On a certain spaceship, Wei Feng swiped across this video.

The video appeared to be in a hospital lobby, crowded with two or three hundred people. Outside the transparent protective shield, insect swarms were flying everywhere. One corner of the shield was damaged, and everyone was evacuating in an orderly fashion. Among the fleeing crowd, four tall figures fighting off the insects that had flown inside were very eye-catching.

Hu Jiang, who was getting up for his shift, saw Wei Feng staring intently at something and went over to take a look: “The Second Prince?”

“Yeah.”

Wei Feng opened his terminal, found a contact in his address book, and drafted a message: “They can pay for internet trolls (water army), and so can we.”

Hu Jiang was a bit surprised, casually picking up a piece of bread to chew on: “You want to help him? We aren’t even sure of his stance yet.”

“Regardless of his stance, it does us no good if his reputation is ruined.” Wei Feng tore off half the bread from Hu Jiang’s hand and watched the screen while eating, “Some people can’t sit still anymore. If the situation spirals out of control, we will be in a very passive position.”

Less than ten minutes later, Wei Feng saw the trending keyword hit number one and paid the contact with satisfaction.

[I love this kind of efficiency.]

Soon, the other side replied: [I only pushed the first wave; it’s all thanks to the Second Prince’s visual fans (looks-based fans). The topic exploded on its own.]

Wei Feng: “…”

It really is a world that judges by looks.

The next morning, Song Jin woke up groggily to use the bathroom, then very naturally lifted Li Xiao’s quilt, climbed back in, and hugged the large “pillow” to continue his sleep.

Li Xiao was pinned down and unable to move. In his dream, he was playing tag with a raccoon fox in the garden, but suddenly the raccoon fox in front of him grew several times larger and lunged at him. He used all his strength to barely hold onto it, walking forward through an endless corridor. Just when he was about to lose his energy, the raccoon fox turned and licked his neck; he felt it was a bit prickly, and when he looked up, the raccoon fox’s tongue was entirely made of steel wool scourers.

Li Xiao woke up with a jolt, only to find the little lion from the bed next to his had sneaked into his covers at some point, sleeping soundly with its head pillowed on his chest.

No wonder I had a nightmare.

Li Xiao helplessly rubbed the big head in front of him; the texture was very similar to the raccoon fox he had raised as a child. This kid was really attached to him, like a chick finding its mother hen. Since he couldn’t move while being pinned, Li Xiao simply opened several social media platforms.

Public opinion online had shifted again. The topic #SecondPrinceHelpsEvacuateDisasterVictims was ranked first by a wide margin. Li Xiao clicked into the topic; the first post was the live video from the hospital lobby, likely filmed by a citizen who was recording at the time.

Top Comment 1: Please, relevant departments, thoroughly investigate the rumors and return justice to the Second Prince!

Top Comment 2: He is so good; I knew he couldn’t have attacked the garrison. Why try to harm him? (Sob)

Top Comment 3: Yesterday’s events feel like someone was pushing things from behind. The victims were two major royal figures; it’s terrifying when you think about it!

Top Comment 4: The prince was blown up! Is it just going to be left at that?!

Li Xiao scanned through them casually. The replies under the comments were arguing intensely, and many were clearly bots. The public opinion was being pushed by the Meng family; this kind of content favorable to him wouldn’t naturally reach the top of the trending list—someone must be pushing it from behind.

Was it Brother? Li Xiao quickly ruled that out. The other side hadn’t finished their move, and his brother wouldn’t make a move yet. Then who else?

By the time the two got up, it was already lunchtime. In the dining area, Jiang Hao and Qian Can were already eating. Song Jin pulled out a chair, sat down, and picked up his coffee cup, looking at Qian Can’s screen: “Who made this obituary? It’s quite professional-looking.”

Qian Can glanced at Li Xiao and suppressed a laugh: “A talented netizen.”

“Where are we going today?” Jiang Hao asked.

Li Xiao: “We’re not going out. We’ll decide depending on the situation.”

To ensure he was “thoroughly dead,” the garrison’s movements would be very frequent over the next few days. It was too dangerous to wander out recklessly without knowing the source of the blood. Song Jin had 07 perform a full scan of Sector 3 to find suspicious areas.

Li Xiao opened his terminal and sent a text message to Wei Feng: [Where are you? Is it convenient for you to come over?]

Wei Feng: [In a couple of days. I can’t enter the territory right now.]

Wei Feng had many connections, so Li Xiao wasn’t worried he couldn’t make it. After lunch, they returned to their rooms, and Li Xiao set about hacking into the garrison’s personnel management system.

Online, the topic’s heat was being suppressed, and other negative keywords would occasionally jump to the number one spot. Li Xiao’s “looks-based” fans were indignant and fueled the heat, determined to help Li Xiao seek justice.

Tianjiang Seat, Military Headquarters.

Meng Jian saw the number one trending topic and asked his subordinate: “Who is messing around? The Majesty?”

The subordinate handed over the investigation results: “Indeed, a small wave of trolls was detected, but they have already been cleared. The currently active users under the topic are all real, active users.”

The terminal vibrated. Meng Jian saw it was from the royal family and guessed the reason. He intentionally waited a while before answering, only to be berated by Li Ji immediately.

“Didn’t you say Li Xiao attacked the garrison? What’s going on with the news online now?!”

Li Ji had yelled until he was hoarse the day before with Zheng Kang’an. His haggard face combined with his raspy voice made him seem even more insane.

Meng Jian was calm: “I just saw it too. I’m having people analyze the authenticity of the video. It might be a fake video made by the rebels.”

Li Ji nodded slowly, slamming the folder in his hand onto the floor: “Hundreds of citizens have left comments on the public royal page using their real names. More than half have been verified. Do you think it’s fake or real?”

“There might be some misunderstanding; I’m not clear on the details,” Meng Jian answered faintly. Li Xiao being dead is a fact. As for how to explain it later, that’s not worth mentioning. Anyway, Li Ji can vent his temper at most; what else can he do?

Li Ji: “What a good ‘not clear’!”

Meng Jian signaled for him to be calm: “Li Xiao is dead, which is a good thing for you and for the country. Now that the rebels have lost their hope, they will collapse without being attacked. You should be happy.”

Li Ji looked at him deeply. The anxiety and irritability on his face instantly vanished, and he laughed in an ambiguous way: “That’s my own brother; how could I be happy? With the public opinion so loud, no matter what, I must give the public an explanation.”

Meng Jian nodded: “You don’t need to worry about this; I will definitely handle it for you.”

Li Ji looked away and said coldly: “I hope you won’t disappoint me again this time.”

Two days later, the agreed-upon time arrived. Zheng Kang’an personally submitted the investigation report to the royal family. Li Ji stood by the pool feeding the crocodiles without even glancing at it: “Did you post it online?”

Zheng Kang’an: “Uh, wouldn’t it be bad to post it online?”

“I’ve already been scolded for three days; what, you think it’s not enough?” Li Ji took the towel handed over by Old Liu to wipe his hands. “The dead cannot return to life, but the living must live with dignity, don’t you think?”

Zheng Kang’an’s eyes flashed, and he smiled and agreed: “You are right.” The person has only been dead for three days, yet he seems to be in a very good mood. It seems the Majesty’s previous concern for Li Xiao was just an act. Li Xiao’s Bique bloodline was indeed something the Majesty found difficult to accept. As long as the Majesty doesn’t dig deep, this matter is considered closed.

After arguing for three days online, the official Z152 garrison account released the investigation results. The report was lengthy, but it could be summarized in one sentence: Li Xiao and the three others entered the mountain area through a secret passage and attacked the garrison with explosives and other lethal weapons, causing 152 deaths and the crash of 8 fighter jets. The matter was confirmed as fact.

Once the report was released, it caused huge controversy. Many raised questions: Where is this secret passage they took? Why attack the garrison? What were those hundred-plus soldiers doing in the mountains? The whole report is empty talk—why not release the video content from the flight recorders? It’s not as convincing as the rescue video.

On the other side, under pressure from Li Ji, the Zifu Seat Z152 Security Bureau had to issue a statement, saying the royal family only wanted to take Li Xiao back for investigation, and the Beta Major’s attack was purely an individual action, not representing the organization or the royal family. Such a flimsy statement clearly couldn’t appease public anger. Many thought this was shirking responsibility and scolded Li Ji even harder.

Z152.

Li Xiao and his group had studied the scan maps for two days, and despite searching every inch of the place, they had found nothing.

09: “Grandpa, the Security Bureau updated their status.”

Li Xiao: “…” Grandpa?

Li Xiao stepped away from the holographic map and swiped his terminal to take a look: “Release the video.”

09: “Received!”

Danse Royal Palace.

Li Ji looked at the hologram not far away with a dark face: “I gave you so many days, and this is the report you bring?”

Yao Qun, the head of the Z152 Security Bureau, kept his head low: “The incident happened suddenly, and time was short, so we really had no leads. That Major usually had a strange style of conduct, but we didn’t expect him to be insubordinate and attack the Second Prince. We are also shocked.”

Li Ji: “If you can’t find the motive for his actions by the end of the day, you should resign in disgrace!”

“I will do my best!” Yao Qun agreed, his head bowed. At an angle Li Ji couldn’t see, a flash of disdain appeared in his eyes. With this great achievement, General Meng will help me arrange a better position. I’ve long since wanted to leave this crappy planet!

Old Liu rushed into the office to report: “Majesty, look at this.”

On social media, a small account named “LIX” posted a video under the related topics. The camera angle was aimed upwards at a spaceship in mid-air. Soon after, the ship launched a missile, following the lens’s movement as it landed in the mountain area of Sector 4.

The comments under the post exploded. The spaceship was clearly recognizable as military, and the bombed area was exactly the region where it was previously exposed that Li Xiao had been “blown up.”

Li Ji’s tea cup trembled, and he threw it at the hologram, shattering it to pieces on the floor.

“How dare you?!”

Yao Qun shuddered. Upon seeing the enlarged screen shown by Old Liu, his pupils contracted. How is it possible?! The spaceship was in stealth mode at the time—how could it have been filmed?!

“Majesty, th-this is fake!”

Old Liu said respectfully: “The technical department has checked; the video has not been tampered with.”

Li Ji stood up, slamming the table, and ordered with a cold face: “Arrest the relevant people immediately; charge them all with endangering national security.”

Old Liu: “Yes!”

Yao Qun was so scared his legs went soft. Endangering national security means being whipped to death!

Li Ji didn’t give him a chance to speak further and waved to cut the connection.

That afternoon, the higher-level Security Bureau released an announcement online: [Yao Qun, Director of the Z152 Security Bureau, is suspected of plotting to harm the Second Prince and endangering national security. He has been arrested while attempting to flee. All 300 other involved parties have been imprisoned. The progress of the investigation will be announced in real-time, subject to public supervision.]

The comments section went wild:

“So fast! It seems that video is real!”

“The person who did it has been caught, so was it a royal order or not?”

“Feels like a sacrificial pawn being thrown out to take the blame.”

“Li Xiao, look, the person who blew you up has been brought to justice. Your soul can rest in peace, sob sob sob.”

Seeing the last comment, Song Jin couldn’t stop smiling and clicked “like.” “You guys in Danse really have a lot of talent.”

Across the dining table, Jiang Hao held his bowl, puzzled: “What about the garrison? They are sticking to the story that we attacked them.”

Li Xiao: “Don’t worry, we have the video.”

“Solving cases in your country is so easy? Just throw a video online? This is a dispute between the military and the royal family, after all,” Qian Can asked sincerely.

“The investigation is a later matter. The situation has reached this point where all parties just want to fudge it over as quickly as possible to avoid getting burned,” Song Jin looked at Li Xiao, “Of course, ‘Monkey Boss’ also has a reason to ‘fudge’ it.”

Li Ji and the royal reputation had been severely damaged. This could be used as an excuse to strike hard against everyone involved without needing overly conclusive evidence. It punished the underlings while also slapping the faces of the old bastards who were stirring up trouble, re-establishing royal authority.

Jiang Hao was lost in thought; he figured it out by the time he finished his bowl of rice. Simply put, his older brother was currently in the shadows, and whatever way he wanted to play, it was up to him.

After the Security Bureau was caught in the “slap-in-the-face” event, Zheng Kang’an began to feel uneasy, checking the news online from time to time.

Whatever you fear, it happens. Shortly after lunch, he actually found three internal interrogation videos that claimed to be accidentally leaked, again posted by the account LIX.

The first video was inside a metal corridor, but there was nothing iconic to identify the location. Several men in black jumped down from above and opened fire after a few words.

The second video showed hundreds of garrison soldiers firing continuously at the insect swarm before collapsing one after another. Because the insect density was high, one could only see them getting injured and bleeding in the video, but couldn’t see what they were being hurt by.

The third video showed fighter jets weaving through the insect swarm, firing at them, before crashing one after another shortly after.

Soon, countless netizens went to the garrison’s main page to hold them accountable.

“Is this your so-called ‘four people killing a hundred people and annihilating eight fighter jets’? You are just covering up your own incompetence!”

“I said it was ridiculous; no matter how strong four people are, they can’t defeat an army!”

“Although it’s regrettable that so many soldiers sacrificed, you can’t force crimes onto innocent people!”

“Am I the only one who noticed that the garrison’s actions were against regulations? They judged them as ‘reactionaries’ without even asking clearly.”

“What the hell is going on!” Zheng Kang’an growled, “Where are these videos coming from?”

The adjutant looked at them carefully and pointed at the first one: “This perspective belongs to Li Xiao and his group. Could it be released by Li Xiao’s companions?”

Zheng Kang’an: “Block this account! And tell the garrison to find some usable footage to post.”

The adjutant was in a difficult position: “We already looked; there is none, otherwise we would have posted it long ago.”

Zheng Kang’an couldn’t believe it: “There isn’t even footage of Li Xiao killing the garrison? What about the flight recorders?!”

“They checked; the recorders didn’t record anything. It’s all like these videos—everyone looks like they were just fighting bugs,” the adjutant pursed his lips, his voice becoming quieter as he spoke.

“Trash!” Before Zheng Kang’an could finish venting his anger, his terminal vibrated—it was a message from the King’s special assistant, Old Liu.

Assistant Liu: [The Majesty requests that you provide a list of all garrison personnel present on the day of the incident.]

Zheng Kang’an’s eyes sharpened. This is ‘slaughtering the donkey after the millstone is used.’ It’s time to start holding people accountable. That kid, Li Ji, was using the situation to spill the sewage they had poured on the royal family back onto them. He might turn out to be the biggest winner in this farce.

Z152.

Li Xiao and the four others finished studying the maps, still feeling at a loss.

“Try starting with the logistics/freight companies,” Song Jin said, bending his long legs and sitting casually on the sofa armrest, eating a small cookie. “Since someone sent those two boxes of blood, if we follow that person, we should be able to find something, right?”

Li Xiao: “I don’t know if we can find the surveillance.”

Song Jin: “Let 07 and 09 try.”

Seeing Song Jin eating happily, Li Xiao curiously ate a piece and was overwhelmed by how cloying it was—it was already sweet, and they had added sugar on top.

“Won’t there be a problem if you eat such sweet things?”

“Nope.” Song Jin said carelessly, “If sugar intake is insufficient, I get very irritable. It’s a hereditary disease in my family.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Song Jin looked up at him, very serious: “If you don’t want to be a victim of domestic violence, make me more cookies.”

Li Xiao raised an eyebrow: “You just want to trick me into making cookies, don’t you?”

Song Jin: “What do you think?”

A scream suddenly came from the street. Jiang Hao, who was doing his homework, peeked through the blinds and told Li Xiao and Song Jin: “The garrison is arguing.”

Hearing this, the two walked to the window.

A patrol team of the garrison was blocked by another team and pinned down as if they were arresting criminals. The group being controlled refused to submit, and a fierce dispute broke out between the two sides, scaring passersby into scattering like birds and beasts.

Song Jin: “Is that person pinned against the armored vehicle the ‘Gao Mo’ you mentioned?”

Li Xiao: “Yeah.”

Song Jin sneered: “Some people failed to shift the blame, so they’ve started looking for scapegoats.”