My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 345 - 228 Too Late

Chapter 345: Chapter 228 Too Late

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The helicopter roared away and soon disappeared into the night.

Even after the aircraft’s navigation lights were no longer visible, many of the cruise ship passengers were still waving their arms, grateful for the resolution of the explosion crisis.

This so-called special forces team, which appeared and departed in a hurry and bore no identifying insignia, left a profound impression despite their brief appearance.

Yet from beginning to end, they left behind no information related to any military unit number...

At this time, police cars with flashing red and blue lights surrounded the cruise ship’s gangway, and a significant police presence was maintaining order on the scene.

Captain Big Beard, now handcuffed, had completely lost his earlier arrogance.

He watched with an ashen face as precious cultural artifacts were carried off the ship one by one by the police and arranged on the dock like an exhibition.

A quick count suggested that there were at least seventy or eighty artifacts.

Colored figurines from the Han Dynasty, official kiln porcelain from the Song Dynasty, calligraphy, and paintings from the Ming Dynasty...

Each artifact was dazzling, and each one a treasure.

Several officers were photographing these artifacts for evidence.

In addition to artifacts from Country Hua, about half seemed to be cultural relics that had been lost from neighboring countries like Tianzhu, Southern Yue, Lvsong, and others.

Clearly, wherever the cruise ship went, smugglers offered their country’s precious artifacts, looking for buyers on board to fence the goods.

Wang Zhao Ping stared at each artifact that was found, his face alight with excitement.

This haul was far beyond his expectations!

Together with the seven or eight artifacts seized from those scoundrels, this was undoubtedly a major case of cultural relic smuggling!

Based on the current situation, it seemed to be a transnational smuggling and trading syndicate involving smuggling, trading, money laundering, with extensive implications!

If they dug deeper, pulled at the radish to find the mud, they might find even more gains...

Indeed, the information provided by Brother Meng had never been disappointing!

This was no mere chicken egg but a veritable dinosaur egg!

In his excitement, he also felt some trepidation.

If it weren’t for Brother Meng’s timely update, he and a few colleagues would have boarded the ship recklessly without service weapons. With criminals daring enough to detonate bombs, escaping unscathed would have been uncertain.

Not to mention that, had the bomb exploded, they would have lost both life and evidence, stirring up a whole load of trouble.

It might seem that the operation went smoothly with only one shot fired, as if uneventfully easy.

But that was backed by three armed military helicopters hovering overhead!

Plus, a descent of 30 fully armed special forces soldiers in a swift raid!

The hidden gunmen mentioned in Brother Meng’s intelligence must have been petrified at the sight of such force.

They didn’t even have time to duck, let alone recklessly charge up with their puny pistols that couldn’t even penetrate bulletproof vests.

But if it had been Wang Zhao Ping and a few ordinary detectives, the deterrent effect would have been incomparable.

Those desperate criminals would not have cared about the identity of Country Hua’s police.

"Captain Wang, look!"

At that moment, Qin Xiaoru suddenly pointed at another artifact being carried down the gangway, signaling to him.

Wang Zhao Ping turned to look, and saw a square transparent glass case.

Within the glass case, a white and yellowish Buddha head that exuded an ancient charm was silently secured inside.

The Buddha head was intricately carved, the eyes half-closed, its form barely distinguishable from ordinary Buddha statues.

However, upon closer inspection, its appearance and subtle expressions differed from those of common Buddha heads.

At least a common Buddha head wouldn’t be so... handsome?

Right! Handsome!

Wang Zhao Ping thought for a long time before he found the right word.

Ordinary Buddha statues are full and robust, with wide foreheads and full cheeks, but he actually found this Buddha statue quite handsome?

Moreover, upon first seeing this Buddha head, one would feel a sense of peaceful serenity, but as one continued to look, the slight smile on the Buddha head’s lips seemed somewhat out of place.

In combination with the handsome face, this smile instead conveyed a somewhat mischievous charm?

However, he was not an expert, and the design style of the Buddha statue was not Wang Zhao Ping’s focus.

"Could this be the Buddha head we’ve been looking for?!" he exclaimed with surprise.

No one could answer his question, as it would require expert evaluation.

But Wang Zhao Ping somehow felt sure that this was what they had been searching for.

After all, it was information from Brother Meng...

Just then.

"Elder Wang!"

Wang Zhao Ping turned around and saw his director arriving in a hurry with several people, among them a few foreigners in black suits.

"Director Lu!"

Director Lu nodded, looking at the sheer quantity of artifacts on the scene and the handcuffed Big Beard and first mate, then raised his eyes to the curious foreign tourists crowding around on the cruise ship.

He didn’t know whether to feel happy or to be concerned.

"Ahem! Elder Wang, this is Mr. Brown from the Britain Embassy," Director Lu coughed, gesturing to one of the foreigners accompanying him.

He also gave Wang Zhao Ping a meaningful glance.

Then he turned to Mr. Brown and said.

"Mr. Ambassador, this is Captain Wang Zhao Ping from the Su City Criminal Police Force, and the person in charge of this operation."

Wang Zhao Ping sized up the balding little old man before him, guessing the purpose of his visit, but he wasn’t too worried in his heart.

"Mr. Brown! Save me, please! These barbaric people of Country Hua not only boarded our national ship without prior application but also fired shots and arrested people indiscriminately, creating a huge disturbance on the cruise! Most importantly, they’ve accused me of being a smuggler! This is a slander! I am a distinguished Baron of Great Britain; how could I engage in such despicable acts of thievery? This is defamation, this is libel! I am going to report this barbaric attempt at framing and aggression to the Embassy, to the international media!"

Seeing Mr. Brown, Captain Steve immediately began to babble in English, shouting for help as if he had found a life-saving straw.

He knew his only way out now lay with the embassy.

Mr. Brown gave him a glance and frowned.

He looked at Wang Zhao Ping and said in somewhat stiff Chinese,

"Captain Wang, your armed personnel forcibly boarded a cruise ship flying our flag, opened fire on board, and unreasonably arrested His Lordship, the esteemed Baron from Great Britain.

On behalf of the Britain Embassy, I express our strong dissatisfaction with this action. This is a serious diplomatic incident!

Your side must immediately release our personnel, apologize, and provide a satisfactory explanation to Great Britain. Otherwise, we will not let this go!"

Mr. Brown didn’t care about the rights and wrongs. Protecting the property and interests of citizens from his country was one of the embassy’s primary responsibilities.

By laying down a heavy accusation first, the officials of Country Hua would have to tread carefully unless they wanted the label of damaging international image.

Moreover, he knew Steve personally and was well aware of his connections and wealth.

If he could make a good impression through this incident, his retirement life would be secure...

"An explanation? Ha!" Wang Zhao Ping replied with an unkind expression.

"Does Mr. Brown not see these illegally smuggled artifacts right before him? I think it is your side that should provide us with an explanation.

Why are there so many smuggled artifacts on your cruise ship?

Why is your Baron involved in such a despicable affair!"

Then he pointed toward the tourists on the cruise ship.

"Additionally, Mr. Brown, what I need to inform you is that a terrifying high-explosive bomb was installed on your cruise ship!

If we hadn’t received intelligence in advance and mobilized the Counter-terrorism Force to control the situation and defuse the bomb, all out of consideration for the friendly relations between our two countries and legitimate interests,

the tourists here would now be facing a threat to their lives!

I have reason to suspect that the so-called esteemed Baron you speak of is also a dangerous individual who planned the KB attack on the cruise ship!

According to the law of Country Hua, we have the right to arrest him!"

It was just a game of throwing big accusations.

It seemed like anyone could play it!

"What? A KB insurgent? No! That’s impossible!"

Mr. Brown was astonished at the comments.

He had not received such detailed information and had not expected so many things to have happened.

Yet facing the incontrovertible evidence before him, Mr. Brown felt a headache coming on.

But of course, he couldn’t show any signs of weakness verbally.

"Even if these items were found on the ship, they could still be the private property of foreign citizens. What evidence do you have that proves these are smuggled goods?

Besides, even if these truly are smuggled goods, how can you prove that Captain Steve is related to this matter?

A bomb? Why don’t I see any signs of damage to the cruise ship? Could it be that this is simply an unfounded accusation?"

He naturally couldn’t believe that a Baron who was also a cruise ship captain would plant a bomb on his own vessel to launch a KB attack.

"Haha! Mr. Brown, please believe in the professionalism of Country Hua’s police force.

If we make arrests, we naturally have evidence!

As for the bomb... haha! I believe the thousands of tourists on the cruise ship can be the eyewitnesses!"

"What?!"

Mr. Brown was stunned.

Seeing the other party so confident, as if they truly had incriminating evidence against Steve, Mr. Brown began to feel troubled.

Whether he could bail the people out was secondary.

What he wanted to avoid was turning this into an international scandal for Britain...

Director Lu saw Mr. Brown, the ambassador, frowning silently and secretly gave Wang Zhao Ping a thumbs up.

This case had to be handled, and he had agreed to it; otherwise, with Wang Zhao Ping’s position, he wouldn’t have been able to mobilize the special forces without going through the city leadership.

But dealing with such sensitive international relations, they certainly couldn’t give any fodder to critics.

"Ahem! Mr. Brown, as you see, we are acting according to Country Hua’s law. We must take Captain Steve and the related suspects back for investigation.

As soon as we have results, we will certainly notify your embassy immediately."

While the tone was polite, the words were already quite firm.

After all, the law was on their side!

Mr. Brown, though an ambassador, could not interfere with the rightful law enforcement of Country Hua’s police; after all, this was no longer the Great Qing Dynasty...

"Fine, but we request that a lawyer accompany the entire investigation process to protect the legal rights of our citizens!"

"Of course, that is your right."

Ambassador Brown turned to Steve and exchanged a flurry of words, briefly explaining the current situation.

Steve’s face looked extremely sour. Being a smuggling suspect was bad enough, but being slapped with an even bigger accusation was worse.

However, the evidence the other party held was highly unfavorable to him; it seemed like... he might have to cut losses to survive...

Only after the police vehicles had taken away all the suspects did Director Lu give Wang Zhao Ping a thumbs-up.

"Elder Wang, that was well done!"

"Haha! All thanks to your wise leadership and decisive action, Director Lu," Wang Zhao Ping immediately buttered up.

"Alright, cut the flattery. The evidence collection to follow is crucial; we can’t afford any slip-ups!"

"Don’t worry, Director Lu," Wang Zhao Ping assured him, patting his chest.

The intelligence provided by Brother Meng couldn’t be false, could it?

...

On the cruise ship at this moment, two Asian-faced men in black suits stood at the side of the ship, one of them holding a pair of binoculars, looking down at the cordoned area secured by the police.

When they saw the Buddha head among the pile of artifacts through the high-powered binoculars, the man in black put down his binoculars.

"Target located; we’re too late!"

"Damn it! The auction is about to start; we were supposed to complete the job by just spending some money, but this slip-up was unexpected!"

"No choice now, the items definitely can’t be retrieved.

But now that we know where they are, we can still find a way to get our hands on them!

Let’s report back to the boss!"

"Given the situation, that’s the only thing to do now."