Chapter 85: Life and Death Gambit

As night fell, a chilling atmosphere lingered on the streets of the city. Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou walked side by side out of the police station, neither feeling any sense of relief. The progress of today's investigation was far more complicated than they had anticipated, and the truth hidden behind it seemed to be slipping further from their grasp. The shadow of the criminal gang loomed over them, like an invisible giant hand gradually closing in.

Just as they reached the parking lot, Lu Chenzhou's phone rang. He glanced at the screen, furrowing his brows slightly before answering the call. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was barely audible, a whisper that seemed to carry a warning. "Your investigation has crossed a line."

A sudden tightness gripped Lu Chenzhou's chest. He responded without hesitation, gripping the phone tightly, "Who are you?"

"You don't need to know," the voice chuckled coldly. "But let me remind you, the truth you're getting close to might cost you dearly. You're too confident, thinking you can uncover everything, but your ignorance is your greatest weakness."

The line went dead. Lu Chenzhou stood in silence for a moment, then quickly dialed Su Wanqing's number. As soon as the call was answered, his voice was low and urgent. "Wanqing, be careful. We might be under surveillance."

Su Wanqing immediately tensed, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "What do you mean? Who's watching us?"

"The criminal gang," Lu Chenzhou responded briefly. As his words finished, he spotted a black sedan slowly approaching in the distance, its windows slightly rolled up, and figures moving faintly inside.

"I understand," Su Wanqing whispered, then quickly headed towards her car. Her heart raced, but she knew that in this situation, panicking would only cloud her judgment.

However, just as they were about to start their cars, both of their phones suddenly blared an alarm. The screen displayed an encrypted message from an unknown number: "Stop the investigation, or your friends will die."

"These people…" A flash of anger crossed Su Wanqing's eyes as she handed the phone to Lu Chenzhou. He glanced at the message, his fists clenched. "They've kidnapped our friends."

"Our friends?" Su Wanqing froze for a moment before realizing that everyone close to them—Lin Shen, Shen Wei, even Captain Chen—had unknowingly become targets of the criminal gang.

"We have to act immediately. We can't let them succeed," Lu Chenzhou said firmly. "First, let's find Lin Shen and Shen Wei. They're the closest people to us right now."

The two immediately drove towards Lin Shen and Shen Wei's residences. As they drove, Su Wanqing's mood grew heavier. She knew the gang's retaliation would undoubtedly involve a deadly game. If they didn't find a solution quickly, their friends' lives would be in jeopardy.

Soon after, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing arrived near Lin Shen's home but found the atmosphere unusually eerie. Several unfamiliar cars were parked along the street, but there were no people around, and everything was eerily silent. The two quickly got out of the car, hurrying toward Lin Shen's house.

"You go through the front door, I'll take the back," Lu Chenzhou murmured before splitting up to act.

Su Wanqing gripped her gun tightly and gently pushed open the front door. It wasn't locked, and she quickly entered, cautiously scanning her surroundings. The lights inside were dim, and the couch was empty. Her heart sank as her intuition told her that something unusual had happened here.

While carefully checking the room, her phone rang again. She answered it, but the screen showed no incoming call, only a voicemail.

"Did you really think you could take everything back from us? Your friends are now pawns in our hands. Their fate is in your hands now. You should understand that abandoning the investigation and giving up everything is the wisest choice."

The message seemed to be the ultimate provocation, a blatant challenge to their every move. Su Wanqing took a deep breath and immediately sent a message to Lu Chenzhou, telling him she hadn't found any trace of Lin Shen.

Lu Chenzhou quickly replied: "I haven't found Shen Wei either. All signs point to them being taken."

As they exchanged messages, the silence of the night was suddenly shattered by the sound of a gunshot. Su Wanqing's heart raced, and she rushed to the window. Through the dim light outside, she saw several figures rapidly retreating.

"This is bad!" she muttered under her breath, sprinting out the door. At that moment, she saw Lu Chenzhou driving towards her. "They've made their move!" he said quickly, pulling up next to her. Without hesitation, Su Wanqing jumped into the car.

"We need to contact the police immediately and figure out how to track these people," Lu Chenzhou said as he started the engine, speeding away. "If we don't find them quickly, our friends will be in even greater danger."

"We don't have much time," Su Wanqing said, her gaze fixed on the road ahead. "We need to find their hideout as fast as possible."

Both of them focused entirely on tracking the enemy while contacting the police, preparing to enter a dangerous zone—this was not just an ordinary confrontation; it was a life-and-death game.

As they pursued the criminal gang, the shadows of the night slowly began to reveal weaknesses, but they knew the stakes of this game were far higher than the truth of the case—this was about the lives of their friends.

In this irreversible chase, Lu Chenzhou and Su Wanqing realized that they were facing not only enemies in the darkness, but something even more dangerous—a confrontation with their own inner determination, the most perilous gambit of all.