“Just ten minutes?” He Zhichu laughed coldly, his eyes red. “Did you know that a living person disappears from your sight within seven seconds! You can die without a burial place within seven seconds! What more, you were ten minutes late! What a bunch of useless trash!”
“But those people didn’t kidnap Nianzhi to kill her.” Yin Shixiong retorted without showing any weakness. “They didn’t even kill Xiao Ye. Our colleagues did everything that we could for Nianzhi. What reason do you have to blame us?”
Zhao Liangze had already explained Xiao Ye’s situation to him on the way to the office building.
He Zhichu scoffed. “This is her responsibility. What’s wrong? Do you want us to be grateful for the work you should be doing?”
“Why are you speaking in this manner?!” Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze were furious. They were angered by He Zhichu’s contemptuous attitude.
He Zhichu shoved his hands into his pockets. He said coldly, “I’ve always spoken like this. You lost Nianzhi, and now you’re asking me for my opinion? I advise you to save your effort and mobilize your people. Do your job to the best of your ability and stop thinking about taking shortcuts.”
“Professor He, do you really have no clue at all? Think about it carefully. Who hates Nianzhi the most? Who shares the most antagonistic relationship with Nianzhi?” they were on the verge of starting a fight. Yin Shixiong smoothened his hair in annoyance and apologized to He Zhichu. “We were in the wrong earlier. We were too impulsive. I hope you can be magnanimous instead of stooping down to our level.”
He Zhichu glared at him coldly and sent out another kick. This time, he kicked the small coffee table in front of the office sofa over. “Who hates Nianzhi the most? She has offended a lot of people for the sake of your Huo Shao. Why are you asking me this now? Why don’t you ask the people who have a grudge against Huo Shaoheng?!”
Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze glanced at each other in surprise.
He Zhichu’s words were not without reason.
Gu Nianzhi had indeed stood up for Huo Shaoheng and insulted a lot of people in the process.
Prime Minister Dou was far away, but Prime Minister Tan was near.
Huo Shao’s grandfather, Huo Xuenong, was close to him. As well as Cai Shengnan, who was estranged from him.
Would these people have the means to commit such a crime?
If they continued to analyze the case in the direction he was pointing at, even Huo Shao’s father, Huo Guanchen, would be involved…
“Professor He, please calm down. No one can bear such a situation. We understand how you feel.”
Zhao Liangze walked over and set the coffee table upright. He bent down and picked up the broken coffee cup and ashtray.
Yin Shixiong cleaned the floor with a mop and spoke with a sullen face, “Professor He, there are surveillance cameras here. If you lose your temper again, you will have to bear legal responsibility.”
He Zhichu looked down at the broken porcelain pieces on the ground under his feet with a cold expression.
Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze were slightly disappointed.
They had the impression that He Zhichu would be able to discover different clues.
Because they had witnessed He Zhichu’s dealings abroad, they knew that he was very capable. However, looking at his current state, he appeared to be at his wit’s end.
Although He Zhichu was trying his best to hold back, Yin Shixiong could still tell that his hands were clenched into fists and that he seemed to be trembling. There were red marks at the corners of his eyes, accentuating a watery glow. It looked like he was about to cry.
This person was also suffering inwardly.
Yin Shixiong’s heart softened again.
He Zhichu took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He said calmly, “… I’m sorry, I lost my composure just now.”
“It’s okay, we understand.” Yin Shixiong said hurriedly. He handed He Zhichu a packet of tissue. “We all know that you love Nianzhi and are worried about her safety.”
He Zhichu nodded. He did not take Yin Shixiong’s tissue and used his hand to block him. “I’m sorry, my mind is in a mess right now. I’m… I’m afraid that I can’t control my emotions.”
Yin Shixiong looked at the mess in the office and thought, since you can’t control them anymore, why are you still holding back?
However, he did not say this out loud. He simply consoled him, “We’re all working hard. We can definitely save Nianzhi.”
He Zhichu nodded. His voice was sounded nasal. “I believe you. I need to go back and calm down. I need to think about what I can do to help…”
He leaned against the wall and staggered towards the door.
Yin Shixiong did not coerce him any further when he realized how uncomfortable he was. He raised his voice from behind him and said, “Okay then. If you think of any clues, please let us know immediately.”
Zhao Liangze stood up to send him out. He said, “Professor He, you’ve always loved Nianzhi a lot. Now that she is in turmoil, please let us know if you have any clues.”
He Zhichu stopped in his tracks and turned to look at them. He said solemnly, “I’m more worried about Nianzhi’s safety than anyone else is. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if I have any clues.”
He Zhichu got into his car at the entrance of the headquarters. He slammed on the accelerator and drove his car faster than a sports car.
Zhao Liangze shook his head and called Huo Shaoheng. “Huo, Professor He doesn’t seem to know much more than we do. He looked at the surveillance footage just now and said he wanted to go back and take some time off to think about how he can help us.”
Huo Shaoheng was also extremely disappointed. “That’s it? He didn’t say anything else?”
“He’s about to break down. He was kicking and thrashing about in your office just now.” Zhao Liangze held his phone and walked back. “We recorded the footage. You can look at it yourself when you come back.”
Huo Shaoheng was silent for a moment before saying, “Do you have any other clues on your side?”
“Not yet.”
“Then continue to investigate. Remember to remain in contact with He Zhichu.” Huo Shaoheng ordered.
Huo Shaoheng couldn’t let go of any leads.
…
Four hours later, at 10 pm, Huo Shaoheng’s private plane landed at Imperial Capital International Airport’s Terminal 3.
Yin Shixiong and his driver, Fan Jian, were waiting for him.
As soon as he picked up Huo Shaoheng, Yin Shixiong said, “Thank you for your hard work, Huo Shaoheng. Were there really no clues in Siberia? What about the car?”
Huo Shaoheng sat in the backseat with his eyes closed and said calmly, “No, the car fell into the Tunguska sinkhole.”
Yin Shixiong: “…”
He smiled sheepishly. “It looks like the four cars were really a cover. Professor He left in disappointment today without providing us with any insight. I thought he would be able to tell us something.”
Huo Shaoheng opened his eyes. His gaze was sharp and direct. “Did he call?”
It had been four hours since He Zhichu left the headquarter of special operation forces’ encampment ground.
“… uh, not yet.” Yin Shixiong shrunk his neck. He didn’t really have much hope for He Zhichu anymore.
If they had been in the United States, He Zhichu would have been able to make huge contributions. But now, in his country, Yin Shixiong really didn’t think He Zhichu would be able to gain more leads than they did.
Huo Shaoheng stared at Yin Shixiong.
Yin Shixiong quickly explained, “He was really angry just now. I noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and in the end, he was so angry that he kicked over your coffee table.”
When he realized that Huo Shaoheng was still not satisfied, Yin Shixiong added, “… and we have surveillance cameras covering all angles. If you have any questions, you can head directly to the surveillance cameras.”
Huo Shaoheng furrowed his brows. He thought about it and felt that He Zhichu’s reaction was a little strange.
With the importance he placed on Gu Nianzhi, and knowing that she had been kidnapped, he still hadn’t gotten back to them after so long?
Even if he couldn’t make a move himself, wouldn’t he still have to rely on the special operations forces to urge them to act quickly?
This really didn’t seem like He Zhichu’s style of doing things.
Huo Shaoheng immediately took out his phone and dialed He Zhichu’s number.
However, no one answered the phone and went straight to the voicemail.
Huo Shaoheng immediately said, “Head to the Professor Building at B University. I want to meet He Zhichu.”
The driver, Fan Jian, quickly turned the steering wheel and headed in the direction of B University.
He continued to dial his number along the way, but no one answered. They were only directed to the voicemail.
When they arrived at the Professor Building where He Zhichu lived, Huo Shaoheng sat in the car and asked Yin Shixiong to go to the building manager and request to see He Zhichu.
Without the building manager’s permission, they were not allowed to enter the elevator on He Zhichu’s floor.
The building manager was already asleep when Yin Shixiong knocked on the door to wake him up.
He showed his ID to the building manager and said, “Hello, I’m a friend of Professor He. I have something to ask him. Can you let us up?”
The building manager looked at him suspiciously and asked, “You’re a friend of Professor He?”
“Yes.” Yin shixiong quickly said, “I’ve been here before, don’t you remember? Take a look at my ID…”
Yin Shixiong’s arrogance was good at scaring people into submission. The building manager nodded and said, “Since you’re his friend, why don’t you call him directly?”
“I did, but no one picked up. It was all directed to voicemail.” Yin Shixiong put on an anxious expression. “I’m worried that something happened to him…”
“Oh, is that so?” the building manager smiled. “That’s fine. Professor He said he had something urgent and left a few hours ago.”
“Left?!” Yin shixiong cried out, “Where did he go? !”
“He went back to the United States.” the building manager pointed in the direction of the door. “There are rumors that Professor He is very powerful in the United States and that he has his own private plane. He can leave as he pleases. He doesn’t have to buy plane tickets and handle luggage like us ordinary people…”
