Chapter 142: Curly-Haired Kid Is a Spy?!

Lauri couldn’t help but marvel at how someone could be so easygoing as he watched a certain person smile so radiantly. He had no idea what was going on inside Ji Laili’s mind.

Once they were out of Garna’s line of sight, Lauri, completely forgetting how he’d once been beaten to the ground in just a few moves, took it upon himself to lecture Ji Laili.

“You can’t keep acting like this. Sooner or later, you’ll get taken advantage of.”

Ji Laili let out a surprised sound, dramatically sizing Lauri up and down, making him feel uneasy.

“Bro, you’re actually teaching me to talk back to Lord Garna?”

His eyes curved into a playful smile. “That’s unexpected.”

“So what if he’s Lord Garna?” Feeling underestimated, Lauri took the opportunity to complain while Garna wasn’t around. “All he ever does is smoke, smoke, and smoke—he even has custom-made cigarettes.”

“He’s fussy and demanding, always ordering people around. At least in other places, bosses give you empty promises to keep you going.”

“But here?” Lauri sighed with deep resentment. “The fact that he hasn’t shot you with a quantum gun or let you die from carbon monoxide poisoning is already a blessing.”

“And yet you still follow him around?”

Ji Laili blinked. “Not thinking about switching sides?”

Lauri paused, scratched his head, and replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Why would I switch? Sure, it’s tiring, but the future looks bright.”

“Just with the lab alone, we’ve gained a lot.”

Lauri waggled his eyebrows at him. “By then, we’ll be great contributors to the Empire. Speaking of which…” He clicked his tongue. “We’re going to need more test subjects now that we lost the last batch.”

He grumbled a few more complaints, completely unaware of the unusual silence beside him. Later, he would think back and wonder—if he had been a little more observant, would he have noticed something off about Ji Laili?

Right now, he was just venting about his boss to a friend, even giving him a heads-up.

“I’m only telling you this because we’re friends.”

“Make sure not to slip up in front of Lord Garna!”

“I got it…” Ji Laili stared at Lauri intently, and for some reason, Lauri thought he saw a trace of sadness on his face.

Even though, in the next instant, Ji Laili was back to his usual carefree self, grinning like an overjoyed fool.

“Lauri, we’re friends, huh.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lauri immediately forgot about the fleeting sadness and frowned. “You just realized?”

Ji Laili: “Nope. I just suddenly became very aware… that you’re really easy to fool.”

His face was deadly serious.

Lauri: ???

Seeing Lauri’s expression, Ji Laili burst into laughter. “Lauri, you should be more cautious. Hmm…” His blinking slowed slightly. “I’m only telling you this because we’re friends too.”

“Never trust others too much.”

After all…

People from opposing camps are meant to be enemies.

There’s no need for anything else. Ji Laili waved at him, leaving behind one last remark.

“I gotta go. Lord Garna’s still waiting for me to complete my mission.”

“So competitive?”

Lauri muttered to himself. “Why does it feel like this guy has been busier than me lately? I didn’t even give him that much work.”

Ji Laili was constantly running around, barely staying in one place. This time, Lauri only ran into him outside the lab, and apparently, he was looking for Garna.

Lauri never mentioned any of this to Garna. What if the lord misunderstood? There was no need for that. It’s not like that curly-haired kid could do anything big.

But just two days later, shocking news rocked the entire base.

After the lab explosion and fire, the researchers had suffered heavy casualties, and the test subjects were rescued by a Federation spy. The base had taken a severe blow.

Patrols and security checks had become more rigorous, and their aggressive expansion had slowed.

Everyone thought things would remain tense for a while—until another piece of news spread like wildfire.

Ji Laili—no, now it should be Agent Ji Laili of the Federation—was exposed.

The Imperial Alphas who had gotten along well with Ji Laili were utterly dumbfounded.

“Huh? The curly-haired kid is a spy?!”

“No way! That guy doesn’t seem like a spy at all. Sure, he’s from the Federation, but his heart was always with the Empire.”

“Who spread this rumor? I need to have a word with them!”

“Apparently, Lance found out.”

“Him again?!”

What was this guy, some kind of undercover agent detector? Every time he investigated, he found a spy.

Ji Laili had played his role too well—always smiling, full of enthusiasm, like a cheerful little puppy. Just seeing him could brighten someone’s mood.

And now, suddenly being told he was a spy… it was like raising a pet dog for years, feeding it, caring for it, only to find out one day that it wasn’t your dog to begin with.

Before they could even process the shock, they were summoned to the interrogation room.

Lauri was among them.

Unlike the others who were clueless, as Garna’s right-hand man, Lauri had more access to information. His visit to the interrogation room was merely a formality.

But he was in a hurry to get to the truth.

Disbelieving, he asked Garna, “My lord, is Ji Laili really a spy?”

“Could there be a mistake? That curly-haired kid was supposed to be catching a spy—how did he suddenly become one himself?”

The twist was too abrupt. Lauri was utterly bewildered.

“Idiot. He was by your side for so long, and you never suspected a thing?”

Garna was already in a foul mood over this revelation. Coldly, he recalled Ji Laili’s words about giving him a ‘surprise.’ His aura grew even darker, filled with the fury of someone who had been played.

Hearing Lauri’s words only made him angrier, and he lashed out at him with an icy sneer.

“Or… are you a Federation spy too?”

“My lord!” Lauri snapped back to reality, eyes wide with shock. “I would never be a spy!”

A cold voice rang out, dripping with mockery.

“Would a spy admit they’re a spy?”

Lauri finally realized there was a second person in the room.

“Lance?”

“What are you doing here?”

As soon as he asked, he figured it out—Lance was the one who exposed Ji Laili as a Federation spy. To confirm whether it was true, Lord Garna would have definitely summoned him.

Lauri eyed Lance with suspicion.

He had witnessed firsthand how terrible their relationship was. The one who accused Ji Laili of being a spy was Lance, which didn’t make it very convincing.

Shen Yu coldly stared at this Imperial Alpha.

“Where I am is none of your business.”

He had never liked Lauri, and now was the perfect chance to make things worse for him.

“You were so close to the spy, and you’re telling me you had no idea? Are you joking?”

Lauri was still struggling to process the news, and before he could react, he was suddenly being accused of being a spy himself. He let out a shocked sound, then snapped in frustration.

“Stop talking nonsense!”

“Ji Laili and I are just friends!”

“Friends?”

Thinking about how Ji Laili always hung around Lauri, Senior Shen—already jealous—began listing his so-called crimes with an icy tone.

“You two spent nine hours together.”

“Talked for three hours straight.”

“You had your arms around each other.”

“And you made affectionate expressions at him?”

“You better only be friends.”

Shen Yu, more than anyone, knew that Lauri and Ji Laili’s relationship was nothing more than friendship. But he still took the opportunity to frame him just because he felt like it.

Having just been betrayed, Lauri—who had only been slacking off at work, complaining about his boss, and pulling faces at Ji Laili—was speechless.

Help. No matter what I say, I’m dead either way, aren’t I?