Song Jin urged him, “Are you coming or not?”

There was no reason to reject prey that delivered itself right to his door.

Li Xiao walked over to Song Jin, intending to get his fill of cuddling his cat before turning his mind back to the case.

Song Jin blocked the doorway, his palm pressed against Li Xiao’s chest. He could feel the heart beating inside faster than usual.

“Do you really like it that much when I curl my finger at you?”

Li Xiao held the upper doorframe, placing an arm around him to pull him inside. “Happy?”

Song Jin looked at him and smiled. “Finally discovering my prey’s weakness—it’s hard not to be happy.”

That smile was too adorable; Li Xiao nearly lost himself, the words slipping out of his mouth: “As long as it’s you—”

Song Jin: “Hmm?”

Li Xiao caught himself right at the critical moment.

If this kid found out that any casual gesture could throw his mind into disarray, his tail would swell up all the way to the sky.

Li Xiao’s gaze landed on the disguise on Song Jin’s face. “Can this stuff be washed off?”

Song Jin: “Why wash it off?”

Li Xiao leaned close to Song Jin’s ear, his voice dropping very low: “I want to kiss you.”

Caught off guard by such a direct face-to-face attack, Song Jin’s fingertips twitched. He suddenly realized that in front of Li Xiao, he was practically leaking like a sieve—plagued with weaknesses everywhere.

Half an hour later, Song Jin walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. Drying his hair, he went to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of ice water, chugged down half of it in one go, opened his terminal, and rapidly edited a message to send to his older brother, Song Yu.

【Having a wife is so awesome. [Cat Spinning.jpg]】

A moment later, a sticker came back in reply—it was a photo of three-year-old Song Jin right after he had defeated his pet cat, captured with a face full of utter mockery, captioned: Teaching an expert how to do his job.

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin: 【Don’t make your jealousy so obvious, it looks really ugly.】

Song Yu: 【A primary school romance, what is there for me to be jealous of?】

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin was in too good a mood to lower himself to his level.

The old man was cooped up in the palace living such a suffocating life that all he could do every day was frantically make stickers to vent his frustration.

Returning to the bedroom, Song Jin saw Li Xiao sitting casually by the window, intently staring at a screen. He wore only a pair of trousers, and his hair was still wet.

Song Jin handed the water over and helped him dry his hair.

Li Xiao took the bottle. “When will the Degressin arrive?”

Song Jin: “It’s already being prepared. If all goes smoothly, about three days.”

Li Xiao: “I’ll have Yi Yongning assist you.”

Drugs that hadn’t undergone official formal imports were essentially contraband; to cross the border smoothly, delays along the way were inevitable.

Song Jin: “The efficacy might not be that ideal.”

Li Xiao: “As a bargaining chip, it’s enough.”

Song Jin looked over at his screen. It was a new update published by the Intelligence Bureau’s counter-espionage department. The person who had fabricated Li Xiao’s DNA report had been arrested, with their name and citizen identification code made public. Someone in the comments section mentioned that this person was Meng Jian’s assistant.

The hot keywords related to this post had already dominated the top spot on the trending searches. Along with it, topics regarding the Mengyue clan drinking human blood were pushed to the top once again, causing a massive surge in discussion volume.

Ten minutes ago, Meng Jian’s private account reposted the Intelligence Bureau’s update, adding the caption—

【Zero tolerance for malicious rumor-mongering.】

Even so, there were still plenty of skeptical voices in the comments below the post.

Song Jin: “That’ll keep the old man busy for a while.”

Li Xiao: “If it’s not resolved quickly, he’s going to get busier and busier.”

As the two idly chatted about official business, the message from his brother kept flashing before Song Jin’s eyes. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he felt. When Li Xiao spoke up again, Song Jin interrupted him: “A lone Alpha and another Alpha staying together in the dead of night, talking only about official business—don’t you think that’s a bit too unromantic?”

Li Xiao casually pushed the screen away and unscrewed the bottle cap. “What do you want to talk about?”

Song Jin: “Let’s try something more advanced next time.”

Li Xiao paused his drinking motion. “What advanced thing?”

Song Jin said seriously, “I heard people say at cocktail parties back in the day that Alphas can play all sorts of fancy tricks together too. Let’s find time to try them out one by one.”

Li Xiao: “…I’ve never heard of that.”

Song Jin looked down at him with a face full of disdain. “Which ivory tower did you grow up in, you pure and innocent young lady?”

Li Xiao: “…”

You’re the last person qualified to say that.

Song Jin bent down and leaned close to his ear to whisper.

As Li Xiao listened to this kid speed through dirty talk in the tone of someone conducting a tactical briefing, the more he listened, the stranger it felt. “Why do you suddenly have so much competitive spirit?”

Song Jin: “Isn’t it completely normal to want something to happen with the person you like?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Except your expression doesn’t look normal at all.

Li Xiao: “Do you want something to happen, or do you want to kill something?”

Song Jin: “…”

Seeing Song Jin’s face drop into a scowl, Li Xiao asked in confusion, “What on earth is wrong?”

Song Jin: “My brother said I’m having a primary school romance.”

After hearing Song Jin recount his text exchange with Song Yu, Li Xiao tried his best to suppress the urge to laugh. He was afraid that laughing out loud would trigger the little lion, leading to an inevitable beatdown.

Failing to show off and getting mocked instead—no wonder he was so unresigned.

“How could he say that?”

Li Xiao said with a deep, serious expression, “It’s a complete insult to primary schoolers.”

Song Jin was just about to nod in agreement when his eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing the second half. “What do you mean?”

Li Xiao grabbed his hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it. “We are who we are; there’s no need to compare ourselves to anyone. Besides, how can a baby stroller even take to the highway?”

Song Jin: “…”

The next morning, Li Xiao went to meet Zhan Yue. The man’s eyes were red and his expression blank—he looked even more listless than Jiang Chi had the previous night.

“I’m sorry, I really can’t think of any useful clues.” Zhan Yue clenched his hands tightly, staring down at the floor.

Li Xiao asked, “You mentioned before that Prince Li Xun went to find your grandfather to investigate?”

Zhan Yue nodded. “Grandfather said he thought there was hope at the time, so he gave him all the materials he could find. Who would have thought we still wouldn’t get a result.”

Li Xiao: “Who else was with Li Xun back then?”

Zhan Yue: “He came alone, dressed very plainly. Grandfather had to double-check several times before he believed that this person was a prince.”

In Danse Empire, accessories were a symbol of status and ethnicity; based on the style and materials of the accessories, one could roughly determine a person’s identity.

Listening from the side, Song Jin couldn’t help but cast a glance at Li Xiao.

This kid was also absurdly plain, though he himself was striking enough that he didn’t need any flashy decorations.

Li Xiao: “When did Li Xun go?”

Zhan Yue: “Thirty years ago.”

Li Xiao grew deep in thought.

Thirty years ago again.

The abandoned base had also exploded thirty years ago. Could there be some connection between the two?

Just as they were talking, 09’s prompt sounded in Li Xiao’s ear.

09: 【Someone posted a video of the underground base online!】

A virtual screen automatically projected into midair, opening to a page showing a post published by an exploration blogger with tens of millions of followers.

In the video, the blogger claimed that three months ago, they had accidentally stumbled into this base. Over the past two days, upon seeing the stage for the Gaofeng clan’s sacrificial performance, they realized it matched extraordinarily well. Driven by a guilty conscience, they decided to expose it.

They had entered through the gap in the mountainous area that Li Xiao had blasted open, walking all the way to the hall and the space containing that stone pillar. Everything was filmed very clearly, accompanied by the blogger’s horrific screams and heavy gasps from time to time, which, along with the shaky footage, kept the audience on edge.

Though it had only been a little over ten minutes since the video was published, the view count had already broken a hundred million. The bullet chat comments were packed dense, arguing fiercely.

“I thought that sacrificial stage looked super eerie before, but I never expected it to be a one-to-one replica of a real scene!”

“The Gaofeng clan is terrifying! Why hasn’t this kind of toxic custom been banned yet?!”

“The Mengyue clan drinks human blood, and the Gaofeng clan nails living people to pillars for sacrifices—the news lately is getting more and more absurd.”

“The person on the stone pillar is wearing a military uniform! What kind of people is the Gaofeng clan sacrificing?!”

“I don’t know if the Pique clan committed treason, but the Gaofeng clan is truly twisted.”

“Why are you bashing the Gaofeng clan?! Don’t you know how many Gaofeng people the Pique clan killed back in the day?!”

“Anyone bashing the Gaofeng clan, go search Z152 Sector 68 yourselves; you’ll get a real surprise.”

In the living room, Zhan Yue stood up abruptly upon seeing this scene and walked over to the screen. “What is this?!”

Li Xiao observed his expression. “You didn’t know?”

Zhan Yue’s head was buzzing. “Know what?”

Li Xiao: “Just as shown in the video, that stage of yours was based on a real event. The people nailed to the stone pillars were the warriors of the Golden Finch Legion back then.”

Zhan Yue stumbled back a step, unable to believe it.

“How is that possible…”

Li Xiao feigned concern and said, “Exposing a video like this is very disadvantageous for you all. The local government will very likely intervene and investigate. You’d better ask your elders who actually made it or who participated in it.”

Zhan Yue hastily opened his terminal and asked around in various group chats, but everyone else was even more bewildered than he was.

“My grandfather and the others don’t know either!”

As he spoke, something suddenly occurred to him. He hurriedly tried to contact the person in charge of that stage set, but a prompt indicated that the frequency was out of the signal area.

Seeing Zhan Yue completely at a loss, Li Xiao gestured for him to calm down.

“Give me that person’s frequency. You have a media account, right?”

Zhan Yue nodded. “Yes.”

Li Xiao: “Do as I say.”

With the Gaofeng clan being blasted onto the trending topics, Zhan Yue, as a priest actor with a certain level of popularity, had his homepage exposed as well.

Half an hour after the underground base video broke out, Zhan Yue posted a long apology text.

【I am Zhan Yue, who played the High Priest in that sacrifice. First of all, I want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t know that the stage was a replica…】

It was a lengthy paragraph explaining that the stage design had been outsourced, that he had no prior knowledge, and that the body on the stone pillar was a bionic dummy, attaching a video as proof.

Even so, the comment section remained a bloodbath.

The public opinion continued to ferment for two hours until a gossip account posted an update with the hashtag #PiqueClanGoldenFinchLegionBombingZ152Sector68#.

【The reason the Gaofeng clan hates the Pique clan turns out to be…】

【Danse Empire once had a legion called the Golden Finch. The main high-ranking officers within the legion were mostly of Pique clan origin, possessing terrifying combat power and being practically invincible in that era. What nobody expected was that they grew arrogant due to their strength, provoking wars everywhere. The Chief Commander of the Golden Finch was even more arrogant, looking down on everyone else.】

【Early winter seventy-six years ago, the Golden Finch Legion launched a sudden raid on Z152 Sector 68, causing over three million casualties among the Gaofeng clan. The Viper Legion, predecessor to the Second Legion, fought to the death to defend the area, barely managing to protect the civilians in other sectors…】

【The Pique clan’s bellicose nature is in their genes. Over these past decades, they haven’t shown a shred of remorse for what happened back then, and they continue to cause trouble endlessly.】

【If you were a Gaofeng clan member, could you forgive a Pique clan like this?】

Below the text were three photos attached.

They were ruins left behind after Sector 68 had been bombed back then.

The comment section below the post exploded—

“Holy shit! Seventy-six years ago isn’t that long ago, why didn’t I know about this at all?!”

“A legion attacking a residential planet?! That’s terrifying!”

“I couldn’t even find news from back then; a lot of people are saying it was deleted by the Royal Family back then.”

“The Royal Family forcefully suppressed the incident after it happened, leaving millions of victims completely unattended! So many people were arrested just for demanding an explanation!”

“Is this something we’re even allowed to discuss?”

“Turns out the Pique clan is this terrifying!”

“Using living people for sacrifices, the Gaofeng clan isn’t much better either.”

Before long, two topics regarding the Pique clan and the Gaofeng clan surged to the top two spots on the trending list, competing with each other for the top position. Meanwhile, the news regarding Li Xiao’s fabricated DNA report and Meng Jian’s assistant being arrested were quietly suppressed.

At the hotel, Li Xiao checked out and left Z152 with Zhan Yue, handing him over to the people sent by Yi Yongning once they reached the space station.

Inside the VIP room, Zhan Yue looked at the majestic soldiers and cast a pleading glance at Li Xiao. “Can’t I come with you?”

Li Xiao: “They will take you to a safe place. Don’t run around during this period.”

Zhan Yue could only comply. “Then what about my family?”

Li Xiao: “Arrangements will be made.”

Once Zhan Yue was taken away, Jiang Chi asked Li Xiao, “Then shouldn’t I head back too?”

Li Xiao sat down to send a message to his brother. “You’re coming with me to the Capital Star.”

Jiang Chi thought he had misheard. “Why would someone of my status go to the Capital Star? Is that a place I can go?”

On a third-class planet like Z152, he was already so nervous he felt like dying. If he went to the Capital Star, he would pass away on the spot in seconds!

Li Xiao: “You don’t want to see Jiang Hao?”

Jiang Chi: “…”

Jiang Chi thought for a second and decisively sat back down.

Even if the sky fell, the Second Prince would hold it up; fearing death was no trait of a brave man.

After boarding the spaceship, Jiang Chi browsed the news out of boredom. The Pique clan was being cursed to death, while the Gaofeng clan, who were originally the victims, turned out to be not much better off.

“The public opinion online is getting crazier. Are we not going to suppress it?”

Li Xiao: “There’s no need to suppress it.”

The Shengya Empire forces hadn’t withdrawn yet, so Meng Jian didn’t dare act directly against the Royal Family. Pulling a stunt like this could both build momentum for the early stages of a coup and divert negative public opinion away from himself, using the Gaofeng clan and the Pique clan as meat shields. If nothing unexpected happened, he would point his spearhead directly at the Royal Family next.

The Golden Finch Coup, millions of casualties among the Gaofeng clan—with such a massive blame pinned on them, it wasn’t something the Royal Family could casually fool their way out of.

However, whether this wave of turmoil would carry the Meng family straight to the top or blow them down into a bottomless abyss remained to be seen.

“The fact that he dares to drag out the events from back then means he’s certain you can’t find anything and can’t do anything to him.”

Song Jin sat in the seat beside Li Xiao, casually grabbing a book from the shelf and reading it while eating a soft-serve cone. “Looks like the enemy has already prepared for battle ahead of our side.”

Li Xiao: “He’s not prepared; he’s anxious.”

Judging by the circumstances of his past life, Meng Jian’s plan was a “perfect victory.”

First, take control of the Tianjiang Constellation jurisdiction, then use the name of the Pique clan to massacre the Royal Family and spark a war, dragging out the old Golden Finch case to trigger public resonance, and finally step up as a savior to quell the civil war, logically ascending to the peak.

That method of seizing power had no follow-up issues—it was the most time-saving, labor-saving, and stable path.

However, before Meng Jian could even bring out the Golden Finch case, Li Xiao had used the Yi family to announce his royal identity and return to the Royal Family, ruining all of Meng Jian’s subsequent plans.

At present, the Royal Family held strong momentum, while the Meng family’s advantages were slipping away bit by bit. Meng Jian had to find a way to suppress the Royal Family’s momentum in order to continue executing his set of power-seizure plans.

Song Jin sneered. “What an old stubborn fool.”

After saying that, on second thought, Song Jin felt that the old guy named Meng had no choice but to do this.

The Chi family was already gone. Even if Meng Jian could reclaim half of their forces, he only held two and a half in his hands, while the Royal Family also held two and a half—a fifty-fifty split between the two sides.

If Meng Jian directly launched a coup and fought head-on, he wouldn’t gain the people’s support at all, and those “two and a half” forces in his hands would scatter significantly.

A team with unstable morale and scattered spirit couldn’t win against the Royal Family.

The terminal vibrated. Li Xiao confirmed his brother’s reply, casually catching sight of a four-panel comic book in Song Jin’s hands—a magician cast a spell to turn a toy car into a sports car.

Noticing Li Xiao leaning closer, Song Jin raised his head, his tongue licking away the ice cream on his lip, smirking playfully: “If I cast a spell on you, can I turn a baby stroller into a sports car?”

Li Xiao’s gaze fell uncontrollably onto his lips. “…”

Did this kid get his energy channels cleared all of a sudden?

He’s getting better and better at playing subtle tricks.

Li Xiao: “Turning it into a sports car is a bit difficult, but turning it into a bomber is very easy.”

Song Jin: “…”

Military Headquarters, Zheng Kang’an’s Office.

Seeing the news online, Zheng Kang’an grew increasingly uneasy. He said to his adjutant, “Quickly notify the garrison forces on Z152! Have them pay close attention to the living areas of the Gaofeng clan; under no circumstances can trouble break out over these next few days!”

The adjutant looked troubled.

“Sir, sending troops to protect them isn’t an issue. The key problem is, how do we explain this to General Meng?”

Meng Jian had dragged out the Golden Finch case precisely to push the Pique clan to the center of the storm. Even if the Raven Legion didn’t act, Meng Jian would hire someone to mess with the Gaofeng clan. If they sent troops to block it, it would inevitably disrupt Meng Jian’s plans.

“How do we explain? What do I have to explain to him?!” Zheng Kang’an flew into a rage. “He and I are of equal rank! On what grounds does he boss me around?!”

The adjutant lowered his voice. “Please calm down, sir. After all, he’s a partner.”

Zheng Kang’an snorted heavily. “In his eyes, there are no partners! Except for himself, everyone else is a servant!”

A knock sounded on the door, and an assistant came in.

“Sir, the Royal Family has issued an urgent document ordering you to send troops to protect the residential areas of the Gaofeng clan and ensure the safety of the local residents.”

Zheng Kang’an snatched it over and opened it.

The adjutant looked delighted. “Now we have an excuse.”

“There’s nothing to be happy about.”

Zheng Kang’an slammed the document onto the desk, his expression solemn.

The adjutant thought about it for a moment and quickly understood.

Protecting them meant angering Meng Jian; failing to protect them meant angering the Royal Family. They had been turned into the meat in a sandwich.

Meng Jian’s Office.

Listening to his adjutant’s report, Meng Jian opened Li Ji’s private homepage. Sure enough, there were two new updates.

【@MengJian @ZhengKang’an, strengthen prevention and control around the residential areas of the Gaofeng clan and the Pique clan. Ensure the safety of the citizens.】

【Plans will be initiated in the near future to restart the investigation into the Golden Finch case.】

“They move fast.”

Meng Jian rolled the walnuts in his hand, his gaze falling onto the wooden carving of a Golden Finch at the corner of his desk. “Restart? The last person who said that is already lying in the Royal Chapel.”

Adjutant: “They couldn’t figure it out thirty years ago, let alone now. The Royal Family is just finding an excuse to fool everyone.”

Meng Jian: “Keep hyping up the topic.”

Adjutant: “Yes!”

Suddenly remembering something, the adjutant asked respectfully, “The Old Master’s birthday is coming up soon. Do you think the Royal Family will come to cause trouble?”

“I’d be worried if they didn’t come.” Meng Jian looked at the border battle reports. “If they don’t come, how can the play keep going?”

Zufu Constellation, Z001.

The trio of Li Xiao arrived at the civilian landing pad and were led by soldiers of the Third Legion toward the ancient castle where Li Ji resided.

Jiang Chi pressed against the car window, his eyes nearly popping out. “This is a first-class planet? It’s so prosperous, so clean!”

Li Xiao: “It’s incomparable to the Capital Star.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chi rubbed his hands and chuckled, “Then my Hao-hao—?”

Li Xiao spoke calmly: “As long as you remember what that object was and where it is, let alone him, you can live on the Capital Star with no problem. I’ll even throw in a big house.”

Jiang Chi grew excited: “It’s a deal then, no take-backs!”

Li Xiao nodded without any burden.

At any rate, I’m just sending you guys back to your hometown.

Song Jin munched on a cracker while looking at the battle reports. “Using that face of yours to swindle people—you really hit the mark every single time.”

Li Xiao: “I never lie.”

Song Jin: “That’s the biggest lie right there.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Without even raising his head, Song Jin drawled in a loose voice, “Cold-natured by birth, full of lies, secretly passionate, a wanderer floating around for half a lifetime—only I would want to conquer an Alpha like you, and only I can catch you.”

Listening to the first half, Li Xiao thought he was cursing him, but only after hearing the second half did he understand that this kid was actually boasting about himself.

Li Xiao laughed despite himself. “So confident?”

Song Jin raised his head, giving him a lazy smile. Immediately, the prompt from 09 sounded in Li Xiao’s ear:

【Pheromone levels fluctuating heavily. Are you an old monk returning to secular life, an iron tree finally coming into bloom?】

Song Jin: “That’s right, just that confident.”

Li Xiao: “…”

It wasn’t his imagination—this kid had really learned.

Song Jin scratched Li Xiao’s chin. “You’d better watch out, kid. I’m very aggressive.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Doing that will only have the opposite effect.

He’s so damn cute.

Jiang Chi: “…”

How much longer do I have to be a third wheel?

Will Hao-hao really not pick up bad habits following them?

Arriving at the ancient castle, Li Xiao led Song Jin and Jiang Chi toward the main entrance.

Along the way, there were numerous guards on duty, all replaced by soldiers of the Third Legion. The King’s office was on the second floor; after going up the stairs, one had to cross an entire long corridor.

It was four-thirty in the afternoon. The lingering glow of the setting sun spilled inside, making the magnificent corridor shimmer with golden light, beautiful as a dream.

A scene suddenly flashed before Jiang Chi’s eyes—it was also a long corridor, only wider and more luxurious than this one.

Noticing from his peripheral vision that Jiang Chi had stopped, Li Xiao turned his head. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Chi stared blankly ahead, unable to tell for a moment whether it was something he had dreamed about or something that had actually happened.

“I feel like I’ve been to a place even better than this.”

Li Xiao nodded. “The temptation of citizenship really is powerful. Keep going.”

Jiang Chi: “…”

As they neared the doorway, the Commander of the Third Legion, Yi Lian, personally came up to greet them: “Your Highness, Your Highness the Royal Consort.”

Yi Lian looked at Jiang Chi. “Who is this?”

Jiang Chi had disguise on his face, so Li Xiao didn’t elaborate much: “My subordinate.”

Bypassing the outer hall, Li Xiao entered the place where Li Ji worked. As soon as he stepped inside, he felt a heavy, stagnant atmosphere.

Li Ji sat behind his office desk reviewing documents, with Old Liu assisting at his side.

Ten meters directly opposite the desk, Wei Feng—clad in a soldier’s uniform—stood by the window with a cigarette in his mouth, his face looking rather unpleasant.

To avoid raising suspicion, Li Xiao had required Wei Feng to wear a facial disguise as Seattle.

“Brother.” Li Xiao went over first to greet Li Ji.

“You’re here?” Li Ji’s gaze landed on Jiang Chi, finding him somewhat familiar.

Before Li Ji could inquire, Wei Feng walked over to stand in front of Li Xiao. “Since you’re here, my mission ends now.”

Even though Wei Feng tried his best to stay calm, Li Xiao could still feel the irritability in his tone.

Li Xiao: “You can’t leave yet.”

“I have my own things to do. I won’t be accompanying you any longer.” Wei Feng took down the unlit cigarette, crushed it in his palm, threw it away, and turned to walk out.

Li Xiao turned to look at his back. “Are you going to that base?”

Wei Feng stopped, the usual lazy smile gone from his face. His brows were sharp, radiating an overwhelming pressure.

“Was the epaulet you gave me before found from there?”

Li Xiao: “That’s right.”

Wei Feng took a deep breath, wanting to suppress the rising anger, but he failed.

He turned back, grabbed Li Xiao’s collar, and said through gritted teeth in a heavy, deep voice: “You told me there was nothing left there!”

Li Xiao stood still without moving. “Indeed, there was nothing left.”

Wei Feng: “What about those bodies on the stone pillars?! They were wearing military uniforms—they were once soldiers who defended our home and country! Are they nothing in your eyes?!”

Li Xiao: “They are already dead.”

Wei Feng’s clenched hands creaked. “Then at least help find a place to bury them! Why give those shady people the chance to film them and post them online?! Suffering inhumane torture while alive, and unable to rest in peace even after death!”

Noticing from his peripheral vision that Jiang Chi was about to step forward, Li Xiao raised his hand to signal him to stand back. He looked at the enraged Wei Feng: “Would burying them bring them peace?”

Wei Feng enunciated every word heavily: “At least they wouldn’t be disturbed.”

Li Xiao shook his head: “What they want isn’t peace; it’s justice. After waiting for decades, how could they willingly be buried deep underground like this? I think even if they only had a single bone left, they would try their absolute best to convey the truth from back then. If it were you, would you be willing?”

Wei Feng released his grip, falling silent for a long time. “You said that the epaulet was found inside the stomach of a corpse, and epaulets carved with the Golden Finch emblem were only fit for officer-level personnel to own. So that corpse—”

Wei Feng’s voice was dry, unable to continue.

When that video broke out online, he had discovered it—that dome ceiling carved with hideous finch birds was identical to the one in his memory.

He had died in that base.

Yet at the same time, he was born anew in that very base.

This feeling was utterly bizarre. Especially when he saw the body pinned to the stone pillar by metal rods, he felt as if he had also been pierced by a metal rod, a bone-chilling cold spreading throughout his entire body from the wound, the intense pain and sensation of confinement making it hard for him to breathe.

Li Xiao: “It wasn’t you.”

Wei Feng snapped his head up. “How do you know?”

“We ran DNA tests on those bodies long ago.” Song Jin sat on the sofa, accepting the tea and snacks served by Old Liu. “You weren’t among them.”

Wei Feng: “Then where am I?”

Song Jin ate happily, giving him a strange look. “Aren’t you right here?”

The hairs on Wei Feng’s neck stood on end. In an instant, countless supernatural events crossed his mind.

Seeing Wei Feng both struck with a blow and bewildered, Li Xiao patted his shoulder. “You are you. Don’t overthink it.”

Song Jin sat like a lord, eating and drinking. “What a useless father, needing your son to comfort you.”

Wei Feng: “…”