Suyang Constellation S436, West District Nine.

In the center of the city, the protesting crowd stretched as far as the eye could see. Placards bearing slogans like “Restore the Meng Family’s Innocence” and “The Royal Family Inverts Black and White” were held high overhead, visible everywhere.

Passersby who couldn’t stand the sight stopped to hurl a few criticisms, only to be swarmed and brutally beaten by the demonstrators.

“Let go of my friend! Stop hitting him!” During the scuffle, a Beta youth was violently shoved to the ground. Seeing a foot stomping down toward his head, he clutched his head tight in terror.

Yet the anticipated pain never came. The Beta looked up to see the ferocious middle-aged men beside him flattened to the ground by a blond Alpha youth.

“Aren’t you getting up yet?” Song Jin’s tone was as chilly as it was impatient. Grabbing a placard swung toward him, he smashed it back onto the attacker’s face, snapping it cleanly in two.

Startled, the Beta youth scrambled to his feet, dragging his friend back as they retreated.

Song Jin had no interest in fighting rioters. Once Jiang Chi and Jiang Hao finished off the remaining few, he strode swiftly into a side alley.

“Hurry, chase them! Don’t let them get away!” In the protest crowd, a group of beaten rioters gave chase in a rage, looking very much as if they intended to beat them to death.

Jiang Chi ran at the rear. Hearing the commotion behind him, he pushed the two Beta youths ahead to speed up.

“Quick, quick! Let’s duck into this small shop first!”

When the mob rushed into the side alley, they found not a soul in sight. Unreconciled, they paced back and forth along the path a few times before finally being called back by others.

Jiang Hao poked his head out from a self-service sports equipment shop. Seeing those people head back, he said to Song Jin, who was hiding in the adjacent shop: “Brother Song, they’re gone.”

“Mm.”

Song Jin looked toward both ends of the alley. Densely packed protest crowds covered both main roads, and even from here, the chaotic shouting could be heard, intermittently mixed with cursing and brawling.

They had been here for two hours. Let alone garrison troops, not even riot police could be seen along the way; instead, numerous ambulances with sirens wailing zipped busily through the skies above the urban area.

Song Jin: 【07, look this up for me.】

07: 【Searching for relevant information from known channels—】

A stack of virtual screens popped up in Song Jin’s field of vision, and 07 automatically placed the most direct and crucial information right at the front.

Ten minutes ago, the Suyang Constellation S436 West District Garrison Headquarters posted a new update online—

[Dear citizens, it is with immensely heavy hearts that we inform you that by the time you see this notice, the West District Garrison will have completely ceased operations. We look forward to the day the Meng family is cleared of false accusations and look forward to reuniting with you all.]

This post gained a fair amount of traction, but it was buried by the Academy news during the same time slot, failing to stir up much of a splash.

The comment section under the update was filled entirely with curses directed at the garrison, with a long string of comments tagging the military account to demand a resolution to the strike.

Song Jin switched to the screens behind. The protest marches were already hanging on the local news headlines; many people sat bleeding along the streets waiting for rescue, numerous shops were being looted by rioters, over 80% of businesses were closed, and almost all remaining ones were unmanned stores.

Song Jin sent the situation here to Li Xiao. Inadvertently noticing that the shelves were filled with flashy packaging, he instinctively took an extra glance assuming they were various flavors of small biscuits, only to see the word “Adult” posted on the wall, the light in his eyes instantly dimming.

Recalling how Li Xiao had mocked him while investigating at the sky bar, Song Jin’s face darkened: “…”

To actually fall into the exact same pit twice.

When Jiang Hao came over to look for him, he happened to see Song Jin glaring sullenly at a shelf of condoms, utterly baffled: “Is there a problem here?”

Song Jin turned and left without looking back: “In the future, a law must be passed stating that condom packaging isn’t allowed to use colorful designs.”

Jiang Hao followed him out in complete confusion: “Why?”

Song Jin: “An eyesore.”

Jiang Hao: “…”

Inside another shop, two Beta youths were led by Jiang Chi to hide behind a shelf.

Before long, the tall, blond youth lifted the door curtain and walked in, drawling in a cool, flat voice: “Let’s go. Time for serious business.”

Jiang Chi responded and turned to instruct the two Beta youths: “Don’t do anything rash now, you can’t win against that many people.”

The brown-haired Beta said unreconciled: “But they’re talking complete nonsense! The ones in the wrong are clearly the Meng family, yet they’re turning around to bite back! Are we just going to leave it alone?”

The black-haired Beta nodded: “And hitting people indiscriminately! I see those people are just using the protest as an excuse to retaliate against society!”

“Having the heart for it is enough.”

Song Jin walked to a spot five steps away, hands tucked into his oversized jacket pockets, the brim of his cap pulled very low. “The Royal Family won’t sit idly by. Everything requires proper methods and approaches. What you need to do is protect yourselves and not add to the chaos.”

Song Jin’s usual voice wasn’t deep, but it sounded very pleasant. The brown-haired Beta gave him an extra glance, but before he could speak, he saw the other turn and leave with his team.

Only after they left did the brown-haired Beta whisper to his companion: “That person just now was Crown Princess Song Jin!”

“For real?!” The black-haired Beta’s eyes widened.

The brown-haired Beta nodded: “I’ve watched all his match videos. The voice and build match up, plus that iconic light golden hair, no mistake about it!”

The black-haired Beta’s eyes flashed, saying excitedly: “The Royal Family’s reaction is so fast!”

The brown-haired Beta thought for a moment and opened the school group chat: “Let’s tell everyone anyway, so no one joins in the chaos blindly. The Royal Family will definitely take action immediately.”

First Military Academy.

The Principal issued a network-wide livestream apology. Billions of people flooded wildly into the livestream room, the bullet chat screen packed with comments calling out Meng Jian by name.

The military hadn’t stated it explicitly and the Royal Family hadn’t stepped forward yet, but most people already had their answer in their hearts.

Principal: “The Royal Family has never issued an order to attack protest crowds or ordinary cadets. Please do not believe the nonsense of certain unscrupulous media. Upon discovering the situation, I contacted the Academy security guards at the earliest moment, but they completely refused to obey my orders. Fortunately, the Second Prince and the Third Legion arrived in time…”

In the bullet chat—

“Disgusting enough to make me puke, hating the Meng family for life.”

“To actually pin the blame for the bombing on the Royal Family, the Meng family is truly shameless!”

“So cold-blooded! In the Meng family’s eyes, the lives of so many cadets are merely tools to be used!”

“Fists clenched, zero tolerance for rebels!”

“Begging the Second Prince to sanction the rebels! Absolutely cannot let them off!”

“Turning around to blame others for their own deeds, and as a fugitive still having the nerve to post videos playing the victim! Is there no one left to discipline this old man?!”

“You can always trust the Royal Family!”

In front of the desk, after reading the message sent by Song Jin, Li Xiao had 09 extract relevant information from the network.

09: 【Searching—garrisons in 1,468 regions have posted strike notices, 522 of which are in the Suyang Constellation, and the number is still increasing.】

09: 【Protest marches have erupted across all striking regions.】

With such a massive scale, it would quickly become a societal focal point.

Li Xiao opened the two largest social media platforms, Shengya and Lingfeng—behind Shengya stood Wu Ya, and behind Lingfeng stood the Meng family.

Divergence had already begun to appear in the direction of public opinion on both sides.

The circumstances of this lifetime were different from the previous one, but the tactics used by Meng Jian hadn’t changed much.

Shengya placed the Principal’s livestream in the most prominent position on all pages, with almost the entire network cursing the Meng family.

Meanwhile, Lingfeng’s trending topics were already occupied by various strike-related keywords.

Top comments early on—

“The Meng family is getting more and more blatant!”

“Is there anything the Meng family can’t pull off?!”

“The harder the Meng family jumps, the guiltier they feel—their wolf tail can’t be hidden anymore!”

“What does the Meng family want to do by controlling so many garrison bases?! What does a strike mean? They won’t turn around to deal with us, will they?”

“Stop playing around, old man! You can’t win!”

As the number of striking garrison bases grew, comments like “When the Royal Family and the Meng family fight, we are the ones who suffer in the end,” “With so many regional garrisons on strike, doesn’t that highlight issues with the Royal Family?”, and “Royal Family, stop making a fuss” gradually surfaced amid the curses.

Shortly after the Principal concluded the livestream, the largest civil aviation company published an update—

[We deeply regret to inform everyone that considering the current macro environment, upper management has decided to suspend all operations in the Nanming Constellation and Suyang Constellation effective immediately to ensure customer travel safety.]

This update acted like a blown whistle. Airline companies large and small followed suit, and the gushing volume of discussion sent the topic straight onto the trending charts.

“Once again feeling firsthand the power that covers the sky with one hand.”

“Rebelling, are we?! Large-scale strikes by garrison troops and civil aviation—are we hostages held by your Meng family?!”

“Stop messing around! Once flights halt, our company will stall immediately! Losing over ten million a day!”

“Seriously, don’t fight! Can’t everyone just sit down and talk it out properly?”

“I got beaten by protesters while walking on the street, the police frequency won’t go through, and the rescue frequency is busy! Truly had enough!”

“If the Royal Family hadn’t pushed so hard, how could the Meng family pull so many stunts? Aren’t we the ones unlucky in the end?!”

“Next step, they aren’t going to cut off water, electricity, and internet, are they?”

“Royal Family, Meng family, both of you stop it! Will you only be satisfied seeing our lives thrown into utter chaos?!”

In essence, the vast majority of people cared most about their own interests. The Meng family tied their own interests to those of the public, forcing the public to side with them—as long as the Royal Family didn’t stop exerting pressure, they would continue to hold the Suyang and Nanming Constellations hostage, forcing the Royal Family to bow their heads and admit fault first.

A strike by one or two garrison bases was easy to resolve, but a joint strike by over a thousand garrison bases along with halted civil aviation meant that if the Royal Family couldn’t handle it properly in a timely manner, even without the Meng family organizing marches, large numbers of ordinary citizens would step out to protest, which would inevitably severely impact normal societal order.

Military Headquarters issued ten stern warnings in a row, ordering regional garrisons to resume operations and promptly maintain local public order.

Yet all the striking bases seemed convinced the Royal Family could do nothing to them, acting like dead men without a single one responding, triggering public fury.

Wei Yunjiang, Principal of Imperial University, suddenly posted a new update.

[@MengJian, a family that takes pride in invading and massacring other species can never lead the Danse Empire to prosperity. Your ambition is doomed to fail because those of us who once suffered cruel bullying haven’t completely fallen. As a member of the Bique species, I will bear witness on behalf of countless deceased compatriots to your capture, paying the price for the crimes once committed.]

The Principal of Imperial University held a pivotal social status, and his words carried immense weight. His sudden self-exposure as a member of the Bique species sent shockwaves across the entire internet.

The “Bique species” had frequented trending topics during this period, and almost no one was unaware of their past history of being harmed by the Meng family.

No one expected a prominent figure like Wei Yunjiang to actually be a Bique as well. Many couldn’t believe it, yet alongside their shock, they couldn’t help but sigh.

Instantly, countless Imperial University alumni retweeted the post, and prominent figures from all walks of life stepped forward to condemn the Meng family’s actions.

At the same time, Shengya Network leaked ten more pieces of evidence regarding the Meng family’s massacre of other species, pushing public opinion to an even higher peak.

Wu Ya, boss of Shengya, posted another update on his personal homepage—

[Effective immediately, additional passenger flights will be added for the Suyang Constellation and Nanming Constellation. Even if we spin the engines until they smoke, we will ensure our clients’ travel needs @YayuAviation. If they get scrapped, look for my brother @LiXiao for reimbursement.]

Top comment—

Yayu Aviation: “Boss, do you still remember we do cargo transport? (Quietly)”

Wu Ya replied: “Launching it right now.”

Everyone thought he was joking, but turning around, Yayu Aviation’s official account posted the newly approved passenger licenses and specific information on additional flights. The massive scale exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Netizens checked and found to their surprise that Yayu Aviation’s scale ranked in the top ten in cargo transport, with the top eight all being state-owned enterprises.

With such solid strength, it wasn’t that they couldn’t afford passenger transit—they simply looked down on the meager profits of passenger transport!

In the comment section—

“You brat, you caught this sky-falling fortune once again.”

“Nicely done! Seize the opportunity to grab market share and let those striking broken airlines strike until they go bankrupt!”

“Who would dare add flights at a time like this? From now on I’ll only recognize these airlines!”

“Hahaha, calling the Second Prince ‘brother’, does he acknowledge it?”

“CEO Wu, do you want to consider following the Second Prince to handle garrison business? Suyang Constellation citizens are waiting online, pretty urgent (doge)”

“@SecondPrinceLiXiao, requesting a bodyguard for CEO Wu, I’m afraid he’s being too high-profile and might get offed.”

After Yayu entered the field, seven or eight cargo airline companies large and small stated one after another that they would add passenger flight routes. Though their scale couldn’t compare to Yayu, every bit helped to ease current travel pressures.

Before long, passenger airlines large and small couldn’t sit still anymore and posted notices announcing additional flights.

Once reservations opened, they were instantly fully booked.

Qunaer Aviation: 【We were preparing to pack up and go bankrupt, this wave of recovery was truly unexpected. ‘Thanks’ to the Meng family.】

Feilema Aviation: 【Let Feifei hug the golden thigh too! [Emergency Additional Flight Info Table]】

Shouzouzou Aviation: 【Heard adding flights can get us a familiar face? [Overview Table of Desperately Added Flights]】

Nanming Constellation, Ninth Legion.

Meng Jian sat at the conference table listening to the report from Meng Tu’s adjutant.

The adjutant glanced quietly at Meng Jian, speaking respectfully: “The current approach has aroused strong aversion across all sectors of society. The voices online are loud; if we don’t adjust our strategy in time, I’m afraid it will be very difficult to turn the tables.”

Meng Tu raised his head to look at the main screen.

Military, political, educational, academic, medical sectors, and even top-tier celebrities were all speaking out for the Royal Family. The scope of this influential coverage was no smaller than that of their Meng family.

“No need to adjust.”

Rolling walnut shells in his hand, Meng Jian suppressed his temper and said, “They will soon realize that no matter who speaks out, it’s useless. If I want the Royal Family brothers to bow their heads, they will have no choice but to bow.”

Meng Zai sneered with disdain: “A bunch of weaklings. That Wei Yunjiang actually turned out to be a Bique, really thinking he’s somebody. We’ll deal with him first later.”

Looking at their determined expressions, the mouthful of words Meng Tu had swallowed back down.

Having pushed to this point, they had no other choice except to continue down this path.

First Military Academy.

Li Xiao had 09 mark all striking garrison bases on the map, then contacted Intelligence Bureau Chief Yi Anhe to ask about the situation.

Yi Anhe asked: “Preparing to take action?”

Li Xiao marked down one spot after another on the map: “Move against a portion first.”

Yi Anhe was somewhat puzzled.

Meng Jian was playing for real now. Garrison strikes were no small matter; if the Royal Family couldn’t withstand the pressure, it would inevitably cause a public backlash, and those forces leaning toward the Royal Family might return to the Meng faction’s side. How could Li Xiao remain so calm?

After finishing his markings, Li Xiao reported his preliminary operational plan to Li Ji.

Looking at the holographic projection map, Li Ji said: “Little Song is also in the danger zone, tell him to return early.”

“Mm.”

Though Li Xiao agreed verbally, in his heart he felt the success rate of recalling the little lion was low.

When the communication connected, Li Xiao spoke first: “Did you find the stuff?”

Suyang Constellation S436.

Song Jin looked at the Jiang brothers digging in the dirt under a tree not far away, averting his gaze in annoyance: “No. Was tricked by Old Jiang, the old guy didn’t remember at all.”

Li Xiao: “Come back first. The Meng family will have their next move soon, you—”

As Song Jin listened, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a few tiny black dots in the sky: “Too late, they’re already here.”

Li Xiao knit his brows: “The military?”

Song Jin zoomed in on the image through 07, his expression turning cold: “It’s a star pirate crew.”

Before Li Xiao could finish speaking, he looked at the disconnected call with some helplessness. A prompt from 09 sounded in his ear.

09: 【The location of General Affairs Head Zhang Bin has been locked!】

Li Xiao stood up and signaled the Marine captain to follow.

The Marine captain, who had been listening from the side just now, asked with some concern: “Shouldn’t we arrange for Her Highness the Crown Princess to return first? What if he gets injured?”

With a star pirate crew invading and garrison troops on strike, District Nine had zero ability to resist. They could only dispatch garrison troops from other regions as quickly as possible to assist, but the key issue was that those people might not even go.

Li Xiao smiled faintly, unbothered.

“He’s the only one who bullies others; who could possibly bully him?”

Walking out of the Principal’s office, Li Xiao dialed Gao Wanxin, and the call was picked up.

Gao Wanxin: “Second Prince?”

“Prepare for action.”

Li Xiao’s gaze fell onto the distant military base that was surrounded. “Clean up all star pirate crews across the entirety of Suyang Constellation. If any region is invaded by star pirate crews and the local garrison fails to resist, arrest the garrison high-ranking officers. Execute first and report later if necessary.”

Gao Wanxin: “Yes.”

Listening beside them, the Marine captain couldn’t help giving Li Xiao an extra glance.

Military Headquarters had already issued stern warnings, yet received zero response.

Those people had inadvertently squandered their sole opportunity to save their own lives.

Suyang Constellation S436.

Jiang Hao had dug several pits without finding a thing, unable to resist asking Jiang Chi: “Brother, are you sure it’s here?”

Jiang Chi shook his head: “Not sure.”

Jiang Hao: “…Then think before you dig.”

Jiang Chi leaned into Jiang Hao’s ear and whispered: “If I don’t find some work to do, I’m afraid that kid will beat me up. The Second Prince isn’t around, no one can control him.”

Jiang Hao: “…”

That was indeed hard to refute.

Noticing out of the corner of his eye a black hovercar driving over, Jiang Hao raised his head to see Song Jin sitting in the driver’s seat waving at them: “Get in.”

Jiang Hao decisively slapped the dirt off his hands and got in with Jiang Chi: “Where to? Not looking for the stuff anymore?”

Song Jin tapped a few times on the control panel to activate flight mode, stepping on the gas toward the garrison base: “Let’s do something big first.”

Jiang Chi / Jiang Hao: “…”

Jiang Chi had a faint bad feeling and asked cautiously: “Do what?”

Song Jin flexibly switched back and forth across various flight lanes at top speed, saying casually: “Barge into the garrison base and assassinate the commander.”

Jiang Chi’s scalp tightened: “…Didn’t you say everything requires proper methods and approaches?”

Song Jin held the steering wheel and looked ahead, scoffing: “This is the best method.”

Jiang Chi: “…”

Can this tiny beat-up car even drive into a garrison base? He was afraid they’d be shot into a sieve before even getting inside.

What kind of days did Hao-hao use to live in the past?

Just as they were about to enter the garrison-restricted area, Song Jin asked 07: “How is it?”

07: 【Infiltration is going quite smoothly, but many of them are working on repairs. Can hold out for ten minutes at most.】

“Enough.”

Song Jin looked through the car window at the star pirate ships drawing closer in the sky, a bellyful of anger pent up. “Sound the air defense alarm first.”

The Meng family’s actions reeked of arrogance. Given the current strength of both sides on the surface, the Meng family shouldn’t still have this confidence. Were they stupid to the core, or was there another reason?

Protest marches on District Nine’s streets were still ongoing. Many ordinary people didn’t dare get too close, watching and taking photos from a distance as onlookers.

Someone noticed a dark mass in the sky. Zooming in with a camera lens, they gasped: “The garrison went on strike, did the military send a legion here?”

Hearing this, nearby people raised their heads one after another.

“That’s a pretty big scale.”

“Are they going to clean up the garrison while they’re at it?”

“Don’t be too optimistic, this is the Meng family’s base. Even if the Royal Family sent people, it wouldn’t be this fast.”

“You know what, there’s actually a high chance it’s the Meng Family Army!”

“What else does the Meng family want to do? They’ve already sealed us in here, and now they need heavy troops to guard it? Thinking way too highly of us, aren’t they?”

“Whatever, film it first and post it online @Military, they’ll definitely know.”

While a group of people was filming videos, an ear-piercing air defense siren suddenly sounded in their ears, startling them. Even the protest marches halted, people looking around in all directions.

“What happened?!”

“A legion is coming over there!”

Suddenly, screens large and small on both sides of the street expanded in sequence. On the bright red display was a massive exclamation mark, and a well-behaved boy’s voice sounded through the voice-controlled system.

“This is Royal Dedicated AI 07. A star pirate crew is invading. Please proceed to the nearest shelter immediately!”

“Star pirate crew invasion! Everyone please take shelter nearby!”

“Repeating, star pirate crew invasion…”

Everyone was dumbfounded.

A star pirate crew?!

They had guessed it might be the Royal Family’s army, or perhaps the Meng Family Army, but no one ever expected it to actually be a star pirate crew!

“Run!”

“Ahhh—!”

The street fell into complete chaos. Whether they were taking photos or protesting, only one thought remained in their minds now: fleeing for their lives.

Above the garrison base.

Song Jin drove the car into the garrison control zone as 07’s prompt sounded in his ear.

07: 【Entered access control scanning area—Access control system hacked—】

A prompt window popped up on the vehicle AI.

[Identity scan successful~ Welcome back, the man behind the garrison commander~]

Jiang Chi’s brow twitched.

This access control system was not very proper.

Jiang Hao pressed against the car window and looked outside: “Brother Song, lots of people at the two o’clock position!”

Song Jin looked over. It was a small training field between office buildings where over a hundred people had gathered, shoving and arguing with each other over something.

“Ignore them for now.” He glanced at the garrison base function map fed back by 07, taking an unpopulated side path toward the command center.

Three garrison soldiers ran hurriedly down the corridor. The door on the right suddenly opened, and three hands reached out simultaneously, pulling them inside.

A moment later, Song Jin’s group of three stepped out wearing garrison uniforms.

Song Jin walked briskly toward the command center, popped open his sidearm magazine to glance at the bullet count, clicked it back in, and placed it back behind his waist with a reverse grip.

Jiang Hao couldn’t help stealing several glances at Jiang Chi.

His big brother in military uniform looked very different from usual, and there was even a faint sense of familiarity, as if it was meant to be this way.

Footsteps sounded in his ear. Seeing Song Jin stop, Jiang Hao snapped back to reality, stopped letting his mind wander, and lowered his head slightly.

Song Jin walked forward casually, keeping an eye on five garrison soldiers running hurriedly toward them.

Leading the group was a Major who was communicating with someone, his tone extremely anxious.

“The programs for Battery 12 and 15 are starting up? Battery 15 is far from me, I’ll go to Battery 12 first! …I’ve warned him many times! I won’t let him off this time! Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let him ruin upper management’s plans!”

As they brushed past, the Major caught a glimpse of conspicuous light golden hair out of the corner of his eye. His steps came to a sudden halt, turning to call out to Song Jin: “Wait! Which unit are you from?”

Song Jin stopped, turning leisurely to look at the Major: “What do you think?”

Seeing Song Jin’s face, the Major’s eyes widened and he quickly reached for his gun.

Before his hand could touch the gun, Jiang Chi locked his neck from behind, giving him a solid punch to the waist: “Ugh!”

As the Major acted, two garrison soldiers attacked Song Jin simultaneously.

Song Jin raised a leg, kicking off a Beta garrison soldier’s magazine, sidestepped to dodge the fist swinging from behind, and grabbed an Alpha garrison soldier’s wrist to twist it backward.

With a crack, the Alpha garrison soldier’s wrist was snapped.

“Ah!”

Song Jin yanked the person over to block the leg kicked by the Beta garrison soldier, drew the sidearm from the Alpha soldier’s waist, knocked the Beta unconscious with a gunstock strike, then raised a leg to stomp on the neck of the Alpha who had fallen to the floor and was trying to get up, stomping him out cold.

Jiang Hao grabbed the wrist of the armed soldier, slammed it against the wall, caught the sidearm as it flew out, and turned to kick the soldier attacking Jiang Chi.

Just as Jiang Chi was pondering whether to kill them or knock them out, the remaining four were already completely dealt with.

Looking at the nimble and agile Jiang Hao and Song Jin, Jiang Chi: “…”

He felt his mood was quite subtle.

Song Jin glanced at the location of Battery 12 and signaled them to follow.

Battery 12 Control Center.

A Beta Second Lieutenant in his thirties sat alone at the control console, rapidly confirming tedious procedures in an attempt to manually start up the battery. As the program entered the countdown, he busied himself confirming radar data to verify the target.

The Beta Second Lieutenant looked frantic, glancing from time to time at the tightly closed metal door, sweating profusely in a space kept at a constant 24 degrees Celsius.

Wiping his sweat messily, he sent a public channel communication request to the frequency displayed on the radar.

After being rejected twice in a row, it connected on the third attempt.

A burly Beta man with a fierce face appeared on the pop-up screen.

The Beta Second Lieutenant said solemnly: “This is Suyang Constellation S436 District Nine Garrison Base. Your side has illegally entered S436 airspace, which severely violates Empire law. Warning your side to leave immediately!”

After listening, the burly Beta man burst into loud laughter along with a large group of people around him.

“Where did this idiot come from? Haha…”

The Beta Second Lieutenant repeated again: “In accordance with relevant laws and regulations, our side will initiate legitimate countermeasures!”

Yet on the other side of the screen, besides ridicule, there was no fear whatsoever.

Seeing that the star pirate crew’s altitude had dropped into an extremely dangerous zone, the Beta Second Lieutenant opened the protective cover above the launch button and took a deep breath.

Before he could deliver a final ultimatum, the metal door opened from the outside, and a group of armed garrison soldiers rushed in.

“Don’t move!”

The Beta Second Lieutenant stood up abruptly, breathing heavily: “I operated according to procedure!”

The armed Alpha Lieutenant Colonel pointed at the Second Lieutenant, walked briskly to the control console, took a glance, and punched the Second Lieutenant in the face in rage: “Who permitted you to operate without authorization?! Entering the military for so many years and you still haven’t learned to follow superior commands?!”

“Ugh!”

The Beta Second Lieutenant stumbled back a few steps and was pinned to the floor by surrounding garrison soldiers, his knees crashing hard onto the ground. Watching the launch sequence canceled, he felt both fearful and unreconciled: “They’re a star pirate crew! How can we let them in?!”

The Alpha paused the launch sequence, walked in front of the Beta Second Lieutenant, patted his face with the gun, and sneered: “That’s why you can only ever be a Second Lieutenant.”

With that, the Alpha Lieutenant Colonel raised his gun muzzle.

Jeering laughter from the star pirate crew came through the screen.

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“Hahaha so thrilling, leave a few for me! I love killing these dumb, naive soldiers the most!”

“Whoooa! I want to see a headshot!”

The Beta Second Lieutenant’s pupils shrank. Thinking he wouldn’t escape today, he gritted his teeth and shouted in rage: “You scumbags aren’t worthy of this military uniform!”

Enraged, the Alpha Lieutenant Colonel was about to end him with a shot when several sounds of heavy objects crashing to the floor suddenly came from beside his ear.

Instinctively turning his head, he was struck sideways in the head by a punch, hitting the control console crookedly before sliding down onto the floor.

A cold touch came from his forehead. The Alpha Lieutenant Colonel’s pupils vibrated as he raised his head trembling, meeting Song Jin’s condescending gaze.

Noticing out of the corner of his eye that all his subordinates had been shot down, the Alpha Lieutenant Colonel shook violently: “You, you are—”

Song Jin looked down at him, smiling nonchalantly: “That’s why you can only ever be a Lieutenant Colonel.”

With that, he pulled the trigger.

A swish of gunfire rang out.

The Alpha Lieutenant Colonel fell.

Jiang Chi and Jiang Hao dealt with the remaining few, standing guard at the door.

Song Jin walked to the control console, looked at the ugly, stunned faces on the screen, and casually restarted the launch sequence: “I kindly reminded you to scram, yet you didn’t scram, coming onto my head to act wild, huh?”

The burly Beta man on the other side of the screen sized him up: “Who are you? Why do you look a bit familiar?”

Song Jin: “You don’t need to know who I am.”

Burly Beta man: “Why?”

Song Jin smiled as he pressed the launch button: “Because you’re about to die.”

Just after speaking, the screen turned to static, popping up a notification that the signal was interrupted.

City streets.

Seeing the star pirate crew drawing closer and closer, everyone had no time to run, wishing they could crawl into the sewers.

Two miniature missiles dropped onto a large shopping mall, triggering a wide-area explosion. Instantly like an earthquake, the shockwave accompanied by billowing dust rapidly expanded outward.

Screams echoed everywhere on the street; people pushed over by the shockwave were instantly submerged in pungent dust, completely unable to breathe.

Just as many fell into despair, a flash of white light zipped past, and the star pirate ship disintegrated into powder within the white light.

The airwave swept across the entire District Nine like a sandstorm, the deafening roar arriving late.

The crowd raised their heads, hope rekindled in their eyes.

Was it the garrison? The striking garrison finally took action?!

The next moment, the air defense system sounded that well-behaved boy’s voice once more: “Attention all citizens, the Royal Family has taken over the garrison base. Significant commotion will be caused during the process of expelling enemy forces. Please do not loiter on the streets, and enter a covered space nearby to take shelter.”

Everyone was shocked upon hearing it clearly.

The Royal Family?!

The Royal Family took over the garrison base?! So that shot just now wasn’t fired by the garrison?

Garrison base.

Song Jin handed the console over to the Beta Second Lieutenant: “Before all star pirate ships are expelled, do not open this door for anyone.”

Seeing Song Jin, the Beta Second Lieutenant was extremely excited, plus having just been saved, his voice trembled even harder than when he was about to be killed earlier: “Th-They have authorization to enter!”

“I’ll lock it dead; no one will get in.”

Song Jin said, striding outward, “Remember, do everything according to procedure.”

The Beta Second Lieutenant saluted Song Jin’s back: “Understood!”

Song Jin led Jiang Chi and Jiang Hao toward the command center, hearing 07 prompt a communication from Li Xiao, which connected the next moment.

“Going smoothly?” Li Xiao asked.

Song Jin strode outward: “With me here, what could go wrong?”

After speaking, he heard a low chuckle in his ear. Song Jin hummed softly: “What are you laughing at?”

Li Xiao: “Nothing, just think my wife is really reliable.”

Song Jin curled his lips: “Haven’t you been head over heels for a long time already?”

Li Xiao: “If only you were in front of me, I could kiss you.”

Song Jin: “…”

This kid, daring to seduce him.