Global Film Emperor

Chapter 306 "Finding You" 5
Should he call the police? Wang Jian didn't dare, he really didn't dare. Just like the person who took the photos of the child, everyone was afraid of being retaliated against by these people. What wouldn't they do? They could kill you if they wanted to.

He could only run far away to the scrap metal collection station to sell the scrap he had just collected, earning seven yuan and fifty cents before leaving with his snakeskin bag.

The child's face kept replaying in his mind, and he was torn between two conflicting thoughts: whether to call the police or save the child. This became a knot that kept tightening in Wang Jian's heart. He didn't stop until he returned to his new home, lay down on a park bench, took out Shuangxi's photo, looked at it for a while, put it in his pocket, and closed his eyes to sleep.

Sleeping in the park has few advantages but many disadvantages: the chairs are too hard, the wind is too cold, and there are bound to be plenty of mosquito bites. Simply put, Wang Jian didn't sleep well at all during the two days he slept in the park, but it was because of this that he narrowly escaped a disaster.

"Is it right here? Did you bring the ether? This is an adult, give him a lot, don't make him shout it out."

In the middle of the night, Wang Jian still couldn't sleep well. Suddenly, he heard faint conversations. When he heard the details, Wang Jian was so frightened that his hair stood on end.

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a section of steel pipe, which Wang Jian held close to his chest. He listened intently to the approaching footsteps until they were almost beside him, at which point Wang Jian suddenly stood up, steel pipe in hand.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! I'll kill you! Get lost! Don't come any closer!"

He stuffed his bank card and money into his pocket, brandishing the steel pipe he'd picked up at the construction site entrance with a ferocious expression, and confronted the three men in front of him. One of them was the man he'd met at noon that day.

"Who the hell are you trying to scare? Try hitting me and see what happens. Put the stick down right now, or I'll stab you to death, you believe me!"

The man pulled a gleaming dagger from his pocket, pointed it at Wang Jian, and threatened him repeatedly, hoping that Wang Jian would feel fear and obediently listen to him.

But Wang Jian wasn't stupid. He knew that if he really put down the stick, he would be finished. Not only would he never be able to find Shuangxi again, but he would probably be crippled and forced to beg on the streets.

"Get out! I've called the police! They're on their way! Get out of here!"

"Hey, fuck it, get him done, hurry up, don't waste time."

The three men quickly closed in. Even though Wang Jian had a weapon, he was no match for them. When he swung his stick at them, they easily dodged it. Then they grabbed Wang Jian's arm and slapped him on the thigh. The other two men grabbed Wang Jian's neck and held him down, about to put the sleeping pill on his nose.

"What are you doing! Put the knife down!"

A powerful flashlight shone from a distance, illuminating the four people who were tearing at each other. The man with a scorpion tattoo on his hand squinted and saw that the other man was wearing a police uniform. He quickly told the other two to split up and run away. Before leaving, he didn't forget to kick Wang Jian.

"Damn it, don't let me see you again."

After saying that, they quickly left, leaving only Wang Jian lying on the ground, clutching his thigh and groaning in pain, and the patrolling police officers running towards Wang Jian and calling for an ambulance.

"Hey! Is something wrong? Where are you hurt? Wake up! Wake up!"

The ether had entered his respiratory system, and soon, dizziness overcame him, even replacing the pain. Wang Jian lay on the ground breathing heavily, unable to utter a single word, like someone having an asthma attack. The police could only press on Wang Jian's philtrum, helpless against the three who had escaped.

Three years later.
This is the third year since Shuangxi went missing. Although Wang Jian has never given up searching, luck has still not come his way.

Like most lost children, Shuangxi seemed to have vanished into thin air, never to be heard from again.

During this time, Wang Jian also heard that a human trafficking gang had been caught somewhere. He went to the area with a group of parents who had lost their children to inquire. One of the parents who went with him recognized at a glance that the human trafficking gang that had been caught was the same human trafficker who had taken his child. But the bad news was that the child had been accidentally smothered to death by the human trafficker because the child was crying too loudly.

Wang Jian had seen too many such miserable situations in the past three years, but he had never encountered any news about himself. His own financial situation was no longer enough to support Wang Jian's travels. He could only stay at the entrance of the train station in his small city, selling drinks and grilled sausages to save money for his next trip.

"Wang Jian, I'd like to buy a few grilled sausages."

"Officer Liu, didn't you have lunch? I can't take the money, it's just a few sausages, not much money at all."

Liu Changmin, the policeman on duty at the train station, was quite familiar with Wang Jian. As he got older and was middle-aged, he would get hungry easily after lunch and liked to drink some sweet water. He would always come to the entrance to help Wang Jian with his business.

"No way, you think the goods are free? I'm a police officer, how can I eat your food for free? And get me a bottle of iced tea, do you have any cold ones? Ten yuan, just right."

Liu Changmin tossed ten yuan to Wang Jian, unscrewed the iced tea, took a sip, glanced at the missing person sign that had been blown askew by the wind, reached out to straighten it, turned to look at Wang Jian, and couldn't help but sigh. He didn't say anything more, finished his sausage, and turned to enter the station.

"Brother Wang, are you busy?"

For some reason, people Wang Jian knew kept coming over today. From a distance, Wang Jian saw Xiao Zhao carrying a backpack and luggage walking towards him. "Where are you going? You've brought so much stuff."

"It's a business trip. I can't help it, it's a company assignment. I'm getting married in three months, and my boss wants me to go on a business trip for two months. I really have no choice. By the way, Brother Wang, you absolutely have to come to my wedding."

"I'm definitely going. Be careful there. Oh, and bring a bottle of water. It's such a long train ride, and the water sold on the train is too expensive and all fake. Get one from me."

Looking at the increasingly mature young man, Wang Jian got up, took a bottle of Gatorade, and stuffed it into his bag. He felt a little emotional. Xiao Zhao's work had become increasingly successful in recent years. He was now said to be the head of some region, earning 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month. But his mindset remained unchanged. He was still the same as before, providing free assistance to those families whenever he had free time.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony with you. The train's about to arrive, so I'll have to go now."

Watching him leave, Wang Jian got up, picked up a rag, and began wiping the dust off the refrigerator lid. Occasionally, he would glance back at Xiao Wang and shake his head.

Over the years, I've seen a lot of bad people—swindlers, murderers, arsonists, human traffickers—I've seen all kinds of evil people.

But he met many more good people. If it weren't for their help, many families, including his own, might not have been able to survive. For Wang Jian, finding Shuangxi was not only his long-cherished wish, but also carried their expectations.

After glancing at the time, it was time to close up shop. He packed up his stall, locked the refrigerator, and carefully counted his earnings. It was indeed much more than what he earned as a sanitation worker. During the peak season, which is summer, selling three to five hundred yuan a day was no problem.

Just as Wang Jian was about to go home, he heard Xiao Zhao shouting loudly from a distance, calling his name repeatedly. This sense of urgency made Wang Jian stop in his tracks and turn around immediately.

"Brother Wang! They caught a begging gang in Sichuan Province! More than twenty kids! Most of them are from He Nan! Four of them are from our city! Let's go! The train to Sichuan Province is leaving in fifteen minutes, they've already checked tickets!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jian immediately ran back, staggering up the steps with both hands and feet, barely managing to reach the entrance to the waiting room, where he saw Xiao Zhao and Liu Changmin looking anxious.

"Don't buy tickets! It's too late! Buy your tickets on the train and hurry through security!"

Gratefully glancing at Liu Changmin, the officer, who was in his forties and still an ordinary policeman, looked anxious as he arranged for security to check them through first.

"Wang Jian, you'd better bring your son back this time!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jian turned to look at Liu Changmin, nodded vigorously, and was pulled by Xiao Zhao to run quickly toward the entrance. Xiao Zhao even threw aside the luggage he had just picked up.

"Xiao Zhao, you have to go on another business trip."

"What the hell is this business trip! I'm the East China regional manager, I call the shots in East China, I can go whenever I want! Is the child more important or the business trip?"

They rushed to the platform, boarded the train, and the two were so tired that they sat down right at the carriage entrance, leaning against the door, breathing heavily, and asked a passing train conductor to give them two extra tickets.

Along the way, Xiao Zhao kept looking through his phone, showing Wang Jian photos of children that had been posted online by the media. Wang Jian recognized one of the children; it was a child from a family he knew very well who had been abducted.

The two became increasingly excited as they searched, and quickly called the child's family. They continued to look for photos of the children and tickets without seats. They had been standing for 27 hours straight, and their legs were swollen, leaving deep dents when pressed. But their emotions only grew stronger.

After getting off the train, I took a taxi directly to the police station where they arrested the begging gang. After the police verified my identity, I met the gang members who were still being interrogated.

Compared to the gang that stabbed Wang Jian three years ago, these people don't look as fierce; on the contrary, they look ordinary. The phrase "human face but beast's heart" is the most appropriate description.

They are not just a begging organization; they also traffic people. They usually sell younger children who are too young to remember anything, while they maim older children and force them to beg on the streets.

Wang Jian and Xiao Zhao stood outside the interrogation room, looking through the one-way glass into the room. They saw an old woman being interrogated. The police asked Wang Jian if he remembered her, but Wang Jian only remembered the hands of the woman wearing a black cotton-padded jacket.

The police asked Wang Jian for a photo of Shuangxi to show the old lady. The old lady glanced at it, her face darkened, and she seemed hesitant to answer the police's questions.

Do you remember this child?

"."

(End of this chapter)