They were already fully prepared and had only been waiting for permission.
As soon as Huo Shaoheng received permission, the team would be able to carry out their surveillance legitimately.
His commands were executed in an orderly manner. Within five minutes, all the customs ports within the nation had successfully received the iris scan and fingerprint data.
As soon as Hong Kangquan attempted to leave the Huaxia Empire, no matter what port he chose to escape from, the Special Operations Forces would be notified.
Huo Shaoheng hadn’t ordered anyone to check the passport data because he knew that if Hong Kangquan were planning to escape the country, he would have prepared a fake passport to use beforehand.
What identity he created for a false passport would be impossible to investigate.
The only thing they could investigate was the data from his iris scan and fingerprints. Those would not change whether he used a forged passport or not.
All of those in the Special Operations Forces would have access to the data encrypted in the supercomputer.
Only after ascertaining that the customs database was updated did Huo Shaoheng feel assured that they wouldn’t run into any problems.
He finished all of this prep work in the span of a mere five minutes.
On the other hand, for Speaker Long, five minutes was not nearly enough to deal with the people in his secretarial office.
Suppressing his fury, he first inquired about everyone’s progress and, after expressing his condolences, he asked in as calm of a voice as possible, “Where is Special Assistant Yang? Isn’t he here?”
“Speaker Long, Special Assistant Yang has already pulled two overnighters and has just returned home to get some rest. Do you have something urgent? Do you need me to send word to him physically, or should I just call him instead?” the person he was speaking to replied.
Speaker Long’s voice tensed. “Already pulled two overnighters?”
Had he been putting in hard work without producing results?
How could he bring himself to interrogate Special Assistant Yang about what on earth he had been doing?!
Putting down the phone, Speaker Long’s eyes clouded indecisively. Rubbing his knuckles, he glanced at Huo Shaoheng and said, “Shaoheng, are you sure this isn’t some sort of misunderstanding? Special Assistant Yang has always been competent and diligent, not someone that would make this sort of mistake.”
Huo Shaoheng chose not to sugarcoat things and instead courteously yet firmly said, “I’m not well-acquainted with Special Assistant Yang, so I’m unfamiliar with how he usually does things. All I can say is how much time and effort had to be put in to get this document in front of you. If matters hadn’t been this urgent, I would have never interrupted your rest with such a late-night visit.”
“Shaoheng, you are misinterpreting my words. No need to treat me like an outsider.” Speaker Long held his hands up in protest and attempted to console Huo Shaoheng. “I just find it difficult to process and make sense of all of this. There’s simply no logical explanation for Special Assistant Yang to keep such an important matter hidden from me.”
Huo Shaoheng refrained from expressing his personal opinion on the topic and instead said, “Only Special Assistant Yang can answer that question for you. When my personal secretary sent this document to your secretarial office, it was stated very clearly that we urgently needed your signature. The sooner, the better. Due to our privacy policy, we couldn’t divulge too much on any of the other specifics.”
Speaker Long opened his mouth, intending to defend Special Assistant Yang.
Special Assistant Yang was one of his people, and because of that, he couldn’t let others dismiss him so easily, especially since they were outsiders.
Yet Huo Shaoheng’s words left a bad taste in Speaker Long’s mouth.
If that document really had been personally delivered by Yin Shixiong along with the message that it be delivered as soon as possible, then that indicated that this was a matter of urgency. So exactly how did Special Assistant Yang overlook something that important?
Speaker Long suppressed the multitude of questions he was dying to ask, and instead smiled at Huo Shaoheng. “I’m aware now. I will get to the bottom of this, and I will ensure that there are consequences for the people responsible. Shaoheng, rest assured.”
Huo Shaoheng stood up, his expression remaining unchanged. “There’s nothing for me to worry about anyway. The secretary’s office is under your jurisdiction, not mine. Special Assistant Yang is your secretary, not mine. Forgive me for bothering you today. And now, I will excuse myself.”
Huo Shaoheng left Speaker Long’s residence alongside Yin Shixiong. They drove towards the Parliament building.
Yin Shixiong silently pulled out his phone to text Gu Nianzhi and warn her to be wary of Special Assistant Yang.
Huo Shaoheng stopped him, saying, “Do not contact Nianzhi. She herself should know what the appropriate action to take is.”
That wasn’t the first time that Special Assistant Yang had taken an antagonistic stance against Gu Nianzhi; therefore, Huo Shaoheng felt no guilt whatsoever at allowing him to act futilely.
The more Special Assistant Yang acted, the more the favors he had accumulated with Speaker Long over the years would diminish.
In the end, Speaker Long would be the one to kick Special Assistant Yang out of the game for good.
Knowing how prideful he was and the extent that Speaker Long would go in order to save face, if an outsider attempted to intervene, Speaker Long would probably defend Special Assistant Yang until the very end. Even if he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
The reason was that Speaker Long could not let his other subordinates see him allow outsiders to act rudely toward Special Assistant Yang because they would lose faith in his support of them.
Only after he was sure that his image would be preserved would he start to settle the accounts and make sure that Special Assistant Yang paid what was due.
Like Huo Shaoheng, Speaker Long and General Ji both were of the mind that they were responsible for disciplining their own people, and outsiders better stay out of it.
Familiarity with Speaker Long’s modus operandi was also the reason Special Assistant Yang felt self-assured enough to butt heads with Gu Nianzhi so boldly without fearing any repercussions.
“But Gu Nianzhi is out of school, and this is the first time she has encountered the sort of backstabbing that takes place in the adult. Shouldn’t we look out for her a little?” Yin Shixiong scratched his head, deeply worried for Gu Nianzhi.
From his perspective, Gu Nianzhi was smart and well-behaved. Although well-spoken, her eloquence only applied to court affairs. In daily life, she had never shown off her silver tongue and had always been soft-spoken and obedient. She was considered to be an endearing little sister by all.
Yet her flawless mannerisms and naivety was the very reason that Yin Shixiong was worried to death about her, and feared that Special Assistant Yang would take advantage of her.
Huo Shaoheng silently watched Yin Shixiong scratch his ear and try to reason with him. He merely said, “You look after Ma Qiqi, and don’t worry about the other stuff.”
Yin Shixiong did not answer.
After a while, he laughed, saying, “Huo Shao, are you jealous? I really have no ulterior motives, and I merely see her as a sister. An endearing one at best.”
Huo Shaoheng merely shot him a look and said, “Nianzhi has no brother, so there is all the reason more for you to mind your own business.”
“Perhaps she does have a brother? I am her big brother, her protector,” Yin Shixiong said jokingly, trying to provoke Huo Shaoheng into challenging his statement.
Huo Shaoheng appeared disinterested in continuing the conversation or in playing games with him.
Sensing Huo Shaoheng’s disinterest, yet misinterpreting it as his own little win, Yin Shixiong felt a speck of pride swell up inside.
He did not get to indulge in his proud feelings for long, because soon after, he received a text message from the staff worker’s group chat.
Seeing his own work schedule during the provisional election, Yin Shixiong could not believe his eyes.
He rubbed them and looked at it again in disbelief, yet it remained the same.
For the half month before and after the election, there were fourteen days where he would be standing guard at the temporary command room.
In other words, for those fourteen days, he had to spend twenty-four hours a day in the Parliament building, including eating meals and sleeping. He was not allowed to step out of the building for a single moment!
“Huo Shao…” Yin Shixiong felt compelled to ask Huo Shaoheng if there was anyone else in the Special Operations Forces that would be able to take that shift.
Yet when Huo Shaoheng gazed at him distractedly, Yin Shixiong suddenly sensed the enormous pressure that he must be under and felt too intimidated to ask. Instead, he said sheepishly, “Huo Shao, since you seem to have such high hopes for me, I’ll do my best not to let you down.”
“Alright, do your best, but don’t die trying. That wouldn’t be worth it.” Huo Shaoheng began typing away furiously on his laptop, entering rows of commands, and began examining the data from Hong Kangquan’s microchip tracker.
The sky outside the car window gradually lightened, and the sun rose up.
…
That day’s weather was great.
At eight in the morning, the sky was a bright cerulean blue. The sunlight was soft and exuded warmth. From the fluffy clouds to the fresh air, everything seemed to be overflowing with flora and fauna associated with Spring.
Gu Nianzhi wore her black and white panda mask and walked into the Parliament’s secretariat office in high spirits.
She did not even have the chance to sit down before a colleague rushed over to her and said, “Miss Gu, Speaker Long and Special Assistant Yang are requesting to speak with you.”
