Chapter 020: The Campus Mary Sue 18

The police officers nearby had already begun tracking the signal source, signaling An Xiansi to prolong the conversation as much as possible to give them time to locate the kidnappers.
“All for us, huh? Heh, fine. Have one hundred million ready for us by noon tomorrow and bring it to the intersection of Highway XX326 and YY803 outside the city. And don’t even think about calling the police! If you do, your daughter’s finished.” The kidnapper’s voice was harsh and threatening.
“Alright, just don’t hurt her. I’ll get the money right away,” An Xiansi replied anxiously, agreeing without a second thought.
“Remember, no tricks,” the kidnapper warned, then immediately hung up.
The police chief overseeing the operation was left speechless.
An Xiansi, too, was at a loss for words.
Sweat beaded on the police chief’s forehead as he turned to the technical team, his eyes filled with hope. “Did you trace it?”
He was fuming inside—this young master, when they’d told him to stall the kidnapper, had let the call end in less than a minute. How were they supposed to trace anything?
The technical officer shook his head. “The call was too short.”
So it couldn’t be tracked.
An Xiansi’s brow furrowed deeply. “We didn’t get a trace?”
“It really was too short,” the officer replied.
An Xiansi raised a hand, signaling him not to speak further. He said, “It’s fine. I’ll bring one hundred million to the place they said and make the exchange.”
Everyone present looked at him with subtle expressions.
If the situation weren’t so tense, Le Yixian would’ve loved nothing more than to smack his foolish son’s head a few times. Did he even know how much a hundred million in cash was?
What kind of vehicle could possibly transport all that?
Meanwhile, Father Ke, just off the operating table, received a call on his mobile.
He glanced at the unfamiliar number, hesitated, but answered.
“Hello, this is Ke Aiguo.”

“Hello, Ke Aiguo, is it? Your son is in my hands. If you want him safe, prepare one hundred million and bring it to the intersection of Highway XX326 and YY803 by noon tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll kill him, understand?” a rough male voice barked through the phone.
“My son is with you?” Ke Aiguo laughed. “My son is perfectly fine at school. Who are you trying to fool? Do you think I don’t watch the news? You damned telecom scammers—call again and I’ll report you!”
With that, he hung up.
The kidnapper was left speechless. This wasn’t how things went in the movies.
That last family had been much more cooperative.
He stared at the now-dark phone screen and gave a hard kick to Ke Yuandao, who was sitting on the ground. “What’s going on?”
Having witnessed the entire extortion attempt, Ke Yuandao replied, “Given the time, I should be at school right now.”
Normally, tonight was the school’s anniversary celebration, with events lasting into the evening, so his parents would naturally believe he was at school.
He thought for a moment and added, “My parents are fond of legal and crime shows, you know. There’s been a lot of telecom fraud lately, so they’re pretty alert!”
“Damn it, those guys are nothing compared to us,” the kidnapper spat angrily, then kicked Ke Yuandao again. “What’s your mother’s number?”
Meanwhile, after hanging up, Father Ke felt quite pleased as he took off his white coat and went to pick up his wife from neurology. When he saw her, he couldn’t resist boasting, “Honey, I just got a scam call. Someone claimed our son was kidnapped and demanded a hundred million! Ridiculous, right?”
“These scammers are getting more outrageous every day,” Mother Ke replied indignantly.
They had seen plenty of elderly patients in the hospital who’d been conned out of their savings and ended up hospitalized from the stress.
“Exactly! I was smart—I just hung up on them,” Father Ke said.
Just then, Mother Ke’s phone rang.
They both looked down. It was an unfamiliar number.
“This number looks familiar,” Father Ke hesitated, then fished out his phone and checked his call log. The number was identical to the one that had just called him.
“Honey, it’s another scam call. Don’t answer,” Father Ke warned.
Mother Ke considered for a moment and replied, “No, I want to give them a piece of my mind. Scamming old folks out of their money—how heartless.”

She answered the call.
“Hello, Wang Cuihua, right? Your son is in my hands. If you want him safe, prepare one hundred million and bring it to the intersection of Highway XX326 and YY803 by noon tomorrow. No police! If you don’t bring the money, I’ll kill—”
“Kill my foot!” a strong, resonant female voice thundered through the phone, making the kidnapper jump in fright.
“You heartless scammers, preying on the elderly! Why can’t you do something decent with your lives? Why be telecom fraudsters? Don’t you have parents? Have you ever imagined your own mother and father being swindled out of everything and ending up in the hospital? You really have no conscience. This is too much!”
“I…” The kidnapper was stunned, then tried to retort, but his voice was no match for Mother Ke’s powerful scolding.
She lectured him for a full half hour, and finally, not yet satisfied, concluded, “Young man, be a good person and turn yourself in.”
She hung up and promptly blacklisted the number.
The kidnapper stared blankly at the phone’s beeping tone, then, recovering, quickly dialed again—no way he was going to take a half-hour scolding for nothing; he needed the money!
“We’re sorry, the user you are calling is currently busy. Please try again later…” came the cold, automated response.
The kidnapper cursed. “What’s wrong with your family?”
Ke Yuandao, after enduring a few more angry kicks, shuffled over and said, “Too many crime shows.” After a pause, he added, “Why don’t you try again tonight? If I don’t go home, they’ll realize I’ve actually been kidnapped.”
The kidnapper had no choice but to agree.
Meanwhile, after her tirade, Mother Ke hung up and noticed several uniformed police officers had entered her office. She hesitated, glanced at her husband, and then, nervously, looked at the officer in charge. “Officers, my husband Aiguo has always been a good citizen. He would never break the law!”
The lead officer said, “Mrs. Ke, we’re here to inform you that your youngest son, Ke Yuandao, has been kidnapped from school.”
“What?” Mother Ke’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t it just a scam?”
“They’re real kidnappers, not telecom fraudsters,” the officer replied. Seeing Mother Ke about to faint, he quickly added, “But, thanks to your last phone call, we were able to trace the kidnappers’ location. We promise to rescue your son.”