The elevator quickly ascended and soon arrived at the floor where He Zhichu and the others lived.
"Come in and talk." He Zhichu used the key card to open his door and turned to let Smith and the others in.
His four American legal assistants filed in, and He Zhichu was the last to enter. He closed the door, and his bodyguards and followers waited outside.
Once they entered He Zhichu's room, Smith and the other three finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Lawyer … Lawyer He, outside … those people outside …" Smith stammered out the biggest question on his mind.
They had originally thought He Zhichu was a rich kid at most, but now it seemed like his background wasn't ordinary at all …
It seemed like Lawyer He had kept a low profile when he brought them to Munich.
He Zhichu didn't want to talk too much about his family, so he simply said, "A friend of mine made this for me because I was in a hurry to get back."
"Oh …"
So it was because of Gu Nianzhi again.
Everyone understood immediately.
"What's going on?" He Zhichu sat down on the armchair and gestured for Smith and the other three to sit down.
The four lawyers sat in their usual seats, and Smith began to talk about Gu Nianzhi.
"The day after you left, Lawyer Gu said she was going to meet a friend and texted the four of us to say she would be back in ten days." Smith said as he swiped open the phone with Gu Nianzhi's text message for He Zhichu to see. "This is the text message I received from Lawyer Gu on my phone. All three of them received the same text message from Lawyer Gu's phone."
The other three lawyers also took out their phones for He Zhichu to see.
He Zhichu only glanced at it before replying expressionlessly, "Who would have nothing better to do than send the same text to everyone? Are you close to Nianzhi? "
With just one sentence, Smith and the others understood what was going on and immediately felt extremely ashamed.
They truly hadn't thought about it from that perspective. At the time, they only thought Gu Nianzhi wanted to give them an explanation, so she sent a group text to everyone.
But that didn't make sense.
Logically speaking, even if she planned to take ten days off, she would at most inform her boss and a colleague she was close with. Some people wouldn't even tell their colleagues and would only ask for leave from their boss.
People who would greet their colleagues usually did so when they had work to do for them.
Gu Nianzhi obviously didn't have any work for Smith and the others to do.
He Zhichu wasn't there at the time, and Gu Nianzhi was the closest to Smith, so it wasn't strange for Smith to receive the text. However, it was strange for the other three people who weren't close to her to receive the same text.
If the four of them had been slightly more vigilant and immediately called Gu Nianzhi to ask what was going on, perhaps things wouldn't have gotten to this point.
He Zhichu took Smith's phone and tapped on it a few times to check its settings before tossing the phone back to Smith. "Someone installed a Trojan horse blocking program on your phone. I'm guessing that Nianzhi might have called you, but she was intercepted and transferred away. "
"Ah?! Trojan horse?! No way! I've never been on a phishing website! "Smith howled." Lawyer He, you have to believe me! I really didn't! "
The other three looked at each other and showed their phones to He Zhichu in unison. "Lawyer He, can you take a look at this for us?"
He Zhichu took them and checked them one by one before tossing them back to them. "Your phones are the same. It's the same Trojan virus."
The four lawyers' faces instantly turned ashen.
Modern people's phones were like their own personal secrets. There were more or less things they didn't want others to see on them.
Now that they knew there was a Trojan virus on their phones, they felt like they had been naked in broad daylight. It was so shameful that they didn't want to show their faces.
He Zhichu originally wanted to persuade them to change phones, but then he thought about how Gu Nianzhi wouldn't know their numbers if they changed phones now. What if she found a chance to call for help? Wouldn't that mean they couldn't find the number?
He Zhichu immediately changed his mind. He first extended his hand to Smith. "Give me your phone. I'll remove the Trojan virus for you and install an app that can block it. That way, if anyone is blind enough to do something to your phone again, you'll know immediately."
He Zhichu would also know immediately because he had secretly added his own phone to the Trojan virus blocking app on their phones as a copy of the information transmission.
He Zhichu also had this app on his phone. He had used it to discover that Zhao Liangze from the Huaxia Empire had attempted to do something to his phone.
Smith was overjoyed and nodded quickly. "Thank you, Lawyer He! Thank you, Lawyer He! "
With such a great app, Mama would never have to worry about someone installing a Trojan virus on his phone again!
He Zhichu did the same thing and removed the Trojan virus blocking app from the other three lawyers' phones. He also installed an app that could block the Trojan virus.
While installing the app, He Zhichu was excited and analyzed the text messages Gu Nianzhi had sent to Smith. He actually discovered that the text messages weren't sent from Gu Nianzhi's phone number!
Gu Nianzhi's phone number displayed on Smith's phone was a disguise!
Just like how many virus emails could use a fake email address to disguise themselves, the person sending the text messages also used a fake phone number to hide their real number.
It was just that using a fake email address for a virus email was relatively easy. People only needed to be a bit more careful to see the clues.
However, it was much more difficult to disguise a fake number in a text message. It was even harder to investigate.
Smith and the others looked at He Zhichu with admiration. They all looked like they wanted to worship him. Their eyes were shining with admiration.
Gu Nianzhi's family background was better, he was younger, he was smarter, more hardworking, and more knowledgeable. It was no wonder that someone like that became a partner at their law firm before the age of 30.
They originally thought that He Zhichu relied on his family background to become a partner at the largest law firm in the United States in his twenties. Now they understood that even without his family background, He Zhichu's ability was more than enough to become a partner!
He Zhichu felt uncomfortable being stared at by the four people. He frowned and pointed at Smith. "Continue. What happened after that?"
Smith came back to his senses and quickly said, "But we waited for ten days and found that we still couldn't contact Lawyer Gu. We went to the hotel's surveillance footage and found that Lawyer Gu left the hotel in the morning ten days ago in a private car we chartered. The private car driver told us that Lawyer Gu personally told him that she would only be staying at the Königssee for one day. She said that she would call him that night and ask him to pick her up. "
As Smith spoke, he showed He Zhichu the video of the interview he had recorded with the private car driver.
He Zhichu sat up straight and stared at the video for a while. He murmured, "… Nianzhi really went to the Königssee?"
"Yes, we checked the hotel's security footage for the past ten days. Lawyer Gu left the hotel in the morning ten days ago and got into the private car. We haven't heard from her since." Smith also showed He Zhichu the surveillance footage they had requested from the Hilton Hotel.
Of course, they only showed He Zhichu the surveillance footage related to Gu Nianzhi. There were so many other videos that He Zhichu didn't have time to watch them all.
He Zhichu frowned as he saw Gu Nianzhi wearing sportswear on the video and carrying her favorite Hermes bucket bag. She walked briskly out of the Hilton Hotel lobby, walked down the stairs, and got into the private car.
Smith pressed pause, and the video stopped at the moment Gu Nianzhi got into the car.
He Zhichu stared at the image for a long time, his face a bit pale.
Smith and the other three looked at each other and said one last thing to He Zhichu. "… Also, the day after Lawyer Gu disappeared, Seth escaped from the hospital and hasn't been caught yet."
"What?!" He Zhichu stood up abruptly. "Say that again! What does this have to do with Seth?! "
He clenched his fists, and his shimmering, sultry eyes narrowed dangerously. He was no longer carefree and instead had a suppressed ruthlessness.
Smith was a bit scared and shifted back on the sofa. "… There's currently no evidence to prove the connection between the two. I'm just telling you the truth."
He Zhichu couldn't stay calm anymore. He crossed his arms and paced around the living room as he said to Smith, "Tell me everything in chronological order again. Start from when you and Nianzhi went to the hospital to see Seth. Was that b * tch really injured? "
Smith nodded and patiently recounted everything from the beginning. He even said, "Since the day after Seth escaped from the hospital, I've been urging the Munich Police Department to put him on the wanted list every day. In the end, the police gave us all kinds of excuses, and we still haven't heard from Seth."
They didn't say it, but everyone knew that Seth must've escaped after so many days without any news. He might've even gone into hiding overseas.
"… Also, this Munich Police Department is evil to the core. We went to report Lawyer Gu's disappearance yesterday and asked them to investigate, but they actually … actually refused to open a case!" Smith was filled with righteous indignation. Thinking about how the Munich Police Department had made things difficult for him yesterday, he wanted nothing more than to sue them for another billion!
When He Zhichu heard that, his brows no longer furrowed. He actually chuckled, and his laughter carried a chilling sense of ruthlessness.
His expression gradually calmed down as he thought to himself, I wanted to discuss the law with you, but you actually want to use your background against me. I wanted to treat this case fairly, but you actually used underhanded methods against my people.
There's a path to heaven, but you don't want to take it. There's no other way.
"Ok, I got it. You guys can leave first." He Zhichu made up his mind. He waved his hand and said to the four lawyers, "You guys go and investigate the driver of the charter bus first. See if he's been acting strangely this past month. See if he's been in contact with our enemies. Especially, see if there were any strange changes in his bank account."
"Oh?! You're saying there's something wrong with this driver?! "Smith and the others were stunned." No, no, no! "
Would the driver hired by their law firm be the kind of person who would break the law?!
Wasn't there supposed to be a background check?!
"He was the last person to see Nianzhi, so you can't ignore him no matter what," He Zhichu said coldly. "… Get out."
Smith and the others looked at each other and left in shame.
Coming out of He Zhichu's room, Smith punched the wall hard and said angrily, "Don't let me find out there's something wrong with this driver! Or else I'll make sure he goes to jail for the rest of his life! "
The other three lawyers were also very uneasy.
In the ten days that Gu Nianzhi had been missing, they'd ridden in this driver's car many times and never thought that he was someone with ulterior motives!
…
He Zhichu stood alone in the hotel room with his arms crossed and a gloomy expression on his face as he stared at the French windows.
The weather was gloomy and there was no sun. It was already late September, and the weather was starting to turn cold.
At this time, Nianzhi … Nianzhi … How was she?
He Zhichu couldn't think about it. The moment he thought about it, he felt like someone had taken a knife and carved out his heart, cruelly chopping it up and throwing it in front of him over and over again.
His flesh was a bloody mess, and the pain was excruciating.
In this world, the person he wanted to protect the most was Nianzhi.
But what exactly had gone wrong that caused him to miss her time and time again?
If … If something really happened to her this time, He Zhichu no longer planned on living alone.
He hadn't been able to protect her when she was alive.
Then he could only chase her down to the underworld and use his own life to repay her.
When that time came, no one would be able to separate them.
…
Smith and the other three lawyers returned to their rooms and, after a simple assignment, began investigating all of the driver's whereabouts for the past month.
They found the best detective agency in Munich and offered a high price they couldn't refuse. There were no other conditions other than to quickly and completely investigate a month's worth of information on the driver within two days.
When Smith and the others heavily investigated the driver of the business car, He Zhichu also used his own private help to intervene in the case.
Not long after Smith and the others left his room, He Zhichu called Secretary General Philip, the supreme commander of NATO in Europe.
NATO appeared to be a military alliance led by the United States, but in reality, it was the emperor of the European countries.
The supreme commander of NATO's status and connections in Europe were unimaginable to the average person.
Secretary General Philip was extremely excited when he received He Zhichu's call. He had long heard of Mr. He, who had deep cooperation with the US military, but never had the opportunity to get to know him.
Now that He Zhichu took the initiative to extend an olive branch, of course Secretary General Philip was more than happy to accept.
"No problem, no problem. It's just a few phone calls, and I'll contact them for you right away." Secretary General Philip wanted nothing more than to nod and bow to He Zhichu to express his respect.
He Zhichu agreed and said, "I want to see them at the entrance of the Munich Police Department at ten in the morning."
"It's only nine now, so there's still an hour. Even if the person you're looking for is in Berlin, I can send a private plane to pick them up immediately! "Secretary General Philip patted his chest and guaranteed.
"Thank you. I'll see you in the United States when I get back. "He Zhichu promised Philip a meeting in the United States, which was exactly what Philip needed.
He was overjoyed and stood up immediately. "Mr. He, you're too kind. It's just a few phone calls. But I heard that everyone yearns for Mr. He's banquet, so I hope I'll have the luck and opportunity. "
He Zhichu laughed lightly. "At the end of next month, I'll be holding a birthday banquet at the manor, and I hope Mr. Philip will come. The invitation will be sent to your place in a few days. "
"Oh? It's your birthday, Mr. He? " Philip was ecstatic. To be invited to a birthday banquet meant that he was a very close friend.
"No, it's my … good friend's birthday." It was Gu Nianzhi's birthday.
If she could come back safely this time, he would accept her back to his side again. He would no longer tolerate her, and he would no longer ignore her.
"I understand, I understand!" Philip instinctively knew that this "good friend" had to be his "girlfriend." He was overjoyed and kept saying "thank you," even though He Zhichu had already hung up.
The smile on Philip's face didn't disappear as he immediately called the people He Zhichu had requested.
He happened to be familiar with these people. Although they weren't from the military, they were all powerful political figures in Germany. Of course, he had to have a good relationship with the "emperor" of Europe.
He Zhichu asked him to help make a few calls to the Mayor of Munich, the Minister of Justice, and the chairman of the Munich Regional Council. He asked them to go with him to the Munich Police Department that day.
…
An hour passed, and it was ten o 'clock in the morning.
When He Zhichu arrived at the Munich Regional Police Department with his bodyguards and followers, the Mayor of Munich, the Minister of Justice, and the chairman of the Munich Regional Council were already waiting for him outside.
"Mr. He, I've heard a lot about you." The Minister of Justice of Germany had been sitting in on Li Haiqing's case for a while, so he immediately came over when he received a call from the NATO supreme commander, Secretary General Philip.
He Zhichu didn't like to show his face in public, but that didn't mean he didn't have connections.
His status in the United States was enough for all the German officials to treat him kindly.
He Zhichu smiled reservedly and casually shook hands with the Minister of Justice before parting ways.
The Mayor of Munich and the chairman of the regional council came to He Zhichu's side respectfully and shook hands with him. Then they asked with concern, "Mr. He, what brings you to the Munich Regional Police Department?"
These people already knew that He Zhichu represented an American law firm in Germany for a lawsuit a month ago, but they didn't know He Zhichu's other identity in the United States.
This time, it was He Zhichu who took the initiative to use his connections in the United States to allow the NATO supreme commander, Secretary General Philip, to reveal his other identity in the United States to these important German politicians.
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