Chapter 39: The Trap of Estrangement
Bangkok, underground parliament hall.
Amidst the smoke, five figures sat around a long table - Songpa from the Siamese gang, Lin Kun from the Lin Group, Zakun from the Mekong Chamber of Commerce, Nguyen Van Hung from the Vietnamese underworld, and Haji, a Malay mercenary.
Spread out in front of them was a medical report - the progress of Ruan Xingchen's PTSD treatment.
"That woman receives psychotherapy twice a week." Zakun flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Professor Ella Crane personally administers it."
"So?" Ruan Wenxiong sneered, "You want to kidnap the professor? Don't forget Mo Xiaohan's methods."
Songpa twirled the Buddhist beads between his fingers and suddenly sneered, "Professor Dong? How foolish." He glanced at the crowd, calculation hidden in his eyes, "The most frightening thing about PTSD is that people around them feel unreliable. If she becomes suspicious of Mo Xiaohan, her sense of security will collapse, and she will collapse."
Lin Kun tapped his fingertips on the report: "It's easy to say, but how can I make her believe it?"
"Don't worry." Songpa's lips curled up in a sinister manner, and the Buddhist beads clicked and stopped in his palm. "I have some leverage over the doctor who assisted Ruan Xingchen in the manor. It's enough for us to give him some 'good stuff'."
Haji grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth: "That's a really shady trick."
The five people looked at each other, the conspiracy fermented in silence, and the figures in the smoke became increasingly blurred.
Professor Klein’s second treatment was to help Ruan Xingchen establish an understanding of “safe relationships”.
"Today, we need to confirm one thing." The professor pushed his glasses. "When you are afraid, who can truly make you feel safe?"
Ruan Xingchen sat on the soft chair in the treatment room, stroking the silver ring with his fingers.
The professor handed her a tablet with several names displayed on the screen:
- Mo Xiaohan
- Professor Klein
- Artest
- Manor Maid
"Pick one, and I'll simulate a mild anxiety scenario and test your physiological response."
Ruan Xingchen's fingertips hovered above the name "Mo Xiaohan", but he didn't click it.
The professor keenly sensed her hesitation: "What are you worried about?"
"It's not worry." She tapped her fingertips lightly, the silver ring touching the warmth of her palm. "I just suddenly remembered that he frowned for a long time when he was looking at my treatment records yesterday."
This was the truth. Mo Xiaohan never concealed his concern for her condition, but the way he frowned at the record yesterday did make her heart waver slightly. It wasn't suspicion, but simply uneasiness. She was afraid that she would never get better and would make him worry so much.
The professor was lost in thought when he suddenly switched screens, and a fake surveillance video began playing.
In the scene, Mo Xiaohan stood in the dark, and coldly ordered A Tai: "Her illness must be cured. I don't need a burden around me."
Ruan Xingchen's breathing suddenly stopped.
This video was carefully forged by the five major forces. They bribed a doctor in the manor and implanted the virus into the system of the treatment room. Their purpose was simple, to make Ruan Xingchen doubt Mo Xiaohan's sincerity.
The "Mo Xiaohan" on the screen continued: "If Klein can't cure it, try another way to 'handle' it."
Ruan Xingchen clenched his hands, his nails digging into his palms, and the heart rate monitor issued a sharp alarm.
The professor immediately paused the video, frowned, and checked the equipment. This was not part of her plan.
"Ms. Ruan, this is not the material I prepared."
Ruan Xingchen suddenly smiled. She raised her hand to wipe away the moisture from the corners of her eyes and said softly, "I know."
"There are three loopholes in this video." Her voice was soft but unusually clear.
"First, Brother Xiaohan never calls me 'her', he only calls me 'Xingxing'."
"Secondly, the ring on his left ring finger was in the wrong position in the video."
"third--"
She raised her eyes, a sharp light flashing in them.
"He said that if anyone hurt me, he would make all of Southeast Asia bury me with him."
"So, how could he be willing to 'deal with' me?"
The door of the treatment room was kicked open suddenly. Mo Xiaohan stood at the door with murderous intent in his eyes. He had just received a report from A Tai - someone had tampered with the system of the treatment room.
"Who did it?" His voice was frighteningly cold.
Professor Klein handed him the virus code: "Professional-level forgery requires internal cooperation."
Ruan Xingchen suddenly grabbed his wrist: "Brother Xiaohan."
He lowered his head and met her clear eyes.
"I'm fine," she whispered. "They want me to doubt you, but I know you better than they do."
Mo Xiaohan held her tightly in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head, and spoke word by word: "They are seeking death."
Late at night, A-Tai stood in the study, cold sweat oozing from his forehead: "Boss, I've found out."
Mo Xiaohan pinched the virus card that was removed from the system, and veins bulged on his fingers.
"It was someone from the Siamese gang. Sompa personally contacted Dr. Thongchai." A-Tai's voice was filled with fear. "We found transfer records in the interlayer of Thongchai's medical log. It started three months ago, and every remittance went through Myanmar's underground banks."
He paused, raised his hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "But...Tongchai ran away."
"Run away?" Mo Xiaohan repeated these two words, his voice eerily calm. "His mother is still in the intensive care unit in Chiang Mai. Where could he run to?"
A-Tai's Adam's apple rolled. "When we rushed to his place, this is all we found." He handed over a note with scribbled Thai on it: "Mr. Mo, I'm sorry, but I have no choice."
There was a slight crisp sound when the virus card was crushed into pieces.
Mo Xiaohan suddenly laughed: "It seems that Songpa not only gave him money, but also prepared a way out for him."
He stood up and walked to the window, his eyes sweeping across the dark night outside. The scar on his left eyelid was particularly hideous in the moonlight. "Tell them in Chiang Mai to upgrade Thongchai's mother's intensive care unit to the highest level of security. Put the cost on Thongchai's account, and tell everyone else, 'This son is filial, so we're providing upgraded care for his mother.'"
A sinister look flashed across Mo Xiaohan's eyes. "Let's add another 'rule' to the ward. No one can visit except those with a letter of authorization signed by Thongchai himself. This includes his hired stand-ins or those sent by Songpa."
Artest understood instantly: "You mean...cut off his retreat?"
"Since he's being held captive by Songpa for his mother," Mo Xiaohan pinched the edge of the discarded card with his knuckles, "let him know that the only way to keep his mother safe is to come back on his own."
"Also," he said, a dark, violent look surging in his eyes as he turned back, "tell the docks along the Mekong River that anyone who dares to take in a doctor with gold-rimmed glasses and a burn scar on his left hand will be prepared to feed the entire ship's crew to the crocodiles."
Just as A-Tai was about to respond, he heard Mo Xiaohan add, "The coordinates of the arsenal where Songpa was hidden in Mae Hong Son Province were 'accidentally' known to the Wa State Army in Myanmar."
He tapped his fingertips lightly on the windowsill. "Back then, Songpa seized three smuggling routes in Wa State. It's time for them to settle the score themselves."
"As for Lin Kun and the others——"
"Let them have sweet dreams for a few more days."
It’s not that we won’t retaliate, it’s that we want to let them wait to die in fear.
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