“Upon receiving this lead, Yin Rong drove to the next area while redeploying his subordinates. Taking advantage of the travel time, Rong Shi and Song Yu quickly analyzed the blueprint they had, looking for any breakthroughs.”

Song Yu roughly circled the important functional areas and was increasingly surprised the more closely he looked.

“Building an underground city of this scale and with such complete functionality, without being discovered by the garrison, would take not just twenty years, but forty years to complete? Ji Ling wasn’t even born back then.”

Building an underground city for just one area would be an impossible feat, let alone the possibility that all areas had underground cities.

Rong Shi observed the blueprint, recording the patterns he found. “The garrison on Snow Star must also be investigated.”

Song Yu leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temples: “So annoying, it’s all his messy business.”

Rong Shi’s fingers on the keyboard suddenly paused. He wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing. Regardless of whether he and Song Yu were partners, he shouldn’t interfere too much in Song Yu’s family affairs without a complete understanding.

---

Arriving at the Cedar District, the hovercar parked near the only church in the area. Through the car window, they could clearly see the church’s towering bell tower. Yin Rong’s expression was serious, staring at the time on the virtual screen; only one minute remained until 1 o’clock.

01 emerged from Rong Shi’s terminal decoration buckle, transforming into a palm-sized snowflake. It spun a few times in the air and then became invisible. “Grandpa 01 is off to battle!”

Song Yu’s black ear stud fell off, also transforming into a small snowflake, following its brother. “Grandpa 00 is off to battle.”

Song Yu was amused and waved at them: “Go slowly, Grandpas, don’t fall on the way.”

Yin Rong watched this scene, his expression cracking: “What are they?”

Rong Shi tapped on the virtual keyboard, his gaze fixed on the rapidly changing data: “AI.”

Yin Rong looked bewildered: “They seem a bit silly. Are they reliable?”

Rong Shi: “…”

---

The time jumped to exactly 1 o’clock. The church bells chimed, followed by the outer wall of the bell tower beginning to deform.

[01/00: Starting scan!]

Rong Shi and Song Yu both stopped their work. A blueprint gradually unfolded on the virtual screen in their vision. Yin Rong couldn’t see anything, but just seeing their serious faces, he already had a guess.

“Are there any too?”

Song Yu: “This is insane!”

“Try to investigate data from a century ago, this planet, and all organizations related to omega rights,” Rong Shi said calmly. “I suspect these underground cities weren’t all built by this organization.”

Concealment, time, manpower, and financial resources—from any angle, it would be impossible to hollow out the entire planet’s underground and build secret underground cities in just a few decades, right under the Empire’s nose.

Song Yu reacted quickly. He pondered, “Are you saying this organization is taking over someone else’s nest, occupying their ancestors’ hard work, and then modifying it?”

Rong Shi: “That’s the only possibility I can think of for now.”

Song Yu rested his chin in his hand and thought for a moment: “Modifying is indeed much less difficult than building from scratch.”

This time, with preparations made, 01 and 00 completed the global scan in the last second.

---

On the way to the next location, Rong Shi opened the car window to let 01 and 00 fly in.

01: “Wuwuwu, Grandpa, I can’t get any thinner!”

00: “Grandpa got thinner.”

In the front seat, Yin Rong looked into the rearview mirror at the back seat. Hearing the two children’s whining voices, he subconsciously said, “Thinner? Then go back and eat braised pork hock.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu: “…”

It was almost midnight when they finished visiting all the areas. The two of them sent all the preliminarily analyzed blueprints to Yin Rong.

In the car, Rong Shi tiredly rubbed his temples: “We have the blueprints, but we haven’t found a breakthrough. I suggest you don’t rush too much.”

The base on Snow Star was much larger than the underwater base on V99; conquering it was no less difficult than conquering a heavily guarded planet. The enemy could attack them at will, but they couldn’t just attack recklessly.

Yin Rong flipped through the blueprints one by one, finally putting them into the most secure folder. “Don’t worry, all plans will be re-arranged.”

Song Yu’s voice was languid: “We gave you such crucial clues. Don’t we get any benefits?”

Yin Rong: “If there are further developments, I’ll let you know.”

“That’s it?” Song Yu nudged Rong Shi with his elbow. “Gege, what benefits do you think we should ask for?”

Having not slept well for several days, Rong Shi leaned back in his seat, his voice hoarser than usual: “He can’t give me what I want.”

Yin Rong’s eyes narrowed. He casually turned off his terminal and pressed a few buttons on the control panel. “It’s getting late. I’ll take you back first.”

Rong Shi: “Go directly to the space station. There’s no time.”

From here to Xuefu Star, even at the fastest speed, it would take nine hours, barely making it for the second class on Tuesday.

Yin Rong’s fingers paused. He switched to manual driving mode. “Alright.”

Song Yu’s gaze shifted between them, then he opened his terminal and dialed Chestnut’s virtual communication number. A masked beta in black appeared on the screen.

“Your Highness.”

Song Yu: “Immediately arrange a return ship. We’ll arrive in about half an hour.”

Chestnut: “Yes!”

Before going to the space station, they had to go to a transfer station and switch to a smaller spaceship there to reach the space station. To save time, Yin Rong headed to the nearest Snow Fox District transfer station.

A blinding light suddenly appeared in Yin Rong’s line of sight. He sharply turned the steering wheel, barely avoiding it. Before the vehicle could stabilize, another beam of light struck. The constant rocking woke up the two drowsy individuals leaning against each other in the back seat.

Song Yu’s face was grim, clearly suffering from severe sleep deprivation: “What’s going on?”

Yin Rong controlled the hovercar, dodging a barrage of attacks. “I don’t know who they’re targeting, but they don’t seem like amateurs.”

Rong Shi quickly moved to the front seat, sitting in the co-pilot’s position. He opened the car’s surveillance system, searching for all targets attacking them in the vicinity.

[01: Do you need me to hijack a subordinate?]

Rong Shi said calmly, “I don’t need you.”

[01: QuQ Master, are you angry because I was begging for food? Then next time, I’ll ask for less.]

Rong Shi: “…”

Rong Shi: “Just protect the car body.” (Though he wouldn’t need it.)

[01: Received!]

At least twenty laser beams came from all directions. Yin Rong, driving a rented hovercar, dodged them with ease. A blue flash in his peripheral vision caught Yin Rong’s eye. He was about to turn his head to look when he noticed the car’s appearance had changed. The two large headlights on the front of the car had transformed into laser cannons.

Yin Rong: “…” Was he dreaming?

Before he could figure out what was happening, a row of virtual buttons appeared on the control panel’s virtual screen, with small text below them.

[Blast away casually, Grandpa has plenty of energy!]

Yin Rong: “…” That silly self-proclaimed title seemed a bit familiar.

In a brief pause from controlling the vehicle, Rong Shi glanced at Yin Rong’s unfamiliar face, then quickly returned his gaze to the monitoring system screen, his eyes calm. “Enemy forces have increased.”

Yin Rong no longer dwelt on the text, looking at the red dots on the radar. In just a few minutes, their number had almost doubled.

Song Yu looked out the car window. “Are they after me? Or simply don’t want us to leave?”

Since Ji Ling had already received news, it was impossible for this side to be completely unprepared. Leaving Snow Star at this time meant they could be targeted.

“It should be the latter,” Rong Shi said calmly. “Our operation this time wasn’t exactly covert. It wouldn’t be hard to find us.”

They had only disguised themselves because they needed to be visible, but being visible meant they could be targeted. In other words, these people were pursuing them in disguise.

The enemy’s numbers continued to grow. Yin Rong pushed the speed to its limit, racing towards the transfer station.

00 floated unsteadily to the front seat, its childlike voice cool and clear: “Enemy information has been stolen.”

As it spoke, another virtual screen popped up above the control panel, displaying photos of various enemy pilots and their data from public databases.

“Garrison?” Yin Rong’s eyes behind his glasses were cold. “Talk about speaking of the devil.”

Rong Shi tapped 00’s tiny body, gently pushing it back. “Go get an extra meal from your master.”

00: “Hm!”

It wasn’t difficult to dodge these attacks, but while dodging, they also had to head towards the transfer station. The key was that the enemy also knew their destination and was doing everything to prevent them from getting close.

“Troublesome,” Yin Rong said softly, constantly monitoring the screen. “We can only shake them off first, then find time to leave.”

In enemy territory, with the enemy stronger and them weaker, regardless of winning or losing, escalating the conflict would not benefit them at all.

“No,” Song Yu frowned. “If we don’t show up at school tomorrow, Ji Ling will definitely suspect us of this series of events, and it will be even more troublesome.”

Once a seed of suspicion took root, the other party might take many unpredictable actions, with the worst outcome being a complete loss of control.

Yin Rong: “But the transfer station is already completely surrounded by them. Even if you get in, your small spaceship won’t be able to take off smoothly.”

“Do you know the location of the space station?” Rong Shi asked abruptly.

Yin Rong frowned, turning his head to look at him: “What do you mean—?”

Rong Shi’s voice was light: “Find an opportunity to retreat and wait for my command.”

Yin Rong didn’t know what he was planning. Seeing that Song Yu also had no objections, he refocused on driving. As the battle intensified, he dodged and retreated, rushing in the opposite direction.

Rong Shi: “Through the tunnel ahead.”

Yin Rong changed direction, lowering the car’s flight altitude. At an extremely high speed, the hovercar smoothly flew into the tunnel.

Rong Shi: “01, transform.”

[01: Yes!]

As the hovercar was about to exit the tunnel, a blue metallic sheen completely covered the vehicle, rendering it invisible. Yin Rong watched the speed displayed on the dashboard soar, almost breaking through the atmosphere in just two minutes. Flying this high, it was as if they wanted to die faster.

Rong Shi: “Location.”

Yin Rong paused, then gave him a set of coordinates. Seeing Rong Shi seriously relaying them to the AI, Yin Rong felt emotionally that he wasn’t joking, but rationally, he thought he was insane.

“The ship has arrived.”

Song Yu leaned closer, gripping Rong Shi’s seat, and checked the situation behind the car on the monitor.

Rong Shi: “Tell them to open the hangar side door facing away from the space station. We’ll go straight in.”

Song Yu: “Okay.”

Yin Rong watched them casually arrange their escape plan, a bit bewildered. Do young people play this big now?

The hovercar curved around the outer edge of the space station, flying directly into a spaceship with an open hangar bay. The hatch silently closed, and the ventilation system activated. 01 detached from the car, transforming into a marble-sized metallic sphere. As soon as Rong Shi got out, it pounced.

“Master, I’m as thin as a marble, wuwuwu—”

Rong Shi: “Oh.”

01: “This time it’s for real! QuQ”

Song Yu got out of the car and turned to ask Yin Rong, “Are you coming back with us, or staying here?”

Yin Rong’s gaze swept over Rong Shi. He calmly said, “I can’t leave at the moment.”

Having just discovered so many clues, it was indeed unrealistic to return now, so Song Yu had just asked casually. He waved to his subordinates to prepare a small spaceship to take Yin Rong back, then walked to Rong Shi’s side: “Let’s go.”

This spaceship was not a regular civilian ship and could only temporarily dock at this space station for a maximum of ten minutes.

Rong Shi: “Mm.” Just as he was about to step forward, his wrist was suddenly gripped tightly.

“I—” Yin Rong held his wrist, but hesitated, unable to form a coherent sentence for a long time.

Song Yu glanced over, saying nothing.

Rong Shi didn’t turn back, his voice very faint: “Let go.”

Yin Rong: “My brother, he—ugh!”

Just as he finally started, Rong Shi gave him no chance to finish, turning and delivering a punch. Yin Rong was unprepared, or rather, even if he had been prepared, he had no intention of hitting back. The punch was powerful. He was sent crashing into the hovercar door, his face and back aching intensely. Wolf cub, so ruthless.

Yin Rong wiped his broken lip, almost losing his balance. A hand reached out to him. Yin Rong looked up, startled.

Rong Shi stood before him, his expression more serious than ever: “We’ll wait for your explanation. Come back soon.”

Yin Rong smiled, the movement stinging his face, causing him to gasp. He raised his hand and high-fived Rong Shi, his voice slightly choked: “Okay.”

---

In the imperial capital, Ji Ling received news from his subordinates the moment he returned to the palace. The person on the virtual screen reported: “They tried to leave last night. Our people have already blocked them. We expect to capture them within three days.”

Ji Ling held his teacup, scraping the lid with a rhythmic motion: “Did they not discover anything?”

The person on the virtual screen: “No, we followed your instructions and closed all exits and entrances. They couldn’t have discovered anything.”

A hint of disdainful smile touched Ji Ling’s lips. “Forget a few mice, even deities wouldn’t find anything there.”

The person on the virtual screen: “However, we still cannot confirm their identities for now.”

Ji Ling put down his teacup, smiling ambiguously: “I will confirm this myself.”

At daybreak, he rushed non-stop to the King’s study. The King and Queen had their own living quarters, separated by a vast garden, a twenty-minute walk. He walked with such speed that he arrived in just twelve minutes. If Yin Rong wasn’t there, it would pretty much confirm that the person investigating on Snow Star was sent by him, and perhaps even connected to Song Yu.

Walking too fast, he collided with someone coming out of the main entrance. Before falling, Ji Ling’s arm was steadied.

“Your Highness, my deepest apologies. I hope you weren’t startled.”

Ji Ling looked up, disbelievingly at the person before him. “Yin Rong? What are you doing here?”

As soon as he steadied himself, Yin Rong immediately withdrew his hand and respectfully said, “His Majesty sent me to the Department of Military Affairs to retrieve a document.”

Who asked you that?!

Ji Ling scrutinized him from head to toe. Yes, it was Yin Rong. But shouldn’t he be on Snow Star? Had he really guessed wrong?

---

On the other side, on the spaceship, Song Yu took a quick combat shower and changed out of his disguise, finally feeling a bit more comfortable. Seeing Rong Shi sitting at the table studying the blueprint, he brought over two cups of coffee and leaned casually against the table.

“When did you find out?”

He had only linked Rong Guang and Yin Rong, two seemingly unrelated people, due to the peculiar habit of putting salt in tea, and even then, it was just a suspicion, as it seemed too far-fetched. Yet, Rong Shi had only met Yin Rong twice: once during their first date in the imperial capital, and once here.

Rong Shi paused, picked up his coffee, and took a sip. “I generally remember people I’ve met once, let alone him. I’d recognize him even if he were ashes.”

Song Yu: “…” Song Yu felt something was off. “Did you find out the first time you met him in the imperial capital?”

Rong Shi shook his head: “That wasn’t him.”

Song Yu took a sip of coffee, lost in thought. This aligned with his earlier suspicion: there were actually two people under Yin Rong’s guise. Rong Guang used this identity to act freely and disappear completely from public view. Just as he was about to take another sip, his cup suddenly felt light. Song Yu watched as Rong Shi swapped his own cup for Song Yu’s.

Song Yu: “…” Rong Shi tasted his coffee, his face darkening: “Drinking concentrated sugar water under my nose, you’ve got guts.”

Having his coffee snatched away, Song Yu’s displeasure was evident on his face. “You think I can’t drink it just because of that?”

Fearing Song Yu would try to reclaim it, Rong Shi drank half the cup in one gulp, the sweetness making him feel unwell. Song Yu seized the opportunity, cupping Rong Shi’s face and kissing him. Only when he could no longer taste the sweetness did Song Yu release him, smiling contentedly: “You’re not the only one who can steal sweets. I can too.”

Rong Shi: “…”

---

The two rushed, barely making it to the second class on Tuesday. It happened to be an important military theory class, personally taught by Qian Fan. Rong Shi stepped into the classroom just as the bell rang.

“Brother, big brother, over here,” Qin Luo waved to them from the back corner.

Qian Fan entered the classroom, his gaze sweeping over the occupied seats. In an instant, he spotted three figures slumped asleep in the back row. The other students followed his gaze: “…” The top three students in their grade were all sleeping; truly worthy of being “big shots.”

Considering their slight improvement of 0.5 points last time, Qian Fan felt he should occasionally give his good students some leeway. He suppressed his temper, averted his gaze, and began the class as if nothing was amiss. But despite his thoughts, his eyes involuntarily kept darting towards them. In all his years of teaching, which class hadn’t students eagerly fought to attend? Who would dare to sleep in his class? Absolutely no one!

Half an hour into the class, Qian Fan looked at the three unmoving figures in the back row, whose postures hadn’t changed, and finally lost his patience.

“Qin Luo, Qin Luo!”

Qin Luo jolted, not fully awake, but his body stood up first: “Present!”

Qian Fan: “Were you out thieving last night?”

Qin Luo said drowsily: “I—was reviewing military theory, and accidentally stayed up all night.”

Whoa! A gasp went through the classroom. So, the big shots were secretly studying every day! How sneaky!

Regardless of whether it was true, Qian Fan was somewhat satisfied with the answer and nodded for him to sit down.

“Rong Shi, Rong Shi!”

He called five or six times, but Rong Shi showed no reaction. Seeing Qian Fan’s face darken like the bottom of a pot, the other students in the classroom didn’t dare breathe loudly, nor did they dare look at Teacher Qian, fearing their eyes would meet and they’d be called upon to answer a question. Qin Luo, seeing Qian Fan’s foul mood, pushed Rong Shi hard with his elbow: “Big brother, Dad, Pop—bah! Daddy Rong, Teacher Qian is calling you!”

Rong Shi was sound asleep. When he was nudged awake, he slowly stood up. On the return journey, they had spent the entire night studying blueprints and hadn’t slept at all. Now that the immediate crisis was over, sleepiness washed over them.

Qian Fan walked down the steps to the back row, hands behind his back. “Why are you in such bad shape? Were you out doing something shady last night?”

Rong Shi, groggy from sleep, just wanted to answer and go back to sleep. Without thinking, he blurted out, “Only stole a cat.”

“Pffthahahahaha—”

“Goo-goo-goo-goo—”

The classroom erupted in barely suppressed laughter, some unable to control themselves and letting out goose-like sounds.

Qian Fan: “…” This brat, not even taking a hint!

His face grim, he shifted his gaze to Song Yu: “Song Yu, did you go stealing a cat too?”

His neck aching from sleeping face down, Song Yu rolled over and continued sleeping: “Petted a bunny—.”

The students, whose laughter abruptly choked, “…”

Rong Shi: “…”

Qian Fan: “…”

Qin Luo: “…”

In a suffocating silence, Song Yu let out a low chuckle. “Very hard.” Then he fell sound asleep.

Rong Shi: “…………”

Everyone else: “…………” Were they on a trip to the zoo or something?

Under Qian Fan’s and everyone else’s stares, most of Rong Shi’s sleepiness vanished. “He meant he petted a bunny, and the bunny’s head was very hard?”

Qian Fan: “…………”

Everyone else: “…………” Was that a bunny that practiced iron head kung fu?

The forced explanation is even more deadly, Boss.

---

Author’s Note:

Rong Bunny: Wear your helmet for a safe ride.

Song Cat: Toy car wearing a helmet.

Rong Bunny: …