"I don't know."
Shen Xiumei's initial arrogance was completely gone, shattered by the audio recording.
She lowered her head and mumbled, "I've searched everywhere I know of."
"Everywhere?" Qin Ningyi's voice turned somewhat sinister, "Didn't the people at the bathhouse tell you to stop looking?"
Shen Xiumei hadn't expected them to know what the bathhouse staff had told her.
She hadn't searched every single place, but would she be foolish enough to expose that?
Since Qin Ningyi hadn't provided more evidence, and this was just a phone recording, as long as her brother was safe, she still had a chance to get out.
Therefore, for her own sake, she couldn't say anything now.
The staff at the bathhouse were also being questioned in separate rooms.
Shen Yuanshu's intimidation was significant; everyone echoed Shen Xiumei's stance, remaining completely silent.
As Si Nian passed by the interrogation rooms, he heard a woman's cries from within.
"What, women are being sent to you these days?" He was already in a bad mood, and the sharp wails of a woman irritated him greatly.
Zhao Wen gave him a helpless sidelong glance.
He didn't usually detain women here.
In fact, he rarely even sent men here.
It was less of an interrogation room and more of a holding cell; actual interrogations here were rare.
This wasn't...
"So noisy!"
Si Nian frowned and walked towards the door of the interrogation room, saying sinisterly as he went, "Since I'm in a bad mood, I'll help you out."
Zhao Wen wanted to say that these weren't his people interrogating, but Si Nian had already kicked open the door.
His words got stuck in his throat.
It shouldn't cause any trouble, right...
After all, Si Nian held a very high position.
Zhao Wen wiped the cold sweat from his brow in the suddenly silent, eerie atmosphere.
Inside the interrogation room, Qin Ningyi turned back coldly and saw Si Nian standing at the door.
Seeing Qin Ningyi's current state, Si Nian's irritation subsided, and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Even the most composed person had such a side.
He hadn't even shown this much emotion when he couldn't stay in the military back then.
Under Si Nian's curious gaze, Qin Ningyi put down what he was holding and slowly walked towards him.
"What are you doing here?"
Si Nian raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Heard quite a commotion, it's bothersome."
"What are you interrogating?"
He was very curious what could make Qin Ningyi lose control like this.
"Looking for someone."
Zhao Wen, seeing their familiarity, stepped closer and asked, "Is she related to Captain Huo's kidnapping?"
Hearing this title, Si Nian's gaze drifted towards Qin Ningyi, then settled on Zhao Wen.
The unspoken meaning in his eyes was likely...
He was also looking for Huo Rou?
Zhao Wen interpreted it and then remembered that Si Nian had only heard the latter half of the conversation when he arrived, had signaled for people, and left. He hadn't realized Qin Ningyi was looking for Huo Rou.
Now, asked to explain, he didn't know how to start. He could only nod under Si Nian's gaze.
Qin Ningyi also noticed their subtle exchange and narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"The person you were looking for yesterday, was it also A'Rou?" He deliberately used an intimate term.
As expected, Si Nian's eyes flickered.
"Since our goals are the same..."
Si Nian drawled slowly, walking towards Shen Xiumei and saying, "Then let me interrogate her. What you're doing is nothing."
His sinister gaze fell on her, and he let out a light laugh, "Women, heh."
Shen Xiumei couldn't help but shiver.
Like being stared at by a wolf, her voice trembled, and her words sounded forced, "Who are you? What right do you have..."
Si Nian flicked what he was holding, hitting Shen Xiumei on the shoulder.
"Ah!"
Shen Xiumei's scream echoed from the interrogation room, even louder than before.
The people in the adjacent interrogation rooms also heard Shen Xiumei's cry, and several masseuses shivered in unison.
What had they gone through to end up like this?
Soon, they too were arranged for the "massage package."
Unlike their screams,
Beneath the golf club.
A room of tranquility.
Huo Rou, gazing at the light that shone from above day and night, fell into thought.
She had been here for a day, and it seemed sunlight never entered.
The light relied entirely on electricity, and the air circulation depended on a few ventilation machines.
It was a bit too enclosed...
Like being underground.
Shen Yuanshu, except for a brief period when he went out to receive reports from his subordinates, had been sitting at the operation console, contemplating the antidote for the poison.
He didn't seem to worry about Huo Rou escaping at all, barely restricting her movements.
"Huo Rou, come and try this."
Shen Yuanshu even casually invited her to help.
As the frequency of his poison attacks increased, the painkillers Qin Ningyi had left her were quickly used up by Shen Yuanshu.
The kidnapper seemed to have forgotten his identity and was wholeheartedly helping her.
Huo Rou found it strange and, without revealing it, walked over.
Shen Yuanshu was very excited. He pointed to the seat next to him, "Hurry and purify this medicinal ingredient for me. I'm almost there!"
After a day of testing, Huo Rou had learned some things about Shen Yuanshu.
For example, he was a genius in biopharmaceuticals.
Shen Wuyou was the type with superb medical skills, while Shen Yuanshu was a master in researching poisons.
Moreover, Shen Yuanshu seemed to know her university major.
This information was difficult to find.
Regardless of whether Shen Yuanshu was genuinely detoxifying her or not, she had no other choice for now.
As long as he didn't kill her, there would always be a chance to get out.
She sat down, her usually calm expression changing slightly when she saw the half-bloomed pine chrysanthemum before her.
"The US has this too?"
She remembered how difficult it had been to obtain this item when she went to the US last time. She was amazed to see it in Shen Yuanshu's hands.
Especially since Shen Yuanshu was in China!
Seeing Huo Rou's expression, he showed a hint of pride, "If you stay with me, you'll have a better life in the US than by Qin Ningyi's side."
I won't betray my country.
Huo Rou thought silently, not intending to provoke him now.
"To what degree should I purify it?"
She rolled up her sleeves, preparing for the initial steps.
Shen Yuanshu looked at her fair arms, his eyes instantly turning deep.
"I'm asking you!" Huo Rou reminded him. Shen Yuanshu then seemed to snap back to reality.
"To the best of your ability. This thing is very difficult to purify."
He knew Huo Rou's capabilities. After all, she had been extraordinarily talented even at a young age.
Huo Rou sat down to process the pine chrysanthemum, her serene face filled with concentration.
Shen Yuanshu watched her fair profile and tightly pursed lips, a surge of desire rising within him.