Night was about to fall. The young man, who had been rapidly inputting all kinds of data, suddenly paused his fingers. It was as if he had discovered something, and his expression changed sharply.
His fingers jumped quickly across the massive control screen, as though he was repeatedly confirming something.
“Sir?”
The assistant beside him looked at the young man at the center in confusion when the data stream suddenly stopped.
The young man ignored the question and stubbornly pulled up information unrelated to their work.
Again and again, amid countless flashing red “operation failed” alerts, the young man closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his face was already calm. After giving a brief explanation to the others, he quickly left the control room and hurried toward another place.
He opened the heavy electronic door, and a faint scent of roses drifted out from inside.
Only after the person inside said “Come in” did the young man step into the large room.
The handsome man was playing with a blooming, vivid rose. On the long black table in front of him were many more roses, just as fiery and beautiful. The young man’s sudden intrusion was almost rude. Even if he hadn’t walked in immediately after opening the door, it was still crossing a line.
After entering the room, the young man knelt on one knee and reported to the man:
“Ge You’s chip has been completely damaged. His existence can no longer be detected.”
The man didn’t react much. “In a revolution, whether it succeeds or fails, there are always sacrifices.”
“But he is the second-in-command of our organization, your most capable assistant.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Boss, can I repair his data?”
“No need. He had too many ideas of his own. I need more obedient subordinates.”
“But…” The young man hesitated.
“You can speak directly.”
“He may not have been obedient enough, but he was completely loyal to you, Boss, without any second thoughts. If you think he’s not obedient enough, I can personally train him.”
The young man had never once opposed any of Chen Xing’s decisions. He believed in every decision made by his creator. But this time, for the first time, he spoke against Chen Xing, trying to fight for a sliver of survival for a companion who had been created alongside them.
The way Chen Xing looked at the young man changed in that instant. He clenched the rose in one hand and placed the other on the young man’s head. His voice sounded like a sigh, yet also confused. “No matter how human I make you, at your core, you are still machines without emotions. You cannot possess human feelings. Ge You is an exception, since I gave him permission to simulate human emotions. But what about you? D3-857, don’t tell me you secretly enabled that permission for yourself.”
The young man fell silent. He knew that the one who used to call him “Little Three,” the one who treated him like a real person, was already gone. Even if repaired, it would only be another entity with the same data as Ge You. He just wanted to try. With the same data and the same setup, who could say that wouldn’t still be Ge You?
But at this moment, there should be no rebuttal. The young man lowered his eyes, sincerely apologized, and prepared to leave to continue his work.
“Little Three.”
The familiar nickname made the young man stop in his tracks. He turned back to look at Chen Xing, waiting for what came next.
“There are no banquets in this world that never end. We always grow through partings.” Chen Xing placed the most beautiful rose back among the cluster.
“Boss, I understand.”
Chen Xing smiled faintly and flicked a flame in his hand, setting the entire pile of roses on fire.
“Move the plan forward. Let’s launch a surprise attack tonight.”
Tonight was the second day of the ball. Compared to yesterday, the young men and women had loosened up a lot. Some continued chatting with people they had enjoyed talking to the day before, hoping for deeper interaction. Others, who still hadn’t found someone they liked, began a new round of searching among the crowd.
By the time Ji Chenxi arrived, there were already many people present. The first person he made eye contact with was Ji Zhiqing. The beautiful female alpha raised her glass to him from afar. Ji Chenxi returned a smile. Anyone watching would say the royal family had a harmonious relationship.
Ji Zhiqing was wearing an extremely beautiful red evening gown today. It was the first time Ji Chenxi had seen her wear such a bold and striking color. And today, she seemed to be in a particularly good mood.
Ji Chenxi appeared cold and indifferent, barely interacting with the people around him, but in reality, he was quietly observing the situation.
There were too many people. The scent of perfume mixed with faint pheromones, along with the smell of flowers and alcohol, creating a chaotic atmosphere. Ordinary people might not notice anything wrong, but for Ji Chenxi, whose spiritual strength was exceptional, it wasn’t difficult. The distribution of the palace guards had several suspicious points, and there were also people hidden in the shadows. Was this just scouting in advance, or…
“Hey!”
Ji Chenxi, deep in thought, suddenly felt someone slap his shoulder. He wasn’t startled. While quietly scanning with his spiritual power, he had already noticed Su Yu’s arrival. He turned and smiled. “Looks like your attempt to scare me failed.”
“I didn’t expect to scare you anyway.”
Su Yu had arrived early at the ball just to catch Ji Chenxi. He lowered his gaze and looked at Ji Chenxi’s hand, which was wrapped in multiple layers of bandages, then shook his head and sighed.
After putting on an exaggerated performance, he leaned closer and whispered, “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Stop playing dumb. You and Chi Zhuo. Yesterday’s explosion was covered up quickly, but plenty of people still saw it.”
“Your information network is impressive.” Ji Chenxi sincerely praised him.
“Cut it out. How could an explosion happen inside the Royal Academy? Did you run into a terrorist attack? And His Majesty didn’t even ask about it? This happened right under his nose. That’s just blatantly disrespecting the royal family.”
“Yeah, so bold. Why didn’t His Majesty ask about it?” Ji Chenxi said with a smile.
Su Yu frowned, about to say something, but Ji Chenxi raised a finger lightly to his lips, signaling him to stop.
Su Yu was full of questions, but now he could only swallow them down.
Fortunately, Ji Chenxi knew Su Yu wasn’t the type to hold things in. He quickly typed a line on his terminal. Su Yu understood and glanced at it, seeing the words: “That person is probably too busy dealing with their own problems right now.”
The seemingly simple sentence shocked Su Yu.
“That’s the…”
He didn’t finish, but the meaning was clear. That was the emperor. Who could possibly infiltrate the palace and threaten him? The emperor had countless guards, but there were still moments when his defenses were weaker—whether handling affairs or sleeping, he would still be alone in a sealed space.
Humans were both incredibly strong and incredibly fragile. Death was never that far away.
After recovering from his shock, Su Yu quickly typed on his own terminal.
[Then what’s going on between you and Chi Zhuo? People are saying you two were hugging after the explosion. Very ambiguous.]
Ji Chenxi typed even faster. Almost as soon as Su Yu finished, his reply appeared within three seconds.
[Not a big deal. If it can’t be suppressed, just admit it.]
Admit it? Admit what?
Su Yu almost wanted to close his eyes. This guy really had guts.
“What are you two doing? Secretly typing to each other?” Someone familiar to both of them walked over.
Ji Chenxi said calmly, “We were secretly discussing who would be the most eye-catching person tonight.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
Su Yu reacted quickly and naturally took over. “The Third Prince and I were each sharing our opinions. It’s fine to talk about it quietly, but we can’t say it out loud. Otherwise, we’d hurt the feelings of all the beautiful omegas here.”
The ball continued as usual. Not many people were aware of the undercurrents, so most of the young men and women chatted with smiles. Whether they found a partner or not, being able to interact with so many nobles was beneficial.
While everyone was engaged in elegant conversation, Ji Chenxi found an opportunity to quietly slip out of the banquet hall.
With so many hidden threats present, it was hard to say whether Chen Xing and his second sister planned to act ahead of schedule. Ji Chenxi needed to reach the palace’s control center and take control of the system first. As long as he held the central system, he could turn the situation around and increase his chances of winning.
The only problem was that this trip would definitely not go smoothly.
Sure enough, as soon as Ji Chenxi reached the only path leading to the control center, he sensed that he was being watched.
He clicked his tongue. Since the other party hadn’t acted yet, he pretended not to notice.
After walking a bit further, the people lurking in the shadows finally couldn’t hold back. First came a silenced explosive, followed by several smoke bombs. As the smoke spread, many agile figures in black rushed in. Ji Chenxi dodged a weapon aimed at his neck, then swiftly evaded dozens of photon bullets.
He moved incredibly fast—running, dodging, sliding his dagger downward, flipping upward, launching spiritual attacks.
When the smoke cleared, all the black-clad attackers who had surrounded him lay defeated.
Blood dripped from his dagger, but Ji Chenxi had no time to wipe it. He sped toward the control center. Chen Xing also had experts skilled in hacking the star network. If control of the system was seized first, the situation could easily be reversed.
Ji Chenxi moved quickly. Even though many people tried to stop him along the way, he dealt with them swiftly. The cost was that his spiritual energy was being drained rapidly.
When he was only a few hundred meters away from the control center, Ji Chenxi stopped.
A massive mechanical figure stood guard at the entrance. Sitting atop it was a young man. Compared to the others around the machine, this young man felt more alive. Ji Chenxi could even see indifference and an indescribable loneliness in his eyes. As for the others, they had human shapes but didn’t feel human at all. Some had empty, emotionless eyes, while others were fused with strange creatures. The most active among them was a male alpha merged with an octopus.
Ji Chenxi tilted his head at the overwhelming scene before him, then smiled.
“What are you laughing at?” the young man on the giant machine asked.
“Feels like you guys really think highly of me,” Ji Chenxi replied honestly.
The young man didn’t speak this time. He raised his hand slightly and brought it down. Instantly, all those things seemed to receive an order and rushed toward Ji Chenxi.
Everything felt bizarre. Monsters and beauty. Slaughter and justice.
So who was justice? In the end, justice would always be written by the victors.
During the fight, Ji Chenxi displayed strength far beyond what an S-rank should possess. The young man had stayed here precisely to verify this. After getting his answer, he didn’t linger and leapt upward, preparing to leave.
But the moment he moved, a dangerous aura closed in. He reacted quickly, twisting midair, yet still ended up with a deep cut across his face.
A spiritual attack!
He looked back at the center of the battle. The area was already a bloody mess, but one figure still moved with ease—so relaxed that he could even send an attack his way.
Noticing his gaze, that figure wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his lips with a hint of disgust. “I don’t remember letting you leave.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
