Chapter 26 Break it off with a snap!
It was a week later when Sklag II finished dealing with the matter.
Knowing that Shiwei was out early and back late every day, and rarely home, they decided to bring her along for today's trip.
Letting them roam freely for too long isn't a good thing either; he hasn't seen Shiwei for several days now.
"Oh? I was planning to go to the same place as yesterday..." Shi Wei was a little surprised and asked the servant, "What's on today's itinerary?"
As the attendant led the way, he said, "This morning we will attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Tengshe Machinery Factory, and then we will visit the Sunset Town in the south, where a market event is currently being held."
That's not boring.
A massive black aircraft was parked outside the city, its golden cross markings reflecting the sunlight, and the "Royal One" insignia on its tail fin was very conspicuous.
The aircraft carrying the executive officer of Mucheng and several officials was also very new—probably purchased from another planet after the magnetic storm particles disappeared.
Shi Wei entered Royal Cabin One and saw the two princes. She nodded to them and prepared to walk to the seat next to King Sklag II.
The second prince blocked his way with his long legs and said lazily, "What have you been up to lately? I haven't seen a trace of you."
There were other people in the cabin. Shi Wei glanced at him and said, "Nothing much, just wandering around."
She stepped over him without saying another word.
Similan's face darkened. Cyril, who was sitting opposite him with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing the noise and chuckled softly.
It seemed like they were mocking him.
A seat was left empty next to His Majesty. Over the past few days, the entourage had all become aware of Shi Wei's existence and had tacitly accepted her special status.
As soon as Shi Wei sat down, the man took her hand.
Sklag II's gaze remained fixed on the quantum computer; the man's profile was flawless, with a smooth jawline and slightly pursed thin lips.
He showed no emotion whatsoever.
She smiled silently, squeezed his hand back, picked up a book from the small table next to him, and began to read.
Seeing that she didn't speak, the man hooked his finger into her palm.
It tickled a little, so she rubbed his knuckles with her palm.
Although they remained silent the entire way, he held Shi Wei's hand the whole time.
Even Similan, who disliked the two of them intensely, felt that no one could break that space, which was always surrounded by an ambiguous atmosphere.
He was unsure how to proceed.
His Majesty's book was too boring. Shi Wei flipped through a few pages and understood his annotations. So he simply threw the book aside and leaned on his shoulder to sleep.
Soon, Shi Wei's head slid into his arms. Sklag II touched her face, adjusted the screen height, and pulled her into his embrace to make her more comfortable.
Soon we arrived at Tengshe Machinery Factory, which was more like a city than a factory.
This building complex covers an extremely large area and is full of modern features, which is out of place with the surrounding ancient houses.
If Shi Wei initially didn't understand why such a backward and remote planet would attract the Emperor's personal attention to see this magnificent mechanical city, she could roughly guess why—
Manla wants to establish a large military base here.
Although YN1 is not large in area, it has a large population and resources. Although it is remote, it is close to the Chaotic Starfield. The Empire has an important military port three thousand light-mile away, with a very high level of security.
Establishing a military base on YN1 and combining it with that port would not only greatly improve border security but also deter mercenary groups from the chaotic star system.
After visiting several large-scale security projects, Shi Wei did a quick mental calculation and realized that the Empire had invested at least tens of billions of star coins in the construction of YN1 Star. It seemed that this place was indeed of great strategic importance.
During this time, Shi Wei made a big joke. She saw a drone model, picked it up and looked at it casually. The project manager, who was giving a long explanation, saw this and said very enthusiastically, "This is our newly built Falcon 8. It is very sturdy. Its wings can rotate at a maximum speed of 200,000 RPM and can withstand an impact force of 300,000 F..."
Shi Wei curiously touched the thin wings. Wouldn't something so thin break if it got hit?
The manager, sensing her disbelief, confidently said, "This young lady, try bending it and feel how hard this composite material is—"
Everyone was watching them, and some were even recording videos. So Shi Wei adjusted the angle slightly to make the shot clearer, then grabbed the wing and gave it a hard yank.
"Click!" A crisp sound.
Shi Wei looked at the half-wing in her hand: "..."
6.
She paused, glanced at the person in charge, and saw that he was also stunned. He seemed about to take the piece and break it, but after looking at the fragment in her hand, he hesitated.
The tall Alpha stood before her, his face flushed red, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer, "This is a defective product, so we brought it out to display. Our lab results are still..."
Similan laughed out loud, showing no mercy.
The Emperor walked over, took Shi Wei's hand, and seeing that she hadn't been scratched, took the drone that was missing a wing.
The person in charge, sweating profusely, watched as the Emperor, expressionless, grasped the remaining wing piece and gently snapped it open—
"Click!" A crisper sound.
Sweating profusely, the person in charge put on a mask of pain and couldn't utter a single word.
Scattered.
It was tested tens of thousands of times in the lab without any problems.
How could things go wrong at such a crucial moment—no, the chain just snapped.
The person in charge wanted to kill himself. This was his only chance to show his face in front of the Emperor, and it had turned out like this.
"Too fragile," Sklag II said casually, tossing the drone onto the platform.
Shi Wei detected a hint of disdain in his eyes.
She lowered her head, trying hard to suppress the corners of her mouth.
After causing such a commotion, Shi Wei stopped looking around and obediently stayed with the group.
Lunch was eaten here, consisting of local specialties. Shi Wei, who is curious about all kinds of food, ate it without any reservations, while Siman Xirui, a pampered prince, couldn't quite accept it.
The emperor was a little better, but his appetite was only so-so when he saw those strange and unusual things.
Shi Wei encouraged them, "Your Majesty, come and try it! Their local food is delicious!"
During the days she spent traveling around, she tried all the delicious food in the city and enthusiastically served him a lot of food.
Similan felt nauseous when she saw her pick up a lump of moldy green, unidentified material.
Seeing that His Majesty didn't seem to like it very much, Shi Wei fed it to him enthusiastically—the man frowned, opened his mouth, chewed it slightly, and swallowed it.
"How is it? It's delicious, right?" Shi Wei looked at him expectantly.
King Sklag II nodded.
Similan, not believing in such superstitions, also took a bite, and looked pale: it wasn't bad, but it wasn't delicious either; the flavors were extremely complex.
It's like banana-flavored seafood; it's fine to eat on its own, but when mixed together, it looks incredibly strange.
So Shiwei fed Sklag II a lot of food that she thought was delicious.
The Emperor was somewhat worried: Does she like this peculiar taste? Isn't what she usually eats too hard?
How about we bring a cook back from here?
After finishing their meal, the group arrived at Sunset Town.
The town gets its name from the sunset that never sets in the sky; the whole town is shrouded in twilight, with no dawn, only sunset and night.
The market is held at this time of year, with all sorts of vendors selling local specialties, crops, food, and tools. There are also performances in the evening.
The mayor was an Alpha, but his racial features were not very obvious. He was wearing a long robe commonly worn by locals. Shi Wei glanced at him several times but still couldn't determine if he was a local.
He was clearly adept at dealing with officials of the Empire, a master of social maneuvering, and you would never guess he was just the mayor of a small town on a remote and backward planet.
The eldest prince, Cyril, happened to be beside her and explained, "He was originally from a noble family, but his family committed a crime and was punished by the emperor, so he was exiled here. However, he is very intelligent and facilitated the empire's plan to develop this planet."
Oh—he's quite a capable official.
Shi Wei smiled at him to express her gratitude.
Simanlan, who had been watching her closely, saw this smile and felt a pang in his heart: Why was she so gentle and polite to everyone else, but so disgusted with him?
He has already paid the price for his wrongdoings.
But can't we forgive him yet?
Shi Wei was completely unaware of the Second Prince's youthful inclinations. While the Emperor was holding a meeting with the executive officers, she was happily playing around the town with her guards.
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Author's note: Today's post was automatically published from the draft box. This lousy author is out now, mwah.
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