Chapter 105

In the end, two sleeping pills temporarily resolved the crisis that night.

Iris had a scrape on the side of her hand, and she gasped in pain while it was being cleaned and disinfected. Although she wasn't as delicate as before, with tears welling up in her eyes, Zhuang Zhuoyuan still felt extremely sorry for her.

But just when things seemed to be settling down, another problem arose. Before he could even hold his wife tenderly for a moment, the phone on the table rang again. It was Tiger calling, saying that Grandma Long had lost her entire fortune in the stock market and was now drowning her sorrows in alcohol at Cafe Tiger.

CIB had just linked the rise and fall of Tier 1 Energy's stock to the timing of the arrival of Qatari terrorists in Hong Kong. When the news was relayed to O-Team, Luang Pau didn't have time to withdraw his funds from the stock market. By the time the market closed, Tier 1 Energy's stock had fallen to just over one cent.

It was bad luck, and also human greed, but what's done is done, and dwelling on the reasons is useless. At this moment, Long Po was filled with remorse; he was heartbroken and his mind was almost blank. His wife was unemployed, and his elderly mother and children depended on him for support. Now he had lost everything, even mortgaged his house, and it seemed that only death lay before him.

When Zhuang Zhuoyuan arrived, empty wine bottles already filled most of the table. The brothers who arrived earlier surrounded Long Po and tried to persuade her, but she just kept drinking and didn't say a word. The situation was really bad.

Everyone was already discussing pooling money to pay off Grandma Lung's debts. With so many people present, each contributing a little, they could raise a considerable sum. Normally, such a move wouldn't be a problem; these brothers spent every day together, and when something happened, they would chip in to get through it. But this time was different. Grandma Lung's debt was too large. Even with the combined efforts of the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau and the Special Duties Unit, the financial burden on everyone was still immense, as they all had families to support.

Ben offered a solution: "The police force has a special mechanism for officers with debts. I can help you submit a report and apply for the funds. As for this urgent matter of money..."

"I can handle it."

"You can leave it to me."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Yu Xueli spoke at the same time, exchanged a smile, and Yu Xueli said to Granny Long, "The two of us here are the ones who are not short of money. We'll cover for you first, and you can pay us back slowly later. It's better to owe us than to owe outsiders."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan nodded in agreement, adding another boost: "Iris told me before I came that we would do our best to help in any way we could, so please feel free to ask, Grandma Long."

Having gone this far as a brother, Long Po believed that joining the Flying Tigers was the luckiest thing he had ever done in his life. Tears welled in his eyes as he rose and bowed deeply. Faced with everyone's help, he was at a loss for words, only able to repeatedly express his gratitude. Tonight's events had not only solved his troubles but also saved his entire family.

But with so many people buying primary energy stocks, how many can be as lucky as Grandma Long? It's a vicious cycle; those who mortgaged their homes are still relatively safe, but those who borrowed from loan sharks are truly doomed. G-Force, who made a fortune thanks to Iris, was very grateful. He would report any disturbances at the neighborhood fruit market to her, treating it as a story, but also as a warning: "Recently, those big shots have mobilized a lot of people to collect debts, targeting ordinary people, small-time thugs, and even some minor bosses have fallen. Anyway, things are very chaotic outside right now. I can tell you anything you want to know over the phone, but don't go out alone. Remember, absolutely, absolutely not!" He was joking, given how much Inspector Chong cared about Iris, if he found out he was taking Iris out on adventures, he'd be done as an informant and could just wait to be checked for ID every day.

Iris naturally had no intention of taking that risk. After the Jacob incident, she now just wanted to stay home and hide like a coward. Originally, she wanted to find evidence to report Wu Zuxing, but when she visited Grandpa Zhan, she heard from Zhong Wei'en, who was also present, that someone had already sent them an email with clues, so she gave up on that idea and just waited for that bastard to be caught.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan and his team were much busier. Once the number of terrorists entering the country was confirmed, the CIB informed the SDU. Zhan Hantao had been intensifying training recently, requiring the team members to be ready for combat at any time. Although these people were here to launder money, they were carrying heavy weapons, so there was no room for carelessness.

Shortly after the Commercial Crime Bureau came knocking, Wu Zuxing's company, Tier 1 Energy, was suspended from trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He then used this opportunity to make a fortune and prepare to flee the country. However, karma caught up with him; his whereabouts had already been tracked down by the victim whose family he had ruined. When Wu Zuxing fled with a large bag of money, the victim immediately pulled out a knife and attacked him. This man not only wanted to stop Wu Zuxing but also to drag him down with him. All that remained for him in this world was pain and regret. His life had vanished along with his past happiness; now he was nothing more than a resentful, walking corpse, no longer afraid of losing anything.

With a dull thud, Wu Zuxing's mind went blank for a moment. He turned around in disbelief, and in the sudden pain, he saw the face of the person he had mocked before. There were many reporters there back then. What was he there for? Right, to collect debts from him, debts for failed investments. How ridiculous. Just like now, utterly ridiculous.

The man before him was nearly insane, drawing his knife to strike again. Wu Zuxing raised the leather suitcase filled with money and smashed it down, instantly disarming the man. Now he had the upper hand. He still smiled contemptuously, not taking this madman seriously at all. What could a down-on-his-luck madman possess? Couldn't he see it by now? In this world, only the powerful and influential have the right to talk about fairness.

Blood was still flowing from the wound on his back, and pain radiated through his nerves in waves. But he wasn't afraid at all, because he held in his hand the most powerful weapon in the world—money. The madman had come to him for money, so be it; he would grant his wish and send him on his way with a money box.

The dagger had been kicked away, and the victim could only endure Wu Zuxing's blows again and again. He tried to dodge and find his own weapon, but Wu Zuxing followed closely, giving him no chance to turn the tables. It was as if, in that stock trading game, he had been manipulated by Wu Zuxing's silver tongue, only to lose everything in the end.

A corner of the box gradually turned crimson, and as the madman gave up, that small corner pried open the lock in the center. Wu Zuxing waved it downwards, and countless banknotes scattered from within, like red butterflies fluttering in the wind. The aggrieved man lay on the ground, his eyes wide as he watched everything falling from the sky—his unwavering delusion, his long-cherished dream. Now, it was still the paper money sending him off. Could he truly take it with him? Reaching out to grasp it, amidst the crimson, everything fell silent.

Wu Zuxing also foresaw his own end. He had tried to fool those fools who only knew how to count money, forgetting that they were a pack of the wildest beasts. Amidst the swirling coins, he glimpsed the dark muzzles of guns through the gaps. The tigers were displeased, and their attack was swift and decisive. This time, the pain was as brief as before, but the mental blankness lasted much longer. People say that before death, all memories flash through the mind like a revolving lantern, but Wu Zuxing's eyes were only filled with countless banknotes. What had become of his most precious possessions? When had he only had money left? He still had so much money in a Swiss bank, so much of a wonderful life waiting for him…

Everything has returned to zero.

The money Wu Zuxing earned has now become a prize that terrorists are unwilling to let go of. Even knowing their whereabouts have been exposed, and even with pursuers close behind, they are still unwilling to give up these large sums of money. Wu Zuxing just caused them to lose a large amount of money, and now they will get back as much as they can from him.

The Flying Tigers tracked them down and, witnessing the actions of the five Qataris, were speechless. However, their outrageous behavior conveniently provided the Flying Tigers with an opportunity to capture them alive. Zhan Hantao gestured, preparing to call for the attack team to coordinate with the snipers to take them down in one fell swoop. Unexpectedly, as the opponents retaliated with submachine guns, Pan Zilong joined the fray. This renowned sharpshooter showed no fear, taking the lead and then, in his usual style, shooting to kill, eliminating the survivors before the other team members could even fire.

All clear.

Another successful mission has been accomplished.

The Flying Tigers' operation concluded, but that didn't mean the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) and the CIB could close their doors. They still needed to investigate the source of the terrorists' weapons. Unexpectedly, this time it didn't require much effort. Chung Wai-yan quickly received an anonymous tip, the details of which included the quantity and storage location of the weapons. It seemed like a trap, but upon arriving at the location after careful precautions, everything matched the tip. It was as if heaven had delivered a victory to them.

May looked around but couldn't find anything unusual, so she had someone take pictures and carefully carried the box of weapons back. "According to the preliminary investigation and comparison, the shape and number of empty boxes of this batch of weapons are consistent with those in the hands of the five Qataris. It should be the same batch of weapons. We will have the forensics department test it again when we get back, and we will notify you when the results are available."

It was routine; someone would handle the details. Zhong Wei'en didn't want to deal with such trivial matters. Her gaze swept across the scene, finally settling on the heavy pressure marks left on the ground beneath the wooden crate. Her suspicions were supported by evidence: "Judging from the depth of the marks, there must have been more than one crate of weapons stored here."

Have the rest been sold, or moved away?

Following the principle of "better safe than sorry," the best course of action would be to seize whatever amount was seized, and then investigate the rest later. Once the mastermind was caught, the whereabouts of the remaining goods would be easily determined. However, given the suspicious nature of the whistleblower letter, Zhong Wei'en trusted his intuition; the whereabouts of this box of weapons was far from simple.