Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Gu Nianzhi really didn’t die?!” Ye Zitan asked in shock. She had thought that…”She had contracted H3aB7. I thought that those who contracted that virus would definitely die!”
“You’re clear about that, aren’t you?” Huo Shaoheng mocked her. “Nianzhi was in Germany. How do you know what she contracted?”
“She did not get it?!” Ye Zitan was even more shocked. “Impossible…”
“Do not rule out what you don’t know to be impossible. Doctor Ye, you’re someone with a strong scientific background. How can you have such a narrow mind?” Zhou Qiyuan added, “Speak. How did you and those people communicate? The journals that they sent to you have already been recorded in our system. Please don’t even think of lying.”
“What?! How can you touch my personal belongings?!” Ye Zitan had collapsed by now. Those journals… Those journals that wrote about things beyond scientific knowledge were treasures to her. They had almost become her religion. The moment that was taken from her, she felt that she had lost all support in life.
Raising her head, Ye Zitan opened her mouth and wanted to say something but stopped herself. Head hanging low, she allowed herself to fall onto the floor like a pile of useless matter.
“Ye…” Zhou Qiyuan still had questions, but Huo Shaoheng raised his hand. “No need to question her further. With someone like her, her words might not be true, anyway.”
Zhou Qiyuan nodded. “You’re right, sir. We have been speaking to her for an extended period of time. However, she hasn’t provided us with anything useful at all. We suspect that she doesn’t know who she was communicating with, either.” Which also meant that Ye Zitan was only one of the minor chess pieces.
Zhou Qiyuan hinted that they should continue investigating. Huo Shaoheng folded his arms and stood in the interrogation room. He looked at Ye Zitan and measured the pros and cons in a second before coming to a decision.
“There’s no need to question her anymore. She leaked information to our enemy and caused the death of two of our men. She caused innocent citizens of the Hua Xia Empire to die, and has already been caught red-handed. Death sentence by shooting. Immediately.” He had the special authority to sentence culprits in the Special Forces, and Ye Zitan’s case had already gone to a secret court hearing in the Army. Unfortunately, they did not manage to get any useful information out of her.
However, based on her conversation with Chen Lie just now, it was clear that she was the culprit. Their conversation had been recorded and could be used as evidence in court. Since she had admitted that those were her actions, there was no way she could have been maligned.
“Yes, sir.” Zhou Qiyuan saluted and asked his men to head to the military court to complete the required paperwork. Even though Huo Shaoheng had said to shoot her immediately, they would require approval from the military court. That was protocol.
After Zhou Qiyuan had left, Huo Shaoheng stood quietly in the interrogation room for a while. His gaze landed on Ye Zitan and only left after a while. Coming out of the interrogation room, he saw Zhou Qiyuan standing to the side waiting for him. It seemed like he had something to say.
“Yes?”
“Sir, there’s something that I have to report to you.” Zhou Qiyuan’s eyes narrowed.
Huo Shaoheng nodded and turned to walk out. They exited the disciplinary committee building and headed towards Chen Lie’s hospital building. Along the way, Zhou Qiyuan whispered, “Mr. Huo, do you really want to stop all investigation?”
“What else is there to investigate?” Huo Shaoheng asked a matter-of-factly. “Did you manage to get something out of her?”
“No. However, for this case, if we were to investigate deeper, there might be an issue.” Zhou Qiyuan was more worried that if someone were to attempt to bring Ye Zitan to justice, this might be a hindrance.
“What issue?” Huo Shaoheng stopped in his tracks. “Just tell me.”
“The number that was contacting her. We’ve tried to trace the number and realized that it was an empty account. The mobile company could not find anything out about it, either. The last time someone used this number was 17 years ago.”
Huo Shaoheng’s eyes narrowed. “Most likely the mastermind is scheming, or they have a very strong backup. Even if we received information that it was an empty account, it might not really be an empty account.”
Zhou Qiyuan nodded. “I thought so, too. Therefore, why don’t we make use of Ye Zitan to lure the mastermind out?”
Huo Shaoheng usually did not like explaining himself to others, but Zhou Qiyuan was one of the people he truly trusted. He knew that Zhou Qiyuan had the potential to do much more. Therefore, he patiently explained, “A number that even the mobile company could not trace… If that person was someone of power, this person’s power would be huge. If that person did not use his or her influence, but used techniques instead, then their technical skills would be so great that not many would be able to break them. According to what I know, even America’s CIA, England’s Military Intelligence, Russia’s Committee of State Security, the KGB, nor Israel’s Mossad could do it. If they cannot do it, then…”
Zhou Qiyuan finally understood. No matter how they thought about it, the mastermind behind Ye Zitan was almost invincible. They did not have the resources to fight directly with that person as of now. Therefore, Ye Zitan was most likely just a pawn. It would be best for her to die sooner rather than later.
If they were to keep her, and that mastermind decided to really begin his or her game and rescue her, they would definitely be at the losing end. Moreover, being in the Special Forces for so many years, no one knew how many secrets Ye Zitan knew. Therefore, the safest method would be to execute her as soon as possible.
“Yes, sir. I understand now.” Zhou Qiyuan bowed and intended to go to the military court and deliver the death sentence approval personally.
…
Huo Shaoheng returned to Chen Lie’s building and went to visit Gu Nianzhi. She was still in a coma with a high fever. Her little face was flushed, and the corners of her beautiful lips were already cracking. Huo Shaoheng took a piece of sterilized cloth and dipped it in some distilled water. Then, he dabbed it carefully on her dry lips to moisturize them.
Chen Lie had heard him return and came out from his office. Rubbing his hands, he looked anxiously at Huo Shaoheng. “Mr. Huo…”
Without raising his head, Huo Shaoheng continued to dab Gu Nianzhi’s lips. “If you’re free before daybreak tomorrow, you can visit Ye Zitan for the last time.”
Chen Lie was taken aback. Even though he was mentally prepared, the impact was different when Huo Shaoheng told him right smack in his face like that. Removing his glasses, he wiped them repeatedly with his little spectacle towel with trembling hands. He was speechless. Chen Lie cleaned his glasses whenever he was nervous. This habit of his was beyond familiar to Huo Shaoheng.
“I understand how you must be feeling. However, a mistake is a mistake. If you’ve done something wrong, you’ll have to bear the consequences. The mistake she made is not one that can be forgiven with just an apology. She committed a crime, and it was serious enough to earn her an immediate death sentence.”
Huo Shaoheng looked at Gu Nianzhi’s lips. The dead skin on her chapped lips had already been dabbed off by his wet towel. Her lips were slightly flushed and were so full that they almost did not have any lip lines. Her lips were pale, and they looked almost translucent. Huo Shaoheng looked at her for a while before tucking her in properly.
Chen Lie covered his face and ran back into his office, slamming the door behind him. Huo Shaoheng knew that Chen Lie must be devastated. However, he could not condone this nor wait any longer.
He sat in Gu Nianzhi’s room and intended to stay there for the night. However, not long after, Zhou Qiyuan gave him a call and said that the prosecutors in the military court’s secret courtroom still had some doubts. They had refused to sign the agreement form for an immediate death sentence.
Huo Shaoheng gave it some thought and said, “Call Minister Bai from the law department and get her to speak to the prosecutor. I’ll be there in a minute.”
After hanging up, Huo Shaoheng knocked on Chen Lie’s door. Chen Lie stayed silent for a while before answering the door with red, puffy eyes. “Yes?”
“I need to head out for a while. Please keep a close eye on Nianzhi.” Huo Shaoheng patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t be too sad.”
Chen Lie remained silent. After Huo Shaoheng left, Chen Lie did not return to his office. He sat beside Gu Nianzhi’s bed and observed the data on the machines as he began to ramble. He knew that she was still in a coma and couldn’t hear anything, anyway. Therefore, he poured his heart out. “Are you better already, Nianzhi? I’m really sorry. I didn’t know that Ye Zitan was like that…
“But wanting her dead so soon, Mr. Huo must hate her so much. Nianzhi… Please wake up soon… who knows…”
Who knew what?
Chen Lie found himself unable to continue. A one-sided love really wasn’t that strong, after all. In this relationship, she hadn’t responded before. There were no happy memories of being together. There was only a one man show by Chen Lie. He felt that it was pointless already.
“Love is really the most useless and time consuming thing in this entire world.” Chen Lie looked at the data and changed the paper in the machine. The roll of paper that was full of data was thrown into the trash can and burned.
After just a little while, Chen Lie realized that Gu Nianzhi’s fever had gone down. It had happened twice as quickly as the previous time. His attention returned to Gu Nianzhi, and he observed her bodily reactions as he adjusted the machines.
It was already one o’clock in the morning when Gu Nianzhi woke up. She had actually awakened while Chen Lie had been rattling on about Ye Zitan. However, she was confused as to what Chen Lie was talking about. She couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore, so she opened her eyes and asked, “Brother Chen, what happened to Doctor Ye?”
When Gu Nianzhi spoke suddenly, Chen Lie jumped. He took a while to recover from the shock and slapped his forehead happily. “Finally! You’re fine now, Nianzhi!”
Gu Nianzhi sighed. “I feel restless. I have no energy. Does that count as something?” Then, she continued asking, “Brother Chen, what were you talking about just now? Why do I feel like you don’t want her around anymore?”
Chen Lie asked, wide eyed, “Was it so obvious?”
“Was what obvious?” Gu Nianzhi was taken aback. She struggled into a sitting position on the bed and asked, “What exactly happened?”
“Nianzhi, tell me; when you were in Germany, did you try to call me?” Chen Lie asked her sternly.
Gu Nianzhi nodded. “Yes I did. However, Doctor Ye answered the phone and said that you were in an operation for the General. I also sent texts.”
“Why did you call and text me?”
“I was kidnapped when I was in Germany. I wanted to call you for help to look for… Brother Xiong and Brother Ze.” Gu Nianzhi consciously omitted “Huo Shao.”
