Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Yes, Sir!” Hearing Huo Shaoheng use this cold and emotionless tone used usually for commanding, Zhao Liangze saluted while replying.
Huo Shaoheng turned and looked at Yin Shixiong sternly. “Big Xiong, arrange for people to escort Nianzhi here. Remember to keep it low profile. Do not alert those who are not involved.”
“Yes, Sir!” Yin Shixiong saluted like Zhao Liangze did and replied loudly.
Switching to work-mode in an instant, they knew they were Huo Shaoheng’s soldiers, and Huo Shaoheng was their commander. And any commands from the commander had to be followed without any questions or doubts. If not, they would be facing corporal punishment.
…
Five minutes later, in Hua Xia Empire’s highest supreme committee, General Ji’s office, a coded confidential email arrived
General Ji, who was in a meeting, was called out by his personal secretary. “Sir, General Huo sent a confidential coded email from Barbados.”
General Ji’s expression darkened. He took the email from his secretary and said, “Tell the people in the meeting that we will end here today. Something urgent cropped up, and they will submit reports to me if there were anything they need me to go through. I’ll be leaving.”
He returned hastily to his office and retrieved the codebook from his safe. Deciphering the code from the book line by line, he finally understood the content of the email. Upon reading, General Ji felt like he was on a roller coaster; it went up and down repeatedly, and he almost had a heart attack.
Holding onto his chest, he leaned on the sofa and contemplated for a while, feeling overwhelmed. No one expected that Gu Nianzhi was Gu Xiangwen’s daughter; nor did anyone expect that Gu Nianzhi and Gu Yanran were not biologically related…
They had always wanted Gu Xiangwen to come to the Hua Xia Empire, but Gu Yanran did not want to cooperate. They could only be led on by her and gave in continuously, hoping that she’d agree to let Gu Xiangwen stay at the Hua Xia Empire.
However, now that Gu Nianzhi is his daughter, what else will they have to worry about?
Huo Shaoheng’s influence over Gu Nianzhi was so great that, most likely, she would agree to gift Gu Xiangwen directly to the army…
General Ji touched his chin and smiled. He did not approve of them being together initially. But if Gu Nianzhi’s father was Gu Xiangwen, why would anyone stop them?
They only knew how to look at how things benefitted them. Anyone who dared to object when facing a benefit so great would be considered as a threat to the welfare of the Hua Xia Empire. He need not do it on his own; the seniors in the army would get rid of them personally…
General Ji’s mouth curled up even more, and he made a decision immediately. He arranged for the relevant departments to get the documents for Gu Nianzhi to make her way to Barbados in the shortest amount of time possible.
The Hua Xia Empire had a treaty with Barbados that their citizens would not require visas when they visited each other’s countries. Therefore, Gu Nianzhi only had to bring her passport and get an airline ticket to get there.
…
It was 10 o’clock at night. Gu Nianzhi had just finished washing up and was about to go to bed when Yin Shixiong’s call came in.
“Nianzhi, get up now and prepare to board the plane. I’ve already arranged for your passport to be brought to the boarding gate. All you have to bring is your daily bag. There’ll be no need for luggage or daily necessities, as Mr. Huo has already gotten people to bring them over from Europe. They will have arrived once you’re here at Barbados.”
After Yin Shixiong was done with the briefing in that quick and serious tone, he asked, “Did you hear what I said? This is Mr. Huo’s command.”
A military command carried far more weight than anything; Gu Nianzhi had been following Huo Shaoheng for six years and knew that very well.
She sat up from her bed immediately and said nervously, “Got it. I’ll get up immediately and go to the airport. Who will be waiting for me there?”
“You’ll know when you’re there.” Yin Shixiong left it at that. “You have 30 minutes before the plane takes off.”
Gu Nianzhi wailed. “30 minutes?! I need 30 minutes just to get to the airport!”
“Fan Jian is already waiting for you at your dormitory. He has 20 minutes to get you to the airport. Any failure to do so and he would’ve broken a military rule.” Yin Shixiong’s voice was cold and merciless and was extremely different compared to how he usually was—happy and cheerful.
Gu Nianzhi was even more nervous upon hearing Yin Shixiong sound like that, but she knew the importance and severity of this. Thus, she did not have any complaints. She hung up and got up from her bed to get dressed.
Carrying her small daily bag, she only took her purse and keys. She didn’t even have time to bid Ma Qiqi goodbye. She only sent He Zhichu and Ma Qiqi texts after she boarded the car, which Fan Jian was driving.
She told Ma Qiqi that something urgent had cropped up, and she needed to leave for a short period of time. She also troubled Ma Qiqi to apply for study leave for her. She told He Zhichu that she had something urgent to attend to and to apply for a study leave directly with him. However, she did not state where she was going.
When Ma Qiqi saw her text, she opened the door in shock. Knocking on Gu Nianzhi’s room door, she realized that Gu Nianzhi had already left.
“What could be so urgent?” Ma Qiqi was extremely worried for Gu Nianzhi but did not press the matter. All she replied was, “Safe trip. Come back soon.”
He Zhichu was calling his family when he received Gu Nianzhi’s text. He understood where she was going the moment he received the text. He put his phone away after some contemplation and sent a text to his contact as well, informing them to arrange for his personal plane to return to South America tomorrow.
…
Fan Jian really took only 20 minutes to send her to the airport. The people waiting for her at the boarding gate were the army doctors whom she was familiar with—Ye Zitan and Chen Lie!
“Brother Chen? Doctor Ye? You’re going to Barbados as well?” Gu Nianzhi was extremely surprised but glad. The people who were going to Barbados with her were familiar faces; how nice.
Chen Lie smiled and nodded. “No choice. For Mr. Huo, I got dragged out of my bed in the middle of the night.” Turning to look at Ye Zitan, he asked, “Are you tired or hungry, Doctor Ye?”
Ye Zitan shook her head. “Let’s board the plane. We’re the only ones left.”
Holding special passes from the army and the ministry of foreign affairs, they didn’t need to go through the hassle of security checks, and they proceeded to board the plane from the VIP passage directly.
In order to remain confidential, they did not engage their private jet. Instead, the army let them travel to Barbados with a commercial plane, which was in constant contact with the Special Forces. There weren’t direct flights to Barbados from the Hua Xia Empire. Therefore, like Huo Shaoheng and the guys, they had to take a flight to Cuba before transiting to a domestic flight to Barbados.
It was nine o’clock at night in Barbados, which was nine in the morning the next day in the Hua Xia Empire. Gu Nianzhi, Chen Lie, and Ye Zitan touched down safely in Barbados.
Huo Shaoheng, Yin Shixiong, and Zhao Liangze did not welcome them at the airport. Gu Nianzhi, Chen Lie, and Ye Zitan boarded a cab and headed to the Hua Xia Empire Embassy Consulate instead of checking in at a local hotel. Huo Shaoheng and the guys were waiting for them in the Embassy.
“Miss Gu, Mr. Chen, Miss Ye. This way, please.” A consular officer welcomed them with a wide smile and led them to the entrance of a meeting room.
The door to the meeting room opened in an instant. Huo Shaoheng, Yin Shixiong, and Zhao Liangze looked at them calmly, arms folded.
“Huo Shao! I can finally see you!” Gu Nianzhi smiled happily and walked quickly toward him.
Huo Shaoheng held her hand and looked at her closely. “You must be tired from the trip. You’ve lost weight.”
“No, no. I wasn’t tired at all. Lost weight? That’s great…” Gu Nianzhi felt her fatigue and nervousness evaporate into thin air. She held onto Huo Shaoheng’s hand. “Huo Shao, I’m hungry. Is there food?”
“The Embassy had prepared dumplings for you guys. They’ll be bringing them over soon.” Huo Shaoheng held Gu Nianzhi’s hand and entered the meeting room.
Chen Lie and Ye Zitan followed suit. Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze waited behind and closed the door for them, standing guard outside. There were only Huo Shaoheng, Gu Nianzhi, Chen Lie, and Ye Zitan in the small meeting room.
Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi sat side by side, holding hands, and looked at Chen Lie and Ye Zitan who were standing opposite them. “I’ll keep it short for this emergency mission: Nianzhi will be going to the governor’s office with me later on. Chen Lie and Ye Zitan will come up with a list of equipment needed to bring a patient who has been in a coma for seven years back to our country. We will make the purchase from Europe immediately.”
Chen Lie rolled his eyes. “What?! You got me here on high alert all for the sake of bringing a vegetable back?! Do you know why they’re called vegetables? It’s cause they wouldn’t feel a thing no matter what you did to them! What equipment would we need? All we have to do is to carry him up onto the plane!”
“This person is extremely important. We do not want any accidents happening along the way.” Huo Shaoheng paused and felt a twitch from Gu Nianzhi’s hand. He gave her hand a squeeze, then held her more tightly. That slowly calmed her down.
After Gu Nianzhi felt better, Huo Shaoheng continued. “And I suspect that his condition is more complicated than simply being in a coma or being a vegetable, because we haven’t seen this person. Being over-prepared is always better than being under-prepared.”
This aroused Chen Lie’s interest. Yawning, he folded his arms and said, “Sure. Let me in on more details. I’ll come up with the list. It’s too tiring today. Can we turn in, already?”
“Go. You stay here with Dr. Ye. I’ll be bringing Nianzhi to settle some things.” Huo Shaoheng stood up.
All of a sudden, a weird smile crept up on Chen Lie’s face. Nodding, he said knowingly, “…Settling some stuff… Settle. Well, then…” He laughed.
