Chapter 169: The consequences of opening Pandora's Box may be that they...

Keppel looked at Nan Qi silently, and an expression that was difficult to describe slowly appeared on his elegant face.

After a long moment, he looked at the blood that Nan Qi had placed in the small fresh-keeping box and said, "Did you expect me to come looking for you?"

If it is not expected, blood will not be prepared in advance.

Nan Qi admitted frankly: "Yes."

"Have you ever considered that it wasn't me, but Aiyou or some other bug?" Keppel was curious. This feeling of being seen through was quite novel.

"Because His Highness wouldn't let Marshal Ai You contact me." Nan Qi's voice was calm and low, with no major fluctuations in his tone, giving the impression of being told a story. "His Highness loves Marshal Ai You very much, and he knows that Marshal Ai You will be more cautious when dealing with me because of Bai. So I'm certain His Highness won't let Marshal Ai You contact me. As for the other bugs..."

Nan Qi smiled. "The only people I'm familiar with who work in the military are Peggy and Todd. Even if they find something wrong with me, they won't come to me alone. Instead, they'll go talk to Marshal Aiyou or Bai first."

"Talk to Bai, and I'll definitely know. Talk to Marshal Aiyou, and the one coming to me will definitely be you—Your Highness."

Clap, clap, clap, applause broke out.

Keppel exclaimed, "If your age hadn't been calculated by the Mastermind, I'd have thought your youthful body was hiding a spirited old monster."

"Your Highness, thank you for your compliment." Nan Qi asked again politely, "So, Your Highness, can you do me a favor?"

Keppel: “…Okay.”

"Then I'll leave it to you, Your Highness." Nan Qi packed up the small fresh-keeping box and placed it in a small storage pendant. "I'll find a chance to send the things out. When the time comes, please send a trusted bug to pick them up."

"No problem. Give me the information after you send it out," Keppel agreed. After a moment's thought, he asked, "The second favor you're asking me to do is, where do you plan to start investigating?"

"You know the Mastermind's abilities. If it doesn't want us to find something, we might not be able to find it."

Keppel sighed. It wasn't that he was trying to stun his own ambitions or boost the Mastermind's prestige. It was simply that this matter was inextricably linked to the Mastermind, and Nan Qi knew nothing but speculation, making it incredibly difficult. He really didn't know where to begin investigating.

I have absolutely no idea.

After hearing what Keppel said, Nan Qi was silent for a moment, then uttered five words: "Wind-sounding Heli Tower."

"Impossible! Fengshenghelilou would not buy or sell this kind of news..." Keppel refuted without thinking, but halfway through the refutation, he suddenly shut up.

Doesn't Fengshenghelilou buy or sell this kind of information? Just because they don't buy or sell it doesn't mean they don't have this kind of information. If they do, where does they get it from?

Where did all the various information they bought come from?

Suddenly, Keppel felt a chill running down his spine, spreading throughout his body. His face turned pale. "You're saying... you're saying Fengshengheli Tower is related to him? Maybe Fengshengheli Tower is the property of the black market lord."

Keppel's voice grew lower as he spoke the last sentence. All the things related to the mastermind, the black market, and Fengshenghelilou emerged in his mind one after another, spinning and tangling in his brain until they were tangled tightly and could no longer be separated.

He looked at Nan Qi with a pale face, but his voice was strong and powerful: "The black market is related to the mastermind!"

"Did the Mastermind deceive us? Didn't He awaken thirty-five years ago?" Keppel's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. "What on earth does He want to do?"

Nan Qi shook his head: "Number 7 may not have lied to us. I have an idea, and I hope Fengshengheli Tower can give me the answer."

"How can you be sure that Fengshengheli Tower will give you an answer." Keppel vaguely knew what answer Nan Qi wanted, but he thought that answer was too ridiculous.

Let’s not talk about whether Fengshenghelilou knows it or not. Even if he knew the answer, why would he tell them? Is the insect that wants the answer Nan Qi?

But a voice in his heart told him that Fengshenghelilou might really give the answer to Nan Qi because it was Nan Qi who wanted the answer.

Because something is really wrong with Fengshenghelilou recently.

Taking a deep breath, Keppel said in a deep voice, "Okay, I'll check. I'll only tell you the result I find, and I won't tell anyone else."

"Nan Qi thanks Your Highness here." Nan Qi stood up and bowed solemnly to Keppel. "Your Highness, rest assured. I will not harm Bai, nor will I harm you. I will work hard with Bai to realize our dreams. This is a promise and my determination."

Keppel looked at Nan Qi's serious expression and suddenly smiled.

Nan Qi really loves Bai, right? If Nan Qi's guess comes true, then Nan Qi may not even be considered a Zerg, but he will regard himself as a Zerg for Bai and work hard for Bai's wishes.

I regret again not recording today's call. If Bai had seen it, I wonder how moved he would be.

But it's okay this way, some things don't need to be said explicitly, some things don't need to be done explicitly. Love will always flow freely in this kind of obscure protection, and eventually turn into a fine aged wine, intoxicating myself and him even more.

With a sigh in his heart, he thought that young love is strong and passionate. Keppel said, "Okay, I understand. Don't worry too much. Things may not be what you think."

Nan Qi: "Well, Your Highness, please take care of the rest."

"Okay, I won't keep you any longer. Bai should be back soon. He'll get suspicious if he sees you. Aiyou will be waking up soon. I'll hang up first." After Keppel finished speaking, the communication was disconnected.

The room returned to silence. Nan Qi put away the pendant containing his blood and walked silently to the kitchen. The buns were ready to rise, and he was about to start cooking. Bai would be back soon.

After he left, the Star Brain on the sofa flickered for a moment and then fell silent again.

*

As soon as Bai entered the door, he smelled the aroma of food. Melon, who was sleepwalking behind him, suddenly opened his eyes wide and shouted like a starving ghost that he was starving.

Nan Qi heard the sound and came out, holding freshly made buns, porridge and side dishes.

After putting the things on the dining table, Nan Qi walked over, greeted Lenk and Melon who was already running towards the buns, then gently took Bai's hand, who had a hint of fatigue between his brows, and walked towards the dining table.

As we walked, I said distressedly: "Are you hungry? I heard that you haven't eaten since noon. Is it difficult?"

Bai shook his head, took the towel from Nan Qi, wiped his hands, and sat down: "It's not a difficult problem, I just have to endure it. Don't worry, I can handle it."

The thieves were like rats in the gutter, digging holes everywhere. They were not as disciplined as the army, but they were more ruthless.

In order to break out of the encirclement set by the coalition forces, the bandit leader would rather use the flesh and blood of his bandits to explore the way and stage a suicide breakout in front of the coalition forces. As a result, the coalition forces suffered higher casualties than expected, which gave them a headache.

However, this kind of suicidal breakout will only be effective if it takes the enemy by surprise. After today, the Allied Forces have already prepared for this, so Bai told Nan Qi that it was not a problem and he just had to endure it.

Commanding large-scale military operations is Bai's forte. Nan Qi is not as authoritative as Bai in this area. When he heard Bai say that he could solve it, he stopped asking questions.

He served Bai a bowl of porridge and took out some of Bai's favorite buns, then sat next to Bai and watched him eat.

Bai drank a mouthful of porridge, and his stomach, which had been clamoring for hunger for a long time, was well soothed by this mouthful of warm porridge.

He breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to see Nan Qi looking at him. His dark eyes were occasionally dotted with emerald green under the light, and he looked as beautiful as the starry sky, yet mysterious and dangerous.

For no reason, Bai stopped beating for a moment, and a trace of uneasiness surged up in his heart.

He liked Nan Qi's eyes the most and often kissed these smiling eyes, so he was sure that Nan Qi's eyes had never been like this before.

But when he looked carefully, Nan Qi's pupils were dark and bright again, as if everything that had just happened was just his illusion.

Bai looked at Lenk and Melon calmly. Lenk didn't react much and lowered his head to concentrate on eating. But Melon felt his gaze and handed him a bun.

"Bai, try this stuffing! It's absolutely delicious, I tell you." Melon said loudly, looking at Nan Qi flatteringly, "Do you have anything to drink? I've been dealing with those thieves all day, and I want to drink something sweet to comfort my wounded heart."

Mellon said as he lay on the table, looking at Nan Qi miserably and with pleading eyes.

"Yes, I'll get it." Nan Qi was amused by Mellon's refugee image and stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

The small dining room was connected to the kitchen, and Melon didn't dare to make any big movements. When Nan Qi turned his back, he accurately grabbed Bai's arm, nodded at Bai, and then shook his head.

The tacit understanding between them, which was unique to them as brothers, made Bai instantly understand what Mellon meant.

Mellon nodded because he noticed something was wrong with Nan Qi, and shook his head because he wanted to tell himself not to act rashly and wait until he got out to talk about it.

Bai nodded silently, looking at Nan Qi's back with worry in his eyes.

Melon patted Bai lightly and verbally told Bai to be more restrained and be careful of what Nan Qi might notice.

Lunk was concentrating on eating and didn't know what happened, but when he saw Bai and Melon's eyes lingering subconsciously on Nan Qi, he knew it was related to Nan Qi.

He didn't say anything, but suddenly remembered that Nan Qi suddenly came to him in the morning and asked him for a favor.

Nan Qi left in a hurry without saying what the favor was. At that time, he just thought that Nan Qi wanted to give Bai a surprise, because in two days, December 2nd would be Bai's birthday.

But now he doesn't think so. It seems that he should ask Nan Qi what he wants to do when he has the chance.

The three insects had different thoughts, but they were all because of Nan Qi.

Unfortunately, Nan Qi didn't have eyes behind his back and didn't know that he was being "targeted" by the three female insects. When he came over with the prepared sparkling drink, the three insects were in a good mood discussing which bun had the most delicious filling.

Among them, Mellon was the loudest. Mellon was a foodie to begin with, and before Nan Qi showed up, he'd run around Central Star looking for delicious food whenever he had time.

After Nan Qi appeared, they found so many edible crops suitable for cultivation in the Tro system.

With more food, the creative insects who wanted to make money naturally developed many delicious foods, and Mellon was as happy as a mouse that fell into a rice jar.

Mellon was the youngest, so Bai and the others spoiled him. When Nan Qi came over, he saw Bai pushing the pork ribs buns that Mellon said were delicious in front of Mellon.

Nan Qi smiled slightly. No matter how many times he saw this kind of brotherhood, he was always envious.

"The drinks are here, try them and see if they taste good. This is made with the new product from Xueais Company. When the logistics department was purchasing, I specially asked them to help buy it for me." Nan Qi said with a smile, "If you like it, I'll give it to you when we get back. I'll take 50% of the profit from this drink."

Mellon's expression was a bit strange when he heard Nan Qi say that. Bai was also a bit uncomfortable. Nan Qi hadn't mentioned it, and he had forgotten that he had such a vest.

"Let me try it." With a light cough, Bai took the drink and took a big sip. He was instantly amazed by the taste of the drink.

The drink has a very refreshing complex fruit flavor and a bright pink color. Dense bubbles slowly rise along the transparent cup wall, and from time to time there is a popping sound of bubbles bursting.

The drink was chilled, with ice cubes in the cup. When I took a sip, the complex fruity aroma and sweet taste accompanied by bubbles bursting in my mouth instantly washed away all my fatigue and made me feel refreshed.

"It tastes good!" Bai's eyes sparkled.

"Of course." Nan Qi raised his head proudly. In his previous life, everyone loved this kind of bubbly drink. Even when civilization was struck down, this drink did not disappear into the dust of history.

When you are extremely tired, taking a sip of ice-cold soda is so delicious.

"Drink more if you like." Nan Qi sat next to Bai and served him some food. "Are you going to the headquarters later?"

Bai: "No need, Brother Murphy is in charge there. I'll replace him tomorrow morning."

"Then I'll make something he likes to eat tomorrow morning, and you can bring it to him." Nan Qi said, "After all, we are allies. It would be a shame if he eats it."

Bai felt a little distressed when he heard this. He had to get up early tomorrow morning, and Nan Qi would have to get up even earlier to make breakfast. Nan Qi had been running around with him these days and had lost weight.

Nan Qi saw that Bai was worried about him, so he patted Bai's hand and said softly, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I can continue to sleep during the day. You should pay attention to rest."

Seeing that the question was thrown back on him, Bai Laoshi calmed down, looked at Nan Qi, and both smiled.

Lunke and Mellon, who were standing by, felt a bit full and decided it was time to leave. Mellon even took two steamed buns with him before leaving.

Soon, only Nan Qi and Bai were left in the restaurant.

Nan Qi thought for a moment, then stood up and took out a small box of candy from the cabinet: "Take a few with you tomorrow, and eat one when you're hungry."

Bai stood up and hugged Nan Qi from behind, with his head resting on Nan Qi's back. Listening to Nan Qi's heart beating strongly in his chest, a smile appeared on Bai's lips.

Nan Qi let Bai hold him, his chest shaking with laughter, and he made Bai laugh too. Nan Qi's heart softened at Bai's laughter. He turned around and hugged Bai in his arms, his voice softening involuntarily: "Are you full?"

"Yeah." Bai nodded and hugged Nan Qi tighter.

Nan Qi asked again: "Are you tired?"

Bai nodded again: "Yeah, I don't want to move."

Nan Qi saw that Bai was acting like a spoiled child, so he picked her up and said with a smile, "Then your husband will take you to take a bath."

Bai hugged Nan Qi's neck, put his head against it, and let Nan Qi take him to take a bath.

Xiao Fufu took a bath together in the bathroom. Although they didn't finish it, it still relieved Bai's stress. After the bath, the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms on the bed.

*

Nan Qi and Bai were tired and fell asleep, but Keppel couldn't sleep after talking to Nan Qi.

He kept his promise and didn't mention anything about Nan Qi to Ai You. After Ai You fell asleep, he thought about it silently.

After thinking about it, he felt that Nan Qi's guess was too far-fetched.

But if this is not the case, it is really hard to explain why Nan Qi can do what No. 7 can't do.

Nan Qi could make Lily... and now probably more than just Lily, develop independent consciousness. There must be something in his body that is different from all of their species.

And this thing is likely to put Nan Qi into endless danger and exclusion.

This is like Pandora's box. The consequences of opening it may be something that none of them can bear.

Keppel felt a little regretful about agreeing to Nan Qi.

Unfortunately, there was no regret at this point. If they didn't figure out the relationship between Nan Qi and Number Seven, they would be in constant tension.

What a headache.

Forget it, I don’t want to think about it anymore. Since I have promised Nan Qi, I can’t back down. Let things take their course.

With a soft sigh, Keppel covered Aiyou with a blanket, held Aiyou in his arms, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

At the same time, in the palace, Hoover Walker sat in front of the main brain system in the secret room with a gloomy face, staring at the main brain with eyes full of hostility as data flashed by.

After a while, he looked at the result frozen on the main computer and sneered, "Are you trying to fool me? You think I don't know that something has been wrong with you for a long time? Then let's see if I really can't do anything to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hoover Walker walked out of the secret room with a gloomy face. Behind him, a pair of cold and ruthless eyes flashed across the main computer screen.