Huo Shaoheng took a step forward and put his hand out in front of Dou Qingyan, only to find that she was no longer breathing.
After being shot a few rounds straight into the back of her heart by the middle-aged woman, even a deity would not be able to escape death.
Yin Shixiong jumped into the room and immediately rushed behind the middle-aged woman. He reached out and pressed her shoulders down, and with a pull and a tug, dislocated both of her arms.
Huo Shaoheng followed suit and stepped forward. Wearing transparent latex gloves, he suddenly reached out, grabbed her chin and pulled down hard, dislocating her jaw.
At the same time, Yin Shixiong took out an instrument, aimed it at the middle-aged woman’s face and carefully scanned it.
A holographic image of the woman’s facial bones quickly appeared on their phone screen.
“Very good. There are no traces of any surgery performed on the bones in her face, and there is nothing hidden in her teeth,” they thought.
Huo Shaoheng raised his hand and put the middle-aged woman’s jaw back in place.
This pulling and tugging and dislocating and relocating were bone-piercingly painful.
The middle-aged woman was in excruciating pain. Large beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and there was no trace of blood on her face.
She was already white, and now her face was even paler. She was eerily white like a female ghost in the dark night.
“What should we do?” Yin Shixiong communicated silently with Huo Shaoheng in sign language.
He saw Dou Qingyan lying in a pool of blood, and then looked at the fierce middle-aged woman who was pointing her gun just now. He understood that they could no longer follow their previous plan.
Huo Shaoheng frowned, glancing around him aimlessly.
The surrounding environment was very quiet. Even though there were a few birds chirping just a few moments ago , there was not even the slightest sound of wind now.
After a while, Huo Shaoheng raised his hand and gestured to Yin Shixiong.
Yin Shixiong understood what was going on. He pulled the middle-aged woman, who was lying on the ground moaning in pain, up into a kneeling position facing him. He patted her face with his gun and said in a low voice, “You’re Yamaguchi Aiko right? Why did you kill Dou Qingyan?”
The middle-aged woman opened her eyes and spat out a string of gibberish in Japanese.
Yin Shixiong sneered and punched her shoulder where it was dislocated and said, “Don’t play games with me. I know you can speak Chinese.”
The pain pierced even further into her bones, and it was so bad that the middle-aged woman almost fainted again.
When Yin Shixiong raised his hand again, the woman hastily but weakly said in Chinese, “… No… I’m not Yamaguchi Aiko…”
“You’re not?” Yin Shixiong took out a few photos. “Take a look for yourself. Don’t you look exactly the same as this person?”
They both had thick bangs, big black-rimmed glasses, round faces, and small mouths. Of course, there were slight differences, but those were slight differences in expression, and nothing to do with looks.
Even selfies taken by an ordinary person were not identical, let alone a photo downloaded from the surveillance system.
The middle-aged woman glanced about and avoided looking at the photo in Yin Shixiong’s hand. She stuttered for a long time before saying, “We’re just similar. I don’t know this person.”
“You don’t know her? If you don’t know her, why were you with Dou Qingyan?” Yin Shixiong half-squatted down and looked at the kneeling middle-aged woman straight in her eyes. He held the photo in front of her, “Open your pea-sized eyes and look clearly. How dare you say no?! Should I call you Yamaguchi Aiko or Yamaguchi Youko?!”
The middle-aged woman’s body suddenly shrank back and she fell back on her knees.
She turned her head and said fearfully, “No… It really isn’t me…”
The more she argued, the more Yin Shixiong felt that she was faking it. He was extremely furious and slapped her, “I’ll give you one minute to think carefully about it! If it isn’t for Yamaguchi Aiko, I’d send you to hell right now!”
Huo Shaoheng walked around the house alone, looking around at the furnishings. Finally, he found a safe in the storeroom at the back of the house.
Huo Shaoheng was best at opening safes.
He stared at the combination lock expressionlessly for a while, then took out an instrument and began to decode it.
In less than a minute, the safe beeped and opened, revealing passports, identity documents, bank cards, jewelry, cash, and a few stock certificates.
Huo Shaoheng wore plastic gloves, so he was not afraid that he would leave fingerprints.
He reached in and retrieved all the identity documents, passports, and share certificates.
He flipped them open and saw that they were indeed the passports and identity documents of Dou Qingyan, Yamaguchi Aiko, and Yamaguchi Youko.
They had already bought passports for a certain country in South America. It seemed that they intended to go to South America.
And that share certificate was actually the share certificate of the charity organization “Angel in the world”!
It turned out that Yamaguchi Aiko had such a close relationship with “Angel in the world”. It was no wonder…
Huo Shaoheng put these things into a transparent folder that he carried with him.
He walked up to the middle-aged woman and took out the two passports that had the names “Yamaguchi Aiko” and “Yamaguchi Youko” written on them, and handed them to Yin Shixiong.
Yin Shixiong took a look at them and tsked, “Yamaguchi Aiko is indeed Yamaguchi Youko. Look at this photo, and also this visa period. Isn’t it…”
Huo Shaoheng had noticed this before, but he remained silent and glanced sideways at the middle-aged woman.
When the two passports were placed in front of the middle-aged woman, the woman finally gave up and collapsed to the ground. She gritted her teeth and said, “So what if it’s me?! I just hate them! Did the Gu family think that they could be superior just because they escaped our great Japanese Empire?! They can stop dreaming! They’re just like bastards bred from animals; how can they be worthy?!”
Huo Shaoheng couldn’t take it anymore. He struck like the wind, and with a crisp sound, he almost broke the woman’s neck!
Her head was knocked to one side, and half her teeth flew out of her mouth!
The sharp pain caused her eyes to roll back, and she fainted again.
Yin Shixiong stared at Huo Shaoheng with his mouth agape. He couldn’t help but make a few gestures, “Young Master Huo, take it easy. If you kill her with one slap, you won’t be able to ask questions.”
Huo Shaoheng clenched his fists and slowly released them.
He had already put on a bag over his sneakers so they wouldn’t leave any footprints on the ground.
Huo Shaoheng stretched out his long legs and kicked the middle-aged woman, waking her up again.
Yin Shixiong continued to scold her, “Don’t pretend to be so damn noble! Weren’t you bastards the ones who caused problems for the Gu family? Don’t you have any shame? You call others animals; sure enough, animals don’t know how to say anything minimally appropriate. Look at your pathetic state now, you’re worse than an animal! It’s only because your parents are so horrible at mating that an animal like you is born!”
When it came to insulting others, Yin Shixiong was quite skilled at it too.
The middle-aged woman’s face swelled and turned purple from his insults, and the blood vessels on her forehead popped out and were almost bursting.
“Alright, since you admit that you did all this, what about Gu Xiangwen? Where is he?”
Huo Shaoheng and the others were now almost certain that Gu Xiangwen’s disappearance was related to these people.
The “Angel in the world” charity foundation was the organization on the surface. There were also some people, such as Yamaguchi Aiko and Gu Yanran, who were secretly working for this organization.
Their goal was very clear; it was Gu Xiangwen and his daughter, Gu Nianzhi.
The middle-aged woman was quite tight-lipped. No matter how viciously Yin Shixiong tortured her, she gritted her teeth and refused to say anything.
In the end, with her hair disheveled, she suddenly burst into laughter like a lunatic.
“Hahahaha… worry your hearts out like that! It’s best if you all die of anxiety! If you die of anxiety, you can go meet Gu Xiangwen! Hahahaha… If he can’t be used by me, what else do I need him for?! If you want to find him, go to the Cape of Good Hope and collect his corpse! — remember to kneel three times and kowtow nine times!”*
Her voice was sharp and long. It was very penetrative, as if she were sending a signal.
Huo Shaoheng felt a chill on the back of his neck. He leapt to the side and shouted, “Get down!”
Yin Shixiong, who was standing diagonally opposite him with his back facing the window dropped to the ground reflexively.
Crack!
A sniper bullet almost grazed his scalp. It hit the back of the middle-aged woman’s heart, not even an inch off its aim.
If Huo Shaoheng hadn’t been so quick to react, the bullet would have precisely hit Yin Shixiong’s back!
“There’s an ambush! Let’s go!” Huo Shaoheng pushed the door open and left in a hurry with Yin Shixiong.
Not long after they left, an ear-piercing alarm sounded in Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera.
The two of them mingled into the crowd of tourists and were evacuated from Kiyomizu-dera by the police.
The people around them were panicking, and groups of four or five fought over taxis.
The two of them found the person who was backing them up and left in their private car.
The two of them did not stop anywhere to rest. They took the Shinkansen route back to Tokyo and bought tickets from Tokyo International Airport and left.
When they arrive at the Huaxia Empire’s Imperial Capital International Airport, it was only noon the next day.
Fan Jian picked them up in his car in front of the terminal.
After settling down in the car, Huo Shaoheng asked Yin Shixiong, “Did you collect the blood samples of the two of them?”
“I have. I’ll get Chen Lie to perform the DNA test later,” Yin Shixiong scratched his head as he said. “But there is nothing from Yamaguchi Aiko to match with.”
“The news of their deaths should have spread already. Yamaguchi Aiko’s identity should beverifiable. Send a message to the field operators in Japan and have them take samples of Yamaguchi Aiko based on the information confirmed by the police. We’ll be able to find a match.”
Huo Shaoheng really didn’t believe that Yamaguchi Aiko had burst out of a rock!**
They had a record of Dou Qingyan’s DNA. They would know if it was her after a comparison.
As for Yamaguchi Aiko, they would have to wait until their field operators in Japan provided proof of Yamaguchi Aiko’s identity as verified by the police before they could get a DNA sample to compare.
Yin Shixiong understood and nodded. “Then I’ll wait first.”
They did not speak again after returning to the headquarters of the special operations forces.
Both of them were not feeling particularly happy.
They had chased after Yamaguchi Aiko all the way to Japan. They had thought that they would be able to get to the bottom of the matter. In the end, it was a case of the mantis hunting the cicada, while the siskin was behind.*** They had almost been buried in a trap.
Fortunately, the other party did not know that Huo Shaoheng had gone personally. If they did, they probably would not have used only one sniper to clean their tracks.
If they had known that Huo Shaoheng had gone personally, they would have prevented him from leaving Japan alive at all costs.
…
After breakfast that day, Gu Nianzhi went to the Professor Block at B University. She went to He Zhichu’s Professor Suite and waited with him for the verdict of the case.
She had originally wanted to experience this important moment with Huo Shaoheng.
However, Huo Shaoheng suddenly had to go into the field, so there was nothing she could do.
However, she wasn’t angry at all. She only felt a little regret.
However, this regret disappeared completely after she saw He Zhichu.
At least, she still had Professor He who was like her family to wait for the results with her.
Because He Zhichu had been guiding their legal team behind the scenes for this case, He Zhichu paid quite a lot of attention to it, even more than Gu Nianzhi herself did.
He welcomed Gu Nianzhi with snacks that he had specially prepared.
“These are blueberries from my organic farm. I got a few blueberry pastries baked for you to try.”
Of course, he hadn’t baked these, but the raw ingredients were from him, so it could be considered that he made them himself.
Gu Nianzhi bit into a blueberry muffin. A clear fragrance hit her first, followed by a sweet aftertaste. It even had a faint milky fragrance. It was incomparably delicious.
Gu Nianzhi licked her fingers exaggeratedly and said, “Professor He, your blueberry muffin is amazing! I almost swallowed my finger!”
He Zhichu pressed his lips into a light smile and said, “You can’t eat too much even if you like it. The sugar content of this thing is too high; it’ll damage your teeth.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded with a smile and took a sip of milk.
The two chatted casually for a while. At nine o’clock, the court over there finally began to officially announce the verdict.
Gu Nianzhi’s representing lawyer on that side used his phone to stream it for them in real time.
After the lawyers from both sides arrived, the new judge went through the motions mechanically and said a series of polite words before he began to announce the verdict.
“The court finds “Angel in the world” foundation guilty of accepting anonymous donations.”
“The court finds “Angel in the world” guilty of fraudulent financial reporting.”
“The court finds “Angel in the world” guilty of intentionally concealing its use of funds.”
…
“The court hereby orders the “Angel in the world” foundation to return Gu Xiangwen and Gu Nianzhi 20 billion US dollars, of which Angel in the world only has 3 billion US dollars remaining. The other 17 billion US dollars have already been squandered and cannot be repaid. The court declares the foundation bankrupt, and all its assets shall be liquidated.”
The person in charge of the “Angel in the world” foundation stated that they would not be able to repay them even if the foundation were to be liquidated.
The court could only sentence them to jail.
Gu Nianzhi did not have any expression when she heard this result because it was completely within her expectations.
Knowing that Gu Yanran had “donated” 20 billion US dollars to the “Angel in the world” foundation, she guessed that most of it would have been squandered away in the past seven years.
She calmly said, “They might go to jail, but all the projects supported by “Angel in the world” will have to be transferred to me. I’ll send someone to oversee their bankruptcy liquidation.”
He Zhichu nodded. “That should be the case.”
He turned to look at Gu Nianzhi and sighed, “Nianzhi, you’ve really grown up.”
She considered things far more carefully now, and did not cry or make a scene whenever she was unhappy…
Gu Nianzhi cupped her face with both hands and sighed, “Professor He, I’ve aged a lot. I’ll be twenty in a few months. How can I not grow up?”
He Zhichu, who was about to turn thirty, silently touched his chest. — This stab was so painful!
After listening to the verdict, it was already noon.
“Shall we celebrate the closure of the case over lunch?” He Zhichu stood up and looked at his phone. “I have classes in the afternoon. How about going to a restaurant near the school?”
“Sure. I’m fine with it,” Gu Nianzhi said cheerfully, “My case is over, so I can report to the senate tomorrow.”
“So soon? You should rest for a few more days.” He Zhichu gave her an idea, “You might as well wait till after your engagement banquet with Young Master Huo before going to work at the senate.”
He Zhichu would respect anyone’s bravery if they still dared to blindly pick on Gu Nianzhi after this.
Gu Nianzhi thought about it and felt that He Zhichu had a point. She smiled and nodded, “Okay, I’ll go ask my grand uncle and see if the guest list is out yet.”
Gu Nianzhi had been busy with the lawsuit for the past few days and hadn’t contacted her grand uncle. She wondered if that old man would be angry.
He Zhichu snorted and said, “You’re a woman; don’t ask such a question yourself. It’s beneath you. If others find out, they’ll think you’re in a hurry to get married!”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
“Then what should I do?” she frowned. “But I have to see the guest list…”
She also had a lot of colleagues and friends on her side of the guest list, and she didn’t want anyone to be left out.
“… I’ll ask. Don’t worry about it.” He Zhichu’s heart ached, but he still pulled himself together to help Gu Nianzhi plan.
*A sequence that some Chinese people perform to pay their respects to their ancestors
**A reference to one of the four Chinese classics “Journey to the West”. One of the four main characters, the Monkey King, burst out of a rock on the day of his birth. Thus, he has no parents in the biological sense.
***A Chinese saying, usually to describe someone so focused on hunting something / someone that they fail to notice that they are someone else’s target.
