Chapter 100.2
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Chu Rong furrowed his brow and glanced at the remote-like device in Qiao Zhiya’s hand. He attempted to sense it with his spiritual power but felt nothing. Remembering the peculiar nature of Qiao Zhiya’s abilities, he grew concerned and quickly retrieved an isolation barrier, enclosing the device within it.
“Actually, I still have one on this kind of energy fluctuation device.” Qiao Zhiya said, then sensed that Chu Rong’s expression grew even more grim. He felt guilty, and immediately confessed, explaining in detail about a device he had just remembered, “When I hit the Zerg Queen, didn’t I retrieve something from the black hole? But then, I slept for a long time, and when I woke up, I completely forgot about it….”
And after he woke up, Qiao Zhiya’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the baby inside Gu Yan’an’s stomach. Additionally, Chu Rong’s concern about the vines pattern on his wrist had prevented him from engaging in investigative matters. As a result, Qiao Zhiya had not recalled the incident until he detected a familiar fluctuation from An Mhu just now.
Chu Rong’s demeanor turned cold in an instant. He reached out and grasped Qiao Zhiya’s ears, his voice almost gritted through clenched teeth as he said, “You actually brought something out from the black hole back then? What if it was something dangerous or highly radioactive? And don’t tell me you’ve been keeping such strange objects with other power fluctuations in your storage ring tied to your body.”
Qiao Zhiya’s eyes widened, and he nuzzled more vigorously, his whole body language expressing his guilt.
Qiao Zhiya stammered, admitting that he had indeed kept that thing in his storage ring all along. He explained that when they emerged from the black hole, the mechanism for his mecha’s spatial button was affected and temporarily unusable. In his haste, he immediately stored the object in his storage ring without much thought.
The response was nothing short of a slap in the face!
In that moment, Chu Rong’s mind raced with thoughts. He recalled Qiao Zhiya’s bouts of uncontrollable power and the persistent fever he experienced during those times. He remembered the vine patterns on Qiao Zhiya’s wrist and his restless nights filled with frequent dreams. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that all these chaotic and negative symptoms were caused by that unidentified object with strange energy fluctuations. Unable to contain his frustration, he tightened his grip on Qiao Zhiya’s head, taking a deep breath in an attempt to suppress his rising temper. However, he couldn’t resist giving his ear a tug, then bent down to pick him up, striding quickly towards their own flagship.
Qiao Zhiya knew he was truly angry, so he didn’t dare to resist. He obediently let him hold him, burying his head on his shoulder to avoid the curious glances from Fan Xiangnan and others. His ears drooped with guilt.
Chu Rong directly carried Qiao Zhiya into the isolation room of the Chu family flagship, which had already been repaired. After setting him down, he took out an isolation barrier and gestured for him to take out the object quickly.
Qiao Zhiya glanced at the hood and whispered, “This is too small…” The strange object he carried out was a bit big.
Chu Rong’s face darkened even more upon hearing this. After estimating the size of his mecha, he directly took out the largest isolation barrier and placed it on the ground, gesturing for him to put the object inside.
Qiao Zhiya quickly complied. In the next moment, an oval-shaped device, entirely black with strange red patterns all over it, appeared inside the isolation hood. Chu Rong felt uneasy at the sight of this color and hurriedly closed the isolation barrier. With a grim expression, he first used his spiritual power to encircle Qiao Zhiya, then took out a dose of Yellow Leaf Tree potion and fed it to his mouth.
Feeling unsure, he then took out several doses of spiritual power purification medicine and fed them all to Qiao Zhiya, not stopping until his lips were rosy and healthy-looking before finally stopping.
Having consumed a bellyful of pure energy source, Qiao Zhiya’s face was slightly flushed, a sense of warmth rising from his magic pool. He hurriedly reassured Chu Rong, gripping his hand soothingly, saying, “I’m fine, really. The power fluctuations of this thing aren’t as intense as the mutated red tin ore.”
This statement completely stirred up another hornet’s nest. Chu Rong squinted, looking at him with inscrutable eyes, the curve of his lips appearing somewhat dangerous.
Qiao Zhiya’s ears stiffened, sensing that his days of freely using secondary mutated red tin ore might be coming to an end. He swallowed nervously, attempting to salvage the situation, “I haven’t touched those ores in a long time, I swear. The processing method had long been automated, you know, so I only used the processed ones, the ones without any sort of radiation…”
This explanation seemed to have some effect. Chu Rong eased his expression and tugged at his ear, no longer dwelling on these matters. He turned his head to look at the strange device inside the isolation barrier, furrowing his brow in contemplation for a moment before reaching out to collect it himself.
While they were dealing with this, the Imperial Royal flagship on the other side had already been efficiently organized by Fan Xiangnan and the soldiers.
There were over two hundred surviving Imperial soldiers, with over a dozen deaths due to various reasons. In the control room, there were a dozen surviving members of the Imperial command team, with two casualties. The new Emperor remained in a coma, but the instability of his spiritual power had been brought under control.
Hundreds of valuable classified documents were found through the search, along with over a dozen sealed safes. There were also many scattered items that required further organization.
After listening to the report, Chu Rong ordered all these items to be sealed and stored away. Then, he instructed personnel to transfer all surviving Imperial soldiers onto the Chu family flagship for closed-door supervision. High-ranking individuals like the new Emperor were to be kept separately under close watch. Once the Imperial Royal flagship was secured, they announced the return journey.
They have been away from the Federation for ten days. Making the trip too long would draw suspicion.
For the return journey, Chu Rong needed to provide blood for directional location. Qiao Zhiya had become quite proficient using his magic to draw blood, but perhaps out of fear of hurting Chu Rong, his hand shook when he made the move, accidentally cutting his own finger instead.
Frowning, Chu Rong immediately caught his hand after dripping his blood into the array, helping him stop the bleeding and bandaging his finger.
Qiao Zhiya felt that his performance in the past few days had been quite poor. He hung his head obediently, letting Chu Rong take care of him, while discreetly soothing him without leaving any traces.
“What is it?,” Chu Rong brushed his bangs aside, thinking he had scared him. His expression softened as he said, “Pay more attention next time. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Qiao Zhiya shook his head quickly, refraining from speaking aloud due to the presence of others. Instead, he discreetly squeezed his hand in response.
The array quickly worked, pointing out the direction before the hair once again transformed into a red thread wrapped around Chu Rong’s wrist.
Qiao Zhiya suddenly felt a warmth on the vine pattern on his wrist, but upon closer sensing, he didn’t detect anything unusual. Thinking it might be his imagination, he shrugged it off without much concern, pushing the matter to the back of his mind.
There was no need to find anyone. They have come out of the asteroid belt much faster. It took only three and a half days to leave the asteroid belt and return to the Federation’s border.
Chu Rong immediately contacted Chu Huai. Upon learning that the situation in the Federation was relatively stable and arrangements for the public trial were underway, he felt relieved. He then contacted the Imperial Neitaxi, informing him to send someone to the border to escort An Mhu and made subsequent plans.
Neitaxi was very excited when he heard the news, and he promised to send reliable envoys for the plans.
The next day at noon, everyone met one of the envoy sent by Neitaxi – the Imperial High Advisor, Feng. They met at a mining planet near the border owned by the Chu family.
Jian, who was standing behind the crowd, was first stunned, then immediately rushed over and called out, “Dad!”
Qiao Zhiya was somewhat surprised that the one sent to pick them up was the Imperial High Advisor. He had complex feelings towards him. Although he knew he harbored no ill intention and was even quite friendly, he couldn’t help but instinctively feel distant from him.
Chu Rong frowned, stepping forward and asking, “Why are you here?” According to the original plan, the Imperial High Advisor should still be at the Empire’s Capital Planet.
“I escaped here,” the Imperial High Advisor said as he released Jian and nodded towards Qiao Zhiya as a greeting. Then, he turned to Chu Rong and explained, “After the disappearance of the Emperor, An Xei behaved himself for a while, using the news of our victory in the war to pacify the public. However, as the Imperial Royal flagship remained absent, the effectiveness of this pacification dwindled, and doubts began to arise among the citizens.”
What unsettled the citizens wasn’t just the absence of the new Emperor’s triumphant return but also the domestic news blockade. All star stations that once facilitated friendly exchanges with the Federation have been unilaterally closed off. Any trace of news about the Federation vanished overnight, and even the Starnet, which used to facilitate unrestricted communication, has been forcibly isolated.
Unlike the Federation, where martial law had been lifted off, it was still strictly enforced in the Empire.
The people couldn’t gather any information about the war from the Federation themselves, nor could they move around freely. All their sources of information came solely from the upper echelons, which only left them deeply unsettled. It even caused them to doubt whether the victory in the war was just a facade, and whether their new Emperor might have died.
At the same time, officials within the Empire have initiated a highly secretive purge. An Xei, as if afraid that the situation might spiral out of control, had suddenly intensified control over various aspects of the Empire, purging dissenters and strictly employing only those loyal to him.
Figures like the Imperial High Advisor, belonging to the old Emperor’s trusted circle, naturally found themselves at the forefront of this purge.
In fact, Neitaxi would have been purged also – however, since he held massive military power and his popularity among the citizens was too high, he was safe. He also kept inspecting the safety of the planets of the Empire and insisted not to return to the Capital Planet.
“Now, in the eyes of the outside world, I’m probably already labeled a traitor to the Empire,” the Imperial High Advisor scoffed. Seeing Jian’s worried expression, he quickly patted him reassuringly and continued, “An Tyn and An Leen have been sent to General Neitaxi’s care by me. Before I left, An Xei was already preparing to select a puppet between the Second and Fourth Princes. Additionally, I suspect An Xei may be considering war with the Federation, seeking a pretext to shift blame for the disappearance of the new Emperor and the Imperial Royal flagship onto the Federation. His internal purge over the past month has been in preparation for war.”
‘War again?’ Qiao Zhiya frowned.
The citizens are innocent. The foot soldiers and citizens were the ones to suffer the most should a war erupted. An Xei was just too evil.
“He really has no idea about the situation on the battlefield. He managed to keep his composure for a month,” Chu Rong spoke coldly, pondering for a moment before saying, “I’ll accompany you to the Empire. An Xei is too cunning, and we’re unsure of how much leverage he still holds. You have too few chips, and acting on your own is too risky.”
The Imperial High Advisor was relieved and nodded in gratitude.
It’s naturally the best if it could be done this way. An Tyn was too young, and he had expended too much of his own power. Neitaxi can only protect the citizens. Compared to An Xei, their strength was indeed insufficient. With Chu Rong willing to offer assistance proactively, the likelihood of success in this campaign against An Xei would significantly increase.
Qiao Zhiya understood this. He grasped Chu Rong’s hand.
After confirming the next steps of the journey, Chu Rong contacted Chu Huai again to discuss the arrangements for the follow-up. Then, he reached out to Neitaxi to have a detailed discussion with the Imperial High Advisor on how to proceed with the campaign against An Xei.
Since Qiao Zhiya couldn’t understand the details of the campaign and couldn’t contribute much, he took it upon himself to find Zhuang Yu and immersed himself in treating the Imperial soldiers and An Mhu. These individuals had been close to the center of the conspiracy and might know something useful.
With his assistance, Zhuang Yu found it much easier to handle the situation. As the Chu family flagship set sail towards the Empire once again, they finally managed to clear the clouded consciousness of An Mhu. However, not surprisingly, he turned out to be just like Ning Tianxing, remaining silent and tight-lipped.
With increasing knowledge of the truth, Chu Rong’s patience wore thin. Unwilling to waste time with the new Emperor, who was clearly a pawn, he conducted a mental search on him, only to unsurprisingly discover a mental lock in his mind as well.
“The lock is most likely placed by An Xei. It should be very easy to break, but I can’t. Out of that locked section, I found nothing. He’s likely just purely a pawn.
Chu Rong frowned and retracted his hand, with a hint of frustration on his frown.
Having just witnessed the search, he knew that An Mhu had arranged for someone to manipulate Chu Yan’s entry into the final of the mecha piloting competition. Chu Rong’s restraint in not harming An Mhu could be considered quite humane.
Subsequently, other high-ranking personnel aboard the Imperial Royal flagship also began to regain consciousness. However, similarly, these individuals were all like empty-headed puppets.
Two days later, Chu Rong and Neitaxi converged on a small planet at the Empire’s border. All the people from the Chu family flagship were transferred to Neitaxi’s warship. Subsequently, the warship set sail. As planned, they sent a message to An Xei stating that they had successfully exterminated the straggler Zergs in the border and requested to return. However, they deviated from the provided route and approached the Capital Planet from another direction.
An Xei’s response came swiftly. He first thanked Neitaxi for his efforts in a polite manner, then expressed his intention to hold a grand welcoming ceremony for the triumphant soldiers. Upon receiving the message, Chu Rong immediately boarded a small Chu family-customized warship with An Tyn, the Imperial High Advisor, and others, bidding farewell to General Neitaxi. They then set course for the Imperial capital at full speed with the rest of the Chu family members.
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Chu Rong furrowed his brow and glanced at the remote-like device in Qiao Zhiya’s hand. He attempted to sense it with his spiritual power but felt nothing. Remembering the peculiar nature of Qiao Zhiya’s abilities, he grew concerned and quickly retrieved an isolation barrier, enclosing the device within it.
“Actually, I still have one on this kind of energy fluctuation device.” Qiao Zhiya said, then sensed that Chu Rong’s expression grew even more grim. He felt guilty, and immediately confessed, explaining in detail about a device he had just remembered, “When I hit the Zerg Queen, didn’t I retrieve something from the black hole? But then, I slept for a long time, and when I woke up, I completely forgot about it….”
And after he woke up, Qiao Zhiya’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the baby inside Gu Yan’an’s stomach. Additionally, Chu Rong’s concern about the vines pattern on his wrist had prevented him from engaging in investigative matters. As a result, Qiao Zhiya had not recalled the incident until he detected a familiar fluctuation from An Mhu just now.
Chu Rong’s demeanor turned cold in an instant. He reached out and grasped Qiao Zhiya’s ears, his voice almost gritted through clenched teeth as he said, “You actually brought something out from the black hole back then? What if it was something dangerous or highly radioactive? And don’t tell me you’ve been keeping such strange objects with other power fluctuations in your storage ring tied to your body.”
Qiao Zhiya’s eyes widened, and he nuzzled more vigorously, his whole body language expressing his guilt.
Qiao Zhiya stammered, admitting that he had indeed kept that thing in his storage ring all along. He explained that when they emerged from the black hole, the mechanism for his mecha’s spatial button was affected and temporarily unusable. In his haste, he immediately stored the object in his storage ring without much thought.
The response was nothing short of a slap in the face!
In that moment, Chu Rong’s mind raced with thoughts. He recalled Qiao Zhiya’s bouts of uncontrollable power and the persistent fever he experienced during those times. He remembered the vine patterns on Qiao Zhiya’s wrist and his restless nights filled with frequent dreams. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that all these chaotic and negative symptoms were caused by that unidentified object with strange energy fluctuations. Unable to contain his frustration, he tightened his grip on Qiao Zhiya’s head, taking a deep breath in an attempt to suppress his rising temper. However, he couldn’t resist giving his ear a tug, then bent down to pick him up, striding quickly towards their own flagship.
Qiao Zhiya knew he was truly angry, so he didn’t dare to resist. He obediently let him hold him, burying his head on his shoulder to avoid the curious glances from Fan Xiangnan and others. His ears drooped with guilt.
Chu Rong directly carried Qiao Zhiya into the isolation room of the Chu family flagship, which had already been repaired. After setting him down, he took out an isolation barrier and gestured for him to take out the object quickly.
Qiao Zhiya glanced at the hood and whispered, “This is too small…” The strange object he carried out was a bit big.
Chu Rong’s face darkened even more upon hearing this. After estimating the size of his mecha, he directly took out the largest isolation barrier and placed it on the ground, gesturing for him to put the object inside.
Qiao Zhiya quickly complied. In the next moment, an oval-shaped device, entirely black with strange red patterns all over it, appeared inside the isolation hood. Chu Rong felt uneasy at the sight of this color and hurriedly closed the isolation barrier. With a grim expression, he first used his spiritual power to encircle Qiao Zhiya, then took out a dose of Yellow Leaf Tree potion and fed it to his mouth.
Feeling unsure, he then took out several doses of spiritual power purification medicine and fed them all to Qiao Zhiya, not stopping until his lips were rosy and healthy-looking before finally stopping.
Having consumed a bellyful of pure energy source, Qiao Zhiya’s face was slightly flushed, a sense of warmth rising from his magic pool. He hurriedly reassured Chu Rong, gripping his hand soothingly, saying, “I’m fine, really. The power fluctuations of this thing aren’t as intense as the mutated red tin ore.”
This statement completely stirred up another hornet’s nest. Chu Rong squinted, looking at him with inscrutable eyes, the curve of his lips appearing somewhat dangerous.
Qiao Zhiya’s ears stiffened, sensing that his days of freely using secondary mutated red tin ore might be coming to an end. He swallowed nervously, attempting to salvage the situation, “I haven’t touched those ores in a long time, I swear. The processing method had long been automated, you know, so I only used the processed ones, the ones without any sort of radiation…”
This explanation seemed to have some effect. Chu Rong eased his expression and tugged at his ear, no longer dwelling on these matters. He turned his head to look at the strange device inside the isolation barrier, furrowing his brow in contemplation for a moment before reaching out to collect it himself.
While they were dealing with this, the Imperial Royal flagship on the other side had already been efficiently organized by Fan Xiangnan and the soldiers.
There were over two hundred surviving Imperial soldiers, with over a dozen deaths due to various reasons. In the control room, there were a dozen surviving members of the Imperial command team, with two casualties. The new Emperor remained in a coma, but the instability of his spiritual power had been brought under control.
Hundreds of valuable classified documents were found through the search, along with over a dozen sealed safes. There were also many scattered items that required further organization.
After listening to the report, Chu Rong ordered all these items to be sealed and stored away. Then, he instructed personnel to transfer all surviving Imperial soldiers onto the Chu family flagship for closed-door supervision. High-ranking individuals like the new Emperor were to be kept separately under close watch. Once the Imperial Royal flagship was secured, they announced the return journey.
They have been away from the Federation for ten days. Making the trip too long would draw suspicion.
For the return journey, Chu Rong needed to provide blood for directional location. Qiao Zhiya had become quite proficient using his magic to draw blood, but perhaps out of fear of hurting Chu Rong, his hand shook when he made the move, accidentally cutting his own finger instead.
Frowning, Chu Rong immediately caught his hand after dripping his blood into the array, helping him stop the bleeding and bandaging his finger.
Qiao Zhiya felt that his performance in the past few days had been quite poor. He hung his head obediently, letting Chu Rong take care of him, while discreetly soothing him without leaving any traces.
“What is it?,” Chu Rong brushed his bangs aside, thinking he had scared him. His expression softened as he said, “Pay more attention next time. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Qiao Zhiya shook his head quickly, refraining from speaking aloud due to the presence of others. Instead, he discreetly squeezed his hand in response.
The array quickly worked, pointing out the direction before the hair once again transformed into a red thread wrapped around Chu Rong’s wrist.
Qiao Zhiya suddenly felt a warmth on the vine pattern on his wrist, but upon closer sensing, he didn’t detect anything unusual. Thinking it might be his imagination, he shrugged it off without much concern, pushing the matter to the back of his mind.
There was no need to find anyone. They have come out of the asteroid belt much faster. It took only three and a half days to leave the asteroid belt and return to the Federation’s border.
Chu Rong immediately contacted Chu Huai. Upon learning that the situation in the Federation was relatively stable and arrangements for the public trial were underway, he felt relieved. He then contacted the Imperial Neitaxi, informing him to send someone to the border to escort An Mhu and made subsequent plans.
Neitaxi was very excited when he heard the news, and he promised to send reliable envoys for the plans.
The next day at noon, everyone met one of the envoy sent by Neitaxi – the Imperial High Advisor, Feng. They met at a mining planet near the border owned by the Chu family.
Jian, who was standing behind the crowd, was first stunned, then immediately rushed over and called out, “Dad!”
Qiao Zhiya was somewhat surprised that the one sent to pick them up was the Imperial High Advisor. He had complex feelings towards him. Although he knew he harbored no ill intention and was even quite friendly, he couldn’t help but instinctively feel distant from him.
Chu Rong frowned, stepping forward and asking, “Why are you here?” According to the original plan, the Imperial High Advisor should still be at the Empire’s Capital Planet.
“I escaped here,” the Imperial High Advisor said as he released Jian and nodded towards Qiao Zhiya as a greeting. Then, he turned to Chu Rong and explained, “After the disappearance of the Emperor, An Xei behaved himself for a while, using the news of our victory in the war to pacify the public. However, as the Imperial Royal flagship remained absent, the effectiveness of this pacification dwindled, and doubts began to arise among the citizens.”
What unsettled the citizens wasn’t just the absence of the new Emperor’s triumphant return but also the domestic news blockade. All star stations that once facilitated friendly exchanges with the Federation have been unilaterally closed off. Any trace of news about the Federation vanished overnight, and even the Starnet, which used to facilitate unrestricted communication, has been forcibly isolated.
Unlike the Federation, where martial law had been lifted off, it was still strictly enforced in the Empire.
The people couldn’t gather any information about the war from the Federation themselves, nor could they move around freely. All their sources of information came solely from the upper echelons, which only left them deeply unsettled. It even caused them to doubt whether the victory in the war was just a facade, and whether their new Emperor might have died.
At the same time, officials within the Empire have initiated a highly secretive purge. An Xei, as if afraid that the situation might spiral out of control, had suddenly intensified control over various aspects of the Empire, purging dissenters and strictly employing only those loyal to him.
Figures like the Imperial High Advisor, belonging to the old Emperor’s trusted circle, naturally found themselves at the forefront of this purge.
In fact, Neitaxi would have been purged also – however, since he held massive military power and his popularity among the citizens was too high, he was safe. He also kept inspecting the safety of the planets of the Empire and insisted not to return to the Capital Planet.
“Now, in the eyes of the outside world, I’m probably already labeled a traitor to the Empire,” the Imperial High Advisor scoffed. Seeing Jian’s worried expression, he quickly patted him reassuringly and continued, “An Tyn and An Leen have been sent to General Neitaxi’s care by me. Before I left, An Xei was already preparing to select a puppet between the Second and Fourth Princes. Additionally, I suspect An Xei may be considering war with the Federation, seeking a pretext to shift blame for the disappearance of the new Emperor and the Imperial Royal flagship onto the Federation. His internal purge over the past month has been in preparation for war.”
‘War again?’ Qiao Zhiya frowned.
The citizens are innocent. The foot soldiers and citizens were the ones to suffer the most should a war erupted. An Xei was just too evil.
“He really has no idea about the situation on the battlefield. He managed to keep his composure for a month,” Chu Rong spoke coldly, pondering for a moment before saying, “I’ll accompany you to the Empire. An Xei is too cunning, and we’re unsure of how much leverage he still holds. You have too few chips, and acting on your own is too risky.”
The Imperial High Advisor was relieved and nodded in gratitude.
It’s naturally the best if it could be done this way. An Tyn was too young, and he had expended too much of his own power. Neitaxi can only protect the citizens. Compared to An Xei, their strength was indeed insufficient. With Chu Rong willing to offer assistance proactively, the likelihood of success in this campaign against An Xei would significantly increase.
Qiao Zhiya understood this. He grasped Chu Rong’s hand.
After confirming the next steps of the journey, Chu Rong contacted Chu Huai again to discuss the arrangements for the follow-up. Then, he reached out to Neitaxi to have a detailed discussion with the Imperial High Advisor on how to proceed with the campaign against An Xei.
Since Qiao Zhiya couldn’t understand the details of the campaign and couldn’t contribute much, he took it upon himself to find Zhuang Yu and immersed himself in treating the Imperial soldiers and An Mhu. These individuals had been close to the center of the conspiracy and might know something useful.
With his assistance, Zhuang Yu found it much easier to handle the situation. As the Chu family flagship set sail towards the Empire once again, they finally managed to clear the clouded consciousness of An Mhu. However, not surprisingly, he turned out to be just like Ning Tianxing, remaining silent and tight-lipped.
With increasing knowledge of the truth, Chu Rong’s patience wore thin. Unwilling to waste time with the new Emperor, who was clearly a pawn, he conducted a mental search on him, only to unsurprisingly discover a mental lock in his mind as well.
“The lock is most likely placed by An Xei. It should be very easy to break, but I can’t. Out of that locked section, I found nothing. He’s likely just purely a pawn.
Chu Rong frowned and retracted his hand, with a hint of frustration on his frown.
Having just witnessed the search, he knew that An Mhu had arranged for someone to manipulate Chu Yan’s entry into the final of the mecha piloting competition. Chu Rong’s restraint in not harming An Mhu could be considered quite humane.
Subsequently, other high-ranking personnel aboard the Imperial Royal flagship also began to regain consciousness. However, similarly, these individuals were all like empty-headed puppets.
Two days later, Chu Rong and Neitaxi converged on a small planet at the Empire’s border. All the people from the Chu family flagship were transferred to Neitaxi’s warship. Subsequently, the warship set sail. As planned, they sent a message to An Xei stating that they had successfully exterminated the straggler Zergs in the border and requested to return. However, they deviated from the provided route and approached the Capital Planet from another direction.
An Xei’s response came swiftly. He first thanked Neitaxi for his efforts in a polite manner, then expressed his intention to hold a grand welcoming ceremony for the triumphant soldiers. Upon receiving the message, Chu Rong immediately boarded a small Chu family-customized warship with An Tyn, the Imperial High Advisor, and others, bidding farewell to General Neitaxi. They then set course for the Imperial capital at full speed with the rest of the Chu family members.
Chu Rong furrowed his brow and glanced at the remote-like device in Qiao Zhiya's hand. He attempted to sense it with his spiritual power but felt nothing. Remembering the peculiar nature of Qiao Zhiya's abilities, he grew concerned and quickly retrieved an isolation barrier, enclosing the device within it.Actually, I still have one on this kind of energy fluctuation device. Qiao Zhiya said, then sensed that Chu Rong's expression grew even more grim. He felt guilty, and immediately confessed, explaining in detail about a device he had just remembered, When I hit the Zerg Queen, didn't I retrieve something from the black hole? But then, I slept for a long time, and when I woke up, I completely forgot about it.And after he woke up, Qiao Zhiya's mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the baby inside Gu Yan'an's stomach. Additionally, Chu Rong's concern about the vines pattern on his wrist had prevented him from engaging in investigative matters. As a result, Qiao Zhiya had not recalled the incident until he detected a familiar fluctuation from An Mhu just now.Chu Rong's demeanor turned cold in an instant. He reached out and grasped Qiao Zhiya's ears, his voice almost gritted through clenched teeth as he said, You actually brought something out from the black hole back then? What if it was something dangerous or highly radioactive? And don't tell me you've been keeping such strange objects with other power fluctuations in your storage ring tied to your body.Qiao Zhiya's eyes widened, and he nuzzled more vigorously, his whole body language expressing his guilt.Qiao Zhiya stammered, admitting that he had indeed kept that thing in his storage ring all along. He explained that when they emerged from the black hole, the mechanism for his mecha's spatial button was affected and temporarily unusable. In his haste, he immediately stored the object in his storage ring without much thought.The response was nothing short of a slap in the face!In that moment, Chu Rong's mind raced with thoughts. He recalled Qiao Zhiya's bouts of uncontrollable power and the persistent fever he experienced during those times. He remembered the vine patterns on Qiao Zhiya's wrist and his restless nights filled with frequent dreams. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that all these chaotic and negative symptoms were caused by that unidentified object with strange energy fluctuations. Unable to contain his frustration, he tightened his grip on Qiao Zhiya's head, taking a deep breath in an attempt to suppress his rising temper. However, he couldn't resist giving his ear a tug, then bent down to pick him up, striding quickly towards their own flagship.Qiao Zhiya knew he was truly angry, so he didn't dare to resist. He obediently let him hold him, burying his head on his shoulder to avoid the curious glances from Fan Xiangnan and others. His ears drooped with guilt.Chu Rong directly carried Qiao Zhiya into the isolation room of the Chu family flagship, which had already been repaired. After setting him down, he took out an isolation barrier and gestured for him to take out the object quickly.Qiao Zhiya glanced at the hood and whispered, This is too small The strange object he carried out was a bit big.Chu Rong's face darkened even more upon hearing this. After estimating the size of his mecha, he directly took out the largest isolation barrier and placed it on the ground, gesturing for him to put the object inside.Qiao Zhiya quickly complied. In the next moment, an oval-shaped device, entirely black with strange red patterns all over it, appeared inside the isolation hood. Chu Rong felt uneasy at the sight of this color and hurriedly closed the isolation barrier. With a grim expression, he first used his spiritual power to encircle Qiao Zhiya, then took out a dose of Yellow Leaf Tree potion and fed it to his mouth.Feeling unsure, he then took out several doses of spiritual power purification medicine and fed them all to Qiao Zhiya, not stopping until his lips were rosy and healthy-looking before finally stopping.Having consumed a bellyful of pure energy source, Qiao Zhiya's face was slightly flushed, a sense of warmth rising from his magic pool. He hurriedly reassured Chu Rong, gripping his hand soothingly, saying, I'm fine, really. The power fluctuations of this thing aren't as intense as the mutated red tin ore.This statement completely stirred up another hornet's nest. Chu Rong squinted, looking at him with inscrutable eyes, the curve of his lips appearing somewhat dangerous.Qiao Zhiya's ears stiffened, sensing that his days of freely using secondary mutated red tin ore might be coming to an end. He swallowed nervously, attempting to salvage the situation, I haven't touched those ores in a long time, I swear. The processing method had long been automated, you know, so I only used the processed ones, the ones without any sort of radiationThis explanation seemed to have some effect. Chu Rong eased his expression and tugged at his ear, no longer dwelling on these matters. He turned his head to look at the strange device inside the isolation barrier, furrowing his brow in contemplation for a moment before reaching out to collect it himself.While they were dealing with this, the Imperial Royal flagship on the other side had already been efficiently organized by Fan Xiangnan and the soldiers.There were over two hundred surviving Imperial soldiers, with over a dozen deaths due to various reasons. In the control room, there were a dozen surviving members of the Imperial command team, with two casualties. The new Emperor remained in a coma, but the instability of his spiritual power had been brought under control.Hundreds of valuable classified documents were found through the search, along with over a dozen sealed safes. There were also many scattered items that required further organization.After listening to the report, Chu Rong ordered all these items to be sealed and stored away. Then, he instructed personnel to transfer all surviving Imperial soldiers onto the Chu family flagship for closed-door supervision. High-ranking individuals like the new Emperor were to be kept separately under close watch. Once the Imperial Royal flagship was secured, they announced the return journey.They have been away from the Federation for ten days. Making the trip too long would draw suspicion.For the return journey, Chu Rong needed to provide blood for directional location. Qiao Zhiya had become quite proficient using his magic to draw blood, but perhaps out of fear of hurting Chu Rong, his hand shook when he made the move, accidentally cutting his own finger instead.Frowning, Chu Rong immediately caught his hand after dripping his blood into the array, helping him stop the bleeding and bandaging his finger.Qiao Zhiya felt that his performance in the past few days had been quite poor. He hung his head obediently, letting Chu Rong take care of him, while discreetly soothing him without leaving any traces.What is it?, Chu Rong brushed his bangs aside, thinking he had scared him. His expression softened as he said, Pay more attention next time. I didn't mean to frighten you.Qiao Zhiya shook his head quickly, refraining from speaking aloud due to the presence of others. Instead, he discreetly squeezed his hand in response.The array quickly worked, pointing out the direction before the hair once again transformed into a red thread wrapped around Chu Rong's wrist.Qiao Zhiya suddenly felt a warmth on the vine pattern on his wrist, but upon closer sensing, he didn't detect anything unusual. Thinking it might be his imagination, he shrugged it off without much concern, pushing the matter to the back of his mind.There was no need to find anyone. They have come out of the asteroid belt much faster. It took only three and a half days to leave the asteroid belt and return to the Federation's border.Chu Rong immediately contacted Chu Huai. Upon learning that the situation in the Federation was relatively stable and arrangements for the public trial were underway, he felt relieved. He then contacted the Imperial Neitaxi, informing him to send someone to the border to escort An Mhu and made subsequent plans.Neitaxi was very excited when he heard the news, and he promised to send reliable envoys for the plans.The next day at noon, everyone met one of the envoy sent by Neitaxi the Imperial High Advisor, Feng. They met at a mining planet near the border owned by the Chu family.Jian, who was standing behind the crowd, was first stunned, then immediately rushed over and called out, Dad!Qiao Zhiya was somewhat surprised that the one sent to pick them up was the Imperial High Advisor. He had complex feelings towards him. Although he knew he harbored no ill intention and was even quite friendly, he couldn't help but instinctively feel distant from him.Chu Rong frowned, stepping forward and asking, Why are you here? According to the original plan, the Imperial High Advisor should still be at the Empire's Capital Planet.I escaped here, the Imperial High Advisor said as he released Jian and nodded towards Qiao Zhiya as a greeting. Then, he turned to Chu Rong and explained, After the disappearance of the Emperor, An Xei behaved himself for a while, using the news of our victory in the war to pacify the public. However, as the Imperial Royal flagship remained absent, the effectiveness of this pacification dwindled, and doubts began to arise among the citizens.What unsettled the citizens wasn't just the absence of the new Emperor's triumphant return but also the domestic news blockade. All star stations that once facilitated friendly exchanges with the Federation have been unilaterally closed off. Any trace of news about the Federation vanished overnight, and even the Starnet, which used to facilitate unrestricted communication, has been forcibly isolated.Unlike the Federation, where martial law had been lifted off, it was still strictly enforced in the Empire.The people couldn't gather any information about the war from the Federation themselves, nor could they move around freely. All their sources of information came solely from the upper echelons, which only left them deeply unsettled. It even caused them to doubt whether the victory in the war was just a facade, and whether their new Emperor might have died.At the same time, officials within the Empire have initiated a highly secretive purge. An Xei, as if afraid that the situation might spiral out of control, had suddenly intensified control over various aspects of the Empire, purging dissenters and strictly employing only those loyal to him.Figures like the Imperial High Advisor, belonging to the old Emperor's trusted circle, naturally found themselves at the forefront of this purge.In fact, Neitaxi would have been purged also however, since he held massive military power and his popularity among the citizens was too high, he was safe. He also kept inspecting the safety of the planets of the Empire and insisted not to return to the Capital Planet.Now, in the eyes of the outside world, I'm probably already labeled a traitor to the Empire, the Imperial High Advisor scoffed. Seeing Jian's worried expression, he quickly patted him reassuringly and continued, An Tyn and An Leen have been sent to General Neitaxi's care by me. Before I left, An Xei was already preparing to select a puppet between the Second and Fourth Princes. Additionally, I suspect An Xei may be considering war with the Federation, seeking a pretext to shift blame for the disappearance of the new Emperor and the Imperial Royal flagship onto the Federation. His internal purge over the past month has been in preparation for war.War again?' Qiao Zhiya frowned.The citizens are innocent. The foot soldiers and citizens were the ones to suffer the most should a war erupted. An Xei was just too evil.He really has no idea about the situation on the battlefield. He managed to keep his composure for a month, Chu Rong spoke coldly, pondering for a moment before saying, I'll accompany you to the Empire. An Xei is too cunning, and we're unsure of how much leverage he still holds. You have too few chips, and acting on your own is too risky.The Imperial High Advisor was relieved and nodded in gratitude.It's naturally the best if it could be done this way. An Tyn was too young, and he had expended too much of his own power. Neitaxi can only protect the citizens. Compared to An Xei, their strength was indeed insufficient. With Chu Rong willing to offer assistance proactively, the likelihood of success in this campaign against An Xei would significantly increase.Qiao Zhiya understood this. He grasped Chu Rong's hand.After confirming the next steps of the journey, Chu Rong contacted Chu Huai again to discuss the arrangements for the follow-up. Then, he reached out to Neitaxi to have a detailed discussion with the Imperial High Advisor on how to proceed with the campaign against An Xei.Since Qiao Zhiya couldn't understand the details of the campaign and couldn't contribute much, he took it upon himself to find Zhuang Yu and immersed himself in treating the Imperial soldiers and An Mhu. These individuals had been close to the center of the conspiracy and might know something useful.With his assistance, Zhuang Yu found it much easier to handle the situation. As the Chu family flagship set sail towards the Empire once again, they finally managed to clear the clouded consciousness of An Mhu. However, not surprisingly, he turned out to be just like Ning Tianxing, remaining silent and tight-lipped.With increasing knowledge of the truth, Chu Rong's patience wore thin. Unwilling to waste time with the new Emperor, who was clearly a pawn, he conducted a mental search on him, only to unsurprisingly discover a mental lock in his mind as well.The lock is most likely placed by An Xei. It should be very easy to break, but I can't. Out of that locked section, I found nothing. He's likely just purely a pawn.Chu Rong frowned and retracted his hand, with a hint of frustration on his frown.Having just witnessed the search, he knew that An Mhu had arranged for someone to manipulate Chu Yan's entry into the final of the mecha piloting competition. Chu Rong's restraint in not harming An Mhu could be considered quite humane.Subsequently, other high-ranking personnel aboard the Imperial Royal flagship also began to regain consciousness. However, similarly, these individuals were all like empty-headed puppets.Two days later, Chu Rong and Neitaxi converged on a small planet at the Empire's border. All the people from the Chu family flagship were transferred to Neitaxi's warship. Subsequently, the warship set sail. As planned, they sent a message to An Xei stating that they had successfully exterminated the straggler Zergs in the border and requested to return. However, they deviated from the provided route and approached the Capital Planet from another direction.An Xei's response came swiftly. He first thanked Neitaxi for his efforts in a polite manner, then expressed his intention to hold a grand welcoming ceremony for the triumphant soldiers. Upon receiving the message, Chu Rong immediately boarded a small Chu family-customized warship with An Tyn, the Imperial High Advisor, and others, bidding farewell to General Neitaxi. They then set course for the Imperial capital at full speed with the rest of the Chu family members.
