Siheyuan: I will never tolerate gambling and drugs!

Having obtained the street certificate, Xu Lin strolled leisurely to the guesthouse, submitted his letter of introduction, and underwent careful questioning by a lean old man at the front desk. He then paid for two more nights' accommodation and, after settling in, inwardly grumbled that people in this era were so irresponsible.

They wanted to know if I had parents at home and what kind of work I did, but considering the special circumstances, I didn't think too much about it and honestly told them. Then I decided to go out for a stroll. I'd never been to Beijing in my previous life, and this time I was determined to take a good look around.

On the other side, the Lou family mansion.

Has it been found?

A middle-aged man in his forties sat imposingly on the sofa, yet the sharp wit of his youth still lingered in his eyes. His eyebrows were slightly raised, his eyes were deep and unfathomable, and his every move exuded masculine composure and authority.

"Mr. Lou, we haven't found her yet. I just sent the rest of us out throughout the city to search for Miss Lou. I believe we should have results soon."

A man who looked like a butler answered tremblingly. In broad daylight, a perfectly healthy person had suddenly vanished—and this person was none other than Lou Bancheng's youngest daughter. This was no laughing matter; a wrong answer could cost him his life.

"Alright, go down." Lou Bancheng waved his hand impatiently.

Lou Bancheng was well aware that he was being targeted; after all, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames. He just didn't know which faction was watching him now.

Although he had his suspicions, he didn't dare contact the other party. After all, they'd retreated to Taiwan; what trouble could they possibly cause? He could only hope it was some petty thief who didn't know his own limitations and wanted some money.

Sure enough, not long after, the two men who had been waiting outside the Lou family mansion for a long time, after confirming that all the bodyguards had left, one of them went up and knocked on the door...

Xu Lin, having settled into his room at the guesthouse, planned to lock it and go for a stroll. As he stood at the door locking it, he heard a faint sobbing sound coming from the next room.

He had intended to jokingly remark that even in the 50s, some people could be quite unserious, but a quick glance revealed that the door next door was locked from the outside. Xu Lin realized something was wrong and instinctively wanted to go downstairs to check with the staff.

But then I thought about it again. This staff member might also be problematic. With such strict surveillance during this period, if something illegal were to happen, it's impossible for anyone here to be unaware, unless they were also involved. And why, by such a coincidence, was I assigned to the next room?

So he quietly returned to his room, grabbed a mirror, opened the window, leaned out, and checked through the mirror to make sure no one was in the next room. Then he went back to the door next door, and with a thought, the door lock was stored in the system space.

Immediately afterward, Xu Lin carefully tiptoed and gently pushed open the door, then slowly stepped into the room. He looked around and saw that the decorations of the houses on both sides were exactly the same.

Having taken only two steps, Xu Lin immediately spotted the woman bound to the corner of the bed. Her eyes were blindfolded with a black cloth, her mouth was gagged, and her hands were tightly bound behind her back. Despite this treatment, the woman's clothes remained intact.

Witnessing this scene, Xu Lin finally felt relieved, and couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate. If this woman had encountered any mishap or accident here, he would have been in a very difficult situation, unable to explain himself. Thinking of this, Xu Lin didn't dare to delay for a moment, and hurriedly stepped forward, quickly tearing off the blindfold covering the woman's face.

Looking at the twelve or thirteen-year-old girl in front of him, whose bewildered eyes were filled with fear, Xu Lin hurriedly began to explain.

"My name is Xu Lin. I ended up in the room next to yours by accident. I came in because I heard you crying, and I found you tied up here."

I have a few questions for you. Were you kidnapped by bad guys? Nod if you did.

The porcelain doll-like little girl nodded gently, tears still welling up in her big, bright eyes.

"Then I'll untie you. Please don't scream or run around. I'll take you out, okay?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the little girl's eyes lit up. She nodded emphatically again.

Xu Lin quickly untied the ropes binding the girl, helped her up, and found that she had no injuries. He then carefully led her back to his room.

After closing the door, he hurriedly asked the little girl a question.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Do you know who kidnapped you?"

Xu Lin is now eager to know more information because in this day and age, without a mobile phone, he cannot directly call the police.

Furthermore, guns are not prohibited. Who knows if the kidnappers deliberately left the kidnappers there waiting for someone to rescue them, then framed the rescuers so that there would be no way to prove their innocence?

Moreover, the fact that he could be kidnapped and taken to a guesthouse without anyone noticing suggests either an inside job at the guesthouse or a group operation. Either way, it's not a good situation for Xu Lin.

After calming herself down, the little girl began to answer Xu Lin's questions. Little did she know that her very first sentence would give Xu Lin a sudden, overwhelming shock.

"My name is Lou Xiao'e. This group of people kidnapped me to threaten my father, because he is very rich. I don't know who kidnapped me, and I have been blindfolded the whole time."

I overheard them saying that as long as my father cooperated, I could return home safely, and they didn't want to hurt me.

"There was no one there just now because the two of them went to deliver a message to my dad to make a deal, and one of them stayed behind to watch over me. I begged him to get me some food, and after they left, I took the opportunity to make some noise to call for help. Luckily, you heard me." She was still terrified as she finished speaking, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Lou Xiao'e looked at Xu Lin, who was deep in thought, and assumed he was trying to find a way to get her out. She was extremely grateful and saw Xu Lin as her lifeline.

Xu Lin himself was lost in thought: "Is he about to cause trouble? It seems like causing trouble isn't entirely unacceptable, but he's too young. As a soul of the new era, his morality and character shouldn't allow him to do such a beastly thing. Sigh~ What a pity."

Just as he was getting into the idea, he suddenly noticed Lou Xiao'e's clear, helpless eyes mixed with fear, and immediately snapped back to reality, saying seriously:

"You mean, someone went to buy food and will be back soon? Male or female? Approximately how old?"

"Yes, he went there a while ago. It was a man, he sounded like he was in his thirties," Lou Xiao'e said, trying to recall.

After listening, Xu Lin tried hard to recall if he had encountered such a person when he arrived, and what the staff at the guesthouse looked like. Assuming the front desk wasn't involved, he decided to take Lou Xiao'e to the military control office.

As soon as the door opened, the thin old man at the front desk held a Colt to Xu Lin's forehead.

"Hey kid, you're such a busybody. Since you already know, come inside and sit for a while longer. Don't rush off."

Hei Zi, go! Tie them all up, tie them tight. Why did you have to bother buying food? Do you think buying food makes you a good person? Forget all that nonsense, get the job done, take your reward, and go back to your hometown to live your own good life. That's better than anything else.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the man called Hei Zi walked up from behind. Enraged, he kicked Xu Lin to the ground and was about to deliver a few more blows.

"Stop hitting him. Leaving traces would be counterproductive. We still have a use for this kid."

Xu Lin immediately calmed down, realizing he had fallen into a trap. His priority now was to extract more information. After giving Lou Xiao'e a reassuring look, he turned to the lean old man and smiled.

"Hey, you big-eyed thugs! What's wrong? The principal's gone, and you've all gone crazy with poverty, resorting to robbery and plunder? All you want is money, right? Name your price and I'll go home and get it for you!"

A cold glint flashed in the old man's eyes as he stared intently into Xu Lin's eyes, his gun remaining raised motionless in front of Xu Lin's forehead.

"Heh, I misjudged you. You're actually quite savvy. Alright, stop struggling. You know what the outcome will be. If you think less, you'll be more dignified later."

Kuroko, after you've tied him up, give him paper and a pen and let him write a will for you first...