Chapter 156

Chapter 156

"No! You can't just arrest us like this!"

The tallest of the three Deputy Corps Commanders quickly shook off the soldier restraining him, but a hand holding a syringe shot out from nowhere, mercilessly plunging a powerful anesthetic into his neck. The man twitched like a live fish being scaled on a chopping board, then panicked as he realized the anesthetic contained an additional substance.

He couldn't identify what had been added, but he felt his spiritual world burning with a scorching heat. Without the support of his spiritual power, he was quickly subdued again by the soldiers of the Third Legion.

"What kind of drug is this? Did... did you use a banned substance?" Deputy Corps Commander Ren Fei's eyes nearly burst with rage, his heart racing uncontrollably. "Eve Medici, this is extrajudicial punishment! As long as there's no court investigation order, I'm still a commissioned officer of the military. This is treason!"

As he shouted, the other two Deputy Corps Commanders joined in—some threatening, some pleading, some feigning ignorance, with a mix of genuine confusion and panic. Unfortunately, no matter what the three argued, the soldiers surrounding them remained silent. Viceroy Medici shielded her eyes with her hand, pretending to gaze at the barren wilderness where barely a blade of grass grew. Luo Yuan stood with her arms crossed, expressionless, while Eve watched them with a smile, saying nothing.

The unusual silence gradually dampened the three men's pleas until they fell completely quiet. Only when they were silent did Eve speak unhurriedly, "Finally, some peace. Resigned to your fate?"

"...You must have a reason for arresting us," another brown-haired Deputy Corps Commander spoke up, his voice much weaker than Ren Fei's. "Without evidence or an arrest warrant, this isn't procedural."

Eve glanced at him and called out, "Lorca, show them the arrest warrant."

"Yes."

The black-haired, green-eyed young man stepped forward gracefully, tapped a few times on his terminal, and an electronic document of the arrest warrant, personally signed by Chief Prosecutor Vincent Oliver, instantly appeared before everyone.

He deliberately walked past the three Deputy Corps Commanders twice before smiling and asking, "Do any of you have any procedural questions?"

The document also bore an automatically stamped electronic watermark, showing a timestamp that, converted to universal time, indicated it had been signed exactly three hours earlier.

With no procedural loopholes to pick at, and considering who Young Master Lorca's father was, the three Deputy Corps Commanders would have wasted their years in officialdom if they couldn't guess that this arrest was a premeditated act.

The brown-haired officer who had asked the question was momentarily speechless, stammering, "N-no further questions."

"If there are no questions, lock them up for now. There are a few temporary prison cells on the starship. Weren't you asking for evidence? Well, it just so happens that a key witness is locked up right next to you."

At this, a murderous glint flashed in someone's eyes, which Eve caught entirely. As the escorting soldiers passed by her, she added with a mocking smile, "But that witness is none other than Zuo Qirong from Feiniao. Since he's still a major fugitive of the empire, Commander Luo Yuan didn't incapacitate him during interrogation for convenience's sake. If any of you want to experience facing Zuo Qirong firsthand, we wholeheartedly support it."

Zuo... Zuo Qirong?

Ren Fei, who had been injected earlier, turned back in shock and cried out, "You actually caught Zuo Qirong?"

Eve didn't answer, continuing instead, "Also, this planet is surrounded by the Ninth Legion. With the main generals absent, the nearest Ninth Legion will temporarily take over management of the 18th Legion's base. Marshal Selina is personally overseeing it. As a marshal-level officer, she has emergency discretionary powers. It's best if you all stay quietly on the starship. If you run into the Ninth Legion's sight and get caught..."

She tapped her temple with a curled finger and said with a smile, "Don't forget you're still under suspicion of conspiring to murder General Chris."

Chris Otto was not only the temporary Corps Commander of the 18th Legion but also the Deputy Corps Commander of the Ninth Legion. Everyone in the military knew her rise to power—

She made her debut by successfully killing a newly awakened Royal Zerg, saving Marshal Selina and the entire Ninth Legion from dire straits, earning her unprecedented prestige within the Ninth Legion.

If three lower-ranking officers accused of colluding with space pirates fell into the hands of the Ninth Legion, the outcome was self-explanatory.

Returning to the capital star offered a slim chance, however small, of turning things around. Falling into the hands of the Ninth Legion meant certain doom.

Eve's use of "General Chris" was not a casual change but a warning.

Moreover, the Ninth Legion's swift arrival inevitably reminded the three of the online meeting in the emperor's study a month earlier. At that time, several nearby legions had dismissed the Royal Zerg as a hot potato, using the excuse of proximity within the same star system to push the task onto Chris Otto and the Ninth Legion. Little did they expect that their excuse would soon boomerang, allowing Eve to bring the 18th Legion back under the Ninth Legion's protection.

After all their scheming, they realized that, whether Chris was present or not, what belonged to her—or rather, to "them"—could not be taken away by anyone.

"...You're truly treacherous."

After a long pause, Ren Fei weakly squeezed out these words through gritted teeth.

"Yes, I'm especially wicked. It's a pity you're only realizing it now."

Eve happily accepted the compliment, then waved her hand grandly, signaling the troops to withdraw. "Everyone, fall back. Leave the rest to the Ninth Legion."

-

There was a small door on the side of the starship's command room. Inside, the walls were covered with screens of all sizes, corresponding to every surveillance camera on the ship. An untrained ordinary person entering here would be dazzled by the dense surveillance screens at first glance, and once they fully took it in, the countless perspectives would easily trigger a deep-seated fear of being watched.

At this moment, the monitor responsible for round-the-clock surveillance had been asked to leave, replaced by Eve, Lorca, and Viceroy Medici. Luo Yuan, having exhausted her spiritual state during her confrontation with Zuo Qirong, felt daunted facing so many screens and, after backing Eve up, waved her hand and returned to the medical bay to rest.

"You're really..." Viceroy Medici couldn't help but click her tongue, watching the three partners in misery huddled together on the screen. After thinking for a long time, she finally found the word to describe Eve. "Malicious."

Eve's quirk of not killing people herself was no news in the capital star, but her habit of using others to do her dirty work was something Viceroy Medici had heard of, even within the military.

"Really?" Eve feigned surprise. "I just believe in giving someone a way out, so we can meet again someday."

Whether to leave a way out was her generosity; whether they could meet again someday depended on others' capabilities.

Lorca also hummed in agreement, adding, "Eve is a very principled person."

"......"

Viceroy Medici's expression softened as she turned back to the screen and said gently, "Shh, alright, both of you stop talking."

In the dark prison cell, Ren Fei, Wood, and Tang Kai were straining to squeeze half their heads out of their cells, whispering in low voices just loud enough for the other two to hear.

Ren Fei: "What do we do? If we're taken back to the capital star, is there any hope left?"

Wood: "It's over for sure. The Crown Prince won't bother bailing us out."

Ren Fei: "But we had no idea about colluding with space pirates! This must have been the Crown Prince's doing without our knowledge. We can explain it clearly."

Tang Kai: "Are you insane? If you drag the Crown Prince down, we're truly finished."

Ren Fei: "So we just sit idle and await doom?"

Wood: "Of course not. We can escape."

At these words, the other two looked at him. Tang Kai said nervously, "But the Ninth Legion is still surrounding us..."

"Coward, do you have any guts left?" Wood scolded him. "Do you think staying here will save you? We're Deputy Corps Commanders, for heaven's sake. Unless Selina herself steps in, if it's anyone else blocking our way, wouldn't you dare to charge through?"

Tang Kai shrank back at the rebuke, but Ren Fei cried out.

"I can't go. That woman Eve injected me with something. I can't use my spiritual power at all," he realized something and said despairingly, "Are you planning to abandon me?"

Wood and Tang Kai finally remembered Ren Fei's condition. However, escaping alone would be challenging enough; dragging Ren Fei along, a burden, would jeopardize their chances of success.

But leaving Ren Fei behind wouldn't work either.

Silence fell momentarily. The iron door clanged a few times as Wood used a small ion knife hidden on his person to burn out the electronic lock. With two beeps, his cell door opened.

Tang Kai whispered, "I'm coming too, Wood. Help me."

A second beep sounded.

The door opened, and the spiritual power control collar was cut off. But Wood didn't put away the ion knife. Instead, he slowly approached Ren Fei's cell. The man inside seemed to sense a dangerous tension in the air and retreated warily. Then he heard the familiar hoarse voice of his former comrade.

Wood swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Brother, don't blame me. Blame them for not leaving you a way out."

As he spoke, the faint green ion knife, like a ghostly flame in the darkness, was suddenly thrown through the cell door gap. Ren Fei screamed, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. With a kick, the prison alarm automatically activated. Red lights flashed, and loud alarms echoed through the corridor. Wood and Tang Kai, afraid guards would be summoned, didn't have time to check if Ren Fei was dead before scrambling to escape.

As the two figures vanished at the end of the corridor, Ren Fei, drenched in sweat, struggled to his feet, bewildered as he touched the automatically activated Light Shield in front of him. After all, he was a Deputy Corps Commander of a military corps and naturally recognized it as a defensive Alchemical Tool.

"Hah."

A fourth person's derisive snort echoed in the dark cell, startling Ren Fei. None of the three had detected this fourth person's presence earlier, indicating that this individual's strength surpassed all of theirs.

Who was this?

Despite his fear, Ren Fei blustered, "Who's there?"

The fourth person didn’t answer him but instead turned over casually and sneered, "Fool."

Eve and the others observed everything from the monitoring room.

Wood might not have considered that even in the darkness of the prison, night-vision cameras would be installed, but the situation was urgent, leaving him no time to think further.

His Spiritual State Ability was related to concealment. The moment they left the prison, their figures dissipated into the air like phantoms.

Unfortunately, Eve was well-prepared.

While Spiritual State Abilities could deceive the eyes, there were far more ways to leave a mark than just through vision.

She took out two Alchemy Potions that boiled without fire and handed them to Viceroy Medici.

"They have active triggers on them that resonate with these Alchemy Potions. The effect is strong—the closer they are to the direction, the more active the potion becomes. If they die, the activity stops." As she said this, Eve glanced at the screen again. The two moved as if their feet were greased, quickly reaching the equipment room and unwittingly picking up the mecha Space Buttons Viceroy Medici had prepared there in advance.

On the high-definition monitor, the two Space Buttons eerily rose into thin air.

"Please inform the Ninth Corps not to kill them all. Leave one to return to the capital star."

"And what about you?" Viceroy Medici weighed the potion bottles in her hand and asked in return.

"I’m going to check on the one left in the prison," Eve said with a radiant smile, her young face brimming with a kind of uncontainable boldness. "And incidentally, ask him to guess how long it will take for the other potion bottle to extinguish after returning to the capital star."

"—People just won’t give up until they’re faced with their own coffin."

Without witnessing the outcome of being abandoned, how could one find the courage to burn their bridges and make a full confession?

Viceroy Medici naturally understood the malicious cleverness behind this and couldn’t help but shudder, thinking that Sparti had raised another vicious daughter after all these years.

She raised her eyebrows, feeling a chill all over. "Sparti certainly has a successor alright."

Eve: "Huh?"

Viceroy Medici didn’t explain further and strode off, leaving Eve and Lorca exchanging puzzled glances. After a moment, Eve asked, "You directly used your father’s seal and stamp—won’t someone find out?"

"Should be fine," Lorca thought for a moment. "It was an emergency. We can discuss it with him when we return."

...Too filial. Eve gave him a thumbs-up and affirmed, "Well done, but don’t wait until we return. Let’s tell him now."

The Third Corps' flagship is a super-advanced interstellar-class vessel. With just two more jumps, they would return to the capital star.

If Family Head Oliver was fast enough, he could intercept them at the port. Before Eve and the others returned to their respective homes, at least someone could help block a few hits when Lorca gets his beating.

"Yeah, my dad left the stamp for emergencies to save our lives. I’ve used it now—he definitely won’t let me off."

Lorca clearly understood the implication of Eve’s earlier words, but he didn’t seem afraid. Instead, he smiled lightly and said cheerfully, "What should we do, Miss Eve? How much good will blocking at the port do? How about letting the princess’s residence take me in for a couple of days?"

Eve flicked her finger, tapping him sharply on the forehead, and said heartlessly, "Stop smiling. I can hear your gears turning from here."