Hahaha…
Gu Nianzhi wanted to stick her tongue out with great disdain.
“You seemed to have forgotten that everything in the Federal Intelligence Service was already stolen anyway…” Gu Nianzhi looked at Reinitz with amusement as she said, “How am I supposed to return anything to you? I don’t have what you’re looking for, but you can have my life if you want to.”
Reinitz laughed and said, “To tell you the truth, we actually had backup copies of everything that was stolen last time. All we had to do was change the passkey, and the data could be shared as long as those people could crack our passwords. However, your grandfather took something different. There was no internet or computers during the war all those years ago, so all data was preserved as hard copies. He took the original copies and destroyed the duplicates, too.”
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
Job well done!
Gu Nianzhi gave him a happy wink, then replied coyly, “Oh my, I am terribly sorry about that. It looks like there is something wrong with the feng shui in the Federal Intelligence Service since these incidents keep happening!”
Gu Nianzhi wasn’t ashamed at all and felt very proud of her grandfather.
Reinitz became slightly angry, his brows furrowed, and his tone grew harsh as he said, “Cereus, this was a very important matter. Don’t joke around with me.”
“I wasn’t joking.” Gu Nianzhi spread her palms as she made up her mind to reject Reinitz’s request.
From what Reinitz was saying, her grandfather stole the item during the war many years ago. Based on her grandfather’s age, it was probably during World War II.
Only a very incredible person would be able to take an original copy of something from the Gestapo during World War II and destroy the copies as well.
If the Gestapo has been chasing after it for half a century, it must be something amazing.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes flickered subtly, then she replied in a serious tone, “Fine then. Since this is something very important, we can discuss it properly.”
Reinitz sighed in relief, his voice relaxing. “Cereus, I am happy that you can understand that.”
Gu Nianzhi suddenly changed the topic, saying, “…You said that my grandfather stole something that belonged to the Federal Intelligence Service, so you must prove it belongs to them. Otherwise, how can we discuss the right of ownership for the item?”
Reinitz, “…”
He could understand each individual word Gu Nianzhi was saying, but he somehow couldn’t understand them when linked together in a sentence.
“…Right of ownership?”
“That’s right.” Gu Nianzhi spread her palms and said, “You can’t expect me to believe you just because you said that my grandfather stole something that belonged to the Federal Intelligence Service. You know that I am a lawyer, so the legal right of ownership is very important to me.”
“You want me to prove that this item belongs to the Federal Intelligence Service?” Reinitz raised a brow as he suppressed the shock in his heart.
After all, Gu Nianzhi was truly someone who got to the point without wasting any time.
They had pursued this for so many years, but they couldn’t reveal it to the public.
The item was involved with many secrets from World War II, so it couldn’t be publicly disclosed.
Gu Nianzhi nodded earnestly and said, “I am able to help you, but you must prove that this item belongs to the Federal Intelligence Service. If you can’t prove it, then you will have to understand I am unable to help. I am anguished enough about not being able to defend my own grandfather, so how can I still be considered a human if I accuse him alongside you people?”
Reinitz had anticipated many scenarios before creating this plan. He had even predicted many reasons why Gu Nianzhi would refuse to cooperate and created solutions for each one.
But he ever imagined that Gu Nianzhi would make him present evidence that the item truly belonged to them.
Reinitz was silent for a moment, then said reluctantly, “…Of course I have evidence for it. But I’m afraid it’s not something I can easily show you.”
“Then I’m sorry that I can’t help you.” Gu Nianzhi leaned against the arch with her arms crossed. “If you can’t show me the evidence, then please don’t accuse my grandfather of stealing from the Federal Intelligence Service.”
“What do you mean by that?” Reinitz looked up at her, his brilliant blue eyes gleaming cold as ice. They were completely devoid of emotion.
“My thoughts are very simple. I believe in my grandfather’s character, so I don’t think he would steal something that belongs to the Federal Intelligence Service. If he really did take it, then it means that the item doesn’t actually belong to you.” Gu Nianzhi spoke with confidence and refused to admit her grandfather was once a thief.
“Haha, now I finally understand what it means to be accused while being the actual victim.” Reinitz sneered as he looked at the empty space outside the door. The ground was inlaid with marble that gleamed with the brilliance of white jade under the Southeast Asian sun.
“Accused while being the actual victim?” Gu Nianzhi also snickered back at him, “Now I know what it means for a thief to accuse someone else of being a thief.”
Reinitz suddenly jerked his head in her direction and said, “Cereus, you never listen when I ask nicely. Why do you always have to force my hand?”
“Force your hand?” Gu Nianzhi sneered disdainfully, “So who said they wouldn’t hurt me earlier…?”
“Haha, I won’t hurt you, and my subordinates won’t hurt you either. But I can’t make any guarantees about your little friend.” With a wave of his hand, Reinitz grabbed Gu Nianzhi’s arms with an ironclad grip. He pulled her away from the arches and harshly barked at his subordinates, “Bring her little friend over here.”
Gu Nianzhi slowly looked up at him.
Reinitz had an aloof and extremely handsome face, yet his expression was extremely cruel and cold-blooded.
Soon afterward, two masked men carrying guns pushed a girl over to them. Gu Nianzhi saw the girl’s hands and legs were bound, and that there was tape over her mouth as she stumbled closer.
Rong Mingxing was already awake but seemed to have suffered a bit. Her hair was messy, and the parts of her face not covered by tape appeared a bit red and swollen like she had been beaten.
Gu Nianzhi quickly glanced over Rong Mingxing’s body.
Thankfully, her clothes were still neat, albeit a bit dirty. She probably hadn’t been assaulted…
She looked at Rong Mingxing’s eyes to see there was only rage and fear, no sadness or pain.
Gu Nianzhi relaxed a bit, then turned to look at Reinitz and asked, “Are you using her to threaten me?”
“Don’t use an ugly word like ‘threaten.’” Reinitz bowed down slightly and resumed his typical mode of having an angelic face despite his devil’s heart. “I was only hoping for Lawyer Gu to give us a chance and help us solve the difficult problem of finding the long-lost item.”
“Let her go first.” Gu Nianzhi gritted her teeth. Although she was extremely unwilling, it was impossible for her to disregard Rong Mingxing’s safety and wellbeing.
“I can promise that I won’t hurt her.” Reinitz raised a brow. “I will release her as soon as you help find the item.”
The tears immediately flowed down Rong Mingxing’s face when she heard this.
She gave a muffled scream and frantically shook her head at Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi couldn’t stand seeing this, so she balled her hands into tight fists and began to negotiate with Reinitz. “Let her go first. Otherwise, I’d rather die with her.”
Rong Mingxing’s eyelid twitched violently, and she suddenly couldn’t cry anymore.
Reinitz squinted his eyes as he assessed Gu Nianzhi. “Are you trying to negotiate with me?” he asked.
“It’s in your best interest to agree to my demands since you have something that only I can help with. Otherwise, you’re wasting all the effort you already put in.” Gu Nianzhi spat each word out, but she was actually feeling very nervous.
The most important matter right now was to get Rong Mingxing out of there.
If Reinitz was really using Rong Mingxing’s life to threaten Gu Nianzhi, then she didn’t know how much she would be forced to relent…
“Oh, really? What if I say no?” Reinitz slowly walked up to Gu Nianzhi and looked down at her with a cold expression. “There is a limit to my patience, so I won’t use an ounce of it on people I don’t care about.”
Gu Nianzhi threw all caution to the wind and said, “Do as you please. If you really want me to help you, then you should let her go first. You’ll have to find someone else to help you if you don’t let her go.”
“…Can I even trust you?” Reinitz grumbled, but he also despised himself at the moment. Things had already soured, yet he still couldn’t bear to hurt her.
“You must believe me since you have no other choice,” Gu Nianzhi said, then quickly walked over to Rong Mingxing expressionlessly. She reached out to rip the tape off Rong Mingxing’s mouth.
