Gu Nianzhi had deliberately hung up on Huo Shaoheng. It was wonderfully cathartic.
She stood up, stretched, and began walking back and forth in her bedroom. When she was done stretching her muscles, she ducked into Huo Shaoheng’s gym.
The gym was equipped with a comprehensive range of exercise machines.
Gu Nianzhi absolutely loathed the treadmill; she thought of it as her archenemy. She had not expected to have to face this “nightmare” again, not after having moved out of the military base two years ago.
She stared at the innocent treadmill; her eyes were grim as she slowly walked over to it. A small Swiss army knife gleamed in her hand.
Five minutes later, Gu Nianzhi walked out of Huo Shaoheng’s gym with a triumphant smile on her face.
She had secretly cut up the data lines for the treadmill…╮(╯▽╰)╭.
Gu Nianzhi cheerfully walked into the bathroom to take her shower.
She stood in the shower, and felt the muscles in her arms. Her heart was still beating fast from what she had done to the treadmill.
Her arms had turned all bulky and sinewy the last time she trained. She found the muscles unsightly; she was never going to put herself through that hellish training program again.
Gu Nianzhi enjoyed her unexpected two-week holiday at the military base.
One of the first things she did was to visit Brother Li at the hospital, accompanied by Chen Lie.
Little Li had not expected her to visit him. He was very surprised and touched by her gesture.
He had put his life on the line for many people over the years, but Gu Nianzhi was the only one thoughtful and caring enough to check on him afterwards.
It had been his duty and responsibility to protect them, of course. Even so, it was hard not to take it personally when no one came around to see how he was doing. It was not a happy feeling to be treated like a disposable tool, to be discarded when he was no longer useful.
Little Li was therefore very glad to see Gu Nianzhi.
Gu Nianzhi spent the entire day in his ward. She helped him get his food, picked some of the better movies for him to watch, and made sure the nurse changed his dressings. She even helped him post a few letters.
Gu Nianzhi was perplexed by the letters.
“Brother Li, why don’t you just email or text your family?”
Little Li was sitting up on his hospital bed, watching a movie on his iPad. He said to her, his eyes still glued to the screen, “We’re not allowed to have accounts on any kind of social media. We can’t use any of the apps, either. Same goes for email.”
Gu Nianzhi was speechless. She stared at him, her eyes wide and dubious.
“Some of my colleagues are on social media, but only because their work requires it. Everything they do is fully monitored, of course.” Little Li gave a wry smile. “Don’t tell Mister Huo I told you. He’ll flay me alive.”
Gu Nianzhi was always happy to hear about Huo Shaoheng from someone else. She sat beside Little Li’s bed and asked eagerly, “But you’re okay with your job?”
Gu Nianzhi had grown up with the internet; she could not imagine a life without the internet and social media.
Little Li’s plain-looking face was suddenly radiant. He nodded enthusiastically. “I love my job. I don’t care if I have to remain behind the scenes for the rest of my life, or if no one knows what I’ve accomplished. I have no regrets.”
Gu Nianzhi looked at Little Li, fascinated, but her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking of Huo Shaoheng and how majestic he had looked in the army’s Special Taskforce uniform.
…
Feng Yichen was sitting on the sofa in her house, a bottle of beer in her hand. Her eyes, blurry from all the alcohol, were fixed upon the TV: she was watching an interview on the Dufeng Mountain Resort Villa kidnapping. She took a swig from the beer bottle every once in a while.
“Hahahaha… that little b*tch sure is lucky. She actually got out of it unharmed!” Feng Yichen flung the beer bottle onto the floor and began to laugh hysterically.
The beer inside the bottle sloshed all over the living room. It made a huge mess, but she wasn’t in the mood to care.
Brother Bin opened the door and walked in. He smiled as he said to her, “Why are you drinking all by yourself?”
“Because I’m happy…” Feng Yichen got up and threw herself into Brother Bin’s arms, completely drunk. “So happy, hahahaha…”
“I’m happy, too.” Unlike Feng Yichen, Brother Bin was actually happy. “You’re so clever. You sent those Big Circle Boys to their deaths with such an easy ploy.”
Feng Yichen giggled and gave a drunken burp. “Eh, what’s that got to do with me? You give me too much credit, Brother Bin. They were just unlucky, I had nothing to do with it.”
“Heh heh, thought I didn’t know, did you? I know you secretly called up the students’ families, had them pressure the police to act quickly. That was why the Big Circle Boys got busted so easily – it was all because of you!” Brother Bin gave her a knowing pat on the back.
Feng Yichen could not help the chill that was now travelling down her spine.
She had not expected Brother Bin to be watching her every move. He had even known that she had secretly called the Mei family, the Wang family, and the Cao family…
Feng Yichen decided it was too risky to continue playing dumb. She suppressed the feelings of disgust inside her and said gently, “I did it for you, Brother Bin. I knew I had to get rid of them when you told me you didn’t like them.”
“Your devotion and loyalty will be rewarded – I won’t let you down, not for as long as I live!” Brother Bin was beside himself with joy. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
Deep down, Feng Yichen was crying out in frustration and resentment.
Like hell I’m going to spend my whole life with you!
But she was powerless against him.
The two of them stumbled into the bedroom, kissing and undressing along the way.
Brother Bin’s phone suddenly rang.
He was annoyed. He did not want to take the call, but got out his phone anyway. He saw that the call was from one of his closest confidants; he answered the phone with a quick swipe. “This better be important!”
“Brother Bin! The cops found our warehouse! They took everything away!”
“What?! Stay there, I’m going over right this moment!” Brother Bin’s blood pressure had spiked upon hearing this. He shoved Feng Yichen away and dashed out.
“Brother Bin, don’t come! The cops are already out to arrest you…”
Unfortunately for Brother Bin, he did not hear this last sentence.
He had just arrived at the parking lot downstairs when several armed SWAT policemen walked over to him and produced an arrest warrant. “Zhang Bin! You are suspected of smuggling and concealing military munitions. We are officially arresting you now.”
Brother Bin knew that this was the end of the road for him. He yelled, hysterically, “Want a piece of me? Bring it!”
He reached for the gun around his waist, but was promptly shot dead by the SWAT police. He had not even had the chance to remove the safety on his gun.
“Arrest his mistress, Feng Yichen.” A masked SWAT officer motioned towards the upper floors by inclining his head.
Four or five policemen immediately secured the entrance to the elevators and stairwells in the building. Two policemen made their way upstairs to arrest Feng Yichen.
Feng Yichen looked through the peephole and saw the policemen standing outside, armed with loaded guns. She was so frightened by the sight her teeth would not stop chattering.
She fumbled with the door latch, her hands trembling, but could not get the door open.
The SWAT policemen outside were getting impatient. They shouted, “Open the door, now!” and smashed through the solid mahogany door with a mighty kick.
Feng Yichen was instantly thrown to the ground.
The SWAT policemen kept their guns pointed at her head as they cautiously stepped into the room.
A policewoman handcuffed her and led her away. The remaining policemen searched the premises, and made several unexpected discoveries. They hastily sent what they had found to the Special Operations Forces military base.
This operation had been masterminded by Zhao Liangze and carried out by the SWAT team from the Special Operations Forces.
“Lieutenant Colonel Zhao, the raid has been carried out successfully. All the military munitions have been confiscated. The main suspect, Brother Bin, was shot to death, while his mistress, Feng Yichen, has been detained. The Customs officers involved in this case have also been arrested and brought to justice.”
The Special Operations Forces always hit fast and hard, like a bolt out of the blue.
Within two days, every single suspect in C City who had even the slightest connection to the case had been arrested and brought to justice. This included several of the government officials working in Customs, as well. All this had been accomplished while Huo Shaoheng was still busy with his meetings, over in the capital city.
On this day, Huo Shaoheng had just walked into the conference room for the Ministry of National Defense when the Deputy Director of the Secret Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Deputy Representative to the United Nations called out to him, their faces solemn and grim. “Major General Huo, a raid was carried out in C City under your orders. Please explain yourself.”