How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 173 Capturing Hayakawa

Guo Zixing immediately led his men to Jin Anna, but they were too late; she had already escaped.

"Chase him!" Guo Zixing said hatefully, wishing he could just beat that bastard to death.

He pretended to be honest before, but he was actually harboring treachery. Now that all the evidence from Ai Li's side points to Hayakawa Namio, Guo Zixing has no reason not to go and see him.

The group immediately changed direction and headed towards the Toyo Trading Company, which was also one of Hayakawa Namio's properties. He had been frequenting the trading company since the textile mill closed.

However, they were stopped as soon as they reached the entrance of the Dongyang Trading Company.

"Excuse me, sir, we are temporarily closed for the day. Please leave," the two guards said firmly.

Guo Zixing and his party were all dressed in military uniforms, so they couldn't get the two guards to change their tune.

A flash of anger crossed Guo Zixing's face. He completely ignored the two guards' attempts to stop him, raised his hand, and shouted, "Charge!"

With a few loud bangs, the door slammed shut. A group of people rushed into the shop, but they were stunned when they saw what was inside.

The once bustling lobby of the shop was now as if it had been robbed, with shelves scattered on the floor and all the goods looted.

Namio Hayakawa was hiding in a corner, sobbing quietly.

Guo Zixing went over and turned him around. When he saw what he looked like, he was stunned. His face was bruised and swollen, his head was covered in blood, his body was trembling, and his eyes were filled with fear.

"What are you doing? Here, take it all, take it all..." Hayakawa Namio asked, trembling.

With a furrowed brow, Guo Zixing asked, "Mr. Suchuan, what are you doing?"

"I...I don't know...I gave it all to you..." Hayakawa Namio was so scared he almost cried.

Guo Zixing asked, "What's wrong with your trading company?"

“I…” Hayakawa Namio stammered, “Last night, last night a lot of people suddenly came in and looted things… They ransacked the trading company… They took everything.”

"Didn't you call the police?" Guo Zixing asked, frowning.

With a mournful face, Hayakawa Namio said, "They said they'd kill me if I dared to speak up, so I didn't dare..."

"Who are they?" Guo Zixing asked in a deep voice.

"I...I don't know either. Anyway, anyway, they're Chinese," Hayakawa said in a trembling voice.

Guo Zixing was unwilling to believe it, and Qingru and the others were even less willing to.

Qingru stared at Suchuan suspiciously and asked, "Really? What kind of Chinese person? As far as I know, ever since the Zheng family's incident, the people of Sifang City haven't gone out at night, for fear of getting into trouble. So the person who attacked you certainly wasn't an ordinary person. Then, who have you offended?"

Namio Hayakawa shook his head repeatedly. "I really don't know. How about I go find the envoy to check?"

Qingru sneered, "Don't bring up the ambassador. Even if he came, wouldn't he still ask you about the situation? How are we supposed to investigate if you refuse to say anything? You can't be putting on a show just because you're unwilling to talk, can you?"

Namio Hayakawa waved his hands frantically, "N-no, I didn't!"

Qingru pressed on, "So, have you remembered any details now?"

Hayakawa hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "All I know is that these people are a rabble, some old and some young, and they inadvertently mentioned believing in some party during their conversation..."

"Impossible," Jiang Shen said urgently.

Everyone looked at him, and Jiang Shen forced a smile and replied, "After the Zheng family's incident, we sealed off the city. Would any of those party members jump out? There's no reason for them to leave the city and instead come to rob foreign firms."

This is not without reason. Looking at Hayakawa, he looked pained and was unwilling to say anything more.

"Mr. Suchuan, where did you see them run off to?" Guo Zixing asked.

"I don't know, I really don't know anything. After they came in, they went crazy and started grabbing things, not paying attention to where they were running. By the time I remembered, they were already far away." Hayakawa's expression was pleading.

Namio Hayakawa refused to say anything, claiming he didn't know or wasn't clear when asked, and that he would go to the embassy to find someone if pressed further.

Everyone held their breath; this Hayakawa was clearly no good, a real tough nut to crack, and a real problem to deal with. But they couldn't just kill him outright, lest it provoke conflict between the two countries.

That incident was too much to bear, so the only option was to appease the people first.

"If that's the case, then I will ensure Mr. Hayakawa's safety from now on. Please."

Guo Zixing gestured for her to proceed, and Qingru knew that he was probably going to take her to another courtyard and keep her under guard.

Hayakawa readily agreed and repeatedly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, thank you."

On the way back, Guo Zixing suddenly asked, "By the way, Mr. Su Chuan, why haven't I seen you visiting Miss Ai Li lately?"

Su Chuan was taken aback, but he didn't hide it. A look of nostalgia appeared on his face. "Miss Ai Li, she was such a good girl. It's a pity I have a family, otherwise I would definitely have married her."

"It seems Mr. Hayakawa is quite the sentimental man. I wonder if he knows that Miss Ai Li is dead?"

"What?" Hayakawa was shocked. "Miss Ai Li is dead?"

"Yes!" Guo Zixing sighed, then added, "It's a pity that Miss Ai Li, a weak woman, suffered such a terrible fate. I heard that the murderer was extremely cruel, and Miss Ai Li's death was very gruesome."

Hayakawa's eyes were bloodshot, as if he were engulfed in immense grief. "Miss Ai Li, Miss Ai Li was such a good person, how could she..."

Qingru watched coldly from the passenger seat. If she hadn't read Ai Li's diary first, she would have been completely fooled by Su Chuan's pained expression.

Guo Zixing said, "It's a pity. Miss Ai Li's neighbor said that she kept calling your name until she died."

Sokawa wept, saying, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't abandoned her, none of this would have happened. It's all my fault. Miss Eli, I'm so sorry, I've ruined you..."

"abandon?"

Su Chuan covered his face and cried, "I've been separated from Miss Ai Li for a long time. An old man came to cause me trouble before. I thought he was a swindler, so I had my men drive him away. I didn't expect Miss Ai Li to come over and scold me, saying that I didn't respect her grandfather. That's when we broke up."

Qingru sneered inwardly. Did she think this was how she could escape responsibility? Since there was no way to deny her acquaintance with Ai Li, she would admit to some things and deny others, mixing truth and falsehood, hoping to get away with it? Don't even think about it.

The others, of course, didn't believe him either. They took Su Chuan to the other courtyard, where he obediently went to the side room and did whatever they were told, acting as if he were at their beck and call.

"A tough nut to crack," Jiang Shen muttered, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth as he stared blankly at the room where Su Chuan was being held.

"Can't we just kill him?" Qingru couldn't stand Suchuan's hypocrisy. In her heart, she had a feeling that this person was quite dangerous.

"Not yet. Even if he's convicted, we can't handle it privately. This guy has a good relationship with the ambassadors in the concession. This time, he first put himself in the position of a victim, and then he was arrested in front of everyone. I estimate the news will soon reach the Japanese envoy."

"Is there anything we can't do to him? Even if we have evidence?" Qingru asked indignantly.

Guo Zixing reassured them, "That's not true. If we capture Hayakawa, we can destroy his opium trafficking route. The Qing Dynasty perished because of opium, and now the Japanese want to revive it. This shows that they have no intention of destroying us. So no matter what the higher-ups think, our top priority is to destroy them."

Jiang Shen nodded in agreement, "I agree with you."

Qingru pursed her lips and remained silent.

Guo Zixing promised, "Don't worry, given time, I will definitely deal with Su Chuan myself. But right now we can't hand over our weaknesses and give others a reason to start a war."

Qingru nodded. "I understand. I'm not someone who doesn't consider the bigger picture."

Moreover, when it came to opium, Qingru recalled the dock that Jiang Shen mentioned, the dock where Zheng's compradors smuggled opium.

Jiang Shen received Qingru's gaze, nodded slightly, and reached for his waist, pondering how best to take it out.