Late at night.
Outside the operating room.
"Dad, how is cousin's condition now?" Wu Lingyun arrived.
Li Qiutao originally wanted to keep it from his daughter, but the hospital's security was tightened again, and Wu Lingyun easily guessed something.
Li Qiutao sighed, "He's injured more severely each time, but fortunately, the surgery was very smooth, and he's not in life-threatening danger for now."
Wu Lingyun said with worry, "How can cousin be so careless? He gets himself covered in wounds every time. Isn't there anyone who can help him? Dad, we can't let cousin continue like this."
"Do you know that the Wu family actually..."
Halfway through her sentence, Li Qiutao immediately covered his daughter's mouth and frowned, "You can eat anything, but some words cannot be spoken randomly, understand?"
Wu Lingyun was stunned. After a long hesitation, she nodded.
"You should go back and rest. I'll tell you if there are any new developments." Li Qiutao released his hand from his daughter's mouth.
Wu Lingyun felt her father was acting strangely and didn't know what was going on.
She said "oh" and obediently returned to her ward to rest.
Li Qiutao took a deep look at the operating room, then said to Xiao Wu beside him, "Let's go, we'll head back to the hotel and prepare for the next plan."
Xiao Wu repeatedly agreed.
Chen Jinzhao's surgery was very successful, and coupled with his abnormal recovery ability, he woke up shortly after the operation.
Xu Hanchen came to the ward to visit Chen Jinzhao, telling him to stop talking about operations. Chen Jinzhao's task was to rest well.
"No, I must make this clear to Old Xu." Chen Jinzhao said.
"Behind the Shen Guo Research Institute is the Wu family of the capital, the foremost great family of today. Their experimental progress has reached a terrifying level. If the Wu family is not eradicated now, they will undoubtedly become the greatest threat to China in the future!"
Xu Hanchen's expression was solemn.
After a long hesitation, he asked, "What do you want to say?"
Chen Jinzhao's eyes suddenly turned fierce, "Strike first, and uproot the Wu family! If you can't bring yourself to do it, I will."
After several near-death experiences, Chen Jinzhao had come to terms with things.
Rather than bear the infamy after death, it was better to remove this cancerous tumor, the Wu family, and spare future generations from the torment of the Shen Guo Research Institute.
Xu Hanchen looked deeply at Chen Jinzhao, who then said, "Old Xu, please give the order!"
"Let society return to its original course!"
"But we don't have evidence." Xu Hanchen said meaningfully.
Chen Jinzhao sneered, "At worst, we can frame the Wu family with a baseless charge. The old master of the Wu family has done this before, hasn't he? Otherwise, how did he ascend to power back then? If his Wu family can do such things, can't we?"
Xu Hanchen's gaze fell on Chen Jinzhao again, and he said softly, "Jinzhao, you've changed. In my memory, you've always been that upright youth with a sense of justice."
Chen Jinzhao was startled.
It wasn't until Xu Hanchen reminded him that he realized this.
If it were his past self, he would indeed insist on catching them red-handed and wouldn't have thought of such a pre-emptive strike.
"Did I make a mistake?" he murmured softly.
Xu Hanchen suddenly burst into laughter.
"No!"
"You are not wrong! Those who achieve great things are not bound by minor details!"
"If you were still the hot-headed youth you used to be, I might not be at ease entrusting this burden to you, because being too focused on praise for justice would lead you astray step by step. You now have less sense of justice, but more cold-bloodedness and shrewdness."
"This is the price of growth!"
Growth?
Chen Jinzhao's expression was dazed. So this was the bitter price of growth.
If possible.
He would rather remain passionate forever, with justice forever in his heart!
Xu Hanchen saw the confusion in his eyes and sighed, "Actually, I've also realized recently that if we continue to act by the book as before, we won't be able to carve out a bloody path. Only by sacrificing some things can we make ourselves formidable."
"Will this path at its end turn me into someone I don't recognize?" Chen Jinzhao asked.
Xu Hanchen couldn't provide an answer.
Then he changed the subject and said, "I will apprehend the key members of the Wu family. I don't mind telling you that the Wu family's surroundings have been blockaded by us. This wasn't my idea, but your fiancée's maternal grandfather's. He wants to make a move even more than I do."
"And—"
"Qin Jianguo, upon learning of this, has also joined in, preparing to partition the Wu family."
Chen Jinzhao was stunned for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Hanchen said with a solemn expression, "What the Wu family has done is an outrage against heaven and humanity, severely violating the ethics and principles of human society. Such a family should not continue to exist. In short, you just need to rest well for the upcoming period; you don't need to take action."
"Then Xu Jinsong..." Chen Jinzhao hesitated.
Xu Jinsong's identity was rather special. Chen Jinzhao feared that Xu Hanchen might target Xu Jinsong, especially since Chen Jinzhao had made a promise to him before.
Xu Hanchen said meaningfully, "You don't need to worry about these matters. I will handle them."
A few minutes later.
Xu Hanchen arrived at Xu Jinsong's ward.
Xu Jinsong immediately tried to sit up from the hospital bed but was stopped by Xu Hanchen.
"Old Xu, you must know about my situation by now. You can dispose of me however you wish; I accept it all." Xu Jinsong said.
Xu Hanchen was not as polite when facing Xu Jinsong.
His old face was as cold as ice, making it impossible for Xu Jinsong to discern what he was thinking.
Xu Jinsong kept waiting for Xu Hanchen's words, but the old man's long silence made Xu Jinsong increasingly uneasy.
Even a swift execution would have been more satisfying than this.
Finally.
Xu Hanchen said coldly, "Do you know how much damage the Shen Guo Research Institute has caused us?"
"Although you woke up at the last moment and saved Chen Jinzhao, it still cannot compensate for your mistakes. According to our country's laws and regulations, you should be sentenced to death."
Xu Jinsong's eyes dimmed, "I, I accept it."
"However—"
Xu Hanchen's tone shifted, and after a sigh, he said, "You know, the first thing Chen Jinzhao did upon waking was to grab my hand and ask about your condition, begging me to spare your life. You also know that I never show favoritism in the military, and I directly refused him."
"Then, Chen Jinzhao said he would guarantee with his own person that you would never make a mistake again, and if you did, I should punish both of you together."
"That's why I relented."
Xu Jinsong was deeply moved upon hearing this, thinking that Chen Jinzhao was indeed a trustworthy person.
However—
He was unaware that all of this was fabricated by Xu Hanchen.
Xu Hanchen's acting skills were superb; he depicted a non-existent event so vividly that finally, he looked deeply at Xu Jinsong and said, "For Chen Jinzhao's sake, I agree not to pursue your case, but while the death penalty is waived, lesser punishments are unavoidable. From now on, you are not to operate under the codename 'Brute Bear' in the military. Your mission is to protect Chen Jinzhao's safety, do you understand?"
Xu Jinsong's eyes welled up with tears, and he nodded heavily.
"Please rest assured, Old Xu!"
"Anyone who tries to make a move against Chen Jinzhao must step over my dead body!"