Royal Academy Dormitory.

Song Jin received a contact from his shadow guard.

Shadow Guard: “He said that the trading company was primarily involved in the export of vegetables and processed food. He can’t recall anything else for the moment.”

Song Jin: “And Wan Wen?”

Shadow Guard: “She wants to speak with you.”

Song Jin stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the rain-soaked pavement outside. A moment later, Wan Wen’s weak, trembling voice came through the comms.

“If I cooperate fully, can my sentence be reduced?”

Song Jin spoke coldly: “Tell me everything you know, and I will consider giving you the chance to stand trial.”

On the other end of the line, Wan Wen’s breath hitched. If she weren’t given the chance to stand trial, it meant she would likely be tortured to death in a cell.

After ending the call, Song Jin turned his head toward the bedroom. Seeing Li Xiao packing his belongings, his mood soured even further. He had thought they would have a few more days, not that it would be so sudden.

Li Xiao had very few things; he finished packing in a few quick motions.

With less than an hour until 5:00 PM, the group chat was already urging everyone to assemble at Hangar No. 3. Li Xiao picked up his backpack and walked to the door. Seeing Song Jin watching him, he smiled faintly: “Want to see me off?”

Song Jin: “No.”

Li Xiao opened his mouth, wanting to say some parting words, but felt it was unnecessary.

The terminal vibrated again. Li Xiao glanced at it, closed it, and looked at Song Jin: “My identity information is fake. Once I return to my country, the Foreign Ministry will help deregister my temporary status in Shengya. Our marriage license should automatically be annulled as well.”

The words “automatically annulled” made Song Jin feel incredibly uncomfortable: “Finally rid of me, aren’t you happy?”

Looking at Song Jin’s pouting face, Li Xiao opened his arms: “Do you want one last hug? To celebrate the divorce?”

Song Jin had been considering it, but his expression soured instantly at the last two words: “Are you going or not?”

The amusement in Li Xiao’s eyes flickered and vanished. He turned and left the dormitory without looking back. “I’m off.”

Song Jin watched him leave and turned toward the balcony. Many exchange students, guided by the Royal Academy Student Council, emerged one after another from the dormitory buildings to board the shuttle buses heading to Hangar No. 3.

A knock sounded at the door. Song Jin signaled for 07 to open it. With a click, the smart lock opened. Thinking it was someone returning, Song Jin turned around and asked: “What did you forget—”

Seeing Qin Le and Qian Can enter, the smile that was about to form on Song Jin’s face was suppressed without a trace. “What is it?”

Qin Le walked to the balcony: “The Danse Foreign Ministry has arranged for two starships to wait at the Tianqi Constellation QV2943 space station. The exchange students will transfer there and return directly to Danes.”

“Looks like letting Li Xiao stay the night in the palace really scared Danse witless; they’re pulling him back overnight,” Qian Can shook his head, clicking his tongue. “They aren’t even letting him pack his luggage from the military academy.”

Taking this route through the Tianqi Constellation was the fastest path to Danse. Song Jin asked coldly, sending a comms message to Jiao Bai: “Did you handle Lin Zhou cleanly?”

Jiao Bai: “His memory has been scrubbed, but he has been scrubbed twice in a short period. There is a certain level of risk.”

Scrubbing memories meant erasing the truth and implanting false ones, but it had to be logical and non-conflicting with established facts or past memories, or it would trigger the body’s self-repair mechanism, causing the real memories to resurface. The more false memories there were, the more potential conflict points there were; typically, it wasn’t done twice to the same person in such a short window.

Hanging up, Song Jin looked at Qin Le: “When is the military academy group leaving?”

Qin Le: “I received news that it’s also at 5:00 PM.”

“Xiao Jiang! Xiao Da! Travel safely!” Qian Can waved excitedly at the people downstairs.

Qin Le: “Safe travels!”

Jiang Hao turned his head at the sound and waved at Song Jin and the others: “Let’s hang out again if we get the chance.”

These words triggered Da Bei’s separation anxiety; he suddenly felt very reluctant to leave. “We must stay in touch!”

“It’s a promise!” After shouting that, Qian Can couldn’t help but grumble in a low voice, “They could have at least let us hold a farewell party; leaving just like this really sucks.”

Song Jin’s gaze remained locked on that tall, sturdy back. Among a group of exchange students holding umbrellas, Li Xiao walked behind, his hat pulled low, the silver ring on his earlobe flashing in and out of sight. While Da Bei and Jiang Hao were saying their goodbyes, Li Xiao never turned his head, as if there was nothing worth lingering over behind him.

“Not even a goodbye.”

Song Jin withdrew his gaze and turned back into the living room.

At that same moment, Li Xiao paused in his steps. Jiang Hao, seeing him stop, was puzzled: “What’s wrong? Did you leave something behind?”

Li Xiao continued walking as if nothing happened: “Nothing.”

Tangled attachments were not his style. This is better.

Just as they boarded the shuttle bus, the rain outside intensified. Li Xiao sat by the window, listening to the commotion in the carriage. He switched his terminal to private mode and searched for “Adesai Trading Company,” filtering for food-related results and scrolling through them one by one.

It’s good that I made enough cookies for that little lion; they should last him a while. I wonder if that jar of spicy ones will be thrown away.

Realizing his mind was completely filled with thoughts of Song Jin, Li Xiao simply turned off his terminal and forced himself to think about other things to shift his focus.

“Do you know where we are transferring?” Li Xiao asked Da Bei, who was sitting next to him.

Da Bei nodded eagerly: “The Royal Academy is taking us to Tianqi QV2943. From there, we transfer through the Nanming Constellation and then on to the Tianjiang Constellation. It’s the fastest route!”

Li Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly. The closest connecting space station from QV2943 to the Nanming Constellation was NH1930, which was very close to N1926. This is not a good route.

Li Xiao checked the time and secretly sent a message to Jiang Chi.

At 5:00 PM sharp, the Royal Academy’s starship took off. Qian Can and Qin Le stood on the dormitory balcony, watching the starship fade away in the rain. Recalling the time they had spent together, it all felt somewhat surreal.

Qian Can: “Lele, can Danse enter the Star Wars tournament?”

Qin Le: “They should be able to.”

“It wouldn’t be bad to meet on the battlefield.” As he said this, Qian Can looked at Song Jin, who was working in the living room, and lowered his voice: “The boss looks very unhappy.”

Qin Le: “The doll he just got his hands on ran away; how could he be happy?”

Qian Can: “…” That’s a very accurate summary.

A swish sounded by his ear. Qin Le’s expression changed, and he looked sharply out the window. A ping-pong ball-sized metal sphere shot through the air at incredible speed. Just as Qin Le and Qian Can thought they were under attack, the metal sphere suddenly stopped, hovering in front of them, and a virtual screen popped out from the top.

【WHERE IS LI XIAO!】

Qian Can pointed toward the starship that was almost out of sight: “He left just a minute ago.”

【HOW DARE HE NOT WAIT FOR ME!】

The metal sphere spat out a few words and vanished in the blink of an eye.

On the starship, Meng Tao went to the medical bay to find Lin Zhou. Lin Zhou had been injured in the tournament and needed to recuperate. Closing the ward door, Meng Tao sat by Lin Zhou’s bed and stared at him: “Did you run into Li Xiao during the tournament?”

Lin Zhou sat up against the headboard, his expression impatient at the mention of Li Xiao: “I just saw him.”

Meng Tao didn’t believe it: “Then how did you end up like this?”

Lin Zhou scanned his bandaged arm: “And how did you end up like this?”

At the mention of this, Meng Tao’s expression shifted violently. Exposing Li Xiao’s identity had indeed achieved their goal, but at the same time, their chance to get close to the Shengya royal family was gone. Plus, he had been inexplicably beaten black and blue by someone—he couldn’t swallow this anger!

On the Royal Academy starship, Meng Tao didn’t feel it was the right place to talk much, so before leaving, he told Lin Zhou to keep an eye on his terminal notifications. Lin Zhou frowned, not knowing what tricks he was playing, and casually set his terminal to auto-pop-up notifications.

After an eight-hour flight and three jump points, the starship successfully docked at the Tianqi QV2943 space station. Li Xiao, Jiang Hao, and Da Bei followed the crowd into the space station hall, where Rear Admiral Rong Mian, in charge of Shengya’s escort duty, transferred them to the Danse Foreign Ministry staff.

The Danse staff checked each exchange student one by one. When it came to Li Xiao, they specifically confirmed whether he had undergone any disguise and repeatedly checked his personal information.

The staff asked Li Xiao: “Are you injured or feeling unwell?”

Li Xiao: “No.”

The staff: “Did you suffer any unfair treatment in Shengya?”

Before Li Xiao could answer, Rong Mian spoke up. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Rong Mian was smiling, but his tone wasn’t as amiable as usual. “To Shengya, every exchange student is a guest of honor. We wouldn’t dare mistreat them in the slightest. Your side’s request to return immediately, while unreasonable, was still facilitated by Shengya to the best of our ability. Where does this talk of ‘unfair treatment’ come from?”

The staff held his chin high, his attitude arrogant: “But more than one of our students were injured in Shengya—how do you explain that?!”

Rong Mian: “They are military academy students; it is inevitable that they get injured during practical training. Are the military cadets in your country raised in greenhouses?”

The staff’s face changed, and he was momentarily speechless.

“I’m not injured.” Li Xiao looked at Rong Mian. “Actually, I feel Shengya was too polite. The training intensity provided was insufficient; it’s a waste of such a good training environment.”

Rong Mian smiled lightly: “If you like it, you are welcome to come again next time.”

Li Xiao nodded: “I hope there will be another opportunity.”

Since Li Xiao had put it that way, the staff couldn’t pick any more bones. After confirming that everyone’s information was correct, he signed the handover documents. Rong Mian took the documents, and as he left, he exchanged a glance with Li Xiao as if it were accidental.

【Come to my place to play next time.】

Noticing his fingers tapping lightly on the folder, Li Xiao pretended to brush dust off his shoulder and replied in code.

【As long as the spoiled brat doesn’t get jealous, I’ll go as many times as you like.】

Rong Mian: “…”

The handover was completed, and the Shengya side finished their mission and left first. All exchange students followed the Foreign Ministry staff through security and headed toward another starship.

In the metal corridor, a beta staff member walked up to Li Xiao and whispered: “His Majesty is very worried about you and personally ordered you to be brought back. This starship was also specifically arranged by His Majesty to ensure your safe return to the country.”

Li Xiao: “I appreciate His Majesty’s concern.”

Staff: “Your status is noble; your rest cabin is not in the same area as the others. Please follow me.”

Li Xiao calmly said: “No need, I’m used to it.”

The staff bowed slightly: “Please don’t make things difficult for me.” While he said that, his attitude was coercive, forcing Li Xiao to nod without a shred of respect.

The surrounding exchange students heard bits of the conversation, and those who didn’t know Li Xiao’s status were shocked. Could what Meng Tao said be true? Is Li Xiao really the Second Prince?! Since when did the royal family have another prince, and why hasn’t there been a whisper of it?!

Jiang Hao interjected: “Where my big brother stays, I stay.”

The staff looked at him, his contempt visible: “Sorry, that’s not according to the rules.”

Li Xiao stopped, tilted his head to look down at this beta, and said coldly: “Either I stay with them, or my friends stay with me.”

Staff: “Impossible, this is a top-level regulation—”

“What? Do I not even have the freedom to choose where I sleep?” Li Xiao interrupted, his voice turning icy.

The momentary pressure made the staff member gasp for air. After checking with his superiors, he replied with an embarrassed expression: “The higher-ups say it’s fine. Please follow me.”

Da Bei, seeing this, followed along: “I’m coming with you guys too!”

Ordinary students’ rest cabins were on the seventh floor, while Li Xiao’s was on the ninth. The room was luxuriously decorated, larger than a soccer field, and equipped with all sorts of leisure facilities. Jiang Hao was stunned, having never seen a rest cabin of this caliber before.

Li Xiao scanned the surroundings, confirming this was the southwest corner of the starship. An hour and a half after boarding, the starship finally took off.

Da Bei and Jiang Hao played billiards. Da Bei asked Li Xiao, who was sitting on a recliner looking at something: “Brother, it’s late. You should go rest; you’ll be home by the time you wake up.”

Li Xiao flipped through the Adesai data and responded casually. After searching by keywords, he found over a hundred results that fit his criteria. Having nothing better to do, he filtered through them one by one.

Suddenly, the starship lurched. The basketball Jiang Hao had shot hit the edge of the billiard table and rolled away.

Jiang Hao: “Did we hit a meteor belt?”

As soon as he said that, another jolt followed, and the billiard balls struck each other with a dong, dong sound. Li Xiao closed his terminal and woke the ship’s AI to query the current flight conditions. The AI quickly provided results, along with travel tips and precautions.

“Not in a meteor belt? Why is it shaking so much?” Da Bei grabbed the billiard table, nearly losing his footing.

The starship’s current position was at the border; in about ten minutes, they would enter Danse territory.

The rest cabin’s voice control system suddenly activated.

【Honored passengers, the starship is currently passing through a meteor belt and there may be some turbulence. To ensure your safety, please do not leave the rest cabin, transfer immediately to the safety seats and fasten your seatbelts. The process will take approximately thirty minutes. Thank you for your cooperation.】

Da Bei and Jiang Hao looked at the page feedback from the AI in front of Li Xiao, feeling utterly confused. Why does the AI say something different from the voice control system?

Li Xiao walked to the cabin door and tried using his terminal to scan the sensor area, but a line of red warnings popped up.

【Cabin door locked. You do not have authorization to open.】

Li Xiao’s face darkened. He accessed the backend of the sensor area and quickly pressed a long string of characters.

“Come here, you two.”

Jiang Hao was revitalized: “Coming!”

Da Bei hadn’t figured out the situation but hurried to follow: “Brother, are you… force-opening the cabin door?!”

Li Xiao pressed the last character. The sensor area dimmed, and the intelligent control system shut down. Suddenly, another violent jolt hit.

“Whoa—!”

Da Bei slammed into the wall, slid downward for over ten meters, and only stabilized when he grabbed a chair. Looking at the long slope he had just slid, he broke into a cold sweat. Having too much space is so dangerous! It’s not as safe as a small room! In a small room, even a 90-degree tilt wouldn’t kill you!

During the tilt, Li Xiao braced his heels against the table leg, grabbed a fruit knife that had flown toward him, and within steps, returned to the door as the ship leveled. He jammed the knife into the door gap and pried it open with force.

Jiang Hao and Da Bei hurried over to help.

“Damn! It’s heavy!” Da Bei gritted his teeth, putting his life on the line.

BOOM!

A powerful blast of air followed. In the massive space, every movable object began to fly chaotically. Li Xiao raised his hand to shield his face, a metal fragment slicing a bloody gash across the back of his hand.

The southern hull of the rest cabin had been blown out of shape by an external force, and a crack had formed.

【WARNING! WARNING! CABIN DECOMPRESSION! CABIN DECOMPRESSION!】

The cabin alarm sounded with a shrill whistle.

“What is happening?!” Da Bei was shocked.

After the metal door opened a crack, Li Xiao pried it wider with all his strength. “GO!”

Just as they stepped out of the cabin, another loud bang followed. Under the gale-force winds, they couldn’t open their eyes or even breathe; the massive suction would sweep them away in minutes.

“AH—!” Da Bei’s feet slipped; he was instantly suspended in mid-air, sliding backward. Li Xiao grabbed a corner of the wall and snatched his wrist, pulling him back.

The starship tilted nearly 90 degrees again. Da Bei slipped again just as his feet touched the floor, dangling in the air. Below them was a hundred-meter abyss, and the bottom had been blown open; if they fell, they would be sucked into space with zero chance of survival.

Jiang Hao grabbed the doorframe and raised his leg toward Da Bei: “Step on my foot!”

Da Bei was terrified, braced his foot against Jiang Hao’s, and kicked the wall with his other leg to alleviate the burden on Li Xiao.

Once the metal door was completely open, it automatically slammed shut. The strong wind was blocked, and the pressure dropped significantly.

The three jumped onto the door, pressed against the wall to anchor themselves, and as soon as the starship leveled out, they began to head out.

“Where is everyone? Did they all go to the safety room?” Da Bei was covered in cold sweat, his temper flaring. “What kind of security work are these bastards doing?!”

The fact that the rest cabin specifically arranged for the Second Prince was attacked, with no guards at the door, was suspicious in every way.

“Don’t speak.” Li Xiao listened to the movements in the corridor and led them back in the direction they had come.

Another jolt hit. Li Xiao opened the nearest utility room and ushered them inside. After a few more jolts, the starship stabilized. Da Bei was panting, furious and wanting to send a comms to the idiot diplomats, but Li Xiao stopped him.

“Turn off the power,” Li Xiao said flatly.

Da Bei was puzzled: “Why?”

Li Xiao lowered his voice: “We’ll be tracked. This starship has likely already been hijacked.”

Da Bei’s pupils dilated; his brain short-circuited. The starship sent by the royal family, hijacked?! Is this a joke?! But thinking of the breached hull, Da Bei couldn’t find a reason to laugh.

Determining the starship was no longer shaking, Li Xiao grabbed a one-meter-long metal rod from the utility room that looked like a maintenance tool and motioned for the other two to leave. Da Bei and Jiang Hao grabbed rods of their own and followed Li Xiao, moving silently through the corridor.

Reaching a corner near the elevator area, Li Xiao gestured for an ambush. Rapid, chaotic footsteps echoed from the right passage as a group of black-clad gunmen rushed over. Li Xiao’s eyes swept over the circular devices worn on their shoulders—a portable flight suit that could form a head protection shield and sustain oxygen.

Li Xiao turned his head to look at Jiang Hao, seeing him shake his head and make a few silent gestures.

【Jiang Hao and I will lead the attack. Da Bei, provide cover.】

Jiang Hao and Da Bei gripped their metal rods and nodded in unison.

“Hurry! Don’t let them run!” The leader of the black-clad men waved to his minions behind him.

The moment a leg stepped past the corner, a face was struck with heavy force. The man instinctively retreated, but was grabbed by his protective ring and dragged over. Li Xiao snatched his gun, loaded it with one hand, and braced the barrel against the man’s shoulder.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

A dense burst of gunfire. The men in the back didn’t even have time to react before they were shot in the head. The ones in the front, realizing something was wrong, fired blindly at Li Xiao, but all the bullets hit their leader.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Jiang Hao kicked the gun out of the nearest man’s hand and struck his neck with the rod. With a crack, the sound of breaking bone rang out. The man convulsed and collapsed face-first to the ground.

Seeing three more men trying to aim their guns, Jiang Hao disarmed the two on the sides, kicked the third one’s gun away, and grabbed him by the lapels to use as a shield.

RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

In the next moment, gunfire erupted. The man Jiang Hao was using as a shield was hit, shuddering until he went completely limp.

Li Xiao walked forward, wielding the man in black, solving one enemy with each shot; the spraying blood dyed the metal corridor red.

Click. The bullets were empty.

The men who had just been retreating rushed forward. Li Xiao dodged the incoming fire, stepped back twice, and as a man approached, his hand moved like lightning, grabbing the man’s wrist and snapping it.

“Ugh!”

The man screamed in pain, dropping his gun. Li Xiao threw his meat-shield to block a wave of bullets, tapped the floor, kicked up the gun that was about to hit the ground, and pulled the trigger on the surrounding men.

The men hiding in the back panicked, torn between running and attacking, when they suddenly saw the muzzle Li Xiao had turned toward them. Before they could fire, a bullet exploded through a man’s temple.

Shell casings splashed against the wall with a crisp sound.

Following the sound of two final heavy bodies hitting the floor, the whole corridor went deathly silent. The air was filled with a thick smell of gunpowder and blood.

Looking at the thirty-plus corpses on the ground, Da Bei’s eyes were wide. So much for providing cover! They were gone in a blink; I didn’t even get a chance to act!

Li Xiao picked up a magazine to reload and motioned for them to leave. “Head to the seventh floor.”

Circling around two corners, they heard footsteps in a fork in the road—there were more of them this time. In the chaos of the battle, Li Xiao ran out of bullets and had to hide behind a corner.

“Give up resistance, and we might leave your corpse intact!” the man in black shouted arrogantly at the corner.

Li Xiao scanned the monitor and asked in a low voice: “Who are you people?”

“You don’t deserve to know our names!” As the man spoke, he moved silently, the muzzle of his gun slowly raising.

Jiang Hao and Da Bei, hiding in another branch of the road, were being pursued by a crowd and had no energy to support Li Xiao. Li Xiao crouched down, intending to use the corpses as a shield, when a cold light flashed in his peripheral vision, flying over at an extreme speed.

【LI XIAO! YOUR ARMS DELIVERY HAS ARRIVED! DO YOU STILL WANT IT OR NOT?! I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU FOREVER!】

A milky yet extremely irritable voice rang through the entire corridor.

Li Xiao: “…” This scene looks familiar.

“What the hell is that?!”

The group of men turned around abruptly and opened fire. A gust of wind blew past, leaving bullet dents all over the metal corridor, but there was no one in sight.

Li Xiao looked at the metal sphere flying toward his eyes and tried saying: “Air gun mode?”

In the next moment, the metal sphere rapidly transformed into a small, twenty-centimeter-long air gun, its shell flashing and instantly turning silver.

【AIR COMPRESSION RATE 100%, 10 AIR BULLETS STORED… FIFTEEN… TWENTY…】

The moment the men turned back, Li Xiao gripped the air gun and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The air bullets struck their foreheads, leaving bloody holes; the power was in no way inferior to ordinary bullets.

Taking out the last man, a palm-sized virtual screen popped up above the air gun.

【AM I AWESOME?!】

“Awesome.” Li Xiao hurried toward Jiang Hao and the others. The gun’s shape adjusted subtly to his hand; it had the best handling of any gun he had ever used. It was worth saying that it was something made by that person—even the details were handled perfectly.

【YOU DIDN’T EVEN ASK MY NAME.】

“What’s your name?” As he said this, Li Xiao casually shot down three men, merged with Jiang Hao and Da Bei, and moved toward the seventh floor via the emergency passage.

【I AM KL009X, SPECIALLY CUSTOMIZED FOR YOU BY DADDY.】

The tone reminded Li Xiao of that little lion who was always so proud, and he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“09X? Then I’ll call you Little Fork?”

【…】

Da Bei was puzzled: “Brother, who are you talking to?”

Li Xiao: “My terminal’s AI.”

Da Bei: “Didn’t you say to turn it off? Otherwise, they could track us.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a fierce voice sounded in the space.

【AFRAID OF BEING TRACKED WHILE I’M HERE? HA! THIS SHIP’S AI ISN’T EVEN FIT TO BE MY UNDERLING.】

Li Xiao: “…”

This personality—why does it also feel somewhat familiar?