Chapter 81
The High Court faced a tough battle. The criminals were adept at exploiting people's psychology. They gave Zhan Hantao a cell phone to make contact, but only installed the eavesdropping software during the initial phone call after the latter had the phone checked by a specialist.
Having fallen victim to this tactic, the SDU's deployments repeatedly failed. Zhang Jiguang, while protecting the Flying Tigers members inside the air-conditioned duct and rescuing a pregnant hostage, was brutally beaten and kicked by the terrorists. Xie Jiaxing, in trying to protect the pregnant woman who eventually managed to escape, was also injured in the explosion and taken to the hospital.
The situation seemed dire. Iris was filled with worry, clenching her hands and staring intently at the news footage. A short while later, she noticed that her mentor, Pan Zilong, had also arrived at the scene. Pan Zilong belonged to the CIB and was not normally required to participate in this operation, especially since he had already been promoted to Chief Inspector. His presence there was likely only related to the policewoman named Zhong Wei'en, who had been previously reported in the news.
CIB, police, criminal roll call—these keywords, strung together, made Zhong Wei'en's identity obvious; clearly, she had been an undercover agent. Iris immediately dialed G-Force's number, hoping he could gather some information. As luck would have it, G-Force didn't even need to leave his house to give her the answer: "I know this person, but she died last year. She betrayed gang leader Su Hong, and I heard she was drowned at sea by Su Hong's good friend An Tianming."
Looking for a dead person? Iris frowned and checked with G-Force again: "Do many people know this?"
G-Force paused for a moment: "Su Hong's death caused quite a stir at the time. Zhong Wei'en's death was not confirmed, but she had always been close to Su Hong. Not long after Su Hong's accident, she disappeared, so people in the underworld said she was killed."
That's strange. The thugs wouldn't be after Zhong Wei'en just to find an old flame. If they were after Su Hong, there's no reason they wouldn't know about Zhong Wei'en's death. So, is it all just a smokescreen? Iris couldn't figure it out, so she simply had G-Force compile information on Su Hong and that thug named An Tianming. She's never hesitated to search high and low, and now that she had a name, she'd follow up as much as she could.
Derek also had his own task. When Iris became suspicious of the criminals' motives, he turned on his computer and searched for cases being heard by the High Court that day. He located the two adjacent courtrooms that were being controlled by the criminals, turned the screen around and faced Iris: "The High Court's First and Second Courtrooms are hearing two cases today, one for murder and one for armed robbery."
Related to murder cases, it's either revenge or saving lives; related to armed robbery cases, it's even simpler. Iris asked directly, "How much money was stolen in the Second Trial case?"
Derek admired her intelligence, and with a smirk, he held up four fingers: "Forty million."
Oh, then nothing could be more tempting than forty million. Iris wondered if this information would be of any use to the police. She was hesitating whether to contact the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) when she saw a woman's figure appear on the television screen. The woman with disheveled hair ignored the obstruction and broke through the cordon to the front of the High Court. Under the police's watchful eye, she raised her hands to identify herself and said that her name was Chung Wai-yan.
Zhong Wei'en?!
Hearing the name, Iris was shocked. If she hadn't died, the situation might have been very different. Her eyes were glued to the television screen, her mind racing, trying to quickly determine if the criminals really needed to make such a fuss over one person. But the calculations seemed paradoxical. If they were certain Zhong Wei'en was alive, tracing her location wouldn't be difficult given time; if they weren't, how could they expect the police to find her so quickly? And were they absolutely certain that Zhong Wei'en had been under police protection for the past year? Making such a fuss only increased the risk, which wasn't in their best interest.
In such a short time, Iris couldn't be sure if her idea had any flaws, but she also trusted her intuition. So when the scales tipped in her favor, she quickly called Chong Cheuk-wah.
"Iris?" Madam Zhuang's first thought upon seeing the caller ID was that Iris was going into premature labor. Fortunately, things didn't go as she had imagined, and the news of Iris's "premature labor" did bring some value. Her expression relaxed after being serious, and after ending the call, she confirmed the news of the court hearing with Grandma Long.
After reviewing the documents she had previously obtained, Grandma Long confirmed Zhuang Zhuohua's question: "The Second Court does indeed have forty million."
Zhan Hantao also received the signal. He looked at Zhuang Zhuohua, who said, "I have an idea. If the kidnappers want to take 40 million in cash, the best way is to burn it all."
Zhan Hantao nodded in agreement. Based on the information Zhong Wei'en had just revealed on the radio, the bandits were well-equipped with weapons. He already suspected they might be carrying bombs, so he further urged his team to be cautious. Having their previous deployment disrupted by the bandits, Zhan Hantao was already suspicious. He handed his phone to the technicians for further examination, and sure enough, they discovered a listening device. He quickly deployed his team, devising a new strategy, focusing their attack on the elevator locked by the suspects. His instructions were clear: "Ali, you take Nick and your cousin, climb up the elevator shaft, burn through the bottom of the elevator, and wait for orders." Once they re-established contact with Zhong Wei'en, he and Zhuang Zhuoyuan would launch their attack when Salad cut off the power.
The operation was now under the overall command of Zhan Hantao, with limited assistance from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB). Zhuang Zhuohua was quite confident in their operation and was currently only concerned with apprehending the perpetrators afterward. With a large sum of money in hand, the criminals would certainly be wary of death, and their escape would require considerable skill. The High Court had several exits, and seeking another route at this moment would be too conspicuous. Waiting until things calmed down before leaving would make the four criminals too conspicuous…
"What do you think we should do if the five of us commit a crime?" Iris called out Derek, Qiu Junxuan, Uncle Chao, and Sister Pauline. She originally only wanted to include the first two, but when she thought about the latter two, she thought they might bring new ideas, so she also included the two elders.
Derek remained silent, clearly deep in thought. Qiu Junxuan then posed a crucial question: "How will the money be transported away?"
Uncle Chao agreed, having been a policeman himself and having some experience: "It's not difficult to slip out unnoticed, but carrying so much cash will easily be discovered."
"Could we hide the money first?" Pauline suggested. Leaving first and then returning to collect the money when things calmed down was certainly an option.
The High Court has a large number of cases scheduled for hearings every day. There has already been an explosion in front of the courthouse. If no further incidents occur, the police have at most 24 hours to patrol the area. After that time, the area must be reopened regardless of the outcome. Within 24 hours, if the criminals can successfully take the money, their escape shouldn't be a problem. However, there is still a difficulty: apart from the elevator locked by the criminals, all other entrances are guarded by the SDU. Where else can they hide the money?
Iris's question remained unanswered for the time being. Hiding the stolen goods separately was too troublesome and risky, but hiding them in concealed locations like the air conditioning ducts would also make quite a commotion. Moreover, given the enclosed environment of the scene, Inspector Zhan would certainly not abandon the deployment of monitoring in the air conditioning ducts, so the criminals wouldn't be foolish enough to hide anything there.
Where could it be? The question was truly difficult to answer. While the five were still racking their brains, news reports showed that nearly thirty hostages had already stormed out of the High Court, with all the cameras focused on the victims, and the media on the scene reporting on the Flying Tigers' victory. Unfortunately, after listening for a long time, they didn't get a single detailed answer. Iris could only hope that Zhuang Zhuohua would bring her some answers when she returned home.
Chong Cheuk-wah is destined not to go home tonight. The four suspects captured at the scene were all imposters who had been tried in court earlier; the real criminals are still nowhere to be found. Ben, leading the team, along with the other members, questioned the escaped hostages individually, asking them to identify people they had seen in court before the incident, in an attempt to reconstruct the entire event and find any possible perpetrators.
Zhuang Zhuoyuan was luckier; after finishing his work, he was able to go home and continue his vacation. He hadn't expected Iris to return even later than him. Given the unusual situation, he immediately abandoned his previous hesitation and continued to whine to his wife, "Baby, do you know how dangerous today was? I almost got shot by the suspect's bullet!"
His expression remained exaggerated, as if what he said was deliberately amplified several times over. Unfortunately, Iris knew how difficult this group of bandits was, so she didn't joke around with him as usual. Seeing his wife pouting and her eyes reddening, Zhuang Zhuoyuan felt a pang of heartache and quickly led her to sit on the sofa. "Baby, what's wrong? Don't cry, don't cry, I'm back safe and sound, aren't I?" The more he wiped her tears, the more they flowed, seemingly unstoppable. Seeing this, Zhuang Zhuoyuan pulled her into his arms, kissing Iris's forehead repeatedly: "Were you scared today? It's okay, it's been a long, long time since I've been an attacker. Besides, your husband is the best of the best. Even Viagra said I only managed to dodge those bullets because I remained calm, and Guangzai helped me by drawing the criminals' attention. A near-death experience is bound to bring good fortune, right? Baby, you need to have more faith in my abilities and luck, okay?"
Iris sobbed, "Of course I believe you, but I was worried that you wouldn't tell the truth because of Tangyuan, so I had to test you."
Zhuang Zhuoyuan laughed at her lame excuse: "So, Mrs. Zhuang, have you finished the test yet? Have I passed?"
“It’ll be alright,” Iris said, maintaining her composure. “We’ll still need to observe you for the next few months, and I’ll try to arrange a final exam for you.”
There's a final exam? Zhuang Zhuoyuan chuckled inwardly. He didn't want to think about things that were so far away. The reward was right in front of him, and he had to fight for it: "Wife, tell me first, will my performance this time qualify me for a reward?"
Iris blushed instantly. She covered her stomach, checked the date again, and whispered, "It's already seven months."
"Of course I know." Zhuang Sheng immediately gave her a playful flick on the forehead, somewhat amused and exasperated, wondering what was going on in his wife's hormone-induced head. Iris was still quite shy at the moment, and Zhuang Zhuoyuan knew she couldn't see him, so he didn't bother to point it out. He simply reached forward and touched her lips, clarifying, "This is all the reward I want."
"Huh?" Iris's face turned even redder. Combined with her still-crying eyes, she felt utterly mortified. When did she become someone with such a lewd head? It seemed she'd been separated from Zhuang Zhuoyuan for too long. In any case, it was all Zhuang Zhuoyuan's fault.
What could Zhuang Zhuoyuan do? Could he refuse to admit his mistake? Even though Iris's coyness only made her more alluring, he restrained himself and only gave her a fleeting kiss on the lips before reclaiming his reward. This wasn't the time for playing around or experimenting; he was already prepared to handle it himself. Just as he got up to leave, he hesitated for a moment, then finally decided to abandon the shy Iris and wrapped her arm around his: "I'll go back to the room with you…and, what if I wanted it?"
See? His wife is a warm, outgoing, and unpretentious person; she can't be shy for more than three minutes. Zhuang Zhuoyuan teased her intentionally, "Bear with it."
"Huh?" Iris was speechless for a moment.
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