Chapter 5: Human Traffickers: Logging In Is for Trading for a Reduced Sentence.

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Zhou Shuwu stared intently at the woman’s expression; the panic and honesty in her eyes didn’t seem feigned. This indicated that the surge of child abduction cases in recent days wasn’t the doing of the kidnapper before him. However, having trafficked three children was already enough to warrant the maximum sentence under a ten-year term. At the very least, a commendation was inevitable.

“Really? Only three? The city hasn’t felt safe lately,” the woman hurriedly asserted loudly.

“Really, officer, truly only three. And the child that officer has is the third one. I have the police report and hospital certificate—just yesterday I had my cast removed. I couldn’t very well kidnap children while wearing a cast and pushing a wheelchair,” she explained.

Zhou Shuwu frowned. “Quite dedicated, huh? Committing crimes right after getting your cast off.”

The woman showed no intention to hide anything and cautiously asked, “I was forced into it… Officer, if I confess and accept punishment, can it reduce my sentence?”

Zhou Shuwu kept a stern expression. “Whether you plead guilty is for the prosecutor to decide. The most we can do is note your meritorious cooperation in your case file.”

The woman nodded vigorously, then pulled out her phone. “I just contacted the buyers. Every time I abduct a child, I hand them over to these people, and they pay me. I can take you to them now and identify them.”

Zhou Shuwu’s eyes widened. Well, well, this kidnapper even had connections? If they could take down the entire ring, it would surely merit a second-class merit award.

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Shuwu said, “Xu Hui, have the squad pause their current tasks and inform Captain Lin that we need SWAT support. Take her along to capture the higher-ups.”

He then looked at Lu Xingzhou, scratching his head. This guy was unbelievable—just stepping onto the bus and immediately bringing back a kidnapper.

“Jiang Ying, take your younger brother home first, then regroup for the mission.”

“Got it!”

Half an hour later, Lu Jiangying sent Lu Xingzhou back home.

Lu Jiangying grabbed a can of cola from the fridge, popped it open with a ‘pssst’ sound, unlocked the front door, and reminded him, “Stay put at home, don’t keep running around.”

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Lu Xingzhou watched the door close firmly and pouted. “If I stayed put at home like a good boy, you’d still be digging up corpses on the mountain.”

Turning away, he brushed aside the matters of finding the corpse and catching the kidnapper as mere episodes along life's long road. The real priority was making money—especially since today’s live-stream donations were set to multiply tenfold.

He quickly opened his streaming room. “Family, your streamer’s back!”

As the stream went live again, viewers surged rapidly. The morning’s cliff-climbing and corpse-discovery had made Lu Xingzhou somewhat famous online, even prompting many marketing accounts to clip his streams.

From just over 140 viewers in the morning, the number soared to over 500.

“SugarlessKid (LV22): Damn, streamer, you’re back! I thought you were locked up!”

“EarlyBirdSleeper (LV16): Streamer, that’s seriously badass—climbing a mountain and finding a corpse.”

User “Mother of the Moon Goddess (LV48)” gifted the streamer “Three Future Capsules worth 10,000 each.”

“Mother of the Moon Goddess (LV48)” leveled up to LV49.

“Mother of the Moon Goddess (LV49): Climbing Jiu Jia Mountain was my idea. Sorry for the scare—consider this compensation.”

Without hesitation, Mother of the Moon Goddess dropped three Future Capsules worth 10,000 each, boosting the day’s income from 220,000 to 520,000.

Lu Xingzhou was momentarily dazed—this top donor was really generous.

“This was all an accident. Nobody knew there was a corpse hidden on Jiu Jia Mountain. How can you blame big brother? It’s the ruthless killer’s fault for hiding the body on the cliff.”

Viewers agreed, affirming that the blame lay with the murderer, not Mother of the Moon Goddess.

“Mother of the Moon Goddess (LV49): Thanks, streamer, and thanks everyone for the kind words.”

Lu Xingzhou stood, glanced at his watch.

“Our agreement still stands. Before today’s stream ends, the top donor can choose the challenge.”

“It’s 1 PM now. Not many people for a PK match, so I’ll take you all out delivering food.”

Lu Xingzhou was half a fitness and chat streamer. Afternoons had fewer viewers and less energy, so he preferred to reserve his stamina for the busier evenings. Afternoons were for outdoor streams—delivering food while chatting, keeping some audience retention.

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Lu Xingzhou changed into his delivery vest and put on his helmet.

Upon opening the app, a notification popped up: [You have a new “Starving Me” order, please check.]

Near the train station? Not close! But whatever, the main goal was to keep viewers, so he accepted.

Lu Xingzhou shouted, “Let’s go, brothers! GOGOGO, we’re off!”

“Working just to slack off (LV23): Honestly, I wouldn’t even lean on a wall in my life, but I respect the streamer. Morning: climbing a cliff and finding a corpse. Afternoon: biking around delivering food. If it were me, I’d call all my old classmates and brag for three days straight.”

“Alicia’s Dog (LV17): Three days enough? If it were me, even the dogs on the way home would know I found a corpse.”

Lu Xingzhou rode his electric scooter to a fast-food joint and picked up four family buckets.

“I love customers who order this much at once!”

He stuffed the insulated box full, snapped the lid on, and sped off toward the train station.

——————

West of the railway, beside the road outside Jinjiang Residential Complex, three black MPVs were parked temporarily.

Inside the middle vehicle sat Zhou Shuwu and several fully equipped officers, alongside the kidnapper caught by Lu Xingzhou and another middle-aged woman.

This middle-aged woman was the kidnapper’s superior, captured in a police ambush.

After arrest, she chose to betray her own higher-ups to earn meritorious recognition.

After all, in criminal organizations, betraying your superiors is a way to reduce sentences.

“Let me confirm again: your base is in Jinjiang Residential Complex, Building 8, Apartment 403, right?”

The middle-aged woman nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, Building 8, Apartment 403. When I came out today, two people I hadn’t seen before came looking for Sister Liu.”

“Two people? Male or female?”

“One man, one woman. Their accents didn’t sound local. Sister Liu looked uneasy when she saw them.”

Zhou Shuwu carefully mulled over the woman’s words.

During the questioning, Xu Hui suddenly pressed her face against the car window from the back row. “Jiang Ying, look! Isn’t that your little brother?”