Chapter 696 - Messing with Her Means Messing with Me
He Zhichu quietly left Gu Nianzhi’s cabin and went to the cockpit to reply to Huo Shaoheng through the communicator. “Nianzhi has a fever. Make this quick.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded immediately. “Understood. Prepare to assume your original flight plan, and we will escort you.”
He Zhichu glanced at the two pilots. “Go to the Hua Xia Empire as per the original route.” The two pilots busied themselves with altering the flight plan, then confirmed ground level navigation points.
Huo Shaoheng then began to initiate the military base communicator. “Little Ze, have Zhou Qiyuan come in.” Zhou Qiyuan was the Unit Leader of the Disciplinary Committee and also one of Huo Shaoheng’s secret personal secretaries.
Zhou Qiyuan was waiting outside and came in as soon as he was called. Huo Shaoheng personally told him, “Get Chen Lie out here and have him prepare an ambulance to the air force base. Tell him Miss Gu has a fever, and he’ll know what to do.”
The last time Zhou Qiyuan had accepted an order from Huo Shaoheng, it was to arrest all personnel from the military base headquarters general hospital in the name of the Disciplinary Committee. The personnel were still detained in the Disciplinary Committee’s temporary detainment center. Zhou Qiyuan had already completed the first round of questioning for all the detainees and selected a few suspicious individuals out of the group. The others were not released but were treated much better than before. Chen Lie’s situation was unique because while Zhou Qiyuan suspected him, Huo Shaoheng obviously trusted him a great deal.
“Sir…” Zhou Qiyuan hesitated but immediately angered Huo Shaoheng.
“Go now!”
“Roger, Chief!” Zhou Qiyuan didn’t dare say anything else and immediately saluted before leaving to carry out his orders.
…
The sky was already completely dark. The entire world sighed with awe while six of the newest Hua Xia fighter jets escorted a large passenger plane as it landed at the T3 terminal of the Imperial Capital International Airport. Everyone was also speculating who would be important enough to warrant the highest specification of welcome by the Hua Xia Empire. Relevant institutions were soon able to determine who the passenger plane belonged to, but when the cabin doors opened, Huo Shaoheng, the Deputy Secretary of the Hua Xia Imperial Supreme Military Council, was the one to step out. He didn’t come out alone. He carried a person tightly bundled in a blanket as he descended the temporary stairs. As soon as he got off the plane, an ambulance drove over and Huo Shaoheng carried that person to it.
Who was this person? In almost a single moment, the image of Huo Shaoheng wearing sunglasses and his major general military uniform as he carefully carried a person off the airplane immediately went viral. Just recently, some people had been trying to discreetly start gossip online to make Huo Shaoheng and Tan Guiren a couple. But as soon as the photo was published, even the internet water armies were too ashamed to continue “forcing an arranged marriage.” This kind of thing was actually not beneficial to the female at all, and it insinuated that the woman would completely support the man financially while the man fed off of her. Consequently, the internet water armies knew when to stop.
Few people within the casual audiences had truly seen what Huo Shaoheng looked like, but they all recognized the gold stars on his epaulet, as well as his major general’s uniform. Even though he had such an esteemed position and high rank, he was carefully cradling that person as if they were a priceless treasure.
In addition, the six fighter jets offering the highest specification of welcome immediately overshadowed the fanfare of Tan Guiren, the newly elected Prime Minister’s daughter, returning to the nation. Many people were speculating that the person Huo Shaoheng was cradling was a girl because the silhouette under the blanket appeared extremely petite. Photoshop experts wanted nothing more than to get their hands on the photo and analyze the entire thing. Unfortunately, the published photo was very low resolution, so it was impossible to magnify or confirm who it was. However, the people familiar with them could instantly tell who it was.
At home, Tan Guiren also watched this scene on TV and felt very conflicted. Her mother, Cai Songyin, was calling all her friends in the media to ask if they had information about who Major General Huo carried off the plane. Although she called all the media outlets in the Imperial Empire, there wasn’t a single one who knew who it was. However, they recognized the private jet, as well as the elegant man in the trench coat walking behind Huo Shaoheng. This man was none other than He Zhichu. He wore huge sunglasses and appeared ice cold as he remained completely silent. Initially, everyone thought the welcome was meant for He Zhichu, but it was obviously not the case when Huo Shaoheng carried someone else out. The person who had not revealed even a single strand of hair from head to toe was the true distinguished guest.
…
He Zhichu followed Huo Shaoheng onto the ambulance. Soon after, military vehicles ahead cleared the way while others in the back escorted them. The discreet looking black ambulance flashed its emergency lights as it sped towards the Special Operations Forces Headquarters Base. Inside the ambulance, Chen Lie began to check Gu Nianzhi’s blood pressure and temperature. He looked for signs of infection and tried his best to treat various acute wounds. Chen Lie was stony faced and refused to look at Huo Shaoheng. He hadn’t looked at Huo Shaoheng since he carried Gu Nianzhi inside the ambulance. Huo Shaoheng didn’t say anything either as he sat rigidly to the side and looked directly ahead like he wasn’t really looking at anything at all. However, everyone knew that no one and nothing in the ambulance could escape his gaze.
He Zhichu sat across from him and crossed his arms as he leaned against the side of the vehicle. His eyes only fell on Gu Nianzhi’s face, and her every breath pained his heart.
The ambulance’s sirens screamed the entire way, and they soon arrived at the Special Operations Forces Headquarters Base Hospital. Gu Nianzhi was moved onto a mobile operating bed, and with the help of several hospital personnel, she was taken into Chen Lie’s operating room. She actually didn’t need any surgery, but she did require a thorough physical examination. Huo Shaoheng needed to know if she had suffered any additional torture. He Zhichu didn’t follow inside but put both his hands in his trouser pockets as he stood in the hallway outside the operating room. Gazing out the window, he observed the entire Special Operations Forces Headquarters Base.
Huo Shaoheng followed Chen Lie inside and watched him carry out a series of exams on Gu Nianzhi. As Chen Lie awaited the CT results to print out, he finally replied to Huo Shaoheng icily, “There is nothing seriously wrong with her, but she did suffer a series of tortures. Just like the cat that was thrown down a building repeatedly, she was thrown down again.” As he spoke, he looked at Huo Shaoheng with a sneer. “Tell me, who threw her this time?”
Huo Shaoheng sighed. “You’re sure she’s ok?”
“We’ll know by tomorrow. It’s not the first time it happened.” Chen Lie’s smile grew colder. “Shouldn’t you be careful around me? Why are you letting me participate in such an important examination? You know that I can leak intelligence at any time, right!? I’m telling you, Huo Shaoheng! You might as well kill me! That way there will be no loose ends, and no one can leak the truth about your precious treasure!”
Huo Shaoheng knew Chen Lie was venting from being locked up for no reason all this time. He glanced at him and asked, “How is Nianzhi’s condition right now?”
“She already has a high fever, so she shouldn’t have much consciousness right now. Don’t worry, it’s not the first time. Anyway, I have previous data to monitor.” Chen Lie pouted. “You think I’d help you if not for Nianzhi’s sake?”
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “Fine, looks like you want to start a fight today. Go to your office first, and I’ll talk with you afterwards.”
“You said it yourself! You locked me up alone all this time! I still haven’t sorted that out with you yet!” Chen Lie vehemently threw all the paperwork he held onto the desk and turned back into his office.
Huo Shaoheng left the operating room and spoke calmly to He Zhichu waiting outside. “Nianzhi has a high fever right now but aside from that, there’s nothing else wrong with her.”
He Zhichu sighed a deep breath of relief and glanced at his watch. “Fine, then I’ll be going, too. I’ll call Nianzhi once her fever breaks.”
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “I’ll have Big Xiong see you out.”
Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze were both very impressed with He Zhichu, so Huo Shaoheng felt more reassured having them escort him. He Zhichu appeared undecided and glanced quickly at the door to the operating room, which was slightly ajar. He seemed to see Gu Nianzhi laying quietly amid all the equipment and looked back at Huo Shaoheng.
Huo Shaoheng bowed slightly. “Don’t worry, all the data here will be destroyed. I’ll personally see to it.”
He Zhichu nodded slightly. Although he didn’t want to admit it, this was one point he had to concede in Huo Shaoheng’s favor—that no one else had discovered Gu Nianzhi’s special body constitution all these years, as she was raised by Huo Shaoheng. It proved that Huo Shaoheng was very cautious in that regard. “It’s good that you understand that. This will be the last time I acquiesce. If you let anyone else know this final secret, I’ll take her away no matter what you say.” He Zhichu didn’t mince his words and appeared much bolder than before.
Huo Shaoheng raised his brow. “I still repeat what I said before, can you guarantee her safety if you take her away? Can you keep her from prying hands?”
“Haha…” He Zhichu merely chuckled but didn’t reply. How did Huo Shaoheng know? Haha…
…
After He Zhichu left, Huo Shaoheng went to Chen Lie’s office. Chen Lie was using a rag and a bucket of water to clean his office. He never allowed others in there, and Ye Zitan had always helped him clean in the past. Since both of them had been detained, the office had grown very dusty. Huo Shaoheng didn’t help him clean but stood quietly at the side and took out a cigarette. Walking to the window, he opened it up, lit the cigarette, and took a drag.
Chen Lie’s face scrunched up from the smell, and he walked over to kick him out. “Get out! Don’t smoke in here! This is a non-smoking area! Understand?”
Huo Shaoheng pursed his lips and threw the cigarette in the garbage before turning around to reply, “Zhou Qiyuan told you?”
Chen Lie snorted. “I have nothing to hide! I’ve never done anything indecent! I should be the last person you’d suspect!”
Huo Shaoheng’s eyes darkened, and although the gloom was pervasive in his heart, he still sat across from Chen Lie and told him, “Zhou Qiyuan investigated you on my orders, so it was routine business.”
“Routine business is locking up someone you’ve known for over a decade without reason?” Chen Lie slapped the desk. “Huo Shaoheng! I’ll tell you right now, I’ll kill you if there is even the slightest blemish on my personal record because of this incident! If I wanted to leak intelligence, would I even need to choose an occasion?! Do you even have any secrets I don’t know?!” Chen Lie stabbed his finger at Huo Shaoheng’s nose as he ranted, “I treated you as a friend, but you treated me like a mole! Friendship over!”
Huo Shaoheng listened quietly to his ranting and waited for him to huff before asking, “Are you done?”
“No!” Chen Lie roared. “There’s also Dr. Ye! I’m telling you to let her go right now! Messing with her means messing with me!”