Chapter 114
Iris was anxious. Everything seemed to have returned to when she first started dating Zhuang Zhuoyuan. She was terrified of any mishap he might make while on a mission. Back then, she could still recklessly rush forward, hoping to be a support to her beloved boyfriend. But now, she was afraid of becoming a burden to her husband and children. It turned out that without her own resources and without those seemingly insurmountable advantages, she was so powerless and so vulnerable.
Derek wanted to advise her not to overthink it. Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective, making things seem complicated. Looking at it from a detached perspective, it's really just a matter of arrest and execution. He had met with AK and had a general understanding of the situation. They were all prepared to cover for Zhuang Zhuoyuan, currently lying low in the shadows, simply providing him with a stage to showcase his abilities. Pan Zilong's position would inevitably be taken by Zhan Hantao in the future, and Zhan Hantao's position would be his if Zhuang Zhuoyuan performed well this time. Ed said the world is a giant playground, and now it's just a matter of letting Zhuang Zhuoyuan participate.
It wasn't a major problem, but the more I thought about it, the more terrifying it seemed. After two sleepless nights, Iris decided to urgently call Zhuang Zhuohua back from England. Madam Zhuang had been in England for training for so long; it was time for her to show off her enhanced abilities.
Upon learning that Zhuang Zhuohua had submitted a leave application, Edward immediately knew it was his daughter's doing. Since it was already too late, he didn't care whether it could solve his immediate problem or not. He instructed William to manage the paperwork carefully, ideally letting her return home in the last three hours. Both the Zhuang siblings were capable of promotion, but this time the main focus had to be on Zhuang Zhuoyuan; he could arrange for his sister later.
Pan Zilong was unaware that he had fallen into a massive encirclement. As soon as the drug mission was assigned, he immediately contacted Jin Ji, instructing him to make final arrangements. The news came from the CIB that if the Flying Tigers failed to find the substance described in the intelligence report, the responsibility would lie with the intelligence department, not the Flying Tigers. The searched location would be the safest place to store the goods. Pan Zilong carefully planned each step of the operation, striving to extricate himself from this mess cleanly. But he hadn't expected that, after he thought the plan was going smoothly, more than one person would return to the scene that night, just like him.
"Zhan Sir, what are you doing here?" The agreed-upon ship hadn't arrived yet. Pan Zilong got out of the car and saw Zhan Hantao already standing on the dock, his heart tightening. These past few days, he had actually noticed Zhan Hantao's different attitude towards him than before, but he wasn't sure how much this experienced SDU captain had guessed. But his presence here tonight clearly indicated something was wrong.
Zhan Hantao used an impeccable excuse: "I've come to revisit the scene, review today's operation, and think about why, despite our meticulous planning, we still couldn't find the drugs the intelligence indicated. Inspector Pan, what about you?"
"Same reason," Pan Zilong said, forcing himself to remain calm. He didn't want to leave too many traces, so he arrived at the dock only ten minutes earlier than the agreed time. If he couldn't get Zhan Hantao out of there within ten minutes, then all their actions today would be a complete failure. If Jin Ji went berserk, his wife and daughter would be in danger.
The situation was urgent, and Zhan Hantao showed no intention of leaving. Pan Zilong could almost hear his own heart pounding louder. He forced himself to calm down, a slight smile playing on his lips as he asked, "So, has Inspector Zhan found the problem?"
"No." Zhan Hantao shook his head, throwing the question back at him. "Since Inspector Pan is here, let's take a look together. Your experience is more extensive than mine, so you might be able to find something I might miss."
Pan Zilong approached him, casually slipping his hand into his pocket. He was afraid of revealing his hand by getting too close: "Before coming here, I had mentally rehearsed today's operation more than a dozen times, and I'd looked at the map at least twenty times, but I still came up empty-handed. So, unwilling to give up, I came here to take another look, but it turns out it was still an intelligence problem. The CIB got the wrong information."
“Maybe it really is,” Zhan Hantao sighed. “This clue was found by A Yuan. I heard he reported it to Inspector Tan and is now going back to investigate the informant who gave him the information.”
"Oh, then I hope everything goes well for him," Pan Zilong said with a forced smile. The two stood quietly for a while, and Zhan Hantao finally decided to leave. He suggested that the two of them go back together, but Pan Zilong quickly made up an excuse to decline. He knew that Zhan Hantao was never one to force others, so he felt relieved and quickly and happily watched him drive away.
Silence returned, the sea and night continuing their mutual engulfment. The salty, fishy smell of the sea was unpleasant, clinging to one's skin like a persistent shadow. Pan Zilong successfully received the shipment: white bricks stuffed into the spare tire of his trunk, brimming with a value of one hundred million. He instantly became one of the richest men in the city. Yet, he felt no excitement, for this was not what he desired. This "treasure," fought over by both the legitimate and criminal worlds, held no appeal for Pan Zilong. Or rather, whether as a member of the legitimate world or as someone with feet firmly planted in the dark, he had no right to touch this shipment of drugs.
"Pan Zilong".
As he grieved, another familiar voice called his name. It was Zhong Wei'en, who had been following him like a ghost lately. He held onto a sliver of hope; the item was hidden, and Zhong Wei'en, arriving late, shouldn't have known. However, Zhong Wei'en pulled out a phone—a phone with a camera. Pan Zilong panicked, his first instinct being to grab it. He had no better option; Zhong Wei'en was insane, she no longer trusted him, and they couldn't negotiate.
Then another person rushed out from the side. Pan Zilong was caught off guard and, while dealing with Zhong Wei'en's resistance, was subdued by Zhuang Zhuoyuan in three moves. Fighting was not Zhuang Zhuoyuan's forte, but he excelled at surprise attacks, making subsequent control much tighter. This time, he had brought handcuffs with him, even though it might be a huge humiliation for Pan Zilong. But in order to calm him down and get him to listen to them, he had no other choice.
The car lights came on again, and Zhan Hantao, who had been circling the area, returned to the dock. After confirming that there were no problems with the surrounding environment, he had Zhong Weien take Pan Zilong into his car, while Zhuang Zhuoyuan stayed behind to check and make sure that there were no listening devices in Pan Zilong's car before starting the car and leaving.
The Zhou family had a lot of tech products, so getting one or two anti-eavesdropping phones would be easy. The two cars were several hundred meters apart, one in front of the other. Zhuang Zhuoyuan made a phone call and apologized to Pan Zilong first. Pan Zilong ignored him; he fully understood the current situation. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was no longer under his control; instead, he had become the one manipulating the game.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan then spoke his second sentence: "My family has been protecting my sister-in-law and Meimei. If you feel it's necessary, I can arrange for them to temporarily take refuge in England."
Pan Zilong's eyes flickered, but he remained wary: "You filmed this video, wasn't it to send me to prison?"
“That’s too good for you,” Zhong Wei’en said through gritted teeth.
Zhan Hantao said, "Inspector Pan, the video can be evidence of a crime, or it can be evidence of your ability to redeem yourself. If you're only cooperating with Jinji for the sake of your wife and daughters, then you can choose to stand with us."
If he could turn over a new leaf, that would certainly be a good choice. But Pan Zilong didn't agree immediately. There was a long silence on the phone. Zhuang Zhuoyuan was getting anxious and couldn't help but say, "If you don't trust our strength, you can at least trust the Zhou family's influence, right?"
Leveraging influence? Pan Zilong suddenly laughed. It turned out that what he had painstakingly tried to borrow had always been in Zhuang Zhuoyuan's hands. The Zhou family had extended an olive branch to him, every inch of it carrying the polite distance of Mrs. Zhou. But he also knew that this was already the Zhou family's way of protecting him, a reward for his role as Iris's teacher. Pan Zilong felt no joy, yet he couldn't refuse. Overwhelmed with despair, he completely relented: "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
A major difference between police officers and ordinary people is that police officers emphasize following procedures. If the procedure is correct but the result is not good, there is still room for discussion; if the procedure is wrong and the result is good, they may still be punished in the end.
Pan Zilong agreed that the application for a cross-departmental joint operation, led by the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) and coordinated by the CIB and SDU, could be submitted. The approval from above was swift, and a special task force was established for this purpose, with Qiu Junsheng appointed as the operation commander.
This combination... well, Pan Zilong chuckled to himself after finishing his statement. The Zhou family had indeed been very considerate of Zhuang Zhuoyuan, blending in seamlessly with the crowd. He was fortunate enough to get a share, which meant he was somewhat treated as one of their own. In that sense, the effort he'd put into cultivating relationships with Mrs. Zhou and Iris over the past year hadn't been in vain. The Zhou family had already given him hints; he naturally knew how to cooperate.
However, things didn't go as smoothly as expected. When the operation was planned and everyone was in place, ready to use 100 million as bait to lure the chicken gang into a trap, this guy suddenly disappeared.
At the agreed time, Pan Zilong failed to show up or leave any information. Subsequent investigations by the CIB also yielded no results. Suspicion within the police department then began to fall on Pan Zilong again. Pan Zilong said helplessly, "How long have I been detained here? My communication devices were confiscated that morning; how can I contact him? Besides, only when he's arrested can my wife and daughter truly be safe."
That's true, but if it were just for that, Zhuang Zhuoyuan wouldn't have come today. He closed the distance between himself and Pan Zilong, staring into his eyes: "I believe you, but I still have one question. If it were just for your wife and daughter, would you have been threatened by Jin Ji for so many years?"
The old Pan Zilong was a different story. Perhaps back then he couldn't guarantee his wife and daughter's safety 100%, so he was willing to sacrifice Zhong Wei'en for that small percentage chance. But now, Pan Zilong holds a high position and has considerable connections and power; protecting his family is no problem for him. Even if he just mentioned it to Iris, she would help without hesitation. Yet he willingly allowed himself to be used by Jin Ji, even daring to touch such valuable drugs. Zhuang Zhuoyuan realized that the inside story was far from simple.
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