How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Guo Zixing didn't sleep well that night, feeling as if he had missed something.

He tossed and turned, barely managing to fall asleep before being startled awake again. He got up and gulped down some cold water, then sighed in disbelief. Tonight… he probably wouldn't be able to sleep.

Unable to sleep, Guo Zixing found something to do, so he got up and went to the study, where his latest official documents were kept.

Since becoming deputy director, he was determined to make achievements to show Commander Guo. Deputy director, director, minister... he wanted to climb the ranks step by step and reach a position on par with Commander Guo.

However, since Commander Guo took over Sifang City, the management has been very strict and the people are quite good. Now, besides the human trafficking cases of Niu Da and Niu Er, he also has the case of the Japanese cotton mill.

As one of the first foreign businesses to settle in, the Dongyang Textile Factory has always been law-abiding, handling taxes and social interactions with impeccable manners. If it were to be exposed for secretly abducting and mistreating Chinese people, it would likely cause a major uproar. As General Guo once said, the Japanese have been rather restless lately; it's time to give them a good talking-to.

He meticulously reviewed all the information Qingru had sent out, going over it several times over. He wondered when Qingru would finally send out a message to stop.

The two of them had agreed to meet in half a month, but why have they suddenly stopped contacting each other these past two days?

Guo Zixing pondered, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.

"No, we have to close the net immediately." Guo Zixing was worried that something might have happened to Qingru. He decided to get her out first, and then send people to find the evidence later.

The more Guo Zixing thought about it, the more uneasy he became. All he could think about were scenes of the jailers interrogating the prisoners.

His usual composure and self-control suddenly snapped. Guo Zixing put on his hat, got up, and went out, not caring what time it was.

At this moment, the wind was biting cold, the sky was still dark, and all around was pitch black and quiet.

The cold wind jolted Guo Zixing awake, and he chuckled to himself, "What am I doing? Zhang Yan isn't supposed to reply until tomorrow, what's the rush?"

After thinking it over, he reluctantly returned to his room. He made up his mind to go to the Zhang family early in the morning to ask them questions. Regardless of whether Qingru had sent a message or not, he couldn't wait any longer and had to get her out as soon as possible.

……

At one end of the yarn factory, Zhang Dali's wife yawned, rubbing her eyes with a hoarse breath, and walked towards the pipeline she managed, carrying a deflated flour sack in her hand.

Before the person even arrived, that rough voice started yelling, "Where are they? Are they all dead? Get up and go to work! Do you all need me to call you? Are you all just freeloaders?!"

"Huh?" Zhang Dali's family noticed something was wrong. "Reed stick, are you dead? Hurry up and start the fire to cook. A bunch of people are waiting to eat before they go to work. If you dare to delay me, I'll skin you alive, you lazy bum."

"What about people?!"

Zhang Dali's family called for a long time, but Luchai Bang'er didn't respond. Instead, several female workers who were awakened quickly dressed and combed their hair. None of them dared to offend her and answer her.

She swung her thick waist a few steps over and yanked open the pipe where the reeds were sleeping. A stench of dead flesh hit her nose, making her take a few steps back.

Seeing that no one was inside, Zhang Dali's wife frowned, her eyes blazing with murderous rage. "Where the hell have you been? Gathering firewood?"

Zhang Dali's wife pointed at the girls who had gotten up, "Did you see that? What about you...?"

They asked everyone, but all of them shook their heads; no one had seen it.

Zhang Dali's wife finally lost her temper. She pointed at the people and counted them one by one, and sure enough, there were a few missing.

“Luchaibang’er, Qiushuang, Jiang Guiying, Lü Xiaocui…” Zhang Dali’s wife gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with fury as if she wanted to devour someone.

She wasn't holding a whip, but instead raised her fat, greasy hand and lashed out. She made the girls line up and straighten themselves, slapping about ten girls in one go.

Still not satisfied, he slapped her several more times until her palms went numb before stopping.

These slaps were delivered with full force, leaving cheeks numb with pain. Some of the more delicate skin even had blood seeping from the corners of their mouths, and their ears were ringing. The girls were on the verge of tears, their eyes brimming with suppressed sobs.

Zhang Dali's family was still jumping up and down, cursing, "You're all dead people, wooden figures! You didn't even know four people ran away! Those were four people, not four ghosts! How could there not be a sound? You must be deliberately covering for them..."

The commotion attracted the attention of several other contractors who came to see what was going on. Upon learning that four of Zhang Dali's workers had run away, they were all eager to see what would happen next.

It's not uncommon for people to run away because they can't endure the hardship, but those were all one by one, and most of them were caught halfway through. Now, four of them have run away quietly in one go, which is truly unheard of.

So everyone gathered around to watch the show, to see how Zhang Dali's family would handle the matter, so as to set an example for the other female workers and prevent them from following suit.

Surrounded by the crowd, Zhang Dali's family was extremely agitated, their faces grim. The girls, forced to kneel on the ground, were in excruciating pain from the rough surface.

Zhang Dali's family carried a bucket of swill and poured it over the girls' heads. The girls gritted their teeth and endured it, but none of them dared to resist.

Someone with a mischievous eye handed Zhang Dali's family a whip, which she promptly took. She began whipping them in public, determined to render them utterly powerless.

A while later, Zhang Dali, who had arrived after receiving the news, pushed his way through the crowd with a grim face. He already knew the whole story before he came, and he grabbed his wife. He told her to get the female workers back to work first, and then said to her, "Stop making a scene, the important thing is to catch up with the people who ran away."

Zhang Dali's family was still not satisfied and wished they could beat these people to death immediately to vent their anger. "I have to teach them a lesson."

Zhang Dali tried to persuade them a few times, but when he couldn't, he lost his patience and shouted, "Enough! Is this going to go on forever? The important thing is to bring them back. If they really escape, what will happen to the rest? Won't they follow suit? Then all our work will have been for nothing."

Money can be tempting, and Zhang Dali's wife wasn't ungrateful. She was heartbroken about the money she had already spent, so she pursed her lips, still resentful, but said nothing.

Zhang Dali shook his head in exasperation. This time, four female workers had run away. How could he save face if word got out? This clueless woman actually made a big fuss about it, as if she wanted everyone to know that he was lenient with his subordinates?

Besides, people from the Toyo Cotton Mill are still guarding the area. How can we let them see us and make a fool of ourselves?

No, they also bear some responsibility for this. They were the ones who were guarding the yarn factory, and we have to call the market's security department to bring the person back.

The more Zhang Dali thought about it, the angrier he became, and he vented all his anger on his wife.

"No way!" Zhang Dali's wife was a shrew, and now that her husband had scolded her, she was even more indignant. Pointing at those people, she shouted, "Didn't you see how they were laughing? If we just let them go like that, where will I put my face? I wish I could beat them all to death."

Judging from her tone, she didn't seem to realize the magnitude of her mistake. Zhang Dali was even angrier. Unable to contain himself any longer, he raised his foot and kicked her in the stomach, roaring, "Get out of my way!"

"Ah—" the woman screamed in pain, clutching her stomach, unable to recover for a long time.

Zhang Dali swung his arm and coldly ordered, "Get out of here. Go find those bitches later."

The woman gritted her teeth and finally, with the help of others, obediently left. Her husband had a violent temper; if she angered him, she would be the one to suffer.

After watching her walk away, Zhang Dali immediately headed towards the security office. He didn't know which direction she had run off in, so he'd have to ask them to search for her.

Just as he stepped outside, he suddenly heard laughter coming from the security room, mixed with a woman's gasps and panting. This scene... Zhang Dali's face revealed a lewd and obscene expression. He knocked lightly on the door twice and peeked into the room.

Just then, the patrol officer on duty from the security office heard the commotion and came out of the house. Seeing the person standing outside, his expression instantly turned impatient. Having his good time interrupted, he was naturally quite rude. He casually asked, "Oh, Mr. Zhang, what brings you here?"

Zhang Dali nodded obsequiously, "I do need your help with something. Apparently last night, a few female workers escaped, and I don't have enough manpower. Could you please help me catch them?"

"They escaped?" The patrolman frowned slightly, clearly not believing the words. "Mr. Zhang, are you sure?" Although he didn't know what had happened, he knew that the four girls couldn't have escaped.

However, he was embracing Xinlan last night... Could it be that he took the opportunity to run away at that time?

Thinking of this, the patrolman looked into the house and saw Xinlan pulling the blanket over herself, her small body trembling. She didn't seem like someone who could come up with so many ideas.

He then relaxed and dealt with Zhang Dali. To be honest, he didn't really want to get involved. There were so many foremen, and he was expected to find every single one of their employees who ran away. It was his own fault for not managing them properly, so what did it have to do with Zhang Dali?

Zhang Dali hurriedly said, "Absolutely true. That's why I'm begging you, please help me out!"

The patrolman frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Mr. Zhang, we're quite familiar with each other. Since you've asked, I'll naturally help. However, I'm not entirely sure where those four women went. How about this, we'll take the dogs and search for them for you today."

"This... alright, alright, thank you for your trouble." Zhang Dali responded repeatedly, not daring to ask for too much, but secretly determined to do his part as much as possible.

This so-called patrolman was just a figurehead; he wasn't actually stationed at the police station. He was just a security guard hired by the textile factory. The real work was done by the people below him.

"Okay, go prepare some food to entertain us. We'll take some people to search for us later."

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away." Zhang Dali hurriedly agreed and then turned and went out the door.

He still had some doubts. The female voice he heard in that room sounded familiar. He was afraid it might not be his lover.

Zhang Dali stroked his chin thoughtfully, then spat a thick wad of phlegm toward the security room, "Pah, shameless."

I also felt a bit disgusted with these people.

Fortunately, after eating and drinking, the security personnel actually got to work. They wiped their greasy mouths and strode towards the southwest corner.

Zhang Dali had been waiting anxiously ever since the people ran away. Firstly, there had been no news from those human traffickers lately, and he feared the new recruits wouldn't be able to fill the gap. Secondly, while losing one person meant he was already losing money, he couldn't keep losing money indefinitely.

What's more, one of the female workers who ran away was his own niece.

That little reed stick, who only ever cooked, was the only bloodline left behind by his eldest brother and sister-in-law, who had died young. Less than two years after his brother and sister-in-law passed away, his niece also died, leaving only this little reed stick.

At this point, Zhang Dali thought for a moment, what was his niece's name again... Sigh, never mind, he'd neglected her for too long, he'd long forgotten.

Upon seeing the security personnel arrive, they hurriedly went to greet them and handed over the clothes and rags they had prepared, which were items used by the escapees.

The patrolman was leading the way. He took the dog and held it up to the dog's nose. The dog sniffed it, then started howling and ran towards the mass grave.

"Hurry up and follow them," the team leader urged.

Zhang Dali ran off with it, muttering to himself, "How can I smell this thing?"

"Shut up," the leader snapped.

He felt a little guilty. Looking at the direction the dog ran, wasn't that the place where he and Xinlan had met secretly last night?

Hmm~ Did Xinlan really not have a part in this?

Putting those thoughts aside for now, the leader led about ten people in the direction the dog had run off to, and they stopped only when they reached the mass grave.

The dog stood in one spot, pacing back and forth, howling to attract attention, and then scratching at the ground with its paws.

The leader waved his hand, ordering two people to go and help, while the other three squatted on the ground to observe whether the dog had dug up anything.

Sure enough, after digging twice with its shovel, the dog pulled a white object out of the grass. After examining it closely, the leader excitedly shouted, "Found it! It's a bundle wrapper!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dali breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally caught these four female workers red-handed!

"Huh? What's this?" The man flipped it over to take a closer look.

"Ugh~" Suddenly, someone couldn't help but lean over and vomit.

The leader, curious, went over to take a look, and his face immediately darkened. It was a forearm; judging by its color, it had been dead for a long time, not only showing signs of rigor mortis but also beginning to decompose.

He reluctantly ordered his men to dig it out and called Zhang Dali over to take a look. After a cursory examination, Zhang Dali concluded, "This isn't one of those four; it's Sun Qiao'er..."

"Alright," the leader interrupted him. Even without Zhang Dali saying anything, he knew that they couldn't possibly be the people who escaped yesterday, so he cut him off and stopped Zhang Dali from continuing.

They sniffed the scraps of cloth that Qingru and the others had used under the dog's nose again, and the dog carefully examined them for a while.

Then, it jumped onto the roof of a doghouse and quickly ran in another direction. The leader's face turned pale. Wasn't that the dog in the doghouse the one that had interrupted him and Xinlan last night? It seemed these people had indeed been planning this for a long time…