Chapter 173 Already Out of the City

With people in the county town starting to move, the traffickers naturally sensed that something was amiss. There were five traffickers in total—four men and one woman. When Lu Yunji saw them enter the production brigade earlier, the group had merely been scouting the location, only for a film screening to conveniently provide them with cover.

Niu Niu and Tiedan were simply terribly unlucky. The two children had been enjoying the movie immensely when Niu Niu suddenly needed to use the washroom. She originally wanted to ask Zhao Di to go with her, but Zhao Di was already looking after her newly walking baby brother, which was too much trouble, so Tiedan volunteered instead. Having grown up playing together, the children had no reservations.

The two went out together toward the straw stack. Just as Niu Niu was pulling up her pants, she heard a muffled, groaning sound from Tiedan. Before she could figure out what was happening, she lost consciousness. When she woke up again, she was in this courtyard.

With no opportunity to escape, the two children could only cower inside the room. Soon, they heard noises coming from the courtyard.

"Boss, it's bad! We need to get out of here fast. The police are here, and there are a lot of people in the county town!" a thin, monkey-faced man ran in from outside and said. Following closely behind him was a woman wearing a headscarf, who looked to be in her twenties or thirties.

"Aren't these two kids just wild children from the countryside? Why all the fuss?" asked the man referred to as the boss. His surname was Wang, though no one knew his real name. He frowned at the moment, but circumstances gave him no time for second thoughts.

"We'll relocate first." The children they had managed to round up were worth a handsome profit, and he was unwilling to give up.

Shortly after, several people entered the room. The moment the door opened, the children flinched like birds startled by a mere twang of a bow, huddling together and crying in terror. Yet they dared not make a sound, clearly having suffered plenty of abuse in the past. Niu Niu and Tiedan huddled together, casting fearful glances at the traffickers.

Meanwhile, Lin Jingyue had taken a team to scour the train station. Finding no suspicious individuals, she furrowed her brow. If she were a trafficker, she would definitely take the children and flee the area, unless... there were more than two children, or the traffickers had alternative transportation.

A vehicle!

Yet, who in this day and age owned a car and resorted to human trafficking? Still, it was entirely possible that they only managed to acquire a car precisely because they were traffickers.

Lin Jingyue instructed two people to watch the station and led the rest back, running right into Lu Yunji and his group as they emerged with others.

"We've found a trail," Lu Yunji said.

The county town had quite a few dilapidated courtyards, most of which were uninhabitable. They had once belonged to wealthy families, but after the upheavals, any usable rooms were seized by others while the rest fell into ruin. It was not difficult for Tian Yang's men to track them through the alleys.

Without pausing for questions, the group headed straight there.

Even so, they were a step too late; the traffickers had already left. Indeed, they had a vehicle. The tire tracks were quite distinct.

"They actually have a car?!" Tian Yang widened his eyes in disbelief, especially since he couldn't even afford one himself.

"What do we do now?" Li Tongchui gritted his teeth. If anything happened to Tiedan...

"Pursue!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Lin Jingyue turned around. "Uncle Zhou, you're here."

Uncle Zhou furrowed his brow, accompanied by two police officers. "Jingyue, leave the rest to us police comrades. I guarantee I'll bring the two children back." With that, he strode away with the two officers.

"educated youth Lin, what should we do now?" Sun Jiabao and Li Tongchui asked anxiously, looking at Lin Jingyue. If the children from the brigade couldn't be found, how would the people back in the village cope?

They had rendezvoused with the brigade leader and the others in town, and everyone was frantic with worry. At this moment, Lin Jingyue was their pillar of strength.

"I have a friend with a car," Lu Yunji said.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Hurry up, let's go get it," Lin Jingyue urged, pulling Lu Yunji along. Li Tongchui and Sun Jiabao exchanged a glance and quickly followed. Tian Yang thought for a moment, made arrangements for the others, and then trailed after them.

The friend Lu Yunji mentioned worked at the mining site, and the car was a public vehicle assigned to the work unit. However, whatever Lu Yunji said to the person, the vehicle was lent out readily without hesitation.

Soon after, Lu Yunji took the driver's seat, Lin Jingyue sat in the front passenger seat, and Li Tongchui, Sun Jiabao, and Tian Yang sat in the back. It was the first time Li Tongchui and Sun Jiabao had ever ridden in a car, but they were far too distressed to look around.

The county town had only a few main roads, and by following the fresh tire tracks, they were able to pick up the chase swiftly.

Elsewhere, after the brigade leader and the others searched fruitlessly, they gathered at the city gate near the usual ox-cart parking spot.

"Uncle, we couldn't find them..."

The brigade leader's expression was dejected, and the faces of the others mirrored his despair and anxiety.

"Are you people from the Qingshan Production Brigade?" At that moment, a young man ran over.

"We are. Who are you?"

"educated youth Lin Jingyue asked me to come and notify you. The children may have already been taken out of the city. The culprits have a vehicle, and both the brigade's people and the police have gone after them. You should all go back and wait for news."