The next morning, Jing Xi went to the warship’s command cabin to connect with the temporary headquarters for an early meeting, while Chi Yao left after breakfast.

“Boss, where are we going to play?”

Tie Xiong sat in the passenger seat, eyes sparkling brightly.

“We’re not playing, we’re handling business.” Chi Yao looked outside through the car window.

The beast tide on 820 differed from that on 333.

The mutated beasts on Planet 333, affected by sound waves, attacked day and night as if injected with adrenaline.

The beast tide here was relatively more normal—after one wave, they’d rest for half a day or a full day before coming again.

From Flying Dragon’s perspective, this intensity of warfare was quite manageable for them.

With Jing Xi present, his subordinates were reliable enough. Chi Yao wasn’t worried about combat problems.

The most troublesome issues now were the Ghosts and the secrets hidden in this southern continent.

Tie Xiong sat cross-legged, touching the small fish tank hanging on his chest.

The tank was half the size of a fist, containing a silly little goldfish.

Outside the tank was a stabilization device—no matter how he shook it, the tank would always remain relatively still.

This was a gift from that beautiful brother.

“Boss, when are you going to capture that beautiful brother?” Tie Xiong asked curiously.

Chi Yao found a village that hadn’t started evacuating yet and prepared to land.

“Are you in a hurry?”

“Very anxious.” Tie Xiong grinned foolishly. “He smells so good, and he gives me delicious food. What if someone else snatches him away?”

Chi Yao glanced at him sideways: “You like him?”

Tie Xiong nodded seriously: “He’s prettier than Chun Qin and not as scary as her.”

Chi Yao scoffed: “Even if you like him, he’s mine.”

Tie Xiong: “…”

The road was completely empty with plenty of parking spaces.

Chi Yao randomly found a spot and got out.

He’d investigated that bounty competition venue. Although it changed somewhat each year, it was most concentrated in this area.

This place bordered the sea to the east and was near the forest to the west, with the entire area distributed in a ring shape.

Tie Xiong jumped down himself and followed at Chi Yao’s feet.

After walking half a street, they saw the first person.

It was a female beta holding a child and hurrying across the street with several bags in hand.

“Hello?”

When the female beta saw Chi Yao greeting her, she looked over. After seeing him clearly, she instinctively stepped back half a step, but her eyes lit up.

“Are you—are you Chi Yao?”

Chi Yao nodded: “Need help?”

“No need, the things are light.” The female beta shook her head, then asked tentatively, “Did Major General Jing send you out on a mission?”

After speaking, she noticed the child beside Chi Yao, who was blinking innocent big eyes with chubby cheeks—absolutely adorable.

No way?!

Was this Chi Yao’s child?!

“Yes, he asked me to check out this area first.” Chi Yao went along with her words, glancing around. “Looks like you’ve all been following the Legion’s orders.”

Speaking of this, worry appeared on the female beta’s face. She was about to speak when the child in her arms suddenly started crying.

She hurriedly coaxed the child while wanting to chat more with Chi Yao. She hesitated and said: “My house is right here. Would you like to come in for tea and rest?”

When she asked, she thought Chi Yao definitely wouldn’t come.

This was the leader of the Empire’s strongest star pirate group—how could he possibly agree to such a request?

“Sure, my child is tired too.” Chi Yao said casually.

Tie Xiong, completely clueless throughout, noticed the woman’s gaze and instantly put on a pitiful face, tugging Chi Yao’s pants leg: “My legs are so sore~”

Chi Yao: “…”

Where did he learn this nonsense?

The female beta was delighted, afraid he’d change his mind, and immediately led them to her home.

After bypassing the main road, they entered a narrow path less than two meters wide.

Within minutes, they arrived at the woman’s house.

Chi Yao immediately noticed the hunting tools placed in the corner of the yard, though they were very dilapidated.

The woman invited them to sit and went to prepare tea and snacks.

Noticing his gaze, she smiled and explained: “That’s what my father-in-law’s father made himself when he was young. He was a farmer with a hunter’s license and would occasionally go hunting.”

In this era, farmers’ income was much higher than most office workers, and their social status was high. Hunters who knew how to hunt received even more respect than farmers.

When beast tides struck, hunters could potentially be drafted into emergency reserve armies.

“Is that a deer antler?” Tie Xiong pointed at the beast bone hanging outside the window.

The woman placed the child in a baby carriage and smiled: “Yes, that’s what my father-in-law hunted.”

“Sounds like your partner’s family has a hunting tradition?” Chi Yao said casually.

The woman nodded: “Yes, many families here have this tradition.”

Chi Yao: “I’ve heard about those hunting competitions—as long as you capture designated targets within the specified time, you can get generous prize money. If there’s something like that here, it would be perfect for hunting families like yours to participate.”

The woman sat in a single sofa, rocking the baby carriage beside her.

“There is indeed. My father-in-law participated before.”

Chi Yao smiled, saying casually: “He could hunt a level-two elk, so his skills are quite good. He should have gotten a decent ranking.”

The woman shook her head helplessly: “The opponents were all too strong. My father-in-law was eliminated in the first round.”

“How strong?” Chi Yao asked.

Seeing his interest, the woman told him everything she knew.

“I heard it’s a competition organized by a wealthy person from here to give back to their hometown. Almost all hunters here have participated. The rewards are indeed generous, and you can even be recommended to work at the wealthy person’s company—”

Chi Yao: “What kind of work?”

The woman shook her head: “The salary is very high—a million star coins per year—but I’m not clear on exactly what they do.”

Given this continent’s economic level, an annual income of a million would definitely reach middle-class status.

Chi Yao: “Has anyone actually gotten this kind of work?”

The woman nodded: “Yes, many. But—”

At this point, the woman suddenly hesitated.

Noticing her expression change from the corner of his eye, Chi Yao grabbed Tie Xiong and put him on his lap, roughly messing up his hair.

“There’s really such a good deal? If I let my subordinates participate, I could worry less.”

Tie Xiong was immersed in eating snacks when he was suddenly attacked. Despite struggling hard, he couldn’t escape the devil’s clutches.

“Boss! I fucking got a snack stuck in my nostril!”

The woman laughed at Tie Xiong’s antics and unconsciously lowered her guard.

“But then they wouldn’t be able to serve you.”

Chi Yao pretended to play with Tie Xiong and said casually: “Why not?”

The woman unconsciously glanced at the door and said in a low voice: “Because those who got the jobs never came back.”

Chi Yao paused, puzzled: “Never? How long has it been?”

The woman: “The longest has been over forty years. Their families receive huge transfers every year, but there’s been no news of the people at all.”

“What kind of work is so mysterious?” Chi Yao smiled. “Don’t tell me they went to mine on a mining planet?”

The woman shook her head: “No one knows. But even so, everyone is envious, and many people still participate every year.”

Chi Yao: “Are there many people who get jobs each year?”

“Twenty or thirty?” The woman wasn’t sure. “After each competition, over a hundred winning contestants are interviewed, but only a small portion pass. Most are sent back after a few months.”

Chi Yao: “Don’t those who come back know what company it is or what work they do?”

“No one is willing to say.” The woman looked at the sleeping child in the carriage. “I only heard that the company is very large, involved in all industries. The company even arranges free trips for several months for those who don’t pass the interview.”

That probably wasn’t a trip—they were locked up and modified.

Having asked everything he needed to, Chi Yao prepared to leave.

“Um—” The woman called out to him.

Chi Yao smiled: “Need any help?”

Unable to contain her vigorous curiosity, the woman asked in a low voice: “Is this your child? He’s so cute.”

Chi Yao touched Tie Xiong’s head, smiled, and didn’t speak.

In the woman’s eyes, this was as good as confirmation.

“Can I—take a photo with you?” the woman asked carefully.

Chi Yao looked down at Tie Xiong and smiled: “Sure.”

Moments later, watching their departing backs, the woman felt both happy and disappointed.

Happy to finally see the legendary Extreme Shadow leader in person, disappointed that his claim of having a wife was actually true.

After sitting for two minutes, the woman couldn’t hold back and opened her social platform to post.

[Ahhhh family, I met Chi Yao in person! He even visited my house! [group photo.jpg]]

As a lifestyle blogger with tens of millions of followers, comments under her post quickly exceeded ten thousand.

“What what? The lady actually got a photo with Chi Yao!! Life winner!”

“Who’s the kid clinging to Chi Yao in the photo? So fucking cute!”

“Holy shit! Please tell me it’s not what I’m thinking ahhhhh!”

“Just came out and already has a kid. Classic Chi Yao.”

Seeing many people notice the child, the woman quickly explained, afraid some comments might be too harsh.

[This is Mr. Chi’s baby. I love him so much!]

As a result, this post soon hit trending.

Chi Yao’s name was once again at the top of headlines.

After finishing the morning meeting, Jing Xi called Jin Ze over to review Ghost’s confession. After working non-stop all morning, he only had time to sit down and drink water at lunch.

Just as he returned to the main cabin, he heard the unrestrained laughter of External Relations Department Chief Han.

“Good news?”

Jing Xi walked over unhurriedly with his water cup.

Han Yousheng was laughing when he turned and suddenly choked.

“Cough cough—” He instantly became serious and quickly stood up. “Boss, Mr. Chi truly is a master. I’m starting to like him.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Do we need you to like him?

Han Yousheng enlarged the virtual screen and gestured for Jing Xi to look.

“Yesterday’s matter is resolved!”

Jing Xi looked up and saw the number one trending topic. His eyebrow twitched—#Shocking! Chi Yao Has a Child#

He casually clicked on it.

“CP fans just finished New Year and are now celebrating Tomb Sweeping Festival.”

“I still can’t fucking believe this is real.”

“Thought my two male gods combined, turns out it was just an illusion.”

“Chi Yao said it was a joke, but we took it seriously, wuwuwu—”

“Suddenly feel so sorry for Major General Jing.”

Jing Xi had an ominous premonition. He opened his social platform account.

Under his first post, comments had increased by millions.

The most-liked comment—Major General Jing, don’t cry. There are good alphas besides Chi Yao.

Jing Xi: “…”

What did Chi Yao do now?

One day after “publicly coming out,” was he now “abandoned”?

Chi Yao selectively investigated several households.

Starting with the third household, people looked at Tie Xiong with especially fervent eyes, stuffing various snacks into his arms as if they were free.

Tie Xiong, a fearless little tough guy, was so scared his fur bristled. He held a chicken leg and hid behind Chi Yao.

These people are so fucking weird!

Chi Yao was also confused by them.

But children were a great tool for closing distances. As long as it helped the investigation, he didn’t care.

Back at the hover car, Tie Xiong carefully placed the pile of snacks from his arms onto the seat.

“Boss, can I take this pack back to share with the beautiful brother?”

Chi Yao was thinking about things when he heard this and glanced at the snack pack he held up.

“Extremely Sour” in three particularly eye-catching characters.

Chi Yao: “…”

Chi Yao: “No.”

Tie Xiong jumped onto the seat.

“Why?”

Chi Yao: “Because I don’t like eating it.”

Tie Xiong: “? I didn’t say I’d give it to you.”

Chi Yao drove the car out.

“But I’ll end up eating it.”

Tie Xiong tilted his head and thought for a long time but still didn’t understand.

Whatever, the boss is always right.

Chi Yao rested on the steering wheel, looking ahead, mentally processing the information gathered.

He deliberately chose families without modified human scents. Most of what they said matched up.

The organization used bounty competitions to select people with excellent physiques and other qualities, bringing them to bases for modification. Successfully modified ones entered the organization; failed ones were sent back.

Based on the timeline, this should be the prototype of “Amusement Park.”

Perhaps because things went smoothly here, they gradually expanded to other planets, using local characteristics to evolve into many different competition formats.

But did the successful batch enter Ghost to become mask people, or were they scattered to other amusement parks to become players or NPCs?

Did the failed batch take poison, or receive other benefits? Were they forced or did they voluntarily keep secrets for the organization?

Had some already become specimens at research institutes?

Returning to where the warship was located, a new batch of refugees was being transferred aboard.

Streets near the warship were lined with people.

While landing, Chi Yao saw Jing Xi personally maintaining order from afar.

Just as he was about to move toward him, he saw the other suddenly receive some communication and walk alone into a side alley.

Within minutes, some refugees at the back of the line took advantage of the chaos to follow.

Chi Yao frowned.

Jing Xi walked deeper and deeper, stopping in a narrow alley only wide enough for one person.

Footsteps approached nearby. He hung up the communication. From the corner of his eye, he saw something flash past the alley entrance.

“Who’s there?”

Soon, a male and female beta emerged from the alley entrance.

The male beta scratched his hair, somewhat embarrassed: “Sorry, Major General Jing. We thought the line was still long, so we went back home to get things.”

Jing Xi walked up to them: “Transferring you to a safe location is just a preventive measure. It doesn’t mean this area will definitely be destroyed. The military will do its best to protect your homes. Don’t worry.”

The female beta’s eyes were red-rimmed with tears pooling in her eyes. She thanked him repeatedly: “Thank you. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t know what to do.”

Jing Xi took out tissues from his pocket and handed them to her.

“Don’t stress too much. Come back with me.”

The female beta pulled out a tissue: “We’re really sorry.”

She pressed her eye corners. Seeing Jing Xi turn around, murderous intent surged in her eyes.

Having walked only a few steps, sudden slight movement came from behind. Jing Xi quickly moved sideways against the wall while raising his leg to kick away the gun in the female beta’s hand.

The female beta was kicked backward several steps. Just as she was about to pull out a backup gun, her vision suddenly blurred and she couldn’t even stand.

“Mmph—!”

What’s happening?!

Swoosh!

Bullets pierced through the wall, leaving small holes.

After several dodges, Jing Xi’s toe kicked the male beta’s elbow while simultaneously grabbing and twisting his wrist, taking the gun and knocking him unconscious with the gun butt.

Dense footsteps came from behind.

Jing Xi quickly hid behind the wall at the alley entrance.

Listening to the footsteps, he mentally calculated the number of people.

Just as the footsteps were only two or three meters away, a voice rang out and the footsteps stopped.

“Who are you looking for?”

The refugees suddenly turned to see Chi Yao blocking the alley entrance they came from, looking at them as if viewing a pile of dead objects.

Someone reacted quickly and immediately raised their gun.

Bang!

“Urgh—!”

The person’s gun fell as they covered their pierced wrist, biting down hard to avoid crying out.

People in this alley area had all gone outside to queue. Although no one was around, it wasn’t far from the main road.

Guards were everywhere outside. Any commotion here would bring them immediately.

Unless absolutely necessary, they didn’t dare use guns casually.

But Chi Yao had no such concerns.

At the other end of the alley, hearing Chi Yao’s voice, Jing Xi knew this was bad.

Taking advantage of Chi Yao diverting their attention, he quickly flashed out, hooked his arm around someone’s neck and applied force. The person fell unconscious.

Nearby refugees immediately turned and attacked toward him.

Over thirty refugees were blocked front and back by Chi Yao and Jing Xi in the narrow alley. Despite using full force, they couldn’t break through, let alone assassinate.

Jing Xi finished with the person in his hands and saw Chi Yao pressing a gun muzzle against someone’s forehead. He walked over.

“Don’t kill yet.”

Bang!

Chi Yao pulled the trigger.

The refugee’s body convulsed violently and collapsed.

Jing Xi frowned: “I told you not to—”

“Are you ordering me?” Chi Yao looked at him coldly.

Jing Xi: “…”

Angry?

Jing Xi stepped closer, softening his tone: “Let’s go back and—”

Xiao Hong: [Warning: Heat weapon reaction detected at 3 o’clock direction!]

Xiao Hei: [Sniper at 3 o’clock.]

Jing Xi was about to raise his gun when Chi Yao suddenly pulled him into his embrace protectively.

Chi Yao turned sideways to shield Jing Xi, his Xuanfeng aimed in that direction.

The distance was far. Xiao Hei conscientiously set up the scope.

But halfway through transforming, Chi Yao fired.

The sniper over there had just gotten into position when a bullet penetrating the gun barrel directly sent him off.

Xiao Hei silently retracted the half-transformed scope.

On the other end, Tie Xiong, left by the roadside by a certain someone, held snacks and licked a lollipop, leisurely weaving through the crowd.

This is a pig, this is a monkey, this is a horse…

Smelling various scents, Tie Xiong recited in his mind.

The beautiful brother still smells best—a very warm scent.

“Little friend, did you get separated from your family?”

Suddenly two alphas blocked his path.

Tie Xiong looked up—one was a fox, one was a rat.

Seeing him not speak, the two crouched down and smiled: “Your family must be worried. Let uncle help you find them?”

Tie Xiong thought about it and said seriously: “He won’t worry.”

Alpha: “Don’t you want to find him?”

Tie Xiong shook his head: “No.”

When the boss is angry, he definitely won’t go looking for trouble—he’d get his fur pulled out.

Another alpha pulled out a pack of chicken legs from his pocket.

“Then come play with us. We’ll give you these to eat.”

Tie Xiong looked at what he was holding. Seemed he didn’t have this kind of small chicken leg.

He swallowed and reluctantly nodded: “Okay then.”

Nearby refugees who saw this all thought they were taking the child back. Plus, the atmosphere was tense during evacuation—no one could care about that much.

The two successfully carried Tie Xiong into another alley.

A hover car was parked at the end of the alley.

The alpha connected a call and said to the other end: “Boss, we have the child!… They’ve already acted, no contact yet… Okay, we’re coming right away!”

Tie Xiong was being carried while running. Several packs of snacks fell from his arms.

“My stuff fell!”

No one paid attention.

Tie Xiong turned to look at the snack bag stepped on by the person behind and got angry.

The alley wasn’t long. The two quickly got into the hover car.

The alpha said to the driver in front: “Go to Dragon’s Whisker Mouth!”

Just after speaking, something cold pressed against the carotid artery on his neck.

“This grandpa’s words—you fucking can’t understand them?”

Through the rearview mirror, the alpha saw the child’s sharp claws. His pupils shook violently.

This child was also—!

Moments later, guard soldiers who hurriedly received the message and hurriedly rushed over surrounded the hover car.

Opening the door, three alpha males were already unconscious. Only Tie Xiong sat in the back seat, gnawing chicken legs and swinging his legs, quite leisurely.

“Are you okay?” The honest soldier brother was scared silly and quickly carried the child out. “Are you hurt?”

Tie Xiong: “I’m hungry.”

Soldier: “…”

In the other alley, having just dealt with the sniper, Jing Xi received information reported from below.

“You left Tie Xiong alone outside?”

Chi Yao had a sour face.

“Do you have time to worry about others now?”

Jing Xi had people quickly transfer those on the ground and pulled Chi Yao outside.

Back on the warship, seeing Chi Yao’s cold face throughout, Jing Xi sincerely apologized.

“Sorry for making you worry.”

Though he didn’t think he did anything wrong.

Chi Yao snorted coldly: “Using yourself as bait, deliberately luring Ghost over—quite bold, huh?”

Jing Xi: “…”

Chi Yao’s voice was cold: “If I hadn’t happened to see, you planned to handle everything yourself? Wearing a bulletproof vest? What about protective armor?”

Jing Xi: “…I’m wearing them.”

Chi Yao looked directly into his eyes: “No matter how strong you are, you’re just an ordinary person. One bullet is enough to take your life!”

Jing Xi looked at him without speaking.

Before the air could freeze, Jing Xi quietly reached out, rubbing his hand, fingers tentatively drilling into his palm.

“But you think it’s cute, right?”

Chi Yao gripped his hand: “…”

Jing Xi chuckled softly: “Didn’t you secretly take several photos?”

Chi Yao: “………..”

Why was he discovered?