Chapter 507 - 506: Mighty Little Mo (Part 3)
Most children, once abducted, are lost forever unless an adult finds and rescues them.
For a child like Little Tang Mo to not only escape himself but also lead two other girls to freedom—all while ensuring the traffickers were caught—was a one-in-a-million miracle.
Little Tang Mo looked at the remaining people again. "There’s one more thing."
His expression was serious, and the faces of the few people sitting with him grew even more so.
"Besides the two who were arrested, this place is a major hub."
Headquarters acted decisively. Based on the information and addresses Little Tang Mo provided, they decided overnight to immediately plan and launch secret arrest operations in multiple locations.
The plan was executed smoothly. Within two days, all suspects involved were apprehended.
The whirlwind set in motion by Little Tang Mo had officially begun.
Su Li and the others rushed to find Little Tang Mo as fast as they could. But even at top speed, it took time. After all, they were a whole province away—the distance was considerable.
They hit the road the moment they heard the news about Little Tang Mo, so they didn’t get any of the subsequent phone calls.
And of course, they had no idea what else Little Tang Mo had done besides rescuing himself.
While they were on the road and still in the dark, Wu Qihua was getting the full picture.
She had found out about Little Tang Mo’s rescue around the same time as Su Li’s group. Afterward, she wanted to get more details and see what had happened.
Little Tang Mo had specifically told them he was perfectly fine, but Wu Qihua wasn’t convinced.
Wu Qihua had already reached out to several contacts for help. She waited impatiently through the night, then went to ask about the situation the next day.
She never expected to be met with a flood of praise. The shock and awe in their eyes, the endless stream of comments calling Little Tang Mo a genius, left Wu Qihua completely stunned.
She had only wanted to check on Little Tang Mo’s condition. She never expected to receive this level of praise and admiration.
The secret arrest operation was classified, and no one involved could leak details. But praising Little Tang Mo? That was perfectly fine.
"...I’ve never seen a little genius like him in my entire life. It would be fantastic if he joined the police force when he grows up. Sister Wu, I hope I can meet him when he gets back."
"...He’s fine, perfectly safe. Such a smart kid. He’s just so capable."
Wu Qihua left in a daze. From her contacts’ vague but effusive praise and their amazed expressions, she pieced together that Little Tang Mo must have done something incredible.
’This child... he really gives you a fright.’
’But no matter what, as long as Little Tang Mo is okay, that’s all that matters.’
As Wu Qihua was reflecting on this, Little Tang Mo woke up from a satisfying sleep.
He hadn’t slept well for so many days. ’Ah, that was a comfortable sleep.’
’Mmm... if only there wasn’t something so heavy on me.’
Little Tang Mo opened his eyes. Seeing Little Tongtong practically fused to his side, he sighed like a little adult.
Little Tongtong was drooling, sleeping soundly as could be. But no matter how deep her sleep was, it was still difficult for Little Tang Mo to get up.
Her arms and legs were draped forcefully over him, as if she were afraid he’d run away.
Little Tang Mo looked down at the little hand gripping his shirt tightly. His gaze softened as he was suddenly reminded of his younger self.
’He used to cling to his mom just like this... afraid she would leave him...’
’Little Tongtong must be scared, too. She’s so young to have gone through such an ordeal.’
’It wasn’t that Little Tang Mo disliked Little Tongtong before, but little boys generally don’t like playing with little girls. Especially since Little Tongtong was always saying she wanted to marry him, calling him handsome, and trying to kiss him at every turn.’
’It embarrassed Little Tang Mo, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled to play with her. But... this time, he was actually glad she was there.’
’It felt a little wrong to think it, but he was truly thankful.’
’Because he had someone he knew, Little Tongtong, with him, and because he had to protect her, he was able to overcome so much of his own fear.’
’Little Tongtong was so dependent on him, but in reality... he had been depending on her, too.’
’If... if only Little Tongtong wasn’t quite so heavy, things would be perfect.’
After days of being scared and starved, Little Tongtong had lost some weight. Her face wasn’t quite as round anymore, but compared to other girls, she was still on the chubby side.
"Tongtong, wake up."
Little Tang Mo called out to Tongtong, but instead of waking her, he woke up Little Yang Mei in the other bed.
Little Yang Mei rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Brother."
"You’re awake." Little Tang Mo smiled.
After the meeting last night, he had rushed to draw the composite sketches. By the time he finished, it was already the middle of the night.
Little Tang Mo had been tense and highly focused the whole time. When he finished drawing, his hand not only ached but was also trembling slightly, and his head was throbbing.
While Little Tang Mo was drawing, everyone wanted to stay with him, but they were afraid of distracting him, so they tried their best to remain completely silent.
The team leader stayed right by his side. The moment Little Tang Mo finished, he felt a pang of sympathy and immediately started massaging the boy’s hand and applying a warm compress.
A place for them to sleep had, of course, already been prepared in the on-duty lounge. Although Little Tang Mo was thirsty and hungry, he was too exhausted to eat. He just drank some water and wanted to go straight to sleep.
He had assumed Little Tongtong and Little Yang Mei were already asleep, but when he returned, he discovered the two little girls were still waiting up for him.
"Brother Mo!"
"Brother."
Only when they saw him did the two girls truly relax. Brother Glasses, who had been fighting off sleep while watching them, could finally relax as well.
"Tang Mo, if you hadn’t come back soon, they were about to start crying again. Thank goodness you’re here."
Little Tongtong and Little Yang Mei grew anxious when Little Tang Mo was out of sight and didn’t really trust anyone else. Even with Brother Glasses kindly looking after them, they had still cried quietly twice.
"Why aren’t you asleep? We’re all safe now."
Little Tang Mo was surprised and felt a pang of sympathy.
"I want to sleep with you."
Little Tongtong was already clinging to Little Tang Mo.
Little Yang Mei was right behind her, grabbing one of Little Tang Mo’s hands. "I want to sleep with you, too."
Tang Mo: "..."
’He was a boy. How could he sleep with girls?’
But in the end, Little Tang Mo had no choice but to compromise, which led to the current situation.
Two small beds had been pushed together. The idea was for Little Tongtong and Little Yang Mei to sleep together, but Little Tongtong had crawled into his bed anyway.
’She must have crawled over in the middle of the night.’
"Tongtong, wake up. It’s time for yummy food," Little Tang Mo said, his own stomach growling fiercely.
He hadn’t had a full meal in days. From yesterday until now, all he’d had was a bit of cornbread. Now that he’d had a good sleep, his energy had returned, but his stomach had woken up too, and he was starving.
Even in her dreams, the mention of food was enough to wake Little Tongtong instantly.
"Where’s the yummy food?"
She shot up into a sitting position.
Tang Mo: "...You little foodie."
Little Tang Mo got himself dressed, then helped Little Tongtong with her clothes and shoes. He even carefully used his fingers to comb her hair and tie it up.
Little Yang Mei watched from the side with envy, but she obediently dressed herself and fixed her own hair.
Seeing that Little Yang Mei had gotten ready on her own, Little Tang Mo immediately praised her.
KNOCK KNOCK. A knock sounded at the door. "Tang Mo, are you guys awake?"
"We’re awake," Little Tang Mo called out as he opened the door. Brother Glasses and the team leader were standing outside.
The team leader’s eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept all night, but he was in incredibly high spirits.
"Ah, Tang Mo, you’re awake! You must be hungry, right? What would you like to eat?"
The team leader had already been pacing back and forth in front of Tang Mo’s room, just waiting for him to wake up. He hadn’t knocked because he wanted the boy to get his rest, but he was also eager to see him, so he just kept wandering around outside.
"I’m awake, I’m hungry, very hungry. I could eat anything."
Tang Mo’s reply made the team leader break into a smile.
"Alright, I’ll go buy you something then. You go get washed up first."