Chapter 160   Danger Zone

A pretty girl in the crowd smiled embarrassedly as everyone at the banquet joked about what happened. Old Man Tang confiscated the film crew’s equipment. Although Old Man Tang had smashed the camera, he was still cautious. Old Man Tang was worried that the film crew would have a backup, so he interrogated everyone. Old Man Tang even told the film crew that he would release them if they handed over the backup and kept this situation a secret.

The film crew knew that this matter would not end well even if they gave in, so they decided to keep quiet. Old Man Tang angrily left since he couldn’t get them to surrender.

Later on, the provincial inspection team would save the film crew. A few days before the film crew got held hostage, the provincial inspection team had returned to Southern City. They then went to the television station to accept interviews.

The leader of the provincial inspection team then asked the higher-ups if the people in charge of the rare disease program had returned. The leader remembered that the film crew and a doctor had left to treat a patient.

However, the television station’s higher-ups said that the film crew had yet to return. The film crew initially said they would return in a few days but changed their minds to stay longer.

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The film crew also mentioned that it would be difficult to contact them for the next few days because they were going to the mountains to continue filming. Although the television station’s higher-ups were suspicious, they didn’t overthink it.

The members of the provincial inspection team were once part of a special police unit. They were clever and meticulous. The inspection team leader suspected something was wrong when he heard what the higher-ups said.

Previously, when the provincial inspection team went to the countryside, they discovered several abductions, human trafficking cases, and corruption among the cadres. The climate and the people of that area had worsened over the years.

No matter how much the inspection team leader thought about the situation, he felt that the last bit of information wasn’t sent by the film crew. The leader pondered and decided he would return to the countryside to bring the film crew back to Southern City personally.

He knew that if something were to happen to the film crew, it would occur in the filming area. The leader brought a few people to the countryside, and after asking around, they still couldn’t find the film crew.

The few villagers who were questioned looked timid and spoke incoherently. The leader knew that something was wrong. The people who went to the countryside to look for the film crew were the backbone of the city’s police force. They made a prompt decision to thoroughly search the area within a hundred-mile radius of the local area. The film crew’s smashed vehicle and equipment were the first clues they found.

The leader and police officers continued their search when they confirmed that something had happened to the film crew. They finally found the film crew in a cattle shed of a remote village and rescued them.

Xiao Mei, a member of the film crew, was a girl, and she was physically weak from not eating for a few days. She had fainted, so the police officers sent her to the county hospital for emergency treatment.

The others were also in terrible conditions. They smelled of cow dung, had grown beards, and their faces were ashen. The film crew rested in the county hotel for a day and went to the police station to make a statement before returning to the city.

The nature of this incident was horrible. The local farmers had kidnapped an entire film crew with the intention of murder, which constituted a criminal offense.

The police tracked down the culprit and confirmed that Old Man Tang had vandalized the vehicle, smashed the cameraman’s equipment, and kidnapped the film crew.

The police brought Old Man Tang to the police station for interrogation. Tang Qiang was also brought to the police station along with his father.

Previously, when the provincial inspection team came to the countryside to investigate, they didn’t find any suspicious information about Tang Qian. Old Man Tang had taken responsibility for kidnapping the film crew.

However, the police were suspicious of Tang Qiang. So they decided to interrogate him as well.

After some digging, the police found that Tang Qiang possessed more than a dozen houses under his name. He even owned three villas near Southern City. The police also found gold bars and records of two safes in one of Tang Qiang’s homes. Over the years, Tang Qiang had bribed his superiors and forcefully taken all kinds of belongings from others. Tang Qiang was afraid that others would try to expose him one day, so he kept the receipts and records of money transactions. These records and receipts had become irrefutable evidence for Tang Qiang’s conviction.

Previously, when the provincial inspection team went to the countryside, Tang Qiang had cleverly gone to other places to avoid the inspection team.

The leader then concluded that a higher-up had tipped Tang Qiang off, which was why he could leave in such a timely manner. If the police could retrace Tang Qiang’s trail, they might be able to link him to more black market chains.