Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Ma Qiqi was relieved. This was one of Gu Nianzhi’s guardians, brother Xiong’s number. It seemed like he was an assistant of that Huo Shao. Therefore, if she had found him, she should be able to find Huo Shao. However, she did not say anything. She couldn’t because Senpai was here, so she hung up.
She was in a rush to make the phone call again. Therefore, she stuffed her phone into her pocket, waved to Senpai and said, “Senpai, I’ll go back now. Thank you!” With that, she ran off.
Senpai was speechless. This lady! She really just ignores me after I helped her! Senpai could not decide whether to be upset or to laugh. He felt uncomfortable, but after busying himself with other things, he forgot about it.
The moment she returned to her dormitory, Ma Qiqi dialed the number again. This time, after the call went to voicemail, she left a message. “Is this Gu Nianzhi’s guardian? I am her roommate, Qiqi. My mobile number is… I have something important to tell you regarding Nianzhi. Please contact me after hearing this message! You must! It’s a matter of life and death!”
The number that Ma Qiqi had dialed was a number that Huo Shaoheng had set up for Gu Nianzhi in the past. As long as someone dialed that number, the person at the end of the voicemail mailbox would immediately answer it and send it to the relevant person. Two people would receive voicemail from this number. One of them was Yin Shixiong, and the other was Zhao Liangze.
Due to wanting to take care of Gu Nianzhi, the two of them would not be sent on missions at the same time. Usually, one of them would be staying in the country just in case they had to receive information about Gu Nianzhi. Otherwise, Huo Shaoheng would kill them.
However, after finding her father, Gu Xiangwen, many of her safety measures had been secretly revoked when Huo Shaoheng went on his mission. Therefore, all three of them were sent on missions this time around. Fortunately, because Huo Shaoheng was extremely careful, some of the safety measures were not touched.
It wasn’t because the people who revoked her safety measures were being kind. It was simply because they did not know that those measures existed. Or rather, they forgot about their existence.
For example, the diamond earrings on Gu Nianzhi had GPS systems installed in them. There was another one—it was the number under “family contact” that she filled her registration forms with.
These should have been revoked as well. However, due to the vast number of safety measures Huo Shaoheng had put on her, it was too much of a hassle to check how many, exactly, there were. Therefore, they had left some alone unintentionally.
Even though no one was keeping track of Gu Nianzhi’s location every minute of the day anymore, they did not take the earrings back from her. Therefore, the moment something happened to her, they could activate all the satellites involved and locate her in seconds.
That phone number still existed as well. Even though there was no one assigned to specially answer the voicemail, the number was still active. Therefore, after a while, it would be automatically sent to Yin Shixiong and Zhao Liangze. It was just that both of them were on overseas missions now, so they couldn’t answer it.
After leaving the message, Ma Qiqi began to count the days while waiting for Yin Shixiong to get back to her.
…
Huo Shaoheng waited for another month in New York. It was almost October, but the opponent had not made any moves. For a while, he thought Thomas had misled him. However, he could still hold his patience. For people in his profession, being able to have patience was key to many things.
That day, he went to check the three apartments he had rented. The studio apartment in the east was rather centralized in that area. There was only one apartment building in that area, and the rest were all landed villas.
He went to check the mailbox in the morning but to no avail. Then, he went to the Starbucks opposite the apartment for a coffee. Taking out his Kindle, he read some books just like the people who stayed there. Then, he exited the Starbucks and boarded the bus to the west part of the city.
There were rental apartments everywhere in the west. They looked like matchboxes that were stacked up. Even though they looked neat, it looked nothing like New York. Most of the people who were there were all “artists” from all over the world. You could call them “street artists” as well.
Huo Shaoheng went to the mailbox and disposed of some junk mail, then he went to the Kentucky Fried Chicken nearby. He bought a family bucket and finished it all on his own.
It was about one o’clock in the afternoon. Finally, his destination was the north. The apartment in the north was in a really nice place. It was previously a house that some millionaire built for his mistress in the past. After they broke up, the house was redeveloped into apartments.
From the outside, it looked like a grand mansion. There were many windows just like a school. They were all the windows of different apartments rented to those who wanted to pretend to be rich when they were not quite there yet.
Huo Shaoheng walked around the area and sensed something amiss. It felt too different compared to the past. He had been here countless times. The ambience there felt laid back but elegant. Everyone walked at a relaxed pace, and they all looked at ease. Everyone dressed up to the nines, like they were ready to go to a party anytime.
However, the moment he entered the area that day, Huo Shaoheng sensed that there were many people who felt out of place with the residents in this area. Of course, people couldn’t usually sense things like that. Only people who had undergone professional training and had been on countless missions on the verge of death like Huo Shaoheng would have such a keen sense of observation.
For example, to a normal person, there was a couple sitting in an alfresco café. They did not look out of the ordinary. They wore well-pressed, warm-colored shirts with collars. The man wore a pair of pants that were of the same color tone, and the woman wore a flattering pencil skirt. However, to Huo Shaoheng, they looked like a sore thumb in the crowd. That was because in this town where everyone tried hard to be cool, they would never button the top button of the shirt. Instead, they would leave one to two buttons undone to reveal their necks and a hint of collarbone.
As for the ladies, even though that one had brown hair as well, residents all knew that it was extremely old fashioned if anyone combed their hair to be sleek. The fashionable ones all had a messy, bed-head look.
Finally, the way residents looked at people was different. The residents habitually looked at people with a flirtatious smile, like they could have sex anytime if both parties were attracted to each other. It was unlike some of the people there. They looked at people straight, like they couldn’t wait to see right through you.
With all this added together, the sense of awkwardness separated them from the residents in Huo Shaoheng’s eyes. He noticed these differences, but he did not turn and walk away. Instead, he strode towards them and entered a supermarket with a devilish grin.
Some beautiful ladies saw him when they were buying things and were hopelessly attracted. They flirted with him to the best of their abilities, but he merely smiled. Then, all of a sudden, he looked over and met their eyes. They almost melted…
The people who were attracted to him lost interest immediately and looked away, getting back to their business. Just like that, Huo Shaoheng took a turn through the supermarket and left the place with a lady. He left and boarded a cab when they reached a turn.
If he was right, the traitor had begun his or her operations. The person had waited for more than a month. That was considered patient, but not extremely patient. He did not understand why the person had decided to strike after more than a month of waiting.
Logically, under such circumstances, they should wait for about half a year before striking if they hadn’t received any news in a fortnight. However, the timeline now was neither within a fortnight nor half a year—an awkward point in their timeline. Now, that was worth pondering.
Huo Shaoheng enjoyed the cab ride a little and ensured that no one was following him before returning to his apartment in New Jersey. Thomas should be sending him a letter soon, or the letter would have been left at the place they had agreed upon. It was just that Huo Shaoheng hadn’t collected it.
To be honest, even though Thomas had agreed to work with him, they didn’t fully trust each other yet. This was normal when two people from opposing teams decided to work together. This was also the attitude the people in their profession had towards others. They would never fully trust someone. If anyone trusted a traitor a hundred percent, then that person was overly naïve. He would not be suitable to have this as his occupation.
…
Huo Shaoheng sat in his spacious apartment with a mug of beer, feeling heavy hearted. He remembered clearly which departments he had sent the letters to. The one that involved the apartment in the northern part of the city had been sent directly to Chen Lie.
He did not expect it to really be Chen Lie… Was it really Chen Lie? Huo Shaoheng could not straighten his thoughts for a while. He’d met Chen Lie very early on, even before he joined the army. They were friends after a fight.
He was still hot tempered at that time and planned for a mission on his own to sneak his aunt’s body back from the main hospital in the army. Then, the then “genius intern doctor,” Chen Lie, discovered his plot. He had thought that Huo Shaoheng was a burglar who stole illegal things…
The two men fought. Of course Chen Lie lost terribly, but he spilled the truth after Chen Lie interrogated him as well. After hearing his explanation, Chen Lie decided to trust him without a doubt. He even helped Huo Shaoheng to hide his aunt’s body in the hospital’s refrigerator. He could say that without Chen Lie’s help, the truth about his aunt’s case would not have been brought to light.
After that, they had more opportunities to strengthen their friendship. When Huo Shaoheng joined the army, Chen Lie met him again when he started the Special Forces. By then, Chen Lie was already the military doctor whom the Special Forces requested. He had brought his assistant, Ye Zitan, with him.
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