"Okay, I understand."
Then came the sound of someone opening the hatch.
Upon hearing Wen Jing, Wen Jing continued walking forward.
She stopped on the road, simply out of politeness not to disturb them. As for her overhearing the entire conversation due to her keen senses, that doesn't count as eavesdropping.
There was a separate passageway leading out of Yan Sheng's office, and Old Zhou inevitably ran into Wen Jing as he walked out.
The other person had lost an arm and wore a mechanical prosthesis. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, but in this technologically advanced era, his real age would only be older.
His face was tense, still bearing the lingering anger from before, and he exuded a low-pressure aura that kept strangers at bay.
Upon encountering Wen Jing, Old Zhou barely paused, only glancing at her subconsciously for a moment before recognizing her and immediately looking away.
Seeing this, Wen Jing naturally didn't take the initiative to greet him.
The two passed each other in silence.
However, after they passed each other, Wen Jing's expression suddenly became strange and subtle.
In a place like Azure Jade Academy, where powerful individuals gather, she wouldn't wear Tactical Glasses to observe high-level Awakened, as she would be easily discovered. However, in the Ten Star Group, where most members are ordinary people and low-level Awakened, she doesn't have this concern.
Just now, she saw that one of the leaders of the Ten Star Group had a [Spy] tag in his profile...
Chapter 157
Upon learning that the visitor was Wen Jing, Yan Sheng, whose back was heavy with emotion, turned around and immediately put on a smile.
"Please come in."
Wen Jing walked in and, without beating around the bush, said directly, "Commander Yan, I've come to say goodbye."
Yan Sheng wasn't surprised. He had been receiving all the outside news through him these past few days, so he had expected this. He immediately asked:
"Do you need me to arrange a safe route for you?"
"No need," Wen Jing refused. She planned to travel directly to the Mystic Radiance Academy via the Ancient Wilderness Passage. If she wanted to return to the Red Earth Academy, she would have to take a spaceship there.
Even after the assassination attempt, the exchange activities must continue; how could we let a free course slip by?
"I understand. The Ten Star Group welcomes you to visit us again anytime." Yan Sheng politely prepared to see him off.
However, Wen Jing didn't move. "Before I leave, there's something I need to tell you."
"Oh? What is it?" Yan Sheng asked, somewhat surprised.
Wen Jing calmly dropped a bombshell. "The person who just left your office is a spy."
The entry doesn't specify what kind of spy they are, but it's obvious they couldn't be from the Empire; they're most likely from a financial magnate.
After all, the cost of infiltrating a spy for the Empire is too high. Awakened spies have strategic value, and there is no need to place them in an organization that is already being purged by the Federation's official forces.
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Sheng's pupils contracted, and his expression froze instantly.
But he quickly suppressed his shock and asked in a deep voice, "Do you... have any evidence or sources of information?"
"My own way."
Wen Jing's answer was brief and to the point, "Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
Her actions were merely to repay the favor of being taken in over the past few days; she couldn't possibly reveal her Tactical Glasses. If Yan Sheng didn't believe her, there was nothing she could do, since she was only a temporary visitor here.
"This..."
Yan Sheng took a deep breath and gave a wry smile.
If someone else had said this, he would have scoffed and assumed they were trying to sow discord.
However, the person who said this was Wen Jing... a person who had absolutely no reason to deceive him, and whose attitude did not force him to believe.
The core of the Ten Star Group's military power is not in this base. If Wen Jing wanted to cause any damage to the Ten Star Group, he wouldn't need to say such things to Yan Sheng; he could simply destroy this base.
Apart from a few low-level Awakened could escape into the Ancient Wilderness, none of the ordinary people in the base, including Yan Sheng, survived.
However, on the other hand, Yan Sheng also had reasons why Zhou Chen would never betray the organization.
So he quickly and earnestly explained, " Wen Jing, I understand your good intentions, but there might be some misunderstanding. The person you're talking about could never be a spy."
" The Ten Star Group has only three leaders: myself, Heli, and Zhou Chen. I'm in charge of ideological education, Heli is in charge of armed combat, and Zhou Chen is in charge of intelligence."
"But actually, Zhou Chen was already the intelligence chief before Heli and I joined the organization."
In terms of seniority, none of us are as qualified as him.
"It's not just about seniority, but more importantly..." At this point, Yan Sheng's expression became firm. "Sixty-five years ago, the Ten Star Group suffered a catastrophic disaster, being completely uprooted. Only Zhou Chen survived, and his arm was severed at that time."
"Then, he single-handedly rebuilt the organization, bit by bit, leading to where we are today."
"If Zhou Chen were a spy, the Ten Star Group shouldn't exist anymore." He said decisively, "Therefore, anyone could betray us, but he couldn't!"
Wen Jing listened quietly, then only asked one question in return:
"So, he was the only one who survived that catastrophe?"
Yan Sheng was taken aback, and then his face suddenly turned pale.
Wen Jing continued, voicing the cruel possibility. "What if it was precisely because he was the mole that he was able to 'just happen' to survive and successfully rebuild the Ten Star Group Cluster?"
"That's impossible!"
Yan Sheng instinctively retorted, but a crack appeared in his expression. "Why would he do that? If he was the mole, why didn't he just wipe out the Ten Star Group back then?"
"It's simple, because the Ten Star Group is the largest opposition force in the Federation," Wen Jing said.
"With only one clear target remaining, the other opponents will either gather here or have connections here... Wouldn't it be much easier to monitor and eliminate them then?"
Wen Jing incisively pointed out the reason why the Ten Star Group could always emerge like weeds:
"It would be more in the Federation's interest for the Ten Star Group Ten Star Group to exist than for it not to."
A deathly silence fell over the office.
The color drained from Yan Sheng's face little by little.
As one of the three leaders of the Ten Star Group, he was certainly not a fool.
Having said that, even without Wen Jing pointing it out directly, Yan Sheng already knew the answer; it's just that he would never have thought of it before.
At this moment, those previously overlooked details churned in his mind— Zhou Chen's radical attitude in many matters, his attention to the Heli operation, and the coincidences that led the organization to fail in the past when it was trying to awaken resources... Countless fragments connected at this moment, piecing together a possibility that suffocated him.
Yan Sheng staggered half a step and grabbed the control panel behind him; the cold touch of the metal seemed to freeze his entire body.
Seeing his reaction, Wen Jing calmly said, "If you need, I can help you take him down before I leave."
Zhou Chen is not Awakened and cannot enter the Ancient Wilderness. Even if he bewitches the other Awakened in the base to help him, he will absolutely not be able to escape from Wen Jing's grasp.
Her words cleaved Yan Sheng's chaotic thoughts like a bolt of lightning.
He suddenly looked up at the young genius who was already famous Federation. To her, capturing Zhou Chen and opening the hatch behind her were no different, just a matter of lifting a finger... Of course, that was also true.
At that moment, Yan Sheng suddenly understood many things.
The initial shock and pain were gradually replaced by a deeper understanding.
"No, that's not necessary."
He shook his head, declining Wen Jing's offer. "Thank you for your kindness."
"Now I understand why you said before that we're unlikely to amount to much..." He sighed and said, " Zhou Chen himself isn't Awakened. What the conglomerates truly fear about the Ten Star Group is Heli, and the new blood he might be cultivating for us."
"To be honest, this time Heli left with some of the most talented young people in our organization to awaken them."
Wen Jing exclaimed in surprise, "Doesn't awakening require special materials and the advanced technology of the Mastermind?"
"That's right." Yan Sheng nodded. "Each of the top ten conglomerates holds the right to use the awakening device. As long as the key is obtained in advance, it is possible to succeed."
"I see." Wen Jing understood immediately; even the top ten conglomerates had internal power struggles.
As for materials, that's simple; just steal them. The real challenge lies in obtaining the awakening equipment.
" Zhou Chen kept asking me questions, but I didn't say anything. It wasn't that I was hiding anything; it's just that I genuinely didn't know." He slowly straightened up, his voice regaining its composure. "That's fine; the operation won't be disrupted."
"Let Zhou Chen stay in what he thinks is a safe position... If we remove him now, the conglomerate will only send out new spies we don't know about."
Wen Jing nodded after listening; this was indeed the best solution for the Ten Star Group at the moment.
Having experienced dramatic ups and downs in a short period, Yan Sheng exhaled a breath of stale air and suddenly asked, "Do you know the origin of the name ' Ten Star Group '?"
Wen Jing shook her head. She thought there were ten leaders in the Ten Star Group, but he said there were only three.
The name " Ten Star Group " originally came from an astronomer's theory that there was a tenth unobserved planet in the galaxy—who would have thought? Those who observed the stars in ancient times were also scientists.
Upon hearing this, Wen Jing's expression turned strange.
The Federation has a total of nine planets, three of which are habitable and six are resource planets. This is basic common knowledge that everyone, whether they have gone to school or not, knows.
As if anticipating her reaction, Yan Sheng explained, "Back then, the Federation was newly established, and the Mastermind began to take full control of public administration. The colonization of Azure Jade and Mystic Radiance had just begun... Then an astronomer named Ou Shi, through comparing observational data from over a decade, discovered that the positions of the annular gaps and the density of the dust belts on planets 7, 8, and 9 exhibited periodic, minute shifts."