Imperial Capital Star, Civilian Space Station No. 545.

Two elderly betas traveling together entered the security checkpoint. Their coat collars were turned up, and they wore felt hats that obscured most of their faces, revealing only gray hair.

A red warning popped up on the virtual screen, indicating suspected facial disguise. A staff member hurried over.

“Sir, please provide your ID.”

The old man in front reached out and offered his terminal for scanning.

Seeing the personal information displayed on the screen, the staff member froze, and his attitude immediately became much more respectful.

“Apologies for delaying you. Please, go ahead.”

The old man withdrew his hand and walked in unhurriedly.

Ten minutes after takeoff, the spaceship’s AI announced that they would enter the first space jump point in five minutes.

The butler signaled to Bai Yi, who was sitting in the adjacent seat. The two left their seats and crossed the rest area.

A young beta in uniform was waiting at the end of the hall. He led them to the emergency escape bay, where the escape pods were located.

Uniformed Beta: “Please fasten your safety buckles. You will detach from the ship in three minutes.”

Bai Yi sat in the escape pod and waved his hand.

The uniformed beta understood, turned, and left.

Butler: “Master, news came from below. Pei Zhenyue is furious at the military headquarters and has sent people everywhere to look for you.”

Bai Yi raised the corners of his lips and said contemptuously, “He’s just a newly appointed Marshal. Does he really think he can trap me?”

Looking at the countdown in front of him, the butler’s heart was in his throat.

“If he conducts a comprehensive sweep, what should we do?”

“What are you afraid of?”

Bai Yi looked at the tightly closed hatch in front of him and said coldly, “Tell them to assemble at Z9871.”

“They are already on their way.”

The butler was so nervous his throat was dry, and his palms were sweaty. “Where are we going?”

Bai Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.

“To the border.”

The butler’s eyes widened.

“We are leaving the Empire?”

Bai Yi’s face was dark, his lips pressed into a tight line.

Even if Pei Zhenyue found a way to deal with that thing, Bai Yi still had a way out. But with the appearance of the Xuanwu Legion, everything changed.

“I have already contacted the Alliance. We’ll go hide there for a few years and wait for the storm to pass.”

The butler’s heart pounded.

“Hasn’t the Alliance always been at odds with the Empire? Why would they agree to accept us?”

Bai Yi’s voice was very cold: “I think they will be very interested in the research results of the modified subjects.”

The butler opened his mouth but fell silent.

Although they weren’t exactly enemies with the Alliance, there were no eternal friends between nations, only eternal interests.

Leaking the results they had paid such a huge price to research to the Alliance—wouldn’t that count as treason?

As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, he forced himself to stop.

Even without leaking to the Alliance, they had already committed grave crimes. There was no turning back.

Z9871 wasn’t far from here. Relatively speaking, the military presence there was the weakest, and the jump point was guarded by their people.

When the escape pod arrived, a massive fleet was already parked near the jump point.

In the main ship’s hangar, Bai Yi was supported as he stepped out of the escape pod.

The leading officer saluted him and said respectfully, “We have controlled everyone at the jump point. We can depart at any time.”

Bai Yi straightened his slightly messy clothes and strode toward the command cabin.

“Find the shortest route to the Arctic Constellation border.”

The officer paused: “Yes!”

As soon as he stepped into the command cabin, a second lieutenant ran over in a panic.

“Sir, the Dragon God Constellation patrol fleet is approaching. They have already sent us a warning signal.”

“Moving quite fast.”

Bai Yi waved him away and walked to the monitoring console in a few steps.

On the magnified virtual screen, a red signal icon was displayed, ordering them to halt for inspection.

Bai Yi: “Hide all signals and enter the jump point immediately.”

“Yes!”

In less than a minute, a red warning window popped up on the monitoring console again. This time, a voice warning came through.

“This is the Dragon God Constellation First Patrol Ship. Fleet hovering at jump point Z9871-324, please halt immediately for inspection. If you refuse to cooperate, we will take coercive measures!”

Everyone on the warship was hearing this kind of warning for the first time, and panic set in.

The leading officer hesitated: “Sir, we—”

Bai Yi looked over: “Are you listening to him or me?”

The officer’s scalp went numb. He turned to the soldiers at the console and said, “Full speed ahead!”

The jump point was right in front of them when a particle cannon shot flew across, blocking their path.

Bai Yi looked at the scale of the patrol fleet and checked the time.

He knew the strength of every stationed legion in the Dragon God Constellation and their patrol routes by heart.

If they didn’t successfully pass through the jump point within half an hour, they would be blocked here.

Thinking of this, he steeled his heart.

“Prepare to attack.”

The officer was stunned.

“Y-You mean attack the patrol fleet?”

Bai Yi: “Are there any other enemies here?”

Officer: “Y-Yes!”

---

Time passed minute by minute.

However, the strength and scale of both sides were similar, and the battle was deadlocked.

Bai Yi looked grave, his hands clenched behind his back.

“Call all our people over!”

The butler’s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly opened his terminal: “Yes!”

Besides the jump point, they also had stationed armed forces deployed on various planets and “Ghosts” disguised among ordinary people.

When they were preparing to flee, they had told them to be ready. A single order would mobilize them immediately.

Seeing the reply, the butler said urgently, “They will arrive in five minutes. All forces will be assembled within fifteen minutes!”

First Patrol Fleet, Main Ship Command Cabin.

At this moment, everyone was performing their duties, busy in an orderly manner.

The commander spoke respectfully to the holographic image beside him: “Sir, should we reduce the attack intensity? If we keep hitting them like this, they won’t last ten minutes.”

Pei Zhenyue looked up at the battle situation on the virtual screen.

“No need. Dealing with an old fox like Bai Yi, if we don’t act convincingly, he’ll discover it. Once he starts suspecting, our plan goes down the drain.”

A moment later, the monitor detected fleets gathering from all directions.

Pei Zhenyue checked the time: “Hold for another five minutes, then retreat. Let them go.”

The patrol ship commander was surprised: “We aren’t arresting him?”

“Arrest?” Pei Zhenyue chuckled lightly. “We waited so long and finally forced him out. Wouldn’t it be a pity to arrest him now?”

Commander: “…”

You call others old foxes, but you aren’t far off yourself.

Successfully crossing the jump point, Bai Yi’s taut nerves relaxed slightly. He sat down and took the tea handed over by the butler.

The butler looked delighted: “Now that we’re out of the Imperial Capital’s warning line, the road ahead will be easier.”

Because the Imperial Capital Star was in the Dragon God Constellation, the entire galaxy was on the highest state of alert.

Various forces were intertwined there. Even though Bai Yi came from a great noble family and was a pivotal General in the military, he couldn’t just walk freely there.

Bai Yi huffed coldly: “That old boy Pei Zhenyue is still too green to deal with me.”

An officer came to report: “Sir, secondary jump in ten minutes. We will arrive at the White Crane Constellation.”

Bai Yi nodded.

Beast tides had erupted in many places in the White Crane Constellation, so they couldn’t spare the hands to deal with him. Even if they could, there were quite a few of his people there too.

The difficulty of passing through was very low.

After a strong vibration, the warship’s AI issued a notification of successful passage through the jump point.

Bai Yi was just about to unbuckle his safety belt when a piercing warning sound suddenly rang out.

He looked up sharply. Several screens on the monitoring console had turned red, flashing error notifications continuously.

“Sir, one of our warships has been attacked!”

Bai Yi sat up straight and said sternly, “Scan immediately!”

Soon, another fleet appeared on the monitor. They were hovering outside the jump point, blocking their path perfectly.

Seeing the logo on the main ship, Bai Yi slammed his fist on the armrest.

“Flying Dragon!”

At the same time, the warship AI broadcasted the warning signal sent by Flying Dragon.

Flying Dragon Main Ship, Command Cabin.

Adjutant Jiang Feng stood at the console, sending a warning to the opposite side.

“This is the Flying Dragon Legion. Please halt immediately for inspection! This is the Flying Dragon Legion—”

After meeting up with the main force, Jiang Feng resumed his job as adjutant.

Originally, Yan Kai, the temporary assistant, was supposed to return to his original post. However, Jing Xi felt he did a good job and promoted him to second adjutant to assist him and Jiang Feng.

Compared to the Dragon God Constellation’s patrol fleet, Flying Dragon was harder to deal with.

After just half an hour of engagement, Bai Yi’s side was already breathless.

Bai Yi raged: “Why aren’t they here yet?!”

The butler was too busy to wipe his sweat.

“Coming, coming right away!”

Bai Yi looked at the Flying Dragon fleet blocking the front, unmoving, and his face darkened: “I shouldn’t have kept that cripple alive in the first place—”

Flying Dragon Main Ship.

Jiang Feng’s gaze swept over various windows as he reported methodically: “There are 78 inhabited planets nearby. 45 airspaces have shown abnormal movements. It has been five minutes since the last abnormal movement appeared. Based on the data, the probability of more appearing later is less than 20%.”

Jing Xi sat in the commander’s seat, looking at the dense cluster of red dots gathering toward them on the screen.

“Drag out the fight.”

Jiang Feng: “Okay.”

Jing Xi: “How are our supplies and energy reserves?”

Yan Kai flipped through the data: “Supplies can last another week. As for energy, regular flight can last half a month, but with high-intensity combat, two days at most.”

Since the war began, Flying Dragon had been moving between various battlefields, consuming a lot of energy.

To stall Bai Yi, energy was an issue.

Jing Xi opened the map to see if he could transfer some energy from nearby garrison bases.

But the nearby planets had all been infiltrated by Bai Yi. Requests for supplies might not receive timely replies, and even if energy was sent, there was no guarantee it wouldn’t have hidden dangers.

Jiang Feng monitored the military forces rushing to reinforce Bai Yi. His eyes flashed when he scrolled to a certain spot.

“Boss, this signal is a bit strange.”

Jing Xi’s train of thought was interrupted, and he looked up.

Among a pile of unknown signals, a suspicious heart-shaped marker suddenly popped up. Like a tiny shrimp amidst a school of small fish, it stood out conspicuously.

Almost simultaneously, the operator at the console stood up to report.

“Sir, incoming communication request.”

Jing Xi said indifferently: “Connect.”

A virtual window popped up in front of him, showing an refined-looking old man wearing a Mandarin-collar shirt.

This was the boss of the Viper Star Pirate Group; Jing Xi remembered him.

“Greetings, Major General Jing, I am—”

“Viper.”

Jing Xi interrupted him. “What is it?”

Unexpectedly, Jing Xi actually recognized him. The old man grinned.

“Boss Chi said in the group chat that you might be short on energy supplies here and asked us to give full support. Our main force happened to be rescuing nearby at B88. seeing the message, we rushed over. Hope you can use it.”

Jing Xi’s eyes flashed, his fingertips lightly brushing the armrest.

“If you give me the energy, what about you guys?”

Old Man: “Our main task now is transferring refugees; we don’t use much energy.”

Seeing Jing Xi hesitate, the boss thought he was disdainful and hurriedly explained: “The energy we use is also military-grade, not cheap stuff. Please use it with peace of mind, no charge.”

Jiang Feng and Yan Kai watching from the side: “…”

To think there would be a day when a star pirate group forces energy supplies on us.

Jing Xi accepted: “Thank you. I’ll send someone to dock with you. Tell your members to pay attention to safety on the battlefield.”

The old man’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

“Okay, okay, okay!”

He turned his head away from the screen, changing from his refined manner just now, and shouted roughly: “Quit fucking sleeping! Go to the energy bay and prepare for docking!”

A lackey asked: “How much are we giving?”

Old Man: “All of it, of course! Do you even need to ask?!”

Lackey: “You got it!”

Jing Xi: “…”

Catching that eye-catching heart-shaped signal in his peripheral vision, Jing Xi asked: “Did you change the signal yourselves?”

The old man turned back to the camera and said with a smile, “Boss Chi said the battlefield is chaotic and was afraid of accidental friendly fire, so he told all star pirate groups to uniformly change their signals.”

Jing Xi: “…”

After hanging up, Jiang Feng looked incredulous.

“Boss, what kind of magic potion did Chi Yao feed them? Why does every single one of them look… off?”

So scary.

Yan Kai patted Jiang Feng’s shoulder.

“Brother Jiang, you weren’t here a while ago so you don’t know. The current star pirate circle has more passion than our recruit camp, and they get things done reliably.”

Jiang Feng’s expression was blank: “Really?”

Yan Kai smiled: “Yeah, with Mr. Chi here, there won’t be any chaos.”

While they were talking, Jing Xi found the legion supporting B88 and personally sent a message to the commander, asking them to give Viper support within their capabilities.

After sending it, his finger hovered over the virtual screen for a moment, then opened the message interface with Chi Yao.

【Received the energy sent by Viper. Thank you.】

Soon, a reply came back.

Chi Yao: 【Taken from the people, used for the people. It’s only right.】

Jing Xi: “…”

---

Flying Dragon chased for two days, fighting from the White Crane Constellation to the Flying Fish Constellation, and then to the Beluga Constellation.

Bai Yi’s army grew larger and larger.

“Sir, Flying Dragon can’t hold on anymore!”

The butler hurried to the command seat. “I heard them say Flying Dragon is retreating.”

Bai Yi put down his tea cup and leaned back in his chair confidently.

“This is inevitable.”

The butler couldn’t hide his joy: “Their support can’t keep up at all!”

“It’s not that they can’t keep up, it’s that they can’t come over.”

Bai Yi chuckled, “How many soldiers does Old Pei have? He’s assigned them all to the battlefield. As for the others—unless he comes himself, whether they listen to orders or not isn’t up to him.”

Noticing the screen flickering in his peripheral vision, Bai Yi glanced at it casually, then stood up abruptly.

“What’s going on?!”

Almost simultaneously, the officer rushed over from the console, looking anxious.

“Sir, we are being attacked by an unidentified force!”

The screen flashed again, and another warship in the rear was destroyed.

“Immediately—!”

Just as Bai Yi spoke, the warship suddenly began to vibrate and shake violently. Caught off guard, he stumbled a few steps to the edge of the command platform, stepped on empty air, and fell.

The others fared no better, all rolling in the direction of the tilt.

A piercing AI warning sounded.

【Stabilization system damaged. Running self-check. Estimated time: one minute—】

Bai Yi grabbed the corner of a metal table fixed to the floor to steady himself and shouted in exasperation: “Send someone to fix it!”

Warships were the safest type of aircraft; it was difficult for them to be destroyed by external forces easily.

Before Bai Yi could climb up, the AI’s gentle female voice suddenly changed to a male voice.

【Self-check complete. Can’t be fixed. Entering scrapping and disassembly sequence in three seconds—Three…】

The dizzy crowd was startled.

“What scrapping sequence? Why does a warship have this function?!”

“Don’t disassemble! Don’t disassemble!”

“Is the AI system malfunctioning?! Programming department, check it quickly!”

【Two…】

The system was still counting down, and everyone was scared weak in the knees.

This was space.

If the warship disintegrated, everyone was done for!

“Why panic?!”

Bai Yi held onto the table leg, looking grim. His hair, originally combed meticulously, was now messy. “Stabilize the hull first!”

【One… Bang!】

“Ahhhhhhh—!”

Various screams erupted in the command cabin.

But the warship didn’t disintegrate. Instead, even the vibrations lessened.

Everyone held their breath, daring not move a muscle.

Afraid that if they moved, the warship would fall apart.

Amidst the monitoring console screens filled with red warnings, a new window popped up.

In the window was a young alpha wearing a white shirt. He rested his chin on his hand, eyes half-closed, looking at Bai Yi with a faint smile.

“General Bai, long time no see.”

Bai Yi looked dark: “Chi Yao!”

Chi Yao: “So energetic, taking your dog out for a walk?”

Bai Yi looked at him, his gaze sharp: “If not for me, you would have died long ago. I saved you.”

Chi Yao chuckled low a few times: “Why do you guys always like to position yourselves as saviors? People should be a bit more humble.”

Bai Yi: “If left alone, you would have only lived to be 10. The expanding beast genes would gradually consume you, turning you into a monster neither human nor beast, until finally, your body couldn’t withstand the domineering power and exploded.”

With every sentence he spoke, the smile on Chi Yao’s lips faded a bit.

Every word Bai Yi said now was intended to disturb him, and although he knew this rationally, he couldn’t control thinking about the monster in Cave 333 that had given itself a name.

Injecting beast genes into a human body was like planting a tree in a paper cup; the roots could easily burst the cup.

Seeing his expression waver slightly, Bai Yi stood up straight.

“Modified subjects and ordinary people cannot produce offspring. You are the only one. Otherwise, I had so many chances, why didn’t I kill you?”

“You didn’t kill him, of course, because he was still useful to you.”

Jing Xi’s voice suddenly rang out.

Bai Yi’s eyes flashed, and he saw another window pop up next to Chi Yao.

“You didn’t save him for his sake, only for your own selfish desires.”

Jing Xi said with a cold face, “General Bai, it’s time to stop.”

Chi Yao looked at Bai Yi, his expression unreadable.

“So, you were the one who schemed to take me away from the Jing family back then?”

Bai Yi sneered: “Who told your father not to listen? The debts of the father must be paid by the son.”

“Makes sense.”

Meeting Bai Yi’s gaze, Chi Yao laughed too. “So, I shouldn’t spare a single person from your Bai family, right?”

Bai Yi’s expression changed.

“What do you want to do?”

Chi Yao stood up, his tone relaxed: “Then—let’s start with you~”

Li Yuan, sitting on the steps gnawing on a chicken leg, cheered.

“Hurry up, my hands are itching!”

The Hidden Guard, halfway through gnawing a bone, howled once, raised its body, and glared fiercely at the butler through the screen.

The butler was so scared by this glare that he sat on the floor, unable to get up.

Chi Yao pointed at Bai Yi on the screen: “Wrong person. Glare at him.”

The Ying Weiquickly turned its head, eyebrows raised.

“Awoo—!”

---

With reinforcements added all the way, Bai Yi’s army size had far exceeded Flying Dragon’s, but Bai Yi dared not relax his tense nerves for a moment.

“Sir, we’ve broken free from control!” shouted the soldier at the console.

The screen full of red text gradually returned to normal, and the AI changed back to the original female voice.

Bai Yi made a breakout gesture.

“Gather everyone in the Beluga Constellation.” His eyes were vicious. “Let’s settle this here!”

Extreme Shadow and Flying Dragon had Bai Yi’s army sandwiched between them. To besiege them, cooperation was inevitable.

Yan Kai familiarly contacted Fang Liang.

“Brother Liang, let’s exchange deployment information.”

On the other end, Li Yuan was in a video call staring contest with Lu Meng.

“Haven’t settled the score with you for stealing the chicken last time!” Lu Meng said gruffly.

Li Yuan: “We are both officers. Learn from Major General Jing; look how generous and magnanimous he is. It’s just a few chickens. people who don’t know might think I stole your child.”

Lu Meng slammed the table in anger: “Let’s see who defeats more targets. Loser calls the winner grandpa. Deal?!”

Li Yuan held a cigarette in his mouth: “Deal! Afraid you’re a cowardly grandson!”

The fighting continued into the second day. Zhao Hongyi realized belatedly that Bai Yi was missing and the Bai family’s movements were strange. He ran to ask Pei Zhenyue, only to find out Bai Yi had run.

Zhao Hongyi slumped in front of the desk, silent for a long while.

“I always thought he was the one among the four of us who could maintain his sense of self the best.”

“The closer one gets to the center of the vortex, the less clearly they see themselves.”

Pei Zhenyue looked indifferent. “Some mistakes can be corrected, but once some mistakes are made, there is no turning back.”

Zhao Hongyi looked up at Pei Zhenyue.

“So what happens now?!”

Pei Zhenyue: “In the Beluga Constellation. Jing Xi is still handling it.”

Zhao Hongyi frowned: “How can Flying Dragon handle it alone?”

“Extreme Shadow is there too. I believe they can handle it.”

Pei Zhenyue sighed lightly. “I can only trust them now.”

Paper cannot contain fire. Since the news had already leaked, Pei Zhenyue simply announced the news of Bai Yi’s defection within the military.

The adjutant worried: “What if there are still Bai Yi’s cronies within the system? What if they find out and secretly go to support him?”

Pei Zhenyue changed his heavy expression from earlier and smiled: “Isn’t that perfect? Saves trouble to catch them all together.”

The adjutant was confused: “But in that case, how can just Jing Xi and Chi Yao handle it?”

Pei Zhenyue: “Who said it’s just them?”

Adjutant: “…”

---

By the 43rd hour, many damaged warships were forced to land nearby, and the flames of war spread.

Bai Yi looked at the data on the monitor and finally lost his cool.

“Let them stall. We leave first.”

On the Extreme Shadow warship, Chi Yao yawned, relying on Jing Xi’s photo to barely stay awake.

Seeing the specially marked warship suddenly deviate from the main force, he beckoned to Fang Liang.

“Follow it.”

At the same time, Jing Xi issued the same order.

In the chaotic battlefield, a warship’s hangar opened, and a small warship flew out from the hatch, flying towards the nearest jump point in the Beluga Constellation.

Bai Yi watched the jump point coordinates getting closer and closer, his whole body stiff.

As long as he crossed this jump point, he could reach the Arctic Constellation border. Even if he committed treason, as long as the Alliance was willing to protect him, the Empire couldn’t do anything to him.

“Sir, situation ahead!”

Bai Yi’s heart skipped a beat, and he switched to the real-time view.

A massive legion appeared silently in the flight path ahead. The giant lead warship was engraved with the Xuanwu logo.

Bai Yi clenched his fists: “Turn around, switch to Jump Point No. 9!”

The warship turned 90 degrees in the air.

Bai Yi watched the Xuanwu chasing from behind, but then heard someone below shout: “Sir, there’s a Flying Dragon warship ahead!”

Bai Yi: “Turn around!”

The warship turned 90 degrees again, but before it flew far, it was blocked by a Extreme Shadow warship.

The encirclement was getting smaller.

Bai Yi looked at the surveillance screen and found all paths were blocked.

“Fire! Open fire!”

His terminal suddenly vibrated. Seeing the name “Bo Jin” displayed on the screen, Bai Yi gritted his back teeth.

The video connected, and the pop-up window showed Bo Jin’s calm face.

The two looked at each other, neither speaking for a moment.

Bai Yi said angrily: “You haven’t changed a bit from back then.”

“You, on the other hand, have changed quite a lot.”

Bo Jin looked at him. “Stop it. This nightmare should end.”

As soon as the voice fell, Bai Yi heard his subordinate’s panicked shout.

“Sir, three warships approaching, forcing docking sequence!”

The warship AI continuously issued warnings.

【Illegal intrusion detected! Defense system disabled—Access control system disabled—】

Butler: “Master, run!”

Bai Yi hurried away from the main cabin toward the emergency escape pod, but was blocked halfway by Jing Xi.

Gunshots rang out in the narrow metal corridor.

Jing Xi quickly dodged into a fork in the road, beckoning to wake up Xiao Hong, transforming it into the “Imperial Guard Knight”—a light pistol specialized for close-range attacks, with low recoil, capable of single attacks or using air bomb explosions for area-of-effect attacks.

Listening to the movement in the corridor, he calculated the time in his mind, raised his gun, aimed, and flashed out to shoot through the calves of the few people next to Bai Yi.

“Ugh—!”

“Ah—!”

The butler clutched the wound on his calf and shouted at Bai Yi: “Master, run!”

shielded by subordinates, Bai Yi retreated quickly and ran into a side path.

Jing Xi didn’t chase. He stood there waiting for Flying Dragon’s people to arrive.

“Take them away.”

Yan Kai: “Yes!”

Only after everyone was controlled did he walk unhurriedly toward the side path.

Xiao Hong’s voice sounded in his mind.

【Warship AI control system hijacked—】

【Warship core operation system hijacked—】

Jing Xi: “Take some time to see how many people are on this warship.”

Bai Yi fled in panic. The long lack of strenuous exercise made his stamina run out quickly.

“Sir!”

The subordinate beside him saw his heavy breathing and immediately reached out to support him.

“Target found~”

A lazy voice came from ahead.

Their steps paused, faces full of horror.

Chi Yao leaned against the metal wall smiling, Xuan Feng spinning casually between his fingers.

“Is hide-and-seek fun?”

The soldiers immediately drew their guns, but before they could fire, severe pain shot through their wrists.

“Arghhh—!”

Xuan Feng was a heavy pistol; its power was not comparable to ordinary pistols.

Hit by this bullet in the wrist, the palm and arm were basically only connected by a layer of skin.

Chi Yao held the gun and chuckled lightly: “Still want to play?”

Seeing Bai Yi wanting to run again, Chi Yao aimed at his leg. But before he could fire, two teams of people suddenly rushed out from the corridors on both sides, blocking his line of sight.

Chi Yao rolled his shoulders and neck, whispering: “Hei-ge, switch to long blade.”

Xiao Hei: 【Why? Gun is faster.】

Chi Yao: “I’m afraid of being criticized by the wife.”

Xiao Hei: 【…】

Xiao Hei: 【Henpecked husband, embarrassing me.】

A moment later, Chi Yao flipped and landed, knocking out the last soldier with the back of the blade.

“At least I have a wife. You don’t even have a wife. Who’s embarrassing whom?”

Xiao Hei: 【Discrimination against AI prohibited!】

Chi Yao carried the blade and walked slowly in the direction Bai Yi fled.

“I don’t discriminate against AI, I only discriminate against you.”

Xiao Hei: 【…】

Wonder how an AI goes about running away from home?

After many twists and turns, Bai Yi finally ran to the emergency escape bay. He randomly found an escape pod, but before he could sit in it, the hatch connected to the passenger cabin opened, and Jing Xi walked out.

Jing Xi: “Give it up.”

A loud boom came from another hatch suddenly. Bai Yi turned his head sharply; Chi Yao walked out of the smoke.

Chi Yao: “You can really run.”

Bai Yi ignored them, climbed into the escape pod, and started the power.

But the linked escape hatch exit wouldn’t open no matter what.

“Fuck!”

Bai Yi smashed his fist on the console.

Seeing something flickering in his peripheral vision, he turned to look.

Bo Jin walked out of the darkness, from the direction of the escape bay’s circuit control.

After a moment of silence, Bai Yi reopened the escape pod’s protective shield and looked at them approaching from three directions.

“Let me go, and I can pretend nothing happened today.”

This bafflingly confident tone made Chi Yao laugh.

“And if I say no?”

Bai Yi: “Then we die together!”

Hearing a faint sound in his ear, Chi Yao’s eyes flashed.

The strange noise was gradually approaching them.

It was the chaotic roaring of beasts—