Chapter 143: Ji’s Spy Connections

“He can’t be a spy.”

Lauri barely had time to feel moved before Garna took a drag of his cigarette and sneered.

“That idiot doesn’t even have the brains for it.”

“Just an artificial dumbass.”

Lauri: “……”

Fine, I’ll just be a spy then.

Shen Yu, seeing that his attempt at sowing discord had failed, shot a cold glare at Lauri. Since he couldn’t break their trust for now, he had no interest in staying with these two Imperial Alphas any longer.

He tossed a USB drive onto the table. The small black device bounced twice on the surface, a clear sign of the thrower’s foul mood.

The two higher-ups in the room remained silent, but Lauri—before his brain could catch up—instinctively reached out and grabbed it. Holding it in his hand, he hesitated for a moment before asking in confusion,

“What’s this?”

“Evidence,” Shen Yu answered succinctly.

“Evidence…” Lauri murmured, suddenly feeling like the USB was burning hot in his palm. The truth he was about to uncover made him uneasy and lost.

At that moment, Garna ordered, “Bring in all the Alphas from the interrogation room who had any dealings with Ji Laili.”

The Alpha, who had just been played for a fool, spoke with a chilling tone, practically spitting out Ji Laili’s name through clenched teeth, radiating murderous intent.

“Let them see for themselves—”

“How thoroughly a spy made fools of them.”

By the time Lauri had brought the people in, the USB had already been plugged into the projector, displaying its contents.

The video opened with a cabin scene inside a small spacecraft. The bright ceiling lights illuminated the white interior, and at the edge of the frame, a faint blue operations screen was visible.

Judging by the angle, it was the cockpit.

“Welcome aboard Flight GY9084, piloted by Ji Laili, flying the Aulai-brand small spacecraft.”

A crisp, energetic male voice rang out, full of liveliness. A face appeared on the screen—Ji Laili’s. His eyes were enlarged by the close-up, curving into a familiar, easygoing smile.

“Hey, everyone~”

His signature greeting played, and Lauri instinctively wanted to retort with a “Like hell!” but managed to stop himself in time.

Though he shut his mouth, someone else couldn’t hold back their shock and blurted out,

“Like hell, you little curly-haired traitor! Get out here and explain yourself—are you a spy or not?!”

The outburst sparked a wave of agreement from the gathered Alphas.

“Yeah, explain yourself!”

“There’s no way this curly-haired kid is a spy! I haven’t seen him do anything suspicious this whole time!”

Lauri was stunned.

…Uh, sure, but isn’t this just the start of the video?

He didn’t even dare to look at Garna’s face.

But he didn’t need to look—the increased presence of secondhand smoke in the air said it all. The Alpha who had just spoken finally realized what he’d done and immediately played dead.

The number of people gathered was unexpectedly large. Besides Zhai Yifei and Eugene, who had little interaction with Ji Laili, the room was filled with countless Imperial officers whom Ji Laili had casually called “bro” or “big sis.”

Garna’s private space was now completely overrun, filled with the mixed scents of various pheromones.

And worst of all, they were all speaking up in Ji Laili’s defense.

A vein throbbed on Garna’s forehead as his gaze swept over them. One by one, their necks shrank back, their forced smiles growing stiff.

“That kid knows this many people?”

Nearly half the Nagano Star research base was here. Garna wanted to kill them all out of sheer frustration, but with this many, who would he have left to use? The thought made him even more furious.

“Are you all idiots?!”

“You’ve been around him this long and noticed nothing?”

No one dared to make a sound.

Garna burned with rage. Their silence only fueled his growing fury. The more he looked at them, the more irritated he became.

“USELESS TRASH!”

“The base has practically been mapped out by a Federation spy!”

“Are you all planning to defect and wave white flags for the Federation?!”

Meanwhile, the video continued playing, almost perfectly timed with the conversation.

A voice echoed from the screen—

“Lord Garna, surprised?”

“You haven’t been looking too happy lately.”

The curly-haired Alpha grinned cheekily. “I thought about it—spies are too hard to catch, so I decided to just expose myself!”

He tilted his head, and the little tuft of cowlick hair on top followed along, swaying cutely.

Shen Yu didn’t even blink as he took in the sight.

Back then, he had been “chasing” Ji Laili’s ship, pretending to hunt him down, so he had missed this part of the video. Even though it wasn’t his first time watching it now, he still appreciated every second of his adorable little pup’s performance.

Garna, however, was not enjoying it.

No matter how many times he watched it, the smug little dog in the video never failed to infuriate him.

The words spoken in the video were just as wicked as they were infuriating—enough to make someone’s blood pressure skyrocket.

“Lord Garna, someone found out I’m a spy~”

“Wow~ So there are some smart people in the Empire! Look at Lance—he’s been chasing after me nonstop!”

Ji Laili’s voice was laced with amusement, as if the entire situation was just a game to him.

“Even Lance figured it out, Lord Garna, why haven’t you?” He put on an expression of sudden realization. “Oh! Is it because you got so angry watching me take off with your newly developed weapon that you ended up hospitalized?”

He grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth that had grown in after his sensitivity period ended—teeth that looked painful to be bitten by. Seeing them, Shen Yu instinctively rubbed his neck.

Luckily, no one noticed his small gesture. Everyone’s attention was glued to the video and the madman in it.

First, they had to process the shock of hearing Ji Laili personally admit to being a spy.

Then, they had to accept the devastating fact that he had completely cleaned out their newly developed weaponry.

Now, they had to witness him outright taunting Garna.

At this point, there was no need to question whether Ji Laili was a spy or not. The real concern was whether they could survive this disaster.

Even if they wanted to cover their ears, his mocking words still drilled into their skulls.

“I’m sure Lord Garna has a strong enough heart to handle this. After all, someone who constantly pollutes the air with secondhand smoke just to choke others out probably doesn’t care about a little stolen research.”

Ji Laili nodded to himself as he spoke. “If he doesn’t even mind the looks of disgust and hatred from those around him, why would he care about losing a few weapons?”

Then, with a bright, dazzling smile, he delivered the final blow—words that made Garna so furious he nearly randomly killed an Alpha to vent.

“I figured as much a long time ago, which is exactly why I took the weapons. A generous man like Lord Garna wouldn’t care anyway.”

“It’s just a shame—I can’t see your expression right now. Oh, and a friendly reminder: be careful not to release too much carbon monoxide! Even in the Empire, carbon monoxide poisoning is considered a criminal offense~”

On his first day infiltrating enemy territory, Officer Ji had already found time to study Imperial law. He even smiled at the camera as if he had just delivered a public safety announcement.

Suddenly, the footage shook violently. The deep blue operations screen flickered, beeping in alarm. A robotic voice echoed through the cockpit, broadcasting an emergency alert.

“Warning! Warning! The spacecraft is under attack!”

“Warning! The left wing has been hit by artillery fire—57% structural damage detected. Immediate landing recommended.”

“Warning! The rear air intake has been impacted—70% of auxiliary power systems compromised. Energy reserves decreasing. Urgent repairs required.”