Thus, Xu Lian returned to her room in silence. Along the way, she barely dared to breathe, not showing a single unnecessary expression, as she was thoroughly scolded by Pei Xiaocha.
She sat obediently on a stool like a primary school student, waiting to be reprimanded.
Utterly miserable.
While being scolded, she secretly learned in her heart.
This Pei Xiaocha was way too good at scolding—fifteen minutes had passed, and not a single sentence was repeated.
Whenever she had the chance, Xu Lian would even memorize a line or two, saving them for future use.
It was clear that this young lady was extremely angry, harshly criticizing Song Jinze for breaking their agreement and wasting her time.
She even solemnly declared that next time, she would absolutely not travel all the way to see him again—he would have to come personally to meet her.
Xu Lian could only nod repeatedly. “Yes, yes, all up to you.”
Pei Xiaocha: “Come out and meet me next weekend. Same place.”
Xu Lian: “Understood.”
Finally, Pei Xiaocha vented her anger thoroughly and hung up the call.
Xu Lian: “……”
Wait.
What “same place”?
Where?
Xu Lian had originally wanted to keep probing for more information, but the other party had already hung up.
She flipped through their chat history. Aside from dense records of money transfers, there were only the occasional voice calls—nothing else of value.
It was as if…
They had deliberately hidden the content of their conversations.
Those transfers were all large sums. Most of them were sent from Song Jinze to Pei Xiaocha. The amounts were massive—just one transfer was enough to buy ten of Xu Lian’s lives.
It made Xu Lian genuinely curious about their relationship.
Song Jinze had said he didn’t want to get married, and judging by the woman’s attitude, she was equally impatient.
This didn’t look like an engaged couple.
It looked like enemies.
Very well. If they were enemies, then the enemy of her enemy was her friend. From now on, Pei Xiaocha was a potential ally for Xu Lian.
Though…
That mouth of hers…
Was far too vicious.
Xu Lian rubbed her forehead helplessly and smiled bitterly. Women—she really had no way to deal with them.
…
Xu Lian didn’t sleep that night.
She simply wasn’t in the mood. Mainly, she was too excited.
She made two decisions—
First: stop actively chasing Song Jinze.
Reason: she couldn’t catch him.
Second: avoid confronting Song Jinze directly, and absolutely, absolutely, absolutely avoid meeting him.
Reason: his mental power was too strong—she couldn’t beat him and might get captured alive.
So now, she needed to set up a net from a distance and capture him without ever making contact.
Xu Lian began laying out her plan…
The first threats she needed to eliminate were—
The twin strongmen.
Then—
Mu Hua.
Finally—
Gu Ying.
It was time to act.
Xu Lian first returned to the place where the body swap had happened. Then she called over Song Jinze’s assistant, An Erxiang.
Xu Lian spoke seriously, “From now on, conceal my whereabouts from everyone. And most importantly—”
An Erxiang responded attentively, “Yes?”
Xu Lian said, “There are spies mixed into my ranks. They’ve somehow obtained part of my command authority. So now, I need to revoke all of that. From this moment on, if I’m not physically present, all orders you receive are invalid.”
An Erxiang frowned. He was extremely sensitive to this kind of issue and immediately realized its severity. He nodded firmly. “Understood, Commander Song. From now on, I will only accept direct orders from you.”
“Good.” Still uneasy, Xu Lian added, “All previous remote codes and private encrypted communications are also invalid during this period. If you receive any private instructions in my name, report them immediately—and stall the sender first.”
An Erxiang instantly understood. His expression turned solemn. “Yes, Commander Song. I will strictly follow your instructions. From now on, all work will require your in-person confirmation. Also… should we establish a new private communication method?”
In simple terms—open a new account and abandon the old one.
Xu Lian greatly appreciated his sharpness and efficiency. “Of course. Prepare a military-grade anti-surveillance wristband for me immediately. From now on, all online communications will only recognize orders issued through that device.”
An Erxiang nodded and saluted. “Yes. I’ll prepare it immediately.”
“Wait.” Xu Lian stopped him, took off the electronic wristband she was wearing, and tossed it to him. “You take this. If you receive messages from others, organize them and report to me.”
An Erxiang: “Yes.”
Xu Lian’s reasoning was simple—
She didn’t recognize everyone, but An Erxiang did. Receiving second-hand, organized information from him would help her adapt to her new identity more easily.
Moreover, she had to guard against Song Jinze—she absolutely couldn’t let him reconnect with his subordinates.
After handling these matters, Xu Lian went back to enjoying life. She lounged lazily on Song Jinze’s large sofa, turned on a movie, and watched with great delight.
…
At ten the next morning, Xu Lian received a message from An Erxiang.
It came through the new wristband—a forwarded message from Mu Hua.
The assistant’s work efficiency was excellent. Xu Lian mentally noted to give him a bonus.
She opened the message.
Mu Hua: “Commander Song, the reinforcements have been dispatched, but there has been no response from the other side. I’m afraid…”
Xu Lian: “Afraid of what?”
Mu Hua: “They may have already encountered an accident. I suggest withdrawing troops.”
Xu Lian thought: whether they encountered an accident or not, she didn’t know—but whether Mu Hua was lying, she definitely knew.
She replied:
“Continue sending more. As many as possible. I said it before—that wormhole is mine. It must be taken.”
“Do you even know who I, Song Jinze, am? This amount of troops is nothing. Let’s see if Gu Ying is scared!”
Mu Hua: “……”
Xu Lian: “Problem?”
Mu Hua: “No problem, Commander Song, but…”
Xu Lian: “No buts. If you dare to fight, you will win!”
Xu Lian: “Link shared: The small step between you and becoming an interstellar tycoon!”
Xu Lian: “Experience post: Shocking! One planet’s secret helped three million warriors achieve financial freedom!”
Xu Lian: “Article: Without ‘investment thinking,’ you’ll always be just a worker!”
Xu Lian: “Look at their mindset. Learn from it.”
Mu Hua: “……”
Mu Hua’s brain had already gone blank.
Xu Lian continued forwarding links nonstop.
Mu Hua felt her blood pressure rising and hurriedly interrupted:
“Commander Song, I’ll handle it immediately!”
Xu Lian: “Good. Young people shouldn’t say they can’t. Work hard—we’ll grow bigger and stronger together!”
“Reply ‘1’ if you understand.”
Mu Hua: “…1.”
Mu Hua was scratching her head in panic.
What the hell was going on?!
Had Song Jinze gone insane?!
What was this “reply 1” nonsense?!
Would he normally act like this?!
No, no, something was off!
Had Song Jinze been possessed?!
Mu Hua felt something was wrong—but also somehow felt it made sense.
Could this be…
A strategic deception?
For example, deliberately leaking that the Supreme Commander was mentally unstable, luring the enemy into lowering their guard so he could strike decisively?
Mu Hua shivered.
My god, Song Jinze was truly scheming. To win, he was even willing to throw away his image.
Combining his recent abnormal behavior, she immediately reported this to Gu Ying.
Mu Hua: “Commander Gu, Song Jinze has suddenly started acting crazy. I suspect there’s something behind this.”
Gu Ying: “Oh? Elaborate.”
Mu Hua: “Recently, he’s been staying in his room all day eating, not stepping outside, not training, and eating a lot. Yesterday I saw him—he even licked his plate clean. Do you think this could be some kind of strategic intimidation?”
Gu Ying: “……”
Gu Ying: “No way. He’s really like that?”
Mu Hua: “Absolutely. This morning, when I entered his room, he was lying sprawled out on the sofa, watching a recently popular children’s animation—Temptation of the Wolf.”
Mu Hua: “I even secretly took a photo of him sleeping.”
Mu Hua: “Photo”
Mu Hua: “Look—I preliminarily think it’s not an act. His expression looked… very satisfied.”
Gu Ying clicked the photo.
In the dim lighting, Song Jinze lay on his back, limbs spread wide, holding a handful of fried peanuts that hadn’t made it into his mouth yet, with chili oil stains on his clothes.
Like a useless husband staying up late watching a game.
And…
Gu Ying: “Song Jinze drools in his sleep?”
Mu Hua: “Yes. It’s a bit disgusting.”
Gu Ying: “Is he under too much work pressure?”
Mu Hua: “No, I think it’s the opposite.”
Mu Hua: “Since last night, he has delegated most of his work to An Erxiang. I believe the one under pressure is someone else.”
Mu Hua: “Right now, Song Jinze seems to be…”
Mu Hua: “Slacking off.”
Gu Ying: “?”