Chapter 49
Since the goal was to completely shake them off, the beach trip mentioned earlier was obviously out of the question. Iris directed Shu Ziming to drive to a dessert shop, where they bought two bowls of sweet soup before heading to Victoria Harbour to enjoy the scenery and chat.
Shu Ziming spoke first: "I noticed you were different from others before, and after all these years, you're still the same. No wonder so many people like you."
“That’s my husband.” Iris scooped up a mouthful of almond milk, the subtle coconut flavor spreading between her lips and teeth.
"What?" Shu Ziming thought he hadn't heard clearly. The wind was so strong, it was indeed possible that he hadn't heard clearly.
However, Iris's pronunciation was accurate and her speech was very clear: "He is also the father of the child in my belly."
"What the hell! You're pregnant! That's crazy!" Shu Ziming exclaimed in disbelief, jumping up immediately. Even without Iris pointing it out, he already knew which man it was. He had forgotten that Iris wasn't like his sister; she wouldn't get so close to just any man.
Tonight's date suddenly became incredibly boring.
“But at least I’m not the only girl you can’t get a date with anymore,” Iris said with a smile, trying to comfort him.
Shu Ziming could only smile wryly: "I thought you were really going to give me a chance, however, it's too late."
"We can still be friends."
"I thought we had always been friends."
Shu Ziming shrugged, and Iris smiled and bumped fists with him: "See, you're not actually that disappointed, so I'm not that important to you."
"In fact, I was prepared for this all along. Ella has never been interested in me, has she?" Stirring the sesame paste, Shu Ziming felt his mood was just like the cheap plastic spoon he was using—a complete mess, whether he tried to control it or not.
Iris, however, ate happily: "Have you ever thought that your crush has always been my sister?"
"What? Don't scare me!" The sesame paste almost spilled for the second time.
"Take easy, just a joke. You loved me, always me."
Shu Ziming found it hard to believe Iris would say such a thing. But since she did, he wondered if he could make things a little better. "I was thinking, maybe we should have a proper date."
Iris pointed to the present moment: "Isn't it?"
"You call this a date?" Shu Ziming found it laughable. "Is it because that policeman doesn't have much money that your quality of life has been significantly reduced?"
“Oh, I just enjoy this simple life. When it comes to romance, you're not as good as him.” Iris didn't intend to elaborate to Shu Ziming, but the thought of Zhuang Zhuoyuan made her feel sweet.
Shu Ziming seemed determined to compete: "At least there's one thing I'm better at than him, which is that during the time I was pursuing you, I really didn't get close to any other women."
“So does he,” Iris dismissed his accusation. Shu Ziming could treat others as he pleased, without any scruples. But Zhuang Zhuoyuan was a policeman, a man with very strong moral principles. Their actions were fundamentally different.
Shu Ziming had made up his mind: "I have to let him know how precious you are."
Young Master Shu has no shortage of money, and having spent so many years navigating the world of women, he certainly knows what methods are most eye-catching and can attract the most attention.
When Iris returned to the hotel, she was carrying a large bouquet of 66 roses. If the florist hadn't been unable to provide more, Shu Ziming would probably have accepted 999 roses. He turned a farewell date into a proposal; she truly admired his extravagant pursuit of women.
"Just for you." There were also Flying Tigers members stationed in the lobby. Shu Ziming had long harbored the idea of causing trouble here. He said goodbye to Iris, then stretched out his arms to hug her, hoping to get a goodbye kiss in return.
Iris was unwilling to be his tool. Using the flowers as a cover, she reached out and blocked his way again, reminding him repeatedly, "I am already a married woman, and I'm about to become a mother."
Shu Ziming could only sigh at how well she knew how to get people to give in. However, he couldn't let her get away with it for nothing, so he lowered his head, took Iris's hand, and placed a kiss on the back of her hand: "Good luck, baby."
Iris rolled her eyes at him.
Derek took the elevator down first and was already waiting on the side. As soon as Jacob left, he quickly stepped forward to await Iris's orders and reported on his work that evening: "The tracker has been implanted in Zhang Jiguang's body and there are currently no problems with the monitoring. All 009s have also been retrieved and tested successfully."
“Then go and retrieve the M016 too. I couldn’t get it just now.” She didn’t want Shu Ziming and his group of rich kids to know about the existence of the M016 and other such devices, so she didn’t touch them when she got out of the car. Derek, however, had a different interpretation. He looked meaningfully at the large bouquet of flowers and leaned closer to Iris: “Miss, I just added fuel to the fire. Zhuang Zhuoyuan almost lost control tonight. I think that woman should know her place.”
Iris shoved the flowers at him, saying, "If you affect my husband's promotion, you're finished."
After all these years, he's still just an acting sergeant; whether he gets promoted or not doesn't matter to him. That's what Derek thought, but of course, he didn't dare say it aloud.
Lobby security was handled by Jianren and Azu. Iris passed them, first asking about Zhuang Zhuoyuan's whereabouts, then deliberately stopping at the floor where he was on duty in the elevator. When the elevator doors opened, Zhuang Zhuoyuan's wary expression immediately changed; his eyes lit up the moment he saw Iris. Iris smiled at him, didn't get off the elevator, but simply gave him an "OK" sign, indicating she was alright. Only then did Zhuang Zhuoyuan finally relax.
"My elder sister."
"Are you alright?" Iris approached, and Zhuang Zhuohua immediately turned away from the screen to ask about her condition.
Iris shook her head: "I went shopping with Jacob, had a late-night snack, and rode the Ferris wheel. That's it. I told him that Ah Yuan is my husband, so he shouldn't make things difficult for everyone tomorrow. At most, he'll just grumble a bit. Ah, Sir Liang, Derek has gone to get the M016's memory card. We'll be able to watch the second half of the video and audio recording in a little while."
Liang Rifeng also arrived at the monitoring room where the commanders were located. When Iris arrived, he had just finished watching the first half of M016's performance in Shu Ziming's car. Because of its light weight, even when playing back slowly at high speeds, the footage recorded by M016 was still quite shaky, but at least some important landmarks could be seen.
The M016 is designed to prevent interference from signal jammers. While the 009 can be used simply to move synchronously with the vehicle, it becomes ineffective in mid-air if the signal interference is strong and widespread. The M016, however, automatically activates its omnidirectional recording mode when disconnected from the controller, provided it has sufficient power, becoming a fixed monitor for easy review of records later. More importantly, its stealth far surpasses that of the 009, making it much less likely to be detected by suspects.
Sending 009 was only to facilitate a search afterwards. If it had been used from the beginning, Iris feared the criminal gang might have changed their plans at the last minute, catching the police off guard.
However, she was just providing the equipment; the specifics of how to proceed would have to be decided by Inspector Leung, Inspector Chan, and Madam Chong. But Iris wasn't entirely without gain; at least she discovered Ben had the potential to be henpecked. When he quietly sat down to rest in the back due to fatigue, only to be immediately discovered by Chong Cheuk-wah, Inspector Fong, who unintentionally revealed a touch of naiveté, immediately sprang to life, quite invigorated. Iris couldn't help but chuckle, regretting not taking out her phone to snap a picture.
Her mission was considered complete at that point, and after checking out the next day, she returned to school without worry. Thanks to her equipment, she was able to remedy the potential loophole the bank had anticipated.
On the last day of the training program, on the way to the jewelry appraisal course, the criminal gang finally launched an attack. Snipers fired at the convoy from a high vantage point. Upon receiving the report, Inspector Leung decided to immediately activate Plan B, sending a bus carrying the wealthy second-generation heirs ahead to the designated location, where they would be met and protected by his colleagues from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB).
Besides the two undercover agents, Yu Xueli and Zhang Jiguang, Xu Jiankang, a member of the Flying Tigers B Team, was also on the bus. The wealthy young men, terrified by the gunfight, thought they could finally relax a bit, but the bus took them on a completely different journey. Xu Jiankang peeked through the curtain and sensed something was wrong. He tried to check the driver's identity from the back of the bus to the front, but a masked bandit boarded at the front door and fired without hesitation, instantly shooting Xu Jiankang in the chest.
The police officer fell to the ground, and bank employee David also died from his gunshot wound. The rich kids panicked and dared not utter a sound. They could only follow the kidnappers' instructions, hand over their cell phones, and one by one, they covered their heads and were transferred into another container truck.
The tracking device implanted in Zhang Jiguang soon regained its function. Inspector Liang quickly dispatched 009 to track down and verify the situation, and directed Team A to follow the kidnappers' escape route to locate them. The location of the bus was first pinpointed by 009 at an intersection along the planned route, and then tracked by traffic cameras. The bus was also located shortly afterward.
Team B members were all mobilized, and Derek also caught up with his men and a doctor. His team, which had lagged behind the police, was originally there to ensure Zhuang Zhuoyuan's safety. Since the kidnappers' hideout had not yet been located, he decided to go to the bus first, because logically, there should be casualties there. If he could accidentally rescue someone, it would be entirely beneficial to them.
He was lucky; not only did he manage to snag one, but the other person was also a Flying Tigers member. He instantly felt that his huge prize money was within reach.
Meanwhile, on Team A's end, the kidnappers had driven their car into a junkyard. This location was well-hidden and easy to defend; if the Flying Tigers had been delayed in receiving the news, they would indeed have faced a tough battle. But now, they were clearly in a much better position. Zhuang Zhuoyuan carefully maneuvered 009 around, roughly surveying the map, and observed the kidnappers herding a group of wealthy young men into a modified shipping container before retrieving the aircraft. Zhan Hantao, having obtained sufficient information, immediately deployed his team, dispatching each member to their designated locations to prepare for the hostage rescue.
When Derek arrived at the junkyard, the fighting had already begun. Unable to use their normal firearms, they didn't enter the inner area, but instead remained at an observation post on the outer perimeter, in case Zhuang Zhuoyuan was injured. He always assumed he wouldn't need to intervene, and sure enough, the fighting ended in just a few minutes. The only one who proved useful was the medic. Having just saved Xu Jiankang, he was now providing first aid to Zhang Jiguang, who had been hit by a stray bullet while saving Jacob. Two Flying Tigers in a row—Derek was incredibly lucky. He had never realized how easy it was to make money. Being Iris's bodyguard was definitely the best way to go.
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