When the officers of the intelligence bureau ran to the corner of the dirt road, they could only see the blurry figure in the depths of the quiet mulberry forest. They knew that they would never be able to catch up to them. Frustration and even despair made everyone's cheeks turn pale in an instant.
The special operation team of the intelligence bureau was independent of the departments in the bureau and had great power in the Imperium. However, they only had one goal, which was to find the young man and woman who had just disappeared before their eyes.
In the past two years, the operation team of the intelligence bureau had traveled back and forth between the major administrative galaxies in an attempt to find them, but to no avail. Today, it was the first time they had been so close to them in Mulberry Town, only to watch them disappear right in front of their eyes.
Thinking about the impatience of their superiors, and thinking about the tragic ending that might await them, the spies of the Imperium suddenly felt that the breeze around them had become so cold. Their pale faces and black uniforms made them look so bleak and pitiful.
The senior officer of the intelligence bureau stared at the two figures that were about to disappear from his sight. Exhaustion and fear from the deepest part of his body leaked out from the beard on his chin.
Suddenly, he laughed maniacally. He pulled out a sharp knife from his boot and stabbed it into his thigh. There was a muffled sound!
The tip of the knife pierced deep into his flesh, and when it was pulled out, it brought out a shocking stream of blood. He breathed heavily and half-knelt on the dirt road in a sorry state. Looking at the empty road in the distance, he did not see anyone turn back. The last glimmer of hope that remained in his eyes finally turned into despair. An expression that was close to tears and laughter surfaced on his face.
After all, the outcome was death, or even survival that was more terrible than death. The senior officer of the intelligence bureau gritted his teeth, his cheeks as hard as stone. He forced a groan out of his chest. Holding the sharp knife tightly in his right hand, he stabbed it into his heart with trembling determination!
A sharp tearing sound suddenly burst out in the air, as if a grenade was flying over the mountains. An extremely small stone whizzed over from afar and accurately hit the wrist of the high official of the intelligence bureau, directly breaking his wrist bone and causing the knife to fall to the ground with a thud.
This official was not acting. More than a year of exhaustion and despair made him want to die. However, at this time, he was half-kneeling on the dirt road, holding his aching wrist in shock. He had no time to pay attention to the blood flowing from his thigh. He stared in a daze at the two figures slowly walking out from the depths of the mulberry forest. Endless joy grew in his heart.
"Who taught you this method?"
The officer of the intelligence bureau did not dare to look at the man who had walked up to him. Together with the thirty or so agents in black behind him, they all knelt down and spread their palms on the ground. They said humbly, "If you don't come, we will all die."
The mulberry forest was as endless as the sea. The rich mulberry leaves were like countless hands, reaching out above the dirt road, blocking the blazing sunlight into patches of light or shadow. The small-eyed man quietly looked at the people kneeling on the road. It was unknown what kind of past he was thinking of. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He raised his head to look at the sky, only to see those fragments of light become incomparably dim.
A few enormous shadows covered the sky above Yellow Rock, casting Sang Hai into a cold world. He could vaguely tell that they were three of the most advanced giant warships of the Imperium.
…
…
The dilapidated public school in Sang Ku Town was in a state of absolute martial law. The fully armed Imperial Royal Guards guarded in all directions with serious and cold expressions. Outside the walls, whether it was Master Bayi, who was still in a coma, the trembling minor nobles, or the slaves and their children who could not hide their shock, they all knelt on the ground and maintained absolute silence. For them, the big figure in the room behind the dilapidated walls was more dazzling than the stars in the sky. They did not dare mention her name and could only use the most humble posture to express their awe.
An official in luxurious clothes retreated from the room with half of his body bent. He walked to the outside of the walls and said a few words to the people in a low voice. His manner was extremely majestic. The people kneeling on the ground did not dare disobey. They stood up one by one. However, the strong curiosity in their hearts made them, who were usually as timid as mice, unwilling to leave even in the face of the cold guns of the Imperial Royal Guards. They stood silently outside the public school and waited.
"I don't like people kneeling to me, and I don't like your subordinates forcing me to stay in this way. If this happens again next time, perhaps I will run faster."
Xu Le picked up the kettle, rinsed the green tea in the cup, and flicked the tea away with his fingers. He looked back at the person who was silently reading in front of the bookshelf with her hands behind her back and said, "Let's talk while drinking tea."
Huai Caoshi turned around, unbuttoned the first button on the neck of her military uniform, and sat down opposite the small table. She picked up the slightly hot teacup and gently shook it. She said expressionlessly, "The tea is very ordinary."
"A student gave it to me, mixed with mulberries. It tastes good."
Xu Le replied with a smile. He picked up the teacup and took a sip first.
Huai Caoshi held the teacup in silence for a moment. Then she slowly took a sip. Perhaps because the tea was indeed good or because the temperature was enough, the cold expression on her face slightly relaxed. She quietly looked at the man opposite her and said, "Back in the wetland, you promised me that you would come to the Empire to see me."
Xu Le replied softly, "Am I not in the Empire right now?"
"But you didn't see me." Huai Caoshi slightly frowned. Her eyebrows were extremely sharp. She stared into his eyes and said, "At that time, you were unwilling to go with me, but I knew that you would come eventually. However, I didn't expect that you would be hiding from me for so long."
Xu Le gently turned the teacup. The bottom of the teacup rubbed against the table surface, making a rustling sound. His eyes slightly lowered into the muddy tea, and he replied in a low voice, "Even if I did see you, so what?"
It was a very simple sentence, but when connected to what he had been through in his life, it revealed a sense of sadness and helplessness.
Huai Caoshi quietly looked at her only brother. She watched as the sunlight penetrated the glass and shone on his slightly tanned cheeks and long eyelashes. She found that time had not left too many traces on this face. However, compared to the past — whether it was the year when the hero of the Federation fought his way into the Empire alone, or the year when the Crown Prince of the Empire was helpless in the Federation — he appeared much calmer.
Huai Caoshi slightly pursed her lips. She barely managed to squeeze out a smile that she thought was warm but was actually still domineering. She asked as gently as she could, "How have you been in the past two years?"
As the strongest person in the Left Sky Space Zone and the natural heir to the throne of the Empire, this princess had no brothers, friends, or playmates since she was a child. The emperor who resided high in the Star Picking Hall was her father, but he was the emperor of the Empire first. Therefore, she did not know how to face Xu Le, a family member, with what kind of attitude she should have. However, since the fact was confirmed more than two years ago, she had been working hard. Although clumsy, it was particularly touching.
"I went back to the East Forest and looked at the mines on the grassland through the gray moon gravel. I went to Bermuda and found the human trafficking company that cooperated with the Empire in the past. I wanted to find those people for trouble, but I found that the building had long been destroyed by Lin Yuanshan. So, I came to the Empire later."
Huai Caoshi looked at him quietly and asked, "Where have you been?"
"I've been to many places, met many people, and seen many sights."
The sun was warm and direct. Xu Le narrowed his eyes and looked at the floating waves on the glass with a smile. His mind was filled with the magnificent sights he had seen in the universe in the past two years after escaping from the Federation.
"The spectacular remains of the supernova explosion in the Cross Constellation, the underground salt mine of the Lanbo Star, the green cathedral on the Gangding Star, and of course, the red tide on the Liban Star, the fog on the Pinecone Ridge, and the Sang Hai beside us. You took me to see these before, but at that time, I was a prisoner. I want to see them as a tourist."
He turned his head to look at Huai Caoshi and said, "Since I am a citizen of the Empire in terms of blood, I think I need to know more about the history and environment of the Empire. Right, I also went to the ancestral shrine of the Huai family in Bai Yan to take a few pictures."
"After being a tourist for more than two years and going to so many places, you should have found the answer you want." Huai Caoshi asked calmly, "What is it?"
Xu Le shrugged and said, "The ancestral shrine of Bai Yan prohibits civilians from getting close to it. Even if you want to buy a ticket, you can't enter. So, I snuck in secretly. I think this measure is not good enough. It's not friendly enough."
"You know what I want to ask." Huai Caoshi stared into his eyes and was very tough.
Under her gaze, Xu Le was silent for a long time. The smile on his face gradually disappeared, and he answered seriously, "Not being close to the people is actually my answer."
"So?"
"So … I don't like it."
Xu Le looked back at her eyes and saw that the light in her eyes gradually turned cold. His fingers that were playing with the teacup gradually stopped, and he said, "I don't like civilians not being able to enter the restaurant of the nobles. I don't like that nobles can kill slaves at will without worrying about punishment. I don't like those patients who keep kowtowing in front of the palace and asking for god's blessing. I don't like that some people eat meat and some people eat grass. Sometimes, the people who eat meat will eat the meat of the people who eat grass when they are interested. What I don't like the most is that there are people kneeling everywhere in the Empire."
Huai Caoshi listened carefully to his words. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Is there any essential difference between this and the Federation?"
"In the Federation, at least on the surface, most people don't need to kneel. Maybe you think this is just a beautiful and hypocritical coat, but the coat can always keep out the cold. The oppressed people don't need to stand naked in the cold winter wind."
Xu Le continued, "Quantitative changes can always lead to qualitative changes. Wearing more layers of clothes can sometimes block the scythe of the reapers. Maybe you think this difference is not essential, but I think the opposite."
Huai Caoshi held the cup of tea that was getting cold, and drank it tastelessly. She suddenly said, "There is never anything that is immutable in this universe, including the system. It's just that there is a lack of people who can change the system."
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