After Chi Yao and Jing Xi returned to the warship, they immediately closed all external exits of the passenger cabin.

At the fork in the corridor, Jing Xi reminded him in a low voice, “Ensure the refugees’ safety.”

Chi Yao walked in the opposite direction from him. “Service fee?”

Jing Xi walked forward, chuckling softly. “Won’t shortchange you.”

He could get a few more photos. Chi Yao’s mood instantly improved. He had already thought of the poses.

Red Hair, who was following along, turned to look in Jing Xi’s direction and said quietly, “Boss, Flying Dragon’s boss is so generous.”

Last time he gave them lots of weapons, this time he treated them to a big meal as soon as they arrived, and now he’s going to give them more things? They used to chase and attack them, but suddenly became so polite—it’s really hard to get used to.

Chi Yao smiled. “For his jobs in the future, work harder.”

Red Hair: “Got it!”

The passenger cabin area was very large. Only a minority came out to cause trouble. Most people, facing the destruction of their homes, obediently stayed in their rest cabins, having no energy to care about anything else.

Chi Yao had each group stand outside every cabin door and enter simultaneously.

The hatch opened. A Flying Dragon soldier said loudly, “Routine inspection. Please put down what you’re doing and stand at the foot of your beds.”

Most people in the cabin were already at their beds. Seeing this, they immediately walked to the foot of their beds.

Chi Yao’s gaze swept through the crowd as he walked over unhurriedly.

There were people of all ages in the cabin, and most were familiar with Chi Yao’s face. Why would Flying Dragon have Chi Yao conduct the inspection? Does this mean Extreme Shadow is now under Flying Dragon’s management?

Seeing Chi Yao walk past them, everyone had only one thought—this pirate is really good-looking!

Walking to the eighth person, Chi Yao stopped and looked at him. The middle-aged alpha man was dressed plainly, looking like an ordinary farmer. The alpha’s body tensed, his eyes darting left and right before quickly returning to normal.

Seeing him stop, the soldiers immediately became nervous, unconsciously gripping their sidearms tighter.

“Your home is nearby?” Chi Yao asked.

Alpha: “Yeah, we’re all from the same village.”

A middle-aged beta woman, a few positions away, said carefully, “He’s my third uncle’s son-in-law’s sister’s son.”

Chi Yao’s lips curved in a smile, his expression calm. “Home address?”

Alpha: “Panlong Village, Longli Lane, Number 35.”

Chi Yao: “Just you alone at home?”

Alpha: “I have my son and daughter-in-law. We were in such a hurry when we ran, they were assigned to another rest cabin.”

In principle, the transferred civilians weren’t allowed to visit each other’s cabins—first because they wouldn’t be on the warship long, and second for easier management by the corps.

Although they couldn’t move around freely, they could contact each other via terminal.

Chi Yao nodded slowly and deliberately. “Don’t worry, you’ll see them soon.”

Seeing him continue forward, the alpha breathed a sigh of relief. The others also relaxed. So routine inspections ask this many detailed questions.

Chi Yao took a step forward. From the corner of his eye, noticing the alpha’s expression, he suddenly reached out. The alpha instinctively dodged backward, reaching to grab the person next to him. But Chi Yao was faster, grabbing his neck and applying force. The alpha instantly passed out.

“Take him away.”

Chi Yao dragged him out like a small chicken and threw him to the Flying Dragon soldiers, then turned and left.

The change happened too suddenly—all the refugees were stunned. Why attack someone?

The beta woman who spoke earlier was both frightened and angry, chasing out two steps to ask, “What—what did he do?!”

Chi Yao glanced sideways and said to the soldier beside him, “Take her to record a statement. Ask her everything she knows about this man.”

Soldier: “Yes!”

The woman’s face turned pale with fright. How did her asking one question get her arrested too?

The woman’s family, old and young, were still in the room. Seeing this, they weren’t happy. The elderly person instantly burst into tears, sitting on the ground and shouting, “Our house is about to be destroyed by wild beasts, and now people are being taken away too. You only know how to bully us honest folk, wuwuwu—”

The soldier explained, “We’re not arresting her, just asking some questions. You don’t need to be too nervous.”

What Chi Yao was least skilled at was dealing with elderly people, especially this type who sat on the ground crying at the drop of a hat. This had nothing to do with him anyway.

But walking to the door, suddenly remembering the service fee Jing Xi promised, he reluctantly spoke. “If you keep crying, she really might not come back.”

Behind him, the old person’s crying immediately stopped.

Soldier: “…”

A threat from the pirate boss—simply an immediate effect. Awesome.

“You can choose not to trust Extreme Shadow, but you should at least trust Flying Dragon, right?”

After speaking, Chi Yao walked out of the hatch and went to the next rest cabin.

Inside the room, the Flying Dragon soldier patiently explained, “We won’t arrest people randomly. If you’re worried, you can seek help from or file a complaint with the military at any time. The network here won’t be cut off.”

In other words, they weren’t being detained—they were free.

The group looked at each other. Though unsettled, they said nothing more. After all, this was Flying Dragon.

If asked which general the public had the most favorable impression of, it would definitely be Jing Xi. Outstanding abilities, brilliant military achievements—though he didn’t take the people-friendly route, his face alone was enough for national recognition. If even Flying Dragon was corrupt, this country probably had no hope.

By the time soldiers dragged people out, Chi Yao had already emerged from the third rest cabin. Just from this batch of over three thousand people, they rooted out over two hundred modified humans, most disguised as family units.

Chi Yao had his subordinates follow the Flying Dragon soldiers to put these people in one cabin, separated from everyone else.

Walking in Jing Xi’s direction, he happened to meet him coming over. Only the two of them were in the metal corridor. Chi Yao reached out to stroke the corner of his eye, asking in a low voice, “Tired?”

Jing Xi held his hand and shook his head. “Something’s not right. I hope I’m overthinking it.”

Back in the command cabin, Chun Qin was already waiting.

“Draw blood from this batch immediately for testing.” Chi Yao glanced at Jing Xi and added, “Also test blood relations.”

Chun Qin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You suspect the blood relations aren’t disguised?”

Chi Yao: “Not certain. Test first.”

Chun Qin’s expression became grave.

Jing Xi, worried she’d overwork herself, said quietly, “The medical team will cooperate with you. Just give them orders if you need anything.”

Chun Qin’s expression eased slightly. After acknowledging this, she left alone.

“If it’s really as we suspect, then this place—”

Halfway through, Jing Xi suddenly couldn’t continue.

Chi Yao patted his head, comforting him. “Don’t worry, we’ll solve it eventually.”

A group of busy soldiers in the command cabin: “…”

The commander got his head patted by Chi Yao! The commander didn’t resist?! The commander is so obedient!

Jin Ze, who just came back from the break room after drinking his fill of water: “…!”

Fuck. Could it be the boss isn’t the top? Did he ship the wrong CP pairing?!

By noon, Chun Qin’s report came out. All blood relations were completely consistent with what they’d investigated.

“Not only is it not disguised, but—” Chun Qin enlarged several other reports in front of them. “These people are indeed related to those so-called relatives.”

Chi Yao looked at those reports, his fingers lightly tapping on the armrest.

In other words, Ghost didn’t infiltrate the crowd—they were there all along. When did it start? Where did they receive modification? Since they underwent modification, why were they released? What was their purpose here?

His mind was filled with a pile of questions. The more Chi Yao thought about it, the more irritated he became.

He opened his terminal, switched to the alphabet group chat, and sent out these people’s basic information.

[All immigration records, travel range, intersection points—find them all for me. Turn it in before evening.]

He quickly received responses from a large wave of people.

He didn’t deliberately switch to privacy mode. Jing Xi noticed and said casually, “I can have people check these things.”

The military had the authority to access all citizens’ files.

“There’s already enough here. Why take on more work yourself?”

Chi Yao stood up. “Let whoever should do the work do it.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Chi Yao put his hands in his pockets, standing in front of the surveillance station, watching the frontline situation.

“Don’t know if this bait will attract bigger fish—”

Jing Xi half-lowered his eyes, concealing complex emotions.

Originally, he just wanted to find Chi Yao, but he never expected to uncover so many things. Even more suffocating was that no one knew if what they’d discovered now was just the tip of the iceberg. What was hidden beneath the empire’s prosperous appearance?

At the appointed time, Jin Ze had someone prepare livestream equipment and sat in front of the screen to report to the refugees.

In the passenger cabin, a huge screen suddenly popped up in the oppressive rest cabin. Everyone’s spirits lifted.

“Hello everyone, I’m Major Jin Ze from the Flying Dragon rescue force. Regarding Ghost infiltrating the crowd to launch assassination operations, I’ll give you a brief report now. First, please rest assured that all relevant dangerous persons have been completely apprehended—”

“Ghost?!”

“Assassination operations?”

“But my cousin’s nephew isn’t Ghost!”

“Look at the video! They really attacked the military! My God!”

In such a tense wartime atmosphere, any disturbance would be magnified, let alone Ghost, this notorious pirate group, taking advantage to carry out assassinations!

With Flying Dragon deliberately allowing it, this matter quickly spread online.

[Why hasn’t Ghost, a pirate group that kills wherever they go, been eliminated yet?! They’re bold enough to board Flying Dragon’s warship to assassinate military forces!]

[Ghost is too terrifying! I unknowingly stayed in the same room with Ghost members for over eight hours!]

[I used to think Extreme Shadow and Ghost were the same type, but the critical moment shows the difference. Also, Chi Yao is really handsome, I saw him ahhhhh!!!]

Ghost actually infiltrated Flying Dragon’s warship to kill people? Simply lawless!

The enraged netizens had amazing combat power. In just one hour, they sent Ghost to the top of trending topics and crashed the military’s homepage.

Amid the torrent of criticism, the military had to respond.

After reading the battle report, Jing Xi took advantage of the gap to open the social platform. Seeing the desired effect achieved, he was about to close it when he unexpectedly discovered Extreme Shadow and Chi Yao had also trended.

His heart skipped a beat as he clicked to view.

Over these years, Extreme Shadow and Ghost had gained great notoriety in the pirate circle. Extreme Shadow was almost synonymous with “toying with,” while Ghost equaled “deadly.”

Both pirate groups were infamous, with roughly the same level of public disgust. But Extreme Shadow had the advantage of Chi Yao’s face, so while being hated, they also had a large group of appearance-obsessed fans.

“Heard from netizens transferred from 820 that Extreme Shadow is really helping Flying Dragon. They’re really going legit.”

“Flying Dragon is also very tolerant of them. Not everyone can be so magnanimous.”

“Who would’ve thought Jing Xi and Chi Yao were mortal enemies not long ago?”

“Compared to Ghost, Extreme Shadow is simply too cute. All thanks to peers for contrast, lol.”

Jing Xi scrolled down quickly. Most comments praised Extreme Shadow. Where Chi Yao’s name was mentioned, most followed with “my husband is so handsome.”

“Boss, does this communication draft look okay?”

The External Relations Department head rushed over, handing him the draft.

Jing Xi casually liked it and closed his terminal.

“Add a sentence here about Ghost trying to seize energy and weapons.” Jing Xi pointed to one line. “Remove ‘comprehensive investigation,’ change it to ‘strengthen protection, ensure civilian life and property safety.'”

External Relations head: “Yes!”

Jing Xi wearily rubbed his brow, resting with closed eyes.

“Boss!”

In just a few minutes, the External Relations head returned.

Jing Xi opened his eyes. “What?”

The External Relations head was both anxious and embarrassed. “Your accidental like just—trended!”

Jing Xi frowned and reopened the social platform.

“Ahhhhh have reason to suspect Major General Jing is secretly watching us!”

“Does his like mean he agrees Chi Yao is handsome, or agrees with calling him hubby?”

“CP fans celebrating New Year, repost for a chance to win 10,000 star coins!”

“So how exactly does he view this mortal enemy? Mutual respect between masters?”

“Chi Yao already publicly said he has a wife. What are you all excited about?”

“I don’t care! The wife he mentioned must be Major General Jing!”

Jing Xi: “…”

Why was it discovered so quickly?

“Seems they have good taste.”

Chi Yao’s voice came from behind. Jing Xi turned his head.

Chi Yao leaned down, hand on his shoulder, smiling as he liked the last comment.

“An alpha as outstanding as me, of course, only an equally outstanding alpha is worthy.” Chi Yao looked down at Jing Xi. “Right, Xi Xi?”

“Wait—!”

Jing Xi couldn’t stop him in time. “…Say what you want, but why like it?”

Chi Yao raised an eyebrow. “Such a reasonable comment is hard not to like.”

Jing Xi gritted his teeth. “But this is my account.”

Chi Yao: “…”

He looked at the page again. After refreshing, hundreds of thousands of new messages instantly flooded the topic.

“Holy shit! Was Major General Jing’s account hacked?!”

“Eternal lurker, today liked two posts, one ‘my husband Chi Yao is so handsome,’ one ‘Chi Yao’s wife is Major General Jing.’ Think about it, taste it carefully.”

“Faintly smell dog food, smells good.”

“If they really got together, then—hurry up and make it public!”

Chi Yao: “…”

Jing Xi: “…”

“Ah—!”

The External Relations head suddenly screamed, startling both of them.

The External Relations head tugged at his sparse hair, on the verge of tears. “Boss, n-next time keep your hands away from the screen.”

Jing Xi: “…”

He silently went to his likes record and canceled the one Chi Yao accidentally liked.

“This should be fine, right?” Jing Xi said seriously. “It was only a few minutes. The people who saw it should be—not many?”

Not many, just a few hundred thousand messages.

“Wait—!”

The External Relations head almost cried. “Canceling it makes it even more suspicious.”

“Really?”

Jing Xi quickly liked it again. “Then just leave it like that. Thanks for your hard work.”

External Relations head: “…”

If you canceled it, don’t like it back!

Chi Yao looked at this middle-aged man, feeling a bit sorry for him.

“Xi Xi, create an account for me.”

He had no registered citizenship, so he couldn’t use most things ordinary people could, but Jing Xi had authority—adding an account under his name was no problem.

Jing Xi registered one for him. “Extreme Shadow really should have an account.”

For long-term plans, they must change the public’s bad impression of Extreme Shadow, and the internet was the best medium.

Chi Yao looked at his homepage with nothing but his name and clicked publish.

[I’m Chi Yao. I liked the Major General’s second like as a joke between brothers. Everyone, don’t take it too seriously.]

Jing Xi and the External Relations head couldn’t stop him in time. The message was sent.

“…”

“…”

Chi Yao smiled. “Done. Such a simple matter.”

Jing Xi covered his face. After a long pause: “Let’s hope so.”

The External Relations head walked away with a heart like dead ashes.

If he let them keep going, it would only get worse. Whatever, let it all burn.