Chapter 141: A Surprise for the Commander

What was happening on the Nagano Wasteland was unknown to those at the experimental base.

After contacting Instructor Aiger as quickly as possible, Ji Laili had been waiting for his response.

But after an entire day, despite making several excuses to check his star-brain communicator, there was still no message from Aiger.

His heart sank, and he quickly realized—they had lost contact with both Lei Po and Aiger.

A more likely scenario was that the two had encountered trouble.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into silence, and Eugene’s mood plummeted to an extreme low.

He suddenly stood up, his expression cold and filled with rage. “Hit me.”

“Huh?” Ji Laili wondered if he had misheard. How were these two things even remotely related?

“I said, hit me!”

Eugene’s voice boomed, “This happened because of me. I, Eugene, will not run from it. If you want to take it out on me, go ahead!”

“If you want me to atone for Lei Po, fine—once the mission is done, I’ll die at his grave!”

Ji Laili: “……”

He couldn’t help but massage his forehead. “Senior Eugene, Po-ge is only missing.”

Why was he already talking about graves?

Shen Yu spoke calmly, “If Philo was an undercover agent in the Federation Military Academy, then with his status, he must have known about the experimental subjects.”

“The most likely scenario is that they have been taken as test subjects.”

Zhai Yifei lowered his gaze, silent.

The atmosphere grew even heavier after that statement. Eugene was growing increasingly restless, experiencing an emotion he could hardly tolerate.

He wanted to ask what they should do but found himself too frustrated to speak, his chest tightening with anxiety.

“Just hit me,” he repeated.

“I won’t fight back.”

“I…” Eugene’s voice was dry and hoarse. “This is my fault.”

He had trusted Philo too much, been too competitive, and let things get to this point.

Zhai Yifei, who had been silent, finally spoke. His thin lips parted with the same arrogance Eugene was familiar with, but his words somehow eased his tension.

“You’re built like a tank. Hitting you would just hurt our hands.”

“Fine, you say where, and I’ll hit myself,” Eugene declared with unwavering conviction.

Ji Laili couldn’t help but wonder if Eugene realized he had a natural comedic streak.

At first, Ji Laili had been heavy-hearted when he relayed the news—Po-ge was missing, Aiger hadn’t sent a single message, and the Alpha captives they rescued were still unaccounted for.

But after Eugene’s dramatic outburst, things felt a little lighter.

Ji Laili exhaled and said, “What’s done is done. Guilt won’t fix it, so I propose—”

Shen Yu picked up the cue. “We figure out a way to rescue Lei Po?”

Zhai Yifei nodded. “We should plan our next move.”

“No, no, no.” Ji Laili wagged a finger, his crescent-moon eyes serious. Then, suddenly, he pointed at Eugene. “We beat him up first!”

Shen Yu, Zhai Yifei: “?”

Only Eugene remained composed, standing tall and solemn as if he were taking an oath. “Do it. I, Eugene, will not resist. You can do whatever you want to me.”

“You said it yourself, Senior Eugene.”

Ji Laili glanced at Shen Yu and Zhai Yifei, blinking meaningfully. “When someone makes a mistake, they must be punished. Senior Eugene is indeed largely responsible for this.”

“We should beat him up. No holding back—otherwise, it would be unfair to Po-ge and the others.”

“I’ll even take hits on behalf of Po-ge and Chi Fei.”

Since Ji Laili had already said this much, and seeing Eugene stubbornly standing there like a sacrificial lamb, Zhai Yifei casually rolled up his sleeves and looked at Shen Yu. Shen Yu tilted his chin, signaling him to go first.

The next moment, a sharp crack echoed as Zhai Yifei’s punch landed squarely on Eugene’s jaw.

Blood splattered instantly. No mercy.

With his turn taken, Shen Yu smoothly followed up with another blow, all while calmly putting on his white gloves.

Everyone had taken their shots—being the one who proposed this, Ji Laili figured he couldn’t just stand by. So, he, too, gave Eugene a merciless beating.

A short while later, Eugene stood there with a swollen, bloodied face, his nose crooked, his legs trembling but refusing to collapse. He remained standing, determined to hear the rest of their plan.

“If Po-ge has been turned into a test subject, his immediate survival shouldn’t be in danger.”

“There’s also the possibility of interrogation,” Zhai Yifei added. “The Empire might be trying to extract information about the others from him.”

That was a real risk, but their priority wasn’t just to rescue him—they needed to retrieve him intact.

And they had to save the other Alpha test subjects as well.

But there was a problem.

“Our identities are precarious.”

Ji Laili thought about how they were still undercover. “If Philo wants to, he can easily access the Federation’s undercover list.”

“If he contacts the Empire from here, we’ll be exposed and put in a defensive position.”

At that point, they wouldn’t just fail to save Lei Po—they’d all be trapped.

Hearing this, Eugene furrowed his brows, but wincing from the pain, he gritted his teeth and asked, “Then what do we do?”

“Internal and external threats.”

Ji Laili raised his gaze, his expression sharp and murderous.

“Then we start by eliminating the threat from within.”

He would make Philo understand—no matter where, traitors only had one fate.

Death.

“You’re saying there’s another accomplice here?”

“That’s right.” Ji Laili shrugged, smiling mischievously. “But honestly, I don’t even need to tell you this, Lord Garna. You must have already guessed it, right?”

Garna neither confirmed nor denied it.

“But I have a suspect in mind,” Ji Laili continued, glancing at Lauri, who was busy directing the others to reorganize the lab. “I want to flush out this undercover agent.”

Garna held a cigarette between his fingers, lighting it slowly. The scent of tobacco drifted into the air, causing a curly-haired Alpha to wrinkle his nose in distaste and quickly back away.

“Tch, useless. Weren’t you quite powerful that day when you tried to suppress me with your pheromones?”

Muffling his voice behind his hand, the Alpha grumbled with a trace of helplessness, “Come on… my lord, are you really still holding a grudge?”

Garna’s eyes turned cold at those words, his mind involuntarily recalling that day.

His voice dropped, laced with dangerous fury. “If you want to die, say that again.”

The curly-haired Alpha, completely unfazed, waved a hand through the drifting smoke and grinned. “Then I guess I’ll have to live a little longer—I still have important things to do.”

Garna stared at him, his brows furrowed in irritation. Perhaps he had never encountered an Alpha seemingly born without fear. Any further threats would be pointless if the other party refused to register them.

Since this wasn’t the time to deal with him, he suppressed his frustration with a scoff. “You? Catch the undercover agent?”

Oh, he was being underestimated.

Ji Laili wasn’t offended at all. Instead, his grin grew even brighter. Maybe because he knew that, very soon, this annoying Alpha in front of him would be even angrier.

“Then allow me to prepare a little surprise for you, my lord.”

“You’re definitely going to love it.”

Ah, just imagining that moment—what a shame he wouldn’t get to see Garna’s expression when it happened.