Five days after Feng Jun met Xuan Gao, two Federation administrative officials died under unusual circumstances.
One of them was in the Dumbbell Galaxy, the other in the Nine-Bend Galaxy. The Baiman Star System, where He Runxian was under investigation, was instead left untouched.
However, once news reached the Baiman Star System, He Runxian's treatment during the investigation improved dramatically. He had previously been confined in a sealed room, but now he had been "upgraded" to a detached villa. Aside from being unable to contact the outside world, he could even move about in the yard.
The people in charge of investigating He Runxian had originally been extremely hostile toward him. Fortunately, Hesheng's name carried enough weight, and he was an important core member. Otherwise, torture to extract a confession would have been unavoidable—such practices were not uncommon in the Federation.
Torture had nothing to do with whether one was civilized. The Federation was facing an all-out war against the Insect Race, and there could be no room for softness.
He Runxian had not suffered that sort of treatment, but he had experienced measures such as being kept awake under glaring lights.
Now that his treatment had suddenly improved, even he was somewhat puzzled. The people who had abused him had also changed their attitudes considerably. They did not go so far as to fawn over him, but at least they had become much more pleasant.
Someone even explained to him in private that they were merely making a living and had not deliberately meant to make things difficult for him. It was simply an order from above.
He Runxian ignored their overtures. If he had not come under investigation, these people would not even have been qualified to stand before him. After all the humiliation he had suffered, how