Song Jin’s words reminded Li Xiao suddenly of another old acquaintance.

The Shengya royal family had produced a genius in the field of weaponry who had instantly elevated Shengya’s cutting-edge military technology, widening the gap with Danse to at least thirty years.

Coupled with the fact that Shengya ended its ten-year civil war in the previous life while Danse was still locked in a life-or-death struggle, by the time Li Xiao took over, the technological gap was no longer something that could be bridged in a short period.

Cooperation at the national level was out of the question for now, but private cooperation might be possible. After all, that person possessed more of the rare weapon materials he himself desired most.

Due to the electromagnetic interference, power had been cut off across a large area of the residential zone, leaving it in pitch darkness.

Li Xiao drove his car, following behind the dark guards’ vehicle. They wove through a maze of housing converted from discarded aircraft cabins. Half an hour later, they left the range of the Ravens’ attacks and landed in front of a dilapidated ship cabin on the edge of the residential district.

The area was surrounded by mountains of metal scrap, looking like an abandoned workers’ dormitory.

Song Jin pushed the door open to get out. Seeing Li Xiao rubbing his temple out of the corner of his eye, he asked casually, “Can’t get up? Shall I carry you in?”

Li Xiao’s tone was flat. “Thanks for the concern.”

Song Jin replied, “Caring for my wife is my duty.”

Li Xiao turned his head to look at him. “You feel uncomfortable if you don’t take advantage of me, don’t you?”

Song Jin: “Did you figure that out?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Such an immature kid.

The group was all injured to varying degrees, especially the few alpha men with mustaches, who all had gunshot wounds.

Only after the dark guards helped them into the cabin did Li Xiao get out of the car. He dragged Jin Dafu out from the backseat and, guided by the dark guards, brought him to another small room to be locked up.

“How long until he wakes up?” Li Xiao asked, lowering his voice.

Song Jin: “The tranquilizer’s effect lasts eight hours.”

That would be about tomorrow morning.

Leaving the dark guards behind to stand watch, Song Jin gestured for Li Xiao to leave first.

The old ship cabin was filled with the thick smell of rust. Walking up to a door, Song Jin tried pushing it twice without success, then kicked it open directly.

The flimsy metal door hit the wall and bounced a few times, making a screeching, metallic sound.

The faint moonlight filtered through the window into the room. One could vaguely make out the layout of a crew cabin—the space was small, but it had all the necessary facilities.

Song Jin walked over to pull the curtains, turned on a flashlight, placed it on the table, took off his goggles, and threw his gloves aside.

Soon, a dark guard arrived with a medical kit, intending to treat their wounds.

The smell on their bodies was too strong. Song Jin headed toward the bathroom and tilted his chin at Li Xiao. “Treat him first.”

Li Xiao: “I’ll do it myself. You go ahead.”

The dark guard didn’t insist, placed the medical kit on the table, and turned to leave.

Li Xiao sat by the table, rubbing his still-throbbing temple. The spirit he had been bracing all night could finally relax a little.

He unlocked his terminal, but it still showed no signal.

There was a message from Jiang Chi sent an hour ago.

Jiang Chi: [The Ravens have entered N2533 airspace! I can’t believe they found another target so quickly.]

The tone hinted at a sense of regret—”I didn’t keep up with their pace, missed the loot, and now I can only slap my thigh in frustration.”

The tinnitus caused by the sonic boom had not yet subsided. Li Xiao felt exhausted. After closing his terminal, he leaned back in the chair to rest.

In the bathroom, Song Jin splashed water on his face. The water hit the wounds on his hands, the stinging sensation constantly reminding him of everything that had happened tonight.

When he received the intelligence on N2533 at the military academy, he had assumed there was a large blood bank here. He hadn’t expected the blood to appear in such a violent manner.

He had heard his brother mention before that Danse had long insisted on highly preserving the traditions of various ethnic groups. This national policy could indeed win the support of the people, but it also fueled conflicts between the groups.

He didn’t know if the Qilin were some ethnic group from Danse, but the setup tonight was clearly targeted at the Bique tribe.

Was it just simple ethnic conflict?

He had reviewed the military’s investigation files on the Bique tribe from over a decade ago. The Bique tribe was a very small group, with a scale only about the size of an ordinary village. A hundred years ago, they cut off contact with the outside world. The tribespeople lived in poverty and hardship, and it was only in recent decades that young people had gradually gone out to work due to survival issues.

A Bique tribe like this had absolutely no ability to stir up conflict with other ethnic groups.

With the Qilin’s strength, was it worth it for them to go after such a weak and small group?

Testing the composition of the blood might provide the answer.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Song Jin immediately saw Li Xiao leaning against the chair. He looked like he had fallen asleep, not having treated a single one of his wounds.

Was the impact of the sonic boom that great?

The blood had coagulated, leaving a long, dried trail on his face, yet it added a kind of sickly, fragile beauty.

Song Jin stared at Li Xiao’s face for a moment, rolled up his sleeves, walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down. He took the disinfection tools from the medical kit to disinfect the wounds on Li Xiao’s face.

People can die, but this face cannot be ruined.

Li Xiao, who had originally intended to open his eyes: “…”

Li Xiao had already woken up when Song Jin came out, but his head hurt too much to move. He hadn’t expected this brat to actually take the initiative to treat his wounds.

The technique was skillful, and the movements were fast—but it was painful; the brat didn’t care whether he lived or died.

Li Xiao endured and endured until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“You’re awake?” Song Jin drawled, his tone revealing that he had seen through Li Xiao’s feigned sleep long ago. “You expected me to have the skill of a doctor? If you’re not satisfied, do it yourself.”

Li Xiao silently unbuttoned his work jacket, took it off, and offered his arm. “Gentle.”

Song Jin: “You’re asking for my help and you still have the nerve to make demands? Is this the attitude of someone asking for a favor?”

Li Xiao: “I’ve never asked anyone for anything, so I don’t know what attitude I should use.”

Song Jin placed the antiseptic on the table and got up to leave.

Li Xiao grabbed his wrist and asked with sincere eyes, “How about I buy you candy when we get back?”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin sneered: “Treating me like a three-year-old?”

Li Xiao: “Then, I’ll treat you to a meal?”

For the sake of Li Xiao’s face, Song Jin reluctantly sat back down, continued applying medicine to him, and said leisurely, “I want the candy, too.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Didn’t you just say you didn’t want it?

From Song Jin’s angle, he could just see Li Xiao’s profile. That sense of familiarity arose again. He asked casually, “Did we meet before you came to the military academy?”

Li Xiao handed him the gauze. “That pickup line is too old-fashioned, kiddo?”

Song Jin snatched the gauze: “You seem very experienced?”

Li Xiao: “I’m pure, just pure.”

Song Jin: “…”

Truly punchable.

After finishing the treatment, the two left the room.

Through the window in the corridor, they could see the bombing on the horizon continuing. The light points of the explosions were getting lower and lower; it looked like the Qilin couldn’t hold on much longer.

The Ravens had just finished fighting the Ghost Dragons; fighting the Qilin would normally be very strenuous, but they were lucky enough to encounter the electromagnetic shells Song Jin had released.

In the face of military-grade weapons, the top-tier civilian gear the Qilin possessed was all garbage; they had no way to parry at all.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Li Xiao opened the door. This room was slightly larger, filled with the smell of blood and disinfectant.

The mustached alpha had been shot twice, counting as the least injured among this group. He was sitting in the small parlor bandaging himself, allowing the dark guards to free up their hands to save his companions.

Seeing Li Xiao and Song Jin come over, the mustached man put down the bandage: “How did you storm through to the final round?”

“Luck.” Li Xiao sat down in the chair opposite. “What about you? You don’t seem as simple as just participating in the Gold Rush competition.”

“Gold Rush competition?” The mustache hooked a mocking smile but didn’t explain. “You were so well prepared; you don’t look like you’re just in it for the competition either.”

Li Xiao: “We did some research beforehand, so we prepared a medical team, but we never imagined the organizers would be so twisted—they never intended to let anyone who finished the round leave alive.”

The mustache fell silent for a moment and looked up at Li Xiao: “For the sake of you saving us, let me give you a piece of advice: from now on, never participate in any competition where the prize has anything to do with the Bique tribe. You won’t be lucky every time like this—you will die.”

Li Xiao was puzzled: “You mean taking the Bique tribe’s blood as a prize? Are there many such competitions?”

The mustache crossed his hands in front of his chest, his expression gloomy: “The blood has already been hyped to an astronomical price by them, evolving into an industrial chain. Everyone wants to get a piece of the action.”

Li Xiao: “Them? Who?”

The mustache picked up the bandage again to wrap the scratch on his leg: “It’s not something you need to know. There are plenty of ways to make money—once you lose your life, you lose everything.”

Song Jin took the hot tea poured by the dark guard, exchanged a look with Li Xiao, and leaned casually against the table: “From what you’re saying, you’ve participated many times in competitions where Bique tribe blood is the prize? Since it’s so dangerous, why be so eager to participate?”

“Don’t probe me.” The mustache didn’t even lift his head. “I’ve said all I should say. Whether you listen or not is up to you.”

The three most severely injured alphas woke up four hours after the rescue. They didn’t intend to stay for a single moment and started packing their things to leave.

When Li Xiao and Song Jin heard the dark guards’ report and hurried over, the ten people under the mustache had already reached the outside of the cabin.

“In such a hurry?” Song Jin swept his gaze over the three alphas who were wrapped in bandages and pale-faced, and said to the mustache, “They still need to rest.”

The mustache: “No need. Staying any longer will likely bring trouble to you.”

Song Jin: “Trouble is the thing I fear the least.”

But the mustache wouldn’t budge an inch and insisted on leaving.

“What is your name?” Li Xiao took a step closer and asked the mustache, “At least we fought together. Even if we can’t be friends, we can at least share our names, right?”

Li Xiao noticed the hands of the people behind the mustache clutching their knives tightened, revealing a vigilant look.

The mustache hesitated for a moment: “Hu Jiang. And you?”

Seeing the stunned look on the faces of the group, Li Xiao guessed that this was likely his real name, and answered in a low voice: “Li Xiao.”

He hadn’t expected that even the mustached man would reveal an expression of extreme surprise this time.

Song Jin swept his gaze over them and probed calmly: “Is his name hard to listen to?”

“No.” Hu Jiang steadied himself and looked at Li Xiao: “Protect yourself well.”

With that, Hu Jiang left with the group.

Li Xiao was left completely bewildered.

Why would there be such a reaction upon hearing his name? Did they guess he was royal?

He had left the palace at eight and had no presence in the royal family; he wouldn’t be recognized even if he walked on the streets of the Imperial Capital Star. How did they know?

And that “protect yourself well” sounded very subtle.

Song Jin moved his fingers, signaling the dark guards to follow, and seeing Li Xiao deep in thought, he was also full of questions.

What connection did Li Xiao have with these people?

Returning to the ship cabin, Song Jin blocked Li Xiao’s path: “As partners, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

Li Xiao: “When the blood and pheromone test reports come out, bring me a copy.”

Song Jin was so angry he laughed: “Sure, trade it for intelligence.”

Li Xiao: “What intelligence do you want?”

Song Jin: “Who are they?”

Li Xiao: “If I knew everything, I wouldn’t have come here with you.”

Song Jin observed Li Xiao’s expression and felt that this statement should be true.

“Then who are you?”

Meeting Song Jin’s scrutinizing gaze, Li Xiao said lightly: “Your husband.”

Song Jin: “…”

The dark guard on duty heard the commotion and hurried over. Seeing Song Jin and Li Xiao getting into a fight in the room, the guard didn’t know whether he should intervene or not.

It didn’t look like they were fighting for their lives—it might just be the playful affection of a young couple. Rashly intervening might upset the young master.

The dark guard was sweating profusely: “…”

Forget it, I’ll just watch in secret.

The Ravens’ bombing gradually ceased as the sky dawned.

When Song Jin woke up, he received two pieces of reports from the dark guards.

The ten men under Hu Jiang had boarded a civilian spacecraft from the No. 18 apron in the southern part of Sector B an hour ago and had left N2533.

The Ravens had blood-washed the headquarters of both the Rubik’s Cube and the Qilin, stealing a large amount of property before strutting away.

Li Xiao drove to the vicinity of the Qilin headquarters. From high in the air, he could see three or four charred deep pits.

Losing their heavy weapons, the Qilin were now sheep for the slaughter.

They caused trouble everywhere in the previous life—it’s good to get rid of them early.

Returning to the temporary camp, Li Xiao had just gotten out of the car when he saw Song Jin beckoning him, signaling him to go to the small room where Jin Dafu was being held.

Jin Dafu still didn’t know the Qilin were finished; he thought they had just encountered robbers. Stiffening his neck, he said toughly: “How much you want, just say it! There’s nothing I can’t pay!”

Song Jin was wearing a bionic mask, and a patch of mosaic floated in front of his face.

“One ton of Bique tribe blood.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Jin Dafu’s brows jumped wildly, staring at Song Jin in astonishment: “Do you know the value of that blood? A tiny syringe is worth over a hundred million—you want a ton?!”

Song Jin drew his military knife and pressed it against Jin Dafu’s chin: “If you can’t bring it out, your blood will do.”

His voice was deep and cold, a very pleasant tone, but it sounded like a death warrant to Jin Dafu.

“A ton is too much! I could think of a way if it were a few catties!” Jin Dafu couldn’t help but retreat, breaking out in a cold sweat: “If it’s actually stockpiled for a ton, it’ll stink! How can I sell it?!”

Stockpiled?

Li Xiao asked: “It doesn’t have to be a ton—just tell us your source, and we’ll find a way ourselves.”

Jin Dafu: “That’s impossible—Mm!”

Song Jin tilted his knife tip, drawing a blood mark on Jin Dafu’s neck: “You must have gone to the Bique town to kidnap people and drain their blood, right?”

Unexpectedly, Jin Dafu revealed a look of contempt: “Those in Bique town are all old, weak, sick, and disabled. How could they be worth anything? We only pick the premium ones!”

Song Jin: “Where do you kidnap these premium ones from?”

“I can’t—” Feeling the knife tip prick deeper, Jin Dafu hurriedly changed his tune: “I don’t know! I really don’t know! Whatever the people above give us, that’s what we take!”

Li Xiao: “The people above? You’re not the Qilin boss, you have superiors?”

Jin Dafu realized he had let it slip. His eyes dodged, and his face became flustered: “Such a big business isn’t just done by the Qilin—the people above are the suppliers!”

Li Xiao: “Who are the suppliers? Where are they? How do you trade?”

Jin Dafu’s neck was covered in sweat; the sweat irritated the wound, making him tear up from the pain: “It’s the Fierce Tigers of N1926. It’s all bought from them!”

Song Jin: “Where are the transaction records?”

Jin Dafu lowered his head: “It’s all rare metal traded face-to-face. Where would there be records?”

Song Jin pressed the knife tip up, his voice chilling: “I’ll only warn you once. If what you said is a lie, be prepared to be whittled into meat paste.”

Jin Dafu shivered and asked for mercy with difficulty: “I’ll give you as much money as you want. Young people shouldn’t go against money—killing me won’t do you any good. Please, let me go!”

But Li Xiao and Song Jin didn’t fall for that at all.

Jin Dafu suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said: “I have chat records with the Fierce Tiger boss in my terminal!”

Li Xiao snatched his terminal and found the chat records he mentioned.

Qi Dashua: [A new batch of blood has arrived. Trade at the old spot.]

Me: [I’ll arrange for someone to go over in three days.]

This conversation didn’t prove that the Fierce Tigers were the suppliers; it only meant that the Fierce Tigers were also participating in it.

Song Jin signaled to the dark guard waiting on the side: “Make him cough up all the organizations participating in the illegal blood trade. For every one he misses, chop off one of his fingers.”

Dark guard: “Yes!”

Jin Dafu’s fingers tightened, and he asked tremblingly: “Are, are you guys from the Danse military?”

Song Jin: “You’re very smart.”

Jin Dafu hurriedly asked: “N2533 is in the west of the Nanming constellation, under the jurisdiction of General Meng Zai, right?”

Li Xiao took over the conversation: “You even know about him?”

After saying this, he saw Jin Dafu’s brows relax a bit, as if relieved.

So the Meng family and the Qilin were also in cahoots.

The Meng family had operated in the Nanming constellation for many years; they must be well-acquainted with these organizations that could be named.

To survive in such a vicious environment and still thrive, it would make no sense if they didn’t have someone backing them.

From this perspective, it was indeed very reasonable.

Walking out of the small room, Song Jin turned off his bionic mask: “If I remember correctly, Meng Zai is Meng Tao’s father, right?”

Li Xiao was thinking about things and answered lightly.

Song Jin looked at him: “Is this the reason you were messing with him?”

Li Xiao came back to his senses: “I didn’t mess with him.”

Song Jin raised his eyebrows: “Is that so?”

Li Xiao: “The Meng family is a great noble; I would have been too busy trying to get into their good graces to mess with him. Don’t frame me.”

Song Jin: “How come I haven’t seen you try to get into my good graces?”

Li Xiao: “I’m already married to you. What more could I possibly do to get into your good graces?”

Song Jin: “…”

Li Xiao deliberately examined his expression: “Are you jealous?”

Song Jin put his hands in his pockets and turned to leave, saying faintly: “What’s the big deal about being married? With your casual personality, this might be your nth marriage.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao followed: “Yeah, you’re not casual—proposing to an alpha you just met a few days ago, you’re really not casual at all.”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin glanced sideways: “Do you want to fight?”

Li Xiao: “Only children fight at the drop of a hat.”

Very well. Two sentences in total, and both stepped on his landmines.

Song Jin’s hands were itching, and he threw a punch.

Li Xiao retreated half a step to avoid it: “I’m hungry; let’s eat first.”

Song Jin chased after him to fight: “Exercise before a meal; it stimulates the appetite and aids digestion.”

In the distance, the dark guard on duty noticed the situation over there and peeked around the wall.

Never mind the young master, he just felt that the guy named Li seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit.

The Qilin were wiped out overnight, and Sector B was in a panic.

At noon, Li Xiao and Song Jin drove to the street to see the situation and eat by the way.

The number of passersby had clearly decreased, and most of the shops weren’t open. Li Xiao parked the car near a noodle shop and strolled over with Song Jin.

The noodle shop had little business; the boss was sitting at the entrance in slippers, smoking.

Seeing them approach, he was a bit surprised: “You didn’t die?!”

Li Xiao and Song Jin sat in their usual spot.

“Were you hoping we’d die?” Song Jin asked casually.

“How could that be?” The boss signaled the waiter to go cook the noodles and pulled a stool over to sit. “The scene last night was truly enough to scare people to death! Bombing all night long—I couldn’t sleep at all!”

Li Xiao: “You said the Rubik’s Cube was very dangerous before, so my brother and I thought about it and didn’t go. We didn’t expect an explosion to occur.”

Li Xiao wore a pure and handsome face, which easily made others believe what he said.

The boss patted him on the shoulder gratifyingly: “I just like kids like you who listen to advice! If you had really gone, you wouldn’t have come back.”

Song Jin: “Is it always this intense here every month?”

“No.” The boss saw that there was no one around, and whispered: “The rules are different every time, but very few people can truly walk out with gold bars. To put it bluntly, the Qilin aren’t running a charity. However, there has never been a time where so many people died like this time. I said that the Bique tribe’s blood was very eerie, didn’t I?”

Li Xiao: “What is the deal with that blood?”

The boss hesitated for a long time, and his voice lowered a bit more: “As long as the prize is that blood, that Gold Rush competition is bound to have many people die!”

This statement was indeed similar to what Hu Jiang had said.

People die for wealth. Aiming for a reward of over a hundred million, it wasn’t surprising that so many people would go to risk it.

“I don’t know what will happen to Sector B next.” The boss held his cigarette, looked toward the distant Rubik’s Cube, and shook his head with a sigh: “The Ravens have been here so many times and nothing happened. I didn’t expect them to be so fierce this time and wipe out the Qilin in one go.”

Li Xiao and Song Jin looked at each other and asked as if casually: “The Ravens have been here many times?”

The boss exhaled a puff of white mist, a bit melancholy: “As far as I know, it must be seven or eight times, right? The Ravens are notoriously old thorns. Their equipment wouldn’t even rank among the top teams; they just love stirring up trouble everywhere. Every time they come over, they fire a few shells and run.”

Song Jin continued to ask: “When did those happen?”

The boss thought young people loved hearing stories, and he happened to be bored, so he told them the process of every time the Ravens came.

The earliest time was five years ago, the same year it became a Gold Rush venue for the Rubik’s Cube.

Li Xiao couldn’t help but remember N2781, where he had snuck into the Ghost Dragon control building alone and heard an old man surnamed Zhong say, “Just a little stimulation, and they can’t sit still.”

Could this “stimulation” refer to the Bique tribe’s blood?

The raven as a creature belongs to a bird species with strong combat power in nature, and among mutated species, it can even tear birds of prey apart with its claws.

Li Xiao recalled the children’s story told by an omega when he was a child.

In Bique tribe mythology, the raven is the fifth-ranked guardian deity, symbolizing justice and revenge.

Song Jin stared at Li Xiao sitting across from him, feeling somewhat irritable.

This brat definitely knows something else again.

Whether it was the Bique tribe or organizations like the Ravens, they were all from Danse. His channels for investigation were very limited, far less comprehensive than Li Xiao, a local, was.

The beef noodles they ordered arrived. Song Jin picked up a piece of beef and fed it to Li Xiao’s mouth: “Babe, you must be starving, right? Eat.”

Li Xiao came back to his senses: “…Put it down.”

Song Jin chuckled: “I want to feed you.”

Li Xiao: “You’re smiling so evilly, I’m very scared.”

Song Jin: “…”

Soft and hard approaches don’t work, huh?

The boss saw this, picked up his stool, and left.

Young lovers, truly eyesores.

In the stalemate, Song Jin’s terminal vibrated.

A dark guard sent a message over the military network.

[We found a strange underground base three kilometers southwest of the Qilin headquarters.]