Chapter 166

"Isn't it already over...?"

"It seems not."

"So... there weren't many survivors from the First Military Academy Class 6. They didn't die at the hands of the insects on the Purge, but at the hands of their own people?"

"Actually, I've wanted to say this for a while. When I was acting according to the Class Monitor's instructions, I saw soldiers from the First Military Academy not only turn a blind eye to the deaths of many students, but also knowingly and deliberately order them to go into danger. At first, I thought I was being cynical, but now it seems that it must all be true."

"Um... I saw it too."

"I also..."

"How terrifying! Is there any way to hear what's going on? I'm not speaking up for the people from the First Military Academy, I just want to know the truth."

"Hey, did you guys see those Warships they came back on, hovering near the First Military Academy's Spaceship? Try linking up with them; you might be able to eavesdrop."

After being reminded, the shocked Fourth Military Academy Class 6 temporarily fell silent. Whether they were beta, Omega, or Alpha, they all silently tried to eavesdrop on everything they could connect to regarding the First Military Academy's Spaceships and Warships with their Mental Power.

Outside the Middleton Spaceship, a person who had been anxiously pacing and waiting outside looked up and saw his nephew being thrown out with a bloody hole in his neck.

Other family members of the First Military Academy students who witnessed this scene quickly hid their children behind them, their bodies tense.

Immediately afterwards, they heard Cui Yan's voice, restraining his anger and questioning as he held the corpse.

"Why?" Cui Yan's fingertips turned white from the force with which he was holding the corpse.

The soldier repeated Middleton's Secretary's words, turned back to the Spaceship, and the hatch closed.

Seeing the tightly closed hatch, the students and their respective 'relatives' on the other Spaceships secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As soon as they finished speaking, they saw that Cui Yan didn't say anything in rebuttal, but instead carried the body towards himself.

"?"

Immediately, alarm bells rang in the hearts of the survivors and their 'families'.

The group exchanged glances and then blocked Cui Yan's path.

"Cui Yan, calm down. He shouldn't be on our Spaceship."

"Cui Yan, you don't want to end up with the same crime as your nephew, do you?"

"If you're smart, no one knows where it should be better than you." The person who said this looked towards the edge of the Jump Point Platform. "The Principal didn't dispose of the corpse, but instead gave it to you. Perhaps he wants to see your performance, Cui Yan. Don't disappoint the Principal."

The words rang out in quick succession, all conveying the same meaning: Cui Yan could not only not take away the body of the man Middleton had labeled a 'traitor,' but he also could not do nothing, lest they be implicated.

Cui Yan, cradling the now-cold and stiff corpse in his arms, stared intently at the rows of people blocking his way. His gaze lingered on each of their faces for a long moment before he forced a smile that was more like a grimace. Without a word, he turned and strode towards the edge of the platform...

He Muzhi relayed what he had heard in a low voice. "The soldiers mean that the student Assassination Middleton, which led to his own death."

Assassination?

All eyes fell on Beta in Cui Yan's arms, and they fell into an incredulous silence.

A student, a beta student at that, Assassination Middleton on Middleton's territory, which was heavily guarded by armed men?

"..."

That's far too perfunctory and careless.

Soon, something even more unacceptable happened again in front of the Fourth Military Academy Class 6.

The student's body was thrown off the Jump Platform.

"..."

Even though the other party was a student from the First Military Academy whom they disliked, the Fourth Military Academy Class 6 still frowned upon seeing this scene.

The suffocating silence lasted until Cui Yan disposed of the body and returned to the group of people from the First Military Academy who had been preventing Cui Yan from boarding the Spaceship.

There was no corpse, and they showed no sign of greeting Cui Yan with smiles, avoiding him and not daring to approach.

The families of the students who had died long ago also kept their distance from Cui Yan, fearing they might be contaminated.

Even in death, there are different levels. Cui Yan's nephew's crime was Assassination, so how could he be compared to those in their family who were merely buried with Onion?

Thanks to his previous efforts to inquire about other people's names and learn as much about them as possible, He Muzhi had seen Cui Yan's data. Looking at Cui Yan's back, he thought for Optical Brain, opened his personal terminal, created a new list, wrote Cui Yan's name on it, and then wrote down the names of the people who had just 'advised' Cui Yan to throw away the body after Cui Yan's name.

"Hiss... This convoluted explanation is making me numb... Hey? Old He, why did you write his name?" Raymond asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," He Muzhi said honestly, "I'll remember it for now."

'It might come in handy if we need to sow discord in the future.'

Wait a minute...

The thought crossed He Muzhi's mind, and then he belatedly realized that he seemed to have gotten a little dirty.

In the past, he had never imagined that he would have such thoughts.

He Muzhi had previously asked them to memorize the names of a group of people and their backgrounds, which did not seem strange to the students in Class 6.

"However," Anthony voiced what many were thinking, "Aren't you curious why the Class Monitor made us watch?"

The hatch, which had been closed, suddenly opened, clearly to give them a clear view, or even... to remind them to look.

"Is it... that we're supposed to learn?"

"... That's what I think too."

"+"

"That must be it."

"Um, could you be clear? What are you going to learn? Can we stop playing games? Please be considerate of us slow learners, okay?"

"What else could it be? Although we don't know exactly why that student died, it must be to teach us to learn from Middleton's ruthless and heartless approach of killing people without hesitation in order to achieve certain goals."

"Understood, the ends justify the means."

"I understand now. If you're not ruthless, your position won't be secure."

"But... I'm scared. Imagine, I'd be like a monster?"

"I can't do it right now, but that's okay, there's still plenty of time, right? I can try."

"Count me in."

"Let's cheer each other on, we can do it!"

The students in Fourth Military Academy Class 6 chose to accept their fear rather than accept it.

[The self-manipulation aspect of Class 6 terrifies me]

[What will they feel when they look back on their innocent selves, having been gradually and distorted under Qin Su's deliberate guidance? Will they be grateful to Qin Su, or will they blame and resent Qin Su for not giving them a choice?]

[Emotions are complex; can't they also contain gratitude and resentment?]

[What's the rush to take out loans early? We'll have to wait until they've climbed to a high position before we talk about it. If they don't do it, plenty of others will.]

In other words, isn't this Boss 1 the one who has become everyone's ideal figure, both in terms of good and White Moonlight?

Qin Su: "..."

Isn't it about 'adapting'? How did it escalate to 'learning'? Qin Su was once again speechless at the Interstellar People's ability to accept things.

Almost every time, he had only taken the first step when his classmates, taking that first step, galloped off to a point that left him speechless.

From a marketing perspective, the students' explanations didn't harm them; they made everyone realize they weren't good people, and in some ways, they were similar to Middleton —a kind of "carrot and stick" approach?

Qin Su took this as retribution for being too gossipy, and quickly convinced himself of it, continuing to endure the "Hibernation Pod electricity" with his eyes wide open like copper bells as he watched the people from the First Military Academy leave.

He dared not close his eyes until the people from the First Military Academy left, fearing that he would wake up to a 'backlash' and have his home 'robbed'.

The experience of arriving on the Erato Planet was far too terrible for the people of the First Military Academy.

Being in a place with Qin Su was torture for them, both physically and mentally, and Middleton was the only one who could make decisions there.

After the student's body was removed, Middleton's confidants, who were still in the cabin, said nothing and tacitly administered an injection to Middleton.

Shortly after, Middleton, who had been subjected to intense stimulation, opened his eyes.

The Secretary will report on the handling of the student and also mention that the group from Fourth Military Academy Class 6 pointed at the First Military Academy from a distance without showing any fear.

Upon waking up and hearing the news, Middleton learned that the group of sycophants Qin Su had brought with him from the Fourth Military Academy did not take the First Military Academy seriously. His expression did not soften at all; in fact, it became even uglier. However, his thoughts were similar to those of the other members of the First Military Academy present. He was wary of Qin Su and did not dare to do anything unnecessary. He ordered the First Military Academy's Spaceship to prepare for Hyperspace Jump- away.

With Middleton's approval, the others at the First Military Academy, though their expressions remained unchanged, swiftly carried out the orders.

The remaining Spaceships of the First Military Academy on the Jump Platform quickly departed. Qin Su, having stayed up all night, finally got his wish and was satisfied with the 'electric shock forced awakening' of the Hibernation Pod. He closed his eyes and temporarily entered a 'crash' state, from his brain to his body.

--

The countless insects in the Purge Zone were almost wiped out by that catastrophe. In the following days of Purge operations, even without the participation of the First Military Academy, Qin Su only instructed his students to continue the operation through text messages, and he himself did not show up.

Based on the thought processes of the students in Class 6 before, Qin Su was confident that his absence would be another test for them, according to their strange thought processes.

In particular, in order to create an invisible system of checks and balances among people with strong family backgrounds and overall strength, such as He Muzhi, Sophia, Jeffrey, he deliberately used his authority Class Monitor to let them operate independently during the Purge operations when he was not present, allowing them to develop deeper relationships with their own squad members.

This might be interpreted by the students as an arrangement made to see how they would perform during the competition to clear their assigned areas.

In short, they would never suspect that their absence was simply due to exhaustion.

Amidst fierce competition among the squads, even without the help of the First Military Academy Class 6, the designated areas were quickly cleared.

Although the Purge was over, the Fourth Military Academy Class 6 still had to Hyperspace Jump back to the First Military Academy at the designated end time of the Purge.

During the time Aiseboer was waiting for Qin Su to return to the Fourth Military Academy, he received numerous invitations from the First Military Academy or people related to the First Military Academy, including his own superiors.

Each time, besides using the excuse that "Qin Su doesn't allow me to step out of the Fourth Military Academy," Aiseboer would pretend to be seriously ill and unable to move in order to make everyone think that he was a pitiful person being coerced by Qin Su. He posted countless pictures on his WeChat Moments of himself lying in a medical pod with a pale face.

With so many people around, and to make the performance more realistic, this time when Qin Su returned, Aiseboer didn't appear at the Fourth Military Academy's Hyperspace Jump landing site to pick Qin Su up as he had before.

Everyone knows it's Qin Su's return day, so the Hyperspace Jump landing site is overflowing with people.

Some were just there for the fun, some hated Qin Su but couldn't help being curious, and some simply wanted to see Qin Su... No matter the reason, when the Spaceship of the Fourth Military Academy Class 6 appeared in their line of sight, the restrained excitement in the crowd rang out one after another.

"That's strange. I haven't seen our Principal today. I only see other teachers. Didn't he always come to pick up Qin Su so eagerly before, even though Qin Su completely ignored him?"

"Haven't you heard? Although Qin Su isn't at school, Qin Su didn't want the Principal to ruin his plans. So he not only coerced Principal into giving him the livestream account password, but he also sent people to beat the Principal half to death, leaving him unable to get up at all."

"Wow, is it that serious?"

"More than that, someone heard the Principal say to his Secretary something like... 'Pack up, get ready to die,' which means someone was almost killed by Qin Su's men."

"I knew it. How could someone like Qin Su be kind? His so-called kindness is just an act. Only those young and naive students from the Class of 26 were fooled by Qin Su."

"Our Principal has already predicted it. Look at the First Military Academy, Qin Su directly killed their son and a large number of students First Military Academy. Tsk tsk... terrifying."

"Now that you mention it, that's true. Qin Su at least left the Principal with one option..."

"Shh! Shut up, Qin Su is almost here!"

Having already heard almost every rumor he'd heard along the way, Qin Su, "..."

He hired someone to mess with the Principal??? And he even ruined the Principal's career?

How could he not know it himself! Qin Su 'woke up' to find the sky had fallen.

The rumors were so outrageous that Qin Su walked numbly through an area that had been deliberately cleared, leaving him alone except for himself and the Principal in a wheelchair not far away. He resentfully pretended not to see anything.

Even though he wasn't at school, they could still try to pin the blame on him. If he happened to glance at the Principal as he passed by, wouldn't rumors spread tomorrow that the Principal was being watched to death by him?

"?"

Seeing Qin Su walk past him without even glancing at him, Aiseboer was filled with questions.

'No, what does Qin Su mean by this? His performance wasn't good enough? That's asking too much!'

Aiseboer took a deep breath, used his mind to control his wheelchair to catch up with Qin Su, and called out, "Hey, what a coincidence, Qin Su."

To have someone in a wheelchair chase after him, regardless of whether the other person was faking it... what if they weren't? Given his past immoral behavior and his current attempt to make amends, Qin Su ultimately stopped in his tracks.

As Qin Su stopped walking, he caught a glimpse of a dark figure darting from behind him to in front of him out of the corner of his eye, and then his wheelchair came to an abrupt stop.

When Qin Su looked closely, he saw Aiseboer smiling at him.

Qin Su: "..."

It's such a coincidence that the area was cleared out.

Not knowing what the Principal was there for, Qin Su simply remained silent and stared at him. As he stared, he recalled the rumors he had heard on his way off the Spaceship, and his gaze lingered on the Principal's legs.

He couldn't understand how he could be blamed for something like this.

Aiseboer followed Qin Su's downcast gaze and saw his own body, specifically his legs covered by a beige cloth.

"!"

Aiseboer instinctively put his hands on it, his heart pounding in his throat.

At first, he was just trying to save his life and didn't dare leave the Fourth Military Academy, so he used the excuse of being threatened by Qin Su to talk nonsense. He didn't know if his mouth had been blessed recently, because he actually fell flat on his face the day before yesterday and broke his leg.

Regenerative Repair Fluid and the like... are things you can't soak in so that Qin Su will think you're pitiful.

He was still waiting for Qin Su to come back and protect him; what if Qin Su recovered and became energetic again? How would he then play the victim?

"Um, Qin Su, something unexpected happened, so I can't pick you up. I'm really sorry."

"Fine."

Qin Su withdrew his gaze.

Qin Su's voice was normal, without any particular emotion. Unsure of Qin Su's feelings, Aiseboer simply said what he had been pondering for days, "It's like this, Qin Su, next time you want to do something, could you perhaps discuss it with me beforehand... ah, no, let me know?"

Although his heart was found to be healthy after examination, even the strongest heart cannot withstand repeated stress.

Upon hearing this, Qin Su understood that Aiseboer believed He Muzhi contacting him was his own doing, but... he wasn't a true prophet.

Based on the facts, Qin Su honestly refused. "... No."

Rejected, Aiseboer felt a pang of disappointment but had no choice but to nod. "... Okay, I understand."

Qin Su's immediate refusal made Aiseboer hesitate for a moment, unable to utter the words he had prepared.

After waiting two seconds, Aiseboer's mouth moved, but he still didn't speak in the third second. Qin Su hadn't forgotten how Aiseboer had miraculously helped He Muzhi save Temple, so he patiently... and also out of curiosity, asked, "Principal, is there anything else?"

Upon suddenly hearing Qin Su address him as "you" (formal), Aiseboer immediately understood that Qin Su was indicating he was still willing to treat him as the Principal. In essence, this was a sign of satisfaction with his "following" performance.

Aiseboer felt confident again and shamelessly asked Qin Su for help with something he couldn't handle, "It's like this, Qin Su, could you please help me with this matter of being frequently notified to attend meetings on different planets lately, since I didn't hold you back this time?"

Ostensibly, they're sending him to a meeting, but who knows what might happen once he leaves the Fourth Military Academy?

He can't keep pretending to be sick.

Moreover...

He also wanted to see just how far Qin Su could go in controlling everything.

The man was at the Fourth Military Academy. For the sake of his own life, Qin Su had already thoroughly investigated Aiseboer.

Aiseboer started the live stream because he had some misunderstandings about himself. Qin Su could roughly imagine the consequences of openly opposing the First Military Academy. Although Aiseboer didn't specify who had asked him to attend the meeting, Qin Su, based on Middleton's network of connections, had a rough list in mind. He then entered this list into the network of relationships he had compiled on his open Optical Brain.

Seeing the overlapping and highlighted names on the list, and realizing that this was a simple matter for him, Qin Su agreed, "No problem."

"Thanks."

Not long ago, Qin Su wouldn't even glance at him, but now he agreed to this troublesome matter without a second's hesitation. This was no less than a surprise that came out of nowhere. It was impossible to judge Qin Su's mood and actions, and Aiseboer's mood fluctuated wildly.

With just a simple advance notice, Qin Su did not agree. Yet, in a matter that had been a thorn in his side for years, Qin Su agreed without batting an eye. Qin Su's thoughts were unfathomable to him.

"You're welcome."

Upon closer examination, even if the Principal misunderstood, he was trying to help them.

With the matter that had been causing him so much anxiety resolved, Aiseboer didn't want to waste any more of Qin Su's time. He took the initiative to say goodbye to Qin Su and then watched Qin Su leave.

Qin Su's figure disappeared from sight, and the people who had been hiding all revealed themselves.

"Principal, I'm a little confused about what Qin Su means. Of the things you just mentioned, the second one is clearly more difficult, even though it's just a matter of Qin Su saying a word. So why didn't you agree to the first one, which is even simpler than a word?" The speaker looked puzzled.

After some thought, Aiseboer voiced his guess. "Perhaps it's because I'm not He Muzhi? And the following... is an affirmation of satisfaction with my performance?"

"Um?"

The people behind him didn't quite understand.

"It means that such private matters should only be known to those close to He Muzhi. I wasn't one of Qin Su's people, so I was rejected. Although the latter matter seems difficult to us, it's a public event and can be used as a reward."

"But, Principal, if Qin Su can so easily manipulate that group of people, doesn't that mean Qin Su is actually the biggest mastermind behind everything?"

Aiseboer glanced speechlessly at the person next to him. "Then tell me, am I good or bad?"

What do you mean by "black hand"? That's really rude. From now on, no one will dare to boss him around anymore. Qin Su is clearly an auspicious omen.

Human nature is complex, and the world is not simply black and white; he does not believe in absolute good or bad people.

The people around him remained silent.

To them, Aiseboer was a good man, but to others, he was just someone else's 'lackey'.

Aiseboer didn't say anything more, opened his personal Optical Brain, and waited to see who hadn't been 'notified' by Qin Su.

From this, he could deduce the extent to which Qin Su had woven his net.

No company boss needs to personally notify each employee one by one, going through Middleton and Aiseboer's network of connections to 'threaten' them one by one. It's too troublesome and lacks class. Once out of Aiseboer's sight, Qin Su's gaze swept over his own intricate network of relationships organized according to 'class,' finally landing on the names highlighted at the top.