Chapter 150: What a Social Bandit

The moment the Alpha in an Imperial uniform appeared, he pressed a cold weapon against Ji Laili’s head.

Yet, this guy showed not a shred of fear. He widened his eyes in surprise and asked, “Huh? Aren’t you the ones who called for a repair technician?”

“When did we ever call for one?!”

“It was you guys. Look, I even have the transmission signal. The sender’s signal matches this exact location.”

The signal on his star-brain indeed matched the coordinates of this place. The Imperial Alpha double-checked and found no discrepancy, though his face showed some confusion. He wanted to chase away this stranger who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere but was also afraid of delaying the aircraft repairs.

So, he called out one of the Beta operators inside.

The Beta emerged, looking equally bewildered—clearly unaware of this arrangement. Ji Laili, however, acted completely familiar, waving at him cheerfully.

“Hey, bro! Are you done with work?”

“…Ah, n-not yet.”

“I figured. I’m not late, am I? The moment I got the call, I rushed over, afraid you’d be waiting too long. Aren’t you in a hurry? Why are you just standing there?”

Ji Laili naturally looped his arm around the Beta’s, his curved eyes filled with helpless amusement.

“Come on, let’s head inside. I have other jobs to get to, so I need to finish this fast.”

Beta Operator: “…Huh? Oh, okay.”

Seeing that the two knew each other, the Imperial Alpha let down some of his guard. Since the operator was one of their own, then whoever he recognized must also be from the Empire.

With a tone full of impatience, he shut the hatch behind them, muttering, “Next time, get here faster.”

Ji Laili beamed. “You got it, bro!”

—Meanwhile, Aiger, who had just watched all of this unfold: “…”

What a damn social bandit.

Absolutely terrifying.

Without the Empire even realizing it, a Federation operative had waltzed right in.

Rubbing his suddenly aching face, Aiger imagined Philo’s expression once he found out about this. His lips twitched—he couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Instructor… your smile is kind of scary.”

An Alpha, who had accidentally blurted out his honest thoughts, immediately shut his mouth in terror.

“…” Aiger’s smile dropped instantly, his expression turning ice-cold.

Then—like a furious Charizard unleashing its full firepower—he roared, “Why the hell are you still standing around?! That little brat is already inside! Get me my weapons—prep for action!”

“Grab your gear! We’re taking down those Imperial bastards!”

The Alpha, whose eardrums had barely survived the outburst, rushed off to prepare. At the same time, deep admiration for Ji Laili blossomed in his heart.

It had been a while, but damn, Little Curly was still a god.

—

Meanwhile, the newly “deified” Ji Laili wasted no time in turning on his Federation charm. The moment he stepped into the control room, he didn’t hesitate to karate chop another Beta operator unconscious.

He flashed an eerily cheerful smile and hushed the remaining Beta. “Shhh, he’s just tired. Let him rest a little, okay? You wouldn’t want to wake him up, would you?”

The second Beta: Holy shit, evil Federation operative!

What happened next was a “friendly conversation”, where Ji Laili effortlessly bamboozled a patrolling Imperial Alpha into leaving.

Afterward, he casually tore apart some components, making an absolute mess of the aircraft’s internals. Satisfied, the little curly-haired menace tossed his tools aside and turned to the exhausted Beta.

“Bro, fixing this aircraft is such a pain. No wonder nobody wants to work. Can I take a little walk outside?”

The Beta, staring at the disaster zone of tangled wires and scattered parts, felt like crying.

The hell do you mean tired?! I’m about to be even more tired than you, alright?!

Ji Laili casually shoved a handful of neatly arranged components into the Beta’s hands.

“Bro, your eyes are tearing up—you must be exhausted. Just stay awake and keep working, okay?”

Noticing the other man’s dead-inside expression, Ji Laili worried that exhaustion might make him forget their little “deal.” So, he gave a friendly reminder.

“I’m just stepping out to rest, okay? You wouldn’t do anything bad with my identity, right?”

“Otherwise, I’ll have to chop you into eight—oh no, make that ten—pieces~”

Watching as the Beta’s dull eyes snapped back into a horrified panic, Ji Laili grinned. Much better—fear really brings out a person’s spirit.

He waved playfully, looking absolutely adorable as he peeked through the door, his curly-haired head bobbing out.

Then, he pushed open the hatch and walked right out—strolling through the enemy aircraft like he owned the place.

As he casually wandered the hallway, he even greeted a patrolling Imperial Alpha.

“Hey bro, patrolling must be tough. I need to head to the control room—do you know the way?”

Without thinking, the Imperial Alpha replied, “Go a hundred meters, turn left, input the command, then turn right.”

—Wait.

His brows furrowed as he suddenly felt something was off. The other Alphas around him also fixed Ji Laili with cold, hostile stares.

“Who are you?”

“Why have we never seen you before?”

Ji Laili smoothly pulled out a system-generated fake ID and handed it over. As the Alphas exchanged confused glances, seeming to silently confirm details, he smiled warmly.

“You guys must be so tired. Isn’t it exhausting?” He spread his arms open cooperatively. “Do you want to check if I have any contraband on me?”

The Alphas hesitated. A guy this cooperative? That was rare.

One of them waved a scanner over him. The device flashed green—all clear.

No weapons detected.

…Looks like they had been overthinking it.

Ji Laili smoothly made his way to the control room. Using the excuse that “the control room also needed repairs,” he took advantage of the Imperial Alpha’s lowered guard. The Alpha, who had reluctantly classified him as “one of our own,” provided the necessary access instructions.

Successfully infiltrating the control room, Ji Laili cracked the system’s security with its help and entered a command that prevented the aircraft from taking off.

The lock could only be lifted in ten days—which meant that even if Philo wanted to force an early takeoff, it would be impossible.

“This aircraft now has its wings clipped by me.”

A deep sense of pride filled his chest.

The system chimed in: 【Excellent work.】

“Thanks, System Bro! None of this would’ve been possible without you. You’re the real MVP here! Damn, I almost stole your credit!”

Hearing this, the system’s motherboard emitted a faint buzzing noise. Calmly, it shut down a few unnecessary processes—only to hear its host’s voice suddenly spark with excitement.

“Oh, right! System Bro, can this control room send communications?”

Ji Laili rubbed his chin, eyes shining with excitement. “I remember that aircrafts with a ‘P’ prefix can transmit signals. Does that mean I can contact Little Butterfly?”

【…Normally, transmission range is only within 300 meters.】

Ji Laili’s face immediately fell. “Ah, what a shame…”

【But that’s under normal circumstances. With me here, nothing is just ‘normal.’】

Ji Laili: !

His puppy eyes sparkled. “Whoa, System Bro, you’re insanely cool!”

Just then—Zzzt!

Ji Laili winced, clutching his head as a sudden sharp pain jolted through his brain. His vision blurred momentarily, and he shook his head in confusion, his curly hair fluffing up in all directions.

“What… just happened?”

【…The motherboard fried.】

“?! System Bro, are you okay?!”

The system, after shutting down a vast number of operations, responded calmly: 【I’m fine. Just decide what message you want to send.】

【I’ll connect the signal for you.】