Chapter 1540: The Worst Day

“I’ll tell you when we meet.” Qin Zhining was smart for once, and he didn’t let He Zhichu get the information right away.

He Zhichu knew that Qin Zhining worked directly under his father, He Chengjian. He only listened to his father and was loyal to his father.

He Zhichu was nervous and was about to move, but he felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on him. He said sternly, “What about Nianzhi? Aren’t you supposed to protect her at the hotel?!”

Earlier, it was agreed upon that Qin Zhining would stay at the hotel to be Gu Nianzhi’s personal bodyguard.

Qin Zhining was now honest. “Nianzhi is with me.” He added, “It was General He’s order. Young Master He, please understand the difficulties we have as subordinates.”

Finally, he patted his chest and said, “With me personally protecting her, what are you worried about? Don’t worry, even if I die, I’ll protect Nianzhi.”

He Zhichu wouldn’t be so easily fooled by Qin Zhining.

He thought quickly and felt that their upcoming mission was too dangerous, and Nianzhi wasn’t suitable to be present.

He didn’t tell Qin Zhining about the KGB’s new location, but only said, “Put Nianzhi on the phone.”

Qin Zhining looked at Gu Nianzhi and turned off the Bluetooth headset. He said to her, “Young Master He is currently on a mission. He is not only facing the cunning and powerful KGB, but also the most elite CIA secret service agents in Asia. If anything goes wrong, he will lose his head.”

Gu Nianzhi raised her eyebrows and smiled nonchalantly. “Qin Zhining, what do you mean by saying these things to me? Do you think I will hold Young Master He back?”

“I just hope you don’t say anything you shouldn’t.” Qin Zhining said as he placed a bluetooth earpiece beside Gu Nianzhi’s ear. He wore the other earpiece and signaling her to speak, he turned on the microphone.

This way, no matter what Gu Nianzhi said to He Zhichu, Qin Zhining could hear everything clearly.

Gu Nianzhi’s mouth twitched and said, “You don’t have to do this.”

If she wanted to tattletale to He Zhichu, she wouldn’t have followed him here.

Since she was here, her idea had nothing to do with He Zhichu.

Gu Nianzhi said into the headset, “Young Master He, where are you? Qin Zhining and I will be coming to find you soon.”

He Zhichu was relieved to hear that nothing was wrong with her voice. “Don’t come over, it’s dangerous here.” He comforted her softly. “Be good, I’ll be back soon.”

He hung up on Qin Zhining without telling them where he was going.

He Zhichu’s expression was grim as he led his team to meet up with the military’s reconnaissance unit in M City. He rushed to the KGB’s location and picked up He Chengjian’s call.

“General He, what the h.e.l.l are you doing today? It’s so dangerous today. Why did you ask Qin Zhining to bring Nianzhi here?” He Zhichu was in a bad mood.

He sat in the Jeep that was driving at high speed. He looked ahead with the infrared night vision telescope in his hand and questioned He Chengjian.

He Chengjian sat in the study room of the He family’s mansion in the imperial capital. He looked at the information he had gathered and said in a low voice, “Ah-Chu, I heard that the KGB has changed their location?”

He Zhichu replied, “They said that the International Airport is too conspicuous. It has been changed to a temporary airport at the foot of the mountain. We are on our way there now.”

He Chengjian sent the location of the temporary airport to Qin Zhining without batting an eye. At the same time, he tried to persuade He Zhichu, “… Ah-Chu, don’t be sentimental. I asked Zhining to bring her here for a reason. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Father! How could it have nothing to do with me?! Everything that has to do with Nianzhi has to do with me!” He Zhichu growled. His cold and clear voice was so deep that it was hoa.r.s.e. He gripped his automatic rifle tightly with his other hand. “I will complete today’s mission perfectly! Please don’t cause any more trouble!”

“I know.” He Chengjian’s voice softened, “Ah-Chu, I have never been disappointed in you. You have always been the pride of your mother and me since we were young. I know you will complete the mission perfectly, but leave Nianzhi to me. I will give you a satisfactory answer.”

“Father! Can you wait until tonight’s mission is over before you take action? Once I clear the battlefield, I will help you complete the mission!” He Zhichu saw that he couldn’t convince He Chengjian to give up on his mission, he could only settle for the next best thing. He wanted to stall for time first.

Now that the arrow was already on the bow, there was nowhere to turn back.

Because Gu Nianzhi had already been brought by Qin Zhining to his battlefield.

He had no way out.

He Chengjian obviously knew what he was planning.

He smiled slightly. White smoke rose from the cigarette in his hand, and his fingers caressed the picture of his wife on the desk. “Ah-Chu, trust me. I won’t let you down. Everything I’ve done has been for your own good. For the sake of your and Nianzhi’s lifelong happiness.”

He Zhichu knew that no matter how many things he said, it would never be as convincing as the last sentence.

His feelings for Gu Nianzhi had already become his obsession. As a father, how could he not know? How could he not help him?

And tonight’s plan could kill three birds with one stone.

Not only would it make Gu Nianzhi completely loyal to He Zhichu, but it would also give him the opportunity to eliminate the Ace of the Far East and frame a third party…

He Chengjian’s expression was extremely determined. The lines of his jaw were square and firm. They showed his unquestionable authority and determination as a superior for many years.

His plans had never failed, and this time wouldn’t be an exception.

..

Under the night sky, M City was shrouded in glittering lights. At the foot of the city’s Mount Rockfall, a silver Bombardier Challenger 300 medium-sized business jet was parked on a temporarily cleared piece of land.

This private jet was equipped with a twin-engine HTF 7000 turbofan engine. It could carry eight to nine pa.s.sengers and only two crew members.

The runway of the temporary airport was lit by rows of floor lamps that guided the direction of the runway.

The weather at night wasn’t bad. The dark blue sky was dotted with stars, and the moonlight was gentle.

The elevation of Mount Rockfall was only 170 meters, but it was already the highest mountain in M city.

He Zhichu and his men quickly arrived. They quietly climbed over Mount Rockfall from the back of the mountain and arrived at the mountainside of Mount Rockfall.

They occupied the best spot that overlooked the bushes at the foot of the mountain and the temporary airport not far away.

Not long after, they saw more than a dozen people sneaking up the mountain. They hid in the bushes at the foot of the mountain while facing the direction of the temporary airport.

After more than ten minutes, a few open-top military jeeps roared as they came from the roundabout path around the mountain. The headlights were turned on loudly, and the sound of drunken swearing in Russian could be heard coming from the jeeps.

The jeeps stopped at the fork in the mountain road with a squeak. Tall and strong Russians walked out of the jeeps. Most of them had full beards, and they seemed to be drunk.

A man and a woman got out of the jeep last.

The man was tall, and the woman had a voluptuous figure. They both wore low hats that covered half of their faces.

Judging from their figures, they seemed to be Dresden and Linda.

At this moment, a rustling sound came from the bushes at the foot of the mountain.

“… Action!”

With a bang, the group of seemingly drunk Soviet people suddenly raised their hands and shot the streetlight cable near the temporary airport.

A burst of crackling sparks appeared from the cable, and the area quickly fell into darkness.

“Fire!”

The thicket at the foot of the mountain suddenly made a clicking sound.

It was the sound of a semi-automatic rifle equipped with a silencer.

Countless bullets interweaved with each other and shot toward the place where the drunk Soviets were standing.

The group of Soviets who got out of the jeep had long changed places. Each of them pulled out their weapons and began to fight back.

At this moment, He Zhichu and the others also began to move on the mountainside.

Their guns were aimed at the group of people who were lying in ambush in the bushes at the foot of the mountain!

There was the thud thud thud of the sniper gun, the sound of hand-to-hand combat, and the low growl of a hiss. This piece of empty land that was used as a temporary airport was instantly thrown into chaos.

“F * ck! The CIA probably never expected us and the Soviet’s KGB to gang up together against them!”

He Zhichu’s team and scouts were so excited that their eyes turned red.

They had come from the back of the mountain and were lying in ambush halfway up the mountain. The group of people lying in ambush in the bushes at the foot of the mountain were the elite Secret Service agent and Special Forces sent from the CIA’s Asia Bureau.

The Americans’ goal wasn’t Dresden, but the Soviets who came to pick up Dresden, especially the Ace of the Far East, Huo Shaoheng.

The Huaxia Empire, who had already threw Dresden on the Soviets, had actually worked together with the Soviets to set them up!

The Huaxia Empire’s military operations team and the Regular Army’s special reconnaissance company’s firepower was too much for the CIA’s elite Secret Service agent and special forces in Asia to handle, especially since the Committee of State Security (KGB)’s Far East Bureau was also working together with them.

The battle was fierce and swift.

When Gu Nianzhi arrived with Qin Zhining, the battle was at its most intense.

Qin Zhining pulled her to hide behind a huge boulder. They avoided direct attacks from the mountainside, the foot of the mountain, and the temporary airport. However, the stray bullets from all over hit the boulder they were using as a s.h.i.+eld, the surrounding bushes and trees were also sliced into pieces.

Gu Nianzhi’s head was held down by Qin Zhining. She didn’t dare to look at the situation over there.

She silently looked at her watch.

Five minutes later, the sound of bullets outside gradually faded away. The battle seemed to have ended.

He Zhichu ordered his team and the reconnaissance company to clean up the battlefield.

“Reporting, chief. Four Secret Service agents and eight special forces have been annihilated. Two of them have escaped.”

He Zhichu went to examine the bodies and found that the four secret service agents who had been killed were the leaders of the four branches of the CIA in Asia.

In other words, this battle had destroyed the operations of the CIA in Asia for many years.

He Zhichu breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand. “Thank you for your hard work. You can continue.”

He brought two guards to the group of Russians and shook hands with the person standing at the front. “Happy working with you.”

“Happy working with you.” Two of the Russians were seriously injured and a few were slightly injured. The rest of them were fine.

He Zhichu glanced at these people and asked, “Where are Dresden and Linda?”

The two people who covered half of their faces weren’t Dresden and Linda at all.

Far away from He Zhichu, the Ace of the Far East stood among his own people, and said with an indifferent expression, “Their plane has already taken off four hours ago.”

He Zhichu’s expression suddenly changed, and he instantly understood. “You’re kidding me?! They didn’t change the airport at all!”

The Committee of State Security (KGB) had already sent Linda and Dresden back to Moscow before the KGB informed them that they were going to change the location at the last minute.

“There’s a saying in your Huaxia Empire that goes, ‘All is fair in war.’” his expression cold and arrogant, the Ace of the Far East toyed with his pistol. “Do we have the obligation to tell you the truth?”

“Our Deputy Commissioner, Linda, has returned to the Soviet Union with Mr. Dresden. Thank you for your hospitality. We’ll work together again next time.” The Ace of the Far East had a disdainful look on his face. With a flip of his wrist, he put the pistol back into the holster at his waist.

He was standing not that far from the boarding gate of the Bombardier Challenger 300 medium-sized state security plane and was surrounded by a tall secret service agent.

These people were obviously Caucasian. They were strong and well-built. They surrounded him from a very tricky angle. They couldn’t hit him from any angle, not to mention that he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Qin Zhining, who had led Gu Nianzhi to hide behind the Boulder, received He Chengjian’s order. “Zhining, put Nianzhi on the phone.”

Qin Zhining quickly gave Gu Nianzhi the Bluetooth headset.

“Nianzhi, it’s Uncle He.” He Chengjian’s voice was firm and gentle. “I have some news for you.”

“What news?” Gu Nianzhi asked nervously, her voice still trembling.

She knew it was her turn.

He Chengjian had risked everything to have Qin Zhining bring her to this battlefield. There had to be a purpose.

He Chengjian was very satisfied with her performance. She should be in a state of shock.

“You know that we’ve been monitoring the magnetic field experiment on the other side. We just found out that the other side may have made a major breakthrough, which means that the people on the other side may be coming over soon.” He told her patiently. He deliberately used fake information to test her reaction.

Gu Nianzhi didn’t believe a word of it, but still pretended to be surprised. “Really?! Can Major General Huo really come over? !”

“Most likely.” He Chengjian laughed. “I know you only have Major General Huo in your heart, and I also know that it’s not good to force things. Since you and Ah-Chu aren’t fated, I won’t force it.”

Although Gu Nianzhi was certain that He Chengjian was lying, she was still a little moved by his words.

If only what he said was true…

“… Thank you, Uncle He, for your understanding.” Gu Nianzhi wasn’t faking it at the moment. She spoke with sincerity, “You’re a good father, but what happened before was really too much. It wasn’t for your son’s sake. Now that you’ve repented, it’s Young Master He’s fortune and our blessing.”

“Hahahaha, is that so?” He chengjian listened to Gu Nianzhi’s words. His heart was boiling with anger, but his voice was still calm. “But you also know that if Major General Huo from the other side wants to come over, he has to die or not exist. Do you want Major General Huo from the other side to come over safely?”

Gu Nianzhi sniffled and quickly looked up at the night sky. She swallowed the tears that were about to fall and sobbed, “… Yes.”

“That’s good.” He Chengjian let out a long sigh. “Nianzhi, you just have to do one thing and Major General Huo from the other side will be able to come over safely.”

“What is it?” Gu Nianzhi stood up from behind the boulder. She had already guessed what He Chengjian wanted her to do.

As expected, He Chengjian said, “Go out and walk over to that the Ace of the Far East. Say that you want to talk to him alone. Just lure him away from his bodyguards.”

When He Chengjian was talking to Gu Nianzhi, the screen in front of him was playing the live video feed.

He could clearly see the battle and Gu Nianzhi’s every move.

“Can I?” Gu Nianzhi looked hesitant. “But he doesn’t have any special feelings for me… If I go over, what if he doesn’t talk to me?”

“No. He’s Major General Huo’s counterpart over there, so he won’t have no special feelings for you.” He Chengjian didn’t think much of it. “Besides, you suddenly appeared. He’s a suspicious person by nature, so he’ll definitely want to investigate your motives. You’re a weak woman, so he won’t be too wary of you if you don’t have intimidation.”

Only Gu Nianzhi’s sudden appearance would be enough to attract the attention of the Ace of the Far East and make him to walk out from his layers of bodyguards.

As they spoke, Qin Zhining had already opened his backpack and successfully a.s.sembled an anti-materiel rifle.

He covered the scope with a layer of black gauze and crouched behind a big rock.

Gu Nianzhi smiled bitterly and said, “Okay, but if he doesn’t come out…”

“It’s fine if he doesn’t come out, but there’s nothing we can do about it. You can only blame yourself for not being fated to be with Major General Huo.” Expressing a little regret, He Chengjian said calmly.

Gu Nianzhi took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice from trembling. “Okay, I’ll go.”

She hung up the call with He Chengjian and looked at Qin Zhining. “Why did you use the anti-materiel rifle? This anti-materiel rifle doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”

The barrel of the anti-materiel rifle was very long, but there seemed to be more equipment attached to the scope of the barrel.

Qin Zhining now considered her as his partner. He smiled and said, “That Mr. Peter must be wearing a bulletproof vest, so the anti-materiel rifle must be effective.”

“But don’t be afraid. This heavy sniper rifle will never aim at the wrong person.”

Gu Nianzhi: “…”

“Never? You’re too sure, aren’t you?” Gu Nianzhi tilted her head. “We all know that people will make mistakes, and there will be errors.”

“No, this type of heavy sniper rifle doesn’t rely on people to aim.” Qin Zhining showed her the equipment next to the scope. “This is an anti-materiel rifle. It uses infrared heat to lock onto the target. Once the target is locked onto, it won’t change direction.”

“… What if I lock onto the wrong person?” Gu Nianzhi asked quietly. “How long will it take to change the route?”

“About five seconds.” Qin Zhining frowned. “Why are you asking this? I said I wouldn’t make a mistake. Would I still be able to lock onto the wrong person if such a big person was standing there?”

“But I’m still worried,” Gu Nianzhi said seriously, “How about this? You also have a Bluetooth headset. When you lock onto your target and fire, just let me know, and I’ll be able to fall to the ground in time to dodge. I don’t want to see a person fall apart in front of me.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Qin Zhining didn’t doubt her and nodded in agreement.

Gu Nianzhi adjusted her backpack, walked around the big rock, and walked forward.

Seeing Gu Nianzhi walk over, the group of Soviets cautiously took out their weapons.

He Zhichu turned around and saw Gu Nianzhi. His eyebrows jumped. “Nianzhi, what are you doing here? Go back!”

He walked over and grabbed Gu Nianzhi’s hand.

Gu Nianzhi shook his hand off and looked at the Ace of the Far East in the crowd. “I’m here to see Mr. Peter off.”

“Huh? You wanted to see me off?” The Ace of the Far East saw her and had a look of interest on his face. He separated himself from the bodyguard in front of him and walked out slowly.

He walked towards Gu Nianzhi. His face, which looked exactly like Huo Shaoheng’s, was incomparably handsome under the moonlight.

Gu Nianzhi’s face was pale as she looked at him without moving.

He Zhichu turned to look at Gu Nianzhi. He realized that even though she was looking at the Ace of the Far East, she was actually looking at someone else through him. He couldn’t help but feel his heart ache even more.

His face darkened. He wanted to pull Gu Nianzhi away, but just then, Gu Nianzhi heard Qin Zhining’s voice through her Bluetooth headset. “Lock on, fire!”

She immediately shook He Zhichu’s hand off and suddenly pounced on the Ace of the Far East.

They were so close that she didn’t think twice and pounced on his chest.

Almost at the same time, a bullet from the anti-materiel rifle whistled through the air and landed on Gu Nianzhi’s backpack. It was blocked by something and almost caused a small explosion!

Then a huge impact hit Gu Nianzhi’s back!

The shrapnel flew across the air, embedded into her back and pierced into her heart.

Gu Nianzhi’s eyes suddenly widened. It was as if there was a hole in her chest. It was burning and stinging. She couldn’t speak. A gush of blood gushed out from her red lips and all of it spewed onto the clothes on the chest of the Ace of the Far East.

The Ace of the Far East was also sent flying by the impact.

He hugged her tightly. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

She used her body to block the bullet for him!

He Zhichu’s expression changed. He ran over and wailed. He grabbed her from the Ace of the Far East’s arms and shouted, “Plane! Plane! Send her to the hospital!”

Gu Nianzhi laid in He Zhichu’s arms. Her eyes were starting to glaze over.

“Young Master He… There’s no need… please… tell Major General Huo over there that I’m dead… tell him… tell him… tell him not to come over again…”

Gu Nianzhi spoke intermittently. She wondered if this was what it was like to be on the verge of death.

He Zhichu’s face was covered in tears. He hugged her and stood up.

The Ace of the Far East struggled to his feet. His voice was shaky and indistinct. “Get her on the plane! Go to the nearest hospital!”

He Zhichu had no time to find out who had fired the gun.

He just wanted to use all his strength to s.n.a.t.c.h her away from the grim reaper.

Gu Nianzhi’s voice grew weaker. “Don’t… Don’t trouble yourself…”

“Why are you doing this?!” He Zhichu carried her and ran towards the plane. His chest was filled with countless emotions — regret, pain, sadness, grief, and confusion. “Why are you doing this? ! Didn’t you want Major General Huo to come over? If he dies, the people over there can come over!”

“I. . . I can’t let others sacrifice their lives for my own interests.”

“Major General Huo and I can’t base our happiness on a human’s death. Major General Huo won’t be happy… I really want to go back…”

Gu Nianzhi sighed softly, closed her eyes, and stopped breathing.