Chapter 160: Mountains Remain Unmoved; Waters Flow On

“Du Qiu?!”

Zheng Hailan was so shocked that her mouth hung open without her realizing it.

Just now, Du Jiujiu had mentioned that they were commissioned by someone to come to the rescue of the medical team.

At the time, Zheng Hailan had pondered several times in her mind, guessing who the client might be.

She never imagined it would be Du Qiu.

Of course, she knew who Du Qiu was.

Over a year ago, Zheng Hailan had heard her husband mention once that their daughter might be in love.

Because it was not certain, and she didn’t mention it during a video call with her daughter, Zheng Hailan thought it probably wasn’t confirmed yet, so she didn’t ask further.

After Du Qiu’s incident, during a video call with her daughter, her daughter couldn’t help revealing that she had a boyfriend named Du Qiu.

Since then, Du Qiu became a frequent topic in the conversations between mother and daughter.

Naturally, Zheng Hailan understood from her daughter’s stories that this man had already made an imprint on her daughter’s heart.

She just didn’t expect that she would meet her daughter’s beloved under such circumstances.

“Aunty, I’ve connected to Shuangshuang’s video. You can talk to her now.”

Du Qiu’s voice snapped Zheng Hailan out of her daze. “Ah, yes, of course.”

Zheng Hailan subconsciously took Du Qiu’s phone, and then saw her daughter on the screen, looking anxious.

“Mom, is it really you?” Ning Shuangshuang cried out excitedly, tears streaming down her face.

“Mom, are you hurt? Please, speak!” Ning Shuangshuang urged anxiously.

Du Qiu watched from the side, feeling somewhat emotional. Shuangshuang had always been so calm; this was the first time he’d seen her so distraught.

“Shuangshuang, mom is fine, not hurt. My colleagues from the medical team are mostly okay too. It’s just… just now, Reporter Zhang took a knife for mom, and we don’t know his condition yet.”

“Reporter Zhang? There’s a reporter in your medical team?”

Zheng Hailan explained, “We met her in Zhuba. She said she’s an independent media person with millions of followers. She travels around the world to conduct interviews and produce independent news.

She came across our medical team and wanted to do a series of reports. She followed us to Bor and ended up being taken hostage with us.

Just now, she took a knife for me. Such a child…”

Zheng Hailan’s voice trailed off, tears falling as she spoke. She had been strong just a moment ago, but now, facing her daughter, the fear came rushing back.

Suddenly, she heard Du Qiu shout beside her.

“What did you say? Zhang Mingliu was stabbed by a flying knife from the armed militants? Weren’t all the armed militants killed? How could there be one that got away?”

Du Qiu had been inquiring Du Jiujiu about why Zhang Mingliu had not come with them.

Previously, when Zheng Hailan asked Du Jiujiu if it would be possible for Zhang Mingliu to also meet the client, Du Qiu was giving instructions to Du Jiujiu.

Since his relationship with Ning Shuangshuang became official, he deliberately distanced himself from Zhang Mingliu, even avoiding her when the Donghua couple returned to the country.

Since then, they hadn’t seen each other again.

Later, Du Qiu immersed himself in scientific research and didn’t seek news about Zhang Mingliu. Then he had an accident in America and lost contact with almost everyone.

He never expected the tide to turn, and he would meet Zhang Mingliu again under such circumstances.

When Zhang Mingliu emerged from the rubble, Du Qiu saw her from the live feed and immediately instructed Du Jiujiu to bring her to see him.

After that, Du Qiu stopped watching the feed, preparing to meet his future mother-in-law instead.

He never thought that in such a short time, an accident would happen.

Zhang Mingliu stepped forward and took a knife for Ning Shuangshuang’s mother. Her condition was still unknown.

Ning Shuangshuang heard Du Qiu’s shout over the phone and immediately asked, “Mom, is the reporter’s name Zhang Mingliu?”

Zheng Hailan, somewhat surprised, replied, “Yes, do you know her?”

Ning Shuangshuang nodded slightly and said, “I know her. She’s Du Qiu’s ex-girlfriend.”

Zheng Hailan was taken aback; what a coincidence this was?

Xiaozhang, who was cheerful and likable, had a few young men in the medical team who were interested in her. It was unexpected that such a girl did not end up with Du Qiu.

Then she thought again, if they had not broken up, it wouldn’t have been her daughter’s turn to be with Du Qiu.

“Aunty, is Zhang Mingliu’s condition very dangerous?” Du Qiu asked anxiously.

Zheng Hailan said, “Our medical team’s surgeon, Leren, is experienced with these kinds of knife wounds. I have already arranged for Dr. Leren to take care of it when we came over.

However, without the proper surgical equipment, the biggest fear is her bleeding internally. And we can’t even determine her blood type. If she loses a lot of blood, it could be troublesome.”

Ning Shuangshuang, on the other end of the phone, immediately said, “Mom, I won’t talk any longer. You all hurry and save her. Oh, and Mom, you must not tell anyone that you saw Du Qiu.”

Zheng Hailan’s heart shifted, instantly understanding that Du Qiu’s situation was not safe; the fewer people knew of his whereabouts, the better.

Considering that he was still tangled up with American issues yet managed to arrange a security force to rescue her, her impression of the young man improved considerably.

“Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.”

After ending the call with her daughter, Zheng Hailan returned the phone to Du Qiu and said, “Little Du, I really can’t thank you enough for this time.”

“Aunty, no need to be polite with me, we’re family.”

Du Qiu made a polite response, then added, “You just mentioned inadequate surgical equipment? There is a full set of emergency equipment in my aircraft, including a surgeon. I’ll arrange for them to come to the village right away.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hailan was overjoyed and said, “That’s wonderful. Xiaozhang is going to be okay now.”

She looked up at the colossal aircraft, filled with curiosity, but knew it was not the time to inquire.

The huge aircraft suddenly descended, whipping up a gust as it landed steadily on the grass.

A spacious hatch fell from the aircraft’s belly, and out came a highly realistic humanoid robot, which was originally Du Qiu’s test assistant.

Star Ocean was going to operate through this robot, becoming a medical expert to ensure Zhang Mingliu’s wounds were properly treated.

If not for the medical team being well-staffed, Du Qiu might have dispatched a few more highly realistic robots to form a surgical team.

Still, a few highly realistic robots followed, merely acting as porters transporting surgical equipment.

Under the lights, Zheng Hailan could clearly see the equipment they carried – indeed, there were many familiar pieces of surgical apparatus, especially the operating table with its shadowless lamp was particularly impressive.

Once these people loaded the equipment and Zheng Hailan onto the vehicle,

Du Qiu gave orders, “Du Jiujiu, hurry and deliver the people. Also, make a summary of this incident. Don’t slack off on tonight’s security measures, and in the morning, escort the medical team back to Zhuba.”

“Yes, Sir. We guarantee to complete the mission.”

Du Qiu then said to Zheng Hailan, “Aunty, this Mr. Star Ocean is a seasoned surgical expert. He can work with your Dr. Leren to carry out Zhang Mingliu’s surgery.

I can’t escort you back to Zhuba, so please take care of yourself.”

Zheng Hailan understood that it wasn’t suitable for Du Qiu to show his face, and immediately replied, “Having an additional surgical expert increases the chances of success for the operation. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Xiaozhang.”

After a pause, she added, “Little Du, you be careful too.”

“Yeah, I know. With Du Jiujiu and the others around, you don’t have to worry about safety when returning to Zhuba.”

Once Du Jiujiu drove off with the group, Du Qiu composed himself and, flanked by six personal guards, walked back to the aircraft.

His previous skyward leap with the six guards wasn’t for show in front of Zheng Hailan; he just didn’t want the aircraft to land.

Even though the command aircraft doesn’t spout high-temperature gas like the American F35 vertical takeoff and landing jet’s vectoring nozzle, it would still blow a strong air current.

Landing on the grass would inevitably leave a clear mark.

However, now that Zhang Mingliu’s life was at risk, if she were to bleed profusely, it could be disastrous.

Since the command aircraft was equipped with a full set of emergency gear, mainly for Du Qiu’s use, as it mostly served Du Qiu.

The reason Du Qiu chose not to visit Zhang Mingliu was that the medical team was large and talkative; a careless slip could lead to trouble.

In this way, other than Ning’s family, no one would know he had moved Iron Guard for security.