Chapter 81

Chapter 81

On the Sart Planet.

The arena seemed calm on the surface, but the organizing committee was in a panic.

"Is that the young prince of Emperor Star?"

"Haven't you attended any interstellar conferences before? There was once when the young prince of Emperor Star attended as an observer, and his face matches!"

"But why would the young prince of Emperor Star use an identity from the Z System to participate in our competition?"

A group of them discussed but failed to come up with a reasonable explanation.

Well, did the young prince of Emperor Star really need to participate in such a competition? With his SS-grade genes, not to mention, he had a royal throne and gold mines to inherit—would he even bother with these small favors and benefits?

"You go take another look. Maybe we misidentified him?"

The one sent out was a minister who had qualified for interstellar conferences and was currently serving temporarily on the Sart Planet's final competition committee.

The elderly man leaned against the wall, gazing in the direction of the young lad.

Well then.

These eyebrows, this nose, this mouth... Whether it's the combination of facial features or the expression conveyed --

Aren't they all carved from the same mold as His Majesty of Emperor Star!

The elderly figure slunk back, asserting firmly, "Absol-ute-ly!"

"Not just that, look over there as well."

Upon hearing his words, the others shifted their gazes accordingly.

And there they saw a towering figure, standing proudly in Emperor Star's official attire.

Heh heh.

Anyone who frequently visited Emperor Star for business would recognize him – that was none other than the aide to the royal family of Emperor Star!

—The child is here, and the adjutant has arrived too.

Saying that this isn't His Majesty's offspring is just deceiving oneself.

The elder wore a pained expression. "What should we do now? Should we just give him the award directly?"

Others shared the same pain. "Do you dare not to give it? If His Majesty goes mad, none of us will survive."

A slightly more rational committee member shook his head. "But wasn't this child brought from the Z System? I heard they've been living there all along."

"..."

A few officials from Wu Star were summoned.

Their legs turned to jelly.

Ever since they brought the child to Sater Star, they had been repeatedly questioned about the resemblance between the child and the Emperor Star's crown prince.

Committee Member: "Are you absolutely certain that this child has always lived in the Z System?"

The Wu Star official was certain: "Yes, yes, I wouldn't dare lie about this. He is indeed from our Z Star System. He's lived on Wu Star for years, and everyone there knows this kid."

A member of the council scolded him: "To dare claim that His Majesty's child is from the Z Star System, if those words reach His Majesty's ears, you might as well bid farewell to your tongue."

The Wu Star official lowered his head, not daring to speak further.

"So, based on what you're saying, what's the situation with this child's family?"

"Well... he lives with his father. It's a single-parent household."

The council member couldn't contain their curiosity: "His single parent—could it be His Majesty from Emperor Star?"

The Wu Star official blushed fiercely: "Of course not! His father runs a restaurant, renting a place on Wu Star to do business. He raised this kid all by himself."

There had long been rumors in the Royal City about the Queen being missing. A suspicion began to form in the council members' minds.

"Go back to Wu Star immediately and bring this child's father here. It might earn you a great achievement."

The Wu Star officials exchanged uneasy glances, their faces pale: "His father is no longer on Wu Star."

"And where is that?"

The Wu Star official lowered their voice and whispered, "Actually, it was offered to His Majesty as a substitute."

The committee members were also vexed.

They had never heard of His Majesty having a second child.

Was this young one His Majesty's, or not?

If they weren't His Majesty's but still looked so similar, could there be some conspiracy involved?

But the Emperor Star's adjutant was here, which confused them.

A committee member said, "So the lover His Majesty has been favoring recently is the father of this child."

The Wu Star official nodded.

The committee member gave them a thumbs up. "To dare offer someone with a child to His Majesty, your courage is impressive."

Wu Star official: "Well, what can we do then?"

That's why rural planets are rural planets, they probably only know a bit of the Emperor Star's prestige, but haven't truly experienced it.

Unlike their Saturians, who all know that Their Majesty is genuinely mad.

A committee member was curious: "Does His Majesty know about this child's existence?"

Wu Star official: "He likely doesn't."

The committee member pondered – since His Majesty hasn't announced the return of the Queen, does that mean this kid's father isn't the missing Queen? Otherwise, the Queen would have long brought the child back to the Emperor Star herself.

It didn't make sense.

In conclusion: if they don't take care of that child, they're doomed.

At the invention showcase, things were reaching a fever pitch.

Lu Danjiao was unaware of the many eyes on him; he simply wiped his sweat with his chubby little hand.

Absorbed in his innovative research, he failed to notice the gazes around him.

Lu Danjiao made a grand move.

This time, he was determined to make a big impact!

In the finals, all the young participants would bring their best inventions, typically opting for more challenging projects, thus prolonging the competition's duration.

During the halftime break, Lu Danjiao rushed to find Huo Nian.

The two youngsters began discussing matters about their parents.

Huo Nian advised Lu Danjiao not to disclose their relationship directly to his father.

Lu Danjiao nodded enthusiastically, "Mm-hmm, we'll give Dad a surprise!"

The young prince suggested, "Just tell him that you've known me for a while, and we're friends. Say that I've been staying in the Royal City all this time, and you can even slip in a few playful jabs about Father."

This struck a chord with Lu Danjiao.

"I'll definitely tell Father that the devil is an awful big bad guy! And I'll also tell him that he treats us like little dogs, so you must've had it even worse with him. Just watch me tattle to Father..."

The slightly more mature Pang Qiu nodded.

He and Lu Wei only shared a brief father-son relationship, and Lu Wei didn't even know him. Hence, many things needed to be said by Lu Lan for their father to pity him more.

—He also wanted his father's love.

The young prince's eyes sparkled. "Danjiao, what are you planning to invent?"

Excited, Lu Danjiao replied, "A remotely controlled positioning mini-bomb."

Huo Nian: "Other cubs might not even reach this level in five years."

It was easy for them, but even in Star System B, the cubs there weren't capable of making such military-inclined inventions at this age.

Lu Danjiao: "So they can't do it either."

Huo Nian nodded seriously.

The two youngsters were still whispering when the door suddenly swung open.

Normally, it was impossible to enter a contestant's private room without an access card.

If someone could open the door, it meant they had at least some level of authorization.

This caused both youngsters to look up.

The committee members simply barged in without prior notice.

"Hey there, kids, we asked you for a genetic test earlier. Have you given it some thought?"

Upon entering, everyone came to an abrupt halt.

In the room were two identical youngsters!

There were eight committee judges, and each of them seemed to have seen a ghost, frozen in place for a full minute.

These two?

Apart from their clothing, the two children were virtually identical, like clones. Under their dashing brows were strikingly beautiful eyes, and their porcelain-like faces appeared as if they had been dusted with blush.

Sitting together, both pairs of eyes gazed at them.

Most importantly, they bore an uncanny resemblance to Emperor Star's sovereign!

"Goodness gracious—" They had actually stumbled upon the real crown prince.

The two young ones hadn't expected this group to barge into their room without warning, leaving the little prince no time to disguise himself.

Sunglasses and a hat lay abandoned by the side.

However, Huo Nian quickly realized that since they had rushed over at this moment, it meant they were already suspicious of their identities.

The lead examiner in the team, dumbfounded, rubbed his eyes and asked in a trembling voice, "Emperor Star's young crown prince?"

The two plump balls gave different responses.

Young Prince: "Mm-hmm."

Lu Danjiao: "I'm not."

Examiner: ????

"Then who are you?"

Lu Danjiao: "I'm just a country bumpkin. I enjoy scavenging for scraps to support my father."

Examiner, skeptical: "You're not His Majesty's child?"

Lu Danjiao: "Nope. My dad told me not to reveal my identity."

In an instant, all sorts of conspiracies raced through their minds.

C-Could it be that they had stumbled upon a scene of a prince being swapped with a commoner's child?

Lu Danjiao added a dramatic touch: "Dad said if the terrifying Emperor saw me, it'd be curtains for us."

A dramatic performance indeed.

This revelation perfectly filled in the gaps of the adults' conspiracy theory.

The substitute father and the child were both ploys to bewitch His Majesty!

The substitute father has now been successfully sent to the Emperor's side, probably styled to resemble the Queen!

And then the child schemed to switch places with the young prince, so that this pair, big and small, would seize control of the royal family.

It was unclear who had created this father-son duo in the image of the Queen and the young prince, but it was undoubtedly a conspiracy!

A barefaced conspiracy!

"Why tell us then?"

Lu Danjiao wore a villainous smile. "Would you dare to speak of it?"

In reality, Pang Qiu's facial expression looked quite comical, but with the adults just having heard the worst possible scenario, they had no time to pay attention to his expression.

The young prince understood the unspoken message: "So this matter mustn't be spread outside."

Danjiao gave him a thumbs up.

Twins had this advantage – they could understand each other without even talking.

This was the best way to deceive them; just by saying it, these people would obediently keep quiet.

Upon hearing this, the committee members' minds started to wander and fabricate scenarios.

The young prince... must be suffering terribly under the pressure of his future stepmother!

How pitiful.

"We understand, such a matter definitely cannot be disclosed."

Otherwise, who knew what kind of chaos would erupt in the Royal City.

Who knew what sort of incidents might occur there.

Far away on Emperor Star, Lu Wei received a message.

"I know you're the one planted by His Majesty. If you don't follow my instructions, I'll expose your true identity."

Lu Wei: ?

Divine Gold.

Taking advantage of the live broadcast's halftime break during a competition, Lu Wei made a quick trip to the restroom. Upon returning, he sprawled back onto the sofa and massaged his neck.

The 'dog' His Majesty was eagerly awaiting his return, promptly pulling him back into his embrace.

Grumbling under his breath, Lu Wei once again sensed this baffling stubbornness from the man.

Regardless, the sofa was undeniably comfortable.

Lu Wei let out a contented sigh.

Suddenly, the Earthling felt a dryness in his throat. "I'm thirsty."

Canine Majesty: "Oh."

Lu Wei nudged him with his foot, aiming for his side. "Go get me a glass of orange juice."

Canine Majesty narrowed his eyes. "Spoiled brat."

The tall man stood up, moving slowly and deliberately to prepare something to drink for him.

If anyone were to witness this scene, they'd probably question their own sight.

With his head propped up, Lu Wei received another message:

"You saw it but didn't reply? Aren't you afraid I'll expose your identity? I bet you're walking on eggshells around His Majesty on Emperor Star. If he finds out that you're just an infiltrator in disguise, he'll surely subject you to the most brutal torture. You won't be able to escape the consequences."

Damn read receipt.

Lu Wei could still dismiss the previous message as nonsense sent by a madman, but he couldn't ignore this one.

The sender's ID was a string of random characters, and the source was listed as unknown.

Lu Wei replied, "Bro, who are you?"

The other party seemed thrilled to receive a response and promptly answered, "You don't need to know that. All you need to know is that I'm aware of your identity. You wouldn't want your deceit to be exposed, right?"

???

His Majesty the Dog returned with an orange juice, which Lu Wei gulped down in a big sip.

His Majesty watched him intently. "Is it good?"

Still preoccupied with the mysterious message, Lu Wei casually answered, "Yes, it's good."

It was well-known that the biggest trigger for His Majesty the Dog was when Lu Wei's attention was not on him.

Thus, his face instantly turned expressionless, as if he were dead.

"Which one tastes better, yesterday's or today's?"

"Today's, today's."

"Huh, you didn't drink any orange juice yesterday at all."

Lu Wei blinked. "Huh?"

His Majesty the Pup's eyes darkened like an octopus's. "Lu Wei, you don't even think of me when you're in front of me. I can't imagine what you're like when we're apart."

"......I was thinking about you."

The pup's eyes grew even darker. "What did I just say?"

Lu Wei: "......"

This damned feeling of a possessive girlfriend checking up on him.

Bad news: He had never had a girlfriend before.

Good news: He was getting a full taste of walking on eggshells with His Majesty the Pup.

The pup pinched the back of his neck, his tone ominous. "What were you just thinking about?"

To divert attention, Lu Wei decisively shared the inexplicable message with the other party.

"I didn't expect you to receive a message from someone unknown because of me."

The Canine Majesty frowned, clearly showing his displeasure.

Several messages were listed, and the unknown sender was still diligently sending them:

"It can't be easy for you, being threatened by your employer on one hand while trying your best to please that Majesty on the other, right?"

Lu Wei looked at the person who had just obediently returned after pouring him orange juice.

...What a laugh.

Pleasing anyone with his head?

The Canine Majesty asked, "Who's this?"

Lu Wei replied, "I have no idea. They just sent it out of the blue."

Actually, a simple glance would reveal what he misunderstood.

The Canine Sovereign looked on thoughtfully.

Then, he directed a peculiar gaze towards Lu Wei.

Lu Wei: ?

"What's up?"

When the Earthling checked the messages, they saw another one from the other side:

"I know you're reading this. If you don't reply soon, I'll expose your identity! Hehe, His Majesty is notoriously paranoid; I bet you've pulled out all the stops to seduce him."

The Canine Sovereign beckoned, "Come and give it a try."

"..."

I, seduce, you, hell.