Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Huo Shaoheng looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled bitterly. This restroom was located in the hospital building in Chen Lie’s office. It was equipped with a first aid kit. Huo Shaoheng took it out, as he was beyond familiar with everything there. There were medications to stop bleeding and some cotton balls in the first aid kit.
Picking out a cotton ball, Huo Shaoheng put some ointment on it and dabbed it onto the injured area. Then, he dipped the cotton ball into some distilled water and rolled it over his lips. In no time at all, the bleeding on his lips stopped. The teeth marks disappeared as well.
Huo Shaoheng looked normal upon exiting the washroom, other than his lips looking slightly pale. Gu Nianzhi sat on the sofa and did not look up. She did not even want to know why Huo Shaoheng returned after going out. Huo Shaoheng remained silent as well and exited immediately. He closed the door behind him and turned to Yin Shixiong. “Where is Secretary Cao?”
“Downstairs.” Yin Shixiong stole a glance at Huo Shaoheng’s lips as he replied. He noticed that they were already fine and followed Huo Shaoheng down to meet Secretary Cao.
Secretary Cao was leaning against a military Jeep and having a puff at the entrance of the medical building. When he saw that Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong had exited the building, he threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and walked over to them before saluting. “Major General, General Ji invites you over for a bit.”
Even though Secretary Cao was General Ji’s personal secretary, his military rank was lower than Huo Shaoheng’s. When they were outside, he was still respectful.
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “Hello, Secretary Cao. I had intended to meet General Ji today. I didn’t expect us to have the same thought.”
“General Ji is merely concerned about you,” Secretary Cao replied politely.
They exchanged some words before Fan Jian drove Huo Shaoheng’s car over. Huo Shaoheng waved to Secretary Cao. “Let’s go now. Don’t keep General Ji waiting too long.”
“Please, after you.” Secretary Cao saw Huo Shaoheng enter the car before heading back to his own Jeep.
“To the headquarters.” Secretary Cao’s Jeep was in front. His chauffeur led the way. Huo Shaoheng sat in his car and followed behind.
The morning sun’s rays spilled over the grounds of Di Capital, and the air smelled of osmanthus. Two military vehicles entered the main entrance of the headquarters.
“Salute!” The guards at the entrance saw the passes and license plates of the vehicles and raised their right hands together in a salute. They looked on as the vehicles entered the headquarters.
However, General Ji was not at his office. He waited for Huo Shaoheng in his study at home. Huo Shaoheng arrived at the entrance of his study and narrowed his eyes at Yin Shixiong.
Yin Shixiong got the hint and did not follow Huo Shaoheng in. Instead, he got connected to Zhao Liangze, who was on standby at the Special Forces headquarters, and started to chat with him over his Bluetooth earpiece.
…
Huo Shaoheng stood outside the door to the study and saluted. “Huo Shaoheng is back from his mission and here to report to General Ji!”
General Ji had waited the entire night before he was able to see Huo Shaoheng. He was happy, angry, and slightly upset. He left Huo Shaoheng standing at the door for a while longer on purpose before answering, “Enter.”
Huo Shaoheng opened the door and entered the study, closing the door behind him. General Ji’s study was lined with maroon carpet. All the furniture was a dark shade of reddish brown. It looked traditional, just like a scholar’s study. A tall display cabinet made of the same type of wood as the rest of the furniture divided the spacious study into two different areas.
General Ji was in the little area that was separated by the cabinet. Huo Shaoheng walked past the cabinet and saw General Ji looking at him sternly from behind his desk.
Upon seeing him, General Ji laughed sarcastically. “Huo Shaoheng, you still remembered to come and see me?!”
“Sir, the Special Forces was in chaos when I returned. Therefore, I went back to handle things first before coming over to report to you. If something happened to the Special Forces, people would be picking on you, General Ji. Therefore, I had no choice but to prioritize it,” Huo Shaoheng reported smoothly and even reminded General Ji that he would also be in trouble if the Special Forces went down. This was because the Special Forces could exist due to General Ji’s support.
General Ji snorted at the reply and took out a stack of documents from his desk cabinet. He slammed it onto the desk. “What is this? You’re still doing this for me?! Huo Shaoheng, don’t treat everyone as fools! What is this bullsh*t about the Special Forces being in chaos? You’re really capable at finding excuses, huh?! Look at this! Look at how others are making complaints against you!”
“Complaints against me?” Huo Shaoheng displayed a confused expression. “I just landed yesterday. I really have no idea what happened. I’m willing to listen.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know anything. Let me tell you, then. You used your authority and country’s resources for your own woman! Let’s see if you still dare to deny any accusations! All this is evidence in black and white! You have made a major mistake!” General Ji pounded on the desk and stood up in anger.
The corners of Huo Shaoheng’s eyes jumped. He replied slowly with a hint of mockery, “Using the country’s resources for my own woman? Using my authority for my own purposes? I think the person who complained about me should go and question the new Prime Minister and PM Dou before asking me if I used the country’s resources on my own!”
General Ji was dumbfounded by Huo Shaoheng’s rebuttal. He was also rather guilty of that. The trip to New York was indeed a trap. He had initially wanted Huo Shaoheng to take on that assignment so he would be more well-liked by the new Prime Minister, but he really did not expect it to be a trap.
General Ji coughed and put away the documents. “You can’t say that. PM Dou is a Prime Minister no matter what. It’s within your job scope to help him. Shouldn’t you, as a soldier, protect the Prime Minister’s family?”
“I think they’ve forgotten that they were not the Prime Minister’s family when Tan Dongbang sent me to New York,” Huo Shaoheng replied flatly. They want me to be the scapegoat? Haha… Even before they were born… no. Even if they had already been born, he could let them die in an instant…
“Look at you! What’s the rush?! Did I not target your weak spot?” General Ji folded his arms and looked at him unhappily. “Don’t pretend to get over this. You got the jets to take off for your own girlfriend. Now, isn’t that using your authority for your own purposes? Gu Nianzhi’s position and Tan Guiren’s—how can they be compared?!”
Huo Shaoheng folded his arms as well and stood with his legs apart, looking relaxed. He replied calmly, “You’re right, sir. No matter how I see it, Tan Guiren can never be compared to Gu Nianzhi.”
“I’m glad you’re aware!” Seeing that Huo Shaoheng seemed to give in, General Ji was not that angry anymore. Just when he was about to say some things to lighten the mood, Huo Shaoheng opened his mouth again.
“Tan Guiren is of no use to the country, no matter how I see it. She isn’t helping the country gain anything constructive at all but is receiving treatment that is way above her importance. She has utilized too many of the country’s resources, and such careless splurging is something that we should have reflected upon. I’ll ensure nothing like that repeats itself in the future.”
General Ji was speechless.
“However, Nianzhi is different. From the moment she arrived in our country when she was 12 years old, she has been making significantly important contributions. For a start, after finding her, the development of the engine of our backup power supply improved tremendously. Our fighter jets are some of the best in the world. For all that, we have Gu Nianzhi to thank.” Huo Shaoheng was firm as he recited it all, like he was presenting a full report.
General Ji’s lips twitched. “The drawing belonged to Gu Xiangwen. It was by no means related to her much, no?”
“We got it from her backpack. General Ji, we know her. As for whether or not it belonged to Gu Xiangwen, we will have to ask him when he wakes up. Before that, however, the credit goes to Gu Nianzhi.” Huo Shaoheng was persistent in his efforts and did not allow anyone to do anything to take credit from Gu Nianzhi.
General Ji laughed bitterly and raised his hands. “Sure, but even so, the army protected her securely for seven whole years. That should have returned the favor for the drawing, shouldn’t it?”
Huo Shaoheng’s lips curled into a smile, too. He continued, “A year ago, Gu Nianzhi donated 90 million US dollars anonymously to the army to benefit the soldiers who fight for the nation on the front line. That fund is the biggest we have on hand right now, Today’s Heart charity fund.”
General Ji was deep in thought. “Today’s Heart was undeniably donated singlehandedly by Gu Nianzhi… I almost forgot, but how on earth did she have that much money?” Then he mumbled, “Today’s Heart… It is Nianzhi! No wonder. I was thinking why the name of the fund…”
Huo Shaoheng nodded. “Yes. Today’s Heart is Nianzhi’s name taken apart. It’s a name by me. As for her money, don’t you remember that she won a lawsuit in America for their disciplinary department and CIA? That was her compensation for winning the case, but she donated it in full to the army. Moreover, she did it anonymously. Therefore, it was clear that she did not want anything out of it. Tell me, General Ji, now, how can Tan Guiren be compared to Nianzhi?”
General Ji’s eyebrows furrowed, and he continued being stubborn. “But that is monetary help. How can you fly the jets just because of that?!”
“Because she’s worth it!” Huo Shaoheng threw all the documents that Zhao Liangze had arranged onto General Ji’s desk.
“Due to being betrayed by our men in Germany, Gu Nianzhi got captured by the FIA. However, she did not give in and fought them. On her own, she managed to hack into the entire information vault in the FIA and forwarded everything she found to our mailboxes. Tell me, General Ji, is such a person unworthy of being escorted back by our jets?
“Also, for your information, all these precious documents that Gu Nianzhi risked her life to get for us took three whole days to decode due to the central control room being tied up keeping surveillance on the voting campaign. We lost out on the best window of time to decode those documents.”
General Ji was almost speechless. He put on his glasses hastily and began to look through the documents. He was so agitated that he could not speak. As he looked at the documents, he realized, These are the real treasures! Gu Nianzhi’s 90 million donations totally paled in comparison to this information!
Huo Shaoheng looked on silently and waited until General Ji was done looking through the information before continuing, “May I know if you still wish to pursue the complaint that I was abusing my authority for personal use, sir? If you pursue this, I am not afraid to face the panel and board, and will attend military court with confidence as well. I will just bring all these documents and evidence and let everyone decide if what I did was right!
“What was so wrong about escorting our country’s hero with our jets? Who isn’t comfortable with me saving Gu Nianzhi, and why are they uncomfortable? Are they really uncomfortable for the right reasons?! Must we force geniuses who are willing to sacrifice for the country like Gu Nianzhi to go to another country to be their citizens before we are truly satisfied with our doings?! If we have these people among us, can we call them to be traitors, betrayers, and people who backstab their country, then?!”
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