Chapter 13 — My Daughter's Iron Box

"Officer Lu's expression grew even more glacial."

"They might have taken the waterway."

At that precise moment, the phone in Shen Zhiqiang's pocket rang. It was a call from the hospital. Teacher Jiang's voice came through the receiver, carrying an unmistakable wave of panic.

"Mr. Shen, Anan suddenly became extremely agitated just now."

"She said if you found the Qingqiao warehouse, you must check the crevices in the walls of the water pump station."

Shen Zhiqiang immediately looked toward Officer Lu. Officer Lu led his team straight back to the pump station. Sure enough, wedged deep inside a crack in the brickwork were a fragment of a pencil lead and half a fabric clothing label. Printed on the label was the name of a manufacturer: the Shunfeng Bag Workshop, located precisely two hundred meters east of the West River Wharf. Officer Lu instantly ordered everyone to redirect their pursuit toward the docks. Shen Zhiqiang climbed into a police vehicle as well; this time, not a single person attempted to stop him. As night descended, a heavy drizzle began to fall once more. The West River Wharf was swallowed by an ink-black darkness, save for the faint, distant rumble of a boat engine. Officer Lu raised his hand, gesturing for the team to halt. Near the muddy riverbank, a small cargo vessel was preparing to cast off its moorings. Two men stood on the deck by the cabin entrance. One of them was clutching a faded blue school satchel. A single glance was all it took for Shen Zhiqiang to recognize it--it was the very same old bag Shen Anan had worn in the photograph. A violent shock rippled through his chest. From deep within the cabin, the muffled crying of a child suddenly broke the silence, followed immediately by a rough, vicious oath.

"If you cry again, I'll throw you straight into the river."

Officer Lu's gaze turned razor-sharp in an instant. He lowered his voice and issued a crisp command.

"Move in."

The steady patter of the rain along the wharf suddenly transformed into a heavy, blinding downpour. Officer Lu led his men, closing in from both flanks. Before the two men on the boat could even react, blinding beams of flashlight cut through the dark, pinning them in place.

"Don't move! Stay right where you are!"

One of the men wheeled around desperately, trying to dive into the cabin. The other ruthlessly hurled the blue school satchel in his hand directly toward the river. Operating purely on instinct, Shen Zhiqiang lunged forward. The satchel brushed past the gunwale of the boat and plummeted downward, but he threw the upper half of his body over the edge, managing to grab one of the straps just in time. Icy rain and turbid river water splashed violently across his face. The strap was already old and thoroughly soaked, and the rotting stitches instantly gave way under the strain. Yet Shen Zhiqiang gripped it with all his might, refusing to let go, the veins on the back of his hand bulging like thick ropes. He did not dare release his hold. It felt as though he were finally grasping the hand of Shen Anan--a hand he had repeatedly brushed away in the past. Officer Lu reached out, forcefully pulling him back to safety.

"Don't let yourself fall in."

Clasping the soaking-wet satchel tightly against his chest, Shen Zhiqiang retreated to the solid ground of the bank. As the cabin door was finally forced open, the suppressed, pitiful sobs of children spilled out from within. Three young children were huddled together in the tightest corner. The youngest little girl was burning with such a high fever that her face was a terrifying, flushed red, her damp hair plastered across her forehead, wrapped only in a filthy jacket. Next to her, a slightly older boy was shielding her with his body, a large, dark bruise staining his forearm. Another little girl shrank backward in sheer terror the moment she saw strangers approach. Officer Lu crouched down, his voice softening to a gentle murmur.

"Don't be afraid. We are here to take you home."

The feverish little girl slowly fluttered her eyes open, her voice as thin and fragile as a breaking thread.

"Where is Sister Anan?"

Shen Zhiqiang snapped his head up instantly. Officer Lu threw him a brief glance before gently asking the child.

"Do you know Shen Anan?"

The little girl gave a faint, slow nod.

"She stepped in and took the blows for me once."

"She told us her father would come for her."

A sharp, agonizing wrench tore through Shen Zhiqiang's chest. He took a step forward, but his feet froze; he dared not approach too closely. He was terrified that his disheveled, wretched appearance would frighten them.

"I am... Anan's father."

All three children turned to look at him simultaneously. There was no trust in the boy's eyes--only hardened, piercing vigilance.

"Sister Anan said her father is always very busy."

Those few words struck Shen Zhiqiang like a dull blade, slicing so deeply into his flesh that no words could escape his throat. He slowly lowered his head.

"Everything before was my fault."

"This time... I have truly come for you."

The boy stared unblinkingly at him.

"Then are you going to take her back to that house?"

Shen Zhiqiang fell silent for a single, agonizing second.

"No."

"That house that brought her nothing but pain--I am going to tear it down completely, to the very last brick."

Only then did the boy slowly lower the arm he had been using to shield the little girl. The two men on the vessel were quickly subdued and placed under strict restraint. One of them attempted to brazenly talk his way out of it, claiming he was merely hired to transport some goods. However, Officer Lu fished a handful of photocopied identification cards and an old smartphone out of a hidden compartment inside the cabin. The phone contained transaction histories and photographs of numerous children. Among them, Shen Zhiqiang caught sight of Shen Anan's face. In the picture, she stood by the back door of a humble little diner, her complexion deathly pale, her small hands clutching a plastic grocery bag with desperate strength. Scrawled right next to the photograph was a chilling caption: Capable of work, sickly disposition, no family to look for her. In a fraction of a second, Shen Zhiqiang's eyes burned bright red. "No family to look for her." Those four words had not been written down at random by a stranger. Someone had deliberately informed these criminals that Shen Anan had no one in the world to care for her. Officer Lu sealed the phone away in an evidence bag, his expression darkening into something terrifying.

"This was no impulsive crime."

"They were deliberately screening and selecting these children."

Shen Zhiqiang clutched the blue school satchel tightly to his chest. The zipper was completely ruined, and the interior was soaked through with water.