Chapter 74 Clues (Seeking Votes)
Chapter 74: Chapter 74 Clues (Seeking Votes)
"One billion?" Lin Xi was somewhat surprised.
Though he’s not very sensitive to numbers, this seems a bit outrageous. Even though the Wang family is wealthy, by Lin Xi’s estimate, their assets might be in the tens of billions.
Now the kidnapper wants one billion, real cash.
"Yes, one billion." Wang Shuo nodded. Despite his dislike for Lin Xi, he still said, "The good news is, we happen to have this amount available, but the fear is that the kidnapper, upon receiving the money, won’t keep their promise."
"Happen to have it available?" Lin Xi was stunned. That’s one billion, who would have such a large amount as liquid funds, unless their assets were close to tens of billions.
Lin Xi glanced at Wang Shuo and noticed a hint of hesitation in his expression, as if he was hiding something he hadn’t yet revealed.
"Wang Shuo, what are you hesitating for? Do you want to anger your dad?" Elder Wang cursed as he saw Wang Shuo’s hesitant demeanor, "Xiaolin is the grandson of the senior. Without the senior, how would the Wang family be what it is today?"
Beside them, Zhou Yan appeared calm on the surface, but was very surprised inside, wondering if Lin Xi’s grandfather was indeed formidable to earn such trust from Elder Wang.
The others were utterly amazed, unable to interject at all, merely casting silent glances at Lin Xi, then at Elder Wang, and again at Wang Shuo.
Upon being scolded like that, Wang Shuo wasn’t usually indecisive, and since his father trusted this Lin Xi so much, he decided to speak.
"The reason we’re able to fork out the money is because our Wang Group is currently bidding on a project, so cash has been prepared long beforehand."
"And this project is coveted by numerous groups, including those from other cities and even international corporations."
"But our Wang Group is the most prepared and willing to invest the most, considering our foundation is here in Chuzhou City."
Once Wang Shuo ended his explanation, its implications were clear: at precisely this moment, his daughter was kidnapped. If the events were indeed unrelated, it would seem incredible.
"Do you have any suspects in mind?" Zhou Yan interjected at this moment.
"There are too many competing groups, so it’s hard to pinpoint," Wang Shuo thought for a moment and shook his head helplessly.
"Could it be an enemy seizing the opportunity to attack your Wang family?" Lin Xi added, suggesting this might be a chance for dual objectives.
If so, Wang Xian’s safety becomes uncertain.
"Our Wang family always acts benevolently, not to mention enemies — even minor frictions don’t exist," Wang Shuo asserted firmly, and Elder Wang concurred.
"These aren’t much help in swiftly rescuing Wang Xian. What we need most right now is to know where she’s being held," Lin Xi stated.
Once her location is confirmed, everything else wouldn’t be a big issue.
"If we knew where she was, would we still have time for your idle inquiries?" Zhou Yan retorted irritably. She always thought Lin Xi was quite notorious yet highly capable.
But now it seems, while his combat power is exceedingly strong, his intelligence seems to have dropped below the threshold.
Wang Shuo ignored Lin Xi entirely, convinced by his father’s words that Lin Xi possessed some skills, unaware he’d merely spout grand words.
The rest of the Wang family never held any hope for Lin Xi initially, and now felt even less favorably.
The hall suddenly became very quiet, the atmosphere awkward.
Only Elder Wang seriously contemplated Lin Xi’s words; when helped by the senior in the past, breakthroughs were made from the most unlikely places.
"Lin Xi, do you know where Xiaoxian is?" Elder Wang asked in shock, recalling Lin Xi’s words as indicating just this possibility.
"Of course I know," Lin Xi responded confidently, casting a smile toward Zhou Yan.
"Really?" Elder Wang was extremely excited.
"Really." Lin Xi nodded, hesitated for a moment, then continued, "But I’ll need a personal item from Miss Wang."
"That’s not a problem, just go to Xiaoxian’s room and find it." Elder Wang naturally had no objections as long as his granddaughter was found, "Wang Pei, take Lin Xi to your sister’s room."
"Grandpa, isn’t this inappropriate?" Wang Pei, a handsome, princely-looking individual, hesitated.
"What’s inappropriate? Lin Xi is not an outsider," Elder Wang waved his hand decisively, "Let’s get moving."
Wang Shuo furrowed his brow, unable now to see through this young man; his rich social experience allowed him to detect the confidence in Lin Xi’s words.
However, without a single clue, how would you find her?
Even if clues existed, there’s no guarantee he would find her eventually.
Furthermore, what does needing a personal item mean?
The more he couldn’t understand, the deeper Wang Shuo’s frown became. Plus, why did his father believe in this young Lin Xi so much, a situation he’d never encountered before?
It’s not that he didn’t trust his father considering his father built up this large Wang family from scratch.
"Are you sure?" Zhou Yan was slightly worried, fearing this scoundrel wasn’t making baseless claims — how could he know where she was?
If she weren’t found in the end, how would you justify to the Wang family?
"Trust me!" Lin Xi gazed fixedly at Zhou Yan, signaling her to rest assured.
Zhou Yan looked indifferent on the surface but felt an inexplicable sense of trust inside; she kept silent, leaving the matter to this scoundrel as it wasn’t her affair.
Wang Pei reluctantly led Lin Xi upstairs directly to Wang Xian’s room, and when they reached the door, Wang Pei said, "Go in yourself; I’ll wait outside."
This left Lin Xi momentarily puzzled, prompting him to ask, "You’re trusting me this much?"
"My grandpa trusts you; how dare I not?" Wang Pei retorted mockingly, realizing something, then added, "Besides, my sister’s now in her late twenties and hasn’t found a boyfriend yet; I’m worried for her too."
"Though I dislike you, at least you’re confident and look decent; importantly, Grandpa doesn’t object, and I support you."
"..." Lin Xi’s mind struggled to comprehend — is there really someone marketing their own sister like this?
Could she be unattractive?
Cloaked in doubt, Lin Xi entered Wang Xian’s room alone.
"Uh, fooled."
The room was empty enough to suggest she hadn’t stayed over a few nights because the bed’s covers remained unruffled, and the desk had only a laptop.
A corner contained a suitcase but it was locked.
No wonder he trusted me so easily coming in!
Lin Xi scanned the room, ultimately finding nothing personal. Upon opening the wardrobe, all clothes neatly folded offered no help.
He needed an item from recent times, preferably worn yesterday.
"The suitcase?" Lin Xi hesitated, considering its locked state — would opening it privately be inappropriate?
In the next moment, Lin Xi, without any psychological burden, knelt down and cracked the combination lock, which posed no challenge to him.
"This is it." Lin Xi nodded upon seeing the item nestled inside, affirming internally.