Chapter Fifty: SM!

This adult store apparently did not have a business license and was thus hidden within an ordinary residential home. I knocked on the door, and soon, a sleazy middle-aged man appeared, asking what we wanted.

I spoke up, “We’re here to buy some items for men. Do you have any?”

The sleazy man seemed surprised by our arrival, hurriedly asking how we knew about this place.

I replied immediately, saying that it was Fan Lu who had told us.

He smiled, saying Fan Lu was an old customer, and he could offer us a discount. With that, he invited us inside.

It seemed the two women indeed frequented this place.

I asked, “You know Fan Lu and Li Fengyan, right? They told me they often buy things here and find them quite useful.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, we’re all quite familiar. Genuine goods, I guarantee everything here is authentic and official.”

I asked if I could look around the warehouse.

He nodded. “Sure, come in.”

He led us into the storeroom, but it was nearly empty—just a few boxes scattered in the corners. The pink packaging featuring beautiful women clearly indicated adult products. I turned to ask the owner, “Where are all the items... huh, where’s the boss?”

Li Hong quickly turned around and saw that the owner was no longer behind us. He immediately gasped, “This is bad!”

He rushed toward the door, but it was too late. With a loud clang, the door slammed shut, and we heard the sound of a lock being fastened from the outside.

We’d been set up!

I immediately tried to kick the door, but it only resounded with a dull, metallic thud—it was clearly an iron door.

Hiss, hiss, hiss—mist seeped in through the cracks. I hurriedly sniffed it and instantly cursed inwardly—it was ether.

Li Hong took off his jacket and tried to block the wall gaps, but soon the fabric was soaked through with liquid ether, which continued to evaporate.

“Li Hong, call for help,” I said urgently.

He glanced at his phone. “No signal.”

Damn it. I cursed, pacing anxiously around the room.

“How can there be no signal here?” I muttered in confusion. “There must be a signal jammer.”

Li Hong nodded.

“Look for wires,” I said. “If we connect the live and neutral wires, the circuit will trip, and the signal jammer will stop working.”

We immediately searched the room, but the owner seemed to have anticipated this—there wasn’t a single appliance, not even exposed wire ends.

I checked again; even the windows had been sealed solidly with cement and bricks. There was no ventilation and no way to escape.

The ether’s scent grew stronger; I felt dizzy and weak. If this continued, we’d surely lose consciousness.

Who knew what the man might do to us once we were unconscious?

Li Hong remarked, “There must be wires in the wall gaps.”

“Yes,” I replied. “But how do we open it?”

Li Hong suggested looking for something heavy. I rummaged through the boxes, but found nothing useful besides the adult products.

“Do you have a knife?” I asked.

Li Hong sighed, “We can only try. These walls are reinforced concrete—I’m worried we don’t have enough time…”

I immediately removed my shirt and had Li Hong urinate on it, then covered my mouth and nose with it. Li Hong asked if it would work, saying during military training they’d learned it didn’t. I replied that we had no choice—ancient people used this method to ward off poison; desperate times called for desperate measures.

I remembered there was a socket near the door, so the wires must converge there. Li Hong began chiseling at the wall with his knife.

But with reinforced concrete, a mere knife was almost useless. We worked for a long time and managed only to chip away the surface layer.

Meanwhile, the ether fumes thickened; I felt my whole body weak and limp, and Li Hong was losing strength, crouching beside me.

As we teetered on the edge of unconsciousness, despair crept in. Was I going to die in this pervert’s house?

My hazy gaze wandered around the room, finally resting on the fire sprinkler on the ceiling. I slapped my forehead and called out, “Li Hong, help me up!”

Li Hong, ever the professional soldier, managed to stand and let me sit on his shoulders, despite his exhaustion.

He struggled to his feet. I took out a lighter and held it to the sprinkler head. Instantly, water burst forth in torrents.

Unexpectedly, not only did the sprinkler in the room activate, but the ones in the living room did as well.

Hope surged in my chest—a glimmer in the midst of despair. The water would splash onto the socket, causing a short circuit and tripping the circuit breaker.

From the living room came angry curses—clearly the owner realized things were out of control and was fleeing in panic.

Soon after, we heard a loud crack from the living room: the sound of electrical wires shorting.

I immediately grabbed my phone and saw full signal bars. With difficulty, I dialed Mr. Lin.

I barely had the strength to speak—the act of retrieving my phone had exhausted me, and my mind was fading. I could only hear Mr. Lin’s voice on the phone, but couldn’t muster the energy to respond.

But it was enough; they could track my location by the phone signal.

When I awoke again, I was lying in the living room. Mr. Lin and several detectives were busy, and two armed officers stood guard at the door.

Tang Jingjing saw me regain consciousness and looked at me with a mocking tone, “Tsk tsk tsk, I never expected the two of you to have such interests. Quite eye-opening.”

I offered a bitter smile. “Officer Tang, are you just bored or what? Hurry and chase after the owner of this place. That bastard is definitely up to something.”

Tang Jingjing replied, “You think I need your orders? He’s long gone by now! Don’t worry, I’ve already sent officers to track his information—he’ll be caught.”

Mr. Lin came over, smiling, asking if we were okay.

I rubbed my temples. “I’m fine, just a headache. By the way, where’s Li Hong?”

I hadn’t seen Li Hong in the room.

Mr. Lin answered, “The ‘Army Knife’ didn’t pass out. When we entered, he was standing under the tap, soaking himself.”

Puzzled, I asked, “Won’t he get poisoned standing under the tap?”

Mr. Lin replied, “He should be fine—ether is slightly soluble in water, so the fumes near the tap were washed away.”

Li Hong emerged from the bathroom, giving me a wry smile. I quickly asked if he was alright. Li Hong said he was fine, just drank too much water and needed to pee more.

After searching the scene, we soon found some crucial items, including several photos.

They were ‘Queen’s Discipline’ photos—the man was the owner of the house, and the women were Fan Lu and Li Fengyan.

But I quickly noticed the photos were not taken in this room; the background appeared to be a basement. The basement was dimly lit and messy, with snack wrappers everywhere, even a pot, and a heap of bizarre uniforms for both men and women.

Tang Jingjing blushed and muttered about how perverse it was, refusing to look further. Mr. Lin, on the other hand, seemed fascinated, examining each photo with great interest.

Tang Jingjing grew embarrassed. “Mr. Lin, what are you doing?”

Mr. Lin smiled. “Come here, girl, look at this—what do you see?”

Tang Jingjing leaned in. “Queen’s Discipline—I’ve seen it before.”

Mr. Lin said, “I mean this corner.”

Tang Jingjing focused on where Mr. Lin pointed, noticing a mirror in the corner. In the mirror, a disheveled face with wild hair stared coldly at the camera.

Tang Jingjing jumped up. “Isn’t that Liu Jun Cheng?”

I immediately took the photo and examined it under a magnifying glass. Despite the messy hair, I recognized Liu Jun Cheng at once.

“Is there a timestamp?” I asked.

Mr. Lin shook his head. “No.”

“Who developed these?”

Mr. Lin shook his head. “Let’s ask the nearby photo shops. Hopefully, this won’t involve more people…”

So we took the photos and went around to the local photo shops, but found no leads. All claimed no such special photos had been printed at their shops.

Still, we gained one clue: judging by the quality and exposure, the photographer was highly professional.

Tang Jingjing immediately said, “I know—Fan Lu was in the photography club back in university.”

I looked at her in confusion. “How do you know?”

Tang Jingjing said it was written in Fan Lu’s file, which we hadn't had a chance to see yet.

At that moment, the traffic police called, saying they’d caught a drunk driver who looked very much like the person we were pursuing.

Tang Jingjing quickly drove us to the traffic police station. In the detention center, we met the owner of the adult store.

When he saw us, the owner grinned and laughed incessantly. Tang Jingjing shouted angrily, “What are you laughing at?”

The owner kept sneering. “You two are police. I’ve always dreamed of locking up two cops for fun, and now I’ve done it. Can’t I laugh?”

I was speechless.

“Too bad it was two men. If I’d locked up this lady officer instead, it would have been worth dying for,” the owner said, drooling lecherously.

Tang Jingjing was so furious she tried to rush in and beat him, but I stopped her.

Just then, the traffic police came over and said they’d found something suspicious they wanted to show us.

He opened the owner’s phone and navigated to the QQ group management page. A group called ‘SM Torture Love Headquarters’ instantly caught our attention.

Mr. Lin anxiously urged, “Open the chat records!”