Chapter 121: The Mantis Catches the Cicada, While the Oriole Is Behind 4

The small spaceship that Ye Heng and Lin Yao boarded in disguise left the Xuanjia starship and merged into the asteroid belt surrounding the Gray Mist Star.

Vic stood by the porthole, looking at the pale blue tail flame gradually disappearing in the stardust, his fingertips unconsciously stroking his cuffs.

The conversation he had just had with Ye Heng was still ringing in his ears. The news that 'Karen was going to succeed the throne' was like a thorn, pricking his heart.

At this moment, the communicator in the command cabin suddenly rang rapidly.

A red warning light flashed on the console surface, and the words "Maintenance Fleet Emergency Communication" popped up on the screen.

A trace of resentment flashed in Vic's eyes. He quickly walked back to the main console and pressed the answer button.

"Your Highness, Second Prince, we have consulted our superiors regarding the inspection time for the Xuanjia Starship."

The mechanical voice on the other end of the communicator was still the same, but with an unyielding firmness.

"Six hours is too short to complete the ship-wide Zerg spore depth test. A minimum of twelve standard hours is required. This is the final answer, no room for negotiation."

"12 hours?" Vic's pupils suddenly contracted, and his knuckles clenched the edge of the console.

The coolness of the metal came through his fingertips, but it almost couldn't suppress the anger that suddenly surged in his heart.

He suddenly remembered what Ye Heng and Lin Yao had said before. Although the other party had compressed the time from 24 hours to 12 hours,

It seems like a concession, but in fact it is a disguised way of delaying the progress of the plan!

This is probably not the only level along the way. There are two large-scale jump points that Vic remembers.

There are also countless small, existing checkpoints. At this rate, it will probably take two or three days to complete.

If I hadn't agreed to let Ye Heng and Lin Yao leave just now, then everything would be too late.

Fear surged into Vic's heart like a tide, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Now was not the time to be thankful.

Karen's people had to believe that he was still angry and anxious about the 12-hour investigation and had not yet realized the conspiracy behind it.

"No room for negotiation?" Vic suddenly raised his voice, the anger in his tone almost bursting through the communicator.

"I'm the Second Prince of the Empire! The one I'm escorting is the traitor General Ye Heng. This concerns the safety of the Empire! Why did you make me wait for 12 hours?!"

He grabbed the energy water cup next to him and smashed it hard on the main console. The cup shattered, and the light blue liquid splashed all over the screen, and the sparks of short circuit made a "sizzling" sound.

"Tell Karen!" Vic's voice was deliberately hoarse, as if he was extremely angry.

"Don't think you can stop me with such despicable means! 12 hours is fine, but if anything happens to the Central Star, he'll be the one to hold accountable!"

There was silence on the other end of the communicator for a few seconds, followed by another mechanical response: "We will report your Highness's opinion."

"Bullshit report!" Vic roared and pressed the communication hang-up button directly. The screen went black in an instant.

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently, the anger in his eyes had not faded yet.

But I secretly felt a little more relieved and scared. Fortunately, I still had a backup plan, otherwise I would really fall into Karen's hands this time.

The adjutant and soldiers in the command cabin were so frightened that they dared not make a sound. No one noticed that Vic's fingertips loosened quietly as he turned and walked towards the lounge.

The smashing of the water cup and the roaring just now were just a show for Karen's spies.

Now all he had to do was lock up his 'angry' self and wait for news.

-

Ye Heng and Lin Yao had just driven their spaceship through the dense asteroid belt surrounding the Gray Mist Star when a Red Shadow ship disguised as a cargo spaceship with signal lights appeared not far ahead.

The signal light flashed the secret code for Chiying's internal communication: three short and two long, indicating that it was safe and ready for connection.

Ye Heng, who was in the main driving position, also responded with a signal. The spacecraft that received the signal slowly opened the docking door.

Lin Yao glanced at the opening hatch, and quickly operated the control panel with his fingertips, switching the spacecraft's identification code to the Red Shadow Dark Line's special code.

The small spacecraft slid into the docking cabin precisely. The moment the hatch closed, Ye Mang and Xu Li and the others were already waiting in the cabin, their combat uniforms still stained with interstellar dust.

"Marshal, Major General!" Ye Mang stepped forward quickly, his tone filled with urgency.

"The Third Prince's maintenance fleet just scanned the surrounding area again. Fortunately, we activated the signal jammer in advance and were not discovered.

Are we going directly to the Central Star via the civilian jump channel now?"

Ye Heng nodded: "No need to wait, set sail now. Switch the route to 'Ghost Route'

It’s the same route we used to transport military equipment three years ago, avoiding all military monitoring points.”

"Understood!" Ye Mang replied and immediately turned around to carry out the order.

The spacecraft turned off the flashing signal light, the engine slowly started, the hull vibrated slightly, and began to move towards the central star.

Lin Yao told Ye Heng that he had something to do, and Ye Heng nodded to indicate that he understood.

After asking Zhao Kun about the location of the lounge, Lin Yao went straight to the destination. After entering the room, he immediately activated the encrypted communication channel and called up the contact - Lin Ruheng.

The moment the channel was connected, Lin Ruheng's slightly tired voice could be heard, and the beeping of medical equipment could be heard in the background: "Mr. Lin? Where are you?"

Hearing the beeping sound, Lin Yao asked Lin Ruheng doubtfully, "Is he in the emperor's bedroom? ! ! ! ! !

"Yes, he's right in front of me." Lin Ruheng's tired tone was mixed with a hint of sarcasm.

Lin Yao's words were a bit confusing. He asked Lin Ruheng incoherently why she was so careless to answer his call?

Lin Ruheng's tired voice couldn't even be covered by the radio waves, but he still patiently explained:

"The old emperor can't hold on any longer! His vital signs are declining rapidly.

My normal assessment will only last until late tonight, and Karen is already preparing for the succession process."

Lin Ruheng's implication was that the murderer was busy succeeding to the throne, so the security here was quite lax right now.

Lin Yao was silent for three seconds: "The Third Prince is also very generous."

"That's because he thought he had a sure win. The old emperor would definitely not survive under the effects of this concentration of the drug. Unfortunately..."

Lin Ruheng stopped talking before he finished, but Lin Yao already knew what he was trying to say: 'It's a pity that I met Lin Ruheng'.

"As long as you know the number," Lin Yao's voice deepened, "We expect to arrive in 6 hours."

After saying that, Lin Yao was about to ask Lin Ruheng about other situations on the Central Star, but his attention was drawn away by Lin Ruheng's words.

A cold glint flashed in Lin Yao's eyes: "Lin Zhixiong's work? What is his intention?"

Lin Ruheng said that Lin Yao should have seen the contents of the USB flash drive in the laboratory.

It has not been fully developed and is still a semi-finished product, but because the laboratory was stolen, Lin Zhixiong was worried that it would be leaked, so he decided to take the initiative.

"In other words, Lin Zhixiong also contributed to the old emperor's current condition?" Lin Yao asked after listening to Lin Ruheng's explanation.

Lin Ruheng confirmed this conclusion. Lin Zhixiong injected the poison into the old emperor's maintenance cabin without the knowledge of the third prince, just for double insurance.

Lin Yao continued to ask him, if that’s the case, Lin Zhixiong should have other plans, right?

"Lin Zhixiong's ambition is bigger than you can imagine." Lin Ruheng left this sentence at the end of the communication.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yao let out a breath, hoping that this trip to the Central Star would resolve all the issues.