Chapter 176

Chapter 176

After receiving the sudden location message from Yi Tiantian, Officer Qin immediately understood that Yi Tiantian needed help. However, since he was on a mission out of town, Officer Qin quickly contacted the local police to handle the situation.

Officer Qin himself had just finished his mission and was hastily making his way back.

Yi Tiantian was a crucial informant within the Dusk Society, and his rumor-tracking system was an incredibly powerful tool for the police when handling cases!

Under no circumstances could Yi Tiantian be allowed to come to harm!

Although he hadn't sent any messages since the incident at the plastic surgery clinic, this unusual message likely held significant implications.

Officer Qin's instincts were correct. Yi Tiantian, who was buried in the pit, was indeed in life-threatening danger, and this operation was connected to the Dusk Society, which the police had been secretly investigating.

After receiving Officer Qin's contact, the local police immediately dispatched officers to the scene. However, they overlooked one thing—the immense strength of the kidnappers.

It was well-known that possessing firearms was illegal in the country, and ordinary people would find it hard to obtain such criminal tools, so the local police initially underestimated the situation and did not deploy a large number of officers.

After observing the kidnappers' armed forces, the police on-site urgently requested more officers. Eventually, without any casualties, all the kidnappers were successfully apprehended.

Upon his return, Officer Qin immediately sent for several excavator operators to begin digging up the nearly buried pit and rescue everyone inside.

However, at that moment, Yi Tiantian, buried in the big pit, was unaware of this. Everyone inside the school bus was trying to help Fei Cheng dig his way out of the underground darkness.

Fei Cheng was frantically digging upward, his hands stretched out in front of him.

But progress was slow, and those below could only watch helplessly.

The mood inside the bus grew increasingly grim, and even a few younger kids were about to faint.

Yi Tiantian was also anxious, constantly refreshing the rumor system in his mind, hoping to find any important clues.

His persistence finally paid off, and on the 108th refresh, he saw a glimmer of hope.

A brand-new rumor had appeared in the system!

But before Yi Tiantian could delve into the rumor, everyone suddenly heard a sound from above.

It was as if someone was digging something, and as the sound continued, the school bus began to sway slightly, as if someone was shaking it.

But this didn't stop Fei Cheng's desperate upward digging, as it was the only hope of survival for everyone.

"Could it be those people causing trouble again?"

The attendant's face turned pale with fear. She could no longer stand steadily and slumped into a seat on the bus.

Yueyue and Yangyang gasped, their faces frozen, as they too believed there was only one possibility.

The kids and the driver, hearing the attendant's words, also fell into despair. They were at a loss, and the feeling of despair spread in everyone's hearts. Gradually, they all began to think that escaping from here was an impossible dream!

Seeing that many people were slowly losing their will to survive, Yi Tiantian was deeply anxious.

"Everyone, I think the sound we heard might have been from the police. Could it be that the excavators are here to rescue us?"

Yi Tiantian couldn't directly reveal what he saw in the rumor system, so he tried to encourage everyone not to give up hope indirectly.

"Officer Qin really understood my message and has sent the police to rescue us!!"

"We'll be out of here soon!!"

Yi Tiantian was so excited that he felt like jumping up and down. He looked at Actor Fei, who was still digging away, and hurriedly said, "Actor Fei, why don't you take a break? The police will be here soon to rescue us!"

Those who could hear Yi Tiantian's inner thoughts felt a sense of relief, knowing that his inner voice had never been wrong before.

Since he said it, everyone would definitely be saved!

The trembling, desperate children finally had hope! Dozens of families would not have to suffer heartbreak!

Yueyue and Yangyang exchanged a glance, both of them emotionally overwhelmed, their chests heaving with each breath.

Fei Cheng even stopped what he was doing and took a deep breath.

However, the driver and the attendant, who could not hear Yi Tiantian's inner thoughts, were not very optimistic, as they had never trusted Yi Tiantian before.

The driver shook his head, almost laughing at himself. He looked at Yi Tiantian, who was trying to keep everyone's spirits up, and said in a low, lifeless voice, "Yi Tiantian, I know you. I've seen you on TV shows before. Although I admit you're a good person and, as a celebrity, you don't put on any airs, but at a time like this, stop giving us false hope. We all know that escaping from here is going to be very difficult..."

The driver hung his head, sighing heavily with each word. His despair seemed to spread like a contagion, making the already unpleasant atmosphere even more oppressive.

The driver's despair spread, and the attendant, still wiping her tears, nodded in agreement.

"Yes, stop saying things like that because we all know it's probably not true... The sound above is most likely made by the kidnappers..."

Seeing the adults so hopeless, the children, who couldn't escape on their own, lost all hope, and the scene fell into chaos again, with many children crying.

"Ahhh! I want to go home to Mom!"

"Mom!!! Waaa!"

"I want to go home! I want to go home!"

"Liar brother, liar brother!"

Some children even joined the driver and the attendant in accusing Yi Tiantian of giving them false hope, which led to their current despair.

Yi Tiantian paced anxiously, like an ant on a hot stove, knowing the truth but unable to reveal it. It was infuriating!

Just when no one believed in Yi Tiantian, Fei Cheng stepped forward.

"Kids, stop crying. What this brother said is the truth. The police will be here soon to rescue us, and you'll all be able to go home to your moms," Fei Cheng's voice was gentle and calming.

The children at the scene stopped crying when they heard Fei Cheng's words, looking at him with teary, curious eyes.

A little girl, her face streaked with tears and snot, asked in a small voice, "Really? But how do you know?"

Fei Cheng smiled at the little girl and said, "Because this brother never lies, so we should trust him."

Yueyue and Yangyang also stepped forward to support Yi Tiantian.

"I trust Yi! I've never known him to lie!"

"I believe him too, kids, you must keep hoping!"

Just as Yangyang finished speaking, a loud noise came from the top of the school bus, as if something had hit the exterior with great force.

All the kids shrank back in fear, while the driver initially widened his eyes in fear, then stood up, clearly embarrassed and angry.

"What are you all still talking about?! It must be those damn kidnappers..."

Just then, a ray of light suddenly appeared through the window next to the bus, as if sunlight was being refracted from outside.

But they were currently at the bottom of a massive pit, and the surroundings were covered in dirt—how could there be refracted sunlight?

Everyone looked towards the window, their faces filled with confusion.

Yi Tiantian was the first to react and exclaimed in surprise, "Looks like the cops are finally digging us out! We'll see daylight again soon!"

Indeed, with the help of Officer Qin and professional excavation personnel, the digging of the massive pit was nearing its end. Soon, the entire school bus would be exposed, and everyone inside would be rescued!

Seeing the sunlight gave everyone a renewed sense of hope. The driver, who had just been about to stand up and criticize Yi Tiantian for spreading false information, rushed towards him in excitement, wanting to hug him.

But before the driver could get close, Fei Cheng pulled Yi Tiantian behind him and stood in front of the driver.

In the end, the driver didn’t hug anyone and awkwardly blinked, settling for ruffling the hair of a smiling child next to him.

The attendant wiped away her tears, overwhelmed with relief, and murmured, "We're finally saved!"

The kids also wiped away their tears and watched the sunlight gradually filtering in through the window, curious yet joyful.

...

After the excavation, the kids were being escorted out of the massive pit one by one by firefighters and police officers. The order at the scene was excellent, with the children lining up according to age, the younger ones going first and the older ones following behind.

Once the last child's foot touched the ground, the adults who had been inside the bus began to exit.

The two women were at the front, followed by the driver, Yi Tiantian right behind, and Fei Cheng bringing up the rear.

Finally, everyone successfully made it back to the surface. As soon as Yi Tiantian emerged, he saw a familiar face reaching out to help pull him up.

"Yi, it's been a while!"

It was Officer Qin.

Officer Qin wasn't wearing his police uniform, as he had rushed to the scene from out of town and hadn't had time to change. He looked at Yi Tiantian excitedly, the long scar on his face not making him appear fierce.

"Sorry you had to go through that down there. Are you okay? Everyone else too? How are you holding up?"

Officer Qin's concerned questions left Yueyue and Yangyang, who hadn't known of his existence, stunned.

How does Yi know someone from the police department?!

How many more secrets does he have?!

The driver and the attendant also looked at Yi Tiantian and Officer Qin in surprise, realizing that the two had known each other before!

It turned out that what Yi Tiantian had said inside the bus wasn't just to comfort everyone—it was all true!

They had really misunderstood Yi Tiantian!

Facing Officer Qin's questions, Yi Tiantian answered truthfully.

"I'm not injured, all of us adults are fine, but we don't know the kids' condition."

"We've already contacted the medical center. Doctors are checking the kids one by one, but they seem to be okay."

Officer Qin had thought everything through carefully, and when he learned that Yi Tiantian was in danger, he immediately contacted an ambulance to come to the scene.

After all, he’s the key asset the police have against the Dusk Society, so nothing can be allowed to go wrong!

Yi Tiantian watched the kids lining up for checks in the distance and finally felt relieved.

"Fei Cheng, hello."

After greeting Yi Tiantian, Officer Qin extended his hand to Fei Cheng.

Fei Cheng shook Officer Qin's hand. Despite being covered in dirt, he remained calm and composed, exuding an air of quiet dignity.

"Officer Qin, long time no see."

"Long time no see."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Officer Qin gave a brief summary of the capture to the adults present.

"We captured 14 criminals just now, including one hostage who claimed he was wrongly accused."

"Wrongly accused? Director Liu? There’s no way he could be innocent!"

"All of this was planned by Director Liu and the female killer!"

"No one can say Director Liu is innocent!"

"But why hasn’t the system updated with the reason behind his actions? Why did Director Liu team up with the female killer?"

Yi Tiantian frowned, and his concerns were clear to Officer Qin.

Officer Qin assessed the situation and continued, "They are all in custody now, so I hope you won’t worry."

"Thank you, Officer Qin. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, we might still be trapped down there."

Yi Tiantian sincerely thanked Officer Qin, taking a deep breath as the memory of everyone being buried in the pit sent a shiver down his spine.

"By the way, these are the phones we seized from the suspects. They should be yours, right?"

With a wave of his hand, Officer Qin signaled to a young policewoman behind him. She came forward holding a transparent plastic bag containing several phones.

Everyone looked at the plastic bag and saw that those were indeed their phones.

"Yes, thank you, Officer Qin!"

Yi Tiantian and the others retrieved their phones.

As the attendant was about to unlock her phone to call home, Officer Qin gently stopped her.

The attendant looked up curiously at Officer Qin, noticing the serious expression on his face.

"Before you use your phones, I need to give you an important warning," Officer Qin said solemnly.

"I hope you will not disclose what happened today, as it involves confidential information related to another connected case. We will not publicly announce this operation."

Yi Tiantian and Fei Cheng understood why Officer Qin wanted to keep things under wraps. The kidnappers likely had ties to the Dusk Society, and revealing the details could jeopardize ongoing investigations and cause unnecessary panic.

Yi Tiantian and the others looked around and saw no reporters at the scene.

Thankfully, there was no live stream today; otherwise, those tabloid reporters would have caught wind of it and swarmed the place.

"I ask that you please refrain from sharing any details about this online. We will notify each of you separately about the case's progress."

Although Officer Qin's attitude was pleasant, there was an unmistakable air of authority in his tone.

"Alright, Officer, we will follow your instructions!"

"Thank you, Officer Qin, we won't tell anyone."

By the ambulance, the doctors were checking the children, and in the end, they found that apart from some traces of mud and sand, the children hadn't suffered any other injuries.

However, the massive pit that the kidnappers had dug was actually quite deep, yet it was a miracle that neither the kids nor the adults had suffered any harm!

Finally, the police contacted the school, explained what had happened, and arranged for the school to contact the children's parents to pick them up at a designated location. They also arranged for specialized follow-up psychological counseling for the children.

However, to avoid revealing the involvement of the Dusk Society, the police hid part of the truth and only told the parents that this was an accident, and that the people who had dug the massive pit had already been caught.

After assisting the police, Yi Tiantian and the other adults went home.

As soon as Yi Tiantian got home, he took a shower and went straight to bed, falling into a deep sleep.

Given how bizarre the day had been, he slept until noon the next day.

When he woke up, Yi Tiantian reflexively reached under his pillow for his phone, and the moment he unlocked the screen, a glaring news headline caught his eye.

"Yi Tiantian and Fei Cheng Encounter Danger, Bravely Rescue Dozens of Children!"

Still groggy, Yi Tiantian immediately snapped awake. He sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, and carefully read through the news.

"According to reliable sources, Yi Tiantian and Fei Cheng were participating in the filming of a public welfare documentary when the school bus lost control and drove into a massive pit on the side of the road. All the children fell inside, and it was Yi Tiantian and Fei Cheng who rescued them!"

Although there were photos attached, Yi Tiantian could immediately tell that the content was false because the photo was not from the scene but rather an image that the marketing account had found somewhere else.

Scrolling further, he saw comments from parents of the children involved.

"I am an eyewitness. My child was on that school bus! When I first received the notification, I was scared half to death, but I didn't expect that these two big celebrities had already rescued my child! I am extremely grateful to them!"

"If I knew their address, I would definitely send them a thank-you banner! I am truly thankful that they saved my precious child!"

Yi Tiantian couldn't tell if the parents below were real or fake, so he continued scrolling and arrived at the comments section.

Liuliu Dashun: Folks, I'm already used to seeing this kind of news. Yi Tiantian does these kinds of things all the time, haha!

Qinqin Woxin: Tiantian Sect Leader lives up to the title! He really makes us proud!

Haolei Shiguimi: You can't be serious, right? This isn't an official report, just a marketing account trying to gain traffic!

Exactly! These clickbait accounts always stir up drama without any real substance. Ignore them, everyone!

Yi Tiantian breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that the news was from a marketing account and that the content had no evidence to support it, so everyone believed it was fake.

It was fortunate that everyone thought it was fake; otherwise, the Dusk Society would have noticed.

At that moment, Yi Tiantian’s phone buzzed with an incoming call. When he saw "Officer Qin" on the screen, he immediately knew that Officer Qin must have something related to the case to discuss with him.

"Mr. Yi, I have some information for you."

Officer Qin got straight to the point, his tone very serious.

"Are you available to talk right now?"

Yi Tiantian immediately sensed that the news was probably bad after hearing Officer Qin's serious tone.

He quickly replied, "I'm at home and can talk. Please go ahead, Officer Qin."

"All the kidnappers we apprehended, including the one who claimed innocence, committed suicide last night."

Officer Qin spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

"They had prepared poison in advance and took it when there was no supervision."

"Why are the Dusk Society members so fanatically loyal?!

"They’d rather die than spill a single detail about the Dusk Society!"

"I get why the female killer might have taken poison after being caught, but Director Liu kept insisting he was innocent. Why would he suddenly kill himself?"

Yi Tiantian's intuition told him that this matter was definitely not that simple.

Because Director Liu wouldn’t just randomly off himself!

Officer Qin listened quietly to Yi Tiantian's words, equally puzzled by this issue.

"Alright, I understand."

The lead on the Dusk Society was cut off again, leaving both Yi Tiantian and Officer Qin feeling frustrated.

As soon as Yi Tiantian hung up, his phone buzzed with another incoming call.

At first, he thought Officer Qin had something else to add, but when he saw the caller ID, he was stunned. It was Fu Chongye, someone he hadn’t heard from in ages.