The Yuan Palace.
Lights illuminated the entire palace as the night wind swept through the halls, rattling the pearl curtains.
Inside the curtains, a soft cough sounded. Outside, a group of high-ranking military officers instantly stiffened, standing at attention with their bodies straight.
They had been standing there for a day and a night, since yesterday evening. They had initially thought they would be allowed to leave once the night watch ended, but to their surprise, the Planet Master had ordered them to stay. Furthermore, their optical brains had been jammed, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
They dared not question the order and simply waited.
During this time, someone grew restless and whispered a question to Lu Jin, asking what the Planet Master meant by this. Lu Jin only replied coolly, “I’m not sure.”
Yuan Jing raised his hand to signal the massaging maidservants to withdraw. He patted his thigh with a sigh of feigned confusion. “The news has already been leaked that I’m in critical condition at the hospital. Why haven’t those rebels shown up?”
A rebel prisoner they had captured earlier hadn’t just revealed that their leader, “Little Strawberry,” had a scar on her arm; he had also leaked a vital piece of intelligence: their third-in-command was a doctor at the Military Hospital.
Yuan Jing suspected that the “play” of the assassination attempt was actually caused by one of the officers outside the curtains leaking his itinerary to the rebels. Thus, he had intentionally “kept” them here and jammed their communications to prevent any messages from being sent out.
He had staged a grand performance at the hospital using a body double’s corpse, with the media reporting he was near death, just waiting for that third-in-command to walk into the trap. Yet, after a full day, no one had come.
Logically, it made no sense. The rebels hated him so much—why wouldn’t they come to deliver the final blow?
Hearing Yuan Jing’s words, the men outside realized why they were being detained.
Fu Lin quickly raised his hand to show his loyalty. “Planet Master, the Fu family would never have two hearts! You should be well aware of that.”
Song Qisheng also chimed in: “I am also utterly loyal to the Planet Master.”
Lu Tao glanced at Lu Jin, who remained silent. Lu Tao was forced to speak up: “Brother Jin and I just returned from the battlefield. We know nothing about what’s happening in the Mindu District.”
“Planet Master, it’s impossible for us to collude with rebels! The interests of those pariahs have nothing to do with us!”
“Exactly! Under the Planet Master’s leadership, we are well-fed and well-clothed. Our lives are happy and comfortable; why would we be so foolish?”
The group of high officials broke into sycophantic laughter.
A snort of laughter came from behind the pearl curtains. Yuan Jing enjoyed the flattery. His body was morbidly obese, and he panted heavily as he spoke. “It’s good that you know. Everything I do is for everyone’s sake. Ah, it’s just a pity there are always people in the Upper District who don’t understand my painstaking efforts.”
As soon as Yuan Jing finished speaking, a guard ran in hurriedly and whispered in his ear.
His expression changed instantly. He stood up in a rage, but because of his weight, his legs were unsteady; he nearly collapsed to the floor before a maidservant rushed to steady him.
He screamed at the guard, “Are you all useless? How could you let the heads be stolen?!”
“Planet Master, a portion of our men were diverted to the Military Hospital. The remaining men were about to capture the rebels, but a mecha suddenly appeared and snatched the heads away.”
“A mecha?” It was impossible for those rebels to build a mecha!
The guard showed Yuan Jing the surveillance footage. Yuan Jing’s face was grim as he watched it, then he projected the video as a hologram for everyone outside the curtain to see.
The officers’ expressions soured as they watched the footage; no one dared to speak.
Yuan Jing’s gaze swept over them, landing on Lu Jin. “Is this purple mecha from the military?”
“No,” Lu Jin said.
“Then how do the rebels have a mecha? Where would they get the resources and technology to build one?!” Yuan Jing grew more furious as he spoke, his face turning a flushed red from labored breathing. A maidservant quickly patted his back to help him catch his breath.
Lu Tao took over the conversation: “The Mecha Department is managed by the Song family. Does Brigadier General Song Qisheng have anything to say?”
Song Qisheng waved his hands frantically. “The Mecha Department is managed by my eldest brother, Song Lian. I’m just a deputy; I don’t know anything.”
A flash of mockery crossed Lu Tao’s face. Since Song Lian fell ill and his only son, Song Xu, disappeared to the North Shu Star, Song Qisheng had been acting as the head of the Song family. He had never been as “humble” as he was today.
Yuan Jing barked, “Idiots! You’re all idiots!”
It wasn’t clear who he was insulting. Song Qisheng lowered his head, his face looking quite humiliated.
Yuan Jing vented his fury on the group further. The Song and Fu families, terrified, scrambled to guarantee they would investigate the source of the mecha as quickly as possible and purge the rebels. Only then did Yuan Jing’s temper simmer down.
He lay back on the bed, inhaling oxygen. His massive, protruding belly rose and fell like a hill with every breath.
“You can go back tonight.”
With that, he rolled over and began to snore loudly.
The people outside the curtain reacted with varying expressions. Lu Tao nudged Lu Jin’s arm. “The Planet Master is obsessed with catching the rebels. Is he not afraid of something going wrong on the Northern battlefield while he keeps us trapped here?”
Lu Jin seemed lost in thought, his expression grim. Lu Tao assumed he was worried about the war, but then he heard Lu Jin ask:
“How long does it take for an ordinary person to establish a basic resonance with a mecha?”
“Uh… that usually takes two or three days of practice,” Lu Tao replied, bewildered.
Lu Jin said nothing more.
When Chu Li woke up the next morning, he saw a notification blinking on his optical brain. It was a reply from Old Man Zhong.
【That many Star Coins? It was the mecha you repaired, you keep them.】
【Uncle Zhong, I have an exam tomorrow, so I want to take a leave today to go practice.】
【Fine. Star Coins -100.】
Chu Li didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Suddenly, he remembered something serious, and his expression sobered.
【Um… Uncle Zhong, did you see the news this morning? That purple mecha that snatched the rebel heads is the one I modified last night.】
After sending the message, Chu Li could already imagine Old Man Zhong cursing on the other end. Almost instantly, the reply came back:
【!】
【!!!!!!】
【Star Coins -400! Lifespan -2 years! You’ve ruined this old man!】
Chu Li’s hands shook as he replied:
【Uncle Zhong, if anyone comes looking for trouble, just blame it all on me.】
【Hmph.】
In the Lower District, being associated with the rebels was no different from being associated with the Grim Reaper. He hadn’t expected his first mecha repair to lead to this. He apologized to Old Man Zhong again; the old man only replied with a “Hmph,” looking like he wasn’t truly angry.
He closed the chat and looked at Lu Jin’s ID. The avatar was black, and his messages were still unread. This man had essentially vanished into thin air.
Tomorrow was Monday. If he didn’t do resonance training now, it would be too late.
With a heavy heart, he finished cooking the plain porridge, placed it on Uncle Su Nuo’s windowsill, and hurried toward Xingyun.
While modifying the mecha for the mysterious man last night, he had noticed how the man established resonance. He figured if he found a mecha and simulated it, he should be fine.
Thinking of the mysterious man, Chu Li looked up at the city wall. The heads hanging in the center were gone, leaving behind dense bullet holes and blackened bloodstains. The slaughter in the night had ended silently.
This round belonged to the rebels.
The guards inspecting the gate today were clearly in a foul mood, cursing and kicking everyone entering the Upper District. When it was Chu Li’s turn, he dodged the kick and quickly disappeared down the street. The guard spat on the ground in anger.
Chu Li arrived at Xingyun and saw that no starship was parked on the roof, meaning Lu Jin hadn’t returned. The housekeeper, Qu Yi, met him with a frozen, expressionless face. Chu Li didn’t care what he thought and asked him to bring out a mecha.
“Has the Admiral contacted you?” Chu Li asked suddenly.
Qu Yi stared at him for a moment before saying, “Yes. The Admiral told me not to forget to charge the robots at home.”
Chu Li: “…”
Lu Jin remembered to charge the robots, but forgot to help him with resonance training. Alphas from the Upper District really are unreliable, Chu Li grumbled to himself.
Qu Yi watched Chu Li, his heart filled with more resentment the more he looked. Aside from having a somewhat pretty face, what made this Beta better than an Omega? What did the Admiral actually see in him?
“I’ve been at Xingyun for months, and I haven’t heard the Admiral mention you once.”
Chu Li countered, “What a coincidence. I haven’t heard him mention you either.”
Qu Yi glared, continuing his mockery. “I heard the Admiral only entered an engagement with you because your grandfather saved his life. Isn’t this just you exploiting a favor for your own gain?”
Chu Li turned around. The morning sun gilded his brow, making his gaze look gentle yet powerful. “Whether it’s exploiting a favor or something else is none of your business. What you should know is that Lu Jin would never like an Omega who disguises himself as a Beta just to get close to him.”
Qu Yi’s face instantly froze. His hidden secret had been punctured like a balloon. It felt as if his body had been pierced by countless small holes, and the cold wind blowing through them left him stiff and unable to move.
He had clearly used potions to hide his pheromones. How could a Beta like Chu Li sense that he was an Omega?
Qu Yi wanted to say more, but Chu Li had already opened Poy’s cockpit and sat inside. He started Poy and heard the familiar greeting.
【Hello, I am Poy.】
【Hello, I am Chu Li. Poy, do you have a mecha operation manual?】
【Yes. Should I open it now?】
【Wait a moment.】
Chu Li steadied his emotions. He flew Poy for a bit to review the basic operations before starting the resonance training. He pulled up Poy’s resonance manual and glanced at the page count: exactly 328 pages.
“…” Chu Li.
Following the instructions, he opened the inner shell of the cockpit. He saw dense conduction wires extending from various parts of Poy into the interior. He found the corresponding conduction patches and attached them to his body.
Weak currents surged through him occasionally, making his tailbone go numb as if his bones were about to explode. Enduring the discomfort, he finished attaching the patches and tried to move his arm.
Poy’s arm didn’t react.
He rechecked the patches; there were no issues. The power switch was on. Why wouldn’t it move? Last night, he had seen that mysterious man move the mecha immediately after attaching the patches…
On the ground, Qu Yi recovered from his panic. Watching the motionless Poy, a cold sneer appeared on his lips.
Poy was a medium-heavy mecha. It was not suitable for a beginner’s resonance training, let alone for someone with a thin Beta physique like Chu Li’s to control.
If something happened to Chu Li… even if he knew Qu Yi was an Omega, so what?
Dead men can’t talk.