Chapter 71
It seemed he should be more worried about Madam Zhuang, but the truth was, Iris had remained remarkably calm ever since they arrived at Situ Guozhang's company building. Derek tried earnestly to find a flaw in her expression, but he couldn't detect even a hint of worry. Tapping his finger on the steering wheel, he asked with interest, "Were you just pretending in front of A-Yuan?"
Iris immediately shot him a glare. While her acting was decent, she wasn't exactly a public figure who constantly put on a show for Zhuang Zhuoyuan. She could condense a thousand words into a single sentence when praising her husband, but "lecturing" someone was a different story. With a pout and a fit of temper, she could unleash a torrent of words: "The most important thing between husband and wife is honesty..."
Well, that's enough. Derek turned around and sat up straight, covering his ears with his hands, rejecting the "lecture" with his actions. The fact that she was still in the mood to joke meant she was truly relaxed. Derek silently diagnosed himself; things were as they were, and he figured Iris was most likely sick.
“I just believe in my husband and SDU.” As if she could hear his inner thoughts again, Iris spoke up immediately, startling Derek, who really didn’t know how to respond. Fortunately, the young lady continued on her own: “Besides, there’s Brother Tao upstairs. Although I don’t really like him being my brother-in-law anymore, to be fair, with him there, my sister will definitely be fine.”
Derek obediently shut his mouth. He couldn't ask; if he did, it would definitely be another woman's intuition. But he still felt that no matter how much Zhan Hantao was deified, he was still just a mortal. His flesh and blood couldn't withstand fierce artillery fire. If an explosion really happened, he could only pray that they would be lucky enough to have bodies left for people to mourn. Amen!
The last two words slipped out intentionally or unintentionally, and Iris glanced at him sideways: "I didn't know you believed in religion."
“Sometimes,” Derek shrugged.
With Inspector Leung personally overseeing the operation, the SDU's operation proceeded smoothly. The assault team split into two groups: one armed and lying in ambush outside the door, while the other descended from the rooftop using ropes. Qiu Junxuan broke through the window and quickly subdued Cheng Wanting. At the same time, Zhan Hantao, who had stormed into the office to negotiate with Cheng Wanting, snatched the remote control from her hand in the chaos.
He finally felt a little more at ease. At the surveillance point, Zhuang Zhuoyuan looked through the scope and saw the situation inside the room, letting out a slightly relieved sigh of relief.
Cheng Wanting, however, had another plan. She looked up resentfully, seemingly bitter at not having killed Zhuang Zhuohua and Situ Guozhang with her own hands, but the next second, a smile returned to her face. Turning to Zhan Hantao, she said smugly, "You think you're safe just because you snatched the remote? Let me tell you, the remote has a temperature sensor inside. The moment you grabbed it, the temperature changed, and the bomb switch was activated. If you can't disarm it within two minutes, Madam will still die here. Hahaha—"
Having announced all this, Cheng Wanting refused to speak further. No matter how Zhan Hantao questioned her, she wouldn't answer. With time running out, Zhan Hantao could only order the others to retreat, choosing to stay behind and face the danger with Zhuang Zhuohua.
With one minute left on the countdown, the bomb disposal expert finally arrived, and the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) officers also appeared with James Chan. It turned out that earlier that day, Chong Cheuk-wah had relentlessly accused James Chan, and while he was detained at the police station, she took him to the morgue and used Koo Tak-seng's body to intimidate him. Later, James Chan inadvertently learned of the police's planned investigation into Ching Wan-ting. Under this combined pressure and stress, to protect Ching Wan-ting, James Chan attempted suicide. Fortunately, he was rushed to the hospital and survived, though he remained in a coma.
After Chong Cheuk-wah was suspended from her duties, the police's strategy changed. Madam Chong's superior also considered the possibility that Cheng Yuen-ting might attack Chong Cheuk-wah, so they went along with it and United Media released a false report that Chan Kai-wai had died from his injuries, planning to lure the snake out of its hole.
Professor Zhan, still weak, was pushed forward in his wheelchair. Cheng Wanting burst into tears upon seeing him. She was both surprised and overjoyed, her words filled with disbelief: "Professor, you're alive! That's wonderful!"
Zhan Qiwei opened his mouth with difficulty, and after trying for a while, he finally managed to make a sound: "Turn back."
Turn back? Cheng Wanting smiled bitterly. Professor Zhan had said this to her more than once before, but the facts were undeniable. After orchestrating the first murder, she couldn't turn back. Besides, did Professor Zhan truly not want revenge? He always told her not to do these things, but both his words and actions blatantly revealed his hatred for those three people. She had simply helped the professor do what he dared not do himself.
But the professor insisted. Cheng Wanting forced a smile through her tears, her smile as weak as the professor's. "Cut the blue wire," she said listlessly, as if admitting defeat.
The sound came through the walkie-talkie into the office. In the nick of time, everyone waited for the people upstairs to evacuate safely. But unexpectedly, the explosion still occurred. Accompanied by raging flames, Cheng Wanting's maniacal laughter resounded, making everyone want to ignore the rules and beat her up. But the A Team members didn't have time to pay attention to her at the moment. They were busy contacting each other to confirm the safety of Zhan Hantao, Zhuang Zhuohua, and the bomb disposal expert.
Without her tablet, Iris couldn't see the M016 surveillance footage, but she could still clearly hear the massive explosion from nearby. Her subordinates monitoring the area immediately reported the situation over the walkie-talkie. Upon hearing the words "Miss Zhuang's fate is unknown," Iris felt a wave of dizziness. She steadied herself and urged Derek to drive over. But Derek disobeyed her orders again. Nothing was more important than the young lady's life. The crisis at the explosion site wasn't over yet; he didn't know if there would be a secondary explosion, so how could he possibly send her there? Besides, if Zhuang Zhuohua had truly perished, it made no difference whether she went sooner or later.
Derek then made only one small move—locking the car doors.
Iris almost wanted to find a safety hammer, break the glass, and escape.
The scene descended into chaos, making Cheng Wanting even more delighted. But before she could finish laughing, she froze on the spot. Her murder target was rapidly approaching her. The living, breathing Zhuang Zhuohua. How could this be?
"It was her slight resentment that betrayed her," Zhan Hantao replied with a smile, surrounded by others. Iris arrived just in time to hear this. Zhuang Zhuoyuan quickly put his arm around her waist as she ran over, as if to steady her. Once they were both standing still, they looked up and realized that everyone was waiting for them. Zhan Hantao then continued, "When Cheng Wanting was being dragged away by Ah Xuan, although she kept shouting, her tone and expression were a little suspicious, as if she was very unwilling to accept it. In addition, we found the bomb blueprints in her house, which only included the design of a pressure sensor. So I think she was probably lying to us. When she said to cut the blue wire, Yang Sir and I were already defusing the bomb, but unfortunately we couldn't completely succeed and it still had to be detonated on the spot."
"The fact that no one got hurt is the biggest success." Iris rushed over and hugged Zhuang Zhuohua tightly. "Sister, thank goodness you're alright. Thank you, Tao-ge!"
Iris initially thought that this experience would significantly improve Zhan Hantao's standing with her, but after "taking his statement," Inspector Zhuang realized that this was just wishful thinking. Iris clearly defined these boundaries, keeping things separate and refusing to budge an inch.
“But what difference does it make whether I give in or not?” Having learned Derek’s approach, Iris applied it here. “Anyway, it’s my older sister’s decision in the end, and I will always support her decision. Besides, it’s not that I dislike Tao being my brother-in-law, I just don’t like him that much.”
It sounded a little awkward to say it that way, but that was all that remained. Zhuang Zhuoyuan nodded, no longer dwelling on it. He stretched out his long arm, pulled his wife close, and prepared to sleep, only to find that Iris, who had been lying down for quite some time, was still wide awake, her two index fingers tapping rhythmically, as if she were thinking about something. Thinking it was still about Zhuang Zhuohua and Qian Fubang, Zhuang Zhuoyuan was about to say a few words of comfort, explaining that Zhuang Zhuohua shouldn't have any more psychological barriers now that she knew the truth and caught the real culprit. But Iris beat him to it: "Honey, I think Du Tianyu is about to come out."
Why bring up this person out of the blue? Zhuang Zhuoyuan had his doubts, but he still listened patiently as Iris continued: "BB, what are you thinking about?"
If Yao Meiling's decision to become a witness for the prosecution was a pragmatic move, what would she do after regaining her freedom? She would undoubtedly recruit followers and meticulously plan her prison break. A few months should be enough, right? Any longer, and she probably wouldn't be able to wait.
“A day apart feels like three autumns.” Iris only replied with these eight seemingly unrelated words. Zhuang Zhuoyuan thought for a moment and quickly understood her meaning: “You mean, Yao Meiling and Du Tianyu are planning to escape from prison together?”
Iris shrugged: "That's what I think, but I have no proof."
Catching thieves is a perfectly normal thing. But in the eyes of criminals, it's a completely different matter. Currently, Iris only hopes that Du Tianyu doesn't have such a strong desire for revenge, otherwise she'll have to worry about the safety of Zhuang Zhuohua and Zhuang Zhuoyuan. Having just escaped one life-or-death threat, she doesn't want to fall into another crisis so soon.
“BB,” Iris turned around and hugged Zhuang Zhuoyuan, “In short, you and your sister must be very careful.”
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