After agonizing over it for ages, Jiang Wangyue finally made up her mind.
Caught between science and the mystical arts, she chose to trust the wisdom of the ancestors.
This mental-power business was probably a lot like the internal energy in old martial-arts novels.
So didn’t that mean she could use meditation to sense, channel, and even build up her mental power?
No sooner said than done.
Jiang Wangyue adjusted her breathing a little and focused all her attention on her head.
Soon she felt a warm, gentle current circulating through her body.
It was that little bit of mental power already present in her mental sea, being stirred into motion.
Jiang Wangyue didn’t rush to channel it, instead she let it move freely.
After about ten minutes of this back-and-forth circulation, she slowly opened her eyes.
She clenched her fist hard, a glint of delight in her eyes.
Her mental power hadn’t increased, but she felt her control over it had grown just a touch stronger.
The ancestors’ methods really did deliver after all.
Excited, Jiang Wangyue tapped open her terminal, planning to start studying according to today’s schedule, only to unexpectedly find a new friend request from a stranger.
And the message attached to it read—
【This is Tinar. I’ve got photos of Yun Miao in my hands. You sure you don’t want a look?】
Jiang Wangyue’s brow furrowed slightly. How would Tinar have photos of Yun Miao?
Recalling all the rotten things the original host had done, her expression slowly darkened.
Could it actually be that the original host had sent them to Tinar herself?
Her own fault for being too quick on the trigger, she should have gone through the chat history between the original host and Tinar properly before deleting the latter. Now she had no way at all to verify it.
After a brief deliberation, Jiang Wangyue accepted the friend request.
If Tinar was only bluffing to scam her, fine, but what if she really did have them?
Back on Earth she’d seen plenty of so-called “leaked-photo scandals” in the entertainment industry, they were a near-fatal blow to the people involved.
And if it was that bad even for entertainers, then all the more for someone like Yun Miao, a Legion Major General with an image to protect.
Once the friend request went through, the other party tossed over an address straightaway.
【Come here, and I’ll delete the photos.】
Jiang Wangyue narrowed her eyes and moved her fingers to reply directly.
【Not going. Who knows whether you’re even really Tinar.】
Not long after that message went out, a new video call lit up. Jiang Wangyue calmly tapped to accept.
On the other side of the screen, it really was Tinar.
Tinar lifted her chin and looked at Jiang Wangyue with a haughty air.
“You’d better come over, or I can’t promise whose hands these photos might end up in.”
Jiang Wangyue propped her chin on her hand and looked her over with an air of utter indifference. “What photos?”
“You don’t even remember the photos you sent me yourself? Tsk tsk, a Legion Major General, no less. With a body that good, he must be quite a thrill to play with, hmm?”
The covetousness and insult toward Yun Miao in Tinar’s tone, and the lust lurking beneath it, sent Jiang Wangyue’s anger surging up, a cold gleam flashed quickly through her eyes.
“You’d better wait right there for me.”
Leaving that one line behind, Jiang Wangyue hung up the video call.
She didn’t get up right away, though. First she sent a message to Lan Xue.
【Tinar wants to see me. I’ve got something to deal with, heading out for a bit, here’s the address.】
Just then about to enter a sealed laboratory, Lan Xue didn’t notice his terminal, already on silent, suddenly flash.
After changing into loose clothing easier to move in, Jiang Wangyue came down to the ground floor wearing a cold expression and beckoned to Ji Li, who’d just walked in.
“Come with me.”
Ji Li followed without a word. Only when he saw the address did his eyes shift slightly.
How could it be District 13?
The hand Ji Li had on the aircraft controls paused. “Female master…”
Knowing what he was about to say, Jiang Wangyue pressed firmly on his shoulder and said softly, “It’s fine. If anything feels off, we’ll just run for it.”
The aircraft rose slowly, then sped toward their destination at full tilt.
The address Tinar had sent Jiang Wangyue turned out to be a small tavern that looked thoroughly run-down.
Right outside its door was a gutter of filthy water, giving off a foul stench.
Jiang Wangyue tugged at the oversized hood on her head, hiding most of her face in its shadow so that for a moment no one could tell whether she was female or male.
She glanced at the small tavern not far off, its outer walls caked with grime, and didn’t go straight in.
She found a child rummaging through a roadside trash heap for something and said in a low voice, “I’ll give you ten star-coins to go check out what’s going on inside that tavern.”
The small male beastman was wearing ill-fitting clothes, the instant he heard Jiang Wangyue’s words, his eyes lit right up.
“Give me the money first.”
Jiang Wangyue was about to move when she saw Ji Li, wary the whole time since they’d entered District 13, step forward.
He gave the kid three star-coins and promised the remaining seven once he came back.
The child snatched up the coins and, shuffling along in slippers that fit no better than his clothes, scampered off toward the little tavern.
Ji Li turned slightly to the side and said quietly, “Female master, most of the beastmen in District 13 don’t have smart terminals. They only deal in cash.”
Jiang Wangyue pressed her lips together, a flicker of chagrin in her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t know.”
Ji Li shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”
While the two of them were talking, the child came running back.
“There’s only Lame-Leg Uncle and Scarred-Face Uncle inside, nobody else, quick, give me my money!”
Ji Li handed the child the remaining seven star-coins as promised.
The kid took the money and was gone in a flash.
Left standing there, Jiang Wangyue couldn’t help clenching her fists, her face grim.
Damn it.
She’d been played by Tinar.
Her terminal chimed with a new message. Jiang Wangyue tapped it open for a look, and rage shot straight up through the crown of her skull.
Tinar had stood her up and still had the nerve to come grill her about why she hadn’t shown!
So furious she stopped caring about manners entirely, Jiang Wangyue fired right back: 【Bullshit! You’re the one who didn’t show!】
【You’re the one talking bullshit! I’m right here!】
Tinar replied in a split second, and even attached a photo.
The moment Jiang Wangyue saw the photo, every bit of her anger vanished in an instant.
How was that possible?!
In utter shock, Jiang Wangyue scrolled up through the chat page. The address Tinar had sent over was clearly the one in District 13, so how could…
Ji Li suddenly reached out and pulled Jiang Wangyue into his arms, dodging a pulse-pistol beam by the barest of margins.
The alley, dead quiet an instant ago, suddenly swarmed with a crowd of weapon-wielding beastmen, all of them staring toward Jiang Wangyue and Ji Li with greed in their eyes.
Ji Li unfurled his wings without a moment’s hesitation, his high-grade mental power sweeping across the alley in a single instant.
Taking advantage of the brief moment the whole crowd was suppressed by his mental power, he held Jiang Wangyue tight and beat his wings, flying straight toward where the aircraft was parked.
The huge black wings blocked off Jiang Wangyue’s entire field of vision. She gripped the front of Ji Li’s shirt tightly, and abruptly caught a faint smell of blood.
Ji Li was hurt?!