N1926, Abandoned Business District.

Jiang Chi followed them off the starship, but upon seeing the young couple being all lovey-dovey, he turned around, covered Jiang Hao’s eyes, and dragged him back toward the ship.

“Brother?” Jiang Hao tried to peel his hand away.

Jiang Chi: “Kids shouldn’t watch, you’ll get styes.”

Jiang Hao replied calmly: “What kind of ‘unwatchable’ things could they possibly be doing? Aren’t you overestimating them?”

Jiang Chi: “…” Are you really that knowledgeable?

Nearby, Li Xiao patted Song Jin’s shoulder, pushing him away: “The Danse army is arriving soon. Order everyone to retreat; don’t let them be discovered.”

Song Jin hadn’t had his fill and released him with some dissatisfaction: “What’s your plan?”

Li Xiao signaled for them to walk and talk.

09 flew in front of Li Xiao’s face and asked: “Someone on that starship has returned to the cockpit and is attempting to sabotage the monitoring program. Shall I intervene?”

Li Xiao: “Lock the system.”

09: “Okay!”

Hearing the somewhat familiar voice, Song Jin frowned in confusion. “When did [09] become yours?”

Li Xiao: “It chased after the ship.”

As a war-armour, it had literally chased them all the way from the Draco Constellation to the Nanming Constellation. This irritable temper was truly exactly like Song Jin’s.

Song Jin: “Did you set this voice on purpose?”

Li Xiao didn’t understand what he meant and said casually: “It was like this when it arrived; I haven’t even had the chance to fully activate it yet.”

After finishing, Li Xiao noticed Song Jin’s subtle expression and turned his face away, humming softly—it was impossible to tell if he was happy or angry.

“What’s wrong with its voice?” Li Xiao asked, puzzled.

Song Jin’s expression was cold: “Nothing.”

Li Xiao: “…” It certainly doesn’t look like ‘nothing’.

By the time Meng Zai lost contact with the “Fierce Tigers” and arrived with his legion, nothing remained on the battlefield except for the bombed-out starship. After forcibly docking, the legion searched the entire vessel thoroughly.

In the cockpit, a group of people were frantic. The beta who had guided Li Xiao earlier squeezed in front of the console, asking sharply: “What the hell is going on?!”

The technician’s fingers were moving so fast they were practically smoking, his face flushed red: “The system is malfunctioning too; I’ve tried many methods, but I can’t access the monitoring system.”

A virtual screen popped up in front of them with bold red letters:

【WARNING! You do not have permission to access!】

【Unauthorized operation! Your access has been locked!】

The beta slammed a fist into the back of a chair: “What about the flight system then?!”

Technician: “Nothing works! I can’t even run a system self-check!”

Just as the argument heated up, the cockpit door opened. The beta’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to see a group of tall officers. The alpha Lieutenant General leading them had slightly dark skin, a pair of hawk-like eyes, and ears and neck adorned with luxurious jewelry symbolizing high nobility.

The beta rushed over: “Lieutenant General Meng, you finally arrived!”

Meng Zai’s expression was extremely impatient: “Where are they?”

“Didn’t you order them to retreat?” The beta reported in a panic, “We followed the original plan and moved to the safe room after reaching the destination. But when we came out, even the students on the seventh floor had been taken away, the ship’s AI had been hijacked, and it’s been unusable ever since!”

Meng Zai pushed him aside and walked to the console. Several officers behind him threw out the technicians and pilots, replaced them, and operated the console. They respectfully reported to Meng Zai: “The AI is indeed locked. The opponent’s technical skills are quite high; it will take at least fifteen minutes to unlock.”

Without access to the ship’s surveillance or radar, they didn’t know where the “Fierce Tigers” had gone, and they couldn’t make contact—they were completely in the dark, unable to do anything.

His terminal vibrated. Meng Zai saw it was the royal frequency and had no choice but to answer. The face of Special Assistant Old Liu appeared on the screen.

Old Liu: “Lieutenant General Meng, how is the rescue progress? Are the exchange students safe?”

Meng Zai paused for a moment and said in a deep voice: “We have reached the starship in question and are still searching. We will report the moment there is news.”

Before Old Liu could speak, Li Ji’s voice, suppressed with anger, came from off-screen: “A bunch of rats, it shouldn’t take this much effort to deal with them. Don’t make me doubt your ability.”

Meng Zai lowered his eyes: “Yes, I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty.”

The call hung up. Meng Zai signaled his men: “Notify the nearby planet garrisons. If any monitoring satellite has footage, I want it sent within fifteen minutes.”

“Understood!”

Not long after, Adjutant Lin Xu entered and whispered to Meng Zai: “We can’t find a single person. Even Young Master Meng Tao is missing!”

Meng Zai looked viciously at the locked radar above and said coldly: “So many people won’t just vanish into thin air. Keep trying to contact the Fierce Tigers’ operation team; get their headquarters to help look for them!”

Lin Xu: “Yes!”

With Meng Zai present, no one dared to breathe loudly, silently praying that things would go smoothly. If the attempted murder of the Prince were discovered, they wouldn’t be far from death.

After waiting in the stifling atmosphere for fifteen minutes, Lin Xu received surveillance footage from various Danse outposts. The footage showed that the Fierce Tigers had indeed surrounded the ship and bombed the southern rest cabin. Shortly after the scheduled retreat time, the encirclement had dispersed.

Everything matched up. But according to the original plan, the Fierce Tigers were supposed to head straight to the ninth floor to ensure Li Xiao’s death and retreat before Danse deployed troops. Meng Zai only needed to protect the others, report to the Royal family that Li Xiao had unfortunately died in the hijacking, and blame Shengya—thereby remaining perfectly hidden from the incident.

But now, everything had gone smoothly, except for the fact that everyone was gone. All the exchange students, Li Xiao, and the Fierce Tigers were all missing!

“Someone hijacked them?” Lin Xu guessed in shock. “We rushed here immediately after ordering them to retreat. Who could have the ability to hijack all the Fierce Tigers in such a short time?!”

Thinking of his son’s unknown fate, Meng Zai was in a foul mood.

“Shengya.”

Lin Xu’s heart sank. They had wanted to scheme against Shengya, only to be schemed against in return?!

Inside the starship…

【Dearest passengers, this is the K999 royal flight, I am the intelligent AI, Selucus.】 A steady, male baritone suddenly rang through the cabin.

Lin Xu asked the underling at the console: “Still haven’t unlocked it?”

The underling broke into a cold sweat: “It was just unlocked and got hijacked again!”

【Order received. The ship will self-destruct and disintegrate in one minute.】

“What’s going on?!” Meng Zai stood up abruptly. Before the officer could speak, the AI’s voice rang out again:

【Okay! Backing up all ship data—transferring back to the Danse military headquarters technical division—】

Meng Zai’s face changed: “Stop the transfer!”

【Okay! Activating emergency channel—15% transferred—】

Everyone’s faces turned pale. The AI was completely ignoring human input; it had gone rogue. If this surveillance footage reached headquarters, they were all finished!

The officer at the console decisively cut the AI’s main power and switched to manual piloting. Lin Xu and the others, fearing the ship might actually self-destruct, shielded Meng Zai as they fled in a panic.

Shengya Warship Command Cabin.

Song Jin watched the surveillance footage forwarded by 09 and mocked: “Might as well play dead and see how they go back to explain themselves.”

Playing dead could indeed test the reactions of all parties, including his brother, Li Ji. If the Meng family couldn’t produce the people, and over a hundred children of nobles were lost, they would inevitably be held accountable. A power struggle would be unavoidable, which was the perfect opportunity to dismantle the enemy from within.

However—

Li Xiao shook his head: “There is a better way than playing dead.”

Song Jin studied his expression: “Afraid your brother will worry?”

Li Xiao turned to look at him: “Is it that obvious?”

Song Jin snorted: “Your intermittent people-pleasing personality—it’s the only one you don’t use on me, right?”

Li Xiao laughed, pulling at his bruised corner of his mouth, and gasped: “You really hit hard.”

“Who told you not to take me seriously?” Song Jin grabbed the medical light turned into by 07 and held it against Li Xiao’s bruised face.

Li Xiao enjoyed it, leaning in slightly. “Compared to playing dead, voluntarily exposing the fact that I was in the hands of the Fierce Tigers is more advantageous, and it can save Shengya from trouble.”

Not wanting his brother to worry was also a reason. He wasn’t sure if his brother truly worried, but in his past life, he had experienced the pain of losing loved ones, so he didn’t want to use such matters as a tool.

Song Jin: “Slander and frame them in return? You Danse people really play dirty.”

Li Xiao: “You don’t like it?”

Song Jin watched him smile: “No, I like it. People back home are too honest; I was just worrying about having no chance to play.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin: “If you play them to death, it’s on you.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin opened his terminal and sent a message to his shadow guards: “Start a wave of public opinion.”

Li Xiao propped his chin on his hand, seeing how high-spirited he was, and ruffled Song Jin’s blond hair: “Thank you.”

Song Jin grabbed his wrist and pushed it away, not even looking up: “Want to really thank me? It would be more practical to kiss me.”

Li Xiao: “…”

While Meng Zai was still searching everywhere, a certain aerospace company in Shengya released a video.

【Footage accidentally captured by a cruising satellite, suspected civil starship attacked by star pirates at the Nanming border. Please have the Ministry of National Defense confirm.】

Once the video was posted, it immediately sparked a heated online discussion, with related keywords hitting the hot search list at a rapid pace. Shortly after, the Shengya Ministry of National Defense forwarded the post: 【Thanks for providing the clue; relevant departments are investigating the situation.】

Countless people were waiting on the Ministry’s homepage, but before the follow-up arrived, netizens in the comment section indicated that the ship under attack was the one escorting the Danse exchange students.

“I can’t be wrong! I just saw it at school yesterday!”

“My god, are star pirates so arrogant now that they dare attack even Danse military ships?!”

“Wait, Li Xiao was on that ship too, right? Why did they suddenly return to Danse? Can someone explain?!”

The internet in Shengya was in an uproar, and many Danse media outlets reposted the developments, causing the entire network to be paralyzed by traffic. The fact that Danse students were attacked on their way home—and that they only found out after it broke on Shengya’s internet—was beyond absurd!

Countless people angrily tagged the military and the Royal family, demanding a response on whether it was true. Two hours later, a royal spokesperson stated publicly that Lieutenant General Meng Zai had been dispatched personally at the time of the incident to rescue the hostages.

Seeing Meng Zai was the one deployed, netizens breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly everyone in Danse knew of Meng Zai’s illustrious record; his strength was one of the best in the military. If Meng Zai is involved, it’s settled.

But after waiting for ten full hours, there was no follow-up on the rescue. Doubts began to emerge.

“Going by the Meng family’s style, if they had saved the people, a notice would have been issued long ago.”

“Still no news—the Meng family can’t even handle a bunch of star pirates?”

At the same time, the Danse Royal Palace.

Angry shouts echoed in the King’s office, along with the sound of things smashing.

Li Ji: “Not a single person saved, and even the enemy army can’t be found—Meng Zai, what are you doing?!”

Meng Zai’s expression was ugly: “We are searching with all our might.”

“Using these words to fob me off, huh?” Li Ji slammed his hand on the desk, shouting, “If you can’t do it, pack your bags and get out!”

Meng Zai suppressed his fire and whispered: “My son is missing too; I’m also very anxious.”

Li Ji: “Can your son be compared to the Prince?!”

Meng Zai’s eyes darkened: “I suspect this attack has something to do with Shengya. The enemy army vanished on the spot; they must have been hidden by Shengya.”

Li Ji was so angry he laughed: “Evidence?!”

Meng Zai: “Still under investigation, but their intent is very clear: murder the Second Prince and then blame it on star pirates. I can’t think of any other possibility.”

Just as he was speaking, Old Liu hurried over: “Your Majesty, it’s General Yi’s comms.”

Yi Yongning’s holographic image was projected onto the desk. “Your Majesty, public opinion online is out of control. Regardless of the perspective, this cannot be dragged out any longer. I request to mobilize two legions to rush to Nanming to assist in the rescue.”

Meng Zai’s expression shifted. According to Danse’ system, unless facing a major war, the various generals did not interfere with one another. Yi Yongning pulling this stunt was a blatant public embarrassment to the Meng family.

“Granted!” Li Ji was driven mad with anger. “Tell the other three: I don’t care what method you use. Whoever can save the exchange students safely this time will succeed the Tianjian Constellation seat!”

“Your Majesty! That is not in accordance with the rules.” Meng Zai blurted out.

Li Ji’s eyes were cold: “I don’t need a military that can’t even handle star pirates, and neither does Danse.”

Yi Yongning’s lowered eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness. He responded respectfully: “Yes, I will immediately notify them to convene an emergency meeting.”

While all parties in Danse were hopping mad, the Danse Foreign Ministry suddenly called out to Shengya, not only issuing a public statement but also posting long essays on social media.

The summary was: The exchange students were attacked within Shengya’s jurisdiction, and Shengya failed to fulfill its duty of protection. If you don’t help find them, Danse will hold you accountable.

Public opinion in Danse was guided, and many voices began cursing Shengya, even creating conspiracy theories about Shengya murdering the students. Consequently, the criticism against the Meng family began to fade.

In the warship’s command cabin, Li Xiao browsed the mainstream platforms of both countries, confirming the trend of public opinion. His backup terminal vibrated; a message came from an unsaved number:

【The King has promised: whoever rescues the exchange students will succeed the Tianjian Constellation seat.】

Song Jin walked over with a box of sandwiches and sat down beside him: “How’s the effect?”

Li Xiao: “Not bad.”

Song Jin ate a sandwich and asked casually: “When are you posting the video? Aren’t you afraid of driving your brother crazy?”

Li Xiao smelled the aroma and took a curious glance: “No rush; the timing isn’t perfect yet.”

Just as Song Jin was about to take a second bite, his vision blurred, and the sandwich in his hand was snatched away. Someone was already eating his sandwich with great enjoyment.

“Is mine better than yours?”

“I made you so many cookies; what’s wrong with eating one of your sandwiches?” Li Xiao chewed with puffed-out cheeks, looking down at the sandwich filling with disdain. “You put sweet sauce on it? Go get me a bottle of chili sauce.”

He’s even being picky? Song Jin reached out to snatch it back. “Go make it yourself.”

Li Xiao dodged: “I like eating this.”

Song Jin mocked: “Eating my saliva?”

Li Xiao kept a straight face: “We’re already like an old married couple; why bring that up?”

Song Jin: “…” The skin is really thick.

The Jiang brothers, who had just come to deliver food, froze: “…” Why do I suddenly feel full?

Seeing Jiang Chi out of the corner of his eye, Li Xiao beckoned to him: “Send food to the exchange students on schedule; don’t say anything else.”

Jiang Chi: “Sending food is fine, but how long are they going to be locked up? Do we really want to blackmail the Royal family?” If he actually did that, his Jiang family would officially become the number one gang of hooligans in Danse.

Li Xiao: “Locked up for a few days; it won’t be long. You don’t have anything urgent at home, right?”

“Not really.” Jiang Chi pulled up a chair, glanced at Song Jin, and whispered, “With so many exchange students gone, Danse will definitely take action. The longer it drags on, the more dangerous it is; we need countermeasures.”

Li Xiao: “No need to worry about that; Xiao Jin can handle it.”

No matter how strong Danse’ army was, they wouldn’t dare enter Shengya territory casually.

After Jiang Chi left, 09 flew in front of Li Xiao: 【Do you not intend to activate me?】

Almost forgot about that. Li Xiao nodded: “Activate.”

The metal ball split down the middle, popping out a small metal box the size of a pen containing the control chip for the battle armour, just like Song Jin’s.

“Give it to me.” Song Jin moved behind the sofa and lifted Li Xiao’s chin.

Li Xiao looked up: “I only have one request—don’t poke out my eyes.”

Song Jin peered down at him with a smile: “Rest assured, my technique is very good. It won’t hurt going in.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Jiang Hao, who was silently watching and learning: “…” No ‘driving’ allowed on the warship.

The chip bonded to his right eyeball. Li Xiao closed his eyes to adapt for a moment; soon, there was no foreign body sensation. The next moment, a hoarse, stubborn voice rang in his ear:

【Whether to activate all functions, confirm with me via thought.】

Li Xiao: 【Confirm.】

09: 【Command received!】

A clicking sound echoed. Li Xiao opened his eyes and saw the metal ball hovering in mid-air rapidly deforming. The virtual screen at the top displayed the activation progress. When it reached 100%, an operation interface appeared in Li Xiao’s vision; every item had a detailed tag.

Li Xiao tilted his head to look at Song Jin and saw the tag on him read:

Identity: Mrs. [Wife/Spouse]

Personality traits: Irritable and quick-tempered

Likes: Sweets, beauties

Specialty: Twisting necks

Interests: Bloodbath of the Royal Palace

Danger Level: SSS

Summary: Not a kind person, but cute.

Li Xiao: “…”

I feel like this summary is full of personal bias.

Just as he thought that, 09’s voice rang in his ear: 【That is what you think of him, not my summary.】

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin: “What are you looking at?”

Li Xiao said nonchalantly: “It seems I’ve upgraded to x-ray vision.”

Song Jin: “…”

Jiang Hao: “…!”

Jiang Hao looked down at himself and ran away in a flash. Running naked or anything—too shy.

Song Jin glanced at the fleeing Jiang Hao and sat down with his long legs over the sofa: “Really?”

Li Xiao chuckled: “Why do you believe that?”

09: 【Battery low! Automatically exiting standard mode.】

The interface in Li Xiao’s vision vanished instantly.

“…” Long-distance flight really consumes a lot of power.

Li Xiao: “I want to go to N1926 in the next two days.”

“Exactly what I intended.” Song Jin opened his terminal and projected the information gathered by his shadow guards in front of them: “That floating building and the Fierce Tigers’ headquarters—one is in the south and one is in the north. While the Fierce Tigers are distracted, it’s the perfect time to go.”

Li Xiao looked at the contents and whispered: “You think the floating building is related to the Fierce Tigers?”

Song Jin: “I don’t know if it’s related to the Fierce Tigers, but it’s highly likely related to blood.”

The structure of the floating building was special; it used an expensive and impractical design. The entire building was held in mid-air by special magnetic field devices. The surrounding magnetic fields would affect the operation of hovercars, and getting too close carried the risk of falling.

“It’s not just hovercars; drones can’t get close either.” Song Jin zoomed in on the blueprints of the building, marking several points around it: “The security level inside is very high; there are multiple miniature gun turrets. Breaking in hard will trigger alarms and may cause the loss of important clues.”

Li Xiao: “Then how did they get up there?”

Song Jin switched another piece of data to the forefront: “There is a dedicated floating train, specially ordered by this Adesai Company for employees to commute.”

Li Xiao: “Flashy.”

“An average company can’t afford these tricks.” Song Jin picked up an ice cream, “But there’s a problem: this building was abandoned ten years ago, the train is missing, and no one can get up there.”

Li Xiao watched him start eating again, confused: “Did Adesai Company go bankrupt?”

Song Jin fed himself a mouthful of ice cream: “Didn’t have time to check that much yet. This was all heard from the locals. But the people living nearby are all Danse people, and I don’t know what race’s language they were speaking. My people found it very difficult to communicate; this is all we’ve gotten after so many days.”

In Shengya, no matter the race, they have to learn the official language. In Danse, it’s not mandatory, and with such a variety of races, there are many languages even AI can’t translate.

Li Xiao watched him at his leisure: “So you rushed here so urgently just to have me accompany you to find that train?”

Song Jin bit the spoon, smiling nonchalantly: “It’s also true that I’m worried about you; don’t be so serious—the one who got hurt is you.”

Li Xiao: “…”

As Song Jin moved another huge scoop to his mouth, Li Xiao grabbed his wrist, shoved it into his own mouth, and snatched the box from Song Jin’s hand.

“Eat too much, you’ll get cavities.”

Song Jin’s anger level reached critical. “Playing with me?”

Li Xiao scooped a spoonful and handed it to Song Jin’s mouth, saying slowly: “It’s also true that I’m worried about you; don’t be so serious—the one who got hurt is you.”

Song Jin: “…”

Twenty hours after the star pirate attack, the nine legions dispatched from Danse’ five major constellations performed a carpet search at the Nanming border, still with no leads. Online public opinion intensified, and the foreign ministries of the two countries began fighting through essays.

A newly registered account suddenly posted a video on the Danse social platform. In the video, Li Xiao had a bruised lip, looked weary, wore shackles on his hands and feet, was locked in an all-metal small room, and had a dagger held to his throat.

A cold, hoarse, voice—clearly distorted by a modulator—came from off-screen.

“I don’t need to explain much, everyone knows who he is, right? If you want him to live, withdraw your troops immediately! Prepare thirty tons of gold and send it to the Fierce Tigers’ headquarters. If you dare to do anything reckless, I will kill him!”

Once the video was exposed, it immediately topped the hot search list. The name “Fierce Tigers” spread across the internet at a rapid pace, becoming a household name overnight.

At the same time, Li Xiao and Song Jin piloted a small starship toward N1926, found a flat valley in an unmanned mountain area to land, and switched to a hovercar.

Adesai’s floating building was in the southern Zone 9. In the chaotic management of N1926, it belonged to the business district—like a city rebuilt in the ruins of the apocalypse, with strange high-rises standing everywhere. The streets were wide and clean, while outside the city area, there were heaps of garbage and mutant plants everywhere, giving a strong sense of spatial dislocation.

Gang members in strange costumes could be seen everywhere, driving modified hovercars, patrolling the city like guards, and were very conspicuous.

At this time in N1926, it was just getting dark.

“That’s it.” Song Jin pointed to the building on the front right. The floating building was nearly a hundred meters off the ground. Above it was a building complex; the scale was considered a small industrial area, but at the moment, it was pitch black, its metal outer walls dull and covered by mutant vines.

“Find a place to park first,” Li Xiao said.

After parking the car in a relatively remote corner, the two changed their clothes and, after simple camouflage, walked toward the city.

Song Jin tucked his hands into his coat pockets, the upright collar blocking the lower half of his face. Looking around the street, he whispered to Li Xiao: “That guy in the suit with the backpack over there looks honest; go ask him.”

Li Xiao took a look: “Too young. To ask about things from the past, it’s best to find an old resident nearby.”

As he spoke, Li Xiao pulled Song Jin into a small alley. About a kilometer from the floating building, they found a slum. The houses here were all temporary, dilapidated, and even providing shelter from the rain was a stretch.

It was dinner time; several families had set up small tables and were eating in an alley less than three meters wide.

Li Xiao locked eyes with an elderly beta in a tank top in the corner. He went over with Song Jin and tried to communicate in Danse: “Hello, may I ask if you are Danse?”

The old man was stunned, looked them up and down, nodded, and asked in a very awkward Danse dialect: “Who are you, and what’s the matter?”

As long as I can understand it, that’s fine.

Li Xiao squatted down so he was level with the old man: “I have a relative who used to work in that building over there. How come there’s no one there now?”

“You mean there?” The old man pointed to the building. “That place closed a long time ago. Are you here looking for work?”

Li Xiao nodded: “I was planning to go there. Do you know how to get up there?”

When the old man heard this, he waved his hand: “You can’t get up there! That car… you have to have that car to get up…”

The old man’s Danse was mixed with a large number of dialects. Li Xiao found it difficult to listen to, and he still had to translate for Song Jin. Song Jin couldn’t understand a word; it sounded like chanting that gave him a headache.

Seeing Li Xiao looking deep in thought, and having waited a long time without a translation, Song Jin nudged him: “What did he say?”

Li Xiao said earnestly: “I couldn’t understand it either.”

Song Jin couldn’t help but look sideways: “Then why were you listening so seriously?”

Li Xiao: “I was trying to understand, and I failed.”

Song Jin: “…”