CH 93

TL: Hua

Although the initial confrontation between the two sides was in the suburbs, about eight minutes was enough for Grepa to drive some distance.

The sound of the starship crashing and the momentary brightness in the sky woke many people from their dreams, but at three or four o’clock in the morning, there was no such thing as a clear mind. After pulling back the curtains and seeing that it was still dark outside, as if the commotion had been a mere illusion, the residents, whose hearts were frightened by the movement, just yawned and fell back on their beds with sleepy eyes.

Then, after regaining consciousness the next morning, they all let out a “f*ck” that resounded throughout the room, and then without saying a word, they picked up the light brain next to their pillow and started sending messages to relatives and friends or looking for relevant information on the Internet.

They didn’t remain confused for too long. The official account of the Public Security Department quickly issued an explanation for the early morning incident: “Private starship crashed.”

Of course, the notification and explanation are one thing, but whether the residents who heard the news believe it or not is another matter entirely. After all, in the middle of the night, private starships don’t fly in the universe over residential areas within the Empire’s borders…

They only believe this claim to a certain extent.

But these have nothing to do with Ji Mingjiang and Clarice.

After bringing Grepa, who was paralyzed with fear from falling from a high altitude, back to the familiar underground prison, he and his five companions—or subordinates, more appropriately—were separated by two iron doors and a small glass window.

Ji Mingjiang hadn’t forgotten about Greni, who had been waiting for news at the Mermaid Center, as well as his folding bed.

“I’ll take you back first.”

After leaving the corridor, which was illuminated by incandescent lamps that almost blinded people’s eyes, and arriving at the open space outside, Leiden easily read out what Ji Mingjiang was thinking at this moment, using the bright moonlight and the street lamp that was still working diligently not far away. He interrupted what the other party was about to say, which was probably to tell him to go back to bed and rest, and spoke first.

“It’s already so late. You might as well go back to bed. I can go there by myself.”

Seeing the persistence on Clarice’s face, Ji Mingjiang sighed, followed his footsteps, and walked side by side with a hint of helplessness in his tone.

“You also know it’s very late.” Leiden glanced at him and said, “It’s faster if I drop you off—if the hover cars currently on the market are even remotely fast compared to you.”

The meaning pointed to something, and it pointed very clearly and directly to the behavior Ji Mingjiang did dozens of minutes ago that almost scared him to death.

Who knows what he felt when he saw Ji Mingjiang jumping back and forth between those buildings? At that time, his mind was probably so blank that he couldn’t react at all. All that was left was the stupid dragon whining and howling with rage while running around his spiritual sea.

“Cough.”

Ji Mingjiang, who was used to playing holographic games like this, realized belatedly that in reality, his behavior of running out to engage in extreme sports without saying any explanation might be a bit scary…

Okay, he took a look at Clarice’s eyes, which were somewhat gloomy due to multiple factors, and silently changed his words.

He admitted that it was not a little bit scary.

Seeing the guilty look on his face, Leiden didn’t want to dwell on this issue. Anyway, Ji Mingjiang seemed to be well aware of it.

“Get in the car; don’t keep Greni waiting too long.”

He finally brought up the topic.

When they returned to the familiar nursing room in the Mermaid Center, it was almost four o’clock in the morning. When they left, the lights in the corridor were adjusted to a warm yellow light, which shone on Ji Mingjiang’s body and the wall behind him, creating a long, slanting shadow.

Ji Mingjiang silently pushed open the door that he had closed before. Just as his feet landed, Greni, who was lying drowsily by the pool, suddenly opened his eyes and looked over very alertly.

The splashing sound of the water hitting the wall of the pool was particularly clear in the silent night. After Ji Mingjiang noticed that Greni was awake, he simply pushed the door open a little more so that the other party could see him clearly through the light.

Seeing the other party’s obviously relaxed expression, he closed the door and came inside.

“The matter is settled. Let’s go to bed first. I’ll explain it to you in detail tomorrow.”

After sitting on his folding bed, Ji Mingjiang yawned and whispered to Greni.

So the next morning…

“”That’s what you meant by settled?!”

After Greni saw the news on the light brain, he shouted in disbelief, his amber eyes widening, “You blew them all up?!”

“Hey! How is that  possible?” Ji Mingjiang looked at him in shock and said, “How could I do such a mindless thing? What image do I have in your mind?”

Because Ji Mingjiang was here to keep watch these past few days, although the mermaids in this nursery have to start their morning exercises at eight o’clock in the morning, Carrie and the others can still come back after nine o’clock.

Today’s hour has become the time for Ji Mingjiang and Greni to exchange information.

Ji Mingjiang pushed Greni, who had transformed into a human form, into the familiar lounge. Then he handed the other party his light brain, and before he could figure out where to start, he heard Greni’s shocked voice.

Ji Mingjiang looked back with an innocent face. Under Greni’s doubtful gaze, he pondered for a moment and then added, “I didn’t expect that your federation, oh no, their federation’s starships to be so fragile. It can be pricked with just a knife…”

He said slowly, “Then it exploded.”

“Who would have thought? It’s his fault for scaring the residents in that area.”

There was some dissatisfaction on Ji Mingjiang’s face. He didn’t miss the words of the residents, who complained about being woken up in the middle of the night and their hearts beating out of their chests.

“Okay, don’t talk about him.” No fragments of clothing or blood were found at the crash site of the starship. It was probably the pilot who cleaned it up when he left. Ji Mingjiang was very dissatisfied with this level of caution from the enemy. He pursed his lips and said solemnly, “Last night, we arrested five operation agents and one command agent at once. They are all locked up in the palace right now. Do you want to go there with us, or shall we show you the results after the interrogation?”

Hearing what he said, Greni looked down at his legs. After remaining silent for a long time, he raised his head again and said, “I want to go over and take a look too.”

Although the people he was going to see weren’t the same group of people who conducted experiments on him or took him to the auction house, Greni still wanted to see those Federation people.

He thought expressionlessly, It’s pretty much the same anyway.

“Okay, you can go back with me in a moment.”

Ji Mingjiang agreed without any hesitation. After all, as an adult mermaid sent by him and Clarice, Greni still had a lot of freedom in whether and when to leave.

***

With familiar corridors and familiar iron gates, stepping into this area again, Ji Mingjiang couldn’t help but sigh for his exciting life.

There shouldn’t be any more surprises after this time, right? Ji Mingjiang thought about it with some hesitation. After this matter is resolved, the Federation probably won’t have any spare power to cause trouble. The correction of the mermaid’s behavioral habits on the Empire’s side and the correction of the mainstream concepts of society through the official account of the mermaid center were also being carried out in an orderly manner.

Everything should…probably…calm down for a while!

“Squeak——”

The door in front of them was pushed open, and Ji Mingjiang pushed Greni, who was in a wheelchair, inside.

Grepa was locked up alone, and the other two, Savi and Taka, who sneaked into the Mermaid Center in the middle of the night, were locked up together, while the remaining three agents, who didn’t even have time to start their missions, were locked up in another room.

He was handcuffed to the back of the chair with his hands behind his back, and now his head was drooping, not even bothering to open his eyes and raise his head to look at the person coming.

Ah……

Two different footsteps and… the sound of rolling wheels?

After distinguishing the sounds, Grepa was stunned for a moment, and then he laughed out loud. He looked at the ground with half-open eyelids and said, “Why is the Empire so short of people now? Even a cripple who can’t walk was hired by you guys as a torture expert.”

Unlike what he had anticipated, upon hearing these extremely derogatory words, the visitor didn’t leave in a fit of anger or go to interrogate the other two. Instead, he…

He let out a chuckle full of ridicule and contempt.

At the same time, the voice he was most familiar with also sounded.

“Grepa, I remember now. You are the clerk who tried to sow discord between me and Clarice.” After calling the man’s name, Ji Mingjiang paused, feeling sorry for himself that he didn’t remember yesterday, then he continued. “I don’t know why you have such a misconception. To be honest, you’re not worth the effort of hiring some so-called torture expert to come over here and deal with—wait, you don’t have to look so pissed off, alright.”

The one who should be angry is clearly someone else.

Ji Mingjiang glanced at Greni, who was sitting in a wheelchair with taut cheeks and low air pressure, and persuaded him in a light tone: “Are you really not going to look up and see who I brought here? This is the mission target you are looking for.”

“Are you kidding?” Grepa sneered.

Even if he heard the sound of four small rollers sliding on the ground and being told that Greni was brought over…

“What, you’re surprised to see me?” Greni met Grepa’s gaze as he lifted his head. Then, from those eyes, he saw his disheveled appearance in a wheelchair and smelled Grippa’s scent, which was exactly the same as that of those Federation people.

His throat suddenly became dry, and he practically squeezed those words out of his throat. The rising tone at the end seemed a bit nondescript because of his voice.

“Or…” Seeing Grepa being so shocked that the chair made a screeching sound, he lowered his eyes, looked at his legs covered with blankets, and said in a mocking tone, “Are you shocked that I have these legs?”

Hua: Four more chapters ┗|｀O′|┛