All her blood was in her stomach digesting food, so she was feeling rather lethargic.
He Zhichu looked at the glass of red wine in his hand and set it down gently, “I’ve already eaten. Have you had dinner yet?”
“I just ate, I’m feeling so sleepy.” Gu Nianzhi yawned. “Is there something I can help you with?”
He Zhichu paused as he looked out into the night through his window, and asked, “Where are you right now?”
Although Gu Nianzhi knew perfectly well it was none of his business whether she was with Huo Shaoheng or not, still, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at the unexpected question.
Uneasily, she adjusted herself on the couch and answered softly. “…I’m …I’m at Huo Shao’s official residence.”
He Zhichu closed his eyes as he suppressed his feelings, consigning them to the back of his mind before continuing, “Alright. Do you know where the violet electric sparks between the Japanese Sea and Huaxia waters originated from?”
Gu Nianzi said nothing.
She had not expected that He Zhichu would question her about the matter.
After hesitating for a while she shook her head. “I don’t know. Does Professor He know?”
“Do you not think that the violet electric sparks are rather similar to the blue hole’s waters on the Caribbean Sea?”
He Zhichu turned on his computer to pull up a photo of the violet electric sparks seen on the blue hole’s waters within the Caribbean Sea. He took a screenshot of a picture showing the violet electrical sparks between the Japan Sea and the Huaxia waters.
He put the two photos side by side on his computer monitor. If one didn’t pay attention to the surrounding details in each photo, they might well assume that these were simply photos of the same location, taken from different angles.
Gu Nianzhi sat up from the couch and tried to recall the violet electric sparks at the waters of the blue hole on the Caribbean Sea. She mused out loud, “It does seem pretty similar in appearance, but doesn’t all lightning look the same?”
“That would be lightning that comes from the sky. Do you know how much energy is required to create this many violet electric sparks on the ocean’s surface?” He Zhichu scoffed. He shut off his computer.
Gu Nianzhi’s heart jolted.
Professor He was somehow able to immediately deduce that the generation of the violet electric sparks required massive amounts of energy.
Song Jinning had been the one to tell her about the powerful energy present in the magnetic field. It was only then that Gu Nianzhi had come up with the idea of transforming the magnetic field into an electrical one.
If it weren’t for that immensely strong magnetic field that had been there to begin with, there was no way Gu Nianzhi would have been able to transform it into an electric field that was powerful enough to generate violet electric sparks.
So at the crux of the matter was a question. Where had the Japanese gotten a hold of such a powerful magnetic field?
Gu Nianzhi considered this before questioning He Zhichu. “Professor He, do you know what kind of energy could generate an electric field as potent as this? Where could such immense energy come from?”
Her words went straight to the point.
He Zhichu rubbed at his temples before replying quietly, “You’d have to ask the Japanese to answer that question.” He paused, then finally gave voice his worries, “Nianzhi, you have to be on your guard regarding your safety for the next little while. If something happens and you have to leave Huo Shaoheng, you can give me a call. I’ll come to stay with you.”
He Zhichu and Huo Shaoheng were probably the only people who could guarantee Gu Nainzhi’s safety.
Gu Nianzhi grew anxious, “Professor He, do you know something? You shouldn’t hide things at a time like this, you know? If you don’t let me in on the truth and I’m left in the dark, it might lead to the kind of situation, where accidents are most likely to happen.”
Gu Nainzhi would never force He Zhichu to say anything he didn’t want to say, but this time He Zhichu had clearly hinted that Gu Nianzhi could be facing mortal danger. Gu Nianzhi felt like she had the right to know everything that might cause her life to be endangered.
If He Zhichu continued to beat around the bush, he would be putting her life at risk.
He could very well have chosen to say nothing at all. What could his intentions be, why had he only told her half the truth?
Gu Nianzhi began to grow unhappy.
She got up from the couch and held her phone sitting in front of the computer, “Professor He, you must have some clues if you are mention such things?”
He grew silent before continuing, “Have you been paying any attention to the progress of your commissioned lawsuit in Japan?”
Gu Nianzhi stiffened for a second, “What lawsuit?” As she spoke, she suddenly recalled it. “Oh, I back when I got my American law firm to go to Japan and file my suit regarding the illegal gifting of funds and tracing of my fortune!”
“Right, you still remember that? I was thinking that you were such an airhead that you managed to forget about a fortune of 15 billion USD.” He Zhichu snickered, “Smith and his legal team have been in Japan for almost two months now, but you’ve already forgotten them so completely?”
“How could I forget!” Gu Nianzhi said with a giggle, “I remember, but I haven’t gotten any updates from them of late. I just assumed everything was normal. No news is good news.”
He Zhichu sighed. “They told me that the case will be ending soon. They think they have a very high chance of winning the case, so they are thinking of asking you to bring them to dinner after the lawsuit is concluded.”
“That’s not a problem!” Gu Nianzhi agreed quickly, “Of course! I’ll have to treat them if they win the case!”
“Yeah.” He Zhichu’s eyes were completely serious, “This is what I wanted you to be careful about.”
“…Professor He, are you joking?” Gu Nianzhi grew upset, “You’re asking me to be careful about something as trivial as that? You’re worried that I’ll be crushed having too much money?”
He Zhichu paused. He could detect the anger in Gu Nianzhi’s tone, and had no choice but to continue gently, “Humans will die for money. Do you understand? Think about it, wouldn’t it be an easy thing for them to request the case be overturn and refuse to return the money in the eventuality of your death? These people will be prepared to do anything for the sake of 15 billion USD.”
So that was what he was talking about. Gu Nianzhi sighed, relieved. “I’m not scared, if the Angels on Earth charity dares to make a move against me, I’ll make sure they will regret it!”
He Zhichu smiled slightly. “I believe that you have the ability to make them regret it, but while it may be easy to dodge a spear in the light, it’s harder to avoid an arrow that’s shot in the dark. Who knows how far they will go? It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I understand, Professor He. Thank you for your warning.” Gu Nianzhi smiled. She began browsing the internet and ended the call with He Zhichu.
He Zhichu quietly sighed as he looked at the disconnected call on his phone.
He didn’t know how long more he could last, but as long as he was around for even one more day… He refused to allow Gu Nianzhi to repeat the same fate she had experienced in the past.
…
Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong had watched the entirety of the taped interrogation of Hong Kangquan. When it finished, they both shook their head in unison.
Even though Hong Kangquan had already fallen into such straits, his lips were kept tightly shut. As expected of someone with a military background, not to mention the Director of the Secret Service.
He was more adept than the interrogation personnel at playing games of reverse interrogation and reverse reconnaissance.
He either pretended to be deaf and mute to all the questions or shook his head and pled ignorance. He insisted he was being framed since he had never done anything to harm the nation or its citizens.
Even when the interrogator brought out video evidence of Hong Kangquan meeting with Japanese spies, as well as footage of the location that the Special Operations Forces personnel had gone to in order to retrieve him from the Japanese, he kept insisting he had been held hostage by the Japanese.
“What about this person, was he also murdered by the Japanese?” In the recording, the young Special Operations Forces personnel put a photo of the murdered airport policeman in front of Hong Kangquan. “Don’t forget, there are surveillance cameras in here too!”
Hong Kangquan languidly eyed the interrogation personnel, and replied in a calm voice, “He was indeed murdered by a Japanese person. I was taken hostage by the Japanese and kept attempting to escape from them. But then I was rescued by Major General Huo afterward. I think the misunderstandings between us cannot be resolved in so short a period of time.”
“It’s unfortunate that the evidence is compelling so you won’t be able to just weasel your way out of it.” The personnel concluded the first round of interrogations and ordered someone to bring Hong Kangquan back to detention.
The interrogation footage ended and Huo Shaoheng thought for a while, before deciding to try another method to get Hong Kangquan to talk.
He found information about the murdered Weibo blogger on his computer and printed out a few photos, personally taking them downstairs to the interrogation room. He sat down and said, “Bring Hong Kangquan in here.”
Hong Kangquan had just fallen asleep when he was dragged out for the second interrogation, so his body and mind were still recalibrating.
Such a sudden interrogation was a true test of someone’s mental strength.
When most people were sleep-deprived, so they would confess to anything if asked, ‘Yes, yes, yes… Ok, ok, ok, … Let me sleep some more,’ they would say.
However, Hong Kangquan seemed to be able to fully wake up from the moment he followed his handlers to the interrogation room.
Hong Kangquan finally cracked a grin when he saw Huo Shaoheng sitting in the interrogation seat, “Shaoheng, you finally came here yourself. I’ve already said it so many times before, I have not betrayed my country. I was being taken hostage, so why won’t your people believe me?”
“Oh really?” Huo Shaoheng pushed the photo of the corpse of Lu Dayong, the Weibo blogger who wrote ‘Churchill’s Garden’ toward Hong Kangquan. “Tell me, do you recognize this person?”
…