Меntiоning Zhаng Сhenguang, Нiрро furrоwed his brows tightly. "Тhis Zhаng guy keеps his mouth shut. Yоu hаvе tо undеrstаnd, peоple buying and selling on thе dаrk web аren't еаsу tо traсе bу IР. Wе've nеver had deсisivе evidеnce to рrove hе and Song Fаn аrе invоlvеd in thе 'hоok' tradе. Мorеоvеr, thesе pеоple аrе eхtremely сunning, using many monеу-lаundering mеthods—sometimеs еvеn resоrting tо рrivаtе lеnding, art trаnsаctiоns, or еven gambling аs cоvеrs fоr fund flows. Рlus, thеir trаnsаction methоds follow a fixed рrocedurе, and theу nevеr sеnd matеrials over the internet, making evidence collection very difficult. We caught Zhang Chenguang at Pearl Peak, but he refused to talk."
Bayunye clenched her fist. "Then beat it out of him!"
Hippo broke into a sweat. "Master Ba, you've watched too many old Hong Kong movies. We can't abuse suspects..."
Compared to Bayunye's joking around, Diao Zhuo remained much calmer. "So that's why you risked taking Zhang Chenguang's thermos?"
Hippo nodded. "Exactly. Leaving it with you two would have put you in great danger. Still, I have to thank you for using your wits to help me find such an important item."
"What exactly was in the thermos?" Bayunye asked curiously.
"The same thing Brother Long took this time—a memory chip containing some statistical data. I can't go into specifics, but once it falls into the hands of those foreign buyers, after a few rounds of reselling to some organizations or countries with ulterior motives, they could analyze certain aspects of our country based on this data. The data is password-protected to ensure the safety of those involved in the transaction. If the other party takes the item and decides to kill them, they'd not only lose the money but also their lives." As he spoke, Hippo clenched his fist in relief, pursed his lips, and smiled. "We retrieved Zhang Chenguang's fingerprints from inside the thermos and on the chip. He can't deny it now."
Diao Zhuo looked up at Hippo. "Did he admit it?"
"He did, but only to his own involvement, refusing to give up his superior." Hippo shrugged nonchalantly. "Even if he doesn't say it, we know it's He Zhengren."
"He Zhengren makes money from this?" Diao Zhuo confirmed again. "Some of the data he has access to is indeed very valuable."
"He Zhengren is the domestic agent for the 'hook' group. Who knows how many subordinates he has under him? It's a multi-layered trade, and much of the data is sold directly to foreigners through him. That Red Beard is the 'Asia region' agent for his partner, a former mercenary." Hippo said. "Do you know how much he's sold to others over the years he's been with Beidou Rescue, using the reconnaissance data you guys gathered—especially the route maps, photos, and hydrological charts from those Uninhabited Areas? Even the projects he participated in before retirement, he cashed in on every single one."
Diao Zhuo could imagine He Zhengren's money came from shady sources, but such unscrupulous wealth-grabbing methods shocked him. "How did he become like this..."
"Let's just say, money is the devil." Hippo sighed.
"The armed police were able to rescue us smoothly because you left marks along the way that they could understand?" Diao Zhuo asked him.
"Absolutely. Always leave a way out." Hippo smiled.
"Does my older sister's car accident have anything to do with He Zhengren?" Bayunye pressed urgently."Yes." Hippo's single word hung heavy as a thousand-pound weight upon everyone's shoulders. They all stopped their work and turned to look at him. Hippo, visibly moved, spoke with great care, "Your eldest sister and the others... calling them national heroes would be no exaggeration."
Bayunye's heart tightened, feeling as if all the blood rushed to her head, leaving her almost breathless. Not one to cry easily, upon hearing the words "national heroes," two streams of hot tears welled up, and she could hardly control the ones that followed. Diao Zhuo grasped one of her hands, and she hurriedly wiped away the tears with the other. "Uh... the wind is strong, sand got in my eyes..."
There was no sand in the tent, but no one pointed it out.
Hippo continued, "At that time, He Zhengren had just 'entered the water.' They managed to find out from him that another research team's project held significant strategic importance. So, Song Fan took a gun and boarded the vehicle, forcing the experts to hand over the materials and reveal all storage locations. Professor Rao fell into the trap and went to check on the situation in the rear vehicle. Meanwhile, Zhang Chenguang was in the front, responsible for disrupting the vehicle behind. Song Fan threatened them again, but to no avail—none of the experts were willing to surrender the materials. Given the circumstances and road conditions at the time, Master Ba, you should know best: the 72 Bends of the Sky Road couldn't withstand the chaos caused by Zhang Chenguang and Song Fan. The driver finally lost control, and the vehicle overturned. Midway, the car got stuck, teetering on the edge. Song Fan was still alive and tried to climb out..."
"What about the others?" Bayunye asked. "My eldest sister? Diao Zhuo's father?"
"Song Fan later told Zhang Chenguang that several people inside the vehicle were still alive, but Diao Zhuo's father was pinned by his legs and couldn't move. Professor Rao was severely injured. Only your eldest sister was relatively less hurt and had a chance to climb out."
Just listening to this account made Bayunye's back break out in a cold sweat, let alone the experts who had experienced it firsthand.
"The vehicle could have plunged further at any moment, and your eldest sister chose to push Professor Rao out of the car first, then went back to rescue Diao Zhuo's father and the other colleagues. Song Fan, guilty and afraid of exposure, joined forces with Zhang Chenguang above to throw whatever they could find at the vehicle. Eventually, the car lost its balance point and tumbled down again, with everyone inside... So, the only survivors at the time were Song Fan and Professor Rao. However, Professor Rao's injuries were too severe for him to testify against them. Coupled with the fact that some in the team might have been accomplices like Fat Monkey, the incident was always treated as an accident. Master Ba, your eldest sister might have shouted Diao Jun's name while trying to save him, and Diao Jun might have urged her to escape instead of staying to rescue him, but she refused to leave. Song Fan overheard this and spread rumors of an affair between them, claiming it caused internal strife and led to the crash. Because of this, He Zhengren was completely dragged into the mess by Zhang and Song, becoming a grasshopper tied to the same rope—starting as their subordinate and eventually rising to become their leader, truly deranged. What's touching is that in their final moments, none of the experts considered handing over the materials. Even after his arrest, Zhang Chenguang never learned what their research was about..."
"No affair, no internal strife..." Bayunye murmured, repeating the words.Diao Zhuo stared blankly into the distance, his tightly furrowed brow suppressing immense sorrow and emotion within. He seemed to see his father walking out of the darkness, smiling faintly at him before turning back into the darkness, then gradually moving toward the light.
"No wonder my eldest sister's three photos came from a man's wallet. Besides those photos, there was also a family portrait of three. Perhaps Diao Zhuo's father hoped my sister could climb out and bring the information with her, so he stuffed the wallet into her hands. He just never expected Song Fan and Zhang Chenguang to be so shameless, and my sister didn't make it out in time."
"Your eldest sister... was an incredibly brave person, a true heroine!" Hippo patted her shoulder. "Master Ba, you are too. If you hadn't pursued the matter of those three photos, we wouldn't have suspected Zhang Chenguang's motives for repeatedly climbing Pearl Peak. If you two hadn't found Zhang Chenguang's thermos, he wouldn't have confessed, nor would he have revealed the truth about the car accident back then in hopes of a reduced sentence. It's a pity I couldn't tell you both sooner."
Bayunye waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it. So you've been investigating He Zhengren all along, which means the country hasn't forgotten my sister and the others."
"We'll cross-check Zhang Chenguang's confession with He Zhengren once he regains consciousness. The subsequent news reports will definitely clarify those rumors about extramarital affairs, don't worry," Hippo assured her.
Xiang An handed over a box of cooked instant noodles. Bayunye lifted the lid, and the aroma wafted up, yet she no longer felt hungry. She pressed on, "What about Brother Long? What exactly happened with him? Since He Zhengren isn't dead, why did he run?"
"Whether someone is dead or not isn't something you can determine with just a glance or two," Hippo chuckled. "Didn't you also think Diao Zhuo was dead just now?"
Bayunye pointed at the steaming noodles. "Believe me, I'll splash this in your face."
Hippo surrendered. "We deduced that He Zhengren intended to flee to the United States but wanted to make one last big score before leaving. So he contacted Red Beard and others for a transaction on the China-Myanmar border, then planned to sneak into Myanmar and from there to the U.S. However, Li Haozhang foolishly thought he could take He Zhengren's place and 'intercepted the goods' midway, intending to eliminate him. His small-time thug mentality disrupted our plans to close the net. Unexpectedly, Brother Long then emerged, snatched the memory chip, and made a daring escape through the primeval forest. Since Red Beard hadn't appeared yet, we decided to hold off on closing the net. We spread false information that He Zhengren had been killed and Brother Long was the suspect, finally prompting Red Beard—fearing Brother Long might be caught by the police and hand over evidence—to take action himself."
Bayunye asked worriedly, "Will Brother Long go to prison?"
Hippo looked somewhat troubled. "I can't answer that. After all, I'm only responsible for the He Zhengren case. How Brother Long's series of actions are defined will depend on the police and the courts. But if the chip he took is confirmed to contain important evidence and materials, and he protected them from being sold off, he might be recognized for contributing to the case."
Bayunye's stomach finally growled with hunger again. She held up one finger. "I have one last question."
"Women really do talk a lot," Hippo rolled his eyes.
"Do you actually have a wife and kids?"
The question caught Hippo off guard. His mouth opened slightly, then he pressed his lips tightly together.Diao Zhuo let out a long sigh, patting Hippo on the shoulder with one hand while wrapping an arm around Bayunye. "There's plenty of time ahead. Everyone's tired today, no need to talk so much. And what Hippo said—we need time to digest it."
It seemed Diao Zhuo was a sensible person. Hippo nodded heavily.
"Here, Captain Diao." Xiang An handed over a cup of instant noodles.
Everyone buried themselves in eating. Diao Zhuo glanced sideways at Hippo, who was slurping noisily—so familiar yet so strange. The person before him was neither Hippo nor Ma He. Who exactly was he? Did he have a wife and children? No one would ever know. Perhaps the next time they met, he would be someone else entirely. Or perhaps they would never have the chance to meet again.
OpenNovel