Chapter 209: Hostages
Chapter 209: Hostages
After sending the telegram, Director Lei also ordered the vehicle to head towards Olive Street. As they approached the area, they received a response regarding the situation.
The car slowly came to a halt at the street corner, and a captain from the Investigation Bureau approached the vehicle. As the car window was lowered, he reported, "Director, as per your instructions, we searched the surrounding shops and found three pillars wrapped in decorative packaging. We placed the paper cutouts with the names on them. Then, we conducted a search in the company and discovered that eight individuals were missing from the premises."
"We examined their work equipment and found traces indicating that some had been missing for five or six days, while others had been gone for at least two months. However, the company employees believed they were still present and interacted with them daily, not noticing anything unusual."
Director Lei requested, "Show me the list."
The captain promptly handed over a prepared list. Director Lei took a glance at it and passed it to Chen Chuan, who was sitting beside him, asking, "Is the person you're looking for on this list?"
Chen Chuan took the list and scanned it. Upon seeing Min Lan's name among the employees, he nodded to Director Lei.
Director Lei explained, "Those employees were likely influenced by the secret sect's rituals, believing the missing individuals were still there. However, in reality, they had disappeared from their surroundings long ago."
Chen Chuan pondered, no wonder when he called earlier, they said the person was there but unable to answer the phone. It seemed that the person existed in their consciousness, yet they were evidently unable to engage in conversations with others.
Even so, it was unlikely that the families of these employees wouldn't notice something amiss after such a long period. There must be other reasons why this situation had remained unnoticed.
The captain added, "During our search, we found that the company has had a relatively high number of employees going missing over the past six months, mostly during the execution of commissioned tasks."
Director Lei contemplated for a moment and asked, "Any news from the Communication Bureau?"
The captain replied, "We're still waiting, but it should be soon." Just then, a team member approached and handed him a note. After a quick glance, he passed it to Director Lei, saying, "Director, we've found something. While we were searching the Green Falcon Corporation, a telegram was sent from the building. The recipient is located here."
Director Lei took the note and said, "Follow this address and immediately notify Senior Gao to go and secure the people inside."
The captain acknowledged the order and swiftly departed.
Director Lei turned to Chen Chuan and said, "Those who feel the missing individuals are still present are likely alive. To achieve such an effect, one must sustain their lives. Secret sect rituals are often restricted, requiring the fulfillment of certain conditions and bearing specific consequences to obtain results."
Chen Chuan couldn't help but think of Director Lei's son. To maintain the ritual's existence, they had to keep the person alive, possibly refraining from doing anything too extreme for fear of accidentally killing them.
However, if they focused solely on sustaining lives without considering other factors, the outcome could be unpredictable.
One could only hope that these individuals remained unharmed.
Chen Chuan asked, "Director Lei, why would they do this?"
Director Lei explained, "After reviewing the information you provided, it's evident that this is a branch of the 'Vitality Sect.' The origins of this secret sect are unknown, and its composition is complex. To put it simply, the sect believes that a person's life force can be transferred to another through specific methods.
While the theory may not be entirely accurate, the results are potentially achievable. However, there may be unforeseen elements that even they cannot control or understand."
Director Lei continued, "Based on the situation, they likely issued a particular commission, causing employees to go missing during the task. In reality, they were captured and used for secret sect rituals."
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. Indeed, this method would not easily raise suspicions, as commissioned tasks often carried high risks. Moreover, the company had sent similar commissions to other companies, possibly intending to take advantage of the situation and cause harm to their employees as well.
This aligned with what Min Lan had mentioned earlier. No wonder they couldn't uncover the truth; the company itself was behind these incidents.
Min Lan had likely discovered some clues during her investigation, suspecting that the company was involved in something sinister. That's why she reached out to Chen Chuan.
Director Lei said, "Since you handle the 'Strange Tales' commissions, you'll likely encounter many secret sect-related matters. Ordinary people might not be able to distinguish between the two. I'll send you some materials for reference, but remember not to disclose them to others."
Chen Chuan sincerely expressed his gratitude, "Thank you, Director Lei."
He was well aware that while folk remedies for strange tales could be found among the public, secret sect rituals were highly specialized. Without official channels, it would be challenging to uncover any information.
After waiting for half an hour, the captain returned and informed Director Lei that they had found the person involved in the incident. The individual, realizing the situation had been exposed, confessed without much interrogation.
The mastermind behind this incident turned out to be a high-ranking executive within the company). The location where the employees were hidden was also revealed, and it was less than five hundred meters away. A large number of personnel had already been dispatched to apprehend the culprits.
Director Lei assured, "We'll know the outcome soon."
Chen Chuan observed the entire process, and Director Lei only needed a brief examination of the materials to accurately determine the nature of the secret sect and the appropriate course of action. In less than two or three hours, the situation was almost entirely resolved.
Indeed, it's best to leave professional matters to those with expertise.
Here, not only does Director Lei have extensive experience in secret sect matters, but he also has a powerful and specialized team under his command. With the backing of the nation, he can coordinate multiple departments to participate in operations.
If he were to handle this matter alone, he would need to conduct investigations, slowly gather clues, and then make decisions. Even if the target is someone of status and influence, it would still be challenging to apprehend them immediately, and the final outcome might not be as satisfactory as desired.
Before an individual reaches a certain level of strength, a team will always surpass a person.
The same goes for combat practice. Without a well-structured organization providing the necessary cultivation resources, one can hardly find the peace of mind to focus on cultivation.
This is both a constraint and a form of assistance. Before one has sufficient strength, these are unavoidable circumstances, and one might even need to actively integrate and make the most of these situations, using them as a driving force and ladder to propel oneself forward.
"You're going to the Central City for an application, right?" Director Lei asked at this moment.
Chen Chuan replied, "I've already submitted the application."
Director Lei said, "You have talent in secret sect-related work. It would be a waste not to utilize it. After graduation, if you're interested, you can come to the Secret Sect Review Bureau. I can be your recommender."
Chen Chuan's heart stirred at these words. Is Director Lei, as the director of the Yangzhi sector, able to influence the Central City? Or is he about to get a promotion? This could also be due to Director Lei's extraordinary background. After all, to reach this position, one must possess both ability and a powerful background. Sometimes, ability becomes less crucial.
For instance, when Director Lei encountered those issues previously, others were unable to remove him from his position, which speaks volumes about his background.
In the 1969 version, there is no mistake!
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the captain returned in a hurry.
"Director, that place has quite a few security personnel from the commissioned company. They are carrying a significant number of prohibited firearms, and they are likely core members of the cult. After seeing our liaison from the Patrol Bureau, they surrounded the building, and those people are still inside, holding hostages as a threat."
Chen Chuan pondered for a moment and said, "Director Lei, the longer we delay, the more dangerous it will be for the hostages. Perhaps it's better to let me handle this matter."
Director Lei glanced at him and asked, "You're still in the national recruitment period, right?"
"Yes," Chen Chuan confirmed.
Director Lei said, "In that case, I'm also a member of this action team. Then, this can be considered part of the national commission. Student Chen, I, as the affairs commissioner of the action team, request that you cooperate in dealing with the cultists ahead and do your best to rescue the hostages."
Chen Chuan nodded, "Director, leave it to me."
As the two spoke, the vehicle started moving and arrived at the designated location. It was a five-story office building, and the surrounding area was already cordoned off by members of the Patrol Bureau, who had evacuated unrelated personnel.
After the vehicle came to a stop, the door was pushed open, and Chen Chuan stepped out. Although he didn't bring the Xuejun Blade this time when meeting with Director Lei, it didn't matter. As long as there were no Level Three Fighters on the other side, he didn't need to rely on weapons.
If there were such experts, those people wouldn't need to hide inside and use hostages as threats. They would have directly attacked by now.
The September sun was no longer scorching, but it remained dazzling, especially with the reflected light from the windows being particularly glaring. He looked up for a while before averting his gaze and then, under the watchful eyes of the Patrol Bureau and Secret Sect Bureau members, he strode forward.
With one hand in his pocket, he slowly approached the building. When he was still over forty meters away from the building, his second self suddenly overlapped, and everything around him seemed to slow down abruptly.
The next moment, it was as if he had taken just one step and arrived in front of the building. Instead of entering through the stairs, he stepped onto the outer wall.
From his perspective, it was as if he were standing on flat ground, and with the momentum of his charge, he leaped forward in the blink of an eye, reaching the height of the fifth-floor window.
His strength control was precise, and as he reached this height, his momentum came to a halt, causing him to pause slightly in mid-air.
At this moment, he could see the person inside the window staring at him with a mix of astonishment and anger, and the gun barrel that was about to be raised to shoot at him. He looked at them calmly, leaned forward, extended his arm, and grabbed the person's wrist. With a gentle tug, he borrowed this force to leap inside, while the person was directly pulled and flung out.
In an instant, the two passed by each other, and then, with a 'thud,' his nimble and powerful feet landed on the indoor floor, and he straightened his body. Behind him, there was a distant scream of agony.
...
(End of Chapter)
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