"I dare not be my own judge, but I would bet that he would never have died if I had not tried to dominate Tianhe. He was in his soph.o.m.ore year, preparing to go to college abroad in Australia. Everything was ready. But on the way to the airport, a strange traffic accident killed him. His whole body was crushed. His brain splattered all over the road. I will never forget the heavy snow of that day. I was sitting on the ground holding his body, wailing." Tears streamed down Zhao Jun"s face. Even if he had a cruel heart, a parent"s love for their child could not be extinguished. He was getting old and could not afford to make trouble after already having suffered this tragedy. It was not difficult to understand why he chose to retire at the prime of his life.
Qin Feng had a sudden realization.
He had been trying to make Zhao Jun soar to the top, so that Sister Flower could shelter beneath his wings and live a happy life.
But Jia Quan had been there the whole time. If he wasn"t dealt with, even if Zhao Jun wiped out all of his rivals, he would still be easily knocked aside by Jia Quan. And once Sister Flower"s protective dome fell, how could Qin Feng focus on carrying out his Special Forces duties?
In fact, as usual, Qin Feng could apply to his superiors to protect Sister Flower through other channels. Although Xiao He did not have martyr status, there were special death benefits for the relatives of Special Forces operatives. However, the mole within the organization had still not been found out and Qin Feng didn"t want to put Sister Flower in any more danger. Besides, he just didn"t have the heart to let her know about Xiao He"s death.
He would postpone the revelation as long as he could.
What"s more, Sister Flower was an extremely righteous person. She would never leave Zhao Jun"s side in the middle of a crisis. All Qin Feng could do to help her was remove a few minor obstacles in her way.
"I didn"t know. I"m sorry." Qin Feng sighed, gently patting Zhao Jun on the shoulder.
"Well, his mother and I were already divorced, but the child followed me. I sent him to a prestigious boarding school early on and gave him enough money to cover his living expenses every month. No one bothered too much with him and sometimes I didn"t see him for as much as two months at a time. Back then, I was busy making money and expanding my power. I didn"t care to communicate with my child at all. Even when he was around, I didn"t feel too attached to him. Anyway, he was still just a child. Once he grew up, things would be different. But when he died in my arms, I thought about how I carried him around on my shoulders when he was a kid and how we went to the amus.e.m.e.nt park as a family, where he called me "Dad" for the first time. He saved his allowance for months to buy me a birthday present I never wore. He… He seemed so alive all the time, but I just couldn"t see him. I just couldn"t hear his voice. Do you know what I mean? The older I get, the more I miss him. I often have nightmares in the middle of the night, dreaming of him crying out to me on the edge of a dark cliff, saying that he wants to go home, he wants to go home… But I really can"t forget my son. He was seventeen years old; he was going to be an adult. He could have had the best life and education money can buy in Australia. But he…"
Zhao Jun smacked his desk violently, the blood on his hand splattering all over the surface. Qin Feng looked at it for a while and sighed. He couldn"t stand the thought of this kind of untimely death. He came to really understand the knot in Zhao Jun"s heart. This was what made an ambitious man cautious.
It seemed that the plan had to be changed.
Even if Zhao Jun defeated Ji Jiangshan and Meng Zhaolin, there would still be a "final boss" who had to be confronted. Without the aid of external forces, Zhao Jun couldn"t beat Jia Quan even if he had three heads and six arms.
"Alright. I"ll handle it."
Qin Feng gave Zhao Jun a hug and said, "Suffering makes you stronger. You should make another kid while you"re still young. You"ll feel less grief if you have someone else to care for."
!!!
At three o"clock in the morning, in Tianhe"s famous Yuanbo Garden, by the lake.
A night breeze blew lightly by. Qin Feng came to the appointed place in a long-sleeved shirt. Green Dragon stood quietly, facing the lake.
The atmosphere of this meeting was unusually stiff.
Even if Qin Feng wanted to pretend to be happy, he found that when he really faced Green Dragon, he couldn"t fake anything. In his heart, he always thought of Green Dragon as his best friend. There could be no pretense between them.
The life and death situations they had experienced together were innumerable and the number of times they saved each other"s lives was uncountable. If there was still a need to fake anything, then what was a true brother anyway?
"Green Dragon."
Qin Feng stopped two meters from him. It is reasonable to say that the keen Green Dragon should have heard the sound of his footsteps from at least 50 meters away, but he did not react.
There was only one explanation: Green Dragon"s mind was preoccupied. He was thinking about extremely complicated things, perhaps making a very difficult choice.
He slowly turned around with a rigid smile. He extended his arm to greet Qin Feng, but this time the gesture seemed forced.
"Here you are at last."
Green Dragon hugged Qin Feng"s solid back, breathing deeply.
"Any news of Green Snake?" Qin Feng looked to the lake sparkling with starlight, his heart in turmoil. Green Dragon"s behavior increasingly confirmed his guess, and this was something Qin Feng didn"t want to see.
The facts were laid out before him, but he could not believe them.
"No. It"s not looking good," Green Dragon sighed. "I feel terrible for her. I should have spent more time looking for her in the Stanb River at the time, but I was too focused on getting ash.o.r.e."
"Well, there was nothing you could do in that situation. The current was too strong; it was impossible to find her," Qin Feng said. "Did you give the topographic map to General Gu? What did he say? Did he have any plans for the next step to destroy Shark Kun"s Nest? I"ve been in Tianhe this whole time, so I"m out of the loop. Make sure to tell me if there"s anything important I missed. I"ve been busy making a few arrangements here so I can leave in peace."
It"s been a long time since Qin Feng thought about the topographic map of Shark Kun"s nest. Even when he had spoken to Gu Shaoyun and asked him to put some pressure on Jia Quan, he did not mention the topographic map. He wanted to leave room for Green Dragon to act as the middleman and pa.s.s on the information. It seemed complicated, but in fact, it was beneficial to both sides. If the mole was discovered, Qin Feng would have room to maneuver.
He could not trust anyone in the military until things became clearer, including Green Dragon.
He was safe for the time being, but the sniper attack had left him unnerved.
He wasn"t afraid for his own safety. Instead, he felt an inexplicable chill.
Those who should fall would fall.
And you couldn"t escape from those who should come.