Chapter 28: Four Questions!

How should we view the criminals involved in the Luo River kidnapping case?

Inside the conference room, the officers, faces full of anticipation, watched Shen Ting write this question on the whiteboard, all feeling somewhat puzzled.

What does this question have to do with confirming that the Hummer was in the pond at Sanya Slope?

It seems completely unrelated!

“The criminals were undoubtedly brutal,” Shen Ting began. “The fact that the ear was half eaten and cooked is proof enough.”

“What Shen Ting wants to emphasize is that the criminals are meticulous and highly intelligent! Otherwise, this case wouldn’t have remained unsolved for so many years. Nor would the Hummer have only just been found now.”

“However, their level of education seems low. I recall the ransom notes were full of scribbles and many spelling mistakes.”

“I have doubts about that,” another officer said. “It might be a ruse by the criminals—an intentional deception. In other words, the murderer is very cunning and is deliberately misleading us.”

Meeting the gaze of the officers, Shen Ting nodded with a smile.

“All these answers are correct. In short, our overall impression of the criminals is blurry. They display the usual cruelty of kidnappers but also appear to have low literary competence and seem somewhat unintelligent. All of this is the impression left by the kidnappers through sending ransom notes and other behaviors.”

“Now, onto the second question!”

Shen Ting wrote on the board:

“Why did the criminals spare the boatman’s family and place them near the sunken boat’s water bay? And why did they specifically instruct the Liu family in the ransom note to compensate for the boat?”

The officers furrowed their brows even deeper at this question.

“When we first took over the case, we speculated that the criminals spared the boatman because they saw the infant in the cradle. Perhaps some of the criminals had children themselves, which led them to show mercy.”

“As for the ransom note instructing the Liu family to compensate for the boat, the investigation team was overwhelmed at the time and didn’t ponder this much.”

“But now, looking back, it’s interesting. If the criminals wanted to spare the boatman’s family, they could have left them far from the water bay. That way, we wouldn’t have so easily pinpointed the ferry’s location in the water bay.”

“Are the criminals guiding us to salvage the water bay and find the ferry?”

Shen Ting nodded at the last officer who spoke.

“Exactly! And it’s not just guiding the salvage—it’s also steering the investigative team’s thinking. By sparing the boatman’s family, placing them near the water bay, and explicitly telling the Liu family to compensate for the boat in the ransom note, the criminals are nudging us to focus on the idea that the ferry was abandoned in the water bay.”

“This was likely meant to momentarily fix our police resources there.”

Shen Ting continued:

“Putting these two questions together, does anyone have any insights?”

Xiong Beibei said, “The criminals are cunning and calculating?”

Xu Xinyi added, “Or rather, everything the murderer does, which seems random, actually has a purpose. The cooked half-eaten ear, the ransom note riddled with mistakes—all serve to cloud our impression of the criminals. Meanwhile, the boatman’s family draws police resources to the water bay.”

“You’re all right!” Shen Ting said.

“So, the third question is this: since the criminals are so clever and everything they do is meaningful, why did they specifically send the ransom note to the Xin Jing Newspaper?”

“Wouldn’t it have been more direct to send it straight to the Liu family? That way, they could threaten them not to call the police. So why did the criminals take the opposite approach?”

The officers frowned more deeply, pondering.

“I’ll give you a hint!” Shen Ting said. “Why the Xin Jing Newspaper, and not the Dajing Evening News, Dajing Noon News, or any other paper? What makes Xin Jing special?”

“Um, it has a bad reputation,” one officer offered.

“Exactly, everyone knows Xin Jing’s reputation is lousy. But the question isn’t why it’s infamous. It’s what Xin Jing has done to earn that infamy?”

“Scavenging on others’ misfortune? Doing whatever it takes to grab attention?”

Zheng Yuanqiao’s expression shifted. “Shen Ting, are you saying the criminals knew Xin Jing’s nature and deliberately used their unscrupulousness? They sent the half-eaten ear and ransom note there, knowing Xin Jing wouldn’t let such explosive news go unreported. They would definitely publish it and make the matter known to all.”

“But why? What advantage does this bring to the kidnappers?”

Shen Ting nodded at Zheng Yuanqiao with a smile.

“Good. Everyone is starting to ask their own questions. What Zheng said is actually the fourth question.”

On the whiteboard appeared: Why do the criminals want to make this matter public?

“Let me put it another way: what changes when a kidnapping is reported in the news?”

After Shen Ting spoke, the confusion on everyone’s faces deepened.

Do these questions truly relate to the sunken vehicle at Sanya Slope? It feels so distant.

The key is that these questions seem too subjective. Ordinary officers often struggle to understand a criminal’s thought process. Because reasoning requires logic, but criminals don’t need that.

Sometimes, the reasons behind their killings or actions have no basis at all—they just act on a sudden impulse without any ‘why.’

At this realization, many officers suddenly understood the significance of Shen Ting’s first two questions.

Those two questions suggest that every action of the criminals, at the time, might have seemed trivial. But twelve years later, almost every deed carries a deeper meaning.

If so, such a high-profile act as sending the ransom note and half an ear couldn’t just be to make a fuss—it likely had profound intent.

Previously, some officers had dismissed Shen Ting, thinking he was just lucky to find the Hummer.

But now, their gaze toward Shen Ting had grown serious.

They reconsidered the fourth question.

“The kidnapping made headlines nationwide—it was bound to cause a sensation. After all, Liu Furen was no ordinary tycoon. His discovery of donating gold to charity sparked great controversy.”

“The Liu family must have been extremely anxious. Under the national spotlight, to avoid humiliation, they would hasten to prepare the ten billion ransom.”

“But in the end, the criminals never took the ransom!”

“The nationwide uproar and the Liu family’s urgency would ultimately pressure the police station. To stabilize the situation, the more public the case, the faster it must be solved to quell public opinion. Therefore, more police resources and volunteers would be dispatched, searches would be more thorough, and no one would dare slack off.”

“Enough!” Shen Ting called a halt. “Now, let's bring our thoughts back to the sunken vehicle at Sanya Slope. Before the Hummer was salvaged, I heard more than once that it couldn’t possibly be in that pond. Such impossibility was absolute, one hundred percent.”

“I believe many here thought the same.”

“What was the source of that certainty?”

Xu Xinyi and Xiong Beibei looked somewhat embarrassed.

Because they were the ones who had repeatedly insisted the Hummer couldn’t be in the pond.

Other officers reflected and admitted that their first reaction upon hearing the Hummer was retrieved from Sanya Slope was doubt. They instinctively felt the Hummer could be anywhere—but definitely not in that pond. So they were especially shocked when it was confirmed.

Team Leader Qin Shan smiled and said, “This question is simple; let me answer. The source of that judgment is precisely the answer to the fourth question just mentioned. That pond was searched too thoroughly back then. If I recall correctly, we searched it three times in total. Not just a large Hummer— even a toy car wouldn’t have been overlooked.”

“Because of multiple rounds of meticulous searches, we were certain the Hummer was not in that pond.”

Everyone nodded, but many suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

According to the series of questions Shen Ting raised, could all of this have been part of the criminals’ plan?

The criminals deliberately sent the half ear and ransom note to the notorious Xin Jing Newspaper, knowing they would report it.

Once the matter blew up, the police would pay close attention.

As a result, the suspicious area would be searched repeatedly and carefully—and thus the pond would be ruled out as a suspect location.

Yet, ironically, the Hummer was right there in the pond!

Team Leader Qin Shan and Captain Zheng Yuanqiao were normally composed men, but now they were almost tearing their hair out in frustration.

Qin Shan stood up and laughed, “Shen Ting, stop teasing us. My heart condition’s about to act up. Just tell us—how did the criminals actually abandon the car?”

Many officers smiled, but their curiosity peaked.

Shen Ting smiled as well. “The answer is quite simple. You’ve probably all heard the saying, ‘The most dangerous place is the safest place.’ But a master once said, ‘The truly safest place is where all threats have been completely ruled out.’”