Dude, something's really wrong with your abilities.

Chapter 76 Kidnapping

Those six simple words instantly made Chen Shi's heart leap into his throat.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Chen Shi's eyes instantly reddened, unable to suppress the panic and anger in his heart. Sun Tiemei, who was standing next to him, immediately reached out and pressed him down, and then switched the phone to speakerphone.

"We won't hurt your mother, we just want to make a deal with you." The other person's voice was very low.

Chen Shi gasped for breath, forcing himself to calm down. His mother had only come to the city to visit him temporarily, and she was kidnapped in the blink of an eye, which meant that the other party had been watching him for a long time. It was just that Chen's mother was unlucky enough to be implicated.

"What kind of business?" Chen Shi asked.

"Release Tong Ying."

Chen Shi instantly understood: "You're from the underground community?"

After the soul-stealing case concluded, Tong Ying was detained in a detention center, awaiting a court hearing. The other side specifically requested Tong Ying's release; the answer was self-evident.

"Who we are is none of your business. Just tell me if you agree or not." The other person's tone was getting impatient.

Chen Shi glanced at Sun Tiemei beside him and felt that the other woman was being somewhat presumptuous.

"Brother, I'm just a newbie who's been with the company for a little over two months. I don't have the authority to make decisions on anything, big or small, in the bureau. Do you think I have the ability to release him?"

"Kid, don't underestimate yourself." The other party sneered. "You're the most prominent newcomer in the Linchuan Special Abilities Bureau recently. Even if you can't do it, as long as you ask Sun Tiemei, she can definitely do it. Doesn't she value you a lot?" Clearly, they knew a lot about the Special Abilities Bureau.

Sun Tiemei began, "We need to confirm Chen Shi's mother's safety first."

"This must be Team Leader Sun Tiemei, right?" The other person's tone was more playful. "Since you're the one who asked, we'll definitely give you this much face. Otherwise, you'd think we were just trying to fool you with empty words."

There was a few seconds of silence on the phone, then Chen's mother's slightly nervous voice came through: "Son, I'm fine. There were four of them, they're alright..."

The words abruptly stopped, as if someone had covered his mouth. A low curse followed immediately from the receiver, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Chen's mother didn't say much, but she immediately conveyed the number of people on the other side. Sun Tiemei thought to herself, no wonder Chen Shi is so meticulous; this calmness and sharpness are probably inherited from his mother. An ordinary person kidnapped would have panicked and lost their composure long ago, but she was still able to pass on clues; she's truly remarkable.

"Alright." The kidnapper's voice rang out again, now laced with menace. "Now that everything's confirmed, tell me, do you agree to this deal?"

Sun Tiemei: "We need time to discuss this. During this time, the hostages must not be harmed in the slightest."

"Okay." The other party agreed casually, and you could vaguely hear them talking in hushed tones. "You have an hour to think about it. Also, we won't be using this number anymore, so don't waste your time tracking your location. We'll contact you in an hour."

The call ended abruptly as soon as he finished speaking.

The beeping of a busy signal came through the phone, and Chen Shi swayed, squatting down on the ground. Sun Tiemei rushed forward and pulled him up.

"Let's talk about it back in the office."

After Sun Tiemei told everyone about the incident, everyone was seething with anger. They weren't just heartbroken for Chen Shi and worried about the aunt's safety; they were also furious to discover that the community had completely lost its bottom line. Before, they only dared to cause trouble in the shadows or confront people directly, but now they were brazenly kidnapping the other party's family—their methods were despicable and vile.

Despite their anger, everyone knew that the choice in this matter lay with Chen Shi. But torn between the law and the rules, and the life of his own mother, anyone would be caught in a dilemma.

Sun Tiemei looked at Chen Shi, whose face was pale, and said, "Chen Shi, according to the bureau's rules, you need to recuse yourself if a family member is involved in a case. But this time I'm making an exception and won't force you to withdraw. You are a party involved and also a family member of the victim. Tell me your thoughts first."

Chen Shi subconsciously rubbed his cheeks, a habitual action he used to suppress his emotions when he was extremely flustered.

The fat man knew him best, so he immediately came over, put his arm around his shoulder, and patted him gently.

After a long silence, Chen Shi spoke up: "I do not agree to make a deal with the kidnappers."

"But Xiaoshi, that's your mother..." Chang Biao blurted out.

Chen Shi raised his hand to interrupt him: "I know. I won't bring up any lofty things like the rules of the Special Abilities Bureau or the bottom line of the law. Even if Director Liu made an exception today and agreed to release people for exchange, I would never do it."

He glanced at his teammates, his eyes sincere: "It's not that I don't care about my mother's safety, it's that we absolutely cannot make this mistake. If we compromise today to save someone, the other side will become even more ruthless next time, specifically targeting our weaknesses."

"Fatty, what if they kidnap your wife to threaten you next time? Xiao He, what if they use your family to blackmail you into giving in?" Chen Shi glanced at the dog lying obediently to the side. "Even if they threaten us with finding bargains, should we still go along with it?"

Upon hearing his name called, Wang Jianlou immediately scrambled to his feet, squatted down beside Chen Shi, and looked obedient.

"When we do fieldwork and investigate cases, danger is part of our job. Getting injured or encountering danger is the path we chose, but we must never involve our families."

Chen Shi took a deep breath: "That's precisely why if we compromise today, all our colleagues' families will become the other side's bargaining chips and Achilles' heel, leading to endless troubles. I can't set this precedent."

Sun Tiemei looked at him, her eyes filled with satisfaction.

As the team leader, she naturally disagreed with negotiating with the kidnappers, but she didn't take the lead in setting the tone. As the group leader, she had to uphold the overall rules and regulations. But as a friend, she understood Chen Shi's torment.

If Chen Shi chooses to sacrifice the rules to save his mother, she will unconditionally cover for him, but at the same time, she will transfer him away from his front-line field work position in accordance with the rules. This is her professional principle.

Sun Tiemei grasped Chen Shi's still slightly trembling hand and said solemnly, "I will do my best to ensure Auntie's safety."

The five groups clapped their hands together.

Meanwhile, in a house on the other side of the city.

The kidnapper who hung up the phone pulled out the SIM card, broke it in half, threw it into the trash can, and then replaced it with a new spare SIM card.

He touched his forehead, his face full of frustration and anger: "That old woman is really ruthless. If it weren't for rescuing Yingzi, I would have given her a good beating today."

A fellow accomplice frowned: "Stop talking nonsense and wait quietly. Mo Ge was already unhappy that we sneaked into Linchuan on our own, and now we've kidnapped a family member of the Superpower Bureau. If things really get out of hand, Mo Ge might just break our legs."

In the corner, Chen's mother sat against the wall with her mouth gagged and her hands tied behind her back.

She felt incredibly unlucky. Although she knew her son's job was not simple and that he dealt with dangerous cases every day, she never imagined that she, a law-abiding rural woman, would be dragged into such a thing for no reason.

One hour ago.

When she arrived at Chen Shi's rented room, she first took apart her son's sheets and duvet cover and soaked them. Then, thinking of helping her son tidy up, she turned and went into the kitchen to clean the range hood. She had just finished when there was a knock on the door.

Chen's mother was cautious and didn't open the door directly. She first peeked through the peephole. A young man in a delivery uniform was standing at the door. She instinctively assumed it was Chen Shi's package and opened the door without thinking much of it.

The moment she opened the door, she immediately sensed something was wrong. The zipper on the courier's uniform wasn't fully zipped up, revealing a high-quality belt around his waist. The belt was exquisitely crafted and made of high-quality materials. How could someone wearing a belt of that price be a deliveryman? Was it some kind of courier company boss putting on an act?

Alarm bells rang in her head instantly, but it was too late. The other person simply pushed her forcefully into the room and slammed the door shut behind them.

The other person pulled out a small knife, intending to quickly subdue her. However, Chen's mother, a rural woman in her fifties, was calm and composed, but the shrewishness and domineering nature of a rural shrew remained her underlying characteristic.

She grabbed a frying pan from the coffee table and smashed it over the other person's head.

The kidnapper brandished the knife only to scare Chen's mother; he didn't dare to actually hurt her. Seeing this, Chen's mother pounded on the knife even harder, and the kidnapper was momentarily unable to retaliate.

"I won't hurt you, don't push me!" the kidnapper warned.

duang! duang!

"If you don't stop, I'll really get rough!"

duang! duang!

The sound of a frying pan hitting a head is so cruel.

Chen Shi's father often said such harsh words when he was young, and she didn't care at all. Moreover, she saw it clearly just now: when she hit the kidnapper's head, he actually pulled the knife back, as if afraid that she would stab him without restraint.