Past Events 2
When Jiang Sili realized that Aso Mente had misunderstood in this way, she was both amused and exasperated.
But when all the children in the backyard poured out and hung on him, all of them around the same age, as if they had all hatched at the same time, it made the whole thing even harder to explain.
Aso Ment's eyes widened in astonishment: "Wow, you've had so many children?"
Jiang Sili closed her eyes, her words sounding so pale and powerless: "No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense. These are not my children."
Aso Ment's gossipy expression vanished, replaced by a serious one: "Really not yours? You need to understand that this is harming them. Mixed-race people don't live long, and if they're unlucky and the genes don't mix properly, they can suffer all sorts of complications. What you're doing is utterly immoral."
Jiang Sili calmed down, stared at her for a while, and then replied, "Colonel, I understand perfectly well. Don't talk about such things in front of the children."
The woman opposite realized she was the fastest only after she spoke; the older children could understand what she meant.
She pursed her lips.
"We're going back now, see you next time." Jiang Sili shook the children in her arms, "Say goodbye to your sister."
Although we may never see each other again.
The children shook their tentacles and waved their wings, saying "bye-bye" and "goodbye" to Aso Ment in their baby voices.
After the children left the shop, the shop owner leisurely lit a pungent cigarette, and amidst the swirling smoke, said, "You might not see me again next time."
Her tone was long and calm, as if she had seen it all before.
"The lifespan of mixed-race children is said to be twenty or thirty years, but only the lucky ones will live to that time. Some children don't even survive the most dangerous five years after birth. Their organs lose their function, they go blind first, then deaf, then mute, and finally their internal organs fail. They haven't even seen anything yet, and they're gone just like that."
Aso Ment paused for a moment before asking, "Are you close to him? Where did these children come from?"
The shop owner replied through the smoke, "Don't you know? I thought you two had been fighting for so long that you knew each other inside and out by now."
Aso Ment remained silent, knowing little beyond Jiang Sili's background, his experiences at military school, and the robbery that occurred after he joined the White Wolf Gang.
Especially regarding his defection from the empire back then, the military academy kept all the assessment records sealed and kept them hidden away, refusing to reveal them.
"They were rescued from the battlefield, but neither the Zerg nor the Empire were willing to raise them. If they weren't rescued, they would only freeze to death or be burned to ashes on the battlefield."
Aso Mente recalled Jiang Sili's words to her, telling her to go and see the border battlefield, and seemed to be deep in thought.
“How were these children born?” But then she realized the crucial question. Aso Ment frowned, utterly perplexed. “Why would humans mate with the Zerg? Why create such a tragedy?”
The shop owner fell silent at this moment. Everyone has secrets, and so do every insect.
The shop owner tossed the potion to her: "We've talked a lot today. Someone like you shouldn't stay in the black market for too long, causing panic. We still have business to do."
Having been told to leave, Aso Ment didn't linger. She took one last look at the petite, womanly shop owner behind the counter, who seemed different from the one she had seen last time.
*
Not long after, the children in the White Wolf Clan's nursery all died, leaving only three survivors.
There was no conspiracy, nor was there any accident.
They died of natural causes within a week.
Jiang Zhaoyuan wiped away his tears and buried the small blankets they had used in life and the toys that Jiang Sili had bought for them in the small grave with them.
On this desolate planet, the town of White Wolf and the colorful tombstones on the hillside are the only two bright spots.
"Does it really make sense for us to do this?"
A cold wind, seemingly from nowhere, carried these words to the ears of the White Wolf Clan members.
It's like asking everyone.
Few children live to adulthood, seeing no hope, no future, yet bringing immense sorrow to everyone.
“I am meaning.” Jiang Zhaoyuan buried the last handful of soil, revealing the antennae on her forehead. “They are meaning too.” She pointed to the several mixed-race children who had grown up and were traveling around with the White Wolf Clan.
"There will always be children who survive, and there will always be people who grow up. If we don't save them, there will be none left."
Jiang Zhaoyuan said firmly.
She received a favor from the former leader, who took her in when she had nowhere to go and couldn't integrate into society. Therefore, Jiang Zhaoyuan will inherit her will and take on this responsibility.
No one spoke anymore.
“G13 has blocked many of our space jump portals, so we can’t go to the front lines for the time being.” Jiang Sili broke the silence, with a little girl sitting close to his legs.
“Let’s make money first.” Jiang Zhaoyuan wasn’t one to stagnate. “That big buyer on the black market has placed another order. This time, her target is a white pearl crown that’s about to be auctioned at the Capital Star Museum auction house. It’s made from wild pearls from ancient times. The reward is 100 million star coins.”
The price made everyone present gasp.
“Even in ancient times, wild pearls were extremely rare, top-tier jewels with no market value. Now they are completely extinct, and the starting price at auction is 2 billion star coins. The reward of 70 million star coins is just a drop in the ocean compared to the auction price.” Jiang Zhaoyuan smiled sarcastically.
"The timeframe is 16 months from now. Even the buyer behind the black market doesn't know the source or transportation route this time. We can only make a move once it's in the museum's vault."
*
For this operation, the White Wolf Gang shifted its operations to the border for a considerable period, focusing solely on stealing mineral resources.
Disappearing directly from the military's sight would actually raise suspicion. However, shifting the scope of operations and targets would reduce the military's ability to monitor other aspects of the operation.
The only good thing during this time was that the remaining children survived safely.
Before the auction, Jiang Sili and the White Wolf Gang scouted the location and made preparations.
Jiang Sili disguised herself as a college student, made friends with several real college students in advance, wore colored contact lenses to conceal her pupils, cut her black hair short, wore a hat, and went to the museum with them to see an exhibition.
There are no walls without holes, and there is no perfect security.
Although five Class A sentries were brought in to guard the auction vault, it wasn't a difficult problem for Jiang Sili.
Guides are rare, but S-rank Sentinels are also hard to come by.
The gap between A and S cannot be bridged simply by increasing the number of people.
One of the A-level sentinels was patrolling the venue, checking for suspicious persons. Her mental ability was perception, which allowed her to detect fluctuations in mental energy in the air. Aggressive mental energy could not hide from her.
Jiang Sili sat in front of a giant portrait, gazing at the oil portraits of the emperor and his mother painted by a contemporary master.
The sentry walked past him without noticing anything amiss.
"Let's go for drinks tonight." The college students around him put their arms around each other's shoulders and called out to Jiang Sili, full of youthful energy.
Jiang Sili snapped out of her daze: "...I have something to do tonight, so I won't go. You guys go ahead, it's on me, we can drink all night without any problem."
"Wow, so generous?" one of them exclaimed in disbelief. "This tavern is expensive, and they're using a newly developed flavor enhancer."
Jiang Sili smiled slightly: "I can afford to treat you to as much as you want to drink. Why don't you guys just stay in the dorm tonight? You'll get yelled at by the dorm supervisor if you go back too late. Just get a private room at the bar and have some fun all night."
He handed over a card: "No password set, enough for the night."
The naive college students, unsuspecting, believed they had truly befriended a wealthy young master and left with their cards, laughing and joking.
Jiang Sili watched them walk away.
If the card contains 500,000 Star Coins and is used up in one go, the card will be automatically cancelled by the system. This is a special service provided by the bank for special customers, and it cannot be traced.
Spending a night in a pub would provide them with a perfect alibi. At worst, they might not have recognized the notorious thief. But who would blame the naive college students?
Lowering his hat brim, Jiang Sili walked out with the flow of people.
"Verify the information of all personnel who entered the museum this month. Do not conceal any problems; report them immediately..."
A familiar female voice came from the source of the voice. Jiang Sili's pupils contracted slightly, and he looked towards the source of the voice without making a sound.
Aso Mente had clearly just arrived, rushing into the museum while giving instructions to the people around him.
They were far apart, and Aso Mente entered the building through a door that was not open to the public, heading straight for the vault.
Only Jiang Sili could hear what she was saying.
Aso Mente suddenly turned his head to look back. There were only a few tourists still looking at the exhibits in the museum. The piercing gaze suddenly disappeared.
"Colonel, what's wrong?" someone asked.
"It's nothing," Aso Ment said, suppressing his unease.
It was as if they were destined to meet. In that instant, Jiang Sili suddenly felt weak all over.
Jiang Sili pursed her lips, walked around a corner, and met Jiang Zhaoyuan.
"Is things not going well? Do you also find it difficult?" Jiang Zhaoyuan asked, noticing his expression.
"Big sister, how much money have we saved up over the years?" Jiang Sili asked another question in return.
Jiang Zhaoyuan gave a number.
“That’s enough,” Jiang Sili replied.
"What do you mean, 'enough'? What happened?" Jiang Zhaoyuan was dragged into the hotel where they were hiding.
“Aso Mente is here too, I might not be able to escape this time,” Jiang Sili said bluntly.
“What do you mean by ‘maybe we can’t escape’? Then let’s abandon this commission! Let’s go back now.” Jiang Zhaoyuan understood the pros and cons of the situation.
“When we accepted this commission, we had no way out; it was either success or failure. Neither you nor I know how powerful the buyer behind us is. If we give up this commission now, how do you think she will interpret it and what she will do? She can commission us to steal from a museum, and she can also commission someone else to kill you all.”
Jiang Zhaoyuan stared at him intently, and when he spoke again, his voice was dry: "So, you mean that, apart from you, the rest of us should shed our skins and run away, is that right?"
Over the years, the two have developed a perfect understanding.
"Leave 30 million in the account, transfer the rest out, and rename it to me. Transfer the black market account to the names of the children, and have the buyers make payments in installments," Jiang Sili instructed. "Once you get the crown, run. After destroying the original warship information, just leave it anywhere."
“It’s alright, big sister. This is the worst-case scenario.” Jiang Sili hugged Jiang Zhaoyuan. “If necessary, abandon me to save the others. As long as you are alive, those abandoned children still have hope.”
"If the worst happens, you should go into hiding and go underground. Don't take on such high-risk jobs again. The money you've saved over the years is enough to live on for many, many years. Don't be afraid, I won't die. The Empire certainly wouldn't want me to die."
*
Late at night, a high-rise building opposite the Capital Star Museum.
This high-rise building belongs to the Qiu family, who have been burglarized multiple times. The eldest daughter of the Qiu family is so angry with Jiang Sili that she has repeatedly published notices in the newspapers threatening to grind him to dust if she catches him.
At this moment, Jiang Sili stood atop the skyscraper, like a silent giant python, gazing at the brightly lit museum across the street.
In fact, from the very beginning, it was like a trap that forced him to jump in.
The price seemed so reasonable compared to the starting bid, but its exorbitant nature made it impossible for him to refuse; once it came, there was no turning back.
Aso Mente's arrival made him realize this.
Could it be that the most powerful military force on the capital planet, with 10 space fortresses, is inferior to a young colonel who has just risen through the ranks?
Why transfer a colonel from a garrison in a remote star cluster?
Because someone wanted to pass this military merit to Aso Mente to help her get promoted.
Who is this person? Who has the authority to transfer her here?
Jiang Sili dared not think about it further.
Therefore, Jiang Sili knew that he couldn't escape today.
There was no need to tell Jiang Zhaoyuan any of this. Her life had already been hard enough; she didn't want to worry about him anymore, nor did she want to get involved in this open conspiracy.
Jiang Sili was simply a little angry. Angry at himself. Angry at fate.
His whole life was like a joke; he could never finish what he wanted to do.
He abandoned his family and empire to choose the moral principles within his heart.
Now, abandoning the choices made back then, they've fallen into this trap.
Good-tempered, kind-hearted, gentle, strong yet kind. This is how everyone perceives him, and these are the labels attached to him.
But today he didn't want to continue being kind. A strong urge to destroy arose within him, and he wanted to destroy everything, including the museum in front of him.
In the spiritual landscape, waves surge, lightning flashes and thunder roars, and serpents leap through the waves, howling and roaring.
The enormous serpent revealed its true form, its weight instantly crushing the top dozen or so floors of the building.
It coiled around the skyscrapers like Jormungandr from mythology, its hard scales scraping against metal with a piercing shriek, shattering glass instantly. Even the once indestructible metal cracked.
His tail emitted a sound like a bronze bell, "clang, clang, clang," each ring of sound reverberating in the minds of everyone within a radius of dozens of miles. Many sentries could not withstand it and were already coughing up blood.
Jiang Sili stood atop the Teng Snake's head, fine scales sprouting from his face.
The serpent roared and charged toward the museum across the street, spewing venomous mist from its fangs, creating a cloud of blue smoke around it.
"Don't go over there." The tall, young man blocked all the sentries who wanted to go forward. "You are no match for them. Going there will only be suicide."
"Your Highness! There are too many historical artifacts in the museum, we can't..." The man's words were cut short.
With his black hair tied back and a striking golden-red sliver standing out, the young man spoke calmly: "As long as people are alive, they can pass on history. Aren't your lives more important than those inanimate objects?"
His beautiful, gilded eyes swept around, inspiring awe in all who beheld him.
Aso Ment stood in front of the vault; she was young then and didn't know how to hide her emotions.
She looked sad; she couldn't understand how things had come to this.
The Gu Diao separated from her body, swelling into a shape as large as a small mountain. Its sharp claws gripped the vault, and it stood on the warehouse, spreading its wings and emitting a sharp, mournful cry like that of an infant.
The clash of the top-tier mental powers of two S-class Sentinels caused a mental void among the Sentinels present, as if their mental landscape had been invaded and destroyed.
*
In a room, inside a study, a star map floats before a tall woman, stained with a crimson glow of blood.
"The G9 and G11 legions have temporarily suppressed the Zerg offensive, but this cannot be sustained for long. We need to send reinforcements as soon as possible."
"The Zerg have sent 160 S-class toxin-equipped high-level Zerg this time. Sending ordinary Sentinels there would be suicide! Their current queen's blessing ability is toxin."
"Are we just going to stand by and do nothing?! Let the Zerg invade our territory? We'll pay with our lives!"
"What do you take human lives for?! You make it sound so easy, why don't you go to the battlefield and die there yourself?"
In the escalating argument, the woman raised one hand.
Everyone fell silent instantly; the sound of a pin dropping could be heard in the study.
The woman turned to look out the window, and the eunuch stepped forward and opened the window.
In the distance came the deafening roar of battle and the aftershocks of a mental attack.
"Is that the direction of the museum? What happened?" Discussions broke out again in the study.
In the darkness, the phoenix's clear cry resounded through heaven and earth, a flash of fire appeared, and a giant black serpent surged like clouds and mist.
The woman walked to the window and watched the fight in the distance.
"Your Excellencies, after tonight, someone will lead a support legion to the Zerg border." The woman's tone was calm and unquestionable. "Changli and the Alpha, G1, and G2 legions will attack the Zerg homeworld from the flank and repel them."
She was a master strategist and the most stable pillar of the empire, supporting it through all crises.
"Sain, you can go and draft your speech for foreign war."
"Yes." Sain bowed slightly and left the study.
*
As if she didn't care about her life, Aso Ment had her right arm pierced through by the snake's fangs, but the moment she pulled them out, ignoring the gushing blood, she leaped onto the snake's head and fiercely grabbed Jiang Sili's slender neck.
"Are you crazy?! Why did you have to come?!" Her eyes were bloodshot. "Is this thing really that important?!"
Jiang Sili gripped the pearl crown in his right hand, the crown stained red with the blood from his hand, and the phoenix flames clung to its surface, burning him.
"Can't you see this is a trap?" Aso Ment slapped him hard across the face. "Aren't you supposed to be smart? Even knowing it's a trap, you still have to jump in!"
Jiang Sili pushed her away, and the two wrestled on the rolling snake. The crown flipped over and was put into the space button by Jiang Sili.
"How could I have done this for you if I didn't come?" He looked at the woman in front of him sarcastically. "Haven't you always wanted to catch me? The trap just happened to do you a favor."
Aso Mente was bleeding profusely, her wounds turning black. She had never been attacked like this by Jiang Sili before. Even when she was chasing him recently, Jiang Sili had not shown this level of aggression.
"..." As they looked at each other, Aso Ment replied, "I went to the border battlefield you mentioned, and I saw those... children."
"So what if you saw them?" Jiang Sili retorted. "You pity them, but would you pity them enough to let me go?" He looked up at the phoenix circling overhead and the prince high above. "Do you dare to resist?"
Aso Ment stared blankly at the unfamiliar person in front of her. After a long while, she shook her head: "I won't."
Jiang Sili was not surprised by this answer at all.
The next second, Aso Ment said softly, “I was raised by the Empire’s welfare system. My father was a serial killer, and when his crimes were exposed, my mother developed a severe mental illness. The Empire protected me, gave me a new name, moved me to a new planet, sent me to school, and provided my mother with free medical care.”
Therefore, all her past before entering the Capital Star Military Academy was sealed away.
Because the empire protects these special children from criticism.
The two stared at each other in silence.
“I know the Empire ignored those half-bloods. But it didn’t treat me badly.” The young Aso Ment spoke frankly to his enemy about his past, “So I will never betray it. I have my principles and my allegiance.”
“So I will not let you go today. His Majesty ordered me to capture you, and I will do it!” Aso Ment said firmly.
Jiang Sili seemed to see himself walking on a different path in life.
He looked down at the wrecked museum and the surrounding high-rise buildings that had been completely destroyed.
Staff members were shouting and urgently moving artifacts from the museum, but the vault only contained the pearl crown from beginning to end.
Jiang Sili suddenly felt a sense of meaninglessness, a profound sense of utter despair. His life felt meaningless. A life spent desperately seeking meaning inevitably becomes meaningless, like this.
The scales on his face slowly faded away.
He approached Aso Ment, but she did not move.
Jiang Sili gently stroked her injured right arm.
"I'm sorry for causing you this injury." The toxins were absorbed, and her mental energy quickly surged to repair her pierced arm.
“It’s alright,” Aso Ment replied softly.
"I'm not running anymore, do me a favor." Jiang Sili looked at her.
Aso Mente knew what he was talking about, and she reached out her hand.
Jiang Sili gently placed the spatial button in her hand.
“I’ll hand them over to her.” Aso Ment gripped the handle tightly. “If they keep acting so arrogantly, I won’t arrest them.”
Jiang Sili chuckled and said, "Thank you."
After the spiritual entity disappeared, the phoenix slowly descended with Lin Changli.
The army surged in.
Jiang Sili did not resist; he was handcuffed.
Just before he left, his clothes were grabbed.
Aso Ment didn't know why he was doing this in front of everyone.
Jiang Sili turned around, his face covered in blood and dust, but it couldn't hide his handsome features.
He smiled slightly: "Goodbye, Aso."
*
Qiu Lingxin was furious. She frantically called her mother, and when the call connected, the woman on the other end looked stern and helpless: "What is it now?"
Qiu Lingxin was incoherent and extremely angry as she told her mother, who was far away in the army, what had happened at home. She now wished she could rush into the prison and slap Jiang Sili a few times.
"Why doesn't he just die? Why is he still alive? I'm so angry!!" Qiu Lingxin roared, wanting her mother to vent her anger.
The mother on the other end replied, "Yes, it's infuriating. Here's what we'll do: sooner or later, somewhere out of sight, I'll have someone keep watch, and then we'll just kill him."
Her tone was relaxed, but Qiu Lingxin was stunned on the spot.
"Huh? Killed him?"
"Yes, you're so angry that you want him to die. That's why I made this arrangement."
"I...I...I..." Qiu Lingxin's momentum weakened, "I just wanted to make him suffer a little, I didn't really mean to kill him...He didn't deserve to die..."
The woman opposite her clearly knew her daughter very well. She gave a light hum and said, "Don't worry, His Majesty will not mistreat us."
Qiu Lingxin was still a little confused, but her mother had already hung up the phone.
*
Jiang Sili thought he would be taken to prison for trial, but he was never taken to prison.
Lin Changli took him directly into the palace and led him to the reception room to bathe and change clothes.
"The Queen Mother wishes to see you," Lin Changli said calmly, then turned and left, his demeanor as arrogant as ever.
Jiang Sili didn't know what this meant, and he silently complied.
Then an imperial attendant came to lead the way. The palace was very quiet, and the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall, like the drumbeats that had just touched my heart.
They stopped in front of two double doors.
The eunuch knocked gently on the door.
"Come in," a woman's voice called from inside the door.
The eunuch opened the door, smiled and gestured for Jiang Sili to go in, then closed the door and stood guard outside.
The interior is far more magnificent than the museum.
Emperor Lin Shuangqiao stood in front of one of the display cases, with Lin Changli's spirit body perched on his shoulder, and the little phoenix raising a claw to preen the feathers on its leg.
“You’ve arrived,” Lin Shuangqiao turned around, her expression gentle, and waved to him, “Come here.”
Jiang Sili stood beside her, but was so astonished by what he saw that he was speechless.
The pearl crown that he had fought tooth and nail to get just a few hours earlier was now displayed in the showcase in front of him.
Jiang Sili looked up and saw all the jewelry and artifacts he had stolen from the museum over the years, quietly displayed in small compartments.
He silently watched everything before him, which overturned his understanding of the world.
“I’ve already arranged for the money to be transferred to the new account,” Lin Shuangqiao said quietly. “I think you should have already made arrangements for the White Wolf Gang. Jiang Zhaoyuan is a smart woman; she never takes risks.”
Jiang Sili had thought about this question before.
What kind of buyer could know the whereabouts of these priceless jewels and artifacts for decades, pay such huge sums of money, and remain completely out of sight? How much power must she have to hide all of this?
But who exactly has the authority to bring in Asso Mente, and who is determined to help her rise to power?
And who is it that insists on supporting the useless G13 Legion?
There is only one answer.
Apart from the emperor himself, no one else in the empire had the power to mobilize so many resources and manipulate so many powerful nobles.
“As the emperor, I am not omnipotent. For example, I can never show my pity for mixed-race people in front of the public, especially during sensitive moments when the insectoids are invading our territory.” Lin Shuangqiao explained quietly behind him, “As the ruler of the empire, most of the time, I need to pretend not to see it.”
"The timing of the White Wolf Gang's appearance was excellent. I'm satisfied, and they are outstanding. I just didn't expect your mentor to force you to kill them with your own hands, especially in front of a group of innocent babies." Lin Shuangqiao shook her head slightly, very dissatisfied with the mentor's foolish actions. "However, forcing you to defect and join them has, to some extent, helped me. I only need to place orders with you regularly, pay your wages, and support you; with you here, they are safer. But as you know, Aso has appeared. She is so outstanding, so excellent. She will definitely stand out in the army and will definitely be a powerful force for the empire, so I need to support her."
"So, I became the best stepping stone." Jiang Sili heard his own voice, without sorrow or joy.
"Do you mind that?" Lin Shuangqiao asked in return.
He didn't mind at all. If she was destined to be with him, she was better off than others.
Jiang Sili thought to himself.
Lin Shuangqiao gently wiped away the bloodstain on the pearl crown. Her gaze towards the jewels was as if she were looking at an inanimate object, devoid of any affection.
"Don't you find it ridiculous too?" Lin Shuangqiao asked. "With external enemies at hand, people are still willing to spend 2 billion on this kind of thing at auction. Yeah, anyway, the Zerg can't reach the capital planet, so what does it have to do with them?"
Jiang Sili looked at Lin Shuangqiao's delicate profile.
“But I can only pretend I don’t see it, because I can’t infringe on their rights. And who says that when there’s a foreign enemy, others can’t have fun?” Lin Shuangqiao put the crown back. “Besides, I don’t have the right to say that. My jewelry and crown are far more magnificent and luxurious than these. After all, an emperor has the dignity of an emperor.”
"Your Majesty, what do you wish me to do?" Jiang Sili knew that Lin Shuangqiao was not there to chat idly.
“You are very perceptive and intelligent, and what’s rare is that you don’t use your strength to bully others.” Lin Shuangqiao looked at him with appreciation. “That’s what I value most, which is why I’ve let you waste these years in the White Wolf Gang.”
Jiang Sili raised his head and met Lin Shuangqiao's gaze without flinching.
Lin Shuangqiao's smile deepened: "I'll give you two choices. One is to go to jail and serve your sentence for all these years of theft, the other is..."
"I choose option two." Jiang Sili said without hesitation.
"You already know what it is before I've even finished speaking?"
“I know.” Jiang Sili nodded. “I knew it when you mentioned the Zerg. I will go to the front lines to fight the Zerg. I can serve in the army for life. I only have one condition.”
"you say."
"Let bygones be bygones for the White Wolf Gang, seal all records, and let them live."
Lin Shuangqiao nodded approvingly.
Despite the strange looks from the soldiers, Jiang Sili looked out the window as he boarded the transport ship.
The Zerg borders are far away, and even a space jump takes 24 hours.
He was far from the White Wolf Gang, and far from his past.
It's also far away from her.
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