Chapter 17 — My Daughter's Iron Box

"Officer Lu methodically searched through the identification papers of the subdued man. The perpetrator's surname was Qiu, confirming him as the very same old Qiu whom Xiao Man had previously mentioned. Even now, the old man stubbornly refused to confess."

"I had no idea there were people hidden inside the van."

"I was merely hired to transport goods."

"Officer Lu retrieved an old, worn smartphone from his pocket and thrust the glowing screen directly into the culprit's line of sight."

"Are these photographs of innocent children also considered mere merchandise?"

Old Qiu's face instantly drained of all color, rendering him utterly speechless. Meanwhile, as Xiao Man was being carefully lifted onto the stretcher of the waiting ambulance, her tiny fingers suddenly reached out and clutched tightly at the hem of Xiao Man-seeker Shen Zhiqiang's jacket. She whispered in a voice so faint it was barely audible.

"Mister, big sister Xiao Man told me to remember something important."

Shen Zhiqiang immediately bent down, his expression taut with anxiety.

"What did she say?"

Blossom cast a fearful glance toward the direction where old Qiu was being led away in handcuffs, her whole body trembling.

"They said that big sister Xiao Man is completely worthless."

"Because her father would never bother to search for her."

Shen Zhiqiang's fingers slowly curled into a fist, the knuckles tightening until they turned white. Blossom continued, "her voice breaking."

"But big sister Xiao Man told me her father used to be entirely different."

"She said back when her mother was still alive, her father would always carry her in his arms."

A sharp, suffocating pain gripped Shen Zhiqiang's throat, as if a jagged piece of iron had been wedged inside. Memories of an old, faded photograph suddenly flashed before his eyes--a picture of his younger self smiling brightly while cradling a tiny Xiao Man in his arms. In those days, he had cherished her as the most precious treasure in the world. "How had things ever deteriorated to this tragic state?" He had managed to lose his own flesh and blood right beneath his very nose, abandoning her to the mercy of wicked people who dared to measure her worth with the cruel phrase that her family did not care. Officer Lu walked over briskly, his footsteps heavy on the pavement.

"The phone confiscated from old Qiu has already been unlocked."

"There is a newly deleted message hidden inside the inbox."

Shen Zhiqiang raised his head sharply.

"What does it say?"

"Officer Lu's expression was grave and dark."

"Someone sent him a warning informing him that Xiao Man had regained consciousness."

"They ordered him to evacuate and relocate all the remaining children before tonight."

The depths of Shen Zhiqiang's eyes turned as cold as glacial ice.

"Who sent this?"

Officer Lu turned the screen around to show him. The sender had no name, identified only by a string of unfamiliar digits. Yet, Shen Zhiqiang instantly recognized the final four numbers. It was the backup phone number that Tang Meiqin habitually used. He instinctively grasped his injured arm, feeling warm blood begin to seep through his fingers.

"She is still managing to communicate with the outside world from custody?"

Officer Lu did not reply immediately. A few seconds later, his own communication device rang. The person on the other end spoke at length in hushed, urgent tones. By the time the officer ended the call, his gaze had grown even heavier.

"Tang Meiqin is no longer inside the interrogation room."

"She faked a sudden illness on the way to the hospital and seized the chaos of the transit to escape."

Shen Zhiqiang's expression shifted violently. At that exact moment, his own phone illuminated the interior of the vehicle with a sharp flash. A new text message materialized on the screen, carrying a chilling ultimatum: If you wish for Xiao Man to remain alive, come entirely alone to the old water tower.

The message bore no signature, but a single glance was enough for Shen Zhiqiang to know its exact author. Tang Meiqin. He stared fixedly at the glowing characters as the raging fire within his chest slowly compressed into freezing ice. The woman's ambitions extended far beyond mere escape; she intended to drag Xiao Man back down into that bottomless abyss once more. Officer Lu snatched the phone away, his features carved from stone.

"Do not reply."

"And under no circumstances are you to go alone."

Shen Zhiqiang nodded slowly. This time, the raw agitation had vanished from his demeanor, replaced by a cold, calculating clarity. He knew full well that Tang Meiqin might not actually have physical custody of the child at this exact moment, but her audacity in sending such a threat meant she still possessed hidden leverage. Officer Lu immediately ordered the technical team to trace the signal, and the results quickly confirmed that the burner phone's last active location was indeed in the vicinity of the abandoned water tower near West River Town. The decrepit structure stood not far from the Green Bridge warehouse, surrounded by vast, desolate expanses of wasteland. As Shen Zhiqiang scrutinized the regional map, a forgotten detail suddenly resurfaced in his mind. That very night, while Tang Meiqin was shouting on the phone inside their home, she had uttered a specific phrase.

"The person has already headed toward the water's edge."

She had not been discussing a casual search at all; she was instructing her accomplices to elude his pursuit. She had been intimately familiar with the escape routes and transit points from the very beginning. Officer Lu lowered his voice.

"We will deploy tactical units to surround the perimeter."

"If you wish to cooperate, reply to her demands and play your part."

Shen Zhiqiang gripped his phone tightly. Although the wound on his arm had received rudimentary bandaging, fresh crimson droplets were already soaking through the gauze. He lowered his head and tapped out a brief response: I will come alone. Tang Meiqin's reply arrived almost instantly: Bring no one with you, or your daughter will not live to see tomorrow. Looking at those harsh words, a sharp pang pierced Shen Zhiqiang's heart. He recognized that she was weaponizing his deepest fear against him. In the past, such psychological torture might have completely unhinged him, but now, he refused to stumble into the same trap twice. Officer Lu instructed the communications specialists to maintain constant tracking while dispatching plainclothes officers ahead of the schedule. Shen Zhiqiang was ordered to remain inside the vehicle until the optimal moment for intervention arrived. Midway to the destination, his phone rang again--it was the hospital calling through Nurse Jiang, her voice frantic with urgency.

"Mister, Xiao Man has just woken up."

"She heard that Xiao Man has been successfully rescued."

The tense, rigid muscles across Shen Zhiqiang's shoulders relaxed by a fraction.

"How is she holding up?"

"Extremely weak."

"However, she specifically asked if you had sustained any injuries."

Shen Zhiqiang froze in stunned silence.

"How could she possibly know about that?"

"Nurse Jiang hesitated for a moment before answering."

"Xiao Man mentioned it when she was brought into the ward."