“That fast?”

Chi Yao read it again to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

Jing Xi abruptly sat up, his fingers hovering over the virtual keyboard, momentarily unsure of how to reply.

If he could, he would have wished for Qiu Tianlin to deliver the medicine right this instant.

“First version…”

Jing Xi muttered to himself.

That meant safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

He sent a reply.

[I’ll come find you after I return to the Capital Star.]

Chi Yao also sat up, wrapping his arm around Jing Xi’s waist and leaning against him.

“Why does this feel so unreliable?”

Jing Xi tilted his head, resting his forehead against Chi Yao’s, his voice low. “Let’s wait for him to develop a few more versions. Safety is more important than anything else.”

Speaking of this, Chi Yao suddenly thought of something and chuckled lightly.

“If that person were here, maybe he could help.”

Jing Xi: “Who?”

Chi Yao said lazily, “A military doctor who was scared off by Chun Qin.”

Jing Xi: “?”

Scared off by Chun Qin?

---

Early the next morning, when Jing Xi arrived at the main cabin, the Head of the External Liaison Department rushed over to report.

“Boss, after the Commander-in-Chief liked Chi Yao’s status update, several top Admirals liked it too!” Han Yousheng lowered his voice in excitement. “It looks like the higher-ups really intend to use Chi Yao’s hand to reorganize the star pirate circle.”

Jing Xi walked up to the command seat and casually swiped open his terminal. A virtual window enlarged in front of him.

Under Chi Yao’s post, which netizens were jokingly calling the “Number Distribution,” the top comment was from Pei Zhengyue.

[Star Pirate Groups, remember your own numbers. Do not claim duplicate numbers.]

Below that was a long string of “Hahahahaha” replies.

“Commander-in-Chief personally getting involved, that’s kinda cute hahahaha.”

“Commander: Highlight this, it’s going to be on the exam.”

“I’ve organized the numbers corresponding to the pirate groups into a spreadsheet, help yourselves [File].”

“Hahahaha, the Commander is so trendy.”

Jing Xi kept a straight face as he scrolled down quickly, then silently pressed ‘like’ as well.

If he didn’t like it, it felt like his territory was being occupied by someone else.

Han Yousheng watched him solemnly like the post and asked curiously, “Do we need to assign a task for the troops to like it too?”

The fact that Chi Yao could certify other star pirate groups meant he intended to take over the rectification of the star pirate circles.

This was a major event for the military, the public, and even the entire Empire.

As long as they started well and solved the problems left over by history, they could fundamentally put an end to the existence of star pirates.

Even if “star pirates” couldn’t be completely extinct, their image would be completely different from before.

As the pioneer promoting this massive project, the Flying Dragon fleet naturally had to respond actively.

Jing Xi closed the terminal and said indifferently, “No need. He’ll get annoyed if there are too many likes.”

Han Yousheng: “…”

Although the beast tide had receded, the problems on Planet 820 had not been resolved.

Battlefield cleanup and epidemic prevention work had to proceed as usual, and in addition to that, the matter regarding the Ghosts had to be dealt with.

After the routine meeting, Jing Xi went to the hangar bay.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Chi Yao and Tie Xiong coming from another corridor.

Chi Yao was walking with long strides, while Tie Xiong had to run to keep up. The two were talking and laughing about something.

“Yao Yao—”

Hearing Jing Xi’s voice, Chi Yao looked up and jutted his chin towards him, signaling to head toward the confinement room.

“Let’s go see if Lieutenant General Chen’s brain has cleared up.”

Jing Xi waited for them to come over, then turned into the branching corridor with them.

“What were you talking about just now that made you so happy?”

At the mention of this, Tie Xiong snatched the conversation. “Boss said he planted watermelons at your house, but I don’t believe him!”

Showing off to a kid?

Jing Xi glanced at Chi Yao and said expressionlessly, “Why don’t you believe him?”

Tie Xiong: “Because he doesn’t know how to farm at all! All the seedlings in our fields used to get destroyed by him.”

Chi Yao: “…Shut up.”

A hint of a smile welled up in Jing Xi’s eyes.

“What did you guys use to plant?”

Tie Xiong counted on his fingers: “Greens, pumpkins, gourds, corn…”

Jing Xi looked at Chi Yao, slightly surprised.

“You guys planted so many things? How come I never saw them?”

The few times he had transmigrated into Chi Yao’s body, he only saw Zone C where the killing games were held, and Zone B where Ghosts and other personnel were detained. Other than that, the parts of Jiying that weren’t in use were all in a desolate state.

Facing Jing Xi’s gaze, Chi Yao looked away in embarrassment.

“Didn’t I say they all died?”

Expecting a bunch of rough men who only knew fighting and killing to understand farming was asking for a miracle.

Jing Xi: “…”

Suddenly feeling a chubby little hand wiggle into his palm, Jing Xi lowered his eyes and met Tie Xiong’s gaze as the boy looked up.

“Did Boss really go to your house to plant watermelons?”

Seeing his eyes shining with unconcealable anticipation, Jing Xi suddenly realized something.

The confinement room was right in front of them. Jing Xi squatted down in front of Tie Xiong and said softly, “When I’m free, do you want to come to my house and see the watermelons he planted?”

Tie Xiong’s eyes lit up. “Can I really go?!”

He couldn’t help but step two paces closer and hug Jing Xi’s arm.

“I want to go~”

Chi Yao saw Tie Xiong acting coquettishly toward Jing Xi and poked the boy’s shoulder with a cold face.

“Hey, brat, go back. Adults need to work.”

Tie Xiong slapped his hand away and looked at Jing Xi, his small face flushed red.

“Then let’s make a pinky promise.”

Jing Xi looked at the small hand extended in front of him and hooked it with his pinky finger.

“But before that, you have to score at least a 60 in math.”

Tie Xiong put his hands on his hips and said confidently, “Only 60 points? That’s easy.”

Jing Xi: “…”

So far, you haven’t scored over 20 even once.

Before Chi Yao could beat him up, Tie Xiong grabbed his fish toy and sprinted all the way back to the main cabin.

“Why spoil him?” Chi Yao was unhappy.

Jing Xi stood up, confirmed that Tie Xiong had followed the Flying Dragon soldiers into the main cabin, and only then withdrew his gaze.

“Don’t you know who I’m spoiling?”

Chi Yao: “…”

To Jing Xi, Tie Xiong was probably not just a pirate child, but a miniature version of Chi Yao himself.

Walking through the first metal door of the confinement area, Chi Yao grumbled discontentedly, “Even if you want to make up for things, you should be compensating me.”

Seeing Jing Xi glance over out of the corner of his eye, he added unhurriedly, “After all, I’m the one who was the substitute.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Passing through the second metal door, Jing Xi said faintly, “Then tonight, shall I tell you the story of the little chick looking for its mama?”

Chi Yao scoffed lightly. “Use a shota voice.”

Jing Xi stood before the final metal door and waved his hand over the sensor.

“Childish.”

Chi Yao: “…”

---

As the door opened, chaotic Alpha pheromones rushed out.

Their bodies automatically entered a state of alert.

Chi Yao controlled his own pheromones that were about to be released and looked down at Chen Bingfeng in the cage.

Yesterday he was still articulate; today he was collapsed on the ground like mud, looking barely human.

His face, neck, and hands all showed signs of partial beastification, mixed with human skeletal structures. It looked particularly gruesome.

Jing Xi glanced at the torn military uniform on him.

“What did Chun Qin do to him?”

The pheromones were mixed with the smell of sweat, making Chi Yao frown involuntarily.

“It’s rare to have a Superior Specimen that isn’t from Jiying; naturally, he was used to test drugs.”

Jing Xi: “…”

Drug development couldn’t be separated from human trials; the only difference was the timing.

Illegal research institutes would test drug properties on humans during the development process, inevitably causing casualties. Legal research would only conduct human trials based on massive amounts of data and under safety guarantees.

The matter of modified humans had always been in a state where it couldn’t be exposed, so research on related drugs couldn’t go through official channels either.

Without legal avenues or massive data support, development was extremely slow.

Setting aside right and wrong, Jing Xi suddenly understood Qiu Tianlin’s methods a little.

From an ordinary person’s perspective, his methods were undoubtedly subversive to human ethics. But from a scholar’s perspective, with a large number of ready-made test subjects in front of him, naturally, he would make the best use of everything.

Chi Yao walked to the cage, placed the sole of his shoe on Chen Bingfeng’s shoulder, and kicked him.

“Lieutenant General Chen, time to get up.”

After a few kicks with no reaction, Chi Yao said lazily, “We’ve already cracked your terminal.”

Just as he finished speaking, Chen Bingfeng suddenly raised his hand, grabbed Chi Yao’s ankle, and pulled inward, using the leverage to flip over, glaring with a ferocious look.

The moment he moved, Chi Yao turned his toes and kicked fiercely at the man’s carotid artery.

Chen Bingfeng’s vision went black, and his grip loosened.

Chi Yao took the opportunity to pull back, then stepped on top of his head, pinning him hard against the ground.

“Ugh—!”

The change happened in a split second.

Chi Yao’s face was cold, the corners of his lips raised slightly.

“You dare to ambush me with those amateur moves?”

Chen Bingfeng slammed his fist against the ground and said viciously, “Even now, you don’t know where you stand!”

“I know my stance very well.” Chi Yao looked down at him from above. “Save the speech from yesterday. Apart from making you look ignorant, it serves no other purpose.”

Chen Bingfeng was pinned and couldn’t move.

There was another pair of black military boots in his line of sight. He struggled to look up.

When he saw it was Jing Xi, the anger accumulated in his heart reached its peak.

“Chi Yao! As a noble Superior Specimen, you’re actually mixing with him?!” Chen Bingfeng’s eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his neck bulged. “Kill him! I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, the Officer will never let you off!”

“Officer?”

Jing Xi stepped two paces closer, his voice cold. “Who is the Officer?”

What Chen Bingfeng hated most was this face that remained forever unruffled, as if nothing could escape his eyes, and all efforts became futile before him.

“Release me, and I’ll tell you.”

Chen Bingfeng scoffed, letting out a few muffled laughs from his throat. “He said long ago that you are an obstacle. As long as he wants to, he can remove you at any time.”

Jing Xi: “Is it that he doesn’t want to, or that he can’t do it?”

Chen Bingfeng stared at him dead on: “Assassination is just an appetizer—ugh!”

Chi Yao applied force with his foot, grinding it into the floor.

“Say who that person is, and I can leave your corpse intact.”

As if hearing something hilarious, Chen Bingfeng couldn’t stop laughing.

“Do you know why you were chosen?”

Chi Yao narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Chosen?” Jing Xi spoke up.

From the intelligence he currently possessed, that organization selected test subjects by picking those with the best aptitude from random groups.

Whether it was Chi Yao who was trafficked, Li Yuan who accidentally stumbled in, or those who were induced into the playground by money.

None of them were filtered based on pre-set conditions.

But what did Chen Bingfeng mean by this?

“You must not be able to figure it out, right? The Empire is so big, yet you were specifically chosen to become a modified subject.”

Chen Bingfeng suddenly coughed violently, his body curling up, his voice becoming hoarse and torn. “It wasn’t random, nor was it bad luck. It was destiny.”

Even knowing that this man’s words couldn’t be trusted, hearing this, Chi Yao still couldn’t control the twitch in his heart.

Chen Bingfeng: “You are destined to walk this path. No one can change it—”