A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Netizens couldn’t understand why a beast tide attack would involve the grudge between Extreme Shadow and Flying Dragon.

Flying Dragon hunting Extreme Shadow for many years was common knowledge among the public.

Fanfiction about Chi Yao and Jing Xi loving and killing each other circulated everywhere online. Probably neither the writers nor the readers expected to one day see rumors of collusion between Flying Dragon and Extreme Shadow.

“Although… I’m kind of excited, sorry.”

“Did Extreme Shadow really go to massacre refugees? So scary.”

“In the face of national hatred, you guys are still shipping CP? Please deal with such an evil organization immediately @WhiteCraneLegion”

“Saying Flying Dragon colluded with Extreme Shadow, my eyes rolled back so hard I went blind and still didn’t see any evidence.”

“This war really relied entirely on Cygnus. Where did all the trolls from two days ago go? Flying Dragon is your daddy.”

“Sure enough, space pirates are no good. My filter for Extreme Shadow was too thick before boo hoo hoo. Hope the people on Planet 333 are safe.”

Jing Xi scrolled through these online comments, his face cold and thoughtful.

He didn’t care about Chen Bingfeng’s character before.

He neither relied on the other for promotion nor needed to cling to the other’s power.

But this time, he couldn’t quite understand.

A higher rank could crush a person to death. Chen Bingfeng was at least a lieutenant general; there were many ways to mess with him. Why use this method?

No matter what public opinion said, the military would still rely on evidence to punish or reward.

With the data he currently held, as long as he submitted it, even if the higher-ups didn’t punish Chen Bingfeng for passivity, they couldn’t turn around and punish him.

So the point wasn’t snatching military merit, but “collusion”?

This matter could be big or small, but dirty water of this level could be clarified before long. Why go to this trouble?

Time limit?

Jing Xi’s eyes flashed, suddenly thinking of something.

At this time, if there was anything special, it was only the election.

Chi Yao came out of the room and saw Jing Xi sitting at the bar counter, operating something on his terminal.

He walked over and kissed Jing Xi on the temple.

“I’ll go back first. You handle things here yourself.”

After clicking send, Jing Xi looked up at him.

“What do you plan to do?”

Chi Yao smiled chillingly: “Fools are riding on my head. If I don’t return the favor, wouldn’t I seem very impolite?”

Thinking of his guess just now, Jing Xi hesitated: “I originally wanted to write Extreme Shadow’s support into the report after it ended, but the development of things is obviously no longer appropriate. I will find a way to make up for it later—”

“Fool.” Chi Yao ruffled his hair. “Do you really think space pirates need military merit? They won’t obediently go to jail. Compared to military merit, they like more tangible things.”

“It’s not purely a question of military merit.” Jing Xi looked up at him with a serious expression. “Although merit cannot offset faults, I hope they can live a normal life one day.”

Burdened with unspeakable secrets and the name of space pirates, only able to drift everywhere—this wasn’t the result he wanted.

After so many years, especially with the in-depth contact over the past six months, he was even more certain that this group of people in Extreme Shadow still had the possibility of salvation; they were not unforgivably wicked.

This is probably the kind of thought an ordinary “good person” would have, right?

Chi Yao looked at Jing Xi, this thought flashing through his mind.

Before, when their relationship was bad, he only wanted to drag Jing Xi back to his lair, lock him up, and take various photos that could make the other angry.

Only “good people” always thought about saving something.

“Forget about making up for it.” Chi Yao bent down slightly, touching his chin like teasing a cat, smiling heartlessly. “Because for what I’m going to do next, I’m afraid this bit of military merit won’t be enough to deduct.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Jing Xi: “What do you want to do? Give me the bottom line first.”

“Forget it, I don’t want to drag you in as an accomplice.” Chi Yao straightened up. “I’ll go north first. You handle things slowly, no rush.”

“Yao Yao.”

Just turned around, his hand was grabbed by Jing Xi. Chi Yao chuckled lightly.

This skill of acting cute has grown.

He turned back, and before he could speak, his hand was pulled hard, and a certain clingy major general kissed him.

Usually cold as ice, but his lips were very soft.

Chi Yao held his waist, deepening the kiss.

Unknown if men were all talented in this aspect, Chi Yao felt his kissing skills were improving by leaps and bounds, no longer that fool who only knew how to gnaw.

A moment later, Jing Xi pulled back panting.

Chi Yao’s gaze swept over his moist eyes, voice low: “How is my kissing skill now?”

Jing Xi: “Passable.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Rating so low?

Jing Xi’s slender fingers wound around the hair at the back of his neck, saying calmly: “If you play too hard, I will stop you.”

Chi Yao: “Parting is imminent. Can’t you say something nice?”

Jing Xi: “Such as?”

Chi Yao: “Like ‘Husband I love you’, ‘Husband I’ll wait for you to come back’, and so on.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Seeing Jing Xi looking at him with a cold expression reserved for fools, Chi Yao knew there was no hope, sighed lightly, and let go.

Jing Xi said expressionlessly: “When things here are finished, we’ll continue doing it downwards.”

Chi Yao: “!”

Floating back to Extreme Shadow’s warship, Chi Yao’s mind was full of the three words “doing it downwards”.

Did it mean what he thought it meant?

Tearing off the mask on his face, Fang Liang walked out from inside.

“Boss, confirmed the position with Old Li. They will arrive there first to swap warships with us.”

“Mm.” Chi Yao threw the mask away casually, his peripheral vision seeing into the distance through the open hatch. “What are they doing?”

Fang Liang followed his line of sight. Outside the warship hatch, a group of Flying Dragon soldiers were pulling and tugging with their people.

Pulling and tugging turned into hugging and crying.

“Came to see us off.” Fang Liang kept a wooden face. “Lu Meng even sent ten meat pigs over.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Seeing this strangely harmonious scene, Chi Yao thought of the look in Jing Xi’s eyes again, and many erotic scenes automatically floated in his mind.

[Why is your technique so bad?]

The image of a disheveled Jing Xi saying this sentence expressionlessly flashed before his eyes. Chi Yao shuddered.

“No, wife is too hot.” Chi Yao muttered while walking quickly inside.

To prevent repeating mistakes, better watch some tutorials.

Fang Liang: “?”

The fleet set sail. Chi Yao sat in the command seat flipping through the tutorial Chun Qin had Fang Liang send earlier.

Flipping to the end, it rambled on teaching kissing, but had nothing below the neck.

Chi Yao closed it temperlessly: “Bad review.”

Fang Liang walked over: “Do you have a plan?”

After clarifying the thing in the cave, their purpose for coming here had been achieved.

“Didn’t the one surnamed Chen say we snatched resources?” Chi Yao rested his chin in his hand and smiled. “Since we already have the charge, how can we do right by ourselves if we don’t do something?”

Fang Liang: “…”

Military Headquarters, Pei Zhenyue scrolled through online comments, angry enough to take quick-acting heart pills.

There was a knock on the door, and the adjutant rushed in.

“How is it?!” Pei Zhenyue stood up abruptly.

“Found it!” The adjutant pulled a document from a stack and handed it over. “Extreme Shadow indeed appeared on the battlefield, very close to Flying Dragon’s rescue team!”

Pei Zhenyue’s heart skipped a beat, taking the report and browsing it quickly.

“Didn’t kill anyone, right?” He looked up at the adjutant.

The adjutant lowered his voice, speaking rapidly: “Indeed didn’t kill anyone, but robbed some shops along the way. Looking at the movement trajectory, they seemed to be coordinating with Flying Dragon’s rescue. I didn’t understand it either.”

Pei Zhenyue paced back and forth anxiously with his hands behind his back.

“At this time, absolutely cannot let the one surnamed Zhao catch a handle!”

Adjutant: “Those few photos posted by Cygnus alone can’t prove anything.”

“But many people simply won’t care; they just need an excuse!” Pei Zhenyue stood in front of the window, face gloomy. “An excuse to change their stance.”

The adjutant took a few steps closer: “But you and Jing Xi don’t have a substantial master-disciple relationship. Problems on his side shouldn’t affect the election—”

“You are too naive. Any minute detail will be infinitely magnified by them. Otherwise, where would their chance come from?” Pei Zhenyue sneered. “My appreciation for Jing Xi is almost semi-public. If his matter isn’t handled well this time, the election result—will be hard to say.”

The adjutant was silent for a long time, suddenly thinking of something.

“There’s word that a suspected Extreme Shadow warship was also found in the southern mountain area!”

Pei Zhenyue turned, narrowing his eyes slightly.

He waved his hand quickly to open the map of Planet 333.

After Cygnus went over, Flying Dragon went south.

This area was only completely cleared in the last two days.

“There’s nothing to rob in the south—” Pei Zhenyue was thoughtful.

A moment later, he returned to sit at the desk, opened the social platform, and upon refreshing, saw the message posted by the Flying Dragon Legion’s official account.

[Thank you all for your concern about this war. Flying Dragon has completed the cleanup of the southern beast herd. Based on clues provided by the Cygnus Legion, Flying Dragon will head to support immediately after the aftermath work is finished. [Image][Image]]

The photos showed the devastated southern mountain area, carcasses of beasts everywhere already processed, and various fighters scattered high and low.

Eight close-up shots, and one super-high-definition panoramic shot in the middle.

Pei Zhenyue opened the comments.

“Flying Dragon worked hard, always believed in you!”

“Those saying Flying Dragon colluded with space pirates are truly stupid and bad!”

“If not for Flying Dragon holding the south, could Cygnus rescue smoothly?!”

“Tell a joke: Flying Dragon finished clearing the beast tide, yet a certain legion is still rescuing.”

Pei Zhenyue clicked forward and typed in the text box.

[Hard work. Hope for an early triumphant return.]

The adjutant watched, asking carefully: “Is it good to publicly state your stance now?”

Pei Zhenyue pushed the virtual screen away, leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable.

“Things have come to this, can only gamble.”

The adjutant opened his mouth: “What if Jing Xi really colluded with Extreme Shadow?”

Pei Zhenyue smiled: “I don’t know if he colluded with Extreme Shadow, but I believe in his ability to handle things. If he doesn’t even have this ability, he indeed isn’t suitable to be my successor.”

A notification suddenly popped up on the terminal: Emergency temporary high-level meeting.

Pei Zhenyue’s expression changed, and he stood up.

Inside Flying Dragon, seeing the online pictures, everyone was angry enough to faint.

“Truly fucking shameless!”

“Not only snatching credit but also pouring dirty water. Is this something humans do?”

“Speaking of which, why did Extreme Shadow run over here? They hate coming to battlefields, right?”

“Yeah, with their strength, which mining planet can’t they rob resources from? Why come here to get bombed?”

“What kind of madness is this, causing us to be framed!”

“Every time we meet them, nothing good happens.”

Yan Kai flipped through those pictures, suddenly remembering why he felt the reinforcement warship looked familiar.

Didn’t Extreme Shadow also have that model?

But—

“Impossible… good enough if they don’t cause trouble, how would they help us?” Yan Kai muttered to himself.

“Old Lu, Li Yuan is actually in the north!”

Lu Meng, who was named, wiped his face looking at the online information, almost cracking on the spot.

Boss letting Extreme Shadow come to support was a mistake.

These people simply didn’t know what low profile meant!

But pushing Extreme Shadow out to take the bullet now also seemed very unkind.

“Admiral Pei forwarded it!! Look quickly!!!”

Lu Meng shuddered, immediately refreshing the page.

He stared at those few words for a long time, then clicked on Pei Zhenyue’s personal homepage.

The previous message was an announcement of joining ten years ago.

“This the fuck—awesome!” Lu Meng stood up with a swish and walked toward the command cabin.

An Imperial Admiral who never mingled on social platforms publicly supporting Flying Dragon—what this represented behind the scenes needed no explanation.

Key point was, Cygnus posted so much these few days, and he hadn’t forwarded a single one!

The direction of public opinion changed immediately because of Pei Zhenyue’s forwarding.

When Lu Meng hurried to the command cabin, he saw Jing Xi meeting with several military big shots.

On the virtual screen, Zhao Hongyi’s attitude was aggressive.

“Hearing the situation reported by Cygnus, you took it upon yourself to call other reinforcements?”

The words “took it upon yourself” (unauthorized) were emphasized heavily.

Pei Zhenyue said coldly: “In war, the commander can deploy reinforcements according to the actual situation.”

“I wasn’t asking you.” Zhao Hongyi choked back. “Admiral Pei is so nervous; do you know something?”

Pei Zhenyue’s face darkened: “This isn’t a place for you to speak nonsense!”

Zhao Hongyi: “Frontline commanders have the right to deploy reinforcements; I also have the right to question. Wrong?”

Seeing Zhao Hongyi look over again, Jing Xi said calmly: “That’s right. The situation in the south was more complex and severe than estimated. To minimize losses, I deployed garrisons from nearby planets—”

“Which planets?” Before he finished, Zhao Hongyi interrupted him, continuing to press.

Jing Xi looked straight at him: “No. 301, No. 303, No. 321.”

“Is that so?” Zhao Hongyi slammed a report onto the table, shouting loudly, “But the report shows no planets in the Cetus Constellation have records of deploying garrisons to No. 333 at that time! How do you explain?!”

Jing Xi glanced calmly.

“Report?”

“You don’t need to doubt the authenticity of this report.” Zhao Hongyi said sternly. “This is the result of Lieutenant General Chen’s investigation based on reasonable suspicion.”

In less than half a day, the report was already in Zhao Hongyi’s hands.

Truly couldn’t wait.

Jing Xi: “They are not garrisons.”

A light sentence caused an uproar in the entire conference hall.

Pei Zhenyue couldn’t help glancing at him, then looked away as if nothing happened.

Zhao Hongyi glanced triumphantly at Pei Zhenyue from the corner of his eye and smiled: “Not garrisons? Then what special rescue unit?”

Jing Xi was expressionless: “Sorry, I cannot answer.”

Pei Zhenyue’s hands resting on his legs slowly clenched.

Zhao Hongyi: “You only have two choices now: state the identity of the reinforcements or come back to accept investigation!”

Jing Xi: “I can accept investigation, but please don’t involve others in Flying Dragon.”

“You are not qualified to negotiate with me.” Zhao Hongyi glanced at Pei Zhenyue, unable to hide the victor’s posture. “Now the entire Flying Dragon is suspected of colluding with Extreme Shadow.”

Jing Xi frowned: “They just went through a great battle, yet are being investigated for unfounded charges. I’m afraid it will chill their hearts—”

Zhao Hongyi: “If you have no guilt in your hearts, you don’t need to fear investigation at all.”

The senior officers in the entire conference hall looked at Jing Xi in the virtual screen.

Many sighed secretly in their hearts.

Hitting the gunpoint at such a time, afraid he’d become cannon fodder.

Then they saw Jing Xi’s tightly knitted brows relax, speaking calmly: “D3-811-3600, the reinforcement’s code.”

The voice was unhurried, but like a nuclear bomb dropping into Pei Zhenyue and Zhao Hongyi’s hearts.

“W-What did you say?!” Zhao Hongyi’s eyes widened, unable to stop himself from standing up.

Jing Xi repeated the code, facing his terrifying gaze: “I didn’t intend to say it, but as a commander, I have a responsibility to protect my soldiers from injustice.”

Zhao Hongyi had a look like he’d seen a ghost, frozen there unable to speak for a moment.

D3 was that person’s code.

When exactly did Jing Xi contact that person?!

No, that person wasn’t helping Jing Xi, but—

Let alone Zhao Hongyi, Pei Zhenyue was shocked.

Jing Xi actually had contact with that old fellow, and the other party even sent troops to him.

Wait, the adjutant said the warship was suspected to be Extreme Shadow’s.

What the hell was the situation?

Receiving Zhao Hongyi’s intense gaze, Pei Zhenyue glanced at him, the corners of his lips hooking up slightly.

This expression in Zhao Hongyi’s eyes was tantamount to provocation.

Been pitted!

Didn’t expect Pei Zhenyue and that person to have secretly united long ago, deliberately digging a pit waiting for him to jump!

“Regarding more information about the reinforcements, forgive me for not being able to explain more.” Jing Xi’s voice was cool and flat. “If you are interested, you can submit an application to the Royal Family to verify the movements of this army.”

Hiss—!

Hearing this sentence, the officers who were confused gasped.

The military still had troops that admirals had no right to inspect; that left only the Shadow Department whose head and tail were rarely seen!

Although they hadn’t fully figured out the situation, Jing Xi had already won this smokeless war.

Pei Zhenyue looked at Jing Xi with increasing appreciation.

This guy was really good at digging pits! Even he was tricked into a cold sweat.

Calm in chaos, finding opportunities to give the enemy a fatal blow—this was the spirit his successor should have.

Cutting off the video conference, Jing Xi leaned back in his chair, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Opening his terminal, switching to the chat interface with Chi Yao, the last message was a string of codes “D3-811-3600” sent by the other party half an hour ago.

Thinking of Zhao Hongyi and Pei Zhenyue’s reactions, it wasn’t hard for Jing Xi to guess the army corresponding to this code.

Was it a coincidence?

Thinking this in his heart, Jing Xi couldn’t convince himself no matter what.

Just changed warships, Chi Yao’s terminal vibrated. He swiped it open casually; it was a reply from Jing Xi.

[Muddled through.]

Chi Yao smiled and replied.

[Want a kiss~]

Thought Jing Xi wouldn’t reply, but just arriving at the command cabin, the terminal vibrated again.

[Chu.] (Kiss sound)

A brief word, yet Chi Yao seemed to feel the soft touch landing on his face.

“This kid—”

Tie Xiong walked over holding ribs. Seeing Chi Yao covering his face, ears pink, he couldn’t help looking again.

“Boss, are you sick? Eating ribs?”

Chi Yao picked him up and rubbed him vigorously in his arms.

“How can there be such a cute person?”

Tie Xiong watched helplessly as the bowl flew out and turned over on the ground, a pool of tears quickly accumulating in his eyes.

“My ribs—darn it!”

Half an hour later, they reached the northern battlefield.

Chi Yao called this wave of people under him over, tapping a location on the holographic map.

“This area has three Cygnus supply ships and two transport ships. Very few can fight and resist.”

The others looked seriously, nodding.

Chi Yao: “Empty them for me.”

Others: “!”

So, so exciting.

Chi Yao looked at the scan data on the virtual screen, then drew an area on the map.

“After getting the supplies, deliver them to this area. Must distribute them personally to the refugees.”

The others instantly lost interest: “Huh? Not for our own use?”

Not for themselves was fine, but spending effort to give to others?

Chi Yao shook his head: “Not only deliver, but announce Extreme Shadow’s name every time.”

The others looked at each other.

“We tell the truth? Won’t it scare them?”

Chi Yao smiled: “Your attitude must be kind, with a smile on your face. Fang Liang, demonstrate.”

Fang Liang agreed expressionlessly, then suddenly grinned.

“Holy shit! Scared me to death!”

The people standing on both sides retreated three meters rapidly.

Fang Liang: “Then what about the snatched armaments?”

“Keep armaments and energy to deal with Cygnus.” Chi Yao drew a line on the map. “This is our general direction of movement next. Remember, don’t rob refugees’ things, don’t kill soldiers.”

Others: “This we understand!”

After the tasks were assigned, Chi Yao woke up Xiao Hei.

“Black Brother, with your broken body now, can you still invade Cygnus’s system?”

If really not, he could use his own terminal AI, just a bit more troublesome.

Xiao Hei: [Of course.]

Chi Yao teased it deliberately: [Really can?]

Xiao Hei: [Too capable.]

Cygnus Legion—

Chen Bingfeng looked at the report sent back from the Capital Star, flying into a rage.

“Jing Xi!”

Didn’t expect the other party to resolve even this!

That string of codes must have been fabricated by Jing Xi temporarily!

How could the Shadow Department lend a hand for a war of this scale?

He sent a message to Zhao Hongyi, hoping the other could verify the authenticity of the code.

But just as the message was sent, the screen was occupied by countless rolling black beans.

“System invaded!”

Hearing his subordinate’s exclamation, Chen Bingfeng looked up. All virtual screens surrounding him were full of black beans!

“What’s going on?! Sekhmet?!”

“Hello, I am Warship AI Sekh-Black, how can I help you?”

The inorganic voice echoed in the entire command cabin, making everyone’s scalp numb.

“What are you dazing for, clear it quickly!” Chen Bingfeng’s face was dark.

Operator: “Yes!”

A moment later, the black beans on the screen disappeared.

Chen Bingfeng hadn’t fully relaxed his breath when a person suddenly popped up on the screen.

“Lieutenant General Chen, long time no see~” Chi Yao waved at him smilingly. “Do you know who I am?”

The alpha on the screen, smiling and welcoming, was extraordinarily handsome, yet scared everyone in Cygnus pale.

It’s Chi Yao!

Chen Bingfeng: “You—”

Without waiting for him to finish, Chi Yao interrupted him.

“Forget it, doesn’t matter if you know me or not. I now officially notify you on behalf of Extreme Shadow: we accept the written challenge you issued.”

Chen Bingfeng was so angry the corner of his lip twitched. After a long time, he squeezed out a sentence: “Do you know what crime it is to invade the Imperial Military system?!”

Chi Yao seemed to hear something very funny.

“Anyway, it won’t be heavier than massacring residents, right?”

“Extreme Shadow always acts open and aboveboard, unlike a coward like you who only plays petty tricks behind backs.” He rested his chin, chuckling lightly. “After all, we are space pirates with style—”