The terminal vibrated. Old Liu saw it was Qi Shoude and walked a few steps away to answer, asking in a low voice, “General Qi, what is it?”

Qi Shoude’s voice came through the comms: “The garrison has made a major discovery while interrogating the rebels. Please inform His Majesty immediately; I need to report directly to him.”

“Wait a moment.” Old Liu returned to Li Ji’s side, bent down, and whispered in his ear, “Your Majesty, General Qi has an urgent intelligence report regarding the rebels.”

Li Ji was watching the two young cubs unite on the field and really didn’t want to leave, but wanting to hear what Qi Shoude had to say, he stood up reluctantly. Old Liu exchanged a greeting with the other officials and followed Li Ji across the observation area toward the lounge prepared for him.

Not far away, a Beta dressed in the Royal Household Department uniform sat in the back workspace, organizing the details of the King’s schedule for the rest of the day while occasionally observing Li Ji’s movements. Seeing Li Ji and Old Liu leave for the lounge, the Beta withdrew his gaze, then suddenly gasped, clutching his side.

“Darcy? What’s wrong? Did you eat something bad?” asked another uniformed Beta nearby.

The Beta called Darcy waved his hand to indicate he was fine, but soon gasped again, looking around awkwardly before whispering to his colleague, “I’m going to the restroom; I’ll be back immediately!”

The uniformed Beta joked: “Go ahead! Don’t wet your pants!”

Darcy punched him, stood up, and hurried toward the restroom.

A corridor away was the lounge. After entering, Li Ji walked toward the study and gestured for Old Liu to call back. Just as he reached the door of the study, Li Ji suddenly smelled a strange, fruity scent. His head felt like it was about to explode; the world spun, and he could barely stand.

The probe of the inhibitor collar suddenly stimulated the gland on the side of his neck, instantly snapping Li Ji’s consciousness back. As a hand reached out from within the room, he stumbled back two steps and barely managed to dodge it.

Old Liu had just opened his terminal when he heard the commotion. His face changed drastically, and he rushed forward to shield Li Ji behind him, simultaneously pressing the emergency call button on his terminal. He tried to take Li Ji away, but before Old Liu could take a step, two Betas in work uniforms rushed out of the study. One attacked him, while the other bypassed him to strike at Li Ji.

“Your Majesty!” Old Liu wanted to protect Li Ji, but the Betas’ combat skills were superior; every time he tried to get close to Li Ji, he was blocked. Seeing Li Ji’s state, Old Liu was startled—Could these two be Alphas?! Had Alphas disguised as Betas infiltrated the staff?!

The pheromone concentration intensified abruptly. Li Ji swayed violently, sweat pouring down his face instantly. His body refused to listen to him, feeling as if bound by heavy ropes; he couldn’t even lift his hands and could only struggle to dodge the Alpha’s swings, becoming increasingly unsteady.

“Your Majesty! Wake up!” Old Liu shouted loudly, trying to shock Li Ji into regaining his senses, while simultaneously screaming for help toward the door. Under normal circumstances, the guard detachment would have arrived as soon as the emergency button was pressed, but now there was absolutely no reaction! Old Liu tried to send a message to the guard detachment, but an Alpha punched him in the stomach, nearly strangling him.

The brown-haired Alpha saw that Li Ji was still resisting and continued to increase his pheromone output. Watching Li Ji stagger back to the study wall, his eyes gradually glazing over, he picked up a folder and a pen from the table and walked over.

“Sign the document.”

Li Ji had to lean against the wall to stand. He shook his head, but his consciousness was pulling away in waves; he could only rely on the inhibitor collar’s probe to maintain a sliver of sanity. Seeing the document held before his eyes, it took him a long time to clearly see that it was the transfer document for the administrative rights to the Tianjiang constellation. This was the most core document; as long as he signed it, the entire transfer process could be initiated.

Li Ji naturally wouldn’t sign, but after listening to the Alpha, he found himself uncontrollably taking the pen and signing on the blank space. The Alpha was anxious; the longer this dragged on, the harder it would be to escape. Yet, for some reason, Li Ji was not entirely under his control; the resistance meant that even after a long time, he hadn’t finished writing one character, and the strokes were wobbly.

Li Ji breathed heavily, trying to regain control of his body, his mind rapidly thinking of countermeasures. As long as the name wasn’t finished, he was safe. Under the effect of the inhibitor collar, he could clearly feel his consciousness slowly recovering, although the speed was very slow.

No matter how slow, one name would soon be finished. The Alpha snatched back the file and grabbed the pen from Li Ji’s hand, intending to stab it into the other’s neck. Just as the tip touched the collar, the Alpha’s wrist was seized with force. He subconsciously looked at Li Ji. The moment their eyes met, the Alpha’s heart sank. Why? Li Ji isn’t fully controlled and is gradually waking up?!

The Alpha released his pheromones without reservation, violently breaking free from Li Ji’s hand. Li Ji was caught in a daze, and the tip of the pen grazed him, leaving a long, deep bloodstain on his palm. Seizing the moment he could control himself, Li Ji ignored the wound, dodged the Alpha’s next swing of the pen, locked the Alpha’s neck in front of him, and reached out to grab his chin.

The Alpha’s pupils shrank, his spine turning cold in an instant; he thought he was going to die. But Li Ji’s movement stalled, and the Alpha seized the opportunity to break free, stabbing the pen tip toward Li Ji’s neck. Click. The tip hit something hard. The Alpha’s face changed, and he changed angles to stab the chin, but was kicked away by a massive force, slamming into the desk.

Li Ji, face grim, leaned against the wall and walked toward the outside, but was intercepted by the assassin who had caught up, forced back step by step toward the window. The Alpha became increasingly anxious, picking up a wooden carving and smashing it at Li Ji’s head. Li Ji dodged some of it, but was still hit, blood streaming down, and stumbled back until his waist hit the windowsill.

“Ugh!”

The Alpha walked in front of the delirious Li Ji, raising the wooden carving high. “Stop resisting!”

In the split second the carving descended, Li Ji smashed the tea cup lid he had quietly taken from the table, used all his strength to turn his body to the side, and simultaneously raised his hand, driving the sharp porcelain shards deep into the Alpha’s neck. The wooden carving fell to the ground, rolling aside.

“Ah!” The Alpha, in pain, clutched his neck and fell back a step. Blood seeped through his fingers, quickly staining his hand red. The Alpha watched Li Ji, who was barely able to stand, looking disheveled as he prepared to walk out. There won’t be another chance like this. And if he didn’t complete the mission, he wouldn’t live even if he returned.

Gritting his teeth, the Alpha opened the window, grabbed Li Ji, and pressed him to the edge of the sill: “Jump! Jump down for me!”

On the field, Li Xiao and Song Jin reunited and raced toward the central area. The number of players gathering around was increasing. Almost every college’s players had heard of the drastically different combat styles of Li Xiao and Song Jin on the team channel, and they flocked over like they were joining the fun, wanting to see with their own eyes if the Highnesses were really as rumored. Even if they couldn’t beat them, they could at least take a group photo; they wouldn’t have to worry about lacking bragging rights after returning to school.

Lin Shuo met a few second- and third-year military students on the road and, after teaming up, headed toward the most central area. The safe zone would continue to shrink; eventually, they would have to move to the middle. More importantly, he was certain that Li Xiao and Song Jin would definitely be going there. The experience of competing on the same field as the Highnesses might not happen again.

“They’re there!” someone shouted on the team channel. Lin Shuo heard the direction, looked over, and sure enough, saw the Li Xiao couple flying side by side, followed by hundreds of mechs.

“…?!”

Are we playing the same game?!

The group of military students who followed were all there to join Li Xiao. Seeing this formation, they were left stunned.

Team member: “This team doesn’t necessarily have to be formed, Captain Lin.”

Lin Shuo: “…”

He still underestimated the two’s ability to stir up trouble.

Li Xiao really had no mood to play; his mind was entirely occupied by replaying the duty deployment he had seen last night. The deployment had been adjusted to the best possible state, and the bombs had been destroyed by 09, but he still had a feeling that something would go wrong.

Suddenly, 09’s voice reached his ears: “The signal in the arena is unstable; I can’t see the surveillance of the main observation deck.”

Li Xiao thought of what Yan Qing had said before departure—the entire arena was covered by an electromagnetic field of a specific frequency, and signals inside and outside the arena would be significantly affected. This was likely the source of his inability to calm down. As long as he stayed in the arena, he couldn’t fully control the situation. But this was an important occasion to gain the favor of the royal family; even for his brother, he couldn’t be eliminated just like that.

Li Xiao looked at the main observation deck through the monitor. From the outside, everything was normal, and there were no abnormalities in the external duty units.

“What are you zoning out for? A blade is stabbing toward your face.” Song Jin’s voice came through the team channel. Li Xiao snapped back to reality and dodged the incoming sword tip.

“Highness! We’re here to help you!” A familiar voice suddenly appeared on the channel. Li Xiao noticed dozens of mechs flashing with red lights flying toward them, all wielding blades, intending to have a big fight.

Li Xiao: “No rush, run first.”

Lin Shuo: “…”

Outside the corridor of the main observation deck, Darcy saw many guards standing on both sides of the passageway. He glanced toward the lounge and prepared to return to the observation area.

“Your Majesty—!”

Suddenly hearing a scream, Darcy’s eyes sharpened, and he stared fiercely in the direction of the sound. That’s the observation area; didn’t His Majesty go to the lounge? Could he have returned while I was out?

The guards on both sides of the corridor received orders and quickly moved toward the observation area. Darcy thought for a moment, ran quickly to the lounge, and pounded on the door several times. He was met with a muffled thud from inside the room. Darcy’s heart skipped a beat; he immediately contacted Li Xiao and simultaneously scanned the sensor area next to the door with his terminal. He didn’t have access permissions, but the Second Highness had installed some programs on his terminal that could come in handy at critical moments.

The background of the sensor area next to the door popped up automatically, code jumping rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, a cracked window popped up. The communication signal was extremely poor, repeatedly prompting that it was not in a signal service area, and the call couldn’t be connected at all.

Darcy had the terminal dial automatically and kicked open the door. He happened to see a uniformed Beta chasing and killing the assistant, Old Liu. Old Liu had multiple wounds on his body and was bleeding; the most serious was his twisted, outward-turned left arm, and his condition looked very bad.

Hearing the door open, Old Liu was startled. He had thought it was the guard detachment, not expecting it to be someone from the Household Department. He couldn’t care about anything else and shouted in a hoarse voice: “Go to the study and save His Majesty!”

Darcy’s face changed drastically. He hurried toward the study, only to be locked by the neck from behind by the Alpha who had followed him. Darcy leaned back, caught the Alpha’s wrist, pushed off the wall and flipped several times, hooked the Alpha’s chin, and gave it a violent twist. Click.

The Alpha’s neck bones broke, and he collapsed to the floor, twitching. Darcy flipped to the ground and rushed into the study, just in time to see Li Ji being pushed out of the window sill during a struggle with another assassin.

“Your Majesty!” Darcy charged over recklessly, sticking half his body out to forcefully seize Li Ji’s wrist. The Alpha assassin had lost too much blood; his temperature and strength were fading rapidly, and he was nearly unable to hold on. In a panic, he grabbed a piece of porcelain and stabbed it violently into Darcy’s back.

“Ugh!” Darcy gritted his teeth, ignoring the back, and grabbed Li Ji, desperately trying to pull him up. Hearing footsteps behind him, the Alpha assassin didn’t even have a chance to turn around before he was locked by the neck and smashed to the ground, losing consciousness completely.

Old Liu walked to the window sill, wanting to help Darcy pull the person up: “Your Majesty, wake up! Give me your hand!”

Li Ji hung in the high air, drifting, his hem fluttering in the wind. After the pheromone concentration dropped, his consciousness gradually recovered, and he struggled to lift his hand toward Old Liu. Suddenly, a strong wind hit; the blast wave was too powerful, and Darcy simply couldn’t hold onto Li Ji.

“Your Majesty, hold tight, Your Majesty!”

Darcy tried his best but still couldn’t grab Li Ji, and could only watch as Li Ji fell from the hundred-meter height.

“Your Majesty—!” Old Liu screamed, his eye sockets turning red.

On the field, Li Xiao was flying at full speed when the mech suddenly shook violently. Several wind force and vibration level prompts popped up on the operation interface. Sand and stones were flying in the arena, banging against the mech’s shell with loud thuds. Visibility dropped rapidly, trees snapped one after another; it was a mess.

This isn’t normal wind force.

Song Jin: “That was the shockwave from an explosion just now.”

Li Xiao: “Yeah.”

Li Xiao adjusted the angle of the monitor, his gaze rapidly scanning each surveillance screen, sharply capturing a suspicious black dot. The black dot grew larger and larger, gradually turning into a dark, heavy mass, like a passing thunderstorm hanging overhead, bringing with it a strong sense of oppression.

Other players on the field noticed the abnormality and stopped, one after another, to check the abnormality in the high sky.

“Stop fighting first and look at the situation! The Second Highness has stopped too!”

“What’s going on? Is that the army protecting the King?”

“Something’s wrong, they’re too close. Legions cannot stay on residential planets without permission.”

“The blast wave just now wasn’t right!”

“There’s an army pressing in from the north too!”

On the other side of the “thunderstorm,” another patch of “thunderstorm” drifted over, gazing at each other from across the air. The arena was sandwiched right in the middle.

Li Xiao flew at full speed toward the main observation deck, watching the duty units start their defensive formation, and sent a video call to Li Ji. But the video call wouldn’t connect no matter what. In the thunderstorm to the south, five warships gradually descended, the cabin doors on both sides opened, and countless mechs and fighter jets poured out. At almost the same time, a destroyer fleet from the thunderstorm in the north flew toward the south, and countless mechs flew out.

The two sides immediately fell into a chaotic battle. The front line continued to press down as the enemy mechs lowered their altitude. On the field, Lin Shuo and the others saw this and finally understood that this was not some army protecting the King, but an enemy attack! A large-scale enemy attack!

Panicked voices immediately came over the public channel.

“What do we do?!”

“Can’t contact the team instructor, no signal!”

“The electromagnetic field can only bind us unilaterally; we can’t get out, but they can get in! Artillery shells can get in too!”

“So we just stand here and wait for death?! Let’s go back to the hangar first!”

“But the Second Highness and Song Jin are charging up!”

[Your altitude is about to reach the repatriation boundary. Please descend and return to the arena immediately!]

The mech constantly popped up error warnings. Li Xiao frowned and had 09 hack into the base’s backend to shut down the electromagnetic field.

09: [The fleet may have turned on electromagnetic interference; the signal is even worse than before. It will take two minutes to shut it down!]

Two minutes… At a time like this, a one-second delay could make many things irreparable.

Li Xiao said coldly: “Force a breakthrough.”

09: [Command received!]

09: [Matching electromagnetic field spectrum—microwave transmitter activated—electromagnetic field interfered with—repatriation program destroyed—]

Listening to 09’s prompts, Li Xiao didn’t slow down after reaching the edge; instead, he activated all his thrusters. Song Jin followed without hesitation. The two were like soaring eagles, charging into the high sky at full speed. Jiang Hao, who had rushed over from the starting point, happened to see the scene of Li Xiao and Song Jin charging out of the electromagnetic field side by side, and hurriedly opened the public channel: “Brother, it’s dangerous!”

But the public channel signal was very poor; Li Xiao didn’t receive it. The competition mechs were too slow. Li Xiao told 09 to rush over first.

09: [But my mission is to protect you! What will you do if I go?]

Li Xiao: “Go quickly.”

Li Xiao was rarely this firm. Usually, even when giving instructions, he would coax 09 to do things. But now, he vaguely felt that something had happened to his brother, and he couldn’t calm down at all. 09 knew that further talk was useless; it transformed into wisps of silk and flew out of the mech, rushing toward the observation deck at the fastest speed.

Observation deck.

The rapid descent made it impossible for Li Ji to catch his breath; he couldn’t see anything. He didn’t know how long he had been falling; it seemed like a long time, but it also felt like just an instant. A swaying copper bell appeared in Li Ji’s field of vision. He narrowed his eyes, identified it, and raised his hand to release the launcher worn on his wrist.

The rope flew out against the wind, precisely encircling the thick chain, and the steel claw at the top opened and embedded itself in a gap. Li Ji turned his wrist, the rope began to retract, and he was carried back up, grabbing the chain, flipping, and jumping onto it.

“Cough, cough, cough… cough, cough, cough, cough…”

The cold wind whistled in the high air; the chain was only two feet wide and swayed violently. Li Ji had a headache and chest tightness. Crouched on the chain, he was nearly shaken off several times. Something cold and liquid was slowly sliding down one side of his cheek, a bit itchy. Li Ji wiped it away—it was blood. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Watching a match, to get into such a miserable state.

Li Ji wanted to contact the guard detachment, but found that his terminal had absolutely no signal. An abnormal roar came from above his head, and he looked up abruptly. As his vision gradually recovered, Li Ji was finally able to see the situation of the two armies facing each other, his expression solemn.

Having reached this point, it’s not something that can be brushed off by issuing two announcements.

“Meng Jian, you couldn’t hold back your temper after all.”