Hopefully, what she just felt was all an illusion.
Author's Note: Ugh, my computer broke down, so I had to use the coffee shop's. My hands hurt from typing so much, I'm really working hard lol.
Thank you so much to Aowu and Huafei for the landmines!! Mwah, I'll pick you up and spin you around a hundred times before putting you down!! Enjoy! It's almost over, hahaha!!!
Chapter 106: The Seventh Way to Torture a Puppy Love
The engagement ceremony of General Qin Muge, the sole heir to the throne and the current head of the Imperial Army, is being held today.
This can be considered the grandest ceremony held by the Crystalless Empire in nearly a century.
The eyes of billions of people on Tianzixing are almost entirely focused here, and the royal palace in Yuandu is also open to mainstream media today, providing a live broadcast of this highly anticipated engagement ceremony.
The heads of the three major military families, Ling Tianshu, Yan Zihe, and Yan Chen, arrived at the scene early. Soldiers in various uniforms could be seen everywhere, the lowest of whom were major generals.
Qin Muge is one of the main characters today. Contrary to what most people would expect, she is leisurely having breakfast with Chaoge in the lounge. It's hard to tell that the two of them are the main characters attending today's engagement ceremony.
Even with fifteen minutes left before the engagement ceremony, Qin Muge remained unhurried.
Compared to their composure, the others who came to the palace were somewhat bewildered. Yan Zihe held a glass of very pale gold wine in her hand, squinting as she looked towards the altar, lost in thought.
Just then, someone came up behind her and whispered something in her ear.
"I understand. Notify all members of the Yan family's military that anyone who dares to be careless at a time like this will be dealt with personally."
The major general nodded and silently withdrew.
At the same moment, Ling Tianquan was also speaking. His AI activated a five-meter shielding mode, preventing his sound waves from being transmitted and making it impossible for those around him to hear him.
“The general is not one to let his guard down at a time like this. Sealing off the three-dimensional jump space within a hundred light-years of Tianzi Star is just a gesture. As for the main family, please keep a close eye on them with Tianxuan. I suspect they will make a big move today.” The man’s style was always calm and composed, and his arrangements at this moment were also watertight.
A lazy voice entered his ears, simply because his opponent didn't interest him.
Yan Chen heard the same report, but he only glanced deeply in the direction of the stage, holding his wine glass without saying a word.
Inside the lounge.
[Chaoge, I feel like something's not right. On the surface, the increased defenses around Tianzi Star, and even the deployment of personnel to the front lines in the Hongyun System and P4, seem to be a precaution against a sudden attack from the Federation. But do you think Qin Muge's thinking is that simple?] Since Kaiyang upgraded its defense system, it has become more difficult for Yaochen to easily obtain intelligence about the Empire; otherwise, he wouldn't have received the news so late.
Without a second thought, Chaoge replied, "I don't know. I really can't see through her military arrangements. The only members of the personal guard present today are the heads of the three major families. Apart from Ling Tianji, Yang Yuheng is in charge of the palace's defense this time, and Su Yaoguang actually went directly to the front line..." As she sorted out her thoughts with Yaochen in her mind, her hands unconsciously slowed down.
"Is the food not good or are you full?" Qin Muge, dressed in a white military uniform, asked her with a gentle smile.
Chaoge looked up at her, seemingly trying to discern something. The arrangement for today was that they would wear military uniforms for the engagement ceremony first, and then change into formal attire for the royal banquet and reception. Therefore, Chaoge was currently wearing the same white military uniform, a Major General rank—a decision made at a previous military meeting by Qin Muge, who attributed her achievements to special missions she had carried out over the past year, including the elimination of hostile forces by her Yin-Yang Group in the desolate areas.
Chaoge shook her head, put down her spoon, and smiled back at her, "I'm full, it tasted pretty good."
Qin Muge looked at her, his smile carrying a hidden meaning. The emotions in his red eyes were hard for Chaoge to decipher. She asked indifferently, "Is that so?"
Chaoge nodded, seemingly puzzled.
"Let's not talk about that. I heard Si Zhongqi arrived at the P4 front line half an hour ago, and Ouyang Haoze has already taken care of his two henchmen. It seems that today is the day we'll face the final outcome no matter what." Yao Chen continued to report the latest news to her in a serious tone.
Chaoge stared intently at Qin Muge with her deep brown eyes, while Qin Muge calmly allowed her to scrutinize him, the curve of his lips still warm and gentle. But the more Chaoge looked at him, the more she felt something was amiss.
She quickly processed the information at hand, but for some reason felt a sense of urgency. What had she missed? Or was she just overthinking things?
[You should get Ling Tianji to give up his plan first. Qin Muge will really deal with him, and besides, his combat strength is no match for Ling Tianquan under any circumstances.] In any case, Chaoge felt that she couldn't have any reason to let Qin Muge withdraw from this engagement halfway.
Yes, just as Qin Muge had told her, if she really wanted to make a decision with Si Zhongqi today and change course within P4, this grand ceremony of the Empire had to become the biggest distraction on the other side.
It must be done beautifully, perfectly, and grandly.
"Have you made up your mind?" As she was thinking this, Qin Muge's red eyes locked onto her face, and his rosy lips curved into a beautiful arc, like pink peach blossoms blooming on a branch in spring.
Chaoge's heart skipped a beat. "What?"
"So, are you sure you want to attend my engagement ceremony?" Qin Muge chuckled, noticing her nervous reaction, and repeated the question calmly.
"...I feel a little nervous, I'll go to the restroom first." Chao Ge glanced at the time display, quickly got up and walked to the side, not seeing Qin Muge's expression behind her—a smiling face with his eyes crinkling, looking satisfied as if he had already gotten what he wanted.
Two minutes later.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Qin Muge lowered her head and sniffed the fragrance emanating from the cup. The steam from the boiling flower tea wafted up, wafting onto her face and making her features appear somewhat hazy and beautiful in the mist.
Without looking up, she asked softly, "You're gone?"
Looking at her calm demeanor, Min Kaiyang had already guessed that his cooperation with Chaoge could not be hidden from her, and readily admitted, "Yes. In addition, just now M3 sent news that Ling Tianji has stopped his operations."
Qin Muge smiled silently, as if sighing, "She can't stand seeing this kind of thing happen." She always dislikes the way she acts, knowing the other person is about to make a mistake, not only failing to warn them but also setting a trap for them to fall into.
"Then let Tianquan give him a chance—initiate the four-dimensional jump in two hours." Qin Muge put down the cup in his hand, the bottom of which made a slight sound as it tapped against the table.
Min Kaiyang quickly understood her meaning: after holding the engagement ceremony with his disguised Chaoge, he would have to switch to Qin Muge's image and continue the charade.
"Are you planning to take this opportunity to start a full-scale war with P4?"
Qin Muge pretended not to understand, blinked her red eyes, and looked at Min Kaiyang, saying, "What are you talking about? I'm just going to pick up my fiancée."
By the way, let Chaoge clearly feel the consequences of breaking the agreement.
"However, the thought that the person under this shell is actually you—Kaiyang—makes me feel like what's about to happen is a nightmare."
Qin Muge felt she had been cheated, and the more upset she felt, the more she wanted to hold a grudge against Chaoge.
She actually got Min Kaiyang engaged to her? That's outrageous!
“Likewise, I don’t want to participate in this kind of ritual with a human either.” Min Kaiyang replied expressionlessly, his golden eyes filled with his usual indifference.
In this world, only Min Kaiyang could speak of his contempt for humanity so matter-of-factly.
*
A barren area.
After Chaoge appeared at the stronghold in the City of Never Sleeps, he saw Yao Chen standing next to him and Ning Tao and others around him, but Ritter and Siber were missing.
"How's the situation on P4?" She was still wearing the silver-gray military uniform that she had casually taken out of her storage pocket. After all, she didn't have many white ones to spare, and besides, the white uniform would be too conspicuous once they entered the front-line planet of P4.
Yao Chen raised his hand and sent her the images from the scene:
That was the frontier planet that had replaced E239, and Si Zhongqi, the current president of the Juecheng Federation, was in the picture. A green snake, like a decorative ribbon, was wrapped around his wrist. He spoke calmly and gently, and although his temperament was seemingly weak, Chaoge always felt that he was dangerous from the bottom of his heart.
"Where are Ouyang and Xiaofu?" His gaze wandered aimlessly around, pausing when he saw the direction of Chaoge before finally turning his attention there.
Those around were also puzzled; neither President Si Zhongqi's daughter nor his trusted subordinates had come today, which was somewhat unbelievable.
Especially Zeng Chen, who was skilled at controlling insects, and his partner, both of whom were important military commanders.
The green snake on his wrist suddenly became agitated and swelled up a size, abruptly turning its head and spitting out a breath of black gas in the direction of Chaoge's screen, leaving only static on the screen.
"The signal was lost," Yao Chen calmly replied. Chao Ge nodded, as expected.
Then, the green snake landed on the ground and gradually swelled its body, growing to the size of a python in the horrified eyes of Si Zhongqi's men.
"Those two brats are dead! I've lost contact with them!" The Green Serpent was both shocked and furious. It hissed as it spoke, and the terrifying aura emanating from its body enveloped the entire space.
Si Zhongqi's expression froze. His daughter was his most important source of energy in times of danger, and Zeng Chen and his partner were the vanguard attacking the empire today. How could anyone in the empire have penetrated so deeply?
No! It's not Qin Muge! She's clearly holding an engagement ceremony right now!
...Luo Qinghe. He chewed on the name for a moment, a cold smile curving his lips.
If he can make her die once, he can certainly make her die a second time willingly.
"What's the rush? We can still win without Xiao Fu. How many people in this world do you think can hurt me?" Compared to Qing She's irritability, Si Zhongqi remained calm, showing no concern whatsoever about his defeat in this battle.
"Is that so? It seems President Si is quite confident in his abilities." Beside him, the person who was originally reporting the news had changed his face at some point. Dark blue patterns rippled across his face, and his normally gentle features now appeared strangely striking.
Si Zhongqi turned around slowly and looked at the defeated opponent in front of him, Luo Qinghe, who had once fallen into his schemes as well.
Author's Note: Thank you so much, Aowu and Huafei for the landmines! Hehe! As always, hugs and kisses to you all!
I can't help but feel sorry for Chaoge; I think she might be about to die, hahaha!
☆, Chapter 107: Countdown to the End (Part 1)
"The front-line troops of the Juecheng Federation have launched an attack!" At this moment, at least thirty or forty screens were displayed in front of Chaoge, each showing images from different occasions.
Upon hearing Yao Chen's report, Chao Ge shifted his gaze from the central screen to the lower left, where a monitoring map of the wasteland's direction towards the P4 Nebula was displayed. Some energy could be detected there. Chao Ge was more convinced that countless Federation warriors had not yet merged with their companion beasts and were naturally not within this energy search range.
After a few seconds of hesitation, she made a decision: "Connect to Su Yaoguang."
When the serious-looking female instructor, whom he had met once during military academy training, appeared on the screen, Chaoge smiled and said, "General Su."
Su Yaoguang's gaze swept over her military uniform, and she replied indifferently, "Major General Yan."
"I have some information about P4 here. Is it okay to transfer it directly to your AI?"
Although Chaoge had never dealt with this person before, he knew her temperament to some extent. At this moment, he skipped the unnecessary formalities and directly stated his purpose.
Su Yaoguang nodded in agreement and, seeing Chaoge's somewhat surprised expression, gave her answer: "The general instructed that we can refer to the information you have."
Chaoge paused for a moment, then smiled and turned off the communication.
Before long, Chaoge discovered a small-scale troop movement by the Empire's frontline forces.
She didn't know what the situation was with Qinghe and Si Zhongqi, so she decided to wait and see.
*
After Sikong Yufu woke up, she immediately saw Ouyang Haoze sitting in front of her bed.
Somewhat surprised, she sat up, looked around at her surroundings in bewilderment, and then looked at the person who had always been gentle with her.
The little white dog at his feet lay on the edge of the bed and barked at her as if to greet her.
"How did I get here? What do you want to do to Father?" She couldn't believe that her loyal playmate would do such a thing to her at a time when the Federation was about to launch a full-scale attack. A vague suspicion even lingered in her mind—she had left the Federation and might have entered the Empire's territory.
Ouyang Haoze's expression was gentle and calm, his eyes full of tenderness.
He gently curved the corners of his lips and said calmly, "Xiao Fu, you should know who I'm doing this for."
Sikong Yufu suddenly attacked, reaching out to grab his neck: "Who exactly are you loyal to?"
Despite her power now that she had lost her companion beast, Ouyang Haoze remained fearless and calmly answered her:
“I am naturally only loyal to myself. As for you, Xiao Fu, even if you survive this war, you will still not escape this fate. Don’t you know what you are to your father?”
He reached out and grabbed her forearm, which was gripping his neck.