Chapter 241: Will You Eat or Not
"I won't force you." Zhang Yang still spoke with a squinting smile.
Tang Qiqi glanced at him and stopped talking, but after a moment of silence she couldn't help speaking, sneering: "Then I'd like to know how you're going to make me eat."
The visual doorbell by the door rang, and Sister Wang's face appeared on the 7-inch LCD screen, showing that she was holding a square plastic box.
Zhang Yang walked up, entered the villa administrator password, and opened the door to let her in.
Sister Wang looked at Zhang Yang, smiling as she opened the box she brought, and immediately a delicious aroma spread through the air.
With a brief glance, it was a few dishes of tasty food.
She took the dishes out of the box one by one and placed them on the tabletop originally used as a desk. Zhang Yang looked at them—there were sweet and sour spare ribs, steamed osmanthus fish, ginger duck, a plate of lettuce stems, and a crucian carp soup.
Two bowls of crystal-clear, fragrant rice.
Then a set of bowls and chopsticks, a soup spoon, and two small bowls.
"I'll get going first." Sister Wang said after setting everything up.
"Mm!" Zhang Yang nodded, while Tang Qiqi beside him remained silent.
After Sister Wang left, Tang Qiqi glared viciously at Zhang Yang and sneered: "What? You think these few dishes will make me talk?"
Zhang Yang shot her a glance, stood up, and said with a smile, "You said it yourself—your mouth is on your own body. Whether you eat or speak is all up to you."
"Hmph!" Tang Qiqi snorted coldly and said nothing.
"Alright, that's all I'll say. Oh right, I brought what you wanted." Zhang Yang handed her the bag Sister Qing gave him. Tang Qiqi looked at him warily, hesitated, but still took it.
"You can leave now." After taking the item, she immediately issued the eviction order.
Zhang Yang nodded and didn't refuse, "Alright. I'm leaving."
Walking to the door, Zhang Yang turned back and looked at Tang Qiqi.
He said lightly: "I heard that when Old Master Tang founded Spade Eight, Orange Group was his direct lineage created by his own hands. How come now its strength can only rank third in Spade Eight? With so few people coming over, I doubt they're even enough to fill the gaps in the Blue Sword Assault Team's teeth."
"You're deploying special forces?" A flash of surprise crossed Tang Qiqi's face, then she showed a disdainful expression.
"Is it strange to strike against terrorists?"
"Despicable!" Her face filled with anger as she raised her tiny fist and punched the sofa armrest, clearly ready to fight.
Zhang Yang didn't mind and still smiled: "Oh? And when your assassins kill people, it's always upright and honorable?"
"You… Hmph, even if you use special forces, so what? Can you stay hiding in the villa every day?" A cold smile appeared on her face. Her tiny fist opened, gripping the sofa armrest tightly.
"Really?" Zhang Yang turned back to look at her. "How about this—I'll just tell you our plan."
Tang Qiqi frowned, staying silent. But from her eyes, one could tell she actually wanted to hear it.
So Zhang Yang ignored her front and sat beside her on the sofa: "It's actually simple. We just need to secretly leak the information that you're being held in this villa through the underground network. Some of your people will definitely try their best to rescue you, and some will definitely find ways to have you killed, because after all, you are Tang Duan's daughter and you hold a lot of organizational secrets."
"Of course, they won't know that a secret department has already locked onto you all. In their Spade Eight eyes, a mere villa, even if assaulted head-on, could still be taken down."
"The strategy is simple but effective—unless they don't care about your life, or aren't worried that you might reveal something, or unless…"
Zhang Yang looked at her: "Unless they think you'll kill yourself."
Zhang Yang stood up: "From your eyes, I can see you don't want to die. Since you don't want to die, then eat well—only after you're full will you have the strength to escape or do whatever you want."
"Don't you think you're childish?" Tang Qiqi sneered. "No matter how much you say, it's useless. If there's nothing else, don't bother me."
Zhang Yang wasn't angry at her words. He simply smiled slightly, stood up, and left.
Because his purpose for this trip had already been achieved—he only needed to extract the conversation between him and Tang Qiqi just now, replay and analyze it, then proceed with the next step of the plan.
Returning to the fifth floor, Xu Danlu was already there, smiling at him: "Got a face full of dust, didn't you?"
"Expected. I only went to confirm a few doubts in my mind." Zhang Yang pulled her into the audiovisual monitoring room, copied the conversation he had with Tang Qiqi, replayed it, and analyzed it.
"When Sister Wang brought the food in and placed the dishes—sweet and sour spare ribs, steamed osmanthus fish, ginger duck, the plate of lettuce stems, and the crucian carp soup—her gaze stayed on the steamed osmanthus fish for half a second, and her pupils dilated by eighteen percent. This proves that this dish is what she wants to eat the most..."
"When I mentioned using special forces, a trace of surprise flashed across her face. But this surprise lasted for 1.3 seconds. The system determined it was fake because true surprise never exceeds one second. Anything over a second is acted."
"Then look at when she said 'despicable'—anger appeared on her face, but the corners of her eyes and brows slightly lifted, showing signs of lying. So..."
"She opened her fist and gripped the armrest with both hands—this is concealing her inner emotions. Meaning her words were not sincere..."
Zhang Yang almost spilled the glass of water Xu Danlu handed him: "This Tang Qiqi looks furious on the surface, and her reactions are intense, but in reality she's not angry about us using special forces on Spade Eight? Does she not have much affection for Spade Eight? What the hell is going on?"
"Also, killers of her level generally do not fear death. But from the moment she was captured, she never actually attempted suicide. The one attempt appeared real, but after examining the silk stockings she used to hang herself—they looked like a dead knot, but anyone with training can easily untie it."
Zhang Yang turned to Xu Danlu, frowned, and said: "There must be some grudge between Tang Qiqi and Spade Eight."
Xu Danlu didn't say anything. She lowered her head, reading all the information about Tang Qiqi obtained from Ao Tian.
"Tang Qiqi is twenty-three this year. She graduated from the University of Michigan two years ago. After graduation, she officially entered Spade Eight. That seems reasonable, but coincidentally she originally had the chance to pursue her master's but gave it up—and Tang Duan happened to be assassinated six months before she graduated. Are these two events connected?" Xu Danlu asked, almost as if talking to herself.
"The data says Tang Duan was ambushed and killed by a drug dealer nicknamed Brother Qiang in Nanjiang City, leading a group of people. Brother Qiang's original boss Brother Zheng was assassinated by Tang Duan's men. Seems logical, but how did they know Tang Duan's travel information? Aren't assassin organizations very secretive about their movements?"
Zhang Yang frowned and asked: "You're saying Tang Duan was betrayed?"
"Highly possible!"
"If your guess is correct, then it means Tang Qiqi might've discovered something—maybe that the person who leaked the information was someone from the upper ranks of Spade Eight. Then she holds hatred toward certain people in Spade Eight. Otherwise how do you explain her contradictions?"
Xu Danlu smiled: "Then you might as well ask that guy Ao Tian. He must know more than you."
Zhang Yang thought about it and agreed, immediately calling Ao Tian.
Ao Tian didn't even wait for him to speak and directly asked: "What, did Tang Qiqi confess?"
"Confess?" Zhang Yang laughed then straightened his expression. "How did Tang Duan die?"
"What do you mean?" Ao Tian hesitated. "Isn't it clearly written in the data? Ambushed and shot dead by a drug dealer nicknamed Brother Qiang."
"The ambush location!"
"Tianding Road, Dinghe District, Qingshi City!"
"You gave me so much data, but you remember Tang Duan's death so clearly. Shouldn't you be telling me more?" Zhang Yang sneered.
"Hm?"
"Stop pretending. Tang Qiqi was raised by Tang Duan for eighteen years. She learned some self-defense but never participated in Spade Eight affairs. It's clear Tang Duan never meant for her to be a killer. She became a killer two years ago—after Tang Duan's death. Why didn't she join before he died, but joined after..."
On the other end, Ao Tian fell silent. After a while he asked: "Did Tang Qiqi tell you this?"
"If she told me, I wouldn't be calling you. Just talk—if your goal is the same as mine and you want to get rid of Spade Eight as soon as possible."
"This... you knowing too much won't do you any good."
"But I must know."
"Find a place."
"Qianshui Street... Call me when you're there." Zhang Yang hung up and looked at Xu Danlu: "I'm heading out. Tang Qiqi is dangerous. Before I return, that room cannot be opened."
Currently in the entire villa, only Zhang Yang and Lulu have the administrator password to control each room's door. As long as the two of them don't enter the password, Room 204 absolutely cannot be opened.
"Alright, go and come back soon."
*****
On Qianshui Street, Zhang Yang drove Gao Qi's new Ford. When he arrived, Ao Tian was already waiting.
The two casually found a small teahouse and slipped inside.
That guy cautiously took out an anti-eavesdropping device and analyzed the surroundings for a while before feeling relieved. Leaning back on the sofa, he ordered a pot of tea, crossed his legs, then took out a pack of cigarettes and looked at Zhang Yang: "Want one?"
Zhang Yang curled his lips and shook his head: "Who knows if there's knockout drugs inside or something."
Ao Tian looked helpless. He didn't insist. Lighting one up himself, he inhaled deeply before frowning and saying calmly: "Yes, there are many doubts about Tang Duan's death."