Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 205: Step by Step Finding Clues

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Step by Step Finding Clues

Now that they had a lead to follow, it was time to take action. Yet, the one most capable of doing this, Su Hui, was sitting on the couch with a furrowed brow, appearing lost in thought.

Qin Jia seemed puzzled: "What’s the matter, Sister Su? You seem reluctant to help."

To this, Gu Fan stepped up to explain: "Sister Su could utilize police resources to figure out which car dealerships recently sold this type of van, but any action on her part could alert our suspects, so Sister Su is indeed in a difficult position."

Lu Yi also sighed: "So you’re saying, the minute Sister Su deploys police resources, it could tip them off and backfire on us."

"If that’s so, what can we do?" Xu Haowen began to rack his brains for ideas. Since he had committed to help, he needed to step up.

Gu Fan then added: "Who said we’re out of options?" After saying this, he dialed Lin Xi’s number and shared his idea.

Once Lin Xi understood, she assured Gu Fan that she would act on it immediately. She then laughed listening to Gu Fan’s continuous chatter: "So, if I manage to rescue Du Jun, that asshole, I expect a hefty reward. Tell Du Changhui to prepare a few million as compensation. And you, start thinking about your words of gratitude, but I won’t accept anything insincere."

"Since when did you only start caring about money? Well, enough talk. I need to get on with it." With that, Lin Xi ended the call, and a smile crept onto her face. This was the spark of hope that Du Changhui needed.

Du Changhui eagerly asked, "How’s it going? Are we onto something?"

"Not really a breakthrough, but it’s some direction to our investigation at least. It’s better than having nothing." Lin Xi then relayed Gu Fan’s idea to Du Changhui, urging him to use his business connections to find out more.

Hearing this idea, Du Changhui couldn’t help but praise it. Indeed, it was a solid lead.

Soon, Du Changhui enlisted a friend from the Industrial and Commercial Management department to check recent sales records of all car dealerships selling that particular model of van. It appeared that across five stores in the city, selling even a single van in a day was considered good. But shockingly, one dealership had made two sales on the same day a couple of days back.

This anomaly indicated they were likely dealing with the culprits. Du Changhui immediately began examining the identities of the buyers, but this took time. Meanwhile, the kidnappers were growing impatient, threatening to cut off all contact unless the hostage swap proceeded quickly – else Du Changhui could forget about seeing his son again.

Lin Xi agreed to continue the negotiation that same night while urging Du Changhui to hurry in gathering the buyer’s information and to send everything to Gu Fan and his team.

Thank God, within an hour Du Changhui obtained the buyer’s information. He was, however, perplexed as to why he should hand over this information to Gu Fan when his own allies could use it to track down the criminals.

But Lin Xi was firm, firstly, because it was Gu Fan’s idea, and secondly, she believed in Gu Fan’s abilities.

Without objection, Du Changhui complied. Just when he was most disheartened, thinking there was no chance of saving Du Jun, Gu Fan gave him hope. This glimmer of hope led Du Changhui to place all his bets on Gu Fan.

If Gu Fan knew about the intense expectation placed on him, he would surely feel the pressure. But for now, he was engrossed in studying the buyer’s information, furrowing his brow and muttering: "At the moment we only know the buyer’s name, age, contact information, and residential address. If all the documentation is falsified, we’re chasing a ghost."

Without a better solution, they had to take a chance. Gu Fan asked Qin Jia to call the buyer, pretending to be the car company’s after-sales service, asking about his satisfaction with the recently purchased van. They even offered a giveaway in hopes the buyer would share his address.

However, the buyer was alert and declined the offer before abruptly hanging up.

Gu Fan wasn’t disheartened because this call had confirmed one thing - the phone number was legitimate. With it, they could track the buyer through his mobile signal.

While this was a good plan, implementing it was difficult as they lacked sophisticated tools to track mobile signals, unless...

Frustrated by her inability to utilize police resources, Su Hui was at a loss.

At this moment, Gu Fan thought of another solution—requesting Du Changhui to use his business connections to track any deliveries or food orders associated with the buyer’s phone number.

Gu Fan’s idea was sound, and Du Changhui’s business network wide-reaching. They soon learned that a food delivery had previously been sent to the owner of that phone number. Since it was a food delivery, there must be an address to go along with it.

Two glances at the address told Gu Fan that it was an extremely remote suburb, at the very limit of food delivery services. Their target was likely hiding Du Jun there.

"Alright, everyone, let’s get moving. Du Jun is waiting for us to rescue him." With a faint smile, Gu Fan felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him.

Yet the most excited among them all was Xu Haowen, who had always been looking forward to such action. He was surprised at how quickly it had come, and despite seeming hopeless at first, it was Gu Fan who found a way through. He couldn’t help but admire the guy.

Qin Jia was a bit worried, "What if the enemy outnumbers us and we can’t beat them?"

"Relax, they will not assign too many people to watch Du Jun since they’re also planning to kidnap Lin Xi. They will definitely divide their force. We have a significant chance of winning." Gu Fan said, although he was still a bit worried since he certainly didn’t hold all the cards.

After a while, when Lin Xi revealed the meeting place for tonight to Gu Fan, it differed completely from the location the car buyer lived in. This supported Gu Fan’s hypothesis - the enemy was, in fact, splitting their forces.

Gu Fan told Lin Xi to stall as much as possible. Gu Fan and his group would rescue Du Jun as soon as they could.

However, Su Hui expressed some concern. If Gu Fan is wrong and the car buyer’s place is not where Du Jun is held. Lin Xi would be placed in grave danger.

Gu Fan responded indifferently, "So what? Rescuing Du Jun would merely become rescuing Lin Xi."

"You make it sound so simple." Lu Yi and Jie could not help but praise him, while Su Hui and Qin Jia rolled their eyes. What kind of mentality was that? Were they attempting to revive a dead horse?

Before the action, Gu Fan thought it best to let Qin Jia and Xu Haowen hang back. If they joined this mission, they’d get entangled in the situation, and it would be hard for them to extricate themselves later. Gu Fan wanted to take responsibility for everyone.

Xu Haowen, however, was adamant. He had come this far; there was no reason to leave the mission empty-handed.

Qin Jia hesitated for a while before deciding to join the mission to rescue Du Jun. The only reason was that Du Jun had been kidnapped right in front of her. She had been a powerless observer then, but now that she had an opportunity, she felt compelled to act.

With no other choice, Gu Fan had to tell the truth: "In fact, the reason I don’t want you to join is, first, I’m afraid you’ll also get into trouble, and second, I’m afraid that your limited abilities might hold me back."

"When have we ever held you back?" Both Xu Haowen and Qin Jia protested. If anything, Gu Fan’s words had only strengthened their resolution to join the mission.

Gu Fan could only nod, "Okay, you can join, but there are conditions. First, after we save Du Jun, don’t join his camp. Second, you must obey me since I am responsible for your safety. Third, if you ever betray me, don’t blame me for ending you."

Quickly, Xu Haowen and Qin Jia swore, "Don’t worry, we won’t turn traitor. We love this team. Long live our team! Why don’t we start by naming our team?"

At this time, Su Hui came down from upstairs, dressed and ready for action. She rolled her eyes, "Okay, enough chat. We need to take action soon. I’ve already notified Zhuo Hang. He’s bringing some reliable people to help."

"That’s not a bad idea." Gu Fan thought if Zhuo Hang was part of their operation, their chances of success would increase. Capturing some of the enemies to extract information would be a bonus.

However, before leaving, Su Hui said seriously: "I would like to remind everyone that this mission is extremely dangerous. If they want to capture Lin Xi, they will definitely come at us all guns blazing. We may not only encounter that giant of a man again but also that guy who just won’t die."

This made Gu Fan hesitate. They had some leads, but he hadn’t really considered the balance of power between them and the enemy.

Lu Yi added, "If we encounter the enemy’s elites, they will definitely be targeting Lin Xi. So Lin Xi is under the most pressure."

"That’s why we must act quickly. Ideally, we should be able to rescue Du Jun before Lin Xi arrives at the designated meeting place." Qin Jia, who least wanted to see Lin Xi in danger, stated, and her words reverberated, setting a pressure-filled tone among everyone.

Gu Fan’s eyes knitted together. The address they extracted seemed dubious; there was a significant chance their raid might come up empty. Leaving Lin Xi in danger. But they were short on time and lacking better alternatives. The only option seemed to be to go ahead and take the risk.

"We know where their meeting is scheduled with Lin Xi and that it is for ten o’ clock. We still have some time. Let’s think about a contingency plan for what we should do next in case the raid fails" Su Hui proposed, prompting everyone to consider a feasible plan that will minimize the chance of failure.

Gu Fan spoke, "The contingency plan must consider the following possibilities: If the raid fails and they kidnap Lin Xi, release Du Jun, where might they take Lin Xi? And how can we rescue her? Focus your thoughts around these points."

"But how should we think about this?" Many were frowning, feeling that the plan was not feasible.

"Consider all potential routes from the identified meeting place. Let Du Changhui arrange for people at various intersections, and we’ll be good to go," Having given out these orders, Gu Fan got ready for the mission, his eyes exuding a sharp, focused light.