Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Collar is a Small Bomb Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Collar is a Small Bomb The cargo ship sailed on the high sea.
The cabin was on the level below the main deck, bobbing up and down with the waves.
Lin Qi was confined in a small cage, unable to properly lie down or sit up, and feeling seasick.
Because the cabin was sealed tightly, she couldn’t distinguish the ti of day and could only roughly estimate how much ti had passed.
Those in the other cages occasionally whispered among themselves.
Lin Qi heard them discussing anxiously, “This thing around our necks…”
“It has a number on it…”
“It’s so uncomfortable to wear…”
“Don’t touch it… I heard it’s a bomb… and it will explode…”
Lin Qi was terrified.
She gently touched her neck collar and looked at the little girl, asking, “Do you know what this neck collar is?”
The little girl, bewildered, shook her head.
She was clutching her stomach and had been curling up in the corner the whole ti, looking frightened and desperate, and she was also hungry.
She naturally had no idea about the neck collar; she just knew everyone had one and didn’t think too much about it.
Lin Qi was both amused and hopeless.
She thought… how could such a small child understand sothing even she didn’t know?
Lin Qi moved closer to her and hugged her, feeling the coldness of the little girl’s skin. At night, the temperature in the cabin dropped sharply, and the little girl’s clothing was thin, clearly chilled severely.
She hugged her and said, “Shall we sleep for a while?”
The little girl said, “I’m scared to sleep…”
Perhaps it was the dangerous environnt that made her feel insecure, but for so reason, when Lin Qi hugged her, she could feel so warmth.
Perhaps it reminded her of her Mommy…
The little girl’s nose turned sour again.
“Don’t cry…”
Lin Qi soothed, “We will survive and get out of here, I promise…” Although she didn’t know what she could guarantee with, but even if it ca to the mont of death, one shouldn’t just give up hope and die in despair.
The little girl said, “Sister, you said a great hero will co to rescue you, is that true?”
“Yes.”
The little girl innocently asked, “Will… will that hero also rescue ?”
Lin Qi said, “We will leave this place together…”
The little girl nodded, “Okay…”
She hugged Lin Qi and soon fell asleep peacefully.
Both of them held each other, not knowing how long they had slept.
In a daze, they were awaken by a loud clang.
Lin Qi was imdiately startled awake.
A group of n were dragging a trolley inside, covered with bread and toast, Lin Qi realized it must be the third day’s noon, and it was ti to distribute ration.
She was also hungry, it seed a night had passed during that sleep.
Soon, the bread was distributed.
Lin Qi instinctively took a big bite of the bread, and the little girl beside her also wolfed down her share. Two als of bread a day were not enough; they were trembling with hunger.
Finally tasting the pangs of hunger, Lin Qi’s pieces of bread had hardened, yet she continued to tear it apart bit by bit, soon there was only a small piece left, she hesitated but still gave it to the little girl.
After sipping so water and after everyone left, the girl suddenly said, “My na is Lili.”
It was the first ti she took the initiative to tell her own na, “Moli.”
Initially, the little girl still had her guard up against Lin Qi, but after Lin Qi had twice saved so bread for her and also spent the night holding her, the little girl developed an inexplicable fondness and reliance, naturally erasing her wariness.
anwhile.
Huo Mansion.
In the study, Momo knocked and entered.
Huo Tingdong had rested for a few hours, barely regaining so energy.
Unexpectedly, just in a few hours, Momo brought so good news.
“I’ve cracked the dark web!”
He laid the laptop in front of Huo Tingdong to show him the accessed dark web.
The dark web, as the na suggests, is a shadowy underground network hidden within the darkness.
This world is enveloped by a vast internet; on the surface, the network covers a broad area, but in reality, the web pages people browse daily could only be described as the tip of the iceberg.
Below these surface web lie countless dark webs of various sizes.
If the internet world were described as an iceberg, then the web pages usually accessed would only be the tip, the remaining 90% lies deep in the ocean, never touched by most in their entire lifeti.
Human trafficking, drugs, firearms, murder for hire…
These sins are commonplace in the dark web.
Momo said, “I found Mommy’s photo on the dark web.”
Huo Tingdong looked at the webpage.
The page was a black marketplace, the variety of “goods” displayed was shocking – won, children, all listed on the page, openly priced.
Lin Qi was labeled “19”, and had gone through the second round of auction just a few hours ago, with a bid reaching up to 8 million.
Momo said, “This dark net is tough to crack. It has three layers, inside and out, accessible only through specific servers, the top-level TOR servers. Whatever you want, as long as you can afford it, you can bid for anything on the dark web.”
He paused, then said, “What should we do? Mommy has been kidnapped by the dark web.”
Rather than calling it a kidnapping, it’s more accurate to say she was sold as a “product” on the dark web.
Huo Tingdong asked, “Can you find out who the buyer is?”
Momo replied, “I found them, though it was quite difficult, it’s a buyer from L country. However, I still can’t determine how the ‘Black Mass’ organization will sell the ‘goods’, where these ‘goods’ will end up, and I can’t find out either. The buyer’s network is too extensive, each account has an encrypted ID, and it’s very difficult to trace them.”
Huo Tingdong said, “Customs within the country are very strict. To transport ‘goods’, there are only three ways: by land, sea, and air. Land transportation is completely unfeasible, the only options left are ‘sea and air.’ Air transport is also stringently checked, making air transport nearly impossible.”
The laws and customs inside the country are stricter than those outside.
However, as for mariti transport…
Momo asked, “You an, to deliver the ‘goods’ to the buyer, it must be through ‘mariti’ transport?”
Huo Tingdong said, “The nearest and largest seaport to our city, Muxima Harbor, is a 5-hour drive away. If I’m not mistaken…”
Lin Qi had already been transferred to a cargo ship.
Huo Tingdong opened the network, pulling up all the shipping routes from Muxima Harbor in the past 24 hours.
Momo had done everything within his power, and now, only worry remained: “Mommy’s fate is uncertain, we don’t know… how she’s doing…”
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