CH 13

“There seems to be nothing reasonable to refute this,” Ji Xingjue’s mouth bent, “so Lord Marshal has come to catch me?”

He waited patiently for a few seconds, only to get an unexpected answer: “No.”

“Oh?”

“It’s not you.”

Qi Qing retracted his strong and powerful gaze. “Yser Lestervin, born in the Fifth Galaxy number 3775, enrolled in Ankara University in September 909. On May 29, 911, he took a civil aviation starship to leave the Imperial Capital and return to his hometown. When he entered the Fifth Galaxy, the starship was hijacked by the wanted Star Pirates and he voluntarily boarded the starship as a hostage. Since then, there is no information.”

Ji Xingjue pursed his lips. “Yser?”

“It’s him who had been living in your dormitory,” Qi Qing’s face was cold for some reason, “I have already asked the headmaster for verification.”

Ji Xingjue was silent for a while before he said, “Last night, His Royal Highness the Third Princes told me that a few days ago, the salvage team had recovered some starship fragments with residual biological information on Yser. According to speculation, Yser was on it when the starship exploded.”

“Before the identity of the suspect is identified, the suspected dead Yser Lestervin is still being suspected,” Qi Qing did not move. “The time he boarded the starship also happened to be after the coordinates were leaked and the false order came out.”

Ji Xingjue nodded and expressed his understanding. “Certainly.”

“The planet 3775, where Yser Lestervin was born, is very poor and underdeveloped, and even the information network construction is not comprehensive,” Qi Qing raised an eyebrow. “We don’t have a comprehensive grasp of his past information, and he had only been in the Imperial Capital for two years, and he rarely interacted with people, only in the classroom and the laboratory. There are not many people who know him. You are one of the few.”

With Qi Qing’s indifferent tone of voice, the temperature in the office seemed to have dropped a bit.

Ji Xingjue’s eyelids twitched.

Sure enough, Qi Qing gripped his hands and sneered in an inexplicable tone, “The affection between you two is so good ah.”

“…” Ji Xingjue was helpless, “You know, the Imperial Capital has always despised foreigners, especially those born in remote galaxies like Yser, and his roommates frequently harass him, so I loaned him the dormitory to live in.”

“Really? According to the survey, Yser has a good reputation at Ankara University.”

Ji Xingjue smiled, “This is normal, Yase looks good.”

Although they despised Yser’s poor background and “low” bloodline, most people were still visual animals in nature.

Qi Qing’s face became cold again, and his tone of voice rose a bit. “Oh? How good is he?”

Ji Xingjue didn’t understand why he had a black face. He touched his cold neck, and after thinking for a while, he sneaked up to him, and opened the photo album in his personal terminal. “Why don’t you look at it yourself?”

A photo was projected in front of the two.

In the background was the laboratory, and a teenager was dressed casually and sat in a meeting with a dozen people.

He tilted his head to talk to people. His rare silver-haired, red eyes, delicate eyebrows, glowing with an indistinguishable and breathtaking beauty, even in the crowd, were as brilliant as a star that could be found at a glance.

—This was quite awestruck, but extremely unreal beauty.

When seeing this amazing face for the first time, most people would subconsciously stop breathing.

Ji Xingjue withdrew his appreciative gaze and glanced at Qi Qing.

Unexpectedly, Lord Marshal was still unwavering, looking at this photo like looking at dead fish, frowning in disgust. “Just so-so.”

Ji Xingjue was surprised. “This is this and still so-so? Then what kind do you like?”

“…” Qi Qing gave him a slow but flat look.

Ji Xingjue sensitively smelled the danger, and immediately raised his hand to surrender. “Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t ask this kind of personal question―back to the main topic, does Lord Marshal still need me to cooperate?”

Suddenly, Qi Qing’s face became more ugly.

Ji Xingjue was indeed really honest.

Although the drunken Qi Qing was domineering and clingy, he was still used to that kind of Qi Qing, at least he was so easily coaxed.

Unlike this fully evolved version, even more cloudy than the weather in the Imperial Capital.

“…About four years ago, I discovered that the Star Pirates gang was cooperating with a mysterious force,” Qi Qing indifferently turned his face away, “The kind of group of people who walk in secret, believe in the ‘God at the End of the Universe’, and believe that human beings continue to encroach on the stars and plunder resources is the original sin. Furthermore, people are the original sin. They must eliminate the original sin and walk with God.”

Ji Xingjue didn’t know why the topic jumped here, but he still followed his thoughts with kindness, and pondered, “Doesn’t that mean to destroy all mankind?”

Qi Qing snorted, and turned on the terminal projection. Above it was some information from the religious group. “This cult acts very extreme, supporting the Star Pirates to attack the Empire and the Alliance by acting behind the scenes.”

Ji Xingjue leaned against the armrest of the sofa, bent down and looked at the projection seriously. His face was white and beautiful, his lips were moist and thin with a touch of red, and the fragrance of the bathing suit equipped in the bathroom of Qi Qing’s home was still faintly floating on his body. He didn’t realize that the distance between him and Qi Qing at this time was too close. “According to their doctrinal logic, humans are original sin, aren’t they also sinners and should be eliminated?”

Qi Qing’s body was stiff and tense, as his gaze fell on the screen. “That’s why they believe that by eliminating the Empire and the Alliance that plunder the most resources, they can wash away their sins and be forgiven by God.”

Ji Xingjue shrugged, chuckled and shook his head and cursed, “Lunatic.”

Qi Qing “en”ed, and it was rare for him to agree with his opinion.

“According to the investigation, the leaker did not use the usual anti-tracking tactics used by the Alliance, nor was it the Star Pirates…that group of idiots did not have such a method at all,” Qi Qing slightly narrowed his cold, sharp and piercing eyes, “No matter who the leaker is, in short, it is very likely that it is from that cult.”

Even if the leaker might have already run away, they still clung to clues and persisted in tracing for half a year. It was precisely because of this―those cultists who were more terrifying than Star Pirates have penetrated into the innermost and most solid Imperial Capital of the Empire.

And most people were still unaware of this mysterious cult.

“It seems that the Imperial Capital is not that safe anymore.” Ji Xingjue said thoughtfully.

Qi Qing put away the projector and glanced at him. “If you don’t want to be troublesome, don’t let inexplicable people live in your room.”

Ji Xingjue’s head was full of fog. “You meant Yser? He is my student.”

“Just a student?” Qi Qing was expressionless, “You still saved his picture.”

Ji Xingjue was even more speechless. “That was a group photo after a certain meeting! The people in the school’s research room were there.”

Damel, who was guarding the door, was like a life-saving driftwood, and knocked on the door of the office in time. “Marshal, there is a message from the military department, requesting you go back for a check.”

Qi Qing ignored him. After confronting Ji Xingjue for a few seconds, he snorted coldly, got up and left.

Looking at the back of Qi Qing’s departure, Ji Xingjue lowered his eyes and set a chess piece on the chessboard casually.

The soldier tripped the king over with a slam, and gululu rolled to the ground.

Then the corner of his mouth was curved.

There was another bang knocking outside the door, and Song Mei, who was unable to wait, came up with half of his trembled head. “Professor Ji? Are you still alive?”

He came right facing Ji Xingjue was smiling at the moment and was scared to death. “You, you, you, what’s wrong with you?”

Ji Xingjue picked up an apple in his hand, slowly put it to his mouth and bit it, and said happily, “Celebrate after the calamity.”

Cecilie went back to the laboratory first with the materials, and the two of them left the headmaster’s office, ready to take a look at the experimental base off campus.

As soon as they entered the elevator, they ran into the exact situation at the exact timing where one can’t avoid his enemy, and it was Ai Li again.

As well as the two colleagues who was talking halfway through: “…Marshal Qi’s way of revenge is really unique, do you think Ji Xingjue will be domestically abused?”

Seeing the two people coming up, the two colleagues got stuck and coughed dryly, pretending as if nothing had happened. “Oh, morning, Professor Ji.”

A slight sneer appeared on Ai Li’s lips, and his eyes moved on Ji Xingjue’s body, trying to find some traces of him being abused.

Ji Xingjue thought for a while, anyway, since Qi Qing wasn’t here, why couldn’t he let these people feel the embarrassment?

By the way, this also let Lord Marshal reverse his fierce image.

He did as he thought.

He cleared his throat and smiled politely, “Domestic violence? How could it happen? Everyone may have misunderstood, Lord Marshal and I have an affinity with each other, loving affectionately, he can’t help but to stick to me, and even come to school once a day.”

When he was talking, several colleagues on the opposite side were struck by lightning, and even the shocked Ai Li revealed a questionable face of “Your brain is flooded?”

Song Mei and Ji Xingjue have known each other for many years, and he knew what he meant at once after hearing it, and happily adding fuel and jealousy. After a blink of an eye, his face suddenly turned half blue, and desperately pulling Ji Xingjue’s sleeves.

Before Ji Xingjue’s next blunt sentence “We even have a child” come out, his sluggish reaction allowed him to notice that something was wrong.

Why isn’t the elevator moving yet?

His scalp was numb, and he suddenly felt bad. His neck twisted, like a rusty machine, and he could almost hear a stiff crackle.

Sure enough, Qi Qing stood at the entrance of the elevator with his tall figure standing straight, looking at him silently.

Ji Xingjue: “…”

The Empire probably couldn’t tolerate him.

Was it too late to betray and flee to the Alliance overnight?

The expressions of other people in the elevator were a little distorted, and they even forgot to greet the Marshal.

Ai Li reacted and gloated at Ji Xingjue, waiting for a good show.

In a weird atmosphere, an invisible smile flashed across Qi Qing’s eyes, and there was no strange color on his face. “There is another thing, I forgot to tell you.”

Ji Xingjue’s conditioned reflex a response, “What?”

Qi Qing said, “Mom wants us to go home for dinner tonight.”

After a pause, he added, “When you get off work, I will pick you up.”

Silence.

Death silence in the elevator.

The author has something to say:

Large-scale group death scene x2

Ji Xingjue, a creature that is not suitable for speaking other people’s (in particular) words behind their backs.

[T/N: A dead man being mentioned for the 3rd time and now has evolved to a suspected dead man with appearance being described.]