Chapter 21

The case was eventually handed over to the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB). When Chong Cheuk-wah arrived, Iris had already been entrusted by Chong Cheuk-yuen to Sister Pauline to take her to the PC Bar to calm down.

The scene was chaotic, but fortunately the robbers left in a hurry and did not disturb Luo Yongfu's body too much. The new police officer still had a lot of clues left on his body.

Zhuang Zhuohua investigated the case all night and did not return home; Zhuang Zhuoyuan stayed by Iris's side, who had been having nightmares all night, and only managed to doze off briefly as dawn approached. It wasn't until around eight o'clock the next morning that there was movement in the living room again.

Having just finished washing up, Zhuang Zhuoyuan immediately came out of the bathroom and saw his older sister slumped on the sofa, looking exhausted. He immediately set about making breakfast to help her regain her energy. However, after offering several options, Zhuang Zhuohua did not respond. Zhuang Zhuoyuan then had an idea and finally took out a salad and a bottle of juice from the refrigerator, which finally made Zhuang Zhuohua get up and drink some water.

"How is Iris?" Clearing her throat, Zhuang Zhuohua looked at the still-closed door of Zhuang Zhuoyuan's bedroom and asked. Zhuang Zhuoyuan stopped holding his fork and shook his head: "She was frightened and didn't sleep well last night. I just called Dr. Pun to ask for leave. It's best to let her rest today."

"Hmm." Zhuang Zhuohua nodded, then leaned back on the sofa. Although her eyes were not closed, her gaze was not directed at her younger brother; she was simply looking thoughtfully at the ceiling.

The older sister had no appetite, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan, who had to go to work soon, grabbed a salad from the table for breakfast. The two siblings sat together, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan started talking about Fuzai's case, expressing his feelings and making deductions, but Zhuang Zhuohua remained silent. He turned his head, and when he looked again, Zhuang Zhuohua had already closed her eyes again.

This used to be common when they were working overtime like crazy, but it's become rare these days. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was momentarily lost in thought, then lowered his eyes, put down the salad bowl, and gently took the beverage bottle that Zhuang Zhuohua was still holding.

"Go back to your room if you're sleepy." Zhuang Zhuohua was awakened by his movements, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan pulled her up, urging her to go back to her room. At this moment, Madam Zhuang looked more like a wandering soul, but her steps were steady, and her destination was clear. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was used to her behavior and didn't say much. He just bent down behind her and picked up the wallet, keys, water, and other items left behind by her older sister on the table, being extremely meticulous.

When he took the day off in the morning, Zhuang Zhuoyuan made some soup in the kitchen. After everything was tidied up, he went to the stove to turn off the heat and transferred the soup to a different pot, plugging it in to keep it warm so that the two women in the house wouldn't have to reheat it. Iris finally fell asleep. Zhuang Zhuoyuan changed his clothes quietly, not wanting to wake her. In the end, he just wrote a note and left it on the bedside table to say goodbye and remind her to drink the soup. He did the same thing again, going to Zhuang Zhuohua's room to leave a note reminding her to do the same.

As he placed the note down, he caught a glimpse of the alarm clock settings on the counter. Seeing the one-hour timer, Zhuang Zhuoyuan frowned, turned the clock again, and muttered, "How can one hour of sleep be enough?"

Edgar said that stress could cause negative emotions to rebound. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was really afraid that his older sister, who had finally emerged from the shadows, would return to the pain of the past. He put down the alarm clock, thought for a moment, and then moved it a little further away. Regardless of whether Zhuang Zhuohua was really asleep, he just told her, "Don't turn it back, sister. You need to sleep more to recover and solve the case as soon as possible. Otherwise, Iris and I will worry."

Honesty and openness are indeed the best way for people to get along. After Zhuang Zhuoyuan left, Zhuang Zhuohua opened her eyes. Her hand had already touched the edge of the alarm clock, and her eyes went straight to the timer hand, but after staring at the numbers for a while, she finally withdrew her hand, closed her eyes, and fell back asleep.

The police acted swiftly, and soon the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) tracked down the suspect, He Yibing, but unfortunately, he and his accomplices escaped twice. While Zhuang Zhuohua redeployed her investigation, Iris finally recovered. After a chance encounter, she wrote a check for HK$10,000 to donate to the elderly parents of the Luo family, who only had one son, Luo Yongfu. Having lost their son in middle age, and now without such a devoted son, they were truly pitiful. Once things were settled, she called Zhuang Zhuoyuan again. She had been so confused these past few days that she had forgotten to tell him that Aunt Gloria would be arriving in Hong Kong that day, and they were going to a charity exhibition together the next day.

"Rose Diamond Charity Jewelry Auction?" Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked at the picture of the invitation Iris sent him and repeated the contents of the cover.

Iris agreed, and then mentioned that the event would be held at Cyberport. That location was fine, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan was worried about whether Iris's mental state could handle the complicated social interactions.

Iris is never afraid: "With my aunt around, she can handle it. You can rest assured when I'm with her."

Given that it was a charity event and that celebrities were involved, the security arrangements should be quite good. Zhuang Zhuoyuan let Iris go, but he never expected that his relief would turn into a major worry the very next day.

Among the evidence collected from the robbers' hideout, Zhuang Zhuohua found a map of the armored truck's route on a blank page of a notebook. She suspected He Yibing's gang intended to target the armored truck and immediately requested support from the Flying Tigers for an ambush. However, to her surprise, what ended up blocking the tunnel was a van full of elderly tourists. Upon hearing this, Zhuang Zhuoyuan panicked. Considering that the target also possessed a large amount of valuable valuables, he feared the ruthless robbers might head to the auction.

The final result was disappointing. With the arrival of intelligence from the CIB, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's last shred of hope vanished. Seeing his solemn expression, Zhan Hantao inquired, and everyone learned that Iris and her aunt Gloria were both present.

"Ah Yuan, is there a problem?" This was the first time his brother had encountered such a situation, and for both personal and professional reasons, Zhan Hantao needed to confirm it.

“OK.” Even with his brows furrowed, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had no reason to back down. As a sniper, he should remain calm and continue his mission under any circumstances; and as her boyfriend, he should personally rescue Iris from danger and ensure the safety of her and her family.

When two officers from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) arrived first, the robbers had already taken the hostage and left the building. The four robbers, whose faces were covered by masks and who were armed with heavy firearms, had also strapped explosives to the hostages, causing the officers who arrived later to hesitate and choose to confront them for the time being.

The hostages weren't Iris or Gloria, so Zhuang Zhuoyuan's mindset remained unaffected. However, no matter how calm and collected he was, the sniper rifle couldn't fire a single bullet. This was because the leader of the criminals was extremely experienced, using the hostages to protect every blind spot. Therefore, when Zhan Sir asked, the sniper reports all came back with a disheartening "Negative."

On the third floor of the building, Gloria and Iris watched the scene below through the glass. As soon as the bandits left, they left the chaotic auction site under the protection of bodyguards and went straight to this conference room facing the street to wait.

Gloria gazed for a while, then returned to her chair at the table and closed her eyes, as if trying to shut out the noise from the outside world. Iris, however, was worried about Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Even though she couldn't see where he was, she couldn't bear to leave her spot.

"Bullets have no eyes, be careful of accidents." Seeing her niece like a statue waiting for her husband, Gloria, as her aunt, was truly exasperated. Compared to her sister, her little niece lacked independence; once she had someone to rely on, she would throw herself into their arms. She was just too clingy. Gloria shook her head inwardly, but couldn't bear not to remind her, "Iris, sit next to your aunt. You need to know, there's such a thing as a 'stray bullet' in this world."

Iris glanced back at her briefly before searching again, pointing only to the bodyguard on her right rear: "Auntie, Derek will protect me, right?"

The second question was completely unnecessary. Derek, who had been called out, raised an eyebrow as he took a breath, glanced at the obviously speechless Gloria out of the corner of his eye, considered for a moment, and then stepped forward, pointed to a spot opposite, and whispered a reminder: "Miss, it's probably behind the tree."

The best snipers always head to the best sniping positions. Derek was also eager to see the marksmanship of this young man praised by Edward, but unfortunately, with the arrival of information about the masked bandits, everything he hoped to see would become a pipe dream.

Du Tianyu, the kingpin of thieves, has committed numerous crimes yet always manages to escape due to insufficient evidence. A few key pieces of information connected, and the bodyguards in the room clearly realized that they shouldn't be the ones to handle this case. But no one is lucky forever; this ruthless lone wolf escaped today, but tomorrow he will either be caught in the net of justice or be tormented to death. The beast that kills its prey is also the prey.

"This is infuriating! We can't even catch him!" Seeing a seven-seater car pull up beside the gang leader, Iris knew he was bound to escape. Her brow furrowed in anger, but then relaxed completely in surprise: "Sister!" Iris shouted, completely unprepared for Zhuang Zhuohua to rush out amidst the hail of bullets. Even though the gangsters showed no intention of conserving ammunition as they fled, Madam Zhuang resolutely rushed to the front to try and stop their escape.

"Sister Zhuo Hua was shot, Auntie, I have to go see her!" Iris rushed out, her words more of a notification than a question. Gloria watched her dash out the door, her head throbbing. The other bodyguards had already followed. She rubbed her temples, glanced at Derek who was still waiting, and finally gestured for them to follow.

Zhuang Zhuohua was alright, thankfully unharmed. A bullet was aimed at her heart, but thankfully it was stopped by her bulletproof vest. Iris ran downstairs and saw that Zhuang Zhuohua had already been helped up by her men. She finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Sister, you scared me to death!"

"Sister! Ah B!" Zhuang Zhuoyuan arrived at the same time. He took off his mask, his face full of anxiety. As soon as he got close to Iris and Zhuang Zhuohua, he looked them over one by one. After confirming that they were both safe and sound, he put both of them into his arms: "It's good that you're alright."

“Of course I’m fine!” Iris smiled, her hands behind her back, as she left his embrace. Then she pointed to the bodyguards behind her. “I have people protecting me, so how could anything happen to me? The only loss is a set of jewelry. But that’s nothing. The best thing is that I took off our engagement rings and your proposal ring this morning, so they’re perfectly fine.”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan still felt a lingering fear, and his tone became serious: "These are just material possessions. Even if you wear them, they'll still be useless in a crisis..."

“No!” Iris raised her hands and crossed them out. “You know, that’s not what I want to hear.”

Zhuang Sheng was immediately helpless, but seeing his girlfriend's attitude, he knew he had no choice but to give in. He had to do as she wished, but as soon as he spoke, he habitually added a touch of doting: "Yes, you are the most clever."

“Yes, that’s it.” Iris happily gave Zhuang Zhuoyuan a kiss on the lips as a reward, then took two steps back as if to leave. “Alright, I know you have things to do, go ahead, I won’t disturb you. Aunt is still upstairs, I’ll go back and go with her. Sister, we’ve gone to the conference room on the third floor. Some of the others should have been moved to other rooms as well. If you want to ask for statements, you can find the auction organizers first; they should know where everyone is.”

Iris's unusual calmness and clear, logical reminders once again changed everyone's perception of her. From "mad writer" to "model family member," Zhuang Tai's heroic deeds will once again spread throughout the police station.