Ordinary Merchants

The figures of two men and a woman appeared before Kolev.

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

Another, slightly thinner man gripped the woman's neck with both hands, trying to kill her by mechanical asphyxiation.

The woman's pretty face had flushed bright red.

Her soft, untrained body was utterly incapable of mounting any effective resistance.

But then a faint noise came from nearby. She and the two men turned their gazes toward it and saw... Kolev, who had just finished disposing of some food waste.

A glimmer of hope kindled in her eyes, and she let out a series of muffled cries.

Oh, a simple murder.

Kolev thought for two seconds.

He was trying to figure out how an ordinary old man should react to seeing this.

The thin man released the woman's neck and quickly advanced on Kolev, his gaze vicious.

Kolev made up his mind at once. His eyes went unfocused, and his walking stick tapped rapidly against the floor. His short, frail, elderly body posed no threat to either attacker.

The thin man darted half a step forward, clenched his fist, and swung it hard at Kolev's nose!

Hah, a low-level test.

Kolev concluded that the young man was probably new to this kind of dirty work. Beneath that seemingly vicious expression lurked nervousness and unease. Before today, he probably hadn't been a thug or a brute, so as long as Kolev stayed calm and pretended to be blind, the other man would most likely stop his fist...

Thud!

Kolev staggered to the floor. His vision went black in waves, and he struggled to catch his breath.

The young man who had struck him swallowed hard. Looking at the old man, now unable to move, he flared his nostrils and murmured in Shermanese:

"Everything is for my country."

"I'm willing to bear the sin for it."

"I'm willing to bear the sin for it!"

The man clenched his fist and was just about to press it against Kolev's throat!

Suddenly—

"Uncle Haton? Are you in there?"

Yang Ming's voice came from outside the door.

Kolev was still a little dizzy and out of it, unable to respond in time.

The two attackers exchanged a glance, and saw the tension in each other's eyes. The automatic sliding door they had jammed with a mop was already starting to give way.

The cheap mop handle had begun to bend!

The woman, with her mouth covered, struggled desperately, letting out a series of muffled cries.

The burly man behind her couldn't help snarling, "How did this involve so many people?"

"I'll deal with the one outside. Keep her pinned down!"

The thin man who had knocked Kolev senseless immediately darted toward the washroom entrance.

Kolev finally came around a little. He looked up at the attacker's back, flared his nostrils, and shouted:

"Damn it! I'm dying!"

Thud!

Yang Ming kicked the washroom's automatic door open!

The attacker who had just reached the entrance was sent flying along with the alloy door panel, his lower back slamming hard into the washbasin two meters away.

Yang Ming charged into the washroom like a leopard!

The burly man's expression changed drastically. He was about to let go of the woman and turn to fight back, but Yang Ming was moving too fast for him to react.

A hand chop crashed into the burly man's neck. His eyes rolled back as he pitched forward, crushing the woman beneath him.

Fortunately, his neck hadn't been mechanically deformed.

Yang Ming had controlled his strength with exquisite precision.

"Are you all right, Uncle Haton?"

Yang Ming turned to Kolev, whose nose was gushing blood.

Clutching his nose and leaning on his walking stick, Kolev shakily stood up. He stormed over to the washbasin, raised his walking stick, and gritted out:

"No one has ever dared hit me in the nose! No one!"

Then he used his walking stick to deliver a furious beating to the man in front of him.

Yang Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

The old man was clearly fine.

"Uncle Haton! How badly are you hurt?"

Yang Ming ignored the woman still struggling and went to support Kolev, speaking quickly into his ear:

"That's enough, stop hitting him. From now on, you're the victim!"

He immediately shouted toward the door:

"Someone, help! There are two assailants in here who attacked us!"

Kolev blinked, then leaned against Yang Ming's arm and let out a series of groans.

"I'm done for. Oh, my brain's been rattled... I'm definitely suing this starliner. Their security is a complete joke."

Yang Ming glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. She still hadn't managed to free herself from the burly man's "embrace." She was only lying there panting, tears trickling from the corners of her eyes.

A spy? An agent?

Yang Ming couldn't help thinking of the chaos currently engulfing the Luofeng Empire.

But he didn't do anything more just then.

Little Lü had reached the outskirts of Luofeng Prime Star aboard the Feinan two days earlier. She was now rapidly gathering regional information through the satellite network surrounding the Administrative Planet.

Until he received Lü's report and figured out how to maximize his own gains, Yang Ming didn't want to get caught up in any strange business.

Several crew members rushed in one after another.

A small-scale commotion broke out here.

Before the starliner reached the Luofeng Empire's Prime Star, two hundred-meter patrol ships intercepted it, and two squads of men and women in white uniforms quickly took control of the front section.

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

Yang Ming looked completely innocent.

Kolev kept clutching his nose and wailing, tears of grievance glistening in his old eyes.

The young man and woman questioning them softened their tone considerably.

"We're very sorry, Mr. Haddon. We sympathize with what happened to you today."

"Clearly, you two saved the beautiful woman over there. We've now preliminarily determined that the culprits were members of a rebel organization who had infiltrated the passenger cabins."

"Rest assured, they've been taken into custody and can no longer hurt you."

"Could you both recount what happened earlier?"

Yang Ming frowned. "A rebel organization? Uncle, should we reconsider our investment plans?"

Kolev nodded. "I deeply regret deciding to build a factory here! This place is a complete mess! This is the greatest insult I've ever suffered in my life! They actually hit me in the nose! Oh, my poor, frail nose, which might be cremated in a few years! How could it have suffered so terribly?"

The two young officers exchanged a glance, their expressions turning even more apologetic.

They didn't dare offend investors who might be honored guests of local politicians.

The questioning ended in a hurry.

The sharpest question they asked concerned Yang Ming's combat ability.

"Mr. Yang Ming, your actions will certainly be classified as self-defense, so please don't worry about that. But one of them was seriously injured. His spine was broken when he hit the washbasin..."

The male officer who had asked the question paused. "You've had combat training, haven't you?"

"My uncle is a billionaire."

Yang Ming explained calmly:

"I needed to learn some combat skills to protect his personal safety. A materially comfortable life can get rather dull, so I enjoy keeping myself in shape."

As he spoke, Yang Ming lifted his suit jacket and shirt. The clearly defined muscles of his abdomen made the female officer across from him adjust her glasses.

"Oh," the male officer said with a nod. "Are you Mr. Haddon's bodyguard?"

Kolev frowned. "Hey! You're the bodyguard! He's my dear nephew!"

"Understood," the male officer said. "As a precaution, I've just received word from my superior. I must formally notify you both... Please don't let this incident spread. Otherwise, we'll hold you accountable under the Imperial Information Security Regulations."

"What do you mean by that?" Kolev demanded angrily. "I'm the victim! I was hurt! A kind, helpless old man came here to invest, and I was nearly beaten to death by two thugs!"

"I'm sorry," the female officer said apologetically. "We can't offer you any material compensation. This matter is very complicated, and the two rebel organization members have already been taken to a higher-level department for questioning. You can avoid a lot of trouble later if you simply keep quiet."

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

"Just you wait!" Kolev raised his voice. "Are you trying to sweep this under the rug? Are you working with those two thugs? Oh! I'm going back right now! Let me return!"

"Uncle, Uncle Haton!"

Yang Ming hurriedly pulled Kolev back.

"They're right. We can't let this get blown out of proportion, or it'll hurt our reputations too. You don't want your old friends finding out that the rebels crooked your nose, do you? This place has good business prospects for us."

"Hmph!"

Kolev looked thoroughly displeased.

The two officers exchanged a glance and each let out a sigh of relief.

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

Before she left, she had apparently wanted to thank Yang Ming and Kolev.

But just as she approached, Yang Ming smiled and shook his head, politely declining.

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

She lightly bit her lip and bowed to Yang Ming.

"You saved me. I'll remember this kindness. When I've taken care of what I need to, I'll find a way to repay you both."

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

"I understand," the woman said with a faint sigh, her expression full of dejection. "Thank you."

Yang Ming noticed that when the woman left, she wasn't being escorted under arrest. It looked more like the patrol officers were protecting her.

A big shot?

She didn't look like one.

After the two patrol ships slowly departed, the starliner resumed its normal course. The crew members and security personnel, who had apparently been slacking off somewhere, sprang into action and became extremely attentive.

They even brought the unlucky old man Kolev some complimentary treats and a flying kiss from a female attendant.

Kolev had completely lost faith in the place. He squeezed into Yang Ming's "egg pod," wanting to wait out the last bit of the journey.

"This place really is a mess. We should have been taken away for questioning too, but the police reacted strangely. They practically couldn't wait to keep us from going with them."

Kolev spoke in a low voice.

Yang Ming curled his lip slightly but said nothing.

Muddy water made it easier to catch big fish.

What Yang Ming and Kolev didn't know was that—

By the time they reached Luofeng Prime Star, boarded the ground-to-space express at the Spaceport, and started searching for food recommendations in Yilando, the capital of Luofeng Prime Star,

a comprehensive Supply Ship surrounded by several frigates sat in the restricted airspace near Yilando. Inside one of its compartments, which had been converted into an interrogation room,

the beautiful woman who had said she would repay Yang Ming was strapped to an Electric Chair. Her eyes were hazy from the effects of neurological drugs, and bruises covered her face and body.

She mechanically repeated over and over:

"I don't know."

Several middle-aged men in blue trench coats stood in front of the woman, looking somewhat nervous. Every so often, they glanced toward the corner.

An old man with white hair stood there.

"Nothing?" the old man asked.

The middle-aged men immediately turned around and answered respectfully:

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

"The intelligence may have been wrong."

"Our people searched every corner of that ship, but found nothing useful. Everything has been checked."

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

"Yes, General!"

"General," a middle-aged man said in a low voice, "our intelligence checks revealed two people... The two who stumbled upon the rebels' operation were an uncle and nephew who came to the capital to invest in a pipeline business. They came into contact with the maid... Could there be a connection?"

"If it's possible, then investigate."

The old man spoke in a low voice. "Don't overlook any leads. Keep things discreet on the ground. No one will be paying attention to two small-time merchants right now."

The middle-aged man hurriedly nodded. "Yes, I'll go at once. Don't worry, I won't cause any commotion. They're just two ordinary people; one laser gun will be enough to deal with them."