Chapter 57 The Lair He finally managed to capture Shi Wei, let him play with her first...

Shi Wei was crying as she was kicked off the aircraft.

The stable life she had enjoyed for the past two years made her feel that her life had returned to normal. But life is like a giant donut; once you reach the end of one circle, another one is waiting for you.

But why are all these donuts made of shit?!

The two stood on the automatic gangway. Yi Lan put his arm around her shoulder, used his sleeve as a rag to wipe her face clean, and said in a gruff voice, "Cheer up, Weiwei. Why are you looking so sad? Look at what I promised you. After going through so many hardships, I still managed to do it, didn't I?"

Shi sniffed and asked, "What did you promise me? I don't know anything about it."

Don't try to build a relationship with her. What kind of friendship can you expect between a kidnapper and a hostage?

Yi Lan was very unhappy and said, "You forgot? You actually forgot?"

Shi Wei's face remained expressionless: "We're probably not that familiar with each other, are we?"

Yi Lan kidnapped her just to extort ransom, wasn't he? Could it be some kind of karmic debt she committed in her childhood?

"Two years ago you tried to escape, but that idiot Similan found out and then paid me to capture you—that was the first time we met, have you forgotten?!" Yi Lan was very tall, almost as tall as His Majesty, and Shi Wei could hardly keep up with him.

Moreover, the soldiers lined up around her were looking at her strangely.

Shi Wei shook her head weakly and said, "I haven't forgotten. If it weren't for you, I might have gone home long ago."

Yi Lan laughed loudly, his tone full of sarcasm: "Xiao Weiwei, are you joking? Your escape route couldn't be more obvious. Before you even set off, the Security Bureau's intelligence had already reached Sklag II—he was just too embarrassed to arrest you himself, so he made that idiot Similan take the blame."

Shi Wei knew this, of course, but since His Majesty didn't point it out, she certainly wouldn't reveal it. It would be better if everyone pretended to be confused.

Yi Lan glanced at her face and rolled her eyes: "Oh, so you knew. No wonder you got together with Similan later, ha!"

Shi Wei ignored him, staring at the enormous, suspended building in front of her, her jaw practically dropping: "Where...where is this?"

This floating, metallic-looking gray-black building, with countless suspended machines rotating around it, has a menacing appearance and a strangely arranged structure that looks somewhat familiar!

“The Grasshopper Fortress,” Yi Lan said cheerfully beside him.

Shi Wei's vision went black. She had thought this guy was just kidding her, but then she heard him continue, "When I saw you on that smuggling spaceship, I invited you to come to Grasshopper Fortress sometime! I wasn't lying to you, was I? This is Grasshopper Fortress—our base!"

If you ignore what he says, he really sounds like a hospitable tour guide.

"I will definitely keep my promise!" the red-haired man said confidently. "Even if it's troublesome to arrest you, I will still do it!"

Shi Wei remembered that he seemed to have really said those words back then. She couldn't remember whether she had agreed or not, and now she just felt so tired.

"Why bother? I didn't really want to come here..." Shi Wei's voice was full of bitterness. This was the mercenaries' stronghold, and Yi Lan had actually put her here—which meant that if His Majesty wanted to rescue people by force, he would have to fight his way to the mercenaries' home base.

This is tantamount to a war between two major powers. Given the current size of the mercenaries and the Manra Empire, it is a war on a cosmic scale.

Even if a beautiful woman is a source of trouble, this is no way to cause such harm.

Yi Lan, seemingly oblivious to her bitter expression, greeted the group of high-ranking officers at the head of the group with great enthusiasm, and even introduced Shi Wei with great enthusiasm: "Hey, the one we snatched this time—she'll be my girlfriend from now on!"

A group of tall Alphas started clapping loudly:

"Congratulations!"

May you have a long and happy marriage!

"May you have a son soon, Commander!"

"Great! Thank you, thank you!" Yi Lan clearly liked their blessings, waved her hand and said, "I'm going to throw a celebration party in a few days, come over and have a few drinks!"

“Okay!” the Alphas replied with great enthusiasm.

Completely surprised that Yi Lan would treat his subordinates like this, where was his etiquette and manners? Shi Wei pouted.

Yi Lan was talking to a middle-aged sergeant. Standing to the side, she heard a group of soldiers behind her whispering:

"How strange! The Commander actually found an Omega. I thought he would stay single forever!"

"She's pretty, but she doesn't seem very willing. It looks like she's been crying..."

"Isn't that normal? If the Commander takes a liking to you, wouldn't any good Omega cry?"

"Sigh, that's true."

Shi Wei's lips twitched: It sounds like being a hostage is better.

She didn't know why Yi Lan introduced himself like that. Was it to spite His Majesty?

His Majesty probably won't believe it, and besides, this is the mercenaries' stronghold; such news wouldn't be spread so easily.

That night, the hottest post on the mercenary forum was, "The commander has won the heart of a beauty! And she's a living Omega!"

Someone also posted photos of the two of them, and soon all of Shi Wei's information was exposed.

"Wow~ Scolag II's little lover?! Commander, you're really something! You managed to get her?"

"Damn it, I was wondering why we couldn't even steal the goods from the Merchant Alliance. Manra's mechanized army was relentlessly pursuing the 16th Army. So the commander pulled off something big!"

"He seemed to have left suddenly halfway through the fight, just for an Omega? Is he crazy?"

The mercenaries' online management is clearly very lax; even when Yi Lan was being criticized, no one blocked the comment.

Another person seriously analyzed, "So what if the goods are lost? Even if they're valuable, they're still the Merchant Alliance's money. Do we really need that little bit of money? But this Omega is different. She's that damn emperor's little lover. Won't Manra be furious?"

"Yeah! If it were me, I'd choose Omega too. Fighting with Sklag II for money and territory isn't as exciting as taking his woman. Why isn't anyone talking about this in Manra?"

"Keep it hidden... That old man is so secretive about his girlfriend, unlike our Commander, young and domineering—any sensible Omega would definitely choose our Commander!"

The forum registration process was very simple, and the mercenaries only set up protections for the internal website, so... the security agency quickly picked up on the information.

The abduction of Shi Wei has become the highest priority issue for the Security Bureau, and has been directly reported to His Majesty.

His Majesty was in a meeting with the military when he received the message. After a moment of silence, he shared it with everyone immediately:

"He indeed quickly moved his men to the Grasshopper Fortress, probably to prevent us from making the first move; this is an open secret."

Yi Lan's actions and combat style are very unconventional. After becoming the official commander of the mercenary group last year, he has basically firmly grasped military power within a year.

The political model of military power being tied to the regime in the Chaotic Starfield gives Yi Lan a supreme position within the entire mercenary group.

His influence in the Chaotic Starfield far exceeded that of Sklag II in Manra.

There are advantages and disadvantages, even many disadvantages, but the advantage is that no matter what crazy thing he wants to do, his subordinates will basically do as he says.

“A lunatic isn’t formed in a day. For a lunatic to reach this position, there must be a group of lunatics who firmly believe in him.” Sklag II recalled what he had said to Shi Wei.

Now it's his turn to deal with this group of lunatics.

Aker said, "Your Majesty, he is deliberately trying to provoke you. He may appear crazy, but he actually enjoys playing psychological warfare. He is spreading this kind of message to distract you."

“Yes, I know what Yi Lan wants to do, but she must be very scared right now—” Sklag II’s voice was somewhat low: “It’s my incompetence.”

The moment those four words were uttered, everyone present began to stir.

Having served His Majesty for so many years, everyone knows his personality. For him to say such things in this setting clearly shows that he is very depressed.

Jiang Guyuan and Aker exchanged a glance, and Aker immediately said, "Please don't say that. It's our incompetence. Now, please be sure to cheer up. Miss Shi is still waiting for you!"

His Majesty hummed in response, his expression remaining unchanged.

"Yi Lan hasn't replied yet?"

Lu Qi broke out in a sweat and whispered, "The message has been sent, but he hasn't replied."

The extremely arrogant "easy to read but no reply" attitude.

Yes, Yi Lan saw the message, but she didn't want to pay any attention to it.

He finally managed to capture Shi Wei, so let him play with her for a few days first.

The mercenaries suffered a humiliating defeat in the battle on Pegasus Star, and the Business Alliance had just begun to celebrate when they received a communication request from Manla's First Secretary. The Prime Minister was deeply conflicted after answering the call.

Manra demanded that the business alliance cooperate in suppressing the five major markets of the Chaotic Starfield.

The Prime Minister of the Business Alliance was very worried: Yi Lan would rob him several times for no reason. Actually, he could accept it, and sometimes he would even pay protection money. But Yi Lan's appetite was too big this year, which is why he chose to cooperate with Manla.

Cooperating with Manla doesn't mean he wants to fight with Yi Lan.

The Business Alliance is only a small area, and a third of its star field is connected to the Chaotic Star Field!

He was caught in a dilemma; both sides were powerful, and no matter which he chose, he would be crushed by the other.

The Business Alliance held an emergency meeting, and the Prime Minister said, "We all understand that there will inevitably be conflict between them. As a player caught between the three major star systems, our consistent policy has been to never side with either side, but now Manra's attitude is very firm—"

Someone asked, "What have the mercenaries done this time? They're provoking us on one hand, and then provoking Manra on the other?"

The prime minister, barely able to contain himself, retorted irritably, "He stole King Slag II's woman! It was during the conflict with us that I wondered how we won the battle so easily..."

"No way?" another official said, "Is Yi Lan out of his mind?"

Someone said numbly, "He's been sick for years. When have we ever not obediently paid our protection money? But he just does whatever he wants. When he's in a good mood, he delivers the bills; when he's in a bad mood, he beats us up..."

This is the tragedy of small countries: those in power who lack exceptional skills and the ability to navigate complex situations will become mere punching bags.

Anyone can kick you, anyone can boss you around, they can cut off your trade whenever they want, and they can just steal your resources if they want them.

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Author's note: Your Majesty: What should we do? She must be terrified.

Shi Wei (frightened): Don't come any closer! My will isn't very strong!

Yi Lan: Come on! Don't be shy!

...

It was actually quite scary, haha.

-

The world is a giant cycle. In a game I like, the protagonist says, "Humanity must work together to form a great force." At the time, I couldn't understand it. Wasn't the human race destined to unify and then split again? Wasn't that an inevitable part of history? But now I see it's just a survivor bias. Only those nations that can unify and become strong will survive. Most others are nameless figures lost in the long river of history. Many small countries didn't even have the ability to flourish briefly in history. Geopolitics determines the fate of a nation. This statement is so accurate.

That's all for now, goodnight~ Thanks for watering my precious baby, I suddenly have so much more nutrient solution, thank you!!!