Hearing the man in the passenger seat, a strong man, standing at least one meter ninety tall, got out of the back of the van, grabbed Ikishima Midari's arm, and dragged her towards the van.
This man was the one who had just pulled Ayanokoji Kiyotaka into the car. His arm was like an iron vice, carrying immense strength, and Ikishima Midari couldn't break free at all.
"Help! Help!"
Seeing that the situation was not right, Ikishima Midari immediately started screaming loudly, attempting to attract others' attention.
"Let her go!"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka struggled to his feet, jumped out of the car, and crashed into the man, trying to knock him down.
However, the gap between them was like a chasm. Ayanokoji crashed into him, but he remained motionless, and before he could react, he was directly grabbed by the collar with the other hand and thrown back into the car without any chance to resist!
Before Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could stand up again, he threw the screaming Ikishima Midari into the car as well, directly onto Ayanokoji.
Ikishima Midari's screams also attracted the attention of some people, who stopped in their tracks, curiously watching what was happening.
There were also a few people at the entrance of the sports club, watching the unfolding events in astonishment.
The closest was a middle-aged uncle, the same man who had advised Ikishima Midari not to shoot at the shooting range.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka remembered him as being very enthusiastic. When the two were being scolded by the manager, he even actively explained and defended them from the side.
Although there was nothing he could do, it seemed he could only place his hope in him.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at the burly man at the entrance, not daring to act rashly. Holding Ikishima Midari, he shouted towards the uncle, "Hey, uncle, please call the police! We've been kidnapped!"
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't expect him to rush up and help; as long as he could help call the police, it would be a great help.
Call the police himself...?
The detective who had been following them was stunned, unsure what to do.
Most of his clients who hired him to find people were relatives and families. When the reward was offered, he remembered the employer saying the target was a child who had run away from home after a conflict, which was why he enthusiastically helped search.
But now, it looked like a kidnapping?
Could it be that he had become an accomplice to evil forces?
Should he call the police?
Just as he was hesitating whether to take out his phone, the man sitting in the passenger seat rolled down the window. He smiled and explained to the people watching around him, "Everyone, don't misunderstand."
"We are not kidnappers. This is our family's young master who ran away from home. We are just taking him home. We are not bad people. This is our family matter, so please don't meddle."
"It's not a family matter at all! I don't know them! You must help call the police...!"
Before Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could finish his sentence, the burly man pulled the car door shut and covered his mouth, making him unable to speak anymore.
"My young master hasn't been home for a long time, and he has some misunderstandings about us. Don't take his words seriously."
He said with a smile, then suddenly lowered his voice and said to the uncle, "We'll transfer the money to your account later. Don't do anything unnecessary, understand?"
There was a hint of threat in his words. Before the detective uncle could react, the car window rolled up, and the driver stepped on the accelerator and drove away.
The entire process took less than twenty seconds.
"What exactly happened?"
"Who knows? Forget it, let's not meddle in others' business..."
Seeing the van leave, other passersby felt something was off, but still, adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, they dispersed.
Only this private detective remained in place, his phone paused on the dialing interface, not having made the call.
At this moment, his intuition as a detective had already made him aware of some issues.
These people were definitely not the target's family. They were very likely committing a "kidnapping," and he was the accomplice who leaked the target's location.
Should he make this call or not?
As he hesitated, his phone received a transfer—thirty million Japanese yen.
Immediately following was a text message, stating that this money was an advance payment, and they would send the remaining money after confirming the target was legitimate.
Originally, for the detective, this money was just a reward delivered to his doorstep, but now, he felt it was more like hush money.
The employer was warning him that he was now considered an accomplice who had taken money for a job, and he shouldn't do anything unnecessary, otherwise, the remaining seventy million Japanese yen would definitely not be transferred to him.
This amount of money was too much; he was truly tempted.
But thinking of his persistent detective principles and the innocent young girl, Ikishima Midari, who was dragged into this, he still hardened his heart and called an old friend at the police station.
"Hello, Officer Hakuba? I need to report a kidnapping..."
...
On the other side, after the van had driven about a kilometer, hearing the middle-aged man in the passenger seat say, "Let him go," the bodyguard-like man finally released Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
After releasing Ayanokoji, the man sat back in the last row of the van, no longer imposing any coercive measures on the two, but still watching them, as if to say that if they made any sudden moves, he would instantly act.
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka already knew who had leaked his information.
Just now, he sent a message to someone and transferred some money to them.
Although he couldn't see what message he sent due to the angle, based on what he had said to the shooting range uncle earlier, it wasn't difficult to guess that the person was the one who revealed his location and leaked the information.
Although extremely angry, anger was useless.
Now the car door was closed, and behind him, the invincible thug was glaring at him covetously. He didn't dare to rashly lunge towards the car door and open it.
If he were alone, he might act bolder, but now that Ikishima Midari was also kidnapped, he didn't dare to act rashly.
If he angered these kidnappers, it would trigger a Bad Ending.
Ikishima Midari threw herself into Ayanokoji's arms. She whispered, "Who are they? Why are they taking you?"
Within that short kilometer, Ikishima Midari really wanted to help Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, wanting him to break free from the thug's restraint, but Ayanokoji Kiyotaka stopped her with a look, so she didn't act rashly.
After all, it was her first time encountering such a situation, and she didn't know what to do.
She regretted it a little. If only she had secretly taken the gun when they left the shooting range, she wouldn't have been so utterly defenseless...
"If you ask me, I'm not sure either."
Ayanokoji gently patted her back, comforting her, and looked at the man in the passenger seat, saying coldly, "Who are you, and why are you taking me? This is a society governed by law, and kidnapping leads to prison."
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