Min Kaiyang didn't believe a single punctuation mark of her statement. If the Yan family were truly as she portrayed them—the most unstable part of the empire—she wouldn't have allowed even a single member of that family to survive to this day.
"Ling Tianquan discovered his actions?" After carefully considering the relationship, Min Kaiyang felt that Ling Tianshu and Tianquan had inadvertently alerted the enemy.
Qin Muge chuckled softly, as if only the silent clash of swords could pique his interest. His mood had improved slightly, so he still had some patience to give his answer: "No, he didn't find anything."
That's why they went to Ling Tianji's territory in such a grand manner, just to find out his plans.
Presenting this unusual behavior to her was a way to get her attention and, incidentally, to make a brief appearance in her presence.
Thinking of the Ling family's situation, Qin Muge's smile deepened. Tianji's move was initially well-intentioned, but unfortunately, the combined intelligence of his two older brothers clearly had an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
Having figured out the key point, Min Kaiyang's expression hardened, and he looked at her with his emotionless golden eyes. "So, what are your plans?"
Should we go to M3 to witness this internal strife as the master wishes, or follow Ling Tianji's lead and stand idly by?
Qin Muge changed the subject, asking, "How's the investigation into Blue Cross and Nightless City going?"
The information was transmitted to her in the next second, clearly indicating that the supercomputer was unwilling to continue playing the role of reading from a script.
After quickly scanning the document, Qin Muge's expression turned serious, no longer displaying the carefree demeanor he had before.
A pleasant voice leisurely uttered the name of the largest pirate group in the world: "Nevernight".
The final adjustment has become a certainty, as if confirming a previous judgment.
"Can we still get in touch with them?" Qin Muge raised his chin slightly, his attitude still nonchalant and lazy, even though he was somewhat serious about the matter.
This time, Min Kaiyang answered without hesitation: "No, unless she is in Yuandu right now."
Clearly, even if news of the interstellar war between Nightless City and Blue Cross reached this place, and even the complete annihilation of Yin Yang Group that was accidentally 'affected', this person and the AI did not believe it at all.
Qin Muge reached out and brushed aside the stray hairs in front of her eyes, her slender, fair fingers tucking the black hair behind her ear. This time, her smile was more charming than before, as if she was looking forward to something.
"The exchange meeting between the three major families will be next month, right?"
The topic jump came out of nowhere, but fortunately, Min Kaiyang was already used to her capriciousness, so the transition was smooth.
After receiving an affirmative answer, Qin Muge watched his departing figure, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Let her make an assumption...
If the Yin-Yang Collection, which should have been 'annihilated' at this moment, were to be used as a weapon by Ling Tianji, then her cherished treasure would be right under her nose.
All the good mood of the past year had been building up to this day. Adhering to the principle that he couldn't be happy by himself, Qin Muge swiped open the smart brain screen and typed a sentence into a communication channel from a long time ago.
Planet M3.
The entire day was spent exchanging information and making preparations to face Ling Tianquan. When Chaoge returned to her room at night, she saw Yaochen sitting in a chair with his delicate face scrunched up like a bun, his hands supporting his head as he looked at her.
Before he could say anything bad, Chaoge quickly made a stop gesture and, with a standard fake smile, said, "I have a suggestion. If what you're about to tell me isn't good news, can you handle it yourself?"
Yao Chen rolled his eyes at her rather inelegantly and replied, "I wish I could, but the problem is that this is specifically targeting you, and it completely affects all our plans here."
Chaoge raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, and casually guessed, "Is M3 about to be captured? Or is the Red Cloud Star System about to explode? Or is some big shot who doesn't like me and is planning to silence me?"
After carefully considering her assumptions, Yao Chen gave her a completely insincere smile: "Compared to the information I'm about to tell you, I actually think your assumptions are all good things."
Without hesitation, Chaoge turned and walked towards the cabinet, took out her clothes and headed to the bathroom. She answered her AI expressionlessly, "Don't tell me yet, let me indulge in the illusion of 'the world is so beautiful' for a few more minutes."
Yao Chen shrugged noncommittally, watched her walk into the bathroom, then turned his head to the screen, frowning as he tried to guess what the other person was thinking.
Fifteen minutes later.
The bathroom door opened, and a girl in a bathrobe was drying her wet hair with a towel in one hand, her pale purple eyes filled with exhaustion.
Yao Chen calmly looked at her. After wasting fifteen minutes of his AI life, he decisively decided to tell her this mind-bending news: "Qin Muge sent a message to the communication channel you used before."
Chaoge slipped, but managed to grab the doorframe in time, avoiding a close call with the back of her head. Once steadied, she glared at Yaochen and said irritably, "Little Red Riding Hood, next time you drop this kind of explosive news, can you give me a little time to prepare?"
"Obviously, I don't have the ability to enter your dream, so I can only tell you when you've been preparing for fifteen minutes to fall into the arms of the god of sleep."
Chaoge felt that she was not the only one who was frightened. In the past, Little Red Riding Hood would never have said a word of opposition, let alone use such a long sentence to satirize her.
Stopping from drying her hair, Chaoge looked at the boy with short black hair with a puzzled expression, and finally noticed the annoyance and anger hidden beneath his indifferent expression.
Rather than saying that this emotion was directed at her, it would be more accurate to say that he was unable to effectively suppress this inexplicable emotional fluctuation.
As if possessed, I walked over and leaned down to look at the screen in front of him. Just looking at the words on it made me feel as if I could hear the person reading them out in that ambiguous tone right next to my ear:
My dearest Chaoge, guess where I'll be going next month?
With clear, pale purple eyes, Chaoge interrupted Little Red Riding Hood without hesitation before she could say something: "There's no traitor. She guessed I was here."
"Why?" Yao Chen was very surprised, completely unaware of where Chao Ge's confidence came from. You see, while Chao Ge was washing up, he spent a long time compiling information on the remaining people in the Yin Yang Clan.
How could Qin Muge know so accurately?
“Because Ling Tianquan is coming.” Chaoge gave her answer. Seeing that Yaochen still hadn’t reacted, she couldn’t help but raise the corners of her lips, rub his head, and finish her sentence: “It could be because of that kid from the branch family today, or it could be that there’s no problem at all. Whatever the case, Ling Tianquan’s arrival means that Ling Tianji is under suspicion, and the most unexpected card Ling Tianji might have is the Yin Yang Group that went missing before, which happened to be within the Third Fleet’s range.”
In any case, they are the two people who understand each other best in the world.
The difference is that Chaoge only understands her, while she understands everyone.
"So don't be angry anymore. You've always protected me, and protected me very well." No matter what situation we're in, you've always managed to keep me so naive. Even if I'm dealt a bad hand, you always manage to get me the best one in the end.
Chaoge couldn't imagine that without it, he might have been swallowed up by those people when he was still at the Yuandu Military Academy.
"But you still like her." Yao Chen slapped her hand away, tilted his head up and looked straight into the depths of her eyes. Even with the difference in height, he seemed more domineering than anything else.
It's always been like this. Even if he puts her in a position where everyone has to look up to her, she still doesn't have the aura of someone in a superior position. It's as if after seeing that person, she is willing to accept that she can't do better than her.
"Yes, so what? I know what I want." Chaoge straightened up, her tone much calmer when answering the question, tinged with a faint sense of helplessness at being unable to control her own emotions. Fortunately, she remained mostly clear-headed.
Skipping over the topic, Chaoge made a decision: "We need to figure out the situation of the three major families within half a month, understand the current situation of the Yan family, and contact Ritter first."
After a long pause, Yao Chen replied helplessly, "I understand."
Author's Note: Taking advantage of my day off, I'm updating again...
I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't update at all last month, sob sob sob, I feel so sorry for you guys!
I wonder if anyone is still reading this post QAQ
Wait for me! Next month, around Christmas, I'll have finished my exams! I'll update the results then!
Thank you so much, Rabbit Coffee, for the landmine! Mwah, love you, love you so much! I was so touched when I opened the system today!! Ahhhh, this is truly the greatest support for me!
And thank you to my adorable little Xun for the rocket launcher hhh
☆ Chapter 79: The Sixteenth Evaluation of the Yin-Yang Collection
Three days later.
With Ling Tianquan's arrival, even though M3 was currently under Ling Tianji's jurisdiction, the fact remained that the entire planet M3 belonged to the Ling family. It's easy to imagine that almost the entire Ling family branch went out to greet him.
Ying and the others would undoubtedly have to go along, otherwise anyone with eyes could see that these people were suspicious. Chaoge didn't want just anyone on the street to know their background... To put it bluntly, if it really came to that, going out in M3 would be like running naked.
Over the past few days, Yaochen activated all the intelligent modules to investigate the affairs of the three major families. With the highest level of access provided by Chaoge, although the three families had their own unique methods of maintaining secrecy, as long as they used the AI, their information would be exposed.
However—the trouble lies in the fact that the most relevant information about Qin Muge's own background has not been mentioned at all in the history of the AI.
Ultimately, what Chaoge was able to obtain on the M3 was that within a year of Qin Muge taking office, a member of a very remote branch of the Yan family was expelled from the family. It is unknown why that person wandered around and eventually ended up in the Ling family.
“M3 was only assigned to Ling Tianji’s jurisdiction thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, M3 was the most chaotic of the subordinate planets, almost a gathering place for exiles. Its desolation was even worse than that of M7, which was used as a prison.” Hearing Chaoge’s muttered question, Yaochen pulled up the data on the seven subordinate planets and provided a voice Q&A service.
The entire planet m7 is blue, with only one continent dividing it into different areas for guarding different types of prisoners, and it is surrounded by oceans on all sides.
Military supplies are only replenished every six months. Unless they manage to hijack or seize these supplies, the probability of a successful prison break should be close to zero.
Chaoge rested her chin on her hand, grunted to indicate that she was listening, and then posed another question: "If this person were still here, is it possible that she wasn't important?"
Yao Chen's expression was complicated for a moment. After thinking for a moment, he told Chao Ge tactfully, "Aren't you overthinking it? The only person who wants to know what happened back then is you. These core family members are even the ones who directly helped Qin Muge rise to power back then. I don't understand why Qin Muge would be wary of someone if she doesn't care about them?"
...Oh, that makes sense.
"Then you can go with them to greet them today. I'll find this person myself." Chaoge waved his hand, dismissing Yaochen.
An incredulous expression appeared on the little boy's delicate face, as if he couldn't understand when the person in front of him had become someone who was 'used and discarded'.
After holding it in for a long time, Yao Chen, whose face had turned red, turned and left, leaving Chao Ge with a resolute back view.
Three hours later.
The military docking area on planet M3 welcomed the landing of the Second Fleet's flagship. The dark cyan flagship, like its master, exuded a cold and sharp aura.
Ling Tianquan rarely wore his military uniform jacket properly, and the rank buttons on his indigo uniform were also neatly fastened. The luster reflected by the imperial emblem on his military cap complemented the indifferent gaze in his eyes.
Standing on both sides of the road in front of the main ship's hatch were members of the Ling family's branch family, the administrators of planet M3, and the head of the M3 military base. Considering the characteristic that the Wujing Empire and its government are inseparable, this welcoming protocol was perfectly appropriate.
To Chaoge's surprise, Ling Tianji remained almost completely silent on the matter, leaving everyone puzzled about his plans and giving the impression that 'even if you laid out the territory for him, you still wouldn't be able to figure it out.'
As Yan Chaoge walked along the road in the center of M3, her mind wandered aimlessly. The pedestrians on the road moved slowly and leisurely, without any sense of urgency, unlike in Yuandu, where people even walked with tense postures, as if they had been standing at attention for too long and couldn't straighten out.
She lazily raised her hand and yawned, a thin mist rising from the corners of her eyes. She had reached the end of the road. It was a T-shaped bend, and looking to the right, it was pitch black and bottomless; she couldn't see what lay beyond.
Chaoge knew that this was the place he was looking for—M3's largest black market.
That's right, in such a bustling area, it feels like the police could come and take them all down in a matter of minutes.
As if to commemorate the dark period that M3 once endured, the place where people depended on for survival has been preserved. In M3, only here can you buy anything you need.
Chaoge paused slightly, staring at the bottomless dark alley for a few seconds before picking up her feet again and strolling in unhurriedly.
The streets were filled with all sorts of people. The faint blue light sphere hidden under the high-necked clothes around Chaoge's neck gradually lit up, and a screen appeared in front of her. Looking through the screen, the microparticles that altered the appearance of those people, covered by the AI, were clearly visible.
Disinterested, Chaoge turned off the feature, having little interest in investigating the identities of those people.
She has no interest in using her high authority to invade other people's personal privacy.
Just as she was ready to casually stroll into the stall she most wanted to visit, she was surprised to find that the stall's name was quite flamboyant—【All】.
Anything you want, any information, as long as you can pay the price, is all here.
It's a very cliché and formulaic advertisement... but there's no denying that whether you scoff at it or want to embarrass the vendor, this kind of advertising slogan can always attract the attention of passersby.
The fact that this stall has managed to survive here so long shows that many people have been proven wrong and ended up being proven wrong instead.
While playing with the energy box in her hand, Chao Ge's gaze never stopped wandering in that direction. The energy box seller, who had been lazily sitting on the ground, noticed that her mind was elsewhere, followed her gaze, and chuckled as he looked away.
"Unless you can guarantee your question will interest that old woman, you won't be able to afford her price." Perhaps finding the delicate girl in front of him somewhat pleasing to the eye, the man leaning against the damp brick wall, puffing on a cigarette, unusually showed a kind word of advice.
"Oh?" Chaoge withdrew her gaze, adopting an expression of eagerness to hear more, with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
Perhaps he had been in this dark street for too long, for the man had almost forgotten that such a normal way of communicating existed. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he chuckled and replied, "What do you want to hear? With this number, I can tell you information about this place." As he spoke, he held up five fingers and waved them in front of Chaoge's eyes.