Three Batches of Intelligence Officers

Superiors?

Weren't all of my superiors already annihilated by the Antimatter Bomb?

Yang Ming met three men and women wearing Sherman Empire military uniforms in that somewhat dim reception room.

During the three days he'd been locked in the cell, Yang Ming hadn't been idle. Through Hanton's memories and the books he could access, he'd crammed a great deal of common knowledge.

For instance, he recognized the ranks of these three Imperial Soldiers at a glance.

The Middle-aged Man in the center was a Lieutenant Colonel, likely the main leader of the trio.

The young woman on the left was a Lieutenant, holding a notebook-like Network Terminal, responsible for written records.

The Major on the far right had little presence, probably an adjutant or something similar.

"Hello, Captain Hanton," the Lieutenant Colonel spoke first, extending his right hand.

Yang Ming performed a fist-swinging military salute before lightly shaking the offered hand.

"Please, have a seat, Hanton."

The Lieutenant Colonel made a gesture, and the prison guard politely withdrew from the reception room.

The female Lieutenant took out an oval-shaped device, gently pressed a few buttons, and a light blue plasma light screen enveloped the four of them, blocking external eavesdropping.

Such impressive technology.

The Lieutenant Colonel said in a deep voice, "Hanton, we're a bit late. I hope you don't mind. The military gave careful consideration before deciding to let you bear this blame. You performed well at the interrogation meeting."

"Sir, these are all things I should do."

"You may have to endure some grievances next," the Lieutenant Colonel said. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm a staff member of the Empire Military Intelligence Department Twelve. You don't need to know my name. On the surface, I'm a technical officer."

"Understood, sir."

Yang Ming nodded in response. "What does the Empire need me to do?"

His acting was simply flawless.

"Yes, Hanton," the Lieutenant Colonel's expression turned serious. "You cannot plead guilty. That would deal an unprecedented blow to the Empire's reputation. We must publicly deny the existence of Professor Gigrov and the War God Program. Or rather, they never existed."

Yang Ming nodded to show he understood.

"Hanton, don't worry. No matter what verdict the Interstellar Court reaches, we'll get you back within two to three years. You'll become a hero—though you can't appear publicly, you and your family will receive treatment befitting a hero's family."

Yang Ming let his eyes fill with longing, while inwardly cursing up a storm.

This meeting lasted about five minutes.

The Empire's Lieutenant Colonel gave him some encouragement and instructions, mainly telling Yang Ming to deny the War God Program in court.

This was likely part of the Sherman Empire's interstellar public opinion warfare. Otherwise, the Empire Military Intelligence Department Twelve wouldn't bother coming to find him, this abandoned pawn.

As for whether anyone would still care about this poor Hanton after the next trial...

Yang Ming held no illusions about that.

Better to think about how to escape from prison. That was at least more reliable.

Every three days, prisoners got a collective outdoor exercise opportunity. They went to the top deck garden in rotation by floor. The fifth floor's exercise time was from three to five in the afternoon.

Yang Ming planned to use today's exercise to carefully observe the entire prison's structure and finalize his escape plan as soon as possible.

Leaving the prison wasn't actually that difficult. The real challenge was finding a ship capable of jumping and learning how to pilot the thing.

But after lunch, an unexpected situation arose...

"No. 0639, Hanton."

Chief Guard Gulipa, holding that square glass tablet, frowned at Hanton.

There was a hint of confusion in the Chief Guard's eyes, but he still read the information he'd just received.

"Meeting Room Ten. Your superior is waiting for you again."

Huh?

Had those three forgotten to tell him something and come back?

Wasn't the rule of this prison that visits were limited to once a week at most?

Right, the rules of this kind of interstellar organization were meant to be trampled on by powerful political entities.

Under guard escort, Yang Ming arrived at the meeting room door. As soon as he pushed it open, he was stunned.

It was still two men and one woman in Imperial military uniforms, still with the rank configuration of Lieutenant Colonel, Major, and Lieutenant.

But these weren't the three who had come before lunch.

What was going on?

Yang Ming suppressed his doubts as much as possible. He still performed the military salute, shook hands, and sat down. The other party took out a square device, spreading a pink light shield.

"Captain Hanton," the Lieutenant Colonel said, "I'm a staff member of the Empire Military Intelligence Department Twelve. You don't need to know my name. That's our discipline."

"Sir," Yang Ming decided to keep his composure, "is there something you need to instruct me about?"

"Yes, Captain," the Lieutenant Colonel sighed. "The current public opinion situation is very unfavorable to us. I'm sorry to keep you waiting here so long. We'll do our best to rescue you as soon as possible."

Yang Ming showed a grateful expression.

The Lieutenant Colonel pondered for a few moments before speaking slowly.

"You know, Hanton, every country is actually conducting gene fusion experiments. Although Gigrov was somewhat radical, he remains a scholar we respect."

"We invested a massive amount of funding into the Valkyrie Project, and what we got back was nothing but fragments too shattered to piece together."

Yang Ming asked, "Wasn't there a remote backup of the experiment data?"

"Unfortunately, no," the Lieutenant Colonel said. "It was a low-level mistake, but Professor Gigrov had always been unwilling to share his research results with other departments and refused to back them up."

Yang Ming nearly cheered out loud.

Yang Ming said in a low voice, "I wasn't directly involved in the experiment, and I don't have any materials related to it. I was the Third Mate responsible for maintaining the fire suppression pipes... You should already know this."

The Lieutenant Colonel's face immediately showed disappointment.

But the Lieutenant Colonel quickly pulled himself together, showing concern for Yang Ming's life here and promising to arrange his return to the Empire as soon as possible.

Yang Ming asked about his 'companions,' and the Lieutenant Colonel answered fluently, accurately naming the Administrative Planet where several researchers had been sent for recuperation.

This meeting lasted about six minutes.

After returning to his cell, Yang Ming couldn't stop a string of question marks from popping up in his mind.

Two batches of officials from Military Intelligence Department Twelve?

What's going on?

One real and one fake? Or both fake?

It was a bit chaotic. Yang Ming felt he needed to sort things out carefully.

"What's wrong, Hanton?"

The elderly Roommate A asked cautiously, "You look like you've run into some trouble. You've been restless lately."

Yang Ming sighed. "Maybe it's because I've been locked up too long. My heart feels heavy. I clearly didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, Hanton. None of us did anything wrong. The world is what's wrong," the old man said with a smile.

Yang Ming nodded in agreement, and Roommate A lost interest in continuing the conversation.

About two hours later, the familiar footsteps came again.

Again?

Yang Ming frowned and looked toward the cell door. Walking toward him was the Chief Guard, carrying a square glass slab—a device similar to a mobile phone, a Network Terminal.

"No. 0639, Hanton."

Chief Guard Gulipa's voice carried hesitation. He looked at Hanton, then carefully cross-checked the information he'd received on his terminal.

The Chief Guard's mindset had shifted somewhat.

"Meeting Room No. 11. Your superior... just how many superiors do you have?"

Yang Ming shrugged. "I'd like to know that myself."

Yang Ming never expected that the third wave of 'superiors' he met would include someone familiar.

Dr. Lina.

She was wearing a white blouse and a dark green professional skirt, her blonde hair tied back, her slender figure curving into striking lines, exuding the unique charm of a mature woman.

Yang Ming glanced at the other two—the Lieutenant Colonel in the middle and the female Captain beside him—both gave him the impression of 'this is what an Imperial Soldier looks like.'

The female Captain took out a hexagonal device and extended a pale gold shielding barrier, enveloping the four of them inside.

"Hanton, are you alright?" Dr. Lina asked softly, her eyes carrying a hint of barely concealed concern.

"Not bad," Yang Ming replied with a smile.

"Hello, Hanton. I'm a staff member of Military Intelligence Department Twelve," the Lieutenant Colonel in the middle stood and shook Yang Ming's hand. "Sorry it took us so long to come see you. We had to deal with a lot of procedural hassles."

Yang Ming nodded slightly and let out a soft breath.

"You're the third batch," he said. "The third batch of officials from Military Intelligence Department Twelve."

The three of them showed stunned expressions.

The Lieutenant Colonel frowned. "The first two were probably intelligence agents from the New Federation and the United States of Freedom. Damn it, they got here before us."

Dr. Lina quickly asked, "Did you tell them anything?"

Yang Ming shook his head. "I was just the Third Mate on the ship, responsible for maintaining the fire suppression pipes. Isn't that right, Doctor?"

"Yes, that's correct," Dr. Lina's lips curved into a charming arc. "Good thing you were cautious enough, Hanton. They were probably after the Research Ship's findings."

Yang Ming said, "It was all annihilated in the Antimatter Bomb."

The Lieutenant Colonel said slowly, "Don't worry, Hanton. We'll get you back as soon as possible. I know you're a loyal soldier, and the Empire won't forget your contributions."

"Thank you," Yang Ming said with a sincere expression.

Dr. Lina took a medicine bottle from her bag and pushed it into Yang Ming's hand.

She said, "This bottle of medicine has already passed the prison's review. You can keep it with you at all times. Take one pill every three days or whenever you feel unwell—it will help alleviate your depression symptoms."

"Oh, thank you so much, Doctor."

Yang Ming gripped the bottle tightly, staring at Lina.

"We'll get you out of here as soon as possible, Hanton."

Dr. Lina said this before leaving.

The corners of Yang Ming's eyes moistened slightly. He nodded in agreement, and with the medicine bottle clutched in his hand, he was handcuffed and followed the guard back to his cell.

Once he lay down facing the wall, his expression quickly turned cold.

Yang Ming opened the medicine bottle and found it filled with pale yellow transparent capsules.

Was this really a gene-stabilizing drug?

Should he trust Lina?

Three waves of officials from the Empire Military Intelligence Department Twelve...

Which wave was the true envoy from the Sherman Empire? And who should he trust?

Yang Ming tried to detach himself, calmly sorting through the information.

Soon, he had a rough judgment in his mind.

Through reasoning, he had determined that Lina wouldn't harm him for now, so he took out a capsule and swallowed it directly, then tucked the medicine bottle close to his body.

Yang Ming keenly sensed that his body had become more docile, the crisis of losing control temporarily resolved—this also confirmed that at least part of his reasoning was correct.

A guard's whistle sounded from outside the door.

The once-every-three-days yard time had officially begun.