"It's locked, open it." Wei Zhenguo's expression became much more serious.

The lock picker silently did his job and quickly opened the lock on the door.

After staking out for several days, Wen Ming also realized something. He took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Wei Zhenguo, and then forcefully opened the door.

A vertical shaft appeared in front of everyone.

"Notify Mu Zhiyang and the others to follow Tan Yong closely. I'll send reinforcements to them and we'll make the arrest when they arrive." Wei Zhenguo grabbed Wen Ming and said, "Don't be in a rush. I've checked the surroundings. The nearest building is 30 meters away, and there are no other entrances or exits. We'll wait for reinforcements."

"I can go down first, and you guys can stay up here." Wen Ming pulled out his police baton from behind his waist, his spirits lifted.

"The situation down there is unknown. If something happens, how will you handle it alone?" Wei Zhenguo was still worried about Jiang Yuan. He didn't feel comfortable with Jiang Yuan going down, but he also didn't feel comfortable with Jiang Yuan staying up here. Wen Ming had experienced many arrests, but Jiang Yuan had only received basic training...

Jiang Yuan looked at the two of them and whispered, "This door is locked with a padlock."

Wei Zhenguo and Wen Ming were both stunned.

"That makes sense." Wen Ming pulled out his police baton again. A padlock could only be opened from the outside, which meant that Tan Yong's accomplices would not be in the basement.

Of course, nothing was absolute, but the risk was relatively low.

"Go down and take a look. Be careful and don't be overconfident." Wei Zhenguo didn't insist on waiting for reinforcements. If reinforcements arrived, the ownership of the case might be transferred. This was the provincial capital, and even the director of a local police station had a higher rank than him. Wei Zhenguo and his brothers had been staking out here for so long, and their original intention was not to make a name for themselves, but if the opportunity for credit was lost, he would feel uneasy.

Wen Ming was even more eager and quickly slid down the vertical shaft.

"There's another door." Wen Ming reported the situation below, his voice muffled. "It's a corridor that only one person can walk through, with an iron door."

"Mahjong?" Wei Zhenguo called the lock picker by his nickname.

"I charge for opening locks, you know." The lock picker said, curious.

The iron door below was quickly opened, and Wen Ming took a few steps inside before encountering another iron door. He opened it, and a woman's scream came from inside.

"Gan Liang!" Wei Zhenguo's eyes widened. There was a big difference between having someone in the basement and not having anyone.

Or perhaps, if there was someone inside, the basement was no longer a basement, but a real dungeon.

Below, Wen Ming spoke urgently, and the woman's voice gradually turned from speaking to crying.

Wei Zhenguo quickly took out his phone and sent a few text messages, then shouted down, "Wen Ming, be careful, is there any danger?"

"No, there are no weapons down here." Wen Ming replied, then shouted, "There are three people, a woman, locked up. We're going to unlock the door and come up.""I got it." Wei Zhenguo sent a message frantically and pulled out his baton when he heard a sound from below.

Three women crawled out of the well one after another.

Wei Zhenguo looked closely and saw that the last one to climb out was Ding Lan.

Compared to the Ding Lan in the photo, the real person who just crawled out of the well looked even thinner and had a pale, lifeless complexion. But from her appearance, her body still seemed healthy.

"What's your name?" Wei Zhenguo asked Ding Lan directly, suppressing his excitement.

"I'm...I'm Ding Lan." Ding Lan's voice was small and low, with a hint of fear. Wei Zhenguo and the others were not wearing police uniforms, and their self-introductions did not necessarily bring much trust.

Wei Zhenguo sighed softly, "Don't be afraid, we're the police, from the Ningtai County Bureau..."

When Ding Lan heard "Ningtai County," she couldn't hold back and burst into tears.

She cried with tears streaming down her face and snot flying everywhere, completely losing her composure.

Under her influence, another woman also started crying, shaking all over and hugging Mu Zhiyang next to her, splashing him with her wet body.

The third woman hiding behind the two of them seemed a bit numb. She stared blankly at the scene in front of her, her eyes lifeless, as if she hadn't reacted yet.

"Don't run around, our colleagues will be here soon to take you out." Mu Zhiyang whispered.

"Okay...okay!" Ding Lan trembled with excitement, whispered two words, and then cried even louder.

Wei Zhenguo also sighed several times.

He had too many thoughts and emotions about this case.

To be honest, there was an element of luck in finding Ding Lan and rescuing her smoothly.

If Tan Yong had been more patient, Wei Zhenguo and the others might have been able to hold out for a few more days of surveillance, but it was uncertain.

Furthermore, if Tan Yong had been more handsome, more in line with Ding Lan's standards for a partner, or even if he had been Ding Lan's ex-boyfriend, Wei Zhenguo wouldn't have had a chance to lock onto him.

If Jiang Yuan hadn't identified the fingerprints one by one, and if Wei Zhenguo hadn't reopened the case, where would Ding Lan's life have gone?

Wei Zhenguo didn't dare to think too much about these questions.

He didn't dare to think carefully about how he had been helpless in the face of the case three years ago and how he had made his choices and judgments.

If only...it could have been different...

Wei Zhenguo shook his head, not letting these depressing questions continue to invade him.

After a long time, Wei Zhenguo and the other two finally asked the closest person, "What's your name?"

"Li Xiangyuan." This was the first girl to crawl out, about 20 years old, hugging herself and trembling non-stop.

"Where are you from? Where did you live before?" Wei Zhenguo asked softly.

The girl hesitated for a few seconds before whispering, "In Changyang."Wei Zhenguo nodded and looked at the third girl, asking, "And you? What's your name?"

"Wang Junru."

"Where are you from?"

"Changyang."

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Wei Zhenguo nodded slightly, calming the three girls while quickly jotting down some notes in his notebook. However, he didn't formally question them.

With the brief conversation, Wei Zhenguo and the emotions of the three imprisoned women were also calmed.

"I'll go down and take a look." Jiang Yuan held up a flashlight and went down the shaft.