Zhao Liangze held Bai Shuang the entire time, embracing her tightly in his arms. He was pressing his face against hers as if he still wanted to warm her already cold forehead.But no matter how hard he tried, Bai Shuang couldn’t feel warmth anymore.

Huo Shaoheng pressed hard on the accelerator and sped the whole way before finally pulling into the parking lot of the Huaxia Empire’s consulate in Cape Town.

He made several calls along the way, contacting the consulate, military attaché, and first secretary to request they quickly prepare a stretcher and medical supplies. The doctors and nurses were all in place, so they would attempt an emergency rescue as soon as they got out of the car.

When they arrived, several people in white lab coats were already standing in the parking lot of the consulate. They had a stretcher, first-aid kit, and a transfusion stand in anticipation of the patient’s arrival.

The car screeched to a stop in front of the people in white lab coats.

Huo Shaoheng pushed the door open and jumped down, then walked to the back door and said with a frown, “Little Ze, let the doctors save Bai Shuang.”

Zhao Liangze raised his head and looked at Huo Shaoheng with trembling lips. After a while, he replied, “I will carry her inside.”

Bending over, he climbed out of the car while holding Bai Shuang.

The tuxedo jacket draped over Bai Shuang slowly fell to the ground.

Her red dress was like a waterfall suddenly cascading down from between Zhao Liangze’s arms.

Zhao Liangze carried Bai Shuang as if he was holding a bouquet of gorgeous red spider lilies and solemnly placed her on the stretcher.

Gu Nianzhi got out of the car and glanced at Bai Shuang.

Under the bright lights in the parking lot, she could see that the red fabric at Bai Shuang’s waist was noticeably darker than it was elsewhere.

Zhao Liangze’s dark gray camouflage uniform had also been stained blood red.

The corners of Gu Nianzhi’s eyes twitched uncontrollably a few times.

Doctors and nurses in white coats quickly pushed the stretcher into the consulate’s operating room.

Without saying a word, Zhao Liangze immediately followed them to the door of the operating room. Sitting on the bench, he stared at the door without moving.

Huo Shaoheng took Gu Nianzhi’s hand and followed him to the operating room. He glanced at Zhao Liangze and asked, “Is your shoulder okay?”

Zhao Liangze shook his head. He could not feel the pain of his shoulders at all at that moment.

At that time, the bright red operating light at the top of the room was illuminated.

Gu Nianzhi asked with concern, “…Will Sister Bai get better?”

Huo Shaoheng didn’t speak, merely squeezing her hand. He turned his head to look out the window at the night sky.

He could see that Bai Shuang had passed away a long time ago…

…

Inside the operating room, a doctor in a white lab coat held a stethoscope and bent over to place it on Bai Shuang’s chest.

He could not hear any heartbeat.

The doctor was stunned, then lifted Bai Shuang’s eyelids and looked at her pupils again.

Shaking his head, he said regretfully, “It’s too late. She has already passed away.” As he spoke, he cut apart Bai Shuang’s red dress and was shocked to see a dark red bullet hole in her waist.

That was the cause of death.

…

In less than five minutes, the red operating light on the top of the operating room door had been turned off.

The door of the operating room opened, and Zhao Liangze’s heart began to beat wildly.

Given the severity of Bai Shuang’s injury, it was definitely not a good thing to see the operation end after such a short time.

Huo Shaoheng walked over and asked the doctor who had come out, “How is the patient’s injury?”

“Injury? The gunshot wound was lethal. She had already passed on the way here. I am sorry for your loss. ” The doctor shook his head but did not ask how Bai Shuang had gotten injured.

He was now a doctor in the consulate, and the patients delivered him were under the banner of the Special Operations Forces, so he wisely chose to avoid asking questions.

“Dead?! Are you blind?! You didn’t even check her! You just look at her eyes and say that she is dead?! I think you have a death wish!”

When Zhao Liangze heard the doctor’s words, he suddenly lost his temper. He stood up abruptly to shout questions right in the doctor’s face.

Although the doctor sympathized with them, he was always unhappy to hear his professional ability being questioned.

Holding up Bai Shuang’s hand with a cold expression, he said to Zhao Liangze, “Her symptoms are typical of excessive blood loss. You were with her the entire way here; didn’t you realize that she lost too much blood?!”

“How would I know?!” Zhao Liangze was furious, saying, “We came out of the basement. It was so cold in there…”

“Little Ze!” Huo Shaoheng yelled sharply. His expression darkened as he stopped Zhao Liangze from continuing to say anything else. “Since this is already the reality, we will prepare a coffin and take her back to the Huaxia Empire.”

A coffin?

The word was like a sledgehammer that slammed directly into Zhao Liangze’s chest.

His vision went black, and the injury to his shoulder was like a dam bursting. He finally couldn’t stand it anymore. The double blow to his body and spirit caused him to lose consciousness in front of the operating room.

Several doctors and nurses hurriedly pushed Zhao Liangze into the operating room.

Outside the operating room, Gu Nianzhi looked at Huo Shaoheng with a serious expression and said softly, “Huo Shao, you must take care of yourself…”

Witnessing Bai Shuang’s death and seeing Huo Shaoheng and his men engage in their daily battles made Gu Nianzhi begin to panic.

In the past, she knew that Huo Shaoheng’s work was secret and dangerous, but she didn’t have a solid impression since she had never really seen it.

Moreover, she blindly worshipped and believed in Huo Shaoheng, so she firmly believed that no one and nothing could defeat him or win against him.

Although she sometimes thought about how he may sacrifice himself in battle one day, that kind of imagined scenario was completely different from actually witnessing someone else’s sacrifice.

She realized that she could not face it if he died on the battlefield one day, just like his comrade in arms, Bai Shuang, or how He Shouwang had perished according to the letter that her grandfather, Gu Haoze, wrote…

She hugged Huo Shaoheng’s waist tightly and buried her head in his chest to suppress her choking cries.

Huo Shaoheng understood how she was feeling, but he had seen this type of situation many times. Although it was sad, things were not out of control, and he was not on the verge of collapse like Zhao Liangze.

He had always been a powerful, calm, indestructible, and invincible war machine.

He had always been proud of it.

He understood Gu Nianzhi’s concerns, but he didn’t care.

As a family member of military personnel, she had to be mindful of that fact.

Huo Shaoheng kissed the top of her head and said, “I will be careful.”

After saying that, Huo Shaoheng switched on his Bluetooth headset and began to arrange follow-up tasks.

…

Before long, Zhao Liangze was also pushed out of the operating room.

His shoulder was seriously injured. He was bruised very badly after being shot, and carrying Bai Shuang to the car had caused his shoulder joints to become swollen.

Fortunately, no bones were injured, and it was just muscle damage.

After getting his shoulder bandaged, it would be fine for a few days.

“Are you fine now? Let’s leave.” Huo Shaoheng couldn’t stay for a moment longer. “I have contacted the navy and the air force. The navy will take us to the nearest military base, and we will immediately return to the Huaxia Empire on an air force aircraft,” he said.

Zhao Liangze looked at Huo Shaoheng expressionlessly, asking, “What about Bai Shuang? You said we would take her back.”

“Of course. We will go back together.” Huo Shaoheng nodded his head solemnly at Zhao Liangze. “I always mean what I say.”

…

Twenty-four hours later, a military aircraft from the southern hemisphere slowly landed at the T3 terminal of Imperial Capital International Airport.

It was already five in the morning, so dawn had just arrived. The sun was yet to rise, but it laid in wait.

Although the weather in early May was heading towards summer in the northern hemisphere, the early morning temperature was still somewhat cool.

The tarmac at the airport was crowded with people.

Almost all the high-level officials from the Imperial Capital gathered to give the martyr Bai Shuang the highest honor.

Prime Minister Bai Jiancheng, the chief executive of the Military Supreme Council General Ji, and Speaker Long of the upper house of the parliament, all wore black suits with white flowers on their chests as they stood at the front of the procession with solemn expressions.

“Stand at attention! Salute!”

The guard of honor on the tarmac gave an order, and the tall guards all looked in the direction of the cabin in unison.

The cabin door slowly opened, and four soldiers in Special Operations Forces uniforms carried a coffin made of cherry wood as they slowly stepped down from the plane.

The coffin was covered with a bright red national flag.