Chapter 492: The Cargo Ship Seized

The night was deep; He Yuzhu parked the car outside Aiyuan Villa, killed the engine, and looked toward the main gate.

Light still shone from the villa's living room—could Liu Rusi be awake? Just as he was about to knock, he suddenly stopped—he wanted to test the depth of the security here instead.

He stepped back a few paces, took a short running start, kicked off the wall, and his hands gripped the high wall top.

He crouched on the wall, scanned the courtyard, and found it deathly quiet inside.

This silence, instead, made his heart sink.

He remembered clearly that he had left three German Shepherds to guard the yard when he departed, yet there was not a single bark now.

He Yuzhu nimbly vaulted into the yard, landing without a sound.

He quickly patrolled the garden; it was empty.

Finally, he looked inside through a gap in the curtains; only a strange middle-aged man was sprawled on the sofa, sleeping soundly.

He understood immediately: Liu Rusi had long since moved out, and this was merely someone hired to watch the house.

Feeling disinterested, he flipped back over the wall and decided to go find Zhang Shuying.

Half an hour later, He Yuzhu stood in front of the Ai Du Building.

He looked up at the top-floor apartment; it was past two in the morning, and the main entrance was inconvenient to use.

He took a deep breath and began to climb along the protrusions and pipes of the exterior wall; soon, he arrived outside the familiar apartment balcony.

Using a pocket knife to slide back the window latch, he slipped into the living room without a sound and slowly pushed open the bedroom door.

His gaze fell upon Zhang Shuying's sleeping face; she had not changed, and seemed even a little younger.

He gently nudged her shoulder.

Zhang Shuying woke up with a start, her eyes instantly filled with terror, and she opened her mouth to scream.

He Yuzhu quickly covered her mouth and lowered his voice: "It's me, He Yuzhu."

Zhang Shuying finally saw his face clearly, her tense body instantly went limp, and she immediately threw herself into his arms: "You scared me to death! Why didn't you say anything beforehand?"

He Yuzhu chuckled: "I just wanted to see if there was a 'Ximen Qing' hiding in the house."

"You're hateful!" Zhang Shuying pinched his arm crossly. "How long can you stay this time?"

"Hard to say, at least two weeks." He Yuzhu sat on the edge of the bed.

"I've been gone for two years; have you been all alone? Didn't find a new lover?" he teased her.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll really get mad at you!" Zhang Shuying kissed He Yuzhu hard.

After a long while, He Yuzhu asked: "Have you become famous?"

Zhang Shuying laughed, with a hint of pride: "You guessed right; everyone outside calls me the 'Sweet Song Queen' now."

"Which of your songs is the most popular?"

"It's 'The Moon Represents My Heart'! This song has even become a hit in Taiwan!" Her tone was full of pride.

"Then why don't you even have a Bodyguard?" He Yuzhu looked around.

"You're wrong; I rented this entire floor, and there are over a dozen bodyguards outside," Zhang Shuying explained.

"Then, won't I be caught as a thief by the bodyguards tomorrow?" He Yuzhu joked.

Zhang Shuying nodded: "So, you can't leave through the front door. It's not because of the bodyguards, but because my mother found me; she lives outside too! She's busy trying to set me up on blind dates every day."

He Yuzhu chuckled: "That's simple; I'll go register with you and put an end to her ideas."

Zhang Shuying shook her head, her expression turning serious: "I always feel... that there are people from the Secret Service Bureau behind her. It's too dangerous for you to show your face now."

He Yuzhu nodded, understanding the stakes.

Zhang Shuying leaned close to him and lowered her voice: "However, I've secretly purchased several properties. We can go there during these days." She took a key from a hidden compartment in the bedside drawer, along with a written address, and gently tucked them into He Yuzhu's palm.

Reunited after a long separation, they spent the night in tenderness. Before dawn the next day, He Yuzhu left by climbing out the window the same way he came.

He caught up on sleep in the car, and only neared noon did he arrive at Zhao Ying's office.

Pushing the door open, he could clearly feel Zhao Ying's furrowed brows vanish the moment she saw him.

Zhao Ying trotted over and gave him a solid hug.

"I went to Liu Rusi's place, but she wasn't there. Do you know where she moved to?" He Yuzhu asked.

Zhao Ying let go and shook her head: "I haven't seen her many times in the past two years, and when I did, she wouldn't say where she lived. If you want to find her, I can leave a letter."

He Yuzhu nodded.

Zhao Ying turned, picked up a telegram from the desk, and her expression darkened: "Received last night, sent by Su Qing. The three ships he was leading were seized by M Country on the high seas; the ships were loaded with all the equipment you wanted. I haven't closed my eyes all night, not knowing what to do. It's a good thing you came."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu's anger flared up, but he forcibly suppressed it: "How are the people?"

"The shipping company has American shareholders, and many of the crew are also American citizens, so the people should be fine," Zhao Ying said, her brows tightly locked. "But that shipment... I'm afraid it won't be coming back."

"Those were just some basic machine tool equipment! Why would they seize them?"

"They're a bunch of pirates; how could they possibly reason with you? Unless you beat them into submission! The loss this time is just too great, nearly two million US dollars," Zhao Ying said, shaking her head.

To Zhao Ying's surprise, He Yuzhu laughed after hearing this, though his eyes turned cold: "Sister, don't worry. I'll make them spit it back out exactly how they swallowed it. But you have to tell me where the ships were seized."

Zhao Ying walked to the wall, unfolded a large nautical chart, and pointed her finger precisely at a location: "White Beach Naval Base, on the central west coast of Okinawa Island. If you go, be extremely careful; there are thirty or forty thousand garrison troops on the whole island. Whatever you do, you must not let anyone know this has anything to do with our Eastern Shipping Company."

"Sister, I haven't seen you for two years, and you've become cautious," He Yuzhu smiled. "I never missed a beat when I was young, and I certainly won't now."

"I believe you. But I'm holding the livelihoods of over a hundred thousand people in my hands now; I have to be cautious." Zhao Ying tossed him a cigarette and lit one for herself.

He Yuzhu took it, lit it, and took a puff: "How has Jin Hai been these past two years?"

"Taking advantage of the fall of the 14K, he swallowed up a lot of territory. He's the biggest gang on the island now, with 150,000 members; no one can challenge him anymore," Zhao Ying exhaled a cloud of smoke.

He Yuzhu remembered another matter: "Before I left, Li Yong said the United Kingdom was going to send a formidable character to investigate the Penicillin case. Did that person ever come?"

Zhao Ying's hand holding the cigarette paused imperceptibly, and a shadow flashed across her eyes: "He came. That person was an expert; he started directly from the death of Lv Le and quickly tracked it to me. I followed the method you left behind at the time and leaked the evidence of Lv Le's extortion to the newspapers, stirring up public opinion against the police force, and only then did he temporarily stop."

"And then?"

"Then... I don't know where he found new clues, but he started targeting our company again. I had no choice but to go to Jin Hai," Zhao Ying's voice lowered. "Jin Hai found out that the man loved the durian pastries from a certain shop, so he sent people to watch it day and night. One day, just after the man bought the pastries and got into his car, the car next to him... exploded."