[Qi Shoude committed suicide in prison. The surveillance logs were tampered with.]

Li Xiao and Song Jin exchanged a glance, mutual understanding passing between them instantly.

The Meng family had taken action.

Meng Jian had ultimately chosen to throw away the Qi family to preserve himself.

Following the S1301 enemy attack, the royal family had captured the full support of the public. Although Meng Jian possessed the capability to raise an army, he lacked the necessary conditions to do so. Revealing his true colors at a time like this would be the height of stupidity; his only option was to sacrifice a knight to save the king and wait for the next opportunity.

Because there were many people on the bus, Song Jin used the mental bridge between 07 and 09 to communicate directly through thoughts with Li Xiao: [Many officials and military officers in the Suyang Cluster have been arrested. Does your brother have people who can step up and fill those spots?]

Li Xiao: [I don’t know, but whether they can step up or not doesn’t really matter.]

Song Jin raised an eyebrow: [If it just changes from named ‘Qi’ to named ‘Meng’, aren’t we doing all this work for nothing?]

Li Xiao: [Of course not.]

Even if the Meng family tossed the Qi family out to take the hit and managed to weather this crisis of public trust, regaining some of their reputation, things could never return to how they were before.

The royal family dealt a heavy blow to the Qi family, which would bound to force many officials and military officers to re-evaluate their stances.

The vast majority of people acted out of self-interest. If they realized that alignment with the Meng family might bring ruin, they would think twice about continuing to wade in the mud with them.

On the surface, the Meng family seemed to suffer no direct loss, but in reality, their influence was no longer what it used to be. Furthermore, the act of personally liquidating the Qi family would instil panic among many of those who followed them.

After all, no one knew if they would become the next Qi family.

With the most loyal dog personally put down by Meng Jian, the remaining Zheng family was nothing to fear.

Song Jin: [The Zheng family’s style of doing things is far slicker than the Qi family’s.]

Li Xiao: [It’s precisely because they’re slick that they’re easier to deal with.]

Song Jin: [You’re that confident?]

Li Xiao: [The Zheng family is different from the Qi family; their loyalty to the Meng family isn’t that high.]

Under the current system, the Zheng family had already reached the peak of their potential. Even if rebelling with the Meng family succeeded, the benefits they stood to gain wouldn’t necessarily be better than what they had now.

In the past, when the Meng family held dominant power and the royal family was weak, siding with the Meng family didn’t guarantee extra perks, but siding with the royal family meant guaranteed suppression by the Meng family—just like the Yi family today.

The Zheng family was forced to pick a side between the royal family and the Meng family. But now that the royal family was rising, the entire dynamic had been turned upside down.

However, given that the Zheng family shared ties with the Meng family regarding the modified humans, they wouldn’t sever relations easily in the short term.

Tianjiang Cluster, Capital Planet—The Zheng Residence.

Zheng Kangan was awakened mid-sleep by urgent intelligence: Qi Shoude was dead.

Any remaining sleepiness vanished instantly. He sat in his study until dawn broke, smoking through an entire pack of cigarettes without finding a clear way forward.

“Father?” Zheng Fan opened the door and entered. “The fact that the Meng family stepped in is a good thing for us. At least it guarantees we won’t be dragged down with them.”

“Not necessarily,” Zheng Kangan stubbed out his cigarette butt. “I was just thinking… did our family pick the wrong side?”

Zheng Fan sat down opposite him across the desk. Father and son fell into a long silence.

“Even if the Meng family loses this round, it doesn’t mean the royal family has the power to defeat them completely.”

Zheng Kangan lit another cigarette, failing several times before tossing the lighter onto the desk in frustration. “Li Ji arrives in the Zifu Cluster today.”

Zheng Fan looked up at him, vaguely grasping the underlying meaning of his father’s words.

“Are you afraid the Meng family will pull another stunt?”

Zheng Kangan sneered, “Do you think I’m as stupid as Qi Shoude, letting him run wild? Li Ji can suffer an accident anywhere, but never in the Zifu Cluster!”

His terminal vibrated. Zheng Kangan swiped it open to reveal a message sent by his adjutant:

Adjutant: [Sir, the Meng family has made a move.]

Below were several links to network platforms. Zheng Kangan clicked on one at random—it was an update posted by Meng Jian’s personal account, stating that he had temporarily assumed the role of Acting Lieutenant General overseeing the Suyang Cluster. Moving forward, he promised to cooperate fully with local inspection departments to deal with all personnel involved, publish progress in real time, and accept public oversight.

Zheng Kangan wiped his face, sighing softly. “Meng Jian really could bring himself to do it… The Qi family is completely finished.”

A single wrong move had lost the entire game. The Qi family’s century of operations vanished into thin air overnight.

Tianjiang Cluster, T999—First Military Academy.

Jiang Hao and two companions followed Yan Qing, returning to the military academy alongside other students who had participated in the league.

On the very first day back to class, students along the walkways were talking about the Qi family’s rebellion.

Qian Can instinctively looked around for Qi Ge after entering the classroom.

The guy who usually sat in the best seats surrounded by lackeys had moved to an inconspicuous spot in the back row today.

Recalling how this kid had tried to attack his boss and Li Xiao multiple times, Qian Can intentionally walked past him, shaking his head with a loud tut: “Who would’ve thought? The high and mighty Qi family of Danse, going cold just like that.”

Normally, Jiang Hao wouldn’t pick up on such a provocation, but he had tolerated Qi Ge for far too long. He casually chimed in, “Disregarding everyone’s safety, bringing in enemy forces to attack His Majesty, ambushing the Third Legion, and telling the garrison to stand by and let people die—if they didn’t go cold after all that, it would defy all logic.”

The chatter in the classroom quieted down for a second, everyone secretly stealing glances over at them.

They hadn’t been qualified to participate in the league, so their understanding of the enemy attack that day came entirely from the internet—it wasn’t as deeply felt as what Jiang Hao and the others had experienced firsthand.

Triggered by the words, Qi Ge charged forward to strike, roaring hysterically as he swung:

“Our family didn’t rebel! We were framed! You know nothing and yet you dare talk nonsense—believe it or not, I’ll sue you for slander!”

Just as Qian Can was about to move, Qin Le caught him seamlessly from behind. When Qian Can turned his head, Qin Le shook his head slightly, signaling him not to act.

The current situation between the two nations was delicate; as people of Shengya, it was best not to get involved in the Qi family’s affairs.

“Ugh!“

Hearing a sharp gasp of pain, Qian Can turned back around. Jiang Hao had already slammed Qi Ge to the ground with a solid punch.

The surrounding students backed off to spectate from the perimeter, none stepping in to stop it.

Jiang Hao was Second Prince’s man. If the Second Prince wanted to teach a Qi family member a lesson, who would dare interfere?

One side of Qi Ge’s face went completely numb. He scrambled back up and lunged again, driving a fist straight toward Jiang Hao’s eye socket.

“You’re asking for it!”

Jiang Hao caught his incoming fist and twisted it back, pinning Qi Ge’s neck to press him against the wall: “You tried to kill my big brother multiple times, and he didn’t hold it against you. Sunk to this state, and you still don’t know how to pull back?!”

The spectating students looked at each other in shock.

Qi Ge had tried to harm the Second Prince before? And multiple times?!

“Was that incident back then with the pheromone leak where Song Jin beat him up also…” students whispered among themselves.

“No wonder Song Jin hit him so hard back then.”

Qi Ge struggled with all his strength, but couldn’t break free. His gaze swept over his lackeys, but the moment their eyes met his, those followers shrank back and avoided his gaze.

He couldn’t beat Song Jin or Li Xiao, but could he really not beat this lackey named Jiang? Qi Ge lost his mind to rage. Releasing his pheromones, he roared, “Let go!”

Jiang Hao’s vision blurred for a split second, and his suppressor ring instantly reacted.

Waiting for the moment Jiang Hao’s grip loosened, Qi Ge turned and struck toward Jiang Hao’s neck.

However, the instant his fingers made contact, the world spun upside down, and his face was slammed against the cold floor, unable to move.

Jiang Hao pressed his knee into Qi Ge’s back. “The era of the Qi family is over. Do you understand?”

What was going on? Why did the pheromones fail again?!

Unable to win the fight and struck right where it hurt most by those words, Qi Ge’s composure collapsed completely. He burst into hysterical crying, cursing as he sobbed.

Forget Qi Ge’s few lackeys—even Zheng Lin, who was watching from a distance, had turned pale and unnerved.

Jiang Hao’s words seemed directed at Qi Ge, but in truth, they served as a warning to everyone in the class.

The royal family had fought a brilliant turnaround battle, standing tall once more with unprecedented dominance.

After the Qi family, who knew which family would be next?

Halfway through the lesson, the classroom door was pushed open as a squad of guards marched in.

Seeing them scanning the crowd, Qi Ge gasped in terror and cowered down.

The guard captain locked his eyes onto Qi Ge and gestured for his men to move in and apprehend him.

Everyone in the class turned pale, not daring to breathe loudly.

What was happening? Qi Shoude rebelled, so they were arresting Qi Ge too?

Danse law didn’t practice collective punishment through family relations!

Watching them approach, Qi Ge turned deathly pale, desperately trying to shrink into the corner, only to be cuffed and dragged out by two soldiers.

“I… I didn’t commit any crime!”

The professor on the podium and two assistant teachers looked puzzled. One assistant went over to ask about the situation.

The guard captain produced an arrest warrant. “Acting on orders from higher-ups, there is reasonable suspicion that Qi Ge intentionally attempted to murder members of the royal family. He is being taken in for investigation.”

The eyes of every teacher and student in the room widened in shock.

What Jiang Hao said earlier was actually true!

How did the Qi family ever dare?!

Seeing the arrest warrant, Qi Ge went into a full panic: “I didn’t do it! I’m innocent… I want to see my dad!”

The guard captain sneered, “Your dad was arrested a long time ago. Take him away!”

Qi Ge looked desperately toward the professor and Zheng Lin’s group, but everyone merely watched, showing no intention of saving him.

In his extreme panic, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

If I get dragged away, I’ll definitely die. It’s better to make a run for it right now.

I don’t want to die yet…

Just as they stepped out of the classroom, the guards suddenly caught a whiff of an intense pheromone scent that even their suppressor rings couldn’t fully block.

Qi Ge had been waiting for this exact moment. He snatched a guard’s sidearm, grabbed the guard as a hostage, and bolted rapidly toward the nearest exit.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Jiang Hao and the others had thought the matter was over, but hearing the commotion in the corridor, they ran to the window to look outside.

“Has he gone crazy?”

Qian Can’s eyes bulged in disbelief. “Rushing to his own death?”

Qin Le sensed trouble and strode quickly toward the door.

Qian Can grabbed at empty air: “Where are you going?!”

Qin Le replied, “To find a way to control Qi Ge. He can’t die yet.”

Qian Can swore under his breath and hurriedly followed after him.

Jiang Hao briskly walked to the windowsill on the other side, opened the window, and leaped onto the outer balcony.

In the corridor, the guards raised their guns, pointing them at Qi Ge.

The guard captain, recovering his composure, shouted, “If you don’t want to die, put the gun down right now!”

“Shut up!” Qi Ge yelled excitedly, pressing the muzzle harder against the guard’s neck. “All of you, get back!”

Qin Le reached the doorway. “As long as you obediently accept the investigation, there’s still hope!”

Qi Ge screamed, “It’s gone! Everything is gone!”

“There’s a massive difference in criminal liability between a primary offender and an accomplice!” Qin Le hinted heavily. “As long as you’re willing to tell the truth, your crime won’t carry the death penalty!”

Faced with so many gun barrels pointing at him, Qi Ge grew increasingly panicked, his gaze darting around erratically. Only after a moment did he digest the meaning behind Qin Le’s words.

Noticing out of the corner of his eye that Jiang Hao had hidden himself near the exit right behind Qi Ge—less than two meters away—Qin Le continued his persuasion smoothly.

“Calm down first. Acting like this won’t solve anything. Even if you manage to escape this corridor, where could you possibly go?”

Qi Ge was so tense he could barely breathe. He stole a glance at Qin Le over there.

“Can he guarantee I won’t die?”

Qin Le promised, “As long as you’re willing to cooperate.”

Qi Ge’s pacing slowed. After thinking rapidly for a moment, he pulled the gun back and began raising it up: “Fine—ugh!“

Jiang Hao had been waiting for Qi Ge to draw near.

Seeing there was less than half a meter remaining, he was just preparing to signal his move when a gunshot suddenly echoed out. Qi Ge collapsed heavily before him, a bullet hole drilled right between his eyebrows.

The gunshot echoed down the entire teaching building’s corridor. Everyone inside the classrooms on both sides stared blankly at the scene, the atmosphere freezing solid.

Jiang Hao even began to doubt his own judgment, immediately looking over toward Qin Le.

Hadn’t Qi Ge just been preparing to surrender?

Qin Le used his peripheral vision to observe the guard captain, signaling Jiang Hao not to come over and to retreat the way he came.

The guard captain announced coldly, “Suspect Qi Ge resisted arrest and attempted to attack others; he was neutralized on the spot.”

Once the guard squad dragged Qi Ge’s body away, Jiang Hao immediately reported the situation here to Li Xiao, forwarding the guard captain’s name as well.

Before long, Li Xiao’s reply came back:

Li Xiao: [Received. Keep an eye on the situation at the cafeteria.]

Jiang Hao: [Received.]

In a corner of the classroom, Zheng Lin stared blankly at the trail of blood left behind on the floor, his terror reaching a peak.

So this was the fate of an abandoned piece.

What about him?

After Qi Ge, would it be his turn next?

On the day following Qi Ge’s shooting, Meng Tao, who had been detained in the Security Bureau for a long time, was released.

Inside the Second-Year Training Hall.

Lin Shuo and a dozen or so companions took advantage of a training break, sitting together to review their operational battle in S1301 once again.

One student, acting somewhat absentminded, suddenly lowered his voice to ask: “Hey, do you guys think that stuff about the Mengyue tribe drinking human blood and eating human flesh is real?”

Several students laughed.

“It’s definitely fake.”

“Maybe hard to say about the past, but nobody eats that now for sure.”

“Though that human organ cultivation base at the border was creepy as hell!”

Lin Shuo noticed that the Alpha who asked the question looked a bit off, so he remarked offhandedly, “Whether it’s real or not, I don’t know, but this reminds me of back in our first year, when someone said some kind of blood could boost your strength…”

“You heard about that too?” The Alpha who asked looked over quickly.

“Too?” Lin Shuo probed gently. “Were you asked about that as well?”

Noticing the others looking over, the Alpha was about to shake his head when another Alpha companion asked, “Isn’t that some kind of classified military project?”

“Hey, what a coincidence! I was asked about that too,” a third Alpha student chimed in.

Lin Shuo let out a chuckle: “I thought it was ridiculous back then and forgot about it right after. Where did you guys hear it from?”

Like a group of youths casually chatting, they ended up sharing all of their experiences.

After training ended, the Alpha who had asked the initial question used the excuse of asking for advice to privately seek out Lin Shuo at his dormitory.

Clutching his hair, the Alpha was completely losing his mind: “I was too stupid! None of you fell for it, but I did! What do I do? I don’t want my whole body to ulcerate and drop dead!”

Lin Shuo handed him a bottle of ice water, signaling him to calm down first.

“We’ll keep this strictly between the two of us. Tell me your situation in detail first so I can help you figure out what to do.”

The Alpha nodded, grabbing Lin Shuo’s hand tightly: “Chief, I’m relying on you!”

With just a few words, Lin Shuo successfully extracted all the information he wanted.

Zifu Cluster, Z152.

Li Xiao and Song Jin had been wandering around Western District 68, where the Gaofeng race commonly resided, for over a day without any findings.

This residential district was very old. This area had been bombed 76 years ago and likely underwent re-zoning; the architectural style of the buildings was uniform, but after several decades, it had become worn and dilapidated. The people living here were no longer members of the Gaofeng race either.

“They cleaned it up so thoroughly not even scraps remain. How are we supposed to investigate?” Song Jin stood under a roadside sunshade canopy, eating an ice cream cone Li Xiao had bought for him.

Li Xiao said, “Let’s wait for Gao Cheng to arrive and ask him.”

Catching out of the corner of his eye that ice cream was dripping onto Song Jin’s hand, Li Xiao reminded him, “Eat faster, it’s melting.”

Song Jin was so hot he tugged at his collar, fanning himself constantly. “It hasn’t melted yet, but I might melt first.”

The last time they visited Z152, they had gone to the north where temperatures were only around ten degrees Celsius. This time coming to the west, it was actually around thirty-seven or thirty-eight degrees—stuffy and humid. The killer was that they were still wearing long sleeves and long pants.

Li Xiao looked left and right.

In a small alley diagonally opposite, there was a grocery shop. An elderly person who appeared to be in his eighties or nineties was sitting at the entrance making fans.

Li Xiao led the kitten over and spent ten credits to buy a plain cattail palm fan, cooling the two of them down.

The shade in the alley was cooler than outside. Song Jin didn’t stand on ceremony—he squatted against the wall and continued digging into his ice cream.

“There are stools inside, go fetch them yourselves,” the old man said as he continued crafting the fan.

The accent was so thick that Song Jin couldn’t understand a word.

Li Xiao’s eyes flickered; this accent sounded like the Gaofeng race.

“Thank you.”

After expressing his thanks, Li Xiao went into the shop.

The shop looked quite old, packed tightly with goods. In the corner of the counter stood two large wine vats, which appeared to hold home-brewed liquor.

Li Xiao searched around before finding two low wooden stools tucked beneath a pile of palm leaves beside a shelf. They didn’t look particularly sturdy.

Seeing Li Xiao come out carrying the stools, Song Jin casually took one.

A low stool only thirty or forty centimeters high was no different from sitting on the floor to him.

Li Xiao warned, “This one might—”

The moment Song Jin sat down, one leg of the low stool snapped, and he pitched sideways.

Li Xiao caught him in time. Seeing a rare look of shock on the kitten’s face, he burst out laughing.

“Look at you, breaking the old man’s stool.”

Song Jin: “…”

What kind of hidden weapon was this to be so deadly?

Song Jin picked up the stool to inspect it. One of the legs had already been broken to begin with, merely resting loosely in place; any careless sitting posture would cause it to collapse instantly.

When we get back to the palace, I’ll set up one of these for his brother too—lower the height by another ten centimeters, and the chance of falling over should hit 99%.

Li Xiao passed the other stool over: “Take this one.”

“No need.” After finishing his inspection, Song Jin fitted the broken leg back into place and sat down again. “As steady as Mount Tai.”

Li Xiao: “…”

That stubborn competitiveness.

Sitting opposite the old man across the narrow alley, Li Xiao watched as he skillfully crafted the fan and asked casually, “Judging by your accent, are you from the Gaofeng race?”

Hearing this, the old man was somewhat surprised: “You know about the Gaofeng race?”

When the old man raised his head, both Li Xiao and Song Jin saw his grayish-green eyes, though due to old age, the green hue was no longer prominent.

Li Xiao replied, “I heard my history teacher mention it during class. I heard this place was bombed in the past?”

Hearing that they didn’t have local accents, the old man assumed they were tourists visiting from elsewhere. Taking another palm leaf, he resumed making his fan: “It’s already been seventy-six years. I was only fourteen back then, attending a summer camp in District 85 with my parents. Our family was lucky to escape the disaster.”

Li Xiao asked, “Was it ever investigated back then who did the bombing?”

The old man’s voice sounded weathered: “I heard it was a coup by the Golden Oriole Legion. They fought for a long time, leaving District 68 riddled with craters and turned to ruins. So many, many people died.”

Song Jin couldn’t understand a word and grew anxious, sharing a bite of his favorite cone with Li Xiao.

Li Xiao unceremoniously took a large bite, translating what the old man said to him in a low voice.

“Was that really the Golden Oriole Legion?” Li Xiao asked.

The old man paused to recall, shaking his head: “All military legions look the same to me. But on the morning of the day following the bombing, I saw another legion arrive. I don’t know if it was the same one.”

Li Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly.

“You mean, before that legion arrived, there were already forces bombing this area?”

The old man nodded: “There were many fighter jets circling this area. Once that legion arrived, they switched to heavy artillery bombardment. Everyone was desperately fleeing, and my parents took me to the south as well. I only returned after this place was rebuilt.”

Hearing Li Xiao’s translation, Song Jin also felt something was off.

The fighter jet units that attacked this place first, or the legion that arrived later—who exactly was Golden Oriole? Or rather… were both of them?