Underneath Yan Qing’s text message was a news link.

Li Xiao clicked into it offhandedly, his eyes falling immediately on the eye-catching headline:

【FLASH! Numerous students from the First Military Academy, dissatisfied with the royal family’s rude behavior toward the Meng family father and son, have spontaneously organized protest marches demanding a reinvestigation to grant justice to those who contributed to the nation!】

Beneath the text was a group of photos showing military academy students protesting on campus.

Judging by the photos, the scale was by no means small, with no fewer than a thousand participants.

The top ten hot comments under the post were dominated by links to historical news, all detailing the Meng family’s glorious achievements and great exploits.

As expected, this post rapidly rocketed to the top of the hot search list. The debate within the topic was exceptionally fierce, with those defending the Meng faction and those opposing it each holding their own ground.

【The military academy students definitely know far more than us ordinary citizens! For them to step out and protest means there’s definitely more to the story!】

【Just who on earth is instigating the students?!】

【This is terrifying! Even after all the evidence has been laid out, there are still so many people who refuse to believe it. These kids are the future of our military!】

【The Meng family’s brainwashing isn’t just talk. Hardly any of my friends believe the Meng family could commit crimes.】

【The Meng family was innocent in the first place. If they don’t suppress the Meng family, it won’t be easy for a certain royal house to rule—those who get it, get it.】

【There are still people yelling that the Meng family is innocent? Hilarious. Their brains must be growing out of their asses.】

Li Xiao scrolled down rapidly, pondered for a moment, and said to Jiang Chi, “I’ll send someone to go with you.”

Song Jin was puzzled: “If you don’t tag along, can you really rest easy?”

For Jiang Chi to be harmed to the point of being dumped at the border, he must have uncovered crucial evidence. Letting Jiang Chi go alone—if he ran into another accident on the way, the loss would far outweigh any gain.

Li Xiao: “I have to go to the military academy first. The Meng faction has stirred up public opinion on campus. Quite a few military academy students are boycotting classes, marching, smashing things, and getting into fights everywhere.”

Song Jin laughed out loud from hearing that: “There sure are a lot of fools.”

Li Xiao had no way to refute that.

Being in one’s twenties was precisely the age when one was prone to impulsive behavior. Being wrongly guided made it very easy to get hot-headed. On top of that, with so many modified humans under the Meng family’s thumb, even if they didn’t want to, they had no choice but to be manipulated by the Meng family just to obtain supplementary blood agents.

Song Jin: “What about the military academy’s guard unit?”

Li Xiao: “They can’t control it.”

Song Jin sneered: “Can they genuinely not control it, or are they just complying in appearance while opposing in secret?”

Li Xiao: “Regardless of which it is, someone needs to step in and take charge of the situation.”

The principal of the First Military Academy was not a staunch member of the Meng faction, nor was it possible for him to stick his neck out for the royal family. This ambiguous, wind-swaying stance guaranteed that he would not sternly suppress the riots. Even if chaos truly broke out and he was held accountable, at most he’d be called incompetent—perhaps even allowing him to retire early, which would happen to suit his wishes perfectly.

Jiang Chi took over the conversation: “You go handle your business. I can do this myself.”

“No.”

Song Jin interrupted in a cold voice. “The more critical the timing, the more careful and cautious we must be.”

Yi Anhe didn’t quite understand and asked Jiang Chi, “What are you going to retrieve?”

Jiang Chi said in a heavy voice, “A storage device. It’s a video recording secretly filmed back then by the captured Golden Finch Legion warriors in the Z152 underground base. My memories are still a bit chaotic, so I’m not certain of the exact location. I’ll still have to search for it once I get there.”

Yi Anhe’s expression grew solemn: “I’ll send people to protect you.”

Hearing this, Jiang Hao looked toward Li Xiao: “Eldest Brother, I can go along too.”

Seeing Li Xiao hesitate slightly, Song Jin said helplessly, “You go handle the military academy’s affairs. I’ll accompany him. Once we find it, we’ll rendezvous with you at T999.”

Li Xiao knitted his brows: “No.”

“I’m not negotiating with you.”

Song Jin’s attitude was unyielding. “If this first battle at the military academy turns into a complete mess, it will affect all subsequent plans. Don’t tell me you want to drag things out with the Meng faction for several years?”

Without waiting for Li Xiao to speak, Song Jin added, “You know I don’t have much patience.”

Although the little lion was easy to coax, the premise was that it didn’t involve core principles. On major matters, he had always meant what he said, firmly standing by his judgment. Li Xiao knew this very well and was deeply drawn to this trait of his. In the end, he could only instruct them to bring extra energy stones along.

Once the decision was made, Li Xiao and Song Jin first returned to the main hall to report their itinerary to Li Ji.

Mulling over matters, Jiang Chi noticed his father looking as if he wanted to speak yet hesitated. Remembering something all of a sudden, he pulled Jiang Hao over and introduced him excitedly: “Hao Hao, this is our dad!”

Jiang Hao looked at Yi Anhe. For a moment, the two looked at each other in silence.

Jiang Hao greeted obediently: “Hello, Papa.”

Yi Anhe: “Mhm.”

Both were overly calm, leaving Jiang Chi entirely bewildered.

The little brat who was kidnapped as a child finally got to see his dad—why is his reaction so bland? Was there something wrong with the way I introduced them?

The atmosphere was subtly awkward. Jiang Chi looked at his younger brother, then at his biological father, and asked with difficulty: “…That’s it? Hey, don’t you two have anything else you want to say?”

Jiang Hao thought about it seriously, then said to Yi Anhe, “My brother has a bad temper and is a bit messy, but he’s a good person and very good at fighting. He can be of some help, so please don’t look down on him.”

Jiang Chi: “…?”

Why does this sound so strange?

Yi Anhe: “…”

The youngest definitely thinks I’m his godfather.

Forget it, let’s leave it like this for now.

Yi Anhe took both of their hands at the same time, his tone soft yet solemn: “Welcome home. Papa has waited for you boys for a very long time.”

Jiang Hao’s eyes flickered. The warmth radiating from his palm felt dry and comforting. Instinctively, he held back, as if he had finally reclaimed something he had lost.

Late at night, officials from the Investigation Bureau were leaving work one after another, only to be ambushed and raided by stationed troops on their way home, falling into the net one by one. Even the Director of the Investigation Bureau was apprehended while attempting to flee.

Overnight, first the officials of the Yi faction suffered successive assassinations, and immediately after, more than half of the Investigation Bureau’s top brass were locked up.

These events spread rapidly through the highest circles, and everyone knew clearly in their hearts—the royal family and the Meng family had engaged in an all-out war.

Many neutral parties and fence-sitters closed their doors to guests, even planning to take long leaves of absence to avoid the crossfire.

At the same time, 3:00 PM at the First Military Academy.

Lin Shuo was sitting in a classroom with his companions for a military theory class when a series of chaotic footsteps suddenly echoed from the hallway. A group of second and third-year students barged into the classroom, like bandits snatching the textbooks of the front-row students, tearing them up, and tossing them directly onto the floor.

“Holy shit! My textbook!”

“Get the hell out!”

The old professor was startled, nearly getting beaten up by the surging students. Lin Shuo, who happened to be sitting in the front row, quickly flipped over the desk to lead the old professor back, kicking away an attacking student while roaring angrily, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Among the students who stormed in, five lined up on the podium, holding signs and yelling at the top of their lungs: “Oppose royal tyranny! Restore the Meng family’s innocence!”

The students in the class reacted one after another, engaging in a free-for-all with the group tearing textbooks. A few students close by helped Lin Shuo guard the old professor, cursing colorfully.

“How many times is this already?!”

“If you oppose the royal family, why tear my damn books?! You take me for a soft target?!”

“Where’s the guard unit?! Eating for free all day and doing nothing useful!”

“The guard unit’s channel is busy, it won’t connect!”

The old professor was furious, slamming the book in his hand heavily onto the front desk: “Utterly outrageous! You are military academy students! After studying for so many years, can’t you even distinguish basic right from wrong?!”

A troublemaking student shouted back furiously at the old professor: “Generations of the Meng family gave their all for the empire, yet the royal family locks up Senior Admiral Meng based on a single video and some fabricated essays! Just who is the one unable to distinguish right from wrong?! You old relic, brainwashed by the royal family, coming here to lecture us—you’d better teach yourself first!”

Old Professor: “Meng Shan was merely taken in for questioning! If he didn’t do it, no one can do a thing to him!”

Troublemaking student: “The man’s already been dragged away, isn’t it just whatever the royal family says goes?!”

Old Professor: “You must have faith in the royal family! If you don’t want your academic status revoked, cease your violent atrocities immediately!”

Troublemaking student: “Revoke it then! The royal family kicks down the ladder and swings the blade at loyal ministers—who the hell wants to serve a royal family like this?!”

The old professor was so angry his chest felt tight, only calming down after Lin Shuo soothed him.

Lin Shuo’s gaze swept over these students with hideous expressions, speaking in a low voice: “Teacher, don’t waste your breath persuading them. These people are all the Meng family’s lapdogs. The authority they recognize isn’t ‘reason’—it’s ‘Meng’.”

By the time the entire classroom was turned into an absolute mess and the troublemakers had all scattered, the guard unit finally arrived tardily.

With a floor covered in torn textbooks, there was no way this class could continue.

Fearing the old professor might be attacked again on the way back, Lin Shuo and two of his companions escorted him back together.

Driving toward the Political Affairs Office, they could see a dense crowd of people on the open ground from far away, holding up various signs and shouting slogans out loud. Li Ji and Li Xiao’s photos were crossed out with red “X”s, whereas Meng Jian’s photo was completely intact, with a handsome one specially chosen.

“If someone told me this wasn’t ordered by the Meng family, I wouldn’t believe it even if you beat me to death,” Lin Shuo’s companion exclaimed softly inside the vehicle.

The old professor shook his head with a soft sigh: “These people might never understand that it’s precisely because things will turn out like this that the royal family must severely punish the Meng family.”

Lin Shuo looked at the protest march occupying an entire street below: “What meaning is there in them making a scene like this? With just these people, they can’t even break out of the military academy—won’t they just be suppressed in a matter of minutes?”

Old Professor: “Public opinion appears invisible, yet the impact it causes is far-reaching. Only by keeping themselves consistently on the ‘just’ side can the Meng family have a pretext to launch counterattacks against the royal family’s upcoming decisions.”

Mulling over this sentence, Lin Shuo delivered the old professor back to his office. On the way out, he grabbed a whistle and a megaphone from an instructor’s desk, and ignoring his companions’ attempts to stop him, strode toward the main entrance of the Political Affairs Office.

A high-pitched whistle rang out. Unsure of what was happening, many in the crowd quieted down instantly.

Seeing Lin Shuo leap onto a stone statue on one side of the entrance, the students leading the rhythm at the front screamed furiously at him: “Get the hell lost! Don’t get in our way!”

Holding the megaphone toward the crowd, Lin Shuo said loudly, “I don’t intend to get in the way of you yelling slogans. I just want to see how many second-year Mech Department students are doing foolish things!”

These words immediately aroused dissatisfaction in many, who lunged forward wanting to drag him down and beat him up.

Lin Shuo continued climbing up the stone statue: “Every single day you work yourselves to death training! You grind through books until dawn just to score a few more points! You rack your brains studying combat techniques just for an extra chance to go on an expedition! Was all that so you could stand here today, protesting for things you can’t even understand yourselves, swinging your fists at your companions and teachers?!”

“Only useless people point their fists at their own people!”

Someone beneath the stone statue grabbed Lin Shuo’s ankle: “You guys are blinded by the royal family, you aren’t our own people!”

Seeing that it was a “upgraded” person, Lin Shuo mercilessly kicked him away: “I indeed am not your companion! I won’t be instigated by people with ulterior motives to gamble away my academic status and future just to defend a murderer who slaughtered other races!”

Many in the procession were ordinary students who came from various places to study. Having grown up since childhood in an environment filled with notions like “The Meng family is the strongest in the Empire,” “It’s entirely thanks to the Meng family’s protection that Danse can be this prosperous,” and “Without the Meng family, there would be no Danse today,” they held an exceptionally thick filter for the Meng family.

Quite a few treated several generations of Meng family generals as their idols, even joining the military for this very reason.

Yet the news leaked on the network recently had shattered their faith, leaving them completely unwilling to believe it was true.

As long as a single opposing voice existed, they were willing to believe it.

Rather than saying that participating in the protest was defending the Meng family, it was more about defending the order of their own inner worlds.

If their long-held belief was wrong, then what was right?

However, Lin Shuo’s words dispersed their momentary confusion.

That’s right, the matter hadn’t been fully investigated yet.

If the Meng family had truly committed those atrocities, then they were accomplices.

Once many students figured this out, they stepped out of the procession in silence. This, however, drove the Meng faction students anxious beyond belief, and they lunged forward to drag Lin Shuo away.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Shuo was cornered on the stone statue. His two companions below were desperately trying to maintain order, nearly getting swallowed up by the crowd.

Inside the office, Yan Qing and a group of teachers were watching the surveillance footage outside the main hall.

Yan Qing glanced at the quiet internal management system.

Things had escalated to this point, yet the principal still hadn’t issued a single instruction, nor had he ordered the guard unit to maintain order.

“Lin Shuo is in too much danger!”

Instructor Zhao De couldn’t stand it any longer, preparing to head out to rescue him.

Staring at the screen, Yan Qing called out to Zhao De, who had reached the doorway: “Wait.”

Zhao De: “The guard unit is here?”

Yan Qing: “No.”

Lin Shuo’s ankle was grabbed once again. Before he could kick out, the student below was dragged down by another person. Looking down, he was somewhat stunned: “Senior Liu?”

Grabbing the upgraded human who was climbing up to hit Lin Shuo, Liu Jie delivered a punch straight to his face.

“Have you made enough of a scene?!”

Among the crowd of students in the front row, there were upgraded humans as well as minor nobles whose family status was comparable to Liu Jie’s. Because the Meng, Zheng, and Qi families formed an alliance, these younger generations usually interacted with each other far more than with others.

Seeing Liu Jie actually step out to oppose them, the group was completely baffled.

“Are you out of your mind?!”

Liu Jie: “I’m definitely more clear-headed than you lot!”

The upgraded human who was hit suddenly flew into a frenzy, attacking Liu Jie with deadly intent.

“You should be standing on our side! You traitor!”

Liu Jie couldn’t beat Song Jin, but dealing with these people was a piece of cake. Locking the upgraded human down against the stone statue, he raised his head and shouted to Lin Shuo: “Pass me the megaphone!”

For a moment, Lin Shuo couldn’t figure out what Liu Jie was trying to do either.

In his impression, Liu Jie belonged to the Zheng family and was in league with the Meng faction. Furthermore, this kid had advised him to accept the “upgrade”—he wasn’t anything good.

After catching the megaphone, Liu Jie shouted toward the procession: “All third-year Mech Department students, fall out! If you have an issue, we’ll settle it in private—don’t fucking embarrass me out here!”

Someone in the crowd yelled back: “What do you know?! We are doing this for our faith!”

Liu Jie shot back sternly: “Faith? Your faith has already broken out of prison! If he didn’t have a guilty conscience, why the hell did he run?!”

“Impossible!” the crowd yelled out.

Liu Jie: “Go read the news yourselves! Howling like ghosts out here without knowing a single damn thing! Don’t go around calling yourselves military academy students when you go out—it lowers my class!”

Someone opened the network platform and discovered that just fifteen minutes ago, Military Headquarters had released three consecutive updates.

【WANTED NOTICE! At 10:28 PM Imperial Capital Star Zone 1 time, Major General Meng Jian, in charge of Suyang and Nanming constellations, broke out of the Investigation Bureau. Under the cover of accomplices, he has currently departed Imperial Capital Star along with Second Legion Commander Meng Zai. A domain-wide S-Rank wanted notice is hereby officially issued. Units and individuals who discover clues will be rewarded with 1,000,000 Star Credits.】

Attached beneath the text was surveillance footage, capturing scenes from Meng Jian leaving the Investigation Bureau to the car driving toward a private landing pad, all the way to the private starship taking off.

【FLASH! Effective immediately, Imperial Capital Star has fully entered a state of battle readiness! Between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM Zone 1 time, sudden enemy attacks erupted in multiple locations. As of press time, twelve officials, including the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, have been injured. Eight assassins have been captured, and fifteen were neutralized on site. The military reminds the general public to pay attention to travel safety and contact the Police Department or garrison bases promptly if encountering danger.】

Attached beneath the text were the dossiers of eight assassins alongside photos taken upon their capture. Personal files revealed all of them to be personnel within the military’s internal system.

【Multiple officials from the Imperial Major Crime Investigation Bureau are suspected of severe dereliction of duty. After capturing Meng Jian, they failed to perform their duty of interrogation and released the criminal without authorization. All have been arrested and detained!】

Attached beneath the text were the personal files of these arrested officials, with only a rather half-hearted censorship bar applied across their faces.

Related topics saw an almost overwhelming condemnation directed at the Meng faction.

【So this is what it means to cover the sky with one hand? Even after being arrested, he was served fine food and drink, and the Director of the Investigation Bureau allowed himself to be ordered around at his beck and call?】

【These assassins are clearly all from the Meng faction! Every single person they killed belonged to the Yi family!】

【Great job by the military! The Meng faction must be hit hard—they can’t be allowed to act lawlessly like this any longer!】

【Will Meng Jian flee to the Nanming constellation? Is a war about to break out? So scared QuQ】

【Trust the royal family! They definitely won’t let the Meng family father and son remain at large!】

【Rest assured, a full war won’t break out. Meng Shan is still locked up on Imperial Capital Star—Meng Jian wouldn’t abandon even his own father, right?】

First Military Academy.

Gao Jia rushed over halfway through his class upon hearing that trouble had erupted at the Political Affairs Office.

Lin Shuo was already maintaining order at the scene. What surprised him was that Liu Jie was there as well, and surprisingly wasn’t on the side leading the riot.

“President?” Seeing Gao Jia standing in the corner observing, Vice President Qi Lin asked in confusion, “Should we contact the guard unit?”

Gao Jia: “Wait a moment first.”

Before long, several upperclassmen arrived one after another after receiving the news, helping to maintain order at the scene.

Figures like Lin Shuo and Liu Jie were both chief representatives of the Mech Department, holding considerable influence within the military academy; their spoken words carried significant weight.

The noisy protest scene was finally brought under control. After the majority fell silent, only a small portion of upgraded humans and Meng faction members were still shouting. Only then did Gao Jia notify the guard unit and step out from the corner.

Once the guard unit arrived, they hauled away the group of students jumping around the most aggressively.

Liu Jie stood under the shade of a tree, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Gao Jia was walking toward him.

Walking up to his side, Gao Jia looked toward the arrest scene and asked in a low voice, “This isn’t something your stance dictates you to do. What meaning is there in doing this?”

The Zheng family wouldn’t change their stance because of a single action from him, nor would the Liu family—who relied on the Zheng family—have their crimes lightened because of it. It carried no meaning whatsoever.

“I felt like doing it, so I did.”

Liu Jie stared ahead. “In the past, I really envied you, born into a major noble family. You didn’t have to bow and scrape to anyone, didn’t have to force yourself to cater to anybody, and didn’t have to do things you hated. But now, I can only pity you, who are still locked inside a cage. At least I am free, whereas you have nothing.”

After saying that, without caring for Gao Jia’s reaction, Liu Jie turned around and walked away.

Suddenly, a loud roaring sound echoed in his ears. Instinctively raising his head, Liu Jie saw a fighter jet echelon flying toward them. His face shifted slightly, and he shouted at the crowd: “Take cover, quick!”

The students hadn’t walked far yet. Coupled with numerous distractions at the scene, only a small portion heard Liu Jie’s warning, instinctively dodging into nearby buildings.

In the very next moment, the fighter jet echelon began strafing the crowd.

“AHHH—!” Screams erupted continuously as students fled in all directions like headless flies.

Inside the office, Yan Qing and the others saw this scene, their faces changing drastically.

Yan Qing hurriedly contacted the principal, only to get a busy signal. He rushed out of the office toward the principal’s office without delay.

Instructor Zhao De’s voice was trembling—whether out of anger or sheer shock: “These are… the military academy’s fighter jets! What on earth are they doing?!”

Outside the Political Affairs Office, total chaos broke out.

Numerous students were injured, leaving plenty of bloodstains on the ground.

In the principal’s office, the principal contacted the guard unit, breaking out in a cold sweat all over: “Stop the attack right now! Did you hear me when I told you to stop?! Why are you suddenly attacking students?! Are you trying to get me killed?!”

As he spoke, out of the corner of his eye, the principal noticed a fighter jet flying past the window, dropping a miniature missile. He turned pale with fright.

Students holding protests wouldn’t lead to much if suppressed, but if a large number of students were blown to death, his tenure as principal would be completely over.

“Stop right now—!” the principal roared hysterically.

Yet the communication was abruptly cut off.

The principal froze, unable to snap back to his senses, only then realizing he had been far too naive. He thought he controlled this school, but in truth, he was nothing more than a puppet.

Liu Jie, Lin Shuo, and a group of students ran to the nearest hall of the Political Affairs Office. Hearing a deafening BOOM echo in their ears, they thought the worst, yet the road surface and buildings outside remained completely intact.

Plucking up his courage, Lin Shuo walked to the door and raised his head to look at the sky, his pupils shrinking abruptly.

“They’re here!”

Liu Jie hurriedly followed over to check.

A massive military force was hovering in the sky above the military academy, virtually blocking out the sky and sun.

“The Second Prince!” A student pointed at a virtual projection screen suddenly deployed outside the building and exclaimed, “The Second Prince is here!”

Almost simultaneously, all virtual projection screens across the military academy turned on, sitting like giant bubbles atop the laboratory buildings, teaching buildings, and training venues. Displayed on the screens was Li Xiao’s serene face.

In the next moment, his deep voice resonated through the public address system.

“The First Military Academy is currently under enemy bombardment. All teachers and students, please enter safe areas immediately to take shelter.”

“Effective immediately, the Third Legion will initiate a clearing operation against the enemy forces. Upon discovery, they will be executed on the spot—no surrenders accepted.”