Chapter 302: Revisit

Chapter 302: Return Visit

Jiang Qi's door was left partly open.

Ye Wang recalled that ever since Jiang Qi arrived at Pei Gu's residence, his door had never been fully closed. Ye Wang wasn’t sure if this was due to his claustrophobia or some standard procedure in the Empire for "those under surveillance."

Ye Wang knocked on the door: "Jiang Qi, can I come in?"

"Of course, sir."

In just over ten minutes, Jiang Qi had already pulled himself together. His expression appeared calm and composed, as if the earlier outburst had never happened.

Ye Wang studied him carefully and placed the milk on the bedside table: "Take it easy."

He didn’t ask further and prepared to leave.

As he stood up, he heard Jiang Qi murmured, "Thank you."

This time, he didn’t add the suffix "sir."

Just as Ye Wang was about to leave, Jiang Qi suddenly called out, "Sir..."

Ye Wang turned back to see Jiang Qi half-sitting in the shadows, holding the milk cup, his fingertips slightly tense: "Sir, in three days..."

Ye Wang: "Hmm?"

"Forget it, never mind."

Ye Wang initially wanted to press further but abruptly stopped himself. He rubbed his temples and simply said, "It’s late. Go to sleep."

Without waiting for Jiang Qi’s response, he hurried out of the room and rubbed his temples with his fingertips.

Though he had experienced it before, Ye Wang still wasn’t used to something talking inside his head. It gave him the illusion of his thoughts being invaded.

66: "Ta-da! Host, your second major plot moment is here!"

Ye Wang: "Seriously, you’re still here?"

66: "I’m sticking around till you’re back in your body."

Ye Wang: "I haven’t seen you pop up before."

Aside from the first day of his marriage to Jiang Qi, when 66 had given him lines to say, Ye Wang had picked his words, deliberately misquoting and omitting lines. The otherworldly system had ignored him completely, leading Ye Wang to assume it had left.

66: "According to our contract, you have plenty of leeway."

Since Ye Wang shared the same timeline as Jiang Qi and wasn’t actually dead, the system’s rewards were limited, so his contract was pretty loose.

"Besides," 66 said disdainfully, "even if I told you to do something, would you actually do it?"

Pei Gu was no saint, and though Jiang Qi’s identity was problematic, he was undeniably beautiful. With the beauty living under someone else’s roof, the plot dictated that Pei Gu should coerce and force himself on him. Would Ye Wang really do that?

As a veteran employee who had served several seasoned hosts, 66 knew at a glance that this plotline wouldn’t fly. It couldn’t care less to appear and annoy him, opting instead to turn a blind eye and avoid the issue altogether.

Ye Wang: "...Fair enough."

Before signing the contract, he had repeatedly confirmed that the system couldn’t force him to do anything. Otherwise, if the plot conflicted with the Federation’s interests, Ye Wang wouldn’t know what to do.

He hurried downstairs: "Alright, what’s the next key point?"

66 chimed in: "Hmm, so here’s the deal—have you noticed that you and your wife have been married for a month now?"

"...?"

The term "madam" could still be dismissed as a mocking title for a sworn enemy, but "wife" was way too personal. The commander, mid-step, felt an inexplicable shiver run down his spine.

He corrected, "What do you mean 'my wife'... Alright, 66, stop using such weird terms. Just call him the mission target. Yes, I’ve been married to the mission target for a month. So what?"

The little screen bonked his head: "The check-in, dummy! The check-in in three days!"

With Jiang Qi being a ticking time bomb left here, the Empire couldn’t simply ignore him. Pei Gu was just a temporary handler—the Gene Lab and Cellblock 7026 were still responsible for assessing Jiang Qi’s danger level.

Three days later, Jiang Qi and Pei Gu would need to return to the lab together. Jiang Qi would undergo questioning again, with his hormone levels tested, while Ye Wang would need to provide feedback on his behavior over the past month.

Ye Wang: "I see."

No wonder Jiang Qi had been creepily well-behaved this month, calling him "sir" at every turn, making Ye Wang’s skin crawl.

Ye Wang: "What’s my scripted feedback?"

66 poked him again: "I’ve displayed it on the screen. Read it yourself."

Ye Wang skimmed through it quickly.

Pei Gu’s character was actually quite easy to grasp—born into a prestigious family, full of himself, with a dash of macho arrogance. The reason he chose interrogation as his field was because he enjoyed exerting pressure downward, relishing the sight of prisoners trembling and begging for mercy. It was akin to certain domineering types who took pleasure in condescendingly saying, "A little pain’ll straighten you out." In this interrogation, Ye Wang could guess most of his lines with his eyes closed.

As for the outcome of this interrogation, Ye Wang lowered his gaze—the screen had already provided the result.

"Findings inconclusive. Retain for observation for one month."

He closed the screen but asked about something else: "This time, I’ll be entering the Gene Lab’s inner facilities?"

66: "Yes. Jiang Qi isn’t just a 'supervisee'—he’s also a valuable test subject for the lab. They’ve been trying to determine whether his anomalies are tech glitches or just him. Some biological tests require his participation."

Ye Wang: "Good."

Compared to the Federation, the Empire had the edge in gene-tech. Imperial soldiers, especially those from the lower districts, had largely undergone light gene tweaks. While not as dangerous as Jiang Qi’s large-scale experiments, these tweaks did enhance certain attributes like agility, focus, and reaction time. In modern warfare, where wars hinged on split-second advantages, the Federation had long coveted such data. Unfortunately, the project was classified even within the Empire, and Ye Wang wasn’t tied to the gene labs. If he rashly inquired or searched, it would raise suspicions.

Colonel Bu Nian, however, had contacts working menial jobs on the factory’s periphery, handling things like material transport.

Recently, they’d fed him intel—labels on transported reagents had been changed, but the specifics were encrypted and unreadable, suggesting new trials. This time, Ye Wang would get to step inside.

If he could snag intel, all the better. If not, it wouldn’t be a loss either.

*

The next few days were quiet.

Ye Wang went to work as usual, while Jiang Qi continued his daily outings. They kept to their own lanes, each occupied with their own affairs. During the day, they went their separate ways, reuniting only at the dinner table in the evenings. On the second night, Ye Wang received a communication request.

He swiped it open—it was from the Empire’s Gene Lab’s official line.

The caller explained the follow-up requirements, with the location being inside the lower district’s lab. Ye Wang didn’t bother hiding it from Jiang Qi, scheduling the appointment right in front of him.

Jiang Qi glanced at him from the corner of his eye before lowering his gaze and continuing his meal in silence.

The next afternoon, before heading to the lab, Ye Wang made a detour to the lower district.

In a neon-drenched bar, Colonel Bu Nian handed him a tiny camera: "A micro-camera—the Federation’s latest tech. Invisible to infrared, but the most advanced metal detectors might trigger an alarm. Tap it once to start recording, tap again to stop."

Ye Wang pinched the grain-sized device between his fingers, examining it closely: "This small? Storage can’t be much on this thing."

"Because the larger it is, you'd be in danger, Major General. I'm afraid you might get yourself arrested. Moles at your rank are rare," Bu Nian said. "Storage is limited—just about five minutes of recording time. So you'll need to decide which parts are worth capturing, preferably sections with text you don’t understand. We’ll have specialists analyze them."

Ye Wang: "Understood."

Bu Nian: "Alright, Major General, let me install it for you. Where would you like it placed?"

He glanced at the brim of Ye Wang’s cap. "I recommend hiding it in your hair or inside thick clothing. With thick material covering it, it’s less likely to be detected by metal detectors."

Ye Wang: "Put it here."

He pointed to the badge on his chest.

It was Pei Gu’s rank insignia, a symbol of identity and honor, prominently displayed on his chest—the most conspicuous spot. The camera was tiny, but as an optical device, its glass could reflect light differently from the surrounding metal at certain angles.

Bu Nian paused. "Are you sure, Major General?"

Ye Wang smiled. "Positive. If I keep touching my hat or clothes to switch it on and off, wouldn’t that raise suspicion?"

Bu Nian shrugged. "Fine. Bold move, but then you always were."

He drilled a pin-sized hole into the back of the badge, fitted the camera inside, and saluted Ye Wang.

"Good luck, Major General."

*

Three hours later, the aircraft cut through the Lower District's night sky and landed at the entrance of the lab.

From the moment he boarded, Jiang Qi had been unnervingly silent. Ye Wang, too, was lost in thought. Neither spoke until the aircraft descended, hovered, and shut down. Ye Wang then lowered the ramp.

He extended a hand to Jiang Qi. "Madam?"

Jiang Qi took it, and the two descended slowly.

A researcher was already waiting by the cockpit door, politely shaking Ye Wang’s hand. "Hello, Major General. We appreciate you coming."

Ye Wang exchanged a few pleasantries before the researcher led them to the security checkpoint and picked up a scanner. "Apologies, Major General. Protocol."

Jiang Qi was taken aside.

His security check was far more thorough—staff asked him to remove his coat and shoes, placing them in separate machines. Ye Wang, meanwhile, got a quick stand-up scan.

When the scanner passed over the badge, it emitted a soft ping.

Ye Wang chuckled. "Ah, my identity badge—metal, awarded to me by my uncle. I assume it’s not a problem?"

The technician smiled. "Of course. But please remove your coat for another scan."

Nobody messes with something representing identity and honor.

As the staff worked, Ye Wang held his arms out, his gaze wandering idly over the lab’s entrance. The entire structure was built of metal, likely to prevent intrusions, with a heavy door and a biometric device—retinal scan—at the entrance.

Ye Wang grinned. "Of course, I’ll take off my coat. But mind you take good care of it—this badge has been with me for nearly a decade. It’s quite beautiful, don’t you think?"

As he raised his hand, the badge came level with the technician’s line of sight. The question naturally drew the man’s attention to it.

Two minutes later, the security check was complete.

Ye Wang fastened his coat and marched into the facility.

He and Jiang Qi were led to separate interview rooms.

Jiang Qi’s was plain white walls, while Ye Wang’s had a sofa and herbal tea.

The technician sat across from Ye Wang. "Major General, initial question: Do you believe your wife’s emotional state has been stable this past month?"

At the same time, the audio from this room was fully live-streamed to Jiang Qi’s side.

A common interrogation tactic—any negative response from Ye Wang would now put tremendous pressure on Jiang Qi.