There was actually a limit to what the people in the embassy could do. Most of the time, they needed authorization from domestic departments before they could act abroad.
It was precisely because of this that they were too inflexible and caused delays that Huo Shaoheng and the Special Operations Forces were born.
The two American lawyers nodded and sat in the small conference room to carefully fill in Gu Nianzhi's resume.
They weren't familiar with Gu Nianzhi, but she was an employee of their law firm, so the HR department had detailed information about her.
The two American lawyers immediately contacted the American law firm. It was around 2pm in the United States.
The two lawyers called back to the American law firm. After some effort, they finally contacted the HR director and told him about Gu Nianzhi.
When the HR director learned that Gu Nianzhi might have gone missing in Germany, he took it seriously and immediately sent Gu Nianzhi's resume to the two lawyers. At the same time, he texted a number He Zhichu had specially left for the law firm's executives.
Only the executives knew this number. The employees didn't know.
He Zhichu had told them that if he returned to his hometown and the law firm was in a difficult situation and needed to be resolved quickly, they could text this number. Otherwise, they shouldn't contact this number.
In all these years, they hadn't used this number to contact He Zhichu. This was the first time.
To appease the two American lawyers, the HR director said to them, "I've already sent the message to Lawyer He. He will contact you when he knows."
The HR director of the law firm knew that Gu Nianzhi had been singlehandedly recruited by He Zhichu, so he chose to personally train her after she was recruited.
According to the rules, Gu Nianzhi was a rookie lawyer. It was impossible for her to be taught by a lawyer and partner like He Zhichu.
But what were the rules?
Rules were meant to be broken.
He Zhichu had personally instructed them to take care of Gu Nianzhi, so the HR department knew what was good for them and insisted on following the rules.
The law was not unreasonable. Those who could reach the top were all shrewd people.
The two American lawyers at the Hua Xia Embassy in Munich heard that He Zhichu had already sent the message. They immediately said, "We also tried to contact Lawyer He, but we couldn't get through to his phone. It kept going to voicemail."
"Really? I'm not sure about that, but I've already texted him. Let's see if he'll call you back. " The HR director pretended that he had tried his best and didn't mention that the number wasn't known to his subordinates …
The two lawyers saw that the law firm had tried their best and didn't ask for more.
They finished filling out Gu Nianzhi's resume at the embassy and left.
This resume was, of course, the identity that Gu Nianzhi could use in the Hua Xia Empire, including the fact that her father, Gu Xiangwen, had appeared later. This was also on the American law firm's data sheet.
When the deputy consul of the Hua Xia Imperial Embassy in Munich saw the information sheet, he didn't realize who Gu Nianzhi was.
This was because the Deputy Consul had never known Gu Nianzhi before. He had never had any contact with Huo Shaoheng's rank or department.
Gu Nianzhi's situation had changed as well.
Because her identity had already been verified, someone used it as a reason to lower her security level. She was now no different from a normal Hua Xia citizen and no longer enjoyed the highest security level that Huo Shaoheng had given her before.
Because of these two reasons, the deputy consul didn't realize the severity of the situation when he checked Gu Nianzhi's information at the embassy. He sent the news of Gu Nianzhi's disappearance back to the Hua Xia Ministry of Foreign Affairs to wait for a domestic review to determine the scope of action they could take.
However, the two lawyers didn't know about these procedures. After returning to the Hilton Hotel from the embassy, they chatted and had a good impression of the Hua Xia Embassy staff in Munich. They were happy that things had gone smoothly.
They had just returned to their room to tidy up when they saw Smith and another colleague return with dark expressions.
Well, looking at the two men's downcast faces, the two knew that their trip was not going to be smooth sailing.
"What's going on? Don't tell me you only went to report a case, but the other party refused to file it! "One of the lawyers said exaggeratedly.
He had only wanted to make fun of them, but Smith rolled his eyes and snapped, "These pigs! They have the guts to refuse to file it! "
Everyone was speechless.
"Did I really get it right? Why?! "The lawyer who had made fun of them was confused." How can they refuse to file something like this?! "
"Let me tell you, the Munich Regional Police Department has a lot of drama. They first said we aren't Lawyer Gu's immediate family, so we can't file a case for her. Smith retorted and said Lawyer Gu is an adult and doesn't need immediate family to file a case. They immediately said we have too little evidence and won't even file it for us. They insist Lawyer Gu was just having fun and forgot to contact us. They won't admit she's missing! "
The other lawyer who went to the police station with Smith shook his head and sighed. "What should we do?! They're such bastards! I bet Lawyer Gu didn't forget to contact us because she was having fun! "
"Do you have any common sense?!"
The other two lawyers who had just returned from the Hua Xia Embassy in Munich were also furious. "This is too much! We need their embassy to step in at this time! "
"Right, you went to the embassy of Lawyer Gu's country. How was it? What do they plan to do? "Smith poured himself a glass of red wine and swirled it in his hand before downing it.
"Oh, their embassy is great! The Deputy Consul came to see us personally and had us fill out Lawyer Gu's information form. It seems he wants to consult his superiors. "
One of the lawyers who went to the Hua Xia Embassy in Munich began to report on their situation. It was obviously much better than Smith's.
"Really?" Smith finally felt better. "If they can personally come forward to file a case, I'd like to see if these sly police would dare to refuse to file a case!"
He slammed the glass of red wine down on the bar in the room.
Another lawyer also said, "At that time, we even directly called the director of the human resources department of the American law firm. He happened to be in the office, so he sent Lawyer Gu's information to us. He also said that he had already sent a text message to Lawyer He to let him know about this."
Gu Nianzhi was He Zhichu's personal lawyer, so if something happened to her, He Zhichu would definitely be notified.
"He texted Lawyer He? Did it work? Does the Director know we can't get through to Lawyer He's phone? " Smith asked suspiciously. "The four of us have each called countless times, but there's still no reply!"
He slammed his hand on the table and was in the midst of righteous anger when he suddenly heard his phone ring. He took it out impatiently and froze.
"It's … It's Lawyer He!"
Smith raised the phone and trembled as he shouted excitedly.
They were almost in despair after not being able to contact He Zhichu for so many days.
The other three people in the room were also excited. They didn't speak and focused on Smith.
Smith simply put it on speaker.
He Zhichu's voice came from the phone's microphone. It was the usual American English with an "r" sound. "… What's going on? The Director of Human Resources didn't make it clear. What happened to Nianzhi? "
Smith took a deep breath and said solemnly into the phone, "Lawyer Gu has been missing for ten days."
The other side of the phone didn't speak for a long time. He didn't know if He Zhichu didn't understand or was shocked, but it was silent for a long time until Smith thought he had hung up. He Zhichu said simply, "I'll be right back." Then he hung up.
Smith and the three lawyers in the room looked at each other for a while and seemed to sigh in relief. "Ok, Lawyer He will be back soon."
Once he was back, they would have a pillar of support.
…
In He Zhichu's room, he sat in front of the window with one hand supporting his head and the other resting on the sofa armrest. He watched the scenery outside without moving.
It was evening, and the setting sun was like a round salted egg yolk against the western sky, emitting its last bit of heat.
There was a huge ginkgo tree outside the window. When the evening wind blew, countless yellow and green leaves fell like fans.
A woman in plain silk pants carried a small basket and bent over to pick up the fallen leaves under the ginkgo tree.
As if sensing someone looking in her direction, the woman looked up and smiled at He Zhichu's window. It was Wen Shouyi.
He Zhichu didn't look at her. His gaze was in the direction of the ginkgo tree, but his mind was actually empty. He was thinking about Gu Nianzhi.
How could it be so coincidental?
He had just left, and Nianzhi had gotten into trouble …
It was like this last time, and the time before that …
This kind of thing happened again and again. He Zhichu couldn't help but think that there were still people around him who were holding him back.
He thought he had gotten rid of those people a long time ago, but now it seemed that he hadn't.
The biggest culprit was still lurking around him.
No matter who this person was or what their identity was, once he found them, they would be tortured until they wished they were dead!
This was also why He Zhichu didn't want to bring Gu Nianzhi back for now.
He couldn't be sure that he was completely safe with her.
He had originally thought that Gu Nianzhi would be absolutely safe with Huo Shaoheng, so he would rather let her stay with him, even if it hurt him to death. Now it seemed that wasn't the case.
He Zhichu took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He rubbed his temples to calm his anger.
After a while, he picked up the phone and ordered his people, "Get ready immediately. I'm going to Germany."
Ten minutes later, He Zhichu went to Senior Mr. He's room to say goodbye. He made some arrangements and only left after obtaining Senior Mr. He's approval.
By the time Wen Shouyi received the news and rushed over, He Zhichu had already left.
"Auntie Qin, has the Eldest Young Master already left?" Wen Shouyi asked worriedly. "The Old Master just finished his craniotomy, and he dares to leave by himself?"
Auntie Qin sat in her room and patiently arranged flowers. She picked out fresh flowers from the greenhouse from the basket and said dryly, "The Old Master's surgery was very successful. He doesn't have to worry about the future anymore. Also … "
Auntie Qin didn't say anything else. She smiled, and it was as if a bolt of lightning had lit up the dimly lit room. It was dazzling and blinding.
She slowly turned around to look at Wen Shouyi. "Ah Yi, come and help Auntie Qin finish arranging the flowers."
Wen Shouyi slowly walked over and knelt beside Auntie Qin. She patiently helped her arrange the remaining flowers and grass one by one.
Auntie Qin's hand touched her shoulder. Her hand was so white and smooth that it looked like it was carved from suet jade. It was even colder than real suet jade. "Ah Yi is the best. I didn't have to say anything, and you could arrange the flowers exactly the way I wanted."
"I was taught by Auntie Qin. How could I not understand your intentions?" Wen Shouyi smiled good-naturedly and didn't dare look at Auntie Qin's face.
She was truly too beautiful. Every time she looked at her, she would fall into a daze.
But Senior Mr. He …
Sigh, how could he be so blind?
Ever since Senior Mr. He's first wife passed away, he didn't even care about a stunning woman like Auntie Qin.
However, this kind of infatuation had an irresistible attraction to women.
It was the same for Auntie Qin, right?
Wen Shouyi silently held up the flowers and said, "Should we put these flowers in Senior Mr. He's room?"
"No." Auntie Qin sighed. "We can't go in before Senior Mr. He gets up."
"What?!" Wen Shouyi cried out. "How can we do that?! Auntie Qin, you and Senior Mr. He are husband and wife! "
Although she was the second wife, she was still his legitimate wife.
Auntie Qin shook her head indifferently. "How could those people dare to disobey the young master's orders? But it doesn't matter. As long as Senior Mr. He gets better, I'll do anything. " As she spoke, she placed her suet jade hand on her abdomen. There was a new life growing there.
Wen Shouyi sighed and praised, "Auntie Qin, people are made of flesh. Senior Mr. He will definitely understand your heart in time."
"I hope so." Auntie Qin tilted her head and looked out the window. Her large eyes sparkled like stars, and her entire body lit up.
…
At 7am the next day, a private plane from Boston landed at Germany's Munich International Airport.
He Zhichu got off the plane expressionlessly and was surrounded by people as he exited through the airport's special VIP passageway.
After exiting the airport customs, a custom-made Rolls-Royce Phantom bulletproof limousine was already parked at the airport entrance, waiting for He Zhichu to get in.
The Munich police were notified ahead of time and even provided two police cars. The police cars cleared the way and escorted He Zhichu to the Hilton Hotel without any obstructions.
The pedestrians and cars on the road all moved out of the way, and everyone looked curiously at the Rolls-Royce Phantom surrounded by police cars. Which country's leader was sitting inside?
"I wonder if any foreign leaders have visited Munich recently?"
"Maybe it's a private visit," someone muttered. "That won't be reported on the news, but the reception won't change."
"Oh, that's possible."
As everyone chatted, someone took a photo of He Zhichu's Rolls-Royce Phantom and posted it on social media to let everyone guess which country's leader had come to Munich in private.
However, the photo was immediately deleted as soon as it was posted, and the IP address of the person who uploaded the photo was blocked. His phone immediately received a warning call from the police, saying that taking a photo of someone else without the owner's permission and posting it on social media was a violation of someone's privacy. He would be subject to punitive compensation.
Not to mention anything else, just punitive compensation was more frightening than going to jail.
As long as it wasn't a life sentence, one would eventually be released from jail.
However, punitive compensation would cause one to be stuck in poverty for the rest of their lives, and they would never be able to lift their heads again.
For people like that, a fine was more painful than going to jail.
This way, no one dared to post a photo of He Zhichu's Rolls-Royce Phantom again.
He Zhichu returned to the Hilton Hotel as fast as he could.
Smith and the others received a call early in the morning saying that He Zhichu would be arriving at the hotel soon.
They immediately dressed up and waited at the Hilton Hotel for He Zhichu's arrival.
When the Rolls-Royce Phantom surrounded by police cars appeared, Smith and the others never expected it to be He Zhichu's personal car.
So when He Zhichu got out of the car and walked to the Hilton Hotel lobby with a group of bodyguards and subordinates, Smith and the others were stunned. They froze for a while before hurrying to catch up and call out, "Lawyer He!"
He Zhichu stopped and turned around to see Smith and the others rushing over. He nodded and gently waved his right hand, and the bodyguards beside him immediately made way for them.
Smith and the others walked over and were shocked speechless by He Zhichu's extravagance.
He stood among the sturdy bodyguards and subordinates with his usual aloof expression. His shimmering peach blossom eyes were devoid of any emotion, and although he wasn't as sturdy as the bodyguards, his aura was invincible. He was like a king who ruled over the world.
Smith couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.
This was a completely different state of mind from treating He Zhichu as his boss.
"Lawyer … Lawyer He …" Smith greeted He Zhichu with trepidation, his eyes constantly glancing at the bodyguards and subordinates beside He Zhichu.
It seemed like only ten days had passed, and the quiet but refined and modest He Zhichu was gone. The current He Zhichu was both unfamiliar and familiar to those who had known him before.
He Zhichu knew what Smith and the others were thinking from their expressions, but he wasn't in the mood or time to explain it to them.
"Come with me," He Zhichu said dryly, then turned to walk into the hotel lobby and into the elevator.
Smith and the others hurried to follow and found a place in the elevator that was crowded with bodyguards.
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