As we spoke, news soon came from the pier that Zhao Shiyi had arrived at Rainbow Island and was approaching with a large group of bodyguards.
We had all expected another barrage of scolding, but upon seeing us, Zhao Shiyi politely said, "Hello, officers. How is the situation? Have you found any clues?"
"Not yet, Mr. Zhao. We will do our best. We are now starting to investigate the island's surveillance!"
"Then please hurry. You know I only have this one daughter. Alas, Xiao Xin is such a worry."
Faced with such a respectful Zhao Shiyi, Captain Guo felt a little embarrassed. He couldn't help but look in my direction. I didn't think much of it; the case was paramount, and there was no time for anger.
"Hello, Mr. Zhao. Forgive me for asking, but in your impression, what kind of girl is Xiao Xin? Does she have any enemies?"
"On the surface, she seems quite demure, but in reality, she's quite wild. In just a few years of university, I don't know how many boyfriends she had. Once, she got pregnant, and I took her to have an abortion."
"I see. Mr. Zhao, it appears you are divorced, and you've recently encountered some trouble at work. Have you given up on investing in a project in Guangming City?"
Hearing me say this, Zhao Shiyi looked at me with surprise, as if asking, "How did you know?"
I quickly explained, "You have a mark on your ring finger from wearing a wedding ring, indicating you were married. The mark is quite deep, suggesting you forcefully removed the ring in anger, which means you were very upset. You must have divorced recently. Also, you are holding an advertisement for Guangming City Futai Logistics Company. I noticed you repeatedly pinched the part displaying the price, indicating you found it too expensive and decided not to invest."
"Are you the legendary He Sheng? Detective He? I didn't expect to meet such a celebrity here!" Zhao Shiyi looked at me with great admiration.
I smiled modestly, "You flatter me, Mr. Zhao. We will do our best to find Xiao Xin. Now, let's go and check the surveillance!"
Upon arriving at the hotel's duty room, the surveillance footage from shortly after the smoke appeared showed only chaos and blurriness. Many corners were obscured, making it impossible to discern anything. However, I didn't give up, scrutinizing the images with my sharp eyes.
At 12:02 AM, I discovered a surveillance feed near the window in the left corridor. Someone was seen walking towards it. She seemed to say something to her classmates. Coming here alone, she opened the window in the adjacent wall and climbed out!
Later, when we reviewed the hotel's exterior surveillance, we couldn't find this person again. It was obvious to everyone, including myself, that the person who voluntarily left the hotel lobby was Zhao Xiao Xin!
Zhao Shiyi asked me in dismay, "How could this happen? Didn't you tell her not to leave the hotel at that time?"
"Yes, it's very strange. This matter seems suspicious. Could it be that Zhao Xiao Xin was deliberately kidnapped?" I muttered.
"Deliberately kidnapped? What do you mean?" Zhao Shiyi asked curiously.
"I mean, she deliberately cooperated with the perpetrator to make it look like she was 'kidnapped'?"
Even as I proposed this theory, it felt incredible, let alone to Zhao Shiyi and Captain Guo. However, Zhang Keying then said, "Could it be that Xiao Xin was threatened by someone? So she had no choice but to do this?"
I looked at Zhang Keying with approval and nodded, "Yes, that's very possible. Let's search her room!"
As I said this, everyone rushed upstairs to the hotel. The moment they opened the door, Captain Guo and the others burst in and began to thoroughly search the room that had been used by the two girls.
Yuzi and Xiao Xin had stayed here before. Yuzi had recovered after a period of rest and had returned to her room to rest again.
While searching, we also called Yuzi over. I asked her about Xiao Xin's situation in the room. Yuzi said, "Nothing much. It was the same as usual, sleeping, showering, ordering takeout, things like that. What else can one do in a hotel?"
"I mean, did she show any strange expressions or behaviors?" I pressed.
"I don't think so. I didn't pay much attention to her usually because I've been in a relationship lately and am always on my phone!"
I could tell Yuzi wasn't lying. At this point, Captain Guo and the others found a yellowed letter among Xiao Xin's belongings and immediately took it out.
Upon opening the envelope, we discovered another letter hidden inside. It read: "Xiao Xin, if you don't want others to get hurt, cooperate with me and let me kidnap you. Walk out of the hotel, and I will arrange what you need to do. Haha, don't try to escape or take this lightly, or everyone in the hotel will die. You should try it, haha!"
Unexpectedly, Zhao Xiao Xin had received such a threatening letter. Zhao Shiyi, enraged, clenched the letter in his hands and cursed, "The person who wrote this must have taken Xiao Xin. Do any of you recognize this handwriting?"
Regarding the handwriting, none of us had seen it before. Everyone's handwriting is different. All Captain Guo could do now was take the letter as evidence, but it would be difficult to find the writer.
I suddenly thought of something and took out the challenge letter I had received earlier to compare the handwriting with the threatening letter. However, they seemed different.
Captain Guo also noticed, "The former is vigorous and powerful handwriting, while the latter is obviously a bit childish."
I was almost deceived as well, but upon closer inspection, a wry smile appeared on my face. "Captain Guo, you're mistaken. It's the same person who wrote them!"
"What? How is that possible? These are completely different handwriting styles! Even writing with both hands wouldn't result in such a discrepancy!"
"I thought so too, but have you noticed that when he uses a period, it's significantly larger than usual, and both letters use periods this way? Also, he really likes using words like 'haha.' Most importantly, when writing the character '绑' (bǎng), the left part is always larger than the right part, and it seems to be written with more force. You can see this in all three letters!"