"It was so noisy."
Sensing that the mercenaries from the neighboring trading companies were planning to set up firing positions here for street fighting, the fake Tingyun who had arrived on this planet earlier frowned and snapped her fingers.
With that snap, muffled groans rang out next door.
"Tingyun" strolled over and saw corpses scattered across the ground.
Disturbing her while she was thinking was a capital offense.
"I don't like killing people with my own hands. Why did you have to come over here?"
She then slowly walked out of the street and looked up at the sky, just in time to see Ji Yuan and the others' Star Skiff arriving on the planet.
She was extremely powerful. Even from several thousand meters in the air, she could clearly make out Ji Yuan and Tingyun's faces.
Seeing that Tingyun had arrived according to plan, she could not help but smile happily.
She murmured to herself, "Tingyun has finally arrived. Next, I need to find a chance to kidnap her and take her place."
Next, she needed to find somewhere to capture Tingyun and question her about the details of her life.
Only then
would she avoid exposing herself after infiltrating the Luofu Starfaring Vessel.
Naturally, her questioning did not involve capturing Tingyun and forcing a confession through threats and torture.
That sort of behavior was the filthy conduct of lowly insects. She would never do such a thing.
After capturing Tingyun, she naturally had a way to trap her in an illusion and read her memories.
Her infiltration of the Star-skiff would not last merely a day or two. She would need to study Tingyun's memories thoroughly and imitate her psychology and emotions down to the finest detail.
Ji Yuan and Tingyun arrived at the trading company headquarters where the Cloud Knights were stationed.
The Cloud Knights were conducting cleanup operations on the remaining enemies.
As soon as Ji Yuan and the others disembarked, they saw a lean, middle-aged man in armor waiting at the entrance to the trading company headquarters, which had nearly become ruins.
The moment they saw him, Ji Yuan and the others hurried over.
This was Lord Genyi, deputy general of the Luofu Starfaring Vessel's Cloud Knights. He was also leading this military operation. In terms of command experience, he was practically an old general from the same era as General Jing Yuan.
As Jing Yuan's student, Yanqing was familiar with him.
"Lord Genyi."
Genyi wore a gentle expression and lightly patted Yanqing on the head before turning his gaze toward Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan immediately cupped his hands in salute. "Greetings, Lord Genyi."
Genyi reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Good lad. Very good. Your mother and I once fought side by side. You haven't disgraced her. From now on, when no one else is around, just call me Uncle. Come on, you'll be responsible for this place next. Our safety is entirely in your hands too. Whether I can sleep soundly tonight depends on you."
"Lord Genyi, you are too modest."
Ji Yuan knew the deputy general was being humble. Although his strength could not compare to General Jing Yuan's, after fighting for so many years, he was not someone a few Buli Ren could handle.
After requesting an entire squad of Cloud Knights, Ji Yuan and the others began inspecting the trading company headquarters.
Once they had gone some distance, Ji Yuan reminded the Cloud Knights, "In a moment, I'll inspect every floor and wall. Keep your weapons ready beside me. If anything goes wrong, activate the defensive formation first. I'll quickly retreat behind you, then launch an attack..."
Genyi had sharp hearing. Upon hearing this, he could not help looking at Yanqing.
"Um... my big brother is rather cautious. Yes, very careful."
Yanqing considered his wording in his mind before speaking to Genyi.
"Alright, I understand."
Genyi silently nodded.
As a commander who often fought Abundance Fiends, he looked gentle on the surface, but he was quite bold when taking risks. This excessively cautious behavior, combined with Ji Yuan's origins from the Yaoging Star-skiff, left him speechless.
This was not Yaoging at all.
Facing a section of ceiling, Ji Yuan extended the Longsword Sky Dome in his hand and viciously stabbed a crack into it.
Only after seeing no reaction did he nod in relief.
Turning back to Tingyun, Ji Yuan instructed, "Tingyun, help me keep an eye on the areas I haven't checked yet. If there are any, I'll go over and inspect them again."
Tingyun turned around and looked at the trading company headquarters' corridor. There were all kinds of shoeprints across the floor and walls, while the ceiling had been stabbed everywhere by a longsword. The headquarters building, which had originally been fairly well-preserved despite the war, now looked as if a fierce battle had taken place inside because of Ji Yuan.
"There aren't any left. You even kicked the ventilation window."
Tingyun's charming fox eyes gave Ji Yuan a helpless look.
"Mm, that's good. I was thinking of doing another round, but since you say so, I'm relieved."
Since Tingyun said so, Ji Yuan put his mind at ease.
Hearing Ji Yuan's words, the Cloud Knights all breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness you listened. If you made us go through it again, we might as well sleep outside in the camp.
Before the Cloud Knights could fully relax, Ji Yuan raised the Sky Dome Longsword in his hand and pointed ahead.
"Come on, let's continue. There are still plenty of places ahead that haven't been inspected. Especially our living quarters. If you don't want to wake up at night suddenly embracing a Buli Ren that appeared out of nowhere, then we need to inspect everything carefully."
The Cloud Knights silently followed.
After walking a few steps, Ji Yuan glanced back at Tingyun. Her steps were slightly unsteady, and her brows were lightly furrowed.
Walking in high heels for too long could easily cause considerable damage to one's feet.
He said to the Cloud Knights, "Let's inspect the living quarters first."
Leaning closer to Tingyun, he quietly said, "Once I finish checking, you and Huohuo can stay in the living quarters. Wearing high heels all the time is really inconvenient for moving around."
Leaving Tingyun alone would be extremely dangerous. But if Huohuo was with her, her safety would be sufficiently guaranteed. Of course, before that, they still needed to thoroughly inspect the area around the living quarters.
"Mm, I understand."
Tingyun's eyes curved into smiling crescents.
Although Ji Yuan's caution left her speechless, the fact that he had noticed and cared about her was still quite nice.
They went to the living quarters first. Ji Yuan thoroughly inspected the place where they would stay that night. After confirming it was safe, Tingyun and Huohuo remained behind while Ji Yuan and Sushang continued leading the Cloud Knights to inspect the headquarters.
After another few hours of inspection, Ji Yuan arrived at the largest room in the trading company headquarters. When he pushed open the door, he saw Yanqing guarding the entrance while Deputy General Genyi was interrogating a plump man dressed in extravagant clothing.
It was obvious that the fat man had been eating exceptionally well. The gemstone rings on his fingers were nearly swallowed by the flesh around them.
"Lord Genyi, the headquarters has mostly been inspected. There are no Buli Ren modified soldiers hiding elsewhere. At present, only this room remains unchecked..."
As he spoke, Ji Yuan began looking around, seemingly planning where to kick the walls and where to stab the chandeliers with his sword.
Genyi had also received reports from his subordinates and knew what Ji Yuan had been doing. He immediately waved a hand at him. "Don't worry. I checked this place long ago. There's no problem."
"Mm."
Since Genyi said so, Ji Yuan could only agree. However, his eyes still swept around the room, as though he wanted to add one more kick somewhere before he could feel at ease.
Seeing him like this, Genyi quickly changed the subject. "Alright, Ji Yuan, I have something else to tell you."
"Please give your orders, my lord."
"It isn't an order." Genyi pointed at the fat man before him. "He's the chairman of the trading company. According to him, our business here isn't over yet."
"Mm?"
"Their cooperation with the Buli Ren was facilitated by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus on the Star-skiff. And according to him, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have also colluded with another major figure, intending to cause even greater destruction to the Luofu Starfaring Vessel."
"Besides these Buli Ren, there are others? Don't tell me the Buli Ren have chosen a new Warhead?"
Ji Yuan looked surprised upon hearing Genyi's words.
Other than raiding and waging war against the Celestial Ark Alliance, the Buli Ren fought even more fiercely among themselves. Their leader, the Warhead, was not elected. He was fought for directly through internal strife. The previous Buli Ren Warhead had been defeated and captured by the Celestial Ark Alliance, and no new Warhead had emerged yet.
"No, no, not the Buli Ren." The chairman of the Orion Trading Company, who was being interrogated, frantically shook his head. "I think I heard those Disciples of Sanctus Medicus people mention colluding with something that worships Nanook the Aeon of Destruction."
Genyi warned Ji Yuan, "The Abundance Followers are a group of lunatics, and those who worship Nanook the Aeon of Destruction are no better. Ji Yuan, we will continue investigating this matter. You must be careful as well. Your actions ruined their plans, and they may try to ambush you."
"Alright, I understand."
Ji Yuan could not help clicking his tongue at this. He carefully checked all the defensive devices on his body, intending to double their strength when he had the chance.
Seeing his expression, how could Genyi not know what he was thinking? He wondered what exactly had happened to make him like this. Remembering Suyi's earlier request that he look after her children and perhaps let her son join the Cloud Knights, he suddenly felt a headache coming on.
"With how afraid of death he is, that probably won't be possible."
As he watched Ji Yuan leave, Genyi thought to himself.
Ji Yuan cautiously returned to his room, fearing that someone from the Legion of Destruction might suddenly jump out along the way and slash him twice.
Only after reaching the resting area did Ji Yuan finally relax a little.
At last, he was safe.
He then found the residence assigned to him and walked in.
His position in this operation was quite special, so the room assigned to him was among the best. Ji Yuan had seen it earlier: a luxurious suite spanning over a hundred square meters.
And this was merely a guest room in the trading company headquarters.
"Those evil capitalists really know how to enjoy themselves."
Ji Yuan muttered to himself.
When he pushed open the door, the darkness inside made him uncomfortable. Just as his hand was about to reach for the light switch on the wall, his keen instincts as a swordsman sharply detected that someone was inside the room.
Was it an enemy?
Ji Yuan instantly drew his sword and swiftly turned on the lights.
The room brightened in an instant. Ji Yuan believed that someone who had been in darkness for a long time would be disoriented for several seconds when suddenly exposed to light. He intended to counterattack quickly during that opportunity.
However, after the lights came on, Ji Yuan found no enemy.
On the sofa in the room, Tingyun was dozing with her head buried in a pillow. The long fluffy tail at her waist served as a blanket, covering her upper body. She had not removed her high heels, and under the light, her slender legs looked even fairer, as though they could break with a breath.
Looking at her like this, she truly resembled a delicate, lovable wife.
Ji Yuan could not help thinking to himself.
Even as he thought this, he activated every defensive system on his body that could be activated. He surveyed the room, planning to stab every surrounding room with his sword.
Under the light, Tingyun slowly woke up.
"Mm... Ji Yuan, are you back?"
Dazedly lifting her head from the pillow, she rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked Ji Yuan.
"Mm, I just came back from Lord Genyi's place. What's going on with you? Why are you sleeping here in my room?"
Walking to the coffee table, Ji Yuan poured himself a glass of water. Seeing that Tingyun's lips were somewhat dry as well, he poured her a glass too.
Tingyun accepted the water and took a sip before sitting up straight.
"I'm staying with Huohuo. She planned to practice the techniques you taught her, and I have things to do tonight. So I found a room to rest for a while. I happened to come here."
"Mm? How did you get into my room? And what do you have to do tonight?"
"I told those Cloud Knights that I'm your girlfriend, so naturally, I got access to your room." Tingyun reached out and patted Ji Yuan's thigh, revealing a sly smile.
"As for what I need to do? Naturally, I'm going to take over the trading company's Credits, outside orders, and other financial matters."
Before you continue