Chapter 520 - Duel (Part 1) (2/2)

He took them to a small room beside the elevator and opened the door. There was actually another elevator entrance inside!

The staff member stood just below the elevator door and looked up at a camera above it with a smile. The camera flashed blue, and a shutter sounded before the elevator opened. The staff took Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi inside. So the elevator had retinal scanning capabilities…

Gu Nianzhi couldn’t help grumbling to herself—with such stringent security measures, did these people really not know who “Mr. Gu” was?

The elevator quickly took them to the door to Gu Xiangwen’s ward. The staff knocked on the door and spoke to the video camera outside. “Someone is here to see Mr. Gu. They have a special permit signed by Miss Gu.”

The people inside checked Huo Shaoheng’s special permit once again before opening the ward’s door to let Huo Shaoheng and Gu Nianzhi in. Huo Shaoheng walked in front, his towering body completely blocking the tall and slender Gu Nianzhi behind him. She nervously stared at Huo Shaoheng’s back, her violently hammering heart finally calming down.

“Mr. Gu is here. Are you here to see him?” Gu Xiangwen’s nurse was a heavy middle-aged black woman. Her smile was gentle and kind.

Instantly taking a liking to her, Gu Nianzhi felt emboldened enough to quickly walk forward and around Huo Shaoheng. She was the first to arrive in front of Gu Xiangwen’s bed.

Before her eyes was a specially made bed covered with medical devices. And in the middle of instruments of various sizes was a skeletal man. Gu Nianzhi had never seen Gu Xiangwen’s photo, but she instinctively knew that he ought to somewhat resemble her. However, she didn’t think that seven years in a vegetative state would have been enough to completely alter Gu Xiangwen’s appearance. All that was left were his bones.

This is my father?

Gu Nianzhi’s eyes widened at the man lying on the bed, incredible shock in her heart… So, the Gus hadn’t looked for Gu Nianzhi for seven years because Gu Xiangwen had become a vegetable? Gu Nianzhi stared blankly at him. Her nose started to sniffle, but she didn’t want to cry. She turned around to Huo Shaoheng and gave him an inquisitive look, unsure of how to proceed.

Huo Shaoheng came over and thoughtfully studied this man in a vegetative state before asking the nurse some questions.

“When did Mr. Gu come to your hospital? Have you always been in charge of him? How is his health? Have there been changes in the seven years?”

These were all questions focusing on patients in a vegetative state, which Chen Lie had specially prepared for Huo Shaoheng to ask.

The nurse smiled respectfully. “He’s been at your hospital for over three years now. I heard that he used to be under the care of a private nurse at home but was transferred to the hospital after his condition deteriorated. Yes, I’ve always cared for him, for as long as since he’s been here. As for his health, you’d have to ask the doctor. I’m just a nurse.”

Huo Shaoheng nodded. The nurse’s answers were about the same as the information he’d gotten from Gu Yanran, so it must have been true. Huo Shaoheng then asked for some details regarding Gu Xiangwen’s treatment, then finally pointed to Gu Nianzhi and spoke to the nurse and guard.

“Thank you for your efforts,” he said. “I have a proof of ident.i.ty, signed by the Barbados government, to prove that she is Gu Xiangwen’s youngest daughter, Gu Nianzhi. According to your hospital’s regulations, only immediate relatives can discharge Mr. Gu.”

The last word Huo Shaoheng spoke was like a signal for Zhao Liangze all the way at the consulate in the Bridgetown city district. He immediately cut off all external communication for the hospital—from landlines to mobile data, the signal collapsed due to sudden data congestion. Because the Special Operations Forces had their own dedicated satellite communication system, jamming the hospital’s communication systems didn’t affect them. They were still able to use their Bluetooth headsets to receive all messages. At the same time, all the elite members of the Special Ops in South America mobilized and gained control over external traffic to the hospital.

Gu Yanran, who was keeping in touch with the hospital and awaiting news from Huo Shaoheng, suddenly found the connection to the hospital interrupted.