Chapter 52

Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan have finally made their relationship official, so Pauline can now ask them with peace of mind: "Iris and Zhuang Zhuoyuan, how did your checkup go? Is the baby healthy? Are they twins?"

Her focus was on the latter question, which Iris found both amusing and exasperating. She put down her chopsticks and replied, "The baby is healthy, and there's only one. Junjun said that even if they were identical twins, it would be obvious by now. However, after the checkup, there was only one fetal heartbeat, so it's confirmed to be one baby."

“It’s so easy now,” Jennie said happily. “I was so tired when I was pregnant with you and Ella, it’s best that you are like this now.”

Iris raised her glass to her and said, "Mommy, you've worked so hard."

Pauline was very happy for them: "One is great, easy to take care of. I can't wait to hold my grandson." The topic naturally turned to Zhan Hantao. Zhan Sir, who was boiling shrimp, was startled by Pauline's slap. Before he could change the subject, a barrage of urging for marriage and children came like a machine gun: "Look at what Mom did! She entered SDU at the same time as you, and now her daughter is so big, and she's going to have a second one soon. And Ah Yuan, whom you've always treated like a younger brother, is already ahead of you in less than a year. You'd better hurry up!"

This was the first time Iris had ever seen Zhan Sir look like a chick pecking at rice.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly came to his good friend's rescue: "Sister Pauline, you're in such a hurry now. Maybe Tao's progress will be faster than you can imagine later. Mom has two kids now, and Iris and I are only planning to have two. By the time Tao gets married, maybe we'll have a whole football team of kids. You'll be happy then."

"You're just trying to flatter me." Pauline waved her hand, her smile growing even brighter.

Iris glanced furtively at Zhuang Zhuohua's expression, finding nothing amiss. She then looked at Zhan Hantao's gaze, which was fixed on another person surnamed Zhuang. She secretly pouted, feeling that the red thread of fate hadn't been drawn.

With doctor's visits, medication, and family support, Chong Cheuk-wah's mental state is now returning to normal. Seeing her become more cheerful and gradually regain her former zest for life brings joy to her entire family. Iris is also more open about the cases they've been investigating, especially the suspected firearms modification case she discovered in the Sai Kung mountains.

While Zhuang Zhuoyuan was taking a shower, Iris even brought her pillow to Zhuang Zhuohua's room, seemingly intending to sleep with her and talk as late as possible. The day before, Zhuang Zhuohua had left the mall midway through her shopping trip because of the case of the newly discovered unidentified body in Sai Kung. Iris later saw the news and learned that the corpse had what appeared to be marks from being struck by steel pellets, immediately connecting it to her own discovery last year. She had long wanted to ask Zhuang Zhuohua about the details of that case.

“In fact, we also found about a dozen bloodstained steel balls on the injured person. They are currently being tested by the forensic department and compared with the balls you gave me before. But I estimate that the results should match.”

Zhuang Zhuohua showed her the photos, and Iris exclaimed excitedly, "That means my previous guess was right, this really is a premeditated serial murder case! So what about the victim's information? Sister, could you let me see it?"

Chong Cheuk-wah was extremely familiar with the case details. She didn't hand over any written materials, but simply stated: "The deceased's name was Tsui Lam. He had a four-year-old daughter. Before his death, he was an idle man and often beat his wife, which led to her leaving home. The Social Welfare Department discovered that he had a record of fraudulently obtaining Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, and therefore rejected his application. As a result, he often borrowed money from his neighbors and never paid it back, which made him universally disliked. In addition, we also found that this guy was a drug addict and had a record of helping to dispose of and transport drugs."

"Wow, scum!" Iris mentally labeled the deceased while simultaneously calculating the motives of the group that killed him. Yes, a group. Analyzing the distribution of the steel balls last time and the number found this time, the killer was definitely more than one person; she leaned towards three to five. Iris systematically eliminated suspects one by one: "His wife, if she had the courage to kill him, she wouldn't have needed to run away in the first place. Neighbors? To put it bluntly, a mob is unlikely to succeed. Even if the hatred was so great that it required killing, using a gun would be too troublesome for them. And in a revenge killing, they would likely be much more ruthless than with steel balls. They'd probably pull out a knife, hack him to pieces dozens of times, and then throw him to the dogs or fish—that's more likely, right? This one still has a complete body; the wounds aren't particularly bloody, so it doesn't seem like that."

She spoke and gestured, and Zhuang Zhuohua's lips twitched as she listened. She had to remind her, "Iris, you're still pregnant. You should pay attention to prenatal education."

“It can’t hear me right now.” Iris patted her belly, casually touched it a couple of times, and continued to analyze: “Sister, I’m actually wondering if this is some kind of judge organization? Or maybe the people they kill are the most heinous villains who haven’t been punished by law yet.”

This inference is not impossible, but there is currently no direct evidence to prove it, and they haven't even found any similar cases. Zhuang Zhuohua rested her chin on her hand and pondered: "Even if it is connected to the steel ball you gave me before, we still can't determine that this is a serial murder, because in the case you discovered, there was no victim."

Iris nodded in agreement: "That's right. The presence of steel balls doesn't necessarily mean they're killing people; maybe they're training, maybe they're testing their guns." But in any case, modifying firearms is certain, which means this group will also have another characteristic: a love for shooting activities. Narrowing the scope further, instead of going to dedicated battlefields, they're shooting in remote, undeveloped areas, which likely indicates they're addicted to military games. Combining these pieces of information, it means this group is probably military enthusiasts.

"What military enthusiast?" Iris was excitedly analyzing when Zhuang Zhuoyuan's voice came from the doorway. He crossed his arms and watched his wife talking animatedly, occasionally glancing at the pillow she had placed beside her. Iris, ever the quick-witted one, ran over and pleaded, "No, I was just listening to my older sister tell a story. By the way, her new case involves some gun modification. You should be able to help her, right? Also, the modified gun is probably a firearm, so you should be able to handle the firearms association, honey?"

Zhuang Zhuoyuan wouldn't let a word like "husband" cloud his judgment. Since his "prey" had walked right into his trap, he didn't mind keeping her close. He simply lifted Iris up, forcing her legs to wrap around his waist for balance. He patted her bottom: "I'm going to the [unclear - possibly a slang term for a sexual activity] association, so you're going too?"

"I'm just going to see what it's like, I'll fire five shots at most... those three... one shot! One shot is enough! Honey!"

"I'm scared of you." Zhuang Zhuoyuan was clearly pleased, but still looked reluctant. Zhuang Zhuohua watched the two of them playfully bickering and handed Iris her pillow: "Then I'll invite you guys over again."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan gave a quick wink, picked up his wife with one arm, and turned to leave. Iris had some ideas she wanted to discuss with Zhuang Zhuohua, but before she could stop, Zhuang Zhuoyuan had already led her quickly to their room.

"You're jolting me!" she protested deliberately.

The two lay down on the bed, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan listened to her stomach from this position, saying in a serious tone, "No, Tangyuan said there's nothing wrong with it, and it's even very happy."

"Nonsense!" Iris exclaimed, disgusted by his fabricated story. She got up and tried to run back to Zhuang Zhuohua's room.

Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly pressed her down, avoiding her lower abdomen, and pinned her beneath him: "Tell me, are you planning to investigate another case? During this special period, you are not permitted to go out."

“I just wanted to offer some advice and participate in the discussion, just like brainstorming.” She shifted her legs, as if trying to escape, but Zhuang Zhuoyuan stepped over her, pulling her back under him. He didn’t say a word, just stared at her. Iris finally gave in: “Okay, okay, I’ll wait until my sister finds more information later.”

Having regained her freedom, she indeed didn't run around. She grabbed a book from the table and went into bed. Zhuang Zhuoyuan leaned closer and noticed that the book was about criminal psychology, with dense notes covering it. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "I've never heard of you reading this."

“It’s Ella’s book. I found it while researching Du Tianyu and Yao Meiling.” Iris opened the title page, where the letters “EC” appeared in the blank space. She pointed to the “C” that represented “Chow” and said to Zhuang Zhuoyuan with a smile, “Luckily, your surname is ‘Chong’, which also starts with ‘C’, so I don’t have to change the abbreviation even if I take my husband’s surname.”

Zhuang Zhuoyuan rested his head on her shoulder and looked up slightly: "Are you planning to take her husband's surname?"

"No." Iris shook her head decisively. She didn't want her buddies to jokingly call her "Dream Butterfly" again. Zhuangzi's Dream of a Butterfly, what an cliché! "Instead of wasting time, you should think more about the baby's name. It's best to choose one right away so you don't have to rack your brains next time."

“Yes, Madam!” Zhuang Zhuoyuan obediently accepted the order.

While the couple was reading about criminal psychology and discussing Tangyuan's name, Fang Yongbin, on whom high hopes were placed, finally took the initiative again. Even though he came with a file, Iris was already very satisfied that he had taken this step.

Upon hearing from the maid that Inspector Fong had come to visit, Iris quickly changed her clothes and followed Chong Cheuk-yuen downstairs. Chong Cheuk-wah was already in the living room discussing the case with Ben, and they overheard the key points when they arrived.

"...When the body was discovered, it had been dead for over a week. The investigation revealed he was involved in multiple cases of extortion, blackmail, and blackmail. The investigators at the time suspected he had been murdered by enemies..."

“A private trial!” Ben said, and Iris became excited, even interrupting him. Zhuang Zhuoyuan pulled her close, covering his wife's mouth, and gestured for Ben to continue. Fang Yongbin glanced at Zhuang Zhuohua and continued, “This case is still unsolved, and the body was already decomposed when it was found. In addition, the forensic examination confirmed that the direct cause of death was a skull fracture caused by an impact, so we didn't consider it to be a steel ball murder case. But when I reviewed the case file today, I found that the forensic report stated that there was an unidentified circular wound about 3mm in diameter on an undecomposed part of his body. I looked at the photo, and it seems somewhat similar to a wound caused by a steel ball.”

"Ben, you're so thoughtful!" Iris gave a thumbs up, deciding to wholeheartedly support the contestant that Zhuang Zhuohua had chosen.

Zhuang Zhuohua didn't pay much attention to that, but continued to analyze along the lines provided by Iris: "Then the motive of trial is possible, or we can call it 'hunting.' So where did these people find their prey? This deceased and Xu Lin don't seem to have any connection on the surface. Ben, go dig into their information again tomorrow. A-Yuan, do you know any friends who are familiar with gun modification? Give me their addresses, I'll go ask them tomorrow. As for the □□ Association, we'll go this weekend."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan suddenly changed his mind: "Actually, A Tao is more familiar with this. I'll ask him later. Why don't we just have him go with you? He'll definitely be able to help you a lot."

Iris quickly guessed that he was planning to kill two birds with one stone, creating an opportunity for Zhan Hantao and Zhuang Zhuohua. She was about to tell Ben to join in, but the silly boy assigned himself the task, determined to be Madam's right-hand man, which made Iris feel exasperated.

Zhuang Zhuohua had no objection to Zhuang Zhuoyuan's suggestion. She knew that Zhan Hantao was also a shooting expert with several records that even Zhuang Zhuoyuan had not yet broken, so she said without hesitation: "Then you can contact Zhan Sir."

Zhuang Zhuoyuan gave Iris a cheeky, raised-eyebrow smile.

snort!