Chapter 394

"You wouldn't be planning to arrest Zheng Ge, would you?" I furtively glanced at the harmonious guests, but saw nothing abnormal. Moreover, I couldn't tell which were attendees and which were plainclothes in disguise.

Chen Mo gasped: "Who said I wanted to arrest Chen Zheng?"

"Well, if you're not arresting Zheng Ge, why bring so many people in?"

Chen Mo glanced around, then leaned close to my ear and lowered his voice: "The Tiger Gang's leader, Northeast Tiger, died—just last night at three a. m. We investigated; before his death he had a clash with East Ling's top enforcer, Fan Wuchang. Now everyone in the jianghu suspects Zheng Ge killed Northeast Tiger." "Ah, Northeast Tiger died—how did he die?" I was first startled, then frowned and asked Chen Mo: "Do you suspect Northeast Tiger was killed by Zheng Ge or Fan Wuchang?"

"No," Chen Mo shook his head firmly: "Chen Zheng couldn't have killed Northeast Tiger; he wouldn't do such a foolish thing. So Chen Zheng is the least suspicious."

Chen Mo's words piqued my curiosity: "With Northeast Tiger dead, Chen Zheng could monopolize Aomen's underworld; anyone can see he's the biggest beneficiary. So how come, to you, Chen Zheng becomes the least suspicious?"

Chen Mo shook his head, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth as if mocking my ignorance: "You don't know the situation in Aomen; East Ling and the Tiger Gang appear to be opposed, but in fact they are maintaining a balance—a balance that all the bigwigs and we police hope to see."

Seeing me lost in thought, Chen Mo had no choice but to patiently continue explaining.

"In this city of Aomen, the underworld's roots run deep, tightly linked to the interests of the city's major casinos. If the underworld were eradicated, it would surely harm the casinos' interests; once all casinos shut down, Aomen's economy would instantly collapse."

"But from a businessman's perspective, one certainly doesn't want only a single business partner, nor does one want Aomen to have just one underworld group to cooperate with. Because then leverage would be endlessly raised, and in serious cases it could even leave one under someone's control. The casino magnates of Aomen are crafty old foxes; how could they allow such a situation?"

After taking a sip of red wine, Chen Mo continued in a low voice to dispel my doubts: "Third, the existence of gangs is mainly for profit, while we police merely seek harmony; as long as our goals don't clash, the two can coexist. The history of gangs predates our police elections by far. We police cannot eradicate them completely. Therefore, we must keep them within a controllable range. We absolutely cannot allow any gang to become dominant; we must maintain this delicate balance."

"So, once the Tiger Gang falls, Zheng Ge will become an enemy of all Aomen's bigwigs and the police. Given Zheng Ge's wisdom, he would absolutely not do such a thing." After a moment, I finally understood what Chen Mo meant.

While understanding, I also felt a secret alarm at Aomen's murky waters.

This move is nothing less than the ancient strategists' and rulers' favored tactic of horizontal and vertical alliances: pull one, strike another; when one side is weak, help the weak side suppress the strong; when the strong side is about to collapse, unhesitatingly crush the rising side.

In short, whether it's dogs biting dogs or thieves fighting thieves, I will pull this situation to a balance point, not letting any side tip.

And the hidden hand behind all this is obviously the police and the bigwigs of Aomen's various factions.

"If what you say is true, once the Tiger Gang falls, will the police and the casino bigwigs quickly move against Zheng Ge?" Having recovered from my shock, I continued discussing with Chen Mo; his earlier words suddenly let me grasp many things.

"No," Chen Mo extended her slender jade finger and made a "no" gesture in front of me.

"Before we have a firm grasp on controlling the situation, we will absolutely not move against Chen Zheng. At least judging from past circumstances, Chen Zheng is relatively upright, and East Ling enjoys a far better reputation among Aomen's populace than the utterly wicked Tiger Gang."

"Then what's your purpose here?" After going around in circles, I felt dizzy again. Since you don't want anything to happen to Chen Zheng, why would the police infiltrate the banquet? Could it be just to have a meal? This flimsy excuse—no one would believe it, not even a three-year-old.

"Our purpose for infiltrating?" Chen Mo's gaze sharpened, and she said solemnly: "It's to protect Chen Zheng."

"With Northeast Tiger dead, the jianghu assumes East Ling did it. We received word that Northeast Tiger's younger brother, Downhill Tiger, rallied the remnants of the Tiger Gang, hired mercenaries from Southern Viet, and plans to kill Chen Zheng at his birthday banquet tonight as a memorial to Northeast Tiger."

Chen Mo tapped her index finger lightly on the table, furrowed her brow, and became the very image of a female strategist plotting in her tent: "If Chen Zheng dies, Aomen's underworld will instantly plunge into chaos. Hong Kong and Thailand's gangs will seize the chance to infiltrate Aomen, and the various big and small gangs previously suppressed by the Tiger Gang and East Ling will also stir up trouble… This outcome would plunge Aomen into a prolonged period of turmoil, which the police cannot bear."

The waters of Aomen are truly not just deep; they twist and turn like the Nine Curves and Eighteen Bends of the Eight Trigrams formation, going round and round until one's mind can't keep up. Fortunately, Pangzi and I are just here to look at the feng shui; if we were forced to rack our brains all day like those top figures, scheming and fighting, we'd probably end up with our minds ruined before our bodies aged. I lifted my head to the sky and gave a silent wry smile.

"By the way, there's one more thing. I think it's necessary to tell you." Chen Mo's face instantly turned somewhat pallid, as if recalling something terrible.

Just as I was wondering how her expression could change so quickly, she, looking shaken, told me: "We examined Northeast Tiger's corpse—he… he died exactly like the female corpse in the alley. His face retained an unabated terror, but his body was intact, without a single wound. I suspect…" Saying this, Chen Mo shuddered, her face filled with fear: "I suspect the killer of Northeast Tiger is the monster we encountered in that alley that day."

Chen Mo's words inexplicably made me think of that eerie serpent infant, and my body shuddered involuntarily.

"Ah, isn't this Chen the great beauty? How come you're also here?" Just as I was about to ask Chen Mo again, Pangzi suddenly appeared like a lurking ghost, holding a bowl of udon noodles, chewing the noodles indistinctly as he gazed at Chen Mo.

"What, do you have to monitor where Miss goes?" Chen Mo has never given Pangzi a pleasant look.

With a gurgling sound, Pangzi swallowed the udon in his mouth, then suddenly gave a lewd smile: "Where, where… Miss Chen, beloved by all, flowers bloom at her sight; tonight honoring my humble abode is simply to make my shack shine, immortal air fluttering, fairy scattering flowers, all sorts of things…"

I shoved him hard: "Pangzi, what exactly are you trying to say? What 'humble abode', what 'all sorts of things'—is this your place? Can you speak like a human?"

Pangzi scratched his head, his lewdness turning sheepish: "Well, I spoke too rudely in the park that day… isn't this me expressing my apology?"

Chen Mo: "……"

I: "……" Your apology is so outstanding that you could be considered unconventional.

"Who wants your apology? Get lost…" After a moment, Chen Mo, forehead black with lines, roared angrily at Pangzi, lifted her head, and strode off like a proud peacock without looking back.

Not long after, Chen Mo suddenly turned back and gently urged me: "You were also present when I clashed with Northeast Tiger last night; you should be careful too."

After saying that, Chen Mo's warm smile instantly froze, her gaze turning cold as it passed over Pangzi, she let out a disdainful hum, turned and walked away—this time she didn't look back at all.

Behind me, Pangzi scratched his head, looking innocent: "Is she forgiving me or still hating me… and why is she being so gentle with you?"

Helpless, I could only rub my forehead and retort testily to Pangzi: "Ask your dad."

Pangzi gave an "oh", then lowered his head; meanwhile others calmly shoved forkfuls of udon into their mouths, looking like starving ghosts reincarnated who could never get enough.

I could only rub my forehead again and sigh to the heavens, thinking of my lifelong reputation as Chen Hai Sheng—how did I end up with such a dimwitted brother?

Although we haven't known each other long, I can be certain that in Chen Mo's heart she has definitely developed feelings for Pangzi—including that deliberate moment of gentleness toward me just now, which appeared warm but was actually meant for Pangzi to see.

This is a manifestation of lovers fallen in love, influenced by personality traits. When she likes someone, she neither says it outright nor tells you; instead she becomes especially warm and kind toward the people around you. Her aim isn't to truly like the person beside you, but to draw your attention. And of course, if you become jealous because of that, it plays right into her hands.

This trait shows up among those who are image-conscious and excessively proud—regardless of gender.

Obviously, Chen Mo is proud and image-conscious, but she also likes Pangzi. Her gentleness toward me is merely using me as a pawn to draw Pangzi's attention.

But… when a proud girl meets a naturally clueless Pangzi, the so-called stimulation merely results in that seemingly honest Pangzi gulping down udon noodles, completely oblivious to the girl's thoughts; on the contrary, he finds the noodles in his bowl far cuter than the girl herself.

At the banquet a strange scene appeared: a chubby boy holding a basin of udon noodles, gulping them down big mouthfuls; beside him, a frail boy watched him, head hung low, spiritless, gazing silently at the sky.

Not long after, Fan Wuchang, having finished teasing the old lady, walked over to us.

Fan Wuchang said Zheng Ge would be coming down shortly, and ordered us not to run around.

And at that moment, the dazed, gluttonous Pangzi finally became aware.

"Wow, Brother Chang, you're seriously cool today—outstandingly cool!" The gluttonous Pangzi put down his udon and began circling around Fan Wuchang.

Fan Wuchang gave him a contemptuous glance: "This is something everyone in the world knows; do you really need to say it out loud? Can you say something deep to prove your IQ?"

"I…" the lovesick, gluttonous Pangzi answered earnestly, then took a deep breath and put on an enraptured expression: "Ah… too salty, no, Brother Chang. Handsome, you can no longer prove your cuteness; cool, you can no longer prove your bearing; … all praise, to you, is just empty fluff."

Seeing the words "too salty" appear, Fan Wuchang's face instantly darkened; Pangzi hurriedly corrected himself, forcibly changing "too salty" to "Chang".

Immediately thereafter, the gluttonous Pangzi's eyes lit up as he praised Fan Wuchang: "Look at Brother Chang's gaze—it positively exudes Leslie Cheung's melancholy. This nose, besides resembling Andy Lau, who else could it resemble? And this demeanor—it's practically a Jackie Chan replica. Sigh, those eyebrows—if you don't look they're fine, but up close they truly have a hint of Jacky Cheung… it's that face—no matter how you look, it reminds you of Eric Tsang."

Pu… just as I took a sip of drink, Pangzi's final flourish made me spit it out.

Seeing Fan Wuchang's face gradually darken, Pangzi hastily covered his mouth, picked up a fork, speared a dish from the buffet, and offered it to Fan Wuchang with a fawning smile: "Brother Chang, don't be angry—I have a cheap mouth, I deserve a beating. Come, eat something to calm down."

What Pangzi picked up was exactly the curry panda rice ball I had earlier found nauseating.

Seeing how well Pangzi behaved, Fan Wuchang's expression eased slightly; he gave Pangzi a "promising pupil" look, then took the fork and swallowed the panda rice ball.

"Don't eat it, absolutely don't eat it." I tried to stop him, but when I cried out in surprise, Fan Wuchang gulped down the panda rice ball with a gurgling sound.

"Brother Wuchang, how does it taste?" I leaned over and asked timidly.

Fan Wuchang licked the corner of his mouth, savoring the aftertaste, and praised with a clicking tongue: "The rice ball is quite chewy, and it has a fresh curry fragrance— not bad, not bad."

"What's up? Why did you just say you couldn't eat it? Is there something wrong with the rice ball?" After a moment, Fan Wuchang finally sensed my abnormality.

I covered my face with one hand and pointed with the other toward the direction where the curry‑scented panda was eating feces…… Everything was left unsaid.

When Fan Wuchang looked in the direction I was pointing, he first froze…… then his complexion slowly turned from fair to pallid, after which a surge of blood rushed up, making his face flush red like Brother Guan's.

Especially when he subconsciously rubbed the corner of his mouth and pulled out a sticky, yellow substance, his flushed face instantly turned ashen.