Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Along with the piercing sound of the alarm, a startling red symbol appeared on the screen beside the cabin door. It was similar to a bug animation, alerting the people in the spaceship that the surveillance system had discovered a chip, a chip behind the neck of a Federation member …
The Imperial Intelligence Bureau officers disguised as silk smugglers reacted quickly. In a fraction of a second, they pulled out the guns at their waists, blocking Huai Caoshi and Wang Zhong behind them. The black muzzles of the guns aimed in all directions, while the communication system on their wrists rang with the sounds of data analysis and tracking.
A few seconds later, the officers put down the guns in their hands with extremely strange expressions. Looking at the small-eyed man behind the princess, they realized that the source of the alarm was actually this person.
This person was actually a member of the Federation!
The officers thought back to the time when the spaceship was leaving Banban Star, and countless questions arose in their hearts. Could it be that the rumour of the aristocratic rebellion was true?
"Turn down the sound of the alarm system." Huai Caoshi frowned slightly. Taking a step forward, she said in a cold voice, "I don't want to hear these ear-piercing sounds on the way back to Tianjing."
Xu Le followed her forward, shrugging his shoulders at the strange expressions of the Imperial officials on both sides of the cabin door, expressing his innocence. He was slightly disappointed that the princess did not order her subordinates to turn off the chip scanning system. This also proved that although the princess was known as the most ferocious person in the universe, she was still cautious and meticulous in her actions.
With her hands behind her back, Huai Caoshi stared coldly at her subordinates as they replaced the electrically controlled explosives on Xu Le's shoulders. She was still unwilling to relax until her subordinates painstakingly found a set of heavy electrically shocked alloy shackles and placed them on Xu Le's ankles. Only then did she truly relax and slowly straighten her body.
Xu Le watched as her eyes slowly narrowed, like a book with a black cover that was about to be closed. Suddenly, his eyebrows jumped and he said, "Don't fall."
Huai Caoshi suddenly opened her eyes and stared at him. "What did you say?"
"Don't fall." Xu Le acted as if he did not feel her sharp gaze and said firmly, "Don't forget what you promised me."
What did he promise? A dignified death or a dignified life? Huai Caoshi frowned slightly. After a moment, he thought of something and a rare gentle smile appeared on his lips. He pointed at Xu Le on the chair with his right hand and said to the subordinates around him, "As long as he doesn't run away, treat him well."
"Yes, Your Highness," the intelligence officer on the spaceship answered without hesitation.
Hearing this, Xu Le was truly relieved. His feet that were tightly bound by heavy shackles moved as if he was scratching an itch. Then, seeing Huai Caoshi slowly narrowing her eyes again, he reminded the officials of the Imperium around him, "Hold her."
The officials of the Empire did not know what this person from the Federation meant. More importantly, they had never imagined that Her Highness, who was standing by the porthole of the warship, would fall one day despite her slim figure and the feeling that she was invincible. Her Highness, who was about to become great because of her strength alone, would fall one day.
That was why their reaction was a step slower.
Huai Caoshi's narrowed eyes finally closed gently. With the touch of her single eyelid, the eternally burning crystal engine furnace seemed to have been turned off. She still had her hands behind her back and proudly and calmly stuck out her chest. Maintaining this cool posture, she fell backwards.
With a muffled bang, she fell head first onto the ground of the spaceship, making it tremble slightly.
Cries of disbelief and angry shouts erupted from all around. The officials of the Imperial Intelligence Department rushed over as fast as they could. A moment later, they discovered with some lingering fear and some disbelief that Her Highness was not injured at all. She had just … fallen asleep.
The nervous officials escorted Her Highness to rest and hurriedly opened the healing pod. Meanwhile, the officials who stayed in the pod looked at Xu Le with strange expressions. On the surface, they did not understand the true relationship between this Federation member and Her Highness. On the surface, they did not understand why this person could see that Her Highness was about to fall.
Xu Le lowered his head. His gaze followed the explosives on his shoulder and landed on the heavy alloy shackles. The corners of his lips curled into a smile.
After fleeing and fighting for so many days in that sea of mulberry trees without a moment of rest, even a true metal body was probably about to collapse. After entering the spaceship, Huai Caoshi confirmed that she was temporarily safe. Once her mind relaxed, the fatigue and injuries gushed out like a flood. How could she not fall?
If … if she still did not fall, in front of such a terrifying enemy, Xu Le would really lose all hope. Fortunately … she fell in the end.
…
…
The Empire was a society with a strict hierarchy. The five classes of royalty, nobles, commoners, peasants, and slaves were divided quite clearly. In the vast space era, the Empire was still able to maintain its imperial power. The Empire's royalty relied on the oppression from the top to the bottom and the incomparably bloody strength to maintain order. The history of the Empire was actually a history of suppression and resistance. The history of the Empire gradually turned the peasants and slaves into a class, the most miserable class.
In recent history, the most miserable class in the Empire's star region had already become the Federation members. Although the number of Federation members who were captured and brought into the Empire was extremely small, this type of object that even the peasants and slaves could spit and throw eggs at on the streets could only compete with pigs and dogs for the treatment they enjoyed.
The Federation members were the best targets for the peasants and slaves to vent their dissatisfaction. They were the supreme weapon that maintained the stability of the Empire's society, the bright light that guided the Empire forward. Thus, they naturally became the most unshakable part of the Empire's strict order. Anyone, regardless of whether they were the peasants struggling in the slums or the slaves with their backs to the sky in the mines, had already been nurtured an instinctive hatred for the Federation members, a fanatical bloodlust.
Their existence was not necessarily reasonable, but they definitely had reasonable needs.
If Xu Le had not snatched those words out of Huai Caoshi's mouth before she fell asleep, one could imagine how miserable his treatment on the disguised spaceship of the Intelligence Bureau would have been. Just like the two Imperial experts on the Red Rose, the officers of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau would not have minded slowly tormenting him as an experiment subject until there was not a single part of his body left unscathed, his organs and limbs torn apart, leaving only his last breath to swallow the past of the heroes of the Federation.
Fortunately, at the top of the strict order of the Empire was the imperial authority that could not be challenged. Since the princess had spoken, even the lowliest Federation member would instantly become a guest that must be treated well. No matter how unwilling the officers of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau were, they had to do it, because the princess would wake up from her deep sleep one day.
The disguised smuggler spaceship used some unknown method to break through the blockade of the star system by the rebel fleet. It traveled long and far in the dark and silent space, following the top-secret smuggling route shared by the silk smugglers and the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, getting further and further away from the turbulent planet.
In these days, the standard meals in space, the delicious hand-ground coffee of the Empire, the language of the Empire became clearer and clearer, the novels of the Empire that were used to pass the time, and the sentences in the novels that were difficult to understand gradually became easier to understand. This was Xu Le's life on the spaceship.
If the heavy shackles on his ankles had not rubbed his skin to the point of bleeding, and if the explosives piercing through his shoulder blade had not been so painful, he would have been able to enjoy the journey.
Other than that, he had been silently observing the actions of the officers of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau. He watched as the officers of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau dealt with the rebel fleet, talked to the smuggling bosses hidden in the darkness, and escorted Huai Caoshi away from danger seemingly dangerous, but actually casually. He could not help but feel more and more shocked.
The Imperial Intelligence Bureau, an intelligence agency that was very similar to the Bureau of Proclamation but did not have a charter computer, displayed too much ability.
The intelligence of countless spies was like the information feedback of the Federation's ubiquitous chips. If the Federation's The Glory Of The Charter relied on the powerful computing power of the central computer and the ubiquitous information nodes, then the Imperial Intelligence Bureau used to rule the universe relied on … people, people everywhere, people like the sea, people like the mountains, people like the vast ocean, people like the mountains, people like the mountains, people like the vast ocean, people like the mountains.
11 days had passed in the Empire's standard time, and Xu Le was once again deeply shocked by the scene that appeared on the screen.
Covering the sky and covering the sun was not enough to describe the fleet in space ahead. In fact, when this fleet of hundreds of Empire's battleships suddenly appeared in front of the interstellar passage, the entire universe seemed to be swallowed up by the densely packed fleet of battleships. The Black Hibiscus logo on the front of these battleships was so eye-catching that it made people shudder.
The terrifying Empire's Royal Fleet finally left the space base outside of Tianjing Planet. They brushed past the lone Imperial Intelligence Bureau's spaceship, leaving behind ten battleships as protection, while the rest of the battleships all rushed towards Li Ban Planet.
A few days later, images of space around Li Ban Planet appeared on the screen. Countless silent explosions and dazzling fireworks bloomed one after another in that area of space.
Xu Le narrowed his eyes as he watched all this. He realized that the Intelligence Bureau's officers beside him did not have any excited expressions. Perhaps in the eyes of these officers, who were extremely loyal to the Imperial Family, this aristocratic rebellion was a joke. As long as His Majesty and Her Highness were still alive, these reactionaries would be torn to pieces sooner or later.
…
…
"What are you thinking about?"
A voice sounded behind him.
Xu Le subconsciously opened his mouth. He spoke in the Empire's language, but he immediately realized that the person behind him was speaking in the Federation's language. On this spaceship, there was only one person who spoke to him in the Federation's language.
He turned his head and looked at the ordinary face that no one dared to underestimate. He smiled and said, "You're awake?"
"Yes." Huai Caoshi carried a cup of coffee and walked to the side of the chair. She looked at the balls of flames on the screen and said, "It seems like there is something wrong with your mood."
"Li Ban Planet is a sea of fire. I don't know how many people will die. Can that governor survive?"
"I just received bad news. Governor Ke Baoning has already died for his country."
After a moment of silence, Xu Le said, "I thought of that officer who surrounded us in the sea of mulberry trees that day. Although I can't completely understand your conversation, I still feel pity for him. Your aristocrats seem to like posturing, but they don't understand that posturing can always easily lead to death. "
Huai Caoshi put down the cup of coffee and said, "You don't understand."
"I really don't understand. For example, why did that Governor Ke Baoning, who clearly knew that he was going to die, persist for you and your Imperial Father?"
"Your President is a puppet of vote politics, but over here … His Majesty is the Empire."
"This discussion ends here." Xu Le was silent again. Suddenly, he asked, "Can you explain to me the composition of the Empire's fleet that is going to quell this rebellion?"
…
…
The two of them weren't the only ones in the room. Those officers of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau who were quietly working had actually been carefully listening to the conversation between Her Highness and that person from the Federation. Their profession meant that the Federation language was a compulsory subject, so they heard this conversation clearly. The first part of the conversation shocked them that the high and mighty Her Highness would speak to that lowly Federation citizen in a tone of equality, but the last part really gave them the urge to immediately kill Xu Le.
The composition of the Empire's fleet, whether it was the crudest ratio of functional ships or the most subtle increase in firepower, was, without a doubt, top-secret information. Even the average aristocrat didn't have the qualifications to access this information, let alone ask a person from the Federation.
The spaceship was silent. The officers of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau thought that Her Highness would perhaps fly into a thunderous rage, or perhaps unexpectedly not give any response. However, Huai Caoshi's following response was already beyond their understanding.
"This fleet is the Heavenly Thunder Fleet. It belongs to the First Royal Fleet. The flagship, Songlei, is powered by 21 sets of compound engines. Its armor is three layers of increasing thickness …"
Huai Caoshi was silent for a moment before she began to calmly explain the Empire's military's absolute secret information. It was as if she had completely forgotten that Xu Le in the chair was a soldier from the Federation.
The entire spaceship's officers were dumbfounded. Apart from her voice, there was a deathly silence. Even a night cat walking past could hear the thunderous footsteps.
Only Xu Le noticed the flash of light in Huai Caoshi's eyes. He was also the only one who understood why Huai Caoshi dared to tell him these things.
"What you're asking isn't anything important," Huai Caoshi finished explaining the composition of the fleet and lowered her head to look at Xu Le with a smile, her face full of confidence.
"Are there really laser weapons in the outer space bases of Tianjing? We've been guessing this all this time, "Xu Le continued to ask without holding back.
"You'll naturally find out when you have the ability to attack." Huai Caoshi put her hands behind her back and said calmly, "However, I can give you a rough estimate of the firepower. According to the defensive capabilities of your fleet, they should be able to hold on for more than 17 seconds."
"What about the Wolf Fang Mecha? Although the micro-engines in the 47 spherical joints can avoid the interference of the electronic turbulence in the containment chamber, how can they achieve synchronization? "
…
…
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios The quiet smuggling spaceship headed towards Tianjing Planet. The voices of two youths, who appeared ordinary on the outside but were, in fact, prouder and more confident than anyone else, rang out in the quiet cabin. This conversation lasted for an unknown period of time. They talked about the Empire's military deployment, Tianjing Planet's culture, the most famous food among the Empire's people, and the most direct answers to the most direct questions.
Between the questions and answers, there was an atmosphere like that of a sword brewing.
In the sea of mulberry trees, Xu Le and Huai Caoshi had already discussed this. This was just pushing the discussion one step further.
You say that you want to escape, but you're just asking for trouble.
She knew that he would definitely want to escape. She knew that the moment he escaped, he would cause even greater harm to the Empire. However, she insisted on saying this because she firmly believed that he wouldn't be able to escape. On the contrary, the more he knew, the more he wanted to escape but couldn't.
This was a very interesting gamble.
Xu Le, the man who was already hanging upside down on the gallows, had steel chips tied to his hair. With every sentence that Huai Caoshi said, the chips would increase until they were thousands of tons, tens of thousands, tens of millions of tons, like seawater.
"Actually, you don't have to make this gamble with me."
The royal battleships around the spaceship dispersed like ghosts, and a blurry nebula appeared in the distance. Xu Le knew if that was their destination. After ending today's discussion and gaining a preliminary understanding of the Empire's literary history, he suddenly spoke to Huai Caoshi beside him.
"I never gamble." Huai Caoshi narrowed her eyes at the nebula that was only the size of a fingernail and said, "Since the start of the war, there have been a total of 27 Federation prisoners who pretended to surrender and then tried to escape. Among them, there were many who were much more cunning and powerful than you, but not a single one of them was able to escape more than three kilometers from the surface of the planet."
Xu Le was silent, knowing the reason she was talking about.
Huai Caoshi coldly glanced at the back of Xu Le's neck, a hint of disgust appearing in her eyes. She said mockingly, "Just like how we can't enter the Federation, you guys can't either. To have a machine implant a dog's tail in your body, I really don't know what you Federation people are thinking. "
Xu Le laughed, not intensely arguing with the other over the issue of the chip. Instead, he said, "This isn't something I can choose or decide."
"I sympathize with you and all of you." Huai Caoshi frowned slightly and said, "That's why I really don't understand why a guy like you can still laugh so happily as death draws closer and closer. I don't believe that you really have the confidence to escape."
"Of course." Her pair of straight eyebrows raised slightly, and she said with narrowed eyes, "I'm looking forward to the surprises you can bring me."
"Could this be the so-called loneliness of the experts?" Xu Le scratched his head, his shoulder hurting a little, and his brows furrowed.
"Probably so," Huai Caoshi replied.
In the magnificent interstellar era, the individual heroism supported by super strength had long since given way to the cold mechanical order. Under such a background, anyone who dared to express their feelings of invincibility to the princess by the porthole could most likely be classified as a lunatic or a pretentious idiot. However, history was so long, and the human population was so large, so there would always be peerless experts who had the qualifications to say such words.
For example, Li Pifu, or the person who had his teeth smashed by Li Pifu. For example, him, her, and him.
"I'll do my best." Xu Le looked into her eyes and replied with the most serious tone he had ever used in his life.
…
…
The spaceship landed on a huge planet, and the bulletproof limousine led the group out of the secret royal military base. After driving for about seventy kilometers, they entered a heavily guarded manor.
Xu Le, who was wearing the helmet of darkness, could not see anything, and could not even hear anything. All of this was completely based on the inference in his mind. The acceleration of gravity during landing, the speed felt by his body, and the time silently counted in his mind — everything was just inference.
Stepping on the protruding round stone road, Xu Le was dragged forward by the dynasty's soldiers. He suddenly said, "I still have a very important question to ask, about that Ba Dao."
He knew that Huai Caoshi definitely had not left yet. If she wanted to leave, she would definitely say something to him. Sure enough, a moment later, he heard that person's cold and calm voice. "I'll tell you before you die."
Xu Le smiled and did not say anything else.
Huai Caoshi narrowed her eyes and looked at the back of the figure that disappeared into the underground passage. For some reason, she felt a little strange in her heart, not because of this bet that she thought she would definitely win, but because of something else.
On the way back to the core of the empire on the Wild Rose, she needed to know Xu Le's secret at all costs. However, after receiving a complete analysis of the information, she immediately withdrew the idea of chopping off this person's arm. This was because she firmly believed that with this person's seemingly dull but actually firm temperament, once faced with such a situation, he would definitely choose to commit suicide without hesitation.
At that time, she did not want him to die too early, die too quickly, but the current situation of the empire did not allow him to commit suicide. He could only commit suicide because the royal family still had to give a clear explanation and account to those neutral nobles.
…
…
Xu Le was no stranger to the dark and silent prison cell. He had once endured an entire half year in such an environment where he would die in solitude. The Fox Fortress was once as intimate as his second home, but at that time, he had the old thing playing * * * * * * *. What could he have now? He could only constantly think, secretly experimenting, and gently stroking the metal bracelet on his left wrist.
His life in the black prison did not last long. He welcomed the high ranking judge of the empire's judicial organization and the merciless executioner. After seriously listening to the empire's sentence with a Tianjing accent, Xu Le finally understood that he would be executed in public at the entrance of the palace tomorrow.
He furrowed his itchy brows, scratched his itchy hair, and rubbed his itchy instep. The electronic devices on his shoulder blades and the heavy shackles on his ankles clanged, making him feel a little uneasy.
"Where is the dignity you promised?"
He looked at the darkness outside the black prison and asked very seriously.
"No torture, no death by a thousand cuts, no humiliation, dying by a metal bullet. For a soldier, is this not dignity?"
Huai Caoshi appeared at the entrance of the black prison and spoke coldly with her hands behind her back.
"I don't understand why you have to do such an unnecessary trial. However, my empire's words are correct. You seem to have said that I am Li Pifu's illegitimate son." Xu Le stared at her who was standing by the door.
"For people of the Federation, isn't it an honor to die with such an identity?"
"Of course not." Xu Le shook his head and said, "I have a name, a father, a mother, a sister, a teacher, and friends. I don't have such a hobby."
Huai Caoshi was silent for a moment before saying, "Before the execution, I will tell you about Ba Dao."
After saying this, she silently turned around and prepared to leave with her hands behind her back.
"It's a pity that I won't have the chance to hear the secret I want to know the most." Xu Le looked at her back and grinned. His white teeth were as bright as his eyes at this moment.
Huai Caoshi's pupils constricted rapidly. Her body whistled through the air as she flew backwards. Her finger went straight for Xu Le's chest!
However, when the fingertip was still a few centimeters away from his chest, the smiling small-eyed man suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood and then fell straight down.
…
…
(Yesterday, I went from Mudanjiang to Harbin. Then, I didn't have a ticket back to Daqing. In the end, I bought a soft sleeper. The train attendant laughed like crazy … I'll find a day to talk about what I've been busy with these past few days.
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