Chapter 509: Mighty Little Mo (Part 5)
"This is covered in blood. Without a doubt, these are the tools they used to cripple those children."
"...And over here, this iron rod... it’s already got a layer of clotted blood on it."
"This stone... this stone, too..."
After making the arrests, the captain led a search of the main hideout and found a room reeking of blood.
Without a doubt, it was the place where they crippled the children.
The floor and walls were covered in bloodstains, layers that had dried only to be soaked anew. The walls were mottled with flecks of blood, and there were scratch marks, likely from children clawing at the walls, unable to endure the pain.
Each and every mark told a story of the blood and tears shed by the children who suffered here.
The captain had seen it all—countless gruesome scenes far bloodier than this. Yet, standing in that small room, he nearly threw up.
"This is barbaric. How could they... be so cruel..."
"These animals deserve the death penalty! All of them!"
A young, hot-blooded officer, new to the force, saw the torture room. When he then saw the children—some with severed hands and feet, others missing limbs, paralyzed, or blinded—he nearly flew into a rage and tore the captured suspects to shreds.
The suspects were in custody, and their victims were brought to the station one by one. They were questioned about their circumstances: were they abducted, what were their names, did they remember their parents.
Despite all the questioning, the results were heartbreaking. Most of the children were already broken.
They had suffered severe trauma, both physical and psychological. Returning to a normal life would be incredibly difficult.
As for the adults, they were mostly women.
They too had been trafficked. One elderly woman had been forced to beg across the entire province for ten years.
And before that... she’d been an unlicensed prostitute. When she grew old and her looks faded, she could no longer "sell." So they crippled her legs and forced her to beg.
In their condition... even if they found their parents, how heartbroken would their families be? How could they ever accept this?
Worse yet... even if their parents were found, there was no guarantee they would take them back.
Cracking such a major case should have been a victory, but because of the victims, none of the officers felt any excitement, only a heavy sense of sorrow.
By five in the afternoon, the city-wide arrests were complete. The first phase of the nationwide operation was also largely concluded.
After the arrests, officers everywhere worked overtime, interrogating suspects through the night. Faced with ironclad evidence, most had no choice but to confess.
The details were... utterly appalling.
Headquarters was stunned by the data.
The shock was followed by the resolve for an even more rigorous crackdown.
This secret raid caught the initial targets completely off guard, and almost no one escaped. But the operation tipped off the other traffickers, most of whom were already on high alert.
Arresting the next targets, based on information from the interrogations, would not be so simple.
But... simple or not, they had to be caught!
And so, the nationwide anti-trafficking operation kicked off once more.
It was amidst all this that Su Li and her companions finally reached their destination and saw Little Tang Mo.
They should have arrived sooner, but unexpected delays on the road meant the journey ended up taking a full day and two nights.
When they arrived, it was just past nine in the morning.
At that moment, Little Tang Mo was in another meeting.
Well, it wasn’t so much a meeting as him being "consulted" for more clues.
As a former child trafficking victim himself, most of the clues Little Tang Mo provided were related to other abducted children. Although the trafficking of women and children were often linked, his information on trafficked women wasn’t as strong.
Given what had happened, and with the nationwide arrests proceeding smoothly, Little Tang Mo had become an honored guest of the police.
He’d even spoken on the phone with several leaders from the Ministry of Public Security—an honor the local bureau chief himself hadn’t received.
Due to his special circumstances, he was kept informed of the basic details of the operation.
Inevitably, this led Little Tang Mo to recall a suspicious incident from his journey.
Specifically, the sound of a woman crying in the night, and a truck that had passed them.
Little Tang Mo had his suspicions, so he shared them with the team leader.
The team leader had just been an overlooked patrol officer, but thanks to Little Tang Mo, his situation was changing. He could clearly feel that the course of his life had been altered.
And it wasn’t just him. The captain and the others felt it too.
The moment Little Tang Mo spoke up, the team leader didn’t hesitate. He immediately reassembled the same team for a meeting in the conference room.
Little Tang Mo once again recalled the events in detail, providing clues about what had happened.
Using his clues to re-interrogate the relevant suspects, they quickly confirmed that there was, indeed, another truck.
It was full of trafficked women—six of them, right there in the city, still waiting to be rescued.
Police cars were dispatched immediately. When Su Li and her companions were politely led to the conference room, they found Little Tang Mo surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
Su Li stood outside the conference room, completely dumbfounded.
"What in the world is going on?"
She was dazed for a moment. Confused, and with the question still on her lips, she pushed the door open as fast as she could.
"Little Mo!"
Little Tang Mo was in the middle of saying something with a serious expression on his little face. When he heard Su Li’s voice, he whipped his head around.
"Mama!"
The next second, Little Tang Mo hopped off the conference table and dashed straight toward Su Li.
The aloof little genius everyone saw just moments ago instantly vanished, replaced by a smiling boy, acting his age as he threw himself into Su Li’s arms.
"Mama, Mama, what took you so long? I missed you so much! I was so scared..."
Little Tang Mo clung to Su Li, refusing to let go, his words coming out in a soft, childish mumble.
Su Li held Little Tang Mo tightly, as if she had recovered a priceless treasure.
The officers watched this side of Little Tang Mo, stunned for a few seconds before their faces broke into knowing, gentle smiles.
’This kid... how can he be so endearing?’
Tang Yuanxiao and Wu Sheng flanked Su Li, their eyes fixed on Little Tang Mo, unwilling to look away for even a second.
While hugging Su Li, Little Tang Mo found a moment to look up and saw two familiar faces with heavy stubble.
Little Tang Mo blinked, his gaze moving from one to the other.
"Uncle," he said to Wu Sheng.
His eyes then moved to Tang Yuanxiao. He looked into his father’s eyes, then at the scar on his face. Little Tang Mo’s lips parted, and he finally managed to say the word.
"Dad."
This was the first time Little Tang Mo had called Tang Yuanxiao "Dad" to his face since the abuse from Mrs. Tang.
Hot tears instantly streamed down Tang Yuanxiao’s face.
"Momo."
Su Li heard him and let Little Tang Mo go. The next moment, the boy was pulled into Tang Yuanxiao’s arms.
Held in that trembling embrace, a feeling of being lost and then found, Little Tang Mo softly called out "Dad" once more.