Chapter 517: Chapter 517: Furnace (22)_1 Chapter 517: Chapter 517: Furnace (22)_1 “You’re only representing yourself?”
In his office, Chief Stan seemed to have heard something amusing, as he repeated Fu Qian’s words, then spoke with a threatening tone.
“You’d better think carefully about what you’re saying, or I’ll make sure you never leave this place again.”
Is that so? It’s a pity that’s not necessarily the case.
As he observed the self-assured Chief Stan, Fu Qian thought to himself.
What do you plan to use to keep me here? The gun on the table?
Unfortunately, pulling the trigger requires a hand, and you’ve already grown old.
While it’s true that one must enter the tiger’s den to catch its cubs, an encounter like this one-on-one meeting was within Fu Qian’s expectations, as the one who clearly had secrets he didn’t want others to know.
In Fu Qian’s estimation, with a one-on-one situation, taking the chief hostage and escaping from the police station had at least a seventy percent chance of success.
That’s also why Fu Qian dared to come, the reconnaissance during the day wasn’t done in vain.
“Don’t worry, I came with full sincerity, and the people of the Warren Family indeed do not command enough to order me around.”
“Good, then let me see your sincerity.”
Chief Stan could never imagine that the person in front of him was calculating how to point a gun at his head, and seeing that Fu Qian didn’t seem to be lying, he was puzzled for a moment but also took things more seriously.
“Firstly, the people of the Warren Family want to ensure Daniel’s safety.”
Fu Qian chose his words carefully, watching Chief Stan’s reaction as he spoke.
However, the other’s expression seemed unchanging.
Not bad, an old hand with quite the depth of thought!
But have you overlooked something? As a chief, the fact that someone has disappeared within your jurisdiction and your reaction is so nonchalant, isn’t that abnormal in itself?
“Of course, he’s an impolite young man, and I don’t particularly like him.”
Despite his complaints, Fu Qian continued speaking.
“Next, Joseph really is in the hands of the Warren Family.”
As soon as those words were out, Chief Stan tried to hide it, but a change could still be noticed in his expression.
So Joseph is the key?
Watching his reaction, Fu Qian quietly pondered.
He had come today essentially to understand the cause of the entire affair and to seek valuable information within it.
And he was almost certain now that Daniel’s disappearance was indeed the doing of Chief Stan.
But such quick action to apprehend someone didn’t resemble an act of retaliation.
Combined with the previous reactive response, it felt more like an act of self-preservation.
The chief’s earlier question could somewhat confirm this.
Chief Stan believed that the Warren Family held some kind of information that could be detrimental to him, hence he was eager to negotiate with a bargaining chip.
If Daniel’s people were quick enough with disposing of the body, for Chief Stan, Joseph would be as good as missing.
The reason he was so eager to catch me yesterday must have been to confirm what had happened.
It’s just a pity that he was led astray by me.
And given such a strong reaction from him, it’s reasonable to suspect that Joseph knows something that has him worried that if Joseph were to fall into the hands of a power like the Warren Family, he could be used against him.
“What do they want?”
After a long while, Chief Stan seemed to finally sort out his thoughts and slowly spoke up.
“They don’t actually know much; you should be asking what I want.”
Fu Qian let out a sigh of relief inside.
If he could ask in this manner, today’s action had already succeeded by half.
Of course, his tone was still brimming with force.
“I knew it, you’re not just any ordinary student.”
Chief Stan looked at Fu Qian with a grim expression.
“Was it you who led this?”
“Sort of,”
Fu Qian’s answer was deliberately vague.
“Then what do you want?”
As he spoke, his hand had even moved to rest on the gun nearby, the intent of his threat was very clear.
“Don’t worry, I won’t make any excessive demands.”
Fu Qian smiled and gestured for the man to be patient.
“Even to show my sincerity, I’ll tell you the condition I promise to fulfill first—I’ll have someone from the Warren Family kill Joseph.”
As soon as he said this, Chief Stan visibly shuddered, his eyes filled with deep suspicion.
“What makes you think I’ll believe you?”
“You don’t have to believe me because Daniel doesn’t need to show up until his death is confirmed.”
Fu Qian said cryptically.
His meaning was clear: if you don’t see Joseph’s body, then there’s no need to release anyone.
“I can tell you’re sincere, so what do you want?”
Chief Stan regarded Fu Qian with an unprecedentedly serious demeanor.
“You should be able to guess.”
Seeing that the other party almost admitted to having Daniel in his custody, Fu Qian continued to speak vaguely.
Should be able to guess…
Watching the contemplative Stan, Fu Qian felt very satisfied.
Leading someone on also requires strategy; if he’d spoken like this upon entering, Chief Stan might have just pulled a gun on him.
But after he had shown enough “sincerity,” Stan seemed to have much more patience.
“Are you here for the guy behind the door? What’s your relation to him?”
Stan asked again quickly.
“Don’t worry, I’m not concerned with whatever you did to him, nor will I seek vengeance or anything of that sort.”
Seeing how on board this guy was, Fu Qian continued to bluff.
“I’m just looking for a certain item.”
“What item?”
“Sorry, I can’t tell you that, but why don’t you tell me what he left behind?”
Fu Qian shook his head.
“That’s my demand—I want all of his possessions.”
“Just that?”
Stan seemed truly surprised, apparently not expecting Fu Qian’s condition to be so simple.
“Yes.”
Fu Qian’s expression was very serious.
“The same item can have different values to different people.”
Hmm…
Stan tapped his fingers incessantly on the tabletop, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he gave an address.
“If you’re looking for something, you might want to check there, and I hope to see your sincerity soon.”
“Don’t worry.”
Fu Qian carefully noted the address and spoke with full confidence.
As he got up to leave, Stan seemed to be in a slightly better mood.
…
Not a wasted trip!
Leaving the police station, Fu Qian let out a long breath of relief.
He had finally won himself some breathing room.
Approaching Stan was certainly to glean more information, but it was also to stabilize the current situation.
The task of finding Daniel’s whereabouts was different from the previous assignments; this one had no time limit.
And taken at face value, the only way this mission could fail would be if Daniel were dead.
But through the negotiation just now, it was clear that Stan was much more at ease; Daniel wouldn’t be in great danger for the time being.
Meanwhile, with himself acting as a “middleman,” Stan wouldn’t take the initiative to contact the Warren Family anymore.
As for the Warren Family, lacking a motive like Stan’s to drive their deduction, they were probably still clueless—transitioning from a dead teacher to the local police chief would take a long time.
This was a fragile and delicate balance that should buy him quite a bit of time.
As for the mission itself? To find Daniel’s whereabouts? Why on earth would he want to find him!