Chapter 54
Chong Cheuk-wah decided to be the bait herself.
After the investigation into Kary became suspicious, she quickly made a judgment based on Iris's information. Given the current situation, there were no witnesses, and the probability of finding crucial evidence for conviction was extremely low. Arresting Kary and her accomplices under these circumstances would not yield satisfactory results. Therefore, catching them in the act was the best course of action.
Infiltrating their ranks was too difficult; the only breakthrough point was the victims. Zhuang Zhuohua carefully considered her options. Rather than expending resources searching for a victim who might not even be found as a hunting trap, it would be better to confront them directly, pushing them to desperation. Of all the candidates, she herself was the most suitable. Zhuang Zhuohua remembered the class reunion; everyone said she was too busy to meet, except for Kary, who comforted her by mentioning Ah Bang's situation. Since Kary knew about her past, it meant she was aware of her weaknesses, which would lower her guard.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan and Jennie both disagreed with the plan, as it was far too dangerous. Besides the threat of firearms, they worried that Kary might use the psychological treatment process to induce a relapse of Zhuang Zhuohua's emotional illness. Iris shared these concerns, but unlike them, she chose to side with Zhuang Zhuohua. She was more worried that Kary, if not caught, would secretly retaliate against Zhuang Zhuohua in unexpected ways than in this open confrontation. Having investigated Kary's background from childhood, she was now over 80% certain that this woman was the snake from the story of "The Farmer and the Snake."
“We can make ample preparations in advance,” Iris reassured the two people in the family. “The first thing is to use mobile phone location tracking.”
—Chuang Cheuk-wah has already switched to the same model of phone as them, so there's no need to worry about that.
"Secondly, the psychologist is on standby. Edgar and his friends are on standby. If anything seems wrong after my sister leaves Kary's place, we'll go to the hospital to find them immediately. We'll also have all the medications Kary prescribed for my sister tested. If any abnormalities are found, we'll add another charge against her."
If she really dares to harm his sister, Zhuang Zhuoyuan is determined never to let this woman go.
"As for the third point, it's the unwavering belief my sister needs." To avoid being swayed or misled by outsiders' words, the most important thing is to have an indomitable belief in one's heart. Iris has already made up her mind to print out a family photo and enlarge it into the necklace. As long as Zhuang Zhuohua wears it, she can touch it in a moment of crisis and always remember the family's support and her importance to the family. She refuses to believe that the words of someone with such distorted values can surpass the power of love.
Meanwhile, another murder case was discovered. A garbage truck heading to a landfill overturned en route, causing the garbage to spill and revealing broken bone remains abandoned in the garbage heap. After the forensic autopsy results were released, the case was transferred from the Major Crimes Unit to the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) because there were obvious traces of steel balls embedded in the severed limbs, and the forensic report stated that the cause of death was a steel ball penetrating the brain, causing internal bleeding.
Looking at the report and listening to Madam Zhuang's account, Zhan Hantao also realized that the criminals' methods were constantly evolving: "To be able to penetrate a human skull with a single shot means that the gun may have been modified to withstand 20 to 30 joules. To withstand such a great force, if it were made of ordinary parts, the entire gun would probably fall apart after being fired. So I suspect that the suspect may already have a real gun."
"Where did they get their real guns?" Ben pondered, leaning against a nearby cabinet.
“Parts.” Zhan Hantao, who was most familiar with firearms, explained: “As far as I know, some military enthusiasts buy real gun parts from retired soldiers on auction websites and then try to assemble them themselves. Judging from the time when Iris first discovered the steel ball until now, the suspect’s skills may have advanced to the point where he can assemble a real gun on his own. Madam, I think you should be careful.”
Ben immediately assigned someone to check the relevant information on the auction website. Zhuang Zhuohua nodded, looking at the pictures laid out on the table, feeling anxious and somewhat wistful: "They've consciously removed the steel balls, dismembered the body, disposed of it, used real guns, and even the time intervals between crimes are getting shorter and shorter. This group will probably soon spiral out of control. Inspector Zhan, I need your help."
They seemed to have the upper hand, but their actions didn't go as smoothly as they'd imagined. To gain Kary's trust, Chong Cheuk-wa went to her clinic for "treatment" as usual. Although she didn't take any of the medicine Kary gave her, she wasn't wary of the medicine Kary had slipped into her tea at the last minute. When they headed to the Sai Kung mountains and Chong Cheuk-wa started feeling dizzy halfway there, she realized she'd been tricked.
To avoid arousing Kary's suspicion, the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) outwardly focused their attention on Kary's boyfriend, Bi Shirong. The man appeared flustered, but he held his own at the crucial moment, successfully shaking off Bo-zai and May's pursuit through the underground parking lot. By the time the two realized something was wrong and reported the situation, Ben had already discovered that Kary had bypassed them and secretly taken Chong Cheuk-wah away. Even more strangely, Chong Cheuk-wah didn't report them to the police.
Ben quickly turned on the location tracking, told Ah Kun to drive, and contacted Zhan Hantao: "Hey, Zhan Sir, Madam and the others are already on their way to Saigon. We need to hurry. Also, I suspect Kary might have given Madam some kind of drug; she might not be fully conscious right now."
Zhan Hantao just received a drug test report from Iris. He put down his phone and immediately drove off, replying to Ben: "The drug Kary prescribed for Madam Zhuang before has been confirmed to be a stimulant. This time, she's going to use Madam as bait, so she'll most likely use some prescription drugs that affect the central nervous system. My location is relatively close to Madam Zhuang. Send me your location, and I'll head over there first."
Afterwards, of course, Flying Tigers were dispatched again. Iris always felt that her husband's team had a lot to manage, but with the reason of five modified real guns, plus the fact that Zhuang Zhuoyuan always felt a great sense of accomplishment after completing a mission, she kept her complaints to herself.
Inspector Chan and Madam Chong, working together, held off Kary's five-man team until the arrival of the Special Duties Unit (SDU). Despite being disoriented, Chong remained alert to the SDU's movements, noticing Chong Cheuk-yuen's arrival and cooperating with him to feign an attack, drawing out the five men hiding in the woods and allowing Team A to eliminate the criminals. This heroic act only deepened the SDU members' admiration for her.
With such a powerful alliance, Iris keenly noticed that the guys in Team A were now shipping Zhan Hantao and Zhuang Zhuohua, seizing every opportunity to bring them together. And her older sister seemed to be treating Zhan Sir with special favor. Watching Zhuang Zhuoyuan enthusiastically recount his heroic exploits on missions to Uncle Chao and Sister Pauline, Iris stroked her chin, secretly considering whether she should change her vote before he noticed these ambiguous hints, lest she lose too badly and end up signing a bunch of unfair agreements. However, thinking of the still-clueless Ben, she realized that if she changed her vote, the taciturn Fang Sir would truly be fighting alone. When pursuing a girl, how can you just do things without saying a word?
So, over hotpot, Iris decided to give Ben some advice and discuss related issues. It turned out that while she found dating easy, giving advice to others was a nightmare. Iris initially thought Ben was just too shy or clueless, but later realized that although he was a bit of a straight man, he actually knew everything he needed to know! So, what went wrong?
Seeing the other person deep in thought, even slowing down their eating, Fang Yongbin felt quite embarrassed. Finally, he decided to confess: "Actually, I've already hinted at it to Madam, but she rejected me."
What? Iris never expected such a thing to happen.
Fang Yongbin continued, "Actually, I've liked Madam for a long time, but because of her fiancé, I never dared to approach her. After you appeared, her mood gradually improved, and I thought I had a chance. But in reality, we just didn't click. There's nothing I can do; these things ultimately depend on fate. But thank you so much, Iris, thank you for always creating opportunities for me."
Iris could only clink glasses with him dejectedly. Fate, fate—Ben was definitely the one she clicked with more. But there was nothing she could do; in this situation, she could only watch helplessly as her older sister went fishing at the beach with Inspector Zhan. And it truly meant "helplessly."
Oblivious to the unusual atmosphere between Zhan Hantao and his older sister after Jennie's casual question, Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally noticed it. Regardless of whether the atmosphere had reached an ambiguous level, he immediately offered a bundle of firewood, determined to strike while the iron was hot and make it official. Thus, even on a sweltering day, Iris was dragged along by him to watch Zhan Sir and Zhuang Zhuohua fishing by the sea.
"Tao said the fish here are this big, this big!" Iris gestured with the length of a finger, thinking that the pot Zhuang Zhuoyuan brought was a waste of its potential. However, turning her head, the more she saw the tacit understanding between Zhuang and Zhan, the more she felt sorry for her own doomed couple: "If I had known, I would have intervened and helped them out like you, maybe Ben could have lasted longer."
“There’s no other way, honey. You just need to wait patiently for your wedding drinks with Tao and my sister.” Zhuang Zhuoyuan set up the stove and followed Iris’s gaze. The more he looked at them, the more he felt they were a good match. “Actually, having Tao as my brother-in-law is pretty good. How come I didn’t notice this good prospect before?”
"What are you trying to do now that you've found out? You think this is none of my business?" Iris chuckled, deliberately blocking his path. Indeed, their adoration for Zhan Sir had reached its peak. If Zhan Sir were truly a girl, perhaps a group of them would become rivals in private. No, perhaps Mom would beat them to it.
Seeing Iris's mischievous smile, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was stunned for a moment before finally realizing what she meant. "What are you talking about?" he asked, but she had already preemptively thrown down the box of cherries he had given her and ran away. How could you enjoy the beach without splashing in the waves? However, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was concerned for her safety and didn't dare to chase after her. After running a few steps, it seemed she was just pretending. Iris turned back and deliberately tried to provoke him again, but Zhuang remained unhurried. She suddenly felt bored.
"Zhuang Zhuoyuan!" she called out, stopping in her tracks and extending her right hand, seemingly waiting for him to take her hand, but secretly planning to run away as soon as he got closer. Unfortunately, Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew her too well; before she could take her second step, Iris was swept up in his arms.
"Ah! I want to spin around!" she cried, clinging to his neck. Zhuang Zhuoyuan remained unmoved: "No."
She instantly became like a child: "You're so stingy."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan leaned forward and gently bit her lip: "Who's being naughty this time?"
Iris just kept laughing and didn't say anything.
Zhuang Sheng still wanted to prove himself, so he turned to Zhan Hantao and asked, "Atao, what do you take me for?"
He was certain that Zhan Hantao would only answer "brother," but he never expected that his question would come so suddenly. And he and Iris were having so much fun that the usually serious Zhan Sir was infected by it and also made a joke: "I'll treat you like my wife, okay?"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan stood there, stunned.
Iris couldn't hold back her laughter and burst out laughing. Even after her mouth was covered, she tried to make a sound: "Sister-in-law—"
Inspector Zhuang got angry: "Say it again!"
Iris quickly put her finger to her lips and slowly retreated back onto the beach under Zhuang Sheng's watchful gaze. But Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew from her sly look that this wasn't over yet. Sure enough, after retreating to a safe distance, Iris started frolicking again: "I can call you Brother Tao too!"
Zhuang Zhuoyuan really wanted to drag her in front of Zhan Hantao and see if she dared to call him "sister-in-law" or she would dare to bully him.
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