Chapter 202

Chapter 202

Xue Ji was making steady progress on his end, but Asuer was running into some serious trouble.

He’d been keeping tabs on the bidding council’s accounts, discovering that most of the funds, after passing through Aliwen’s office, flowed into several unknown accounts. A few of these matched the human trafficking transit points Devalen had been tracking, which confirmed what Asuer had suspected all along.

—The Senate and the nobles had been abusing their power, colluding with corporations to build private armies, and taking out anyone who got in their way when needed.

But when they followed that lead, they got hit hard. One night, Devalen came back to the palace looking like a wreck, his face covered in small cuts. He knelt before the Monarch, and Asuer’s gut twisted with a bad feeling as Devalen said with difficulty, “Your Majesty, our people… have been captured.”

Asuer didn’t believe in his people killing themselves if they got caught. All he asked of his men was loyalty and, if possible, staying alive. This also meant that once his people fell into enemy hands, there was always a chance they’d spill everything.

“Do what you can to get them back. Everyone else, pull out. Put three to five people on surveillance. Don’t make a move until we find their main base.” Asuer made a swift decision. “Give each injured guy 100,000 star coins. Send 500,000 anonymously to the families of the ones who died or got captured. You go rest up too, and come back when you’re healed.”

Devalen took the order and left. Asuer sat there for a moment, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Soon, his optical brain beeped a couple of times, reminding him it was time to take his medicine.

Asuer stood up, grabbed a vial of meds from the cabinet, twisted it open, and chugged it. Then he grabbed a piece of chocolate from a glass jar. Before he left, Xue Ji had sent not just medicine and supplements, but a whole bunch of chocolates, filling three jars—enough to last him a while.

It had been over two months since Xue Ji left. He wondered how things were going on his end.

Right then, his optical brain beeped again.

This time, it was a message from Xue Ji.

Xue Ji: [Image]

The picture looked like Xue Ji had taken it from somewhere high up. Above the endless mountain ranges stretched a vast starry sky, gorgeous, but somehow it made you feel lonely.

Asuer typed: “Still up?”

Xue Ji, probably not busy, shot back fast: “About to. What’s His Majesty up to?”

“Found some stuff…” Asuer started typing, but then a message popped up on his other account—also from Xue Ji.

“How’s your health been?”

So Asuer deleted what he’d typed, switched to the other account, and gave him the honest rundown on how he’d been feeling, and ended with: “The chocolates are really good.”

He’d looked for those chocolates online, but they weren’t sold anywhere, which made him wonder where Xue Ji had gotten them. What he didn’t know was that Xue Ji had bought the ingredients and had a house robot make them, so of course they wouldn’t show up on the star network.

Of course, Xue Ji wasn’t idle or passionate about cooking; it was just that everything Asuer put in his body had to be strictly controlled, including these snacks. Cocoa beans were insanely expensive these days, so making chocolate cost a fortune. To minimize losses, manufacturers naturally added a ton of preservatives to make the chocolate last longer.

To be fair, those tiny amounts of additives wouldn’t really hurt Asuer. Xue Ji could’ve just bought some off the shelf or not bothered at all, since Asuer wasn’t some kid who needed to be bribed after a rough day. But even Xue Ji himself didn’t realize that, deep down, he had this unhealthy need to control Asuer’s body—like a delicate machine—only perfection allowed, no damage tolerated.

He’d made those chocolates just so that, in the future, when Asuer thought of him, it wouldn’t be about cold instruments, scary needles, or nasty medicine.

Asuer himself, of course, didn’t grasp this. Instead, he figured he’d caught a glimpse of some softness under Xue Ji’s cold shell.

Xue Ji had no clue that a few chocolates had given Asuer such a pretty wrong idea. He was dying of boredom on this planet, only getting any joy from his short chats with Asuer every day. Plus, he was genuinely worried Asuer might do something stupid, so he read the whole message and said: “Let me see your gland.”

The other side fell silent. Xue Ji could almost picture the Monarch suppressing his embarrassment and anger, a faint smile unconsciously curling his lips. He looked up and met another pair of eyes in the glass wall.

He was standing in the corridor of the research institute, where the walls were all glass, offering a real-time view of the mining operations outside. It was late at night, and all work had paused.

“Chief Xue, still working this late?” Freya’s voice came from behind.

Xue Ji put away his optical brain and turned around. “Captain Freya, is there something urgent that brings you here late at night?”

“Couldn’t sleep, just wandering around. I saw the Chief standing here alone and came over.” Freya glanced curiously at his optical brain. “The Chief seemed so happy just now. Who were you chatting with?”

The optical brain vibrated twice, but Xue Ji didn’t look at it. “Captain Freya seems particularly curious about my affairs?”

“It’s not just me; all of us are.” Freya said. “In all these years, this is the first time His Majesty has ordered us to obey an outsider.”

She deliberately emphasized the word “outsider.” Xue Ji’s expression remained unchanged. “Is that so? Then I’m honored.”

He brushed past Freya and left, returning to his room before checking his optical brain.

“I’ve applied the medicine.”

“There’s a lead on the bidding council’s accounts. How’s it going on your end?”

The two messages were replies from Asuer’s secondary and primary accounts, respectively. Xue Ji replied to the second: “Going smoothly.”

As far as his research was concerned, everything was proceeding well. Several weapon prototypes had been completed, awaiting the discovery of new energy sources to enter the testing phase. Unfortunately, this planet had been considered a barren wasteland for a long time in his past life for a reason. So far, the survey team had only found jade and crystal mines, with no trace of the rare metal Xue Ji needed. Tomorrow, Xue Ji would join the team to venture deep into the mountains for the search.

He washed up and went to sleep, and the entire planet fell into true silence. Elsewhere in the empire, someone stayed awake all night.

In the dark, cold prison, chilling screams echoed continuously. Villard walked out with a grim expression, wiping blood spots from his face with a cloth handed by an aide. He sneered, “So it’s his people. It seems we’ve been too lenient lately, letting him think he’s grown his wings.” He then gestured for the aide to lean in and whispered a few instructions.

The aide looked up in surprise. “Wouldn’t this…?”

Villard sneered, “If we don’t stir up some trouble for him, he won’t know his place.”

…

Late at night, Kexinia was hastily awakened.

The commander’s face was grave. “Marshal, it’s bad. The 50 million star coins destined for the Federation were hijacked by a group of space pirates near Gray Star-IX.”

Kexinia sat up abruptly.

The 300 million star coins had been divided into six shipments, escorted by the Ninth Legion, with different routes for each batch for safety. This 50 million was the last shipment. The first five had gone without a hitch, so why did this one have to go wrong?

Kexinia immediately got up and dressed, asking calmly, “When exactly did it happen? What’s the current situation?”

“According to the Ninth Legion’s report, the coins were hijacked three days ago. They said there were no anomalies along the way. The pirates appeared suddenly, without the usual scouting party typical of pirates, and launched a direct heavy assault, piercing the starship. After a brief rest at Gray Star, they dispatched troops from the border to pursue, but only partial traces have been found.” The commander paused. “I’m afraid it won’t be recovered anytime soon.”

“And the Federation?”

“No reaction yet.”

“Immediately send word to the palace and the Senate.” Kexinia coughed a few times. “Convene an emergency meeting at the military district to discuss countermeasures.”

“Yes.”

An hour later,

The military district was brightly lit, with the Monarch and all high-ranking members of the Senate gathered.

“As I see it, the most urgent thing is to scrape together another 50 million and send it to the Federation,” Villard said. “If the payment deadline passes and the Federation attacks, who among us can fight them?”

“Coward,” Kexinia cursed coldly.

Villard’s smile remained unchanged. “Why is the Marshal cursing out of nowhere? I’m just thinking of you, Marshal. After all, your new mecha is still under construction. With a mecha, you’ve been able to recuperate until now. Without it…” He paused meaningfully.

“You!” The commander clenched his fist and stepped forward, but Kexinia raised a hand to stop him.

Seeing this, Villard’s smile deepened. “The Marshal is the empire’s pillar. I believe everyone here, including myself, doesn’t want to see anything happen to you. Am I right, Your Majesty?”

Asuer gave him a cold look.

"Fine, if the Senate is willing to cough up another fifty million," Kexinia said. "I'll dispatch a team to escort it immediately."

Villard acted surprised. "Clearly, the Legion failed at escort duty. Why should we cover this shortfall?"

"The Legion supplies troops, not cash," Kexinia replied. "You're the ones who pushed for reparations. Even without mechs, the Legion can still kick the Federation's ass."

"What are you talking about? It wasn't the Senate that pushed for reparations. When that compensation order came down, we didn't bat an eye and forked over three hundred million in special funds. That was all the Treasury could scrape together. Another fifty million, and the Empire's livelihood this year is screwed." Villard glanced at Asuer as he spoke, and that look just happened to catch everyone's eye.

Serrick gripped his sword hilt, but since the Monarch gave no signal, he held back.

"The Legion doesn't give a damn about such concerns. I'll level with you: after paying those three hundred million, the Empire's treasury is strained, and even if you want war, the Senate's pockets are tapped out and can't back you."

Bastards.

If Serrick didn't know how much cash the Treasury really had and how much these nobles had skimmed off the top, he might have bought that bullshit.

Biting back his anger, Serrick heard Kexinia say, "Since both sides can't agree, Your Majesty, you make the call."

"There are still forty days until the deadline. Marshal, keep hunting down the stolen funds. If there's no word in twenty days," Asuer said, facing everyone's gaze, his tone calm, "since the Senate's finances are limited, I'll scrape up that fifty million from somewhere else. I'm sure the Chief of the Academy of Sciences would be thrilled to help me out."

Villard's face went pale.

The bidding fair had just wrapped up, and most deals were still pending. In previous years, these deals would have been completed early, with funds flowing as they should. But this year, Xue Ji had introduced a new program and new rules specifically for the fair. All transactions had to go through that goddamn OA system, with extra post-sale price rules and the need to cook up fake contracts for show. Since Xue Ji wasn't on the Imperial Star, the process was painfully slow. By today, only a third of the transactions were done, including those from Xue Ji's own companies.

If the Monarch touched those funds, all deals would come to a screeching halt.

Villard had completely forgotten about this. He stammered, "Chief Xue isn't here. Your Majesty shouldn't make decisions on his behalf, should you?"

Asuer raised an eyebrow. "Why can't I?"

As the three sides were at a standoff, the Commander's optical brain vibrated silently, signaling a new message. He opened it, his expression shifting slightly, then handed the device to Kexinia, lowering his voice. "Marshal."

Kexinia glanced at it, his gaze freezing. After a few minutes, he looked up, scanned the room, and announced, "We've found it."

"Found it!?" Villard exclaimed in shock.

Kexinia's sharp eyes bore into him. "What, Count, are you dissatisfied with this outcome?"

Villard's composure slipped only for a moment. "I'm just overjoyed. I didn't expect it to be recovered so quickly." He forced a fake smile. "This is truly a win-win. Thanks to the Marshal's capable team."

Kexinia's smile didn't reach his eyes. "What's so joyous about finding a ship full of corpses?" Ignoring Villard's expression, he pulled up the image from his optical brain and projected it into the air. The cabin was littered with bodies, all gruesomely killed. The council members present, unaccustomed to such scenes, looked pale. "The group that stole the funds is all dead. Likely a case of thieves falling out. Nothing of value was left on the ship. That fifty million was probably taken by another band of pirates."

Villard's face turned green.

The meeting ended in discord, with no resolution reached. They could only follow the Monarch's instructions for now.

As Asuer left the meeting room, he heard a cold, emotionless "Your Majesty" behind him.

He turned around. Kexinia's face was impassive. "A friendly word of advice: don't stake everything on that new Chief."

Asuer lifted his eyes. "Why?"

Kexinia remained expressionless, as if the warning had come from someone else. Asuer thought he wouldn't answer and was about to leave when Kexinia spoke.

"You're still young. It's easy to misjudge people."