An Ordinary Merchant

The figures of two men and one woman suddenly appeared before Kolev.

The woman, wearing a long dress with a slit, had her arm pinned and her mouth covered by a burly man in a black trench coat behind her.

Another, slightly thinner man, was gripping the woman's neck with both hands, attempting to cause mechanical asphyxiation.

The woman's beautiful face turned bright red.

Her soft body, lacking any exercise, was incapable of any effective counterattack.

But at that moment, a slight noise sounded nearby. She and the two men shifted their gaze and saw... Kolev, who had just finished expelling waste.

A flicker of hope ignited in her eyes, and she let out a continuous muffled cry.

'Oh, a simple murder case.'

Kolev pondered for two seconds.

He was contemplating how an ordinary old man would react to such a scene.

The thin man released the woman's neck and rapidly advanced toward Kolev, his eyes filled with ferocity.

Kolev immediately made up his mind, his eyes losing focus, his cane tapping rapidly on the ground. His short, frail, aged body posed no threat to the two assailants.

The thin man accelerated forward half a step and swung a clenched fist, aiming for Kolev's nose!

Heh, such a crude probing.

Kolev deduced that this young man was likely doing this dirty work for the first time. Beneath his seemingly ferocious expression lay nervousness and unease. The other party probably wasn't a thug or villain before today, so as long as he remained calm and pretended to be blind, the punch would most likely stop...

Bang!

Kolev stumbled and fell, his vision darkening, struggling to breathe.

The young man who had struck him felt his throat move. Looking at the old man who had lost his ability to act, his nostrils flared slightly as he whispered in the Sherman Empire's language:

"Everything is for my country."

"I am willing to bear the sin for it."

"I am willing to bear the sin for it!"

The man clenched his fist and was about to press down on Kolev's neck!

Suddenly.

"Uncle Haton? Are you in there?"

Yang Ming's voice echoed from outside the door.

Kolev was still a bit dizzy and groggy, unable to respond in time.

The two assailant men exchanged glances, seeing the tension in each other's eyes. The automatic sliding door, which they had propped open with a mop, was showing signs of being pulled open.

The low-quality mop handle was starting to bend!

The woman whose mouth was covered struggled violently, emitting muffled sounds.

The burly man behind her couldn't help but grunt, "How did so many people get involved!"

"I'll deal with the one outside, you hold her down!"

The thin man, who had dazed Kolev, immediately darted towards the bathroom door.

Kolev finally regained some clarity. He looked up at the backs of the assailants, his nostrils twitching, and shouted:

"Damn it! I'm going to die!"

Bang!

Yang Ming kicked open the automatic bathroom door!

The assailant, who had just reached the doorway, was sent flying backward along with the alloy door panel, his waist slamming hard against the washbasin two meters away.

Yang Ming charged into the bathroom like a leopard!

The burly man's face changed drastically. He was about to throw down the woman and turn to counterattack, but Yang Ming's speed left him no time to react.

A palm strike landed on the burly man's neck, causing him to fall forward with rolled eyes, pinning the woman to the ground.

But fortunately, his neck had not suffered mechanical deformation.

--Yang Ming had precisely controlled his strength.

"Are you alright, Uncle Haton?"

Yang Ming turned to look at Kolev, whose nose was bleeding profusely.

Kolev clutched his nose, stood up unsteadily, leaning on his cane, and walked furiously to the washbasin. He raised his cane and gritted his teeth, cursing:

"No one has ever dared to hit my nose! Never!"

Then, he proceeded to whip the man in front of him with a series of fierce blows from his cane.

Yang Ming let out a sigh of relief.

This old man was clearly fine.

"Uncle Haton! How's your injury?"

Yang Ming didn't look at the struggling woman. He stepped forward to support Kolev, whispering into his ear:

"Enough, stop hitting. From now on, we're playing the victims!"

He immediately yelled towards the door:

"Help! Someone, help! Two thugs attacked us!"

Kolev blinked and immediately leaned against Yang Ming's arm, groaning.

"I'm done for, oh, my brain has been impacted... I'm definitely suing this star liner, their security is as rotten as scum."

Yang Ming glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. She still hadn't broken free from the burly man's 'embrace', currently just panting on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

Spy? Agent?

Yang Ming couldn't help but think of the chaotic situation in the Luofeng Empire.

But he didn't do anything further at the moment.

Little Lu had already arrived at the outskirts of the Luofeng Capital Star with the Feinan two galactic days ago. He was now rapidly collecting regional information through the satellite network surrounding the Administrative Planet.

Before receiving Lu's report and figuring out how to maximize his profits, Yang Ming didn't want to get involved in any strange incidents.

Several crew members rushed in one after another.

A small-scale disturbance had broken out here.

Before the star liner arrived at the Luofeng Empire's Capital Star, two hundred-meter-class patrol ships intercepted the liner. Two teams of men and women in white uniforms quickly secured the front section of the ship.

Yang Ming and Kolev, who had already coordinated their stories, were called in for questioning.

Yang Ming wore an innocent expression.

Kolev kept clutching his nose and wailing, tears of grievance still welling up in his old eyes.

This made the young man and woman in charge of their interrogation speak much more gently.

"We are very sorry, Mr. Haton. We sympathize with your experience today."

"It's clear that you two saved the beautiful lady over there. It has been preliminarily determined that the culprits were two members of a rebel organization who had infiltrated the cabin."

"Please rest assured, they have been apprehended and will no longer pose a threat to you."

"Could you two recount the events that transpired?"

Yang Ming frowned, "Rebel organization? Uncle, should we reconsider our investment plan?"

Kolev nodded, "I regret deciding to invest and build a factory here! This place is simply too chaotic! This is the greatest insult I have ever suffered in my life! They actually hit my nose! Oh, my poor, frail nose, which might be cremated in a few years! How could it be so miserable!"

The two young team members exchanged glances, their attitudes immediately becoming more apologetic.

They didn't dare offend these investors, who could potentially be guests of local politicians.

The interrogation ended perfunctorily.

The most probing question they asked was about Yang Ming's combat ability:

"Mr. Yang Ming, your actions will definitely be classified as self-defense, please don't worry about that, but one of them is severely injured, their spine was broken..."

The male police officer who was interrogating them pondered for a moment, "You have received combat training, haven't you?"

"My uncle is a billionaire."

Yang Ming calmly explained:

"I needed to learn some combat skills to protect his personal safety. A life of material wealth can be quite boring, so I take pleasure in exercising my body."

As he spoke, Yang Ming lifted his suit jacket and shirt, revealing his well-defined abdominal muscles, causing the female team member opposite him to push up her glasses.

"Whoa," the male police officer nodded, "Are you Mr. Haton's bodyguard?"

Kolev frowned, "Hey! You're the bodyguard! This is my dear nephew!"

"Alright," the male police officer said, "As a precaution, I just received word from my superior. We are formally notifying you both... Please do not publicize this matter, otherwise, we will hold you accountable under the Empire's Information Security Regulations."

"What do you mean by that?" Kolev asked angrily, "I am the victim! I was harmed! A kind, helpless old man who came to invest in this place was almost beaten to death by two thugs!"

"Apologies," the female police officer said with a look of remorse, "We cannot offer you substantial compensation. This matter is tricky, and the two rebel organization members have already been escorted to a higher-level department for interrogation. All you need to do from now on is remain silent to avoid a lot of subsequent trouble."

The male police officer added, "Otherwise, you might have to come back with us to the police station for up to half a month of questioning."

"So that's how it is," Kolev's voice rose, "Are you trying to sweep this under the rug? Are you in league with those two thugs? Oh! I want to go back right now! Let me return!"

"Uncle, Uncle Haton!"

Yang Ming quickly pulled Kolev back.

"They're right, this matter can't be blown out of proportion, or it will damage our reputation. You don't want your old friends to know that your nose was crooked by rebels, do you? This business here is a good project for us."

"Hmph!"

Kolev looked displeased.

The pair of police officers exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief.

The woman at the center of the incident, who had been attacked by the rebels, left with the patrol ships.

Before leaving, the woman wanted to thank Yang Ming and Kolev.

But as she started to walk over, Yang Ming smiled and shook his head, refusing.

Yang Ming reminded her, "We're just honest businessmen. We don't want trouble, miss."

She gently bit her lip and bowed her head to Yang Ming.

"You saved me. I will remember this kindness. Once I've finished what I'm doing, I'll find a way to repay the two of you."

Yang Ming shrugged, "We don't want to get too deeply involved in politics."

"I understand," the woman sighed softly, her expression full of dejection. "Thank you."

Yang Ming noticed that as the woman left, she wasn't being escorted, but rather seemed to be protected by the patrol officers.

A big shot?

She didn't look like one.

After the two patrol ships slowly sailed away, the star liner resumed its normal course. The crew members and safety officers, who had been slacking off somewhere, suddenly became extremely active and attentive.

They even brought Kolev, the unlucky old man, some consolation gifts—free pastries and flying kisses from a female flight attendant.

Kolev was already filled with distrust of his surroundings. He squeezed into Yang Ming's 'egg pod', wanting to endure the remaining travel time.

"This place is really too chaotic. Logically, we should have been taken in for questioning too, but the police's reaction was very unusual. They were practically begging us not to follow."

Kolev said in a low voice.

Yang Ming curled his lips slightly, not saying much.

It's easier to catch big fish in troubled waters.

However, neither Yang Ming nor Kolev knew that.

When they arrived at Capital Star, successfully boarded the ground-to-air express train at the spaceport, and began searching for food guides for 'Yilando' on Capital Star.

In a controlled airspace near Capital Star Yilando, inside a comprehensive supply ship surrounded by several escort ships, a cabin that had been set up as an interrogation room.

The beautiful woman who had promised to repay Yang Ming was now tied to an electric chair. Her eyes were somewhat dazed due to the effects of a neurotoxin, and she had multiple bruises on her face and body.

She mechanically and repeatedly answered:

"I don't know."

In front of the woman, several middle-aged men in blue trench coats looked somewhat nervous, occasionally glancing at the corner.

There sat an old man with white hair.

"Nothing?" the old man asked.

The middle-aged men quickly turned around and respectfully replied:

"We've scanned her entire body three times, General. The chip is not under her skin or anywhere inside her."

"The intelligence might be wrong."

"Our men have searched every corner of that spaceship and found no useful information. Everything has been checked."

The old man's expression was clearly displeased. He said coldly, "Cut open her stomach and search again, thoroughly."

"Yes! General!"

"General," one of the middle-aged men said in a low voice, "According to the intelligence investigation, there were two people... the ones who stumbled upon the rebel operation. They are an uncle and nephew who came to Capital Star to invest in the diversion pipe business. They had contact with the maid... could it be them?"

"Since there's a possibility, go and verify it."

The old man said in a low voice, "Don't let any clue slip. Be discreet when you act on the ground. No one will pay attention to two small merchants at this moment."

The middle-aged man quickly nodded. "Yes, I'll go right now. Don't worry, I absolutely won't cause any disturbance. They're just two ordinary people. A single Laser Gun can handle them."