Chapter 30: Seventeenth-Century Deduction

"You have contacts at the Qiwei Escort Bureau?" Xiao Zishan asked immediately.

"I do," Sun Chang replied without hesitation. "The manager and all the guards hail from my home region." It turned out the Qiwei Escort Bureau was staffed entirely by Jiangxi natives, their routes running exclusively between Guangzhou and Nanchang. Many of the bureau's guards had trained alongside Sun Chang at the same martial arts school.

Whether to involve the escort bureau was not a decision Xiao Zishan could make alone—the stakes were too high. After a moment's hesitation, he told Sun Chang they would discuss it later and instructed him to keep all gates secured.

When the Executive Committee received the news, they convened an emergency session immediately. Someone had dared to kidnap a transmigrator! If they could tolerate this, they could tolerate anything. The room buzzed with vengeful energy—everyone wanted to teach the perpetrators a lesson. They summoned Ran Yao, the former police officer, along with several mystery enthusiasts well-versed in Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. Xi Yazhou produced a cache of hidden five-shot shotguns. Someone proposed manufacturing grenades to "give the natives a taste of modern warfare." Others volunteered to cobble together sulfuric-acid bombs. The meeting threatened to descend into chaos until Ma Qianzhu stepped forward.

"We can't send a mob over there."

"Why the hell not?" Engineer Wang demanded, his face flushed with anger.

"Sending a crowd won't help—it'll only create confusion." Ma Qianzhu remained calm. "That's Ming-era Guangzhou we're talking about. We don't know the streets, we don't have maps, we can't navigate. What good does it do to send dozens of people? Even if someone told you exactly where Director Wen was being held, could you find it?"

The room fell silent. Apparently no one had considered this.

"Ming-era problems require Ming-era solutions. What we need right now is intelligence. Once we know Director Wen's whereabouts, we can proceed—whether that means armed rescue or paying ransom. But if a noisy crowd shows up, Zishan and Engineer Wang will have a difficult time explaining things to their local partners."

"Pay ransom? How can you even suggest that!" someone protested. "We're not going to cave like cowards! Never!" Murmurs of agreement rippled through the room. The transmigrators often paid lip service to respecting ancient wisdom, saying things like "Don't underestimate our ancestors" and "People back then were quite formidable." But deep down, they brimmed with modern superiority. The notion of "civilized modern people" compromising with "ignorant backward ancients" wounded their pride just to contemplate.

"If we can resolve this quickly and safely, compromise isn't shameful," Ma Qianzhu said, holding his ground. "Armed rescue has problems: first, we lack intelligence; second, it might endanger Director Wen's life. And finally"—he surveyed the room—"our goal here isn't to wage war against the Ming-era underworld."

As tempers cooled slightly, he continued. "We'll prepare for both possibilities. Ran Yao should still go to examine the crime scene. His investigative skills will be sufficient—this isn't some locked-room mystery, so the detective-fiction buffs can sit this one out."

Several mystery enthusiasts lodged halfhearted protests.

"If we need an armed solution, we already have Beiwei on site. I propose the Athletics Group send two additional people as backup—any more would just get in the way."

Lin Shenhe pushed through the crowd. "I'm going too. Give me that Emei small-caliber rifle. I've shot sniper rifles in America—practically never miss within five hundred meters."

"Fine. You're in."

"That's enough." Ma Qianzhu cut off the remaining volunteers with a wave. To Engineer Wang, he added: "Tell Zishan to leverage Ming-era capabilities. Don't rely too heavily on force alone."

"Understood."

With the discussion concluded, everyone scrambled to pack gear. Ran Yao brought his camera and criminal-investigation notebook. He had fingerprint-collection tools as well, but those were useless here—the Ming Dynasty had no fingerprint database. The Athletics Group packed three five-shot shotguns. Ammunition was scarce, and there was no time to reload fresh rounds, so each gun received only ten shells. They also assembled reconnaissance equipment: night-vision goggles, radio beacons. Listening devices couldn't be obtained on short notice, but voice recorders, microphones, and cameras were scrounged together. Walkie-talkies, smoke canisters, tear-gas grenades, gas masks, and assorted odds and ends—whether useful or not—filled two large backpacks.

Ran Yao accompanied Xiao Zishan and Sun Chang as they inspected Director Wen's room and the entire compound, sketching several diagrams along the way. Sun Chang was astonished that within a few hours, more Australians had materialized—even more surprising than learning Master Wen had been kidnapped. He watched this new Australian work in silence, prowling methodically through the rooms and courtyard: now climbing a ladder, now lying flat on the ground peering through a small magnifying glass, occasionally scribbling in a notebook with some kind of pen. He concluded this must be an Australian constable, though he couldn't fathom how the man had arrived so quickly.

After more than an hour of investigation, Ran Yao had largely reconstructed the crime.

"This was a coordinated operation involving multiple perpetrators." In the room, he briefed the grim-faced rescue team. A large square table had been stood on end to serve as an improvised blackboard, its black-lacquered rosewood surface now defaced with chalk marks.

"This is the route the criminals used to enter." He drew a floor plan on the table. "The courtyard wall here is quite tall—roughly seven to eight meters. A human pyramid wouldn't work at that height, so they must have used a grappling hook. There are obvious grip marks on the wall coping, along with many fallen tiles."

"Grappling hooks are real?"

"Very real. I've seen documentation of burglary cases using such tools well into the 1940s and '50s.

"After entering, the criminals first used knockout incense on the servants in the outer courtyard, then moved inward and drugged each of our four colleagues in turn—proceeding from east to west. They waited outside for some time before calmly searching each room.

"They broke the padlock on the crossing-point room and attempted to pry open the steel grating. There are at least three or four pry marks on the bars. From the abrasion patterns, the tool was probably a crude blade or similar long, narrow iron implement.

"Finally, they carried the unconscious Director Wen out through the back courtyard gate.

"Though the traces aren't entirely clear, based on footprints extracted from the muddy ground and friction marks on the walls, I've identified at least three distinct sets of footprints inside the compound. Outside the wall, there's another set. So we're looking at a minimum of four perpetrators. Their heights range from 1.55 to 1.60 meters. They carried specialized climbing equipment, weapons, and narcotics—professional criminals, without question.

"One peculiar detail stands out: among the four sets of footprints, one person was barefoot. While going barefoot was common in ancient times, this is Guangzhou proper, not some remote backwater. This could be a significant lead."

"You mean there are social groups accustomed to going barefoot?"

"Exactly. At least one of the criminals habitually goes without shoes. It's unlikely to be a personal quirk—more probably a custom shared by an entire social group."

"Who would that be?" The room puzzled over this.

"I'm not a historian," Ran Yao admitted with a helpless shrug. In the modern world, this case would be trivially easy. The traces this gang had left were as obvious as walking around without pants under contemporary forensic techniques. Unfortunately, this was seventeenth-century Ming Dynasty China—no fingerprint databases, no criminal records to consult. He was utterly ignorant of this ancient city's social fabric. Standard investigative methods were useless here.

Disappointment settled over the room. They had expected a professional investigator to make short work of these petty criminals. Apparently not. Modern criminal investigation, they were learning, depended heavily on long-accumulated intelligence and archives.

"Is there anything else you can tell us? What about motive—was this premeditated or opportunistic?" Xiao Zishan pressed.

"Premeditated, without question." Ran Yao reconstructed the sequence. "The criminals had detailed knowledge of this compound. There are over twenty rooms of various sizes here, yet knockout incense was used only in occupied ones. On the windows of empty rooms, I found no dosing holes.

"The reason they resorted to knockout incense is obvious—they knew you had strong defensive capabilities. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed it to succeed. Director Wen always carries pepper spray wherever he goes.

"Also, as Beiwei mentioned, you had an intrusion attempt a few days ago. That was almost certainly the criminals casing the location.

"As for motive—that's where things get puzzling." Ran Yao stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Judging from the stolen items, they clearly came for valuables. But kidnapping Director Wen alone suggests a targeted abduction."

"Do they know Director Wen's identity as an Australian sea merchant?"

"I'm certain they do." Ran Yao pointed at the list of stolen items. "This gang wasn't just interested in silver—they specifically targeted your 'Australian goods.' They left most Ming-era valuables untouched. Instead, they took your shoes, socks, ballpoint pens—modern trinkets. They came prepared."

"You mean...?"

"This isn't simple theft or kidnapping." Ran Yao shook his head slowly. "I believe Director Wen's abduction may not be for ransom at all."

The room fell into hushed conference, and everyone agreed to leverage Ming-era resources for intelligence gathering. Xiao Zishan turned to Sun Chang. "Bring the manager of the Qiwei Escort Bureau here."

(End of Chapter)