Chapter 73: King Against King

“Why? What could possibly be wrong with my luggage?”

“You’ll find out if you come with me.”

At this moment, another border inspection officer took away Chen Han Sheng’s carry-on suitcase.

Chen Han Sheng appeared somewhat nervous on the surface, but inside he was quite calm.

“Let me make it clear first, I am a U.S. citizen. If I haven’t violated the laws of your country, you cannot interfere with my normal travel plans.”

“Don’t worry. We just need to confirm something with you. If you haven’t done anything illegal, of course, we won’t restrict your departure.”

After the officer finished speaking, he led Chen Han Sheng to a room on the side.

When they entered the room, Chen Han Sheng saw a casually dressed young man and on the table beside him, there was his small suitcase which had just gone through the security check.

The casually dressed man pointed at the suitcase and said, “When your suitcase went through the security equipment, we detected some special items. Please open it yourself so we can inspect it carefully.”

Chen Han Sheng muttered, “My suitcase is full of personal items. What kind of special items could it have?”

While he spoke, the suitcase opened.

Chen Han Sheng’s gaze suddenly froze.

Inside the case was a crystal-clear cubic crystal that shone brilliantly under the light.

“Fuck, when did I put this thing in my suitcase? I clearly sent it away through an international courier.”

Chen Han Sheng roared inwardly, but his mouth promptly asked, “Excuse me, but is there any prohibited item in my suitcase?”

The man picked up the crystal cube and said, “This item shouldn’t belong to Mr. Chen. How did you come to possess it?”

“This is a craft gift I bought. How is it not mine?”

“Then do you have a receipt? Or who is the seller?”

Chen Han Sheng immediately responded, “I bought it online and didn’t ask for a receipt from the seller. I can provide the seller’s website address.”

“Okay, would you please write it down, or…”

Chen Han Sheng suddenly slapped his forehead in annoyance and said, “Sorry, it was not I who purchased it. It was my business partner who bought it online for me. I need to ask her to get the website address.”

“Mr. Frank, stop acting! It was you who asked Qian Lina to purchase the fake crystal cube online and then planned a car accident to switch it with this real crystal cube, wasn’t it?”

“Sir, what are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean. My business partner is indeed Qian Lina, and she did help me purchase this item.”

“You won’t shed tears until you see the coffin.” The man picked up a remote control and turned on a wall-mounted LCD TV.

The screen displayed footage that was the scene of the car accident involving Du Qiu and Qian Lina.

A man wearing a mask got out of a car and during the time when the crowding bystanders blocked Du Qiu’s line of sight, he quickly opened the door to the passenger side of Du Qiu’s car, switched a crystal cube from his carry bag with one in the backpack on the passenger seat, and then swiftly left.

After passing several intersections, the man switched to another car and eventually drove to the Peninsula Hotel.

Carrying the bag, he entered a room in the hotel.

Not long after, an international courier came and took away a box.

Subsequently, Chen Han Sheng emerged from the room with his suitcase and went downstairs to check out.

The man paused the footage and then, looking at the pale-faced Chen Han Sheng, said, “Mr. Frank, this must be your 28th act of corporate espionage in Tang Country, am I right?”

Chen Han Sheng’s forehead was covered in sweat, his lips moved slightly, and his voice turned hoarse, “You… are you security personnel?”

To have filmed his actions so clearly in a place where he thought there was only one camera and had made attempts to block it; to have broken his anti-tracking measures, followed him back to the hotel, and retrieved the item from the courier company to place it in his suitcase…

That could only be the elusive national security personnel of Tang Country.

Zhang Mingliu anxiously waited at the security checkpoint; she was waiting for Du Qiu and also for Chen Han Sheng.

Chen Han Sheng being taken away by the border inspection officers made her secretly happy. She hoped this was Du Qiu’s arrangement; thinking this, she took out her phone and began to dial Du Qiu’s number.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

Just then, a voice came from behind her.

“Miss Zhang, you don’t need to go to Saipan anymore. If you need to refund your ticket, please do it promptly.”

Zhang Mingliu turned around sharply and saw Ning Shuangshuang in casual clothes walking toward her from inside.

“Is it you? Do you work here?”

Zhang Mingliu did not know Ning Shuangshuang’s identity. Seeing her walking over from the inside of the security gate, she looked like the staff here.

However, she then realized — how did Ning Shuangshuang know that she was going to Saipan? Could it have been Du Qiu who told her?

This thought left her feeling sour.

While Zhang Mingliu was thinking this, Ning Shuangshuang had already provided an explanation.

“The investor received by your newspaper has identity issues and has already committed offenses against our country’s laws. We will inform your newspaper, you do not need to worry about being blamed by your leaders.”

“Ah?! You’re a police officer?”

“Hmm, sort of.”

“So… was it Du Qiu who reported Chen Han Sheng and asked you to intercept him?”

“Yes, he provided the tip. I called him; he should have arrived by now. Hmm, that person over there looks a bit like him.”

Ning Shuangshuang suddenly pointed in the direction behind Zhang Mingliu, who immediately turned around and began to search instinctively.

Her eyes flinched; she thought she had seen Du Qiu’s back but on closer inspection, she lost him in the crowd.

“I have something else to deal with, so I’ll see you later.” Seeing Zhang Mingliu’s reaction, the corners of Ning Shuangshuang’s mouth curved slightly upward.

Zhang Mingliu stopped looking for Du Qiu, turned back, and said, “Thank you for notifying our leaders.”

As Ning Shuangshuang waved and went back inside, Zhang Mingliu quickly grabbed her suitcase and ran out.

Was that person she saw among the crowd Du Qiu?

Why had he come and not seen her? Could it really be over between them?

She searched all the way out of the departure hall but still couldn’t find Du Qiu.

As she wondered if Ning Shuangshuang had been deceiving her, her phone began to ring.

Looking at the caller ID, she saw it was the editor-in-chief and hurriedly answered.

“Xiao Zhang, hurry back to the office. We need to have a meeting about that investor Chen Han Sheng.”

“Okay, I’ll rush back from the airport right away.”

Apparently, the notification to the newspaper mentioned by Ning Shuangshuang had already been done, and Zhang Mingliu, no longer seeking after Du Qiu, immediately took a taxi and left the airport.

After Zhang Mingliu left, Du Qiu came out from the departure hall, exhaling a deep breath.

On his way to the airport, Du Qiu had received a call from Ning Shuangshuang, telling him that they had evidence of Chen Han Sheng’s crimes and would intercept him at the airport.

Relieved by this news, Du Qiu almost didn’t need to come to the airport, but the thought of Ning Shuangshuang and Zhang Mingliu meeting made him uneasy, so he continued on to the airport.

When he reached the security checkpoint, he found that both women had already met.

Although Du Qiu had nothing to worry about, considering that Zhang Mingliu was his ex-girlfriend and still entangled with him, the last thing he wanted was for Ning Shuangshuang to develop a misunderstanding.

He was about to get closer to see if he could overhear anything when he noticed Ning Shuangshuang pointing in his direction.

Startled, he immediately turned and ran away.

The chapter had been revised significantly, and some content mentioned would be removed.