At 7:00 in the morning, everyone was standing at the scene. A mud-splattered Volkswagen was abandoned by the road. There were many apples piled up not far from them. The apples scattered on the road had already been crushed. The police found the body of the truck driver who had been killed among the apples.

"There’s a fork in the road. Calculating using the fastest speed of the truck, they have now escaped as far as 600 kilometers away. That is to say, the surrounding towns and villages may all be places where they’d hide in."

"The most terrible thing is that there aren’t many security cameras in the suburbs. Even if we could find one, it would be difficult to trace them."

"Old Chen, what are you thinking about?"

Facing Lin Dongxue’s question, Chen Shi recovered from his stupor. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, “It’s nothing. I’m just too tired... I think we should divide into two groups and chase along two roads, inquiring the whole way."

Besides his input, there was no better solution, so everyone was divided into two groups who questioned people at the gas stations and restaurants along the way. Closer to noon, Lin Dongxue and Chen Shi arrived at a roadside restaurant. The employee there said that last night, a truck drove past. The truck was empty and there was a wagon at the back clacking loudly, so it left an impression on the employee.

The characteristics of the truck described by the employee were very similar to that of the robbed car, which reduced the scope of the search a lot. However, it only changed from finding a needle in the vast ocean to finding a needle in a big lake.

The two took a break at this restaurant as they waited for the other police officers to arrive. They had only slept for six hours over two consecutive days. Lin Dongxue really had no appetite and just kept drinking water. A sleep-deprived body needed hydration.

"You didn’t quarrel with Yueyue, right?" Lin Dongxue asked suddenly.

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"Ever since you came back from home in the morning, you’ve been in a bad mood. What's the matter with you?" Lin Dongxue was very sensitive to the changes in Chen Shi's mood since she was together with him every day, so he couldn't hide it from her at all.

Chen Shi hesitated. What would telling Lin Dongxue what was going on right now do besides worry her?

He put on a relaxed expression. "Yes, we quarrelled a bit. I haven't been home for the past two days, and she isn’t very happy."

"Haii, damn Zhou Xiao, he’s hurting everyone."

At this time, Lin Dongxue received a call. After listening to it, she relayed, "A clue leading to Zhou Xiao appeared in Siliqiao."

"Siliqiao isn’t far from Long'an."

"The eyewitness over there said they saw them at noon. It was a man, a woman, and an old lady driving a truck."

"The employee here saw them last night. This route is a bit strange... They made a big circle around the countryside and then went back?!"

"What should we do?"

"Let's go!" Chen Shi stood up wearily, feeling top-heavy. Zhou Xiao was fighting an endurance battle, constantly consuming their energy and patience. Today, there was a policeman who fell asleep while driving. If it weren’t for their partner finding out in time, an accident would have happened.

On the way, Chen Shi said, "Now that Zhou Xiao and Ling Shuang are together, who will send the 'diagnosis report'? Are they planning to give up their criminal style?

"I don't think they’ll send it this time."

"No, it will be delivered!" Chen Shi was very sure of this. "Zhou Xiao is stubborn and Ling Shuang is arrogant. They both regard the police as kindergarten children. They kidnapped Xiaodong’s mum, which shows that they still plan to design an arrangement. This time, I’m afraid it will also be a situation of decision."

"So what will Xiaodong's 'diagnostic report' contain?"

Chen Shi looked at the gray sky outside the window, pondering, "Xiaodong's 'illness'? I think it's the psychology of dependency. They’ll write a story about that!"

Lin Dongxue felt sad when she thought of the predicament Xiaodong was about to face. If he lost his mother, it really was possible that he would become another person going forward.

She even felt a sense of guilt. The person who caused all this was Lie Guoxiao, the person who was related to her by blood. She really hoped that she could bear a part of the pain on Xiaodong’s behalf.

At 4:00 in the afternoon, they finally arrived at Siliqiao. The other policemen were there staying in a restaurant, and the air was full of the smell of smoke. Lin Dongxue was surprised that everyone had stopped searching. Was it possible that they were waiting for them?

Everyone's expressions were a bit heavy. Xu Xiaodong sat at a table with his head in his hands. Lin Dongxue’s heart dropped. Could it have already happened?

"What happened?"

"The 'diagnosis report' was sent here." A policeman took out his cell phone.

This time, the "diagnosis report" was sent to the police's public mailbox via e-mail. The contents were as follows:

"Patient: Xu Xiaodong;

Sex: Male;

Age: 28;

Symptoms: Dependence.

Due to growing up in a single-parent family and the mother’s doting, the patient still cannot be weaned psychologically after entering adulthood. He has a strong dependence on his mother and shows various naive "big boy" styles through his words and deeds. The patient is subconsciously trying to please his mother and maintain the lively image of a child in exchange for the doting. This naivety in his words and deeds distances the patient from the outside world, so the family has become an even warmer harbor for him, which continuously aggravates his dependence on his mother, forming a vicious circle.

Suggested way of treatment: Xiaodong to face this predicament independently and bravely. Your mother is locked in the Phase III of Wangcheng New Housing Community. Come alone to rescue her. If you play any tricks, what you see will be her dead body!"

Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue were shocked to see this special "method of medical treatment". Chen Shi had previously imagined that Ling Shuang might force Xu Xiaodong to do things that would violate the police's bottom line. He didn’t expect his "challenge" to be so simple!

But this was also the hardest challenge!

"These people are crazy. They even told us the address. I don't think there’s any need to listen to them. Just send a SWAT team to rescue the hostage." A policeman put forward his own opinion.

"But doesn’t that give them a perfect reason to kill the hostage?"

"Have you forgotten what happened previously? The choices they gave were fake. They had arranged the ending a long time ago."

"What do you think the ending is?"

"..." The policeman glanced at Xu Xiaodong, but didn’t say what he was thinking.

Chen Shi said, "This is a psychological game. Ling Shuang is very good at it. She’s predicted our choices. However, I want to point out that if she wants Xiaodong to save his mother alone, then this email would have been sent to Xiaodong’s personal cell phone. She sent it to the police mailbox so that all of us could see. In-fighting here with red faces is also the result she wants. We’re already scared from the past wounds we received. The other party drew out the path to get there, but we won’t dare to take a step."

Xu Xiaodong stood up. "Brother Chen, should I go or not?"

"You absolutely can't go alone! My sincere thought is that if you disobey them. The result will be bad, but, if you obey them, the result would be worse!"

"My mother will die anyway!" Xu Xiaodong's eyes widened and tears fell from them.

Chen Shi couldn’t bear to lie to him, nor could he bear to tell him the truth. Xiaodong’s mom was like prey in the mouth of a beast. She was already at the point where she’d die nine times out of ten.