin Ning thought of all his excuses. No matter how you spin it, this was righteous action to prevent a kidnapping!

With a strategy in mind, Lin Ning had the capacity to joke, "Jiang Yu, how do you get targeted everywhere? Do you have the 'Dong Ge' constitution?"

Jiang Yu stood there, motionless and silent.

Lin Ning thought she was terrified, but when he looked back, Jiang Yu wasn't crying. However, her eyes were bloodshot, shining brightly, with anger, sadness, and despair constantly intertwining.

The color above her head gradually mixed with a few strands of red.

Lin Ning was startled.

He quickly pulled Jiang Yu further away, "Big sister, what are you doing? The police will be here soon!"

The body in Lin Ning's palm was still trembling, but he felt something different.

That was a trembling of struggle.

Lin Ning quickly urged, "Jiang Yu, don't be impulsive; there's nothing that can't be solved..."

At this moment, the old woman howling on the ground suddenly erupted into curses: "Jiang Yu, you little slut, you unfilial wretch who deserves to be struck by lightning, you piece of trash who would rather let some wild man outside screw you than help your brother start a family..."

Lin Ning turned back in shock. What the hell kind of nonsense was this?

In an instant, he roughly guessed what Jiang Yu had encountered.

The muscles in his palm tensed instantly, and Jiang Yu was about to rush over, but Lin Ning hugged her and pressed her tightly into his arms.

A pleasant fragrance rushed into his nostrils; having no time to savor it, Lin Ning scrambled to comfort Jiang Yu.

"You've grown up, you are yourself now!"

"Sister, ruining yourself for rotten people is exactly falling into their trap!"

"Besides, maybe you're not even their biological child!"

"Go look online, your situation isn't even that bad; people are living just fine!"

"Living better than them is the greatest revenge! Make them so mad they die!"

A cry like a beast's mournful howl erupted from Jiang Yu's throat, and the sound of police sirens grew closer, accompanied by Jiang Yu's loud wailing.

A sudden surge of ferocity welled up in Lin Ning's heart.

The police took them directly to the Sub-bureau because when Lin Ning reported the case, he claimed it was an act of preventing an ongoing kidnapping.

Yanjing, street kidnapping, group fighting—any of these was enough to meet the standard for the Sub-bureau.

Lin Ning still had some restraint when he struck; although one fainted and three had broken ribs, according to injury assessment standards, it was all in the category of minor injuries.

As Lin Ning suspected, they were a whole family who came from Hebei to "take" their daughter home to get married.

They claimed he was the criminal who had beaten and injured them.

Lin Ning couldn't be bothered to play the drama of letting them act arrogant to build up the atmosphere, only for him to pull out evidence and slap their faces later.

Honestly, listening to this scum talk for even one more sentence made him feel like he was being contaminated.

These damn things aren't even human; they are all freaks of nature.

Lin Ning took out his phone and the pinhole camera on his collar and handed them to the leading police officer, "I was riding home and saw them dragging a girl into a car on the road. The girl was being beaten while struggling. I judged it to be a kidnapping, so I went up to stop it."

"This is my recorder; it should have captured what just happened."

The police officer was a bit puzzled, "Why do you have this kind of equipment?"

Lin Ning explained, "I'm a delivery guy for Meituan. I often encounter situations where I need video evidence, so I've developed the habit of carrying a recorder when I go out."

Anything the Jiang family said would make any normal person angry. The young female police officer recording nearby couldn't help but secretly give a thumbs up when she saw Lin Ning's actions.

Someone acts righteously, and you want them to pay money? Maybe in the next life!

That beating you took was for nothing.