Chapter 39

“Not at all, did she just leave like that?”

The members of the old unit were puzzled, but deeply shaken.

Watching the figure on the holographic display leaving without a trace of nostalgia, they were dumbfounded.

“Adjutant,” the battlefield analyst hesitated to speak, “Shouldn’t we just let it go? The odds were slim from the beginning, and it’s not ideal to hassle an ordinary student like this.”

“Yeah, with this time, it might be better to wait for Wei Wenwei to return from the Strategic Council and extract some information from that inflexible and stubborn kid.”

If the old unit members were only half-believing before, now it seemed like half of them were switching sides.

They unanimously believed that even if the eleven-year-old princess had a narrow escape, it would be difficult for her to infiltrate the Silver Star again.

Moreover, during military training, although Yuan Hanshuang displayed outstanding abilities such as ancient martial arts and swordsmanship, none of her various skills seemed to be linked to Hai Dongqing.

As the youngest saint-level talent, Hai Dongqing was a defense-oriented talent, following a path of pure brute force. With the ability to activate a Manifestation true body, he could smash a planet with a single punch. He was completely different from Yuan Hanshuang.

The old unit members were right; unless there was guidance from the third princess behind the scenes. Feng Bai thought.

Because of the old emperor’s indulgence and deliberate public opinion guidance, whenever the traitor was mentioned, the entire galaxy cursed the main culprit, Hai Dongqing. As for the third princess, due to the well-maintained image over the years, more people sighed that the princess was misled by Hai Dongqing and didn’t go as far as spitting on Hai Dongqing.

If the third princess, an adult, was guiding from behind, it wasn’t impossible.

But Feng Bai had an intuition that things weren’t that simple.

The operation to apprehend Hai Dongqing by the Third Legion back then naturally couldn’t conclude with just the arrest.

In fact, when the Third Legion headed to the capital star, the Strategic Council directly dispatched an execution department to conduct a detailed, clue-based investigation into the life trajectory of Hai Dongqing’s family on Star 1999. The investigation traced from the resettlement community back to the slums where the father and daughter lived in the past, even interrogating all relevant individuals who had daily contact with them.

From the investigation, they learned that since Hai Dongqing had activity records on Star 1999, he had already suffered extensive facial disfigurement and intellectual impairment. Setting aside why Hai Dongqing ended up in this state, individuals who had long-term contact with the father and daughter both expressed that the two depended on each other, and they had never seen a third person.

Even throughout the entire process of apprehending Hai Dongqing, only he was present. The Third Princess was absent throughout.

Initially, Hai Dongqing and the Third Princess were jokingly called the “fugitive mandarin ducks.” The two shared a deep bond, having defected together; in such a moment, how could they possibly be separated?

Moreover, whether in appearance, temperament, or even the mimetic voice, as a delicately nurtured and cherished flower in the palm of the royal family, the Third Princess’s every external aspect was extremely conspicuous. As the renowned first beauty of the interstellar realm, unless the confidentiality measures were exceptional, it was impossible for her to disappear without a trace.

Feng Bai actually thought that the Third Princess was likely in a precarious situation.

The interrogator in charge at the time shared the same belief. However, after the interrogation concluded and the investigation report was compiled and submitted to the old emperor, it faced opposition from the throne.

The next moment, there was a barrage of scolding.

“Spouting nonsense! What kind of useless investigation did you conduct? The princess is missing, and you didn’t think to search for her? Can’t you interrogate that Hai Dongqing? If someone goes missing, you call it a possibility of an accident. If I lock you up for ten years or half a year, would that also be a possibility of an accident?”

The elderly emperor, with white hair and nearing a century in age, berated with undiminished vigor. Not only did he leave the Minister of the Execution Department unable to straighten his back, but he also almost leaped from the throne, prompting the assistant minister to quickly activate protective measures.

“Your Majesty, your health is paramount. Please calm down first.”

After a few minutes of furious scolding, the old emperor, panting, slowly sat down with the support of court attendants. “Regardless, I want to see her alive or see her body!”

Thirty years ago, the insect tide at the end of the world, eighteen years ago, the birth of the insect race queen, plus numerous battles in between. To protect the empire, the old emperor had consumed too much vitality, and in his twilight years, his health deteriorated.

In recent years, the Strategic Council had already begun to expedite the preparations for the coronation of the Crown Princess.

If the Crown Princess ascended to the throne—although it wasn’t clear about her private relationship with the Third Princess—given their past as political rivals, it would likely be as difficult as reaching the sky to overturn the situation.

On the other hand, although the old emperor harbored deep hatred for Hai Dongqing, for the sake of his daughter’s reputation, as long as there was sufficient evidence for a reversal, he would at least order a thorough investigation.

Thinking of this, Feng Bai couldn’t help but sigh.

Gazing at the departing new recruits, the adjutant, rarely fatigued, took off his glasses.

Clearly, when the situation wasn’t as dire initially, Hai Dongqing had decided to take his wife away from the limelight, far from the central star system. However, the chosen route was unexpectedly exposed without warning, attracting pursuit.

Irrefutable and concrete evidence, the potential hidden secrets of the divinely bestowed sacred object, and a complete lack of communication for a whole decade—yet, suddenly, after the Third Legion stationed on Star 1999, a mysterious informant emerged.

When the news of Haidongqing’s intensified disfigurement and brain damage broke, many civilians rekindled their enthusiasm, still holding onto the last bit of hope. They expected that after the Empire cured Hai Dongqing, he would truthfully testify in the Supreme Military Court.

However, this hope was completely extinguished during the sudden prison break.

Undoubtedly, the prison break only solidified Hai Dongqing’s charges. This was also the fundamental reason why the old unit hesitated and didn’t attempt to break him out on the warship initially.

Everything seemed like there was an invisible hand behind the scenes, deceiving the world, manipulating and guiding.

It was still the most detestable situation: the enemy hidden in the dark while we were exposed in the light.

Regardless, as long as there was even a glimmer of hope, Feng Bai would not give up.

His intuition told him that Yuan Hanshuang harbored a massive secret. In Feng Bai’s eyes, her record was too clean, and it was precisely because of its pristine nature that it raised suspicion. This kind of intuition had saved Feng Bai’s life countless times on the battlefield.

It wasn’t until after leaving the memorial hall that Yuan Hanshuang felt the unsettling gaze on her back disappear.

Ensuring that there was no one around to monitor, she breathed a sigh of relief, and her steps became noticeably lighter.

Since Little Black Bird ascended to the mythical mimetic form, during that month of slumber in the ancient civilization ruins, Yuan Hanshuang’s physical qualities experienced another significant improvement.

With the leap-like advancement came an increase in the unique sharpness inherited from her father’s eagle-like Manifestation form.

For instance, she was now particularly sensitive to others’ gazes.

“Someone has been monitoring me since I entered the memorial hall.”

With this realization, the provocative and highly suggestive guide became especially suspicious.

As for who was doing the monitoring, she wasn’t initially sure. However, upon hearing the guide intentionally mention both Feng Yuanming and Feng Bai serving as adjutants in the Third Legion, and emphasizing the relationship between Feng Yuanming and Hai Dongqing, combined with her previous observations during military training, Yuan Hanshuang could easily guess who was probing her.

“The chief instructor’s move is far from clever. I’m not an ordinary teenager.”

Simply clueless.

“Well, even though there might be some leaks, obviously the other party doesn’t have much evidence in hand. Otherwise, there would be no need for such indirect probing; they would have come directly.”

As for whether Feng Bai and the others were friends or foes, it was completely outside Yuan Hanshuang’s considerations.

Her father’s situation was too sensitive. Being labeled as a common enemy of humanity and a criminal predetermined that, in the quest to uncover the truth, Yuan Hanshuang could not expose her identity to anyone.

At the entrance of the memorial hall, Xuan Yuansheng, who had left early, was waiting.

The young imperial grandson stood with his hands clasped behind his back, leaning against a pillar beside the side door. He gazed at the white doves gracefully descending on the nearby square. His once dazzling golden hair had dulled considerably, and his expression inexplicably carried a sense of loneliness.

“I noticed something,” Wu Haoxuan whispered, “When I see other members of the royal family in the news, they have a lot of security personnel around them, including Royal Guards as high as the eighth or even saint-tier. But the young imperial grandson seems particularly down-to-earth. Not only does he come out for school, but he also doesn’t bring any guards when he’s out.”

“That’s not being down-to-earth; it’s just that the royal family hasn’t provided security for Xuan Yuan Sheng.”

Yuan Hanshuang responded, “Earlier in the memorial hall, didn’t the guide mention that the royal family trades combat talents for protective talents? Xuan Yuan Sheng can now easily take down ten of you. Haven’t you felt that something’s off?”

Even Xia Mengrou expressed her disagreement, “Don’t say such things in front of Xuan Yuan Sheng.”

The young lady seemed to think of something, and her eyes showed a subtle touch of emotion, “Sacred protection is the foundation of the royal family’s rule. If Xuan Yuansheng lacks this ability, his days in the royal family might not be so easy.”

Sure enough, upon seeing his friends come out, Xuan Yuansheng dropped his hands. “Have you finished the tour? Why did you come out so quickly?”

His expression was still arrogant, and if the group hadn’t witnessed the scene from a distance just now, they probably wouldn’t have believed that this young imperial grandson, so confident to the point of arrogance, actually had such a desolate side.

“What’s with that expression?”

Clearly, the affectionate look on Wu Haoxuan’s face gave Xuan Yuansheng goosebumps, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

“Stop, stop, stop.”

To avoid awkwardness, Yuan Hanshuang intervened, “It’s still morning, as long as we make good use of our time, we still have an afternoon and evening for team-building. The main content of our team-building training will be battles. What do you think?”

“Let’s go.”

“Off you go!”

“Sure, I’m fine with it,” Wu Haoxuan chimed in.

“Now that Silver Star is at a disadvantage, we should integrate early. The clumsy bird flies first.”

Only Xia Mengrou hesitated, “This Miss has an appointment at the beauty salon in the afternoon. Since you’re all going, I’ll reluctantly reschedule it for tomorrow.”

Others: But Miss, your eyes suddenly lit up at the mention of fighting.

All the companions assured that they had no other plans for the day. Yuan Hanshuang activated her communication device, contacting the central star system’s black market service.

The internal ranking system of the combat arena was strict, and the higher the level, the more privileges one could enjoy. As a diamond-tier combatant contracted with the black market, Yuan Hanshuang naturally had her own privileges.

Half a month ago, after registering in the black market of the central star system, Yuan Hanshuang specifically activated a dedicated car service. This way, she could save on the cost of using the star tracks every time she went back and forth to the black market.

Thrifty and economical, she lived up to her reputation!