The kidnapped people were not only Zhou Yang and Guan Ji, but also more than two thousand military academy students and more than a dozen teachers on a small starship.
These military academy students had just finished their final combat training exams when they were intercepted by a warship that suddenly appeared on their way back to Suzaku Star.
The starship was hijacked and headed west. Soon after, it lost signal and its whereabouts are now unknown.
Lan Shuang finished recounting the whole story through sobs, her almond-shaped eyes filled with tears as she looked at Li Ze for confirmation, "Li Ze, all the space pirates in the Death Starfield have been wiped out, there weren't any who escaped, right?"
Li Ze nodded, then shook his head. "There might be some who escaped, but those who escaped would never have the ability to hijack a starship, especially one full of military academy students and teachers."
"Then who did it?" Lan Shuang asked weakly and helplessly.
Li Ze had a general idea of who was behind it, but he had no proof. He then asked, "Did Zhou Yang and Guan Ji's families receive any messages from the kidnappers demanding ransom?"
The Zhou and Guan families are among the wealthiest in the empire. If the other side demands a ransom, they will be the first to be targeted.
"They asked for ten billion each. They gave them a virtual account, and Brother Zhou and Uncle Guan transferred the money in, but even after they gave the money, they still haven't shown up." Lan Shuang's tears streamed down her face as she looked at Li Ze for help, "Li Ze, can you help me find Zhou Yang and Guan Ji?"
Li Ze did not refuse, "How many days have they been missing?"
“It’s been three days,” Lan Shuang said.
"I'll contact Brother Zhou in a bit, then we'll set off." Li Ze didn't guarantee he would bring them back; he couldn't be sure if Zhou Yang and the others were still alive. However, Zhou Yang was his friend, and Guan Ji was his fan, so he was determined to make this trip.
Lan Shuang felt much more at ease after receiving Li Ze's confirmation. "Alright, contact Brother Zhou now. Brother Zhou has already set off for the west."
After ending his communication with Lan Shuang, Li Ze immediately contacted Zhou Bai.
According to Zhou Bai, not only Zhou Bai, but also the imperial army and the families of those military academy students all went west to look for people.
"Could it be a smokescreen? Maybe those people aren't even in the west, but in some other direction?" Li Ze wondered.
Zhou Bai shook his head and smiled bitterly, his handsome face full of vicissitudes and haggardness. "It shouldn't be. The entire empire is under martial law right now. Such a large starship would be discovered no matter which planet it lands on. The only place they can hide is in those small countries to the west or on private planets, once they leave the border."
After hearing this, Li Ze seemed to be deep in thought.
He Xingjue was still cultivating, and Li Ze didn't plan to tell him about it, nor did he intend to take him along to search for the person. For He Xingjue, cultivation was more important now; only by increasing his strength could he protect himself.
There are few large beasts and no poisonous creatures on this planet, so Li Ze is not worried about He Xingjue's safety. However, just to be on the safe side, he still left his presence within a radius of one mile.
With his presence, not only wild beasts, but even void beasts would avoid him.
Before leaving, Li Ze left a note and sent a message to He Xingjue's personal terminal, giving him a double reminder of his whereabouts and instructing him to stay there, not to wander off, and to wait for his return.
Once he was convinced that everything was in order, Li Ze piloted his mecha toward the nearest planet within the Empire's territory.
After sailing for more than three hours through the jump channel, Li Ze successfully reunited with Zhou Bai.
Zhou Bai brought his own starship over. Besides the Zhou family members and the bodyguards he hired, there were also the parents of other students on board, including Guan Ji's family.
As Li Ze boarded the starship, everyone who was in a meeting immediately looked at him.
The next second, Li Ze was surrounded by the crowd.
These people seemed to have grasped at a straw, their faces filled with eagerness and pleading. They chattered amongst themselves, pleading for his help in finding their loved ones and expressing their immense gratitude. Some even knelt before Li Ze while weeping.
Li Ze had never seen anything like this before and was completely stunned.
Finally, Zhou Bai came to the rescue and pulled Li Ze out of the crowd.
Zhou Bai invited Li Ze to his room and shared the information he had found with Li Ze.
“Our initial delineation is this star system,” Zhou Bai circled a large area on the star map. “There are a total of twenty-six habitable planets in these areas. This area is the Kingdom of Lega, this area is the Kingdom of Flowing Firefly, and the remaining few are private planets. The Kingdom of Lega is under full military control, and border control is very strict, so we'll exclude it as our first step. Now we have the Kingdom of Flowing Firefly and a few private planets left. Compared to the Kingdom of Lega, the starports in the Kingdom of Flowing Firefly only require paying a tax fee, and one can freely enter and exit. It's a relatively chaotic country. As for the remaining private planets, we've already contacted the owners, and they've agreed to help us investigate.” Zhou Bai didn't mention the various difficulties they encountered in negotiating with the owners of those planets, or the various benefits they were offered.
Li Ze focused his attention on the ten planets of the Firefly Kingdom. The area was so vast that finding them would not be easy.
“We’ve already divided up the teams and sent people to every planet,” Zhou Bai added. “However, a planet is so big, searching like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I just hope those people will spare my brother’s life, considering how readily I paid him.”
Li Ze couldn't offer any words of comfort. "Who is in charge of the search and rescue team sent by the Empire?"
"The entire Rhinoceros Horn Legion has been mobilized, and they are currently negotiating with the officials of the Flowing Firefly Kingdom," Zhou Bai said.
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