Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
General Ji burst into a loud fit of laughter and nodded. “Shaoheng never fails me! You never get taken advantage of! We had the exact same thoughts!”
Huo Shaoheng said nothing.
“Shaoheng, you think I’d do anything for a loss?” General Ji said smugly. “Since Gu Yanran asked for our help, she’s not the one calling the shots. I also told her the same thing—I’ll ask you to personally escort them if they are coming to our nation. If she’s going to the United States, she’ll have to ask the CIA. I was just testing you earlier. You went to Barbados out of the blue and caused such a ruckus, so all the leaders back home are very unhappy. But if you can successfully bring Gu Xiangwen back, then you’ll have a clean slate, and they’d be very pleased!”
Huo Shaoheng smiled. “General Ji, why would you still want to go in circles with me?”
“I’m not going in circles with you.” General Ji’s smile faded. “Someone already said that you went to Barbados because of Gu Yanran and now you’re just putting on a show with her…”
“Really?” Huo Shaoheng’s mind calmed down. It’d actually be strange if something hadn’t sabotaged him with his work. “So does General Ji believe or not believe me?”
The truth was, the fact that General Ji was testing him meant there were many problems. Previously it was because of Gu Nianzhi, and now, Gu Yanran was added to the mix. The two could be sisters, and one bad egg between them was enough to ruin Huo Shaoheng’s reputation and destroy his career. He had been personally trained by General Ji, so the older man certainly didn’t want to see his proudest disciple be led astray because of women. He had to guard against it because there had already been far too many young talents ruined by women. Otherwise, why would there be the ancient proverb that a woman’s arms were a hero’s grave?
General Ji understood what Huo Shaoheng was implying and sighed. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but trust must be accumulated through actions. After this incident, my trust in you has certainly increased once again. I hope that you will not disappoint our nation and citizens’ hopes for you, and that you’ll successfully bring Gu Xiangwen back to the nation.”
“But General Ji, Gu Xiangwen may not be very useful even if he comes to our nation.” Huo Shaoheng vaguely sensed that the military was putting too much hope on Gu Xiangwen. Although he was an amazing man, he was now comatose and had been unconscious for the last seven years. It was very unlikely he would ever wake up again. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he have recovered by now with the Gus’ wealth and the Hes’ connections giving him the care of the best medical expertise and facilities in the world?
“I know, we’ll discuss matters once you bring him here.” General Ji commanded, “You must be careful abroad. Did you catch the gunmen who suddenly appeared at the Gu manor? There must be something fishy there.”
“No, they were all killed.” Huo Shaoheng shook his head. “But if we have to bring Gu Xiangwen back, then the gunmen may reappear. I request that the military provide more support and greater facilitation. Otherwise, we, as three Special Operations Forces personnel, will never be able to complete this mission.”
Officially, Huo Shaoheng was visiting as the Deputy Secretary of the Supreme Military Council but not as the leader of the Special Operations Forces. So he had only brought two Special Ops personnel: his two personal secretaries, Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze.
“Ok, I grant your request. I’ll have the Supreme Military Council standing committee give its stamp of approval right away and send it to your inbox as soon as it’s done.” General Ji agreed without another word and instantly had his secretary make preparations.
Huo Shaoheng set down the phone, looking out at the night sky outside the window. Although it was already very late, he didn’t feel sleepy at all and began planning for the operation. He needed a method to distract the gunmen in order to bring Gu Xiangwen, a person in a vegetative state, back to the Empire. Should he distract them with a red herring? Or use a substitute?
After considering it for a while, he still believed the root of the problem lay with Gu Yanran. If he didn’t figure out the whole situation about the gunmen’s origins and motives, there was no way he could create a flawless plan. So he still had to visit Gu Yanran. And perhaps that was why she had been so confident tonight.
Huo Shaoheng was mildly irritated but turned off the light to go to bed.
…
It was noon in the Imperial Capital of the Huaxia Empire. The sun dazzled from high up, and not a cloud floated in the blue sky. The color was as pure as blue crystal. Gu Nianzhi rode her bike to He Zhichu’s professor’s building just as he drove his Maserati over. Gu Nianzhi parked her bike at the bike racks and stood under the tree to wait for He Zhihu. He lowered the window and said dryly to her, “Get in.”
“Where does Professor He want to go?” Gu Nianzhi walked up to his car window with a smile. “Aren’t you lecturing today?”
“The family doctor and dentist information I got from Gu Yanran has arrived. Do you want to confirm it with me at the hospital?” He Zhichu’s shimmering, sultry eyes gazed silently at Gu Nianzhi seemingly without emotion, yet it was like he had 1,000 words but couldn’t find a way to tell her.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t think anything would come out of it, but it seemed rude of her not to go despite He Zhichu going to great lengths to obtain the information. Of course, the key point was that He Zhichu had mentioned “Gu Yanran.” Gu Nianzhi was now more wary of this name since Huo Shaoheng’s recent trip to South America.
She opened the car door. “Then I’ll take up your offer. Professor He, why do think I have anything to do with Gu Yanran? Although she has a younger sister named Gu Nianzhi, she hasn’t asked me anything to confirm if my identity.” Gu Nianzhi thought she had a need to remind He Zhichu so he didn’t get his hopes too high. Otherwise, he would feel miserable when the results were not what he expected.
He Zhichu only smiled without another word before starting the car once again and driving off quickly.
They arrived at a well-known private hospital in the Imperial Capital called the House of Meihua. The hospital mainly used high-end physical examinations and maintenance of health, as well as advanced DNA identity technology. It also frequently collaborated with the number-one ranking John Hopkins hospital in the United States. He Zhichu was very familiar with Dr. Douglas, the director of the hospital, because he was one of its donors.
“Dearest Mr. He, we meet again.” Dr. Douglas was an overweight white woman in her fifties who appeared very kind and gentle. She turned to Gu Nianzhi and asked He Zhichu, “And who is this?”
He Zhichu put both hands in his trouser pockets and replied coolly, “She’s my student. Mrs. Douglas, I have a dental record and a few blood samples here. Can you examine them for me?”
“Ok, Mr. He. What would like to do with them?” Dr. Douglas glanced at Gu Nianzhi. “Does this have something to do with your student?”
He Zhichu nodded. “I want you to check to see if the dental record and blood samples have any connection to my student.”
Dr. Douglas frequently performed DNA tests and identification examinations, so she understood He Zhichu immediately. She nodded and took Gu Nianzhi’s hand with a smile. “Student, come with me.”
“My name is Gu Nianzhi. You can call me Little Gu.” Gu Nianzhi quickly introduced herself since He Zhichu hadn’t done it for her.
“Ok, Little Gu,” Dr. Douglas answered smoothly. “Come with me now.”
She took Gu Nianzhi to a laboratory where she first took X-rays, then took dental records, and finally, obtained a drop of blood from her fingertip for the DNA test.
“Ok, you can go out now. I still have something to discuss with Dr. Douglas.” He Zhichu angled his chin at Gu Nianzhi. “Wait for me outside.”
“Ok.” Gu Nianzhi went out without protest and took out her phone in the reception area where she discovered there was WiFi and immediately started to play games online.
In Dr. Douglas’s office, He Zhichu sat across from her and spoke in a grave tone. “Dr. Douglas, I chose to do this examination at your hospital because I value the absolute privacy your hospital provides.”
Dr. Douglas immediately reassured him. “I understand, Mr. He. All our records will be returned to you as soon as we finish the examinations, including Miss Gu’s blood sample and dental records.”
It was easy to deal with understanding people, so He Zhichu chose to work with Dr. Douglas. He knew that apart from being skilled at DNA tests and identification examinations, Dr. Douglas only had mediocre medical skills, so he wasn’t worried that she would notice anything else.
“Thank you for the explanation, Dr. Douglas. I hope that you can guarantee absolute privacy,” He Zhichu said as he pushed a confidentiality agreement to her. “It’ll be fine as soon as you sign this.”
Dr. Douglas glanced at the agreement and couldn’t help saying, “The requested compensation for breach of contract is astronomical. Mr. He, do you not trust me at all?”
“I trust you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought her here to do the examinations. There are so many hospitals in the world, yet I only chose yours—this demonstrates my trust in you. But trust is one thing, while using legal procedure always provides more security. I think you can appreciate that. There will be no problems as long as you don’t leak my student’s privacy.”
He Zhichu had a sharp tongue that confused Dr. Douglas to no ends. She signed the confidentiality agreement in a daze and grimaced.
“Since you’re being so cautious and I can’t bear the consequences of any mishaps, do you want to wait for me here and watch me perform the experiments until we get the results?”
Typically, such examinations were performed by lab technicians, but given how vigilant He Zhichu was and that Dr. Douglas had personally signed a confidentiality agreement, she truly had no way of assuming the risk of any responsibility.
This was exactly He Zhichu’s intention. He wouldn’t be reassured until he saw it himself. “Of course, that’s fine. How long will it take?”
“I’ll personally do it, so I am guaranteed to be the first to use all the equipment. It’ll be about six hours.” Dr. Douglas looked at the clock on the wall/ “It’s 12:30 p.m. right now, so we should have results by 6:30 p.m.”
Her task was to verify if Gu Nianzhi was the same person that the blood samples and dental record He Zhichu provided belonged to. So, apart from testing the blood samples and dental records He Zhichu had provided, she also had to test Gu Nianzi’s samples and compare the results. Because these were two experiments of different natures, she could use two machines at the same time to cut the time in half. Otherwise, six hours wouldn’t have sufficed.
Gu Nianzhi was getting into her game in the reception area so much that she forgot the time. By the time she felt her neck get stiff, she realized that two hours had passed, but He Zhichu still didn’t come out yet.
