Super Zoo-Chapter 693 - 683: The Black Tour Guide

Among the tasks that Suming had assigned to Zhang Siming, the last two were to investigate Zhou Jing and Chen Yuan's social relations to see if either of them had ever made enemies and to look into the background of the driver involved in the incident.

Specialization is key in any trade, and investigating people was not Zhang Siming's strong suit, especially out of town, where the well-known lawyer had little advantage to speak of. Following Suming's instructions, Zhang Siming promptly hired a local private detective agency at a high price to handle these two matters.

Results for both tasks came quickly.

In life, it's impossible not to offend anyone; Zhou Jing and Chen Yuan liked to mingle in society, making it easy to find past conflicts with others.

However, these disputes were mostly about mutual dislikes, verbal altercations, and at worst business conflicts or physical fights, but nothing serious enough to warrant hiring someone to commit murder.

A few incidents, however, caught Zhang Siming's attention.

After Zhou Jing and Chen Yuan took over the daily operations of Sunshine Travel Agency, they opened many new ultra-cheap group travel routes to make quick money, collaborating with local unlicensed tour guides. The so-called cheap group tours were actually shopping tours, where, despite the cheap tour fee, the forced shopping would cost tourists a great deal.

Forced shopping by unlicensed tour guides, of course, led to dissatisfaction among tourists. But most of the time, tourists who joined cheap tours understood that there's no such thing as a free lunch and expected to buy something; so as long as they weren't being ripped off too horrendously, they would purchase some souvenirs, and the cheap tours would go relatively smoothly.

There were exceptions, though. The travel contract clearly stated no forced shopping, so there were always some tourists who were unwilling to buy or wanted to buy less. These unlicensed tour guides were more than just rude in how they spoke; insults were the least of it. Some even resorted to violent threats and physical assaults on tourists, which were not uncommon.

Since the unlicensed tour guides were not registered with the travel agency, it was very difficult for tourists to collect evidence or file complaints when such incidents occurred.

In the past six months, there had been several conflicts between unlicensed tour guides and tourists at the travel agency, and there were a few instances that resulted in bloodshed.

The driver involved in the incident, Li Zhuangfei, was a family member of one of the victims.

According to other tourists, that day, after Sunshine Travel Agency had led a two-day, one-night cheap tour group to their destination, an unlicensed tour guide took over. After boarding the bus, the guide made the driver stop and declared that everyone must first purchase at least two thousand yuan worth of jade before the trip could continue. Anyone who didn't buy would be kicked off the bus.

Two thousand yuan for jade was an excessive demand, several times more than the cost of the tour fee, and the local jade was obviously fake. What they were charging two thousand yuan for could be bought in a legitimate jade market for just a few tens of yuan.

Some tourists began to grumble, including the pregnant wife of Li Zhuangfei, a primary school teacher who was three months pregnant at the time.

It was said that the unlicensed tour guide's words were offensive, telling people who couldn't afford it not to pretend to be rich, wanting a bargain, without even looking at what lowlifes they were—looking pretty, but lacking any upbringing.

No one could stand such insults; Li Zhuangfei's wife, a teacher, stood up and reasoned with the unlicensed tour guide.

But as an unlicensed guide, he was not the type to reason. After a few exchanges, not only did he verbally assault Li Zhuangfei's wife in a very derogatory manner, but he also slapped her and pushed her off the bus in the scorching heat of 39 degrees Celsius.

Li Zhuangfei's wife, of course, would not stand for it and immediately proceeded to report the incident to the police.

Seeing someone stand up to the guide, the other tourists became restless and wanted to confront the guide with their grievances.

Unlicensed tour guides and certain unscrupulous vendors at tourist spots were in cahoots, and they were very experienced in dealing with 'troublesome' tourists who disrupted their business, always ready to make an example of someone.

Before Li Zhuangfei's spouse could call for help, several thugs of unknown origin immediately snatched her cellphone, smashed it, and dragged her into a nearby grove to beat her up.

Three months pregnant and not yet showing, these people didn't realize Li Zhuangfei's spouse was pregnant. One of them kicked her viciously in the abdomen, causing her to miscarry on the spot.

Seeing the situation turn sour, the assailants scattered, and the unlicensed guide ran off too.

It wasn't long before the police arrived, and they actually handled the case fairly. Following the clues at the scene, they arrested two of the culprits and located the unlicensed guide.

However, these people barely had any money in their bank accounts. They were fined and sentenced to a few months in jail before being released.

The travel agency was the root of the issue. Li Zhuangfei, accompanied by his spouse, confronted Chen Yuan, the manager of the agency at that time, demanding an explanation.

Having the nerve to handle blowfish and not fear the poison, Chen Yuan had long foreseen such incidents might occur and had manipulated the contract to absolve Sunshine Travel Agency of all responsibility.

Not only did they refuse to offer Li Zhuangfei and his wife any compensation, they didn't even apologize. Instead, Chen Yuan mocked them viciously, insinuating they were foolish to get beaten, they deserved it, and if they had the guts, they should sue. He added, he'd rather pay fines to the government than give them a single penny.

After losing her child, Li Zhuangfei's spouse already suffered a tremendous blow both physically and mentally. Chen Yuan's provocation was the last straw. She fell ill and tragically passed away in less than a month!

Li Zhuangfei first lost his child, then his wife. He was overwhelmed with grief and rage.

Yet, he really had no evidence to sue the travel agency. The worst charge against the agency for their collaboration with the unlicensed guide would be negligence, which would result in a mere critique and token fine. Moreover, Sunshine Travel Agency, under Yang Lin's many years of management, had established excellent relationships with various parties, which easily smoothed over the incident.

Li Zhuangfei was filled with sorrow and anger with no outlet. As a father, he could not protect his child; as a husband, he watched his wife die without being able to do anything.

At this point, he was on the brink of collapse, the rage stuck in his chest. With his wife and child gone, he saw no reason to live and decided to risk everything, determined to take Chen Yuan and himself out together.

That's when the incident happened.

Li Zhuangfei had been tracking Chen Yuan for some time in his private car. That night, the roads were quiet, and Zhou Jing ran a yellow light. Her car just happened to skid, and without hesitation, Li Zhuangfei rammed his car viciously into hers from behind.

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A car accident, three lives lost.

One unlicensed guide incident, five lives taken.

While the details of this case were being uncovered, Li Zhuangfei's suicide note also surfaced on the internet. Before deciding to commit murder, he entrusted the note to a close friend. He instructed that if anything happened to him, they should open the note and make it public.

The suicide note clearly explained the entire truth and the events that unfolded.

"I am a man of little talent, unable to earn much money, and without any power, just an ordinary commoner. But there are things that must be done, and I am compelled to do them. I must avenge my spouse and child. People like Sunshine Travel Agency and Chen Yuan... they don't deserve to live in this world..."