Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huo Shaoheng lit a cigarette and sank down into the large, single-seater sofa in the living room. The window was open, carrying in the night breeze that was chilled by the late autumn. New York was in the northeastern part of the United States, so the nights were already hinting at the cold winter. The cold breeze lowered the surge of heat in his body.
Huo Shaoheng thought about it again and again, but he didn’t think it could be Chen Lie. However, the place targeted was the apartment on the north side of New York, and the letter sent to Chen Lie was the only one mentioning that address. That apartment was where he claimed to stay as bait. The mole within the Special Operations Forces didn’t hesitate to take that bait. If it wasn’t Chen Lie, then who? No matter who it was, it must be someone close to Chen Lie. Huo Shaoheng fiddled with his zippo lighter as he quietly mused, and his eyes quickly hardened with resolve. No, he couldn’t rely on his emotions. With this situation, Chen Lie couldn’t clear his name. Huo Shaoheng was still waiting for James’ last tip. Once confirmed, Huo Shaoehng would go to Cuba.
He stayed awake all night, and as soon as the sun rose the next day, he went to a post office on the north side of New York. He rented a mailbox there, and once the deed was done, James would mail it there. Huo Shaoheng saw the letter he expected as soon as he opened the mailbox. He took it with him back to the apartment and quickly read through it. As expected, James’ letter confirmed that their branch had received a tip from the Hua Xia Empire that the ringleader of the Special Operations Forces was hiding out in an apartment on the north side of New York. It also included the exact address.
Huo Shaoheng flipped his lighter open expressionlessly and burned James’ letter, then immediately went downstairs to terminate the rental agreement with the landlord. He had been there for nearly three months and had initially signed a one-year lease, so he gave the excuse of a family emergency that he had to go home to. Of course, he lost his deposit, but the agreement was terminated. He calmly finished the termination procedures and put everything in a suitcase he towed out of the glamorous luxury New Jersey apartment.
He got in his rented SUV and drove directly to the New York docks. There was a rental return place there, and he handed back the SUV’s keys before finding gangsters on the dock to arrange for travel to Cuba. He paid them in cash and took an overnight voyage.
As Special Ops personnel, Huo Shaoheng had a deep understanding of all sorts of gangs in different cities. In many instances, they needed to deal with gangs in order to conceal their identities or for expedient travel. Within these gangs, there were sure to be undercover agents from the Special Ops. The Chinese gangs were a powerful rising force within the gangs of New York. They were already taking stakes from the established Sicilian gangs and South American gangs. However, no one knew if they received any support in their rise to power.
Late at night, a speedboat silently cut through the waves and headed out to international waters. The US and Cuba had recently resumed diplomatic relationships, so there weren’t many direct flights and ferries between them. However, Huo Shaoheng wouldn’t go on a plane, even if there was an appropriate flight. The fake identity he had used when he came to the US had already been exposed by the CIA, and although it was possible to board with a fake passport, leaving evidence was inevitable.
Right now, Huo Shaoheng needed to discreetly leave New York so nobody could figure out where he was. His mission could only be officially completed when he safely arrived in Cuba, and that was when he could use his true identity to communicate with the Hua Xia Empire and resume working. He had been holed up in New York for so long, it was finally time to launch a counterattack. It took two days from New York to enter international waters, then loop to Cuba.
Huo Shaoheng didn’t waste time during those two days and had already finished planning the restructuring and purging of the Special Ops. This mole was deeply planted and had nearly tripped up even Huo Shaoheng. But when did this start? Huo Shaoheng thought about it carefully from beginning to end and could only come to his previous conclusion that this mole must be a rookie who had been turned just recently. This wasn’t an older personnel who had lurked for years and possessed ample experience. The obstacles created by the mole proved that they weren’t able to take him out with a single hit using long term planning.
The enemy understood his itinerary and the people pulling strings in the background to create a scenario that led him to New York. In the face of such a situation, the enemy didn’t know what kind of weapons the Special Ops possessed in New York or the entire world outside the Hua Xia Empire. They may know what but not how, so their betrayal could only temporarily disrupt Huo Shaoheng’s plans without it being serious enough to endanger his life. If the mole had been an older personnel who had lurked in the Special Ops for years, then Huo Shaoheng was well aware that he couldn’t have left the US so easily. But while older people had their calculating ways, rookies chose to act in the least expected way and couldn’t be underestimated, either.
Sitting at the bow of the ship, Huo Shaoheng silently watched the sun rising in the distance. He should be thankful that his comrades of many years were still standing by him instead of stabbing him in the back. Now that he had found the key to the problem, it became much easier to solve. Huo Shaoheng had basically confirmed his course of action during the two days at sea.
When he arrived in Cuba two days later, Huo Shaoheng immediately went to the Hua Xia General Consulate in Cuba. This time, he could directly reveal his identity, and say he had completed his mission and needed to contact the Hua Xia Empire. The General Consul of Cuba allowed him to use his direct line to call back. When General Ji received Huo Shaoheng’s call, it was noon in the Hua Xia Empire. “General Ji, my mission is complete.” Huo Shaoheng’s voice could be heard on the phone and dispelled all the pent up frustration in General Ji’s mind from the last few days.
“Hahaha, excellent! Excellent!” General Ji leaned back against his office chair. “Where are you right now?”
“I’m at the Consulate General in Cuba.” Huo Shaoheng was also sitting and appeared relaxed as he stretched his body. “General Ji, I need an official reason to appear in Cuba.”
“No problem, no problem!” General Ji instantly agreed. “I’ll have Little Ze regroup with you in Cuba, and also have the military announce that you are visiting Cuba as the Deputy Secretary of the Supreme Military Council.”
That way, he could officially appear in public. Due to his long period of disappearance, all the people related to him were very worried. Huo Shaoheng nodded. “That’s settled, then.” He paused, then notified General Ji, “I still need to continue working and hope that General Ji can approve all the support and provisions.”
“Of course! Of course!” General Ji knew Huo Shaoheng was about to launch a counterattack. General Ji was also furious that Huo Shaoheng had been betrayed, and now there was the issue of Gu Nianzhi as well. But recalling how Huo Shaoheng had undermined his authority, General Ji felt he still had to reach him a lesson, so he wouldn’t become even more brazen in the future. Burrowing ants could topple a building, and no evils were too small—these were words of wisdom from history. So General Ji didn’t mention Gu Nianzhi’s situation at all and only said, “Your normal work is certainly your responsibility. Do what you need to.”
Huo Shaoheng ended the call and looked at the course of action in front of him before quickly dialing another number. This call was made directly to the court martial of the Special Ops. The personnel in this unit were like the military police, and their duties included arresting internal personnel who violated the law. Nobody knew that the unit leader, Zhou Qiyuan, was one of Huo Shaoheng’s secret personal secretaries. With Huo Shaoheng’s rank, he should have four personal secretaries, but while most people knew about Yin Shixiong and Zhao Laingze, very few were aware of the identities of the other two personal secretaries.
“Qiyauan, this is Huo Shaoheng.” Huo Shaoheng introduced himself directly.
Zhou Qiyuan was reading files at his private office and stood up. “Chief.”
Huo Shaoheng commanded him stoically, “Immediately take the ethics unit and surround the Special Operations Forces Hospital. Arrest all medical personnel, from those in the mail room to everyone in Chen Lie’s office, including him. Detain them in separate cells.” He paused, then continued, “The patients in the hospital are not to leave, and no visitors are permitted. Wait for my return to make any decisions.”
“Roger, Chief!” Zhou Qiyuan was two years older than Huo Shaoheng and had been personally rescued by Huo Shaoheng in Myanmar years ago. Ever since then, he had been one of Huo Shaoheng’s secret personal secretaries.
