Chapter 825: A Hidden Conspiracy: How to Open the Secret Case?
"If the Japanese person Brother Tong mentioned is the same one I know, then I do know some things."
In the end, it was the well-informed Xiao He who explained.
"The biggest Japanese entrepreneur invited to the cruise party this time should be the CEO of Zirong Group, Anhe Muye. He also brought his own nephew, Anhe Guanger, on board this time."
"And Zirong Group is a joint Japanese-American international enterprise. Like the Dong Family, their main business is real estate. However, in their early years, they mostly developed in other Southeast Asian countries, and it's only in recent years that they've gradually expanded into China."
"You actually know this so clearly?"
Liu Rulan turned back to look at Xiao He in surprise.
Xiao He nodded. "I didn't notice them at first, but while investigating, I accidentally found out that Dong Zhizhuo wanted to cooperate with Zirong Group in private. I thought it was a bit strange, so I looked into it a bit more."
"In recent years, Zirong Group has been very fond of taking on ecological projects, like creating ecological forests and wetland parks, to build an eco-friendly and green corporate culture, and their business has always been very good."
Xiao He paused before continuing, "Zirong's cooperation with the Dong Family this time is also to respond to the green city initiatives of recent years and build an eco-friendly wetland park."
"Eco-friendly? A wetland park? So you mean they are cooperating with Hong Kong's Dong Family this time to build a brand-new wetland park in Hong Kong?"
This time, Tong Junhui's expression also turned strange. "But there are no wetlands over there!"
Xiao He: "Yes, but as everyone knows, a wetland park doesn't necessarily need to have wetlands before the park. Aren't these kinds of parks on the market usually man-made? It's just that the location is clearly not suitable for a new park. I did hear that Chen Yuehui originally planned to rebuild several modern residential buildings there, planning it as a new small residential area."
Many buildings in Hong Kong are quite old, with bamboo scaffolding wrapped around the outside. As a result, several major fire incidents have occurred, causing heavy casualties. Therefore, the government has been gradually demolishing and rebuilding them, and there will definitely be a certain level of financial support. For the Dong Family, which specializes in real estate, this is absolutely a massive opportunity.
Given that land is at a premium in Hong Kong, Chen Yuehui's idea was undoubtedly more appropriate.
But to build a wetland park?
Forgive his lack of vision, but he really couldn't understand Dong Zhizhuo's thinking. For ordinary citizens, if they had the time to stroll in a wetland park, they might as well just take a walk by the seaside.
"So could the wetland construction just be a cover, and their main purpose for boarding the ship this time is to conduct illegal transactions on board?"
Liu Rulan aptly put forward her speculation.
"It's possible." Tong Junhui nodded. "But the risk is relatively high. Besides, they officially announced the news of their cooperation at the banquet just now. Although it was only Dong Zhizhuo's side of the story, Chen Yuehui didn't refute it at the time. The Dong Family is the largest real estate developer in Hong Kong, and Zirong Group is the largest overseas real estate development group. Once the news of this powerful alliance is released tonight, the stock of the companies under the Dong Family will definitely skyrocket tomorrow."
And given Chen Yuehui's personality, she would definitely seize this opportunity to ride the wave.
Xiao He looked left and right. Although he was the one who brought up the topic, he said nothing in the end. Instead, he turned around, looking ready to head out again.
"Xiao He, where are you going?"
Liu Rulan asked.
"I'll go to the banquet first to check out the situation."
Xiao He waved his hand. "Since you guys can't get up there, I'll go by myself."
Liu Rulan raised her eyebrows without speaking, watching Xiao He leave the room again.
Shu Han watched silently from the side, and after a long silence, he suddenly said, "Don't you guys feel like that kid Xiao He is hiding a lot of things? Especially regarding Zirong Group and the Dong Family?"
"Is that so?" Liu Rulan withdrew her gaze and shrugged indifferently. "Maybe, but since he didn't say anything, it means he can handle it."
Although she claimed not to care, anyone who saw Liu Rulan's serious expression would know she was still very worried.
"Haha, in that case, why don't we go out for a stroll as well? After all, we've been busy all night, and none of us have eaten yet, right?"
Shu Han scratched his head. Seeing that the atmosphere was about to turn awkward, he made this suggestion.
Yet Tong Junhui was still very concerned about the box hidden with the Program Group. "Aren't we going to move that box to another hiding place? Or find a way to open it?"
"It can't be opened. It's a special combination lock."
Just then, Lao Qi, who had been acting like an invisible man all this time, finally spoke up.
"I already checked it when we got it. Without the combination or tools, we probably have no way of opening it."
Liu Rulan also nodded. "Indeed. So under these circumstances, I think it's better to just leave it temporarily with the Program Group. At least, after the thorough search just now, the organizers shouldn't be checking the Program Group's boxes again anytime soon."
Unless they still can't find it later, and in their desperation, they demand another thorough search of the cruise ship.
"Tsk, speaking of which, I'm getting more and more curious about what exactly is inside."
Shu Han rubbed his chin, looking very intrigued.
"I feel like those... Japanese people definitely didn't bring anything good. If there's any contraband or illegal items, they must have brought them."
Lao Qi curled his lips, and Tong Junhui nodded as well. "Their boarding was indeed very strange. Brother Cheng said they weren't originally on the passenger list."
This kind of situation is either a last-minute invitation from the Dong Family or a deliberate concealment.
Judging by the current situation, the probability of deliberate concealment is extremely high.
And the more they try to hide it, the more it proves that something fishy is going on.
"Maybe Brother Cheng would know what's inside." Tong Junhui sighed slightly. "Unfortunately, he is also searching the ship with the others right now, so we probably can't get in touch with him at the moment."
"Sigh, I really can't stand this atmosphere of overthinking things without any solution."
Liu Rulan stood up. "Let's go out and take a look too, shall we? We can't do anything by staying here."
The others nodded. "Alright."
–
On the other side, Xiao He, who had said he was going to the top-floor banquet, returned to the third floor instead and found the cabin where the Program Group temporarily stored their boxes.
At this time, the people from the Program Group had all gone to eat the banquet feast, so the cabin was very quiet, and no one else was passing by.
Xiao He deftly opened the door, slipped into the cabin in a flash, and shut the door behind him.
This was a storage room for miscellaneous items. It looked several levels below the luxurious decorations outside, but overall it was quite clean and free of dust.
Xiao He spotted the location of the large rolling trunk almost immediately.
Opening the trunk, he successfully retrieved the combination box he had hidden earlier. Xiao He put on gloves and began to feel around the combination lock.
Trying to open the box by picking the lock was basically unrealistic. Although Xiao He had hands, he lacked the skill. This kind of high-end combination box also had many anti-tampering features, and it was hard to find a corresponding tutorial at the moment, so Xiao He definitely wouldn't be able to pick it open.
But for Xiao He, this kind of "combination" box had another solution—
Naturally, if one knew the combination, it could be opened easily~
Thus, with a crisp "click," the box popped open!