Chapter 1447: Secrets Buried by Time (5)
Yin s.h.i.+xiong’s heart skipped a beat when he heard that He Zhichu had returned to the United States.
He stopped nagging and rushed out of the car. He opened the door and said anxiously to Huo Shaoheng, “Huo Shao, the building manager said that Professor He returned to the United States a few hours ago…”
Huo Shaoheng narrowed his eyes and got out of the car. He walked quickly to the building manager and knocked on his counter. “Hand over the keys to Professor He’s apartment. The police are investigating this case.”
“Police… police… ?!” the building manager was shocked. “What crime did Professor He commit? You want to investigate him?!”
“This has nothing to do with you.” Huo Shaoheng waved his hand, and Yin s.h.i.+xiong quickly took out a police identification card.
The special operations forces had a lot of identification cards. They would take whatever they needed whenever they needed it.
The building manager stared at Yin s.h.i.+xiong and said nervously, “… you didn’t flash this card just now.”
Yin s.h.i.+xiong replied nonchalantly, “The police are handling this case. I just wanted to test you.”
The building manager had no choice but to call the campus security department again. After obtaining permission, he brought Huo Shaoheng and Yin s.h.i.+xiong upstairs.
Huo Shaoheng and Yin s.h.i.+xiong opened the door to Professor He’s apartment and walked in.
Everything was in order in the house. There was still a gla.s.s of red wine on the coffee table.
It appeared as though he had just gone downstairs for a walk. It was impossible to tell that the resident living here had already flown to America.
Why exactly did He Zhichu return to America?
Huo Shaoheng didn’t say a word. He took Yin s.h.i.+xiong along with him and left He Zhichu’s apartment.
After returning to the headquarter of the Special operation forces’ encampment ground, Huo Shaoheng issued some instructions, “Tell a few people to keep an eye on B University. Inform me the moment He Zhichu returns. Also, have the North American field agents keep an eye on He Zhichu. He has residences in both Boston and Was.h.i.+ngton.”
Huo Shaoheng pondered for a moment before adding, “Also, keep tabs on the He family in South America. Check if He Zhichu returns home.”
Yin s.h.i.+xiong memorized every detail and quickly went to allocate the manpower.
Ten minutes later, Yin s.h.i.+xiong returned to report, “Huo, the manpower has been allocated. B University, Boston and Was.h.i.+ngton in North and South America. Everything is in place.”
After that, he asked in bewilderment, “At this juncture, why did Professor He suddenly return to the United States? Could it be related to Nianzhi’s whereabouts?”
Huo Shaoheng clenched his fists and said calmly, “If it’s not related, then he’s been too pretentious for the past two years.”
He had done so many things for Gu Nianzhi. In addition to the feelings he had expressed, could they all be fake?
Regardless, He Zhichu would never harm Gu Nianzhi. Huo Shaoheng was very sure of this, so even though he had many questions in his heart, he still waited patiently for He Zhichu’s plane to arrive at the American Airport.
It would take twelve hours to fly from the imperial capital to the eastern part of the United States.
It had already been four or five hours, and going to the United States was not as easy as going to Russia.
By the time he was done with all the paperwork, it would be too late to chase after him. He was also worried that it would be a trap like what had happened in Tungus. Hence, he did not act rashly this time.
Huo Shaoheng instructed Zhao Liangze to keep in contact with He Zhichu while he returned to his official residence.
It was already midnight. He went into his bedroom with a dark expression and took a few sets of clothes to change into before returning to the office building.
That night, he did not sleep again. He reexamined every aspect of the case to see if he had missed anything.
Gu Nianzhi’s diamond earring had been left behind, and her phone was unable to locate her. It was either a party who knew them very well or the doing of their foreign counterparts.
Because only their counterparts could do things in such a meticulous manner.
However, if it was a foreign counterpart, it was impossible for him to be completely ignorant of their movements.
One of the main tasks of the special operations forces in the field abroad was to keep an eye on their counterparts abroad.
If he had not noticed such a major incident, then Huo Shaoheng, as the great general, might have to commit suicide to atone for his crimes.
That would indicate that he had not his work done properly at all.
However, who could have done this to the extent of evading the eyes of their agents abroad?
He thought about it all the way. Every time he felt that there was a turning point, he would have new suspicions. It was as if he had walked into a dead end.
Huo Shaoheng continued to a.n.a.lyze the doc.u.ments in front of him. It was only when a ray of dawn crept in from the crack in the window next to his desk that he realized that it was already morning.
He glanced at his watch. It was already past six. In two hours, He Zhichu’s private plane would be arriving on the east coast of the United States, right?
The special operations forces in North America had sent him flight information from several major airports on the east coast of the United States a while back. They had confirmed that He Zhichu’s plane would land at Boston International Airport.
Huo Shaoheng heaved a sigh of relief. He planned to call He Zhichu as soon as his plane touched down at the airport.
It was time for them to have a good talk.
Huo Shaoheng gazed out the window at the rising sun. He rubbed his temples and got up to lie on the sofa for a while.
He immediately fell asleep. When he woke up again, two hours had pa.s.sed.
He Zhichu’s plane should have landed by now.
Huo Shaoheng jumped up from the sofa and ordered Yin s.h.i.+xiong, who had already arrived at work, to call He Zhichu immediately.
Yin s.h.i.+xiong immediately dialed the number, but it was still redirected to voicemail. No one answered the phone.
“Call the field office and inquire if He Zhichu’s plane has landed yet.” Huo Shaoheng crossed his arms and walked around the office.
The field officer of the Special Operations Force who was stationed at Boston International Airport looked at the information display and said to Yin s.h.i.+xiong, “The plane has just landed. I’ll go ask again.”
In the end, he went to the tarmac and walked around. His face was livid as he said to Yin s.h.i.+xiong, :… I’ve been played by him. Professor He’s private plane landed an hour ago, but he told the airport’s air traffic control not to change the landing time! So the display is still showing the original landing time!”
Yin s.h.i.+xiong also felt that something was wrong when he heard this.
He turned to look at Huo Shaoheng, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Huo Shao, Professor He already arrived in Boston an hour ago.”
“Then where is he?!” Huo Shaoheng stopped. “Why can’t I get through to him?!”
Yin s.h.i.+xiong shook his head with a wry smile. “How would I know? He just won’t pick up…”
“Tell Little Ze to come over. Change his number and change his IP. I don’t believe he won’t pick up.” Huo Shaoheng punched his desk and gritted his teeth. “This He Zhichu! What the h.e.l.l is he doing!”
Zhao Liangze was also called over and started to use all sorts of methods to contact He Zhichu.
However, be it was his phone or his landline, they were simply left on voicemail.
They tried for an hour until He Zhichu’s phone status suddenly changed to ‘the number you have dialed is not in service…’
It was exactly the same as when they had dialed Gu Nianzhi’s phone!
Yin s.h.i.+xiong and Zhao Liangze looked at each other. They both had a bad premonition.
Huo Shaoheng’s face was as dark as water. He strode over and stood behind Zhao Liangze. Just as he was about to see how He Zhichu was tracking he zhichu’s phone, his own phone suddenly rang.
He quickly took it out, but before he could open it, a text message popped up. It was actually from He Zhichu!
[He Zhichu]: I’m going home, and I’m not coming back. You don’t have to continue looking for Nianzhi. If you want to avenge Little Nianzhi, kill Gu Yanran.
What did this mean?
Huo Shaoheng was momentarily stunned.
What did He Zhichu mean?
Did he know that Gu Nianzhi had already…?
Huo Shaoheng felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if the Arctic air had suddenly invaded his office, freezing him from the inside out.
He stood in the middle of his office, his eyes fixed on his phone, as still as a statue.
The veins on his forehead bulged, and he gripped his phone so tightly that it was almost squashed.
When he noticed him, Yin s.h.i.+xiong rushed over to take the phone from him and shouted, “Don’t vent your anger on the phone, there are many important messages inside…”
At that moment, he saw the text message He Zhichu sent. It flashed on Huo Shaoheng’s phone screen and disappeared.
The phone screen turned black, and it was locked again.
Yin s.h.i.+xiong’s eyes were wide open, and his mouth was wide enough to fit an egg.
“This, this, this… What does Professor He mean by this?! Nianzhi… Nianzhi has already been killed? Could this be related to Gu Yanran?!” Yin s.h.i.+xiong couldn’t believe it.
He screamed, “… it can’t be? ! We specifically locked Gu Yanran up! She’s been locked up for almost a year! How could she have planned such an operation?”
“If she’s so powerful, why didn’t she go to heaven? Why didn’t she kidnap herself first and deal with Nianzhi first?”
“This is completely illogical!”
Yin s.h.i.+xiong refused to believe this possibility.
Zhao Liangze looked up from behind the computer and asked blankly, “Big Xiong, it’s so early in the morning, what are you talking about? What happened to Nianzhi? She’ll be fine, and Xiao Ye will be fine as well… Besides, what does this have to do with Gu Yanran?”
Huo Shaoheng couldn’t figure it out either, and for some reason, his heart was beating wildly.
The thumping sound echoed in his ears like the beating of a drum.
What did He Zhichu mean?!
After a long time, Huo Shaoheng heaved a sigh and slowly calmed down. He looked up and enunciated word by word, “… I want to see her if she’s alive, and I want to see her corpse if she’s dead. Even if you can run away, you can’t run away from G.o.d. Have our people in North America follow He Zhichu immediately, and then have the South American field agents guard the area around the He family’s home in South America. We’ll see when he returns.”
He Zhichu wanted to run away after saying such stupid words?
Did he really think he didn’t know where his hometown was?
He wouldn’t come back if he didn’t say so?
Huo Shaoheng’s expression was solemn.
Two years ago, when He Zhichu first appeared, Huo Shaoheng had sent people to investigate his background in South America.
The underground G.o.dfather of South America was indeed very powerful, but no matter how powerful he was, he could not compete with the power of the entire country of Huaxia.
Just like how Yin s.h.i.+xiong and Zhao Liangze reacted, Huo Shaoheng also refused to believe that Gu Nianzhi had already been killed.
However, the mention of ‘Gu Yanran’ in He Zhichu’s text made him vigilant.
Was there really a weakpoint in their manpower?
Such that Gu Yanran could run amok in their territory?
But just as Yin s.h.i.+xiong had said, this did not make sense at all.
If Gu Yanran really had that much power, her first priority would be to get herself out of jail.
Otherwise, she would be at the mercy of Huo Shaoheng. Even if she killed Gu Nianzhi, she wouldn’t be able to escape death.
It didn’t make sense.
But since He Zhichu had said so, he must have had his reasons.
Huo Shaoheng thought about it and made up his mind. He said, “… as for Gu Yanran, I want you to check all the surveillance cameras at the place where Gu Yanran is being held. Don’t make any moves for the time being. Tighten up security on the outside, but loosen up on the inside. Don’t alert the enemy. Check to see if anyone has contacted her.”
He wanted to wait and see who was so powerful that they would dare to support Gu Yanran at this juncture.
This place was the territory of the special operations forces. There were people more important and powerful than Gu Yanran, but so far, no one had been able to do anything when they were locked inside.
What was going on?