Chapter 516: A Clean Sweep (Part 4)
Beard’s pupils contracted sharply.
"What did you say?"
He looked like he’d seen a ghost. "What nonsense are you spouting!"
Mr. Zhang sneered again. "Who’s spouting nonsense? I’m telling the truth."
"After a lifetime of hunting geese, to have your eyes pecked out by one. Never saw that coming, did you?"
Beard’s mouth twitched, his face contorting for a moment as he stared daggers at Mr. Zhang.
"I don’t believe you. Those little brats who don’t know anything? They don’t know shit! How could they possibly get the best of *me*? Don’t try to provoke me. I’m telling you, I don’t believe it!"
’Those kids are useless, what could they possibly do!’
"Oh? Struck a nerve, did I?" In contrast to Beard’s agitation, Mr. Zhang grew calmer.
This was an interrogation technique they had agreed upon beforehand.
Beard was mentally tough. A conventional interrogation would likely yield nothing.
His refusal to confess wouldn’t affect his sentence. But if he didn’t talk, they wouldn’t find the missing women and children. So many families were waiting.
Therefore, they had to find a way to pry his mouth open.
They had been questioning him all day, and he was practically impenetrable. The only thing he cared about was the mole in his organization.
But there was no mole. Beard simply couldn’t accept his own failure.
The experienced officers had gathered, analyzed the situation, and come up with a plan. They would wait until Beard grew increasingly impatient, then hit him with the truth to shatter his confidence and make him talk.
Mr. Zhang had planned to start when Beard was both hungry and tired. As Beard grew more and more agitated, Mr. Zhang decided it was time to stop holding back.
Mr. Zhang’s smile was triumphant, a sight that was incredibly jarring to Beard.
His mouth twitched, and he slammed his hand on the table. "Don’t try to fool me! Those little brats! Tell me who it was! I won’t die without knowing who got me! I need to know who I died at the hands of!"
Beard banged on the table, SLAM! SLAM!, his emotions reaching a fever pitch.
He said he didn’t believe it, but for some reason, his heart was sinking.
He truly couldn’t accept this reality.
As an experienced professional, Mr. Zhang could naturally see through to Beard’s true mental state.
"You totally believe it."
Mr. Zhang chuckled. "What’s wrong? Is it a big blow to your ego?"
"I don’t! Who said I believe it!" Beard immediately retorted. "What could those little brats possibly do? Don’t try to trick me. Those stupid women and crying kids... Heh..."
Mr. Zhang also scoffed. "Why would it be impossible? Why do you think we were able to arrest so many of your people so precisely, and at such accurate locations? It was because of that kid. He remembered those places, and he remembered the faces of those people, so..."
Mr. Zhang wasn’t lying, but Beard couldn’t bear to listen anymore.
"Bullshit! Bullshit! That little brat? It’d be a miracle if he could remember anything!"
After cursing, he suddenly shot up from his seat, staring daggers at Mr. Zhang. "Who was it? Tell me who it was!"
"I thought you didn’t believe me?" Mr. Zhang chuckled in his face.
"Just tell me who! Tell me the name! I want to see who I died at the hands of!"
"Do you really think I can tell you that? In any case, I’ve already told you. You were brought down by a child." Mr. Zhang continued to chuckle.
"You... you... tell me! Let me see him!"
Beard roared, his face a mask of indignation.
"Answer my questions honestly. If you confess everything clearly, I might be able to reveal a little information to you."
Mr. Zhang was perfectly composed.
"Tell me who it is first! I need to know who! If you tell me, I’ll confess!"
"Confess first, then we’ll talk." Mr. Zhang was unconcerned.
Mr. Zhang was too calm. In the end, Beard was the one who broke.
"Fine! I’ll confess! I’ll confess! But once I do, you have to tell me!"
"If you cooperate well, I can give you a piece of information." Mr. Zhang gave him a glimmer of hope.
Gritting his teeth, Beard began to confess. The information he provided was quickly verified. Overnight, another twenty victims were confirmed rescued across the country.
「Two days later,」 Beard clammed up again. He said he wouldn’t talk anymore unless they told him who it was.
Mr. Zhang finally revealed a small piece of information.
"The child... was the one you abducted from the Imperial City Library."
Mr. Zhang had thought Beard wouldn’t know or wouldn’t be able to figure it out, but Beard instantly recalled it.
"The one named Tang Mo?"
His face was filled with shock, and his eyes blazed with a crazed light. "Impossible! Impossible!"
The fact that he remembered Tang Mo instantly, even calling out his name, stunned Mr. Zhang.
He hadn’t expected Beard to remember him at all.
What Mr. Zhang didn’t know was that Beard had tried to abduct Little Tang Mo once before, but Su Li had rescued him. The attempt had even cost him his most capable subordinate.
From that moment on, Beard had remembered Little Tang Mo and Su Li, and he swore to himself that he would successfully kidnap the boy.
Later, Beard traveled to Fengcheng County, but he didn’t find Little Tang Mo or Su Li. Just as he was about to give up, he happened to run into Su Li in the Imperial City.
From then on, he put his plan back on the agenda.
He lost track of Su Li and Little Tang Mo again, until one day, while out for a meal, he happened to find Su Li alone.
Beard surveyed the surroundings and, without a second thought, decided to act immediately. He dragged Su Li into a car. He had already planned to have his fun with her, then sell her off to some remote mountain village or have her be passed around by thousands of men.
What he never expected was that Su Li actually managed to escape!
Beard couldn’t believe it. It was rare for him to be interested enough to act personally, yet he never imagined Su Li would get away.
Not only did Su Li escape, she even broke his little finger!
Beard, his hands cuffed, unconsciously rubbed his little finger. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly thought of a word—nemesis.
He was unwilling to admit it, but she really was his nemesis!
After suffering several defeats at Su Li’s hands, he had finally managed to get help and capture Tang Mo, but in the end...
’That little brat... when he was caught before, he was no different from any other kid. How could he be like this now...’
’So what if he’s a little older? What good does that do? We weren’t afraid of teenagers. We’d trafficked women in their teens, twenties, even their thirties and forties. But what use was it!’
’They were all just useless trash!’
’How could that Tang Mo... How could he....’
"Are you lying to me? How could that Tang Mo have done all this? It must have been his mother, Su Li, right? I knew that woman was something else! I never would have guessed!"
Beard seethed, the bone-deep hatred and killing intent in his eyes exactly the same as they were years ago.
Mr. Zhang was alarmed by his gaze. He was even more surprised to hear him so readily say Su Li’s name again.
"You... you know Su Li?"
’And what does he mean by that? What does he mean by "it must have been Su Li"? Did they originally plan to abduct Su Li too?’
"How do you know Su Li and Tang Mo?" Mr. Zhang’s expression darkened as he suddenly grabbed the front of Beard’s shirt.
Seeing Mr. Zhang’s reaction, Beard gritted his teeth.
"So it really was them! It really was them!"
Each word was laced with a corrosive hatred, as if he wanted to crush their bones and swallow them whole.