If the second heir's statement only shocked the citizens of the Empire, then the subsequent response of the police department turned the shock into anger.

On the evening of the day when Lin Sheng was taken away by the police, the senior officials in charge of the investigation finally accepted an interview with reporters.

Compared with the pre-match harassment case, which happened not long ago, the military rescue mission, although it happened many years ago, has fermented more disgustingly because it has been hidden at the bottom of the quagmire for too long.

Involving the royal family, the military, and the nobility, facing the voices and pressure from all walks of life, the police department had to hold a simple press conference.

Captain Tong, the main investigator, frowned as he faced the camera, holding a stack of manuscripts and orally reconstructing the tragic mission scene of that year.

"You mean, Bai Li, who was still a major general at the time, and his adjutant Jiang Hao tried to point out the loopholes in the command," a reporter asked, "but the highest commander at the time did not accept the suggestions, and the criminals eventually took advantage of the loopholes, resulting in heavy casualties and mission failure, is that right?"

Captain Tong frowned and said, "The specific details still need to be investigated."

He neither confirmed nor denied, and this vague attitude made the reporters present whisper.

"Then this should be considered a command error, and the empire would be held accountable," the reporter asked, "The highest commander at the time was Mr. Lin Sheng, right?"

"Yes."

"Such a serious accident has never been mentioned in all these years, and the parties involved have not been held accountable, let alone a military court. Is it because Mr. Lin Sheng is from the royal family?" Another reporter asked loudly, "This should be the largest rescue accident in the past 20 years."

"We will not make rash judgments before the case is fully investigated, which will cause unnecessary speculation from the outside world." Captain Tong answered stiffly.

This answer undoubtedly aroused the anger of the reporters: "In the recent competition, Mr. Bai Li has been treated unfairly. Since the pre-match interference is linked to Mr. Lin Sheng, can it be considered that other interferences are also related to him? Is he deliberately targeting Mr. Bai Li? Can it be regarded as an act of retaliation? Are there old grudges between Lin Sheng and Bai Li?"

Captain Tong on the virtual screen was obviously not good at dealing with this battle, and was taken over by others halfway through his speech. Mrs.

Tang pretended to be indifferent and looked at the book in her hand, but her attention was all focused on the interview.

In this old Tang family house, she is a background board that is most easily ignored, and therefore Tang Xiao did not notice her distraction.

Tang Xiao also had no time to care about these.

The video of the interview that is being played has been running for two or three hours, but the anger of people on Starnet has not subsided because of nightfall.

From Lin Sheng's detention to the second heir's statement, to the police department's response, a series of non-stop news is like barrels of gasoline, pouring on the ignited rationality of the citizens of the Empire.

As the heat continues to rise, the follow-up issues left by the failed rescue mission are also sorted out and exposed. Broken families, parents who have lost their children, partners who cannot get out of the haze, children who have lost their company during their growth, the pride and struggle of being a soldier's family member... human life is not just a few numbers, but a life that cannot be completed.

And the people who survived this mission are also among the follow-up issues being discussed.

People were surprised to find that some of the insiders were either transferred to remote satellite planets or received incomprehensible promotions. Most of the promoted people did not stay on the main planet in the end, but were transferred to satellite planets one after another.

Jiang Hao, the only one who stayed on the main planet, had a strong family background, but he seemed to have no chance to go to the front line in recent years, and was forced to deal with paperwork most of the time.

Bai Li, who had already taken the position of major general, fell to the bottom overnight, his left leg was seriously damaged, and he was forced to retire from the military.

Unlike others, Bai Li became the center of attention after retiring from the military. His brief military experience was deliberately covered up, and the emphasis was placed on his aristocratic status. His actions were magnified, his words were intentionally distorted, and the facts were covered up under the guidance of public opinion. Even his last battle before retirement was buried.

What is hard to accept is not only that his medals are covered in dust, but that everyone present was once a handful of ashes weighing on him.

This perception makes people feel guilty and remorseful in their anger, but it is always difficult to blame themselves, so the media that reported false information over the years and Lin Sheng who tried to cover up the facts have become the biggest scapegoats.

"To be honest, if Master Bai was still alive, Bai Li would not have ended up like this. Isn't it just because he bullied the Bai family and made them fall into poverty?"

"Master Bai had made great military achievements and served the empire all his life. No matter how bad Bai Li's temper was, he had never done anything to let down the empire or the citizens, but he was treated like this. The media and Lin Sheng who exploited him were really outrageous. Beasts cannot become humans, but people can become beasts."

For a while, the curses against Lin Sheng and the calls for the royal family to give a response were like huge waves, and each wave was huge.

When the citizens of the empire turned their guilt and self-blame into heavy punches, someone broke the news that a large part of the public opinion attacks on Bai Li in recent years were deliberate smears, and bluntly stated that Bai Li was stabbed in the back, and the person who splashed the dirty water had a delicate relationship with him.

As soon as this statement came out, it immediately attracted attention.

People's anger and guilt have a new outlet, and paparazzi and those who want to take advantage of the situation have taken the opportunity to dig deeper, and the muzzle of "citizen anger" is directly aimed at Tang.

The old grudge between the Tang and Bai families has been an open secret since the time when Mr. Bai was still alive. Bai Li and Tang Xiao have been quarreling for a long time and they can no longer maintain a superficial relationship. Tang Kaiyuan, as Bai Li's brother with a different surname, seems to have never had any dealings with him. In addition, the recent rumors and the video of the two people's tit-for-tat in the recruitment competition show that the two brothers are not friendly.

But this is a blood relative after all. If Tang really took advantage of Bai Li's weak period of retirement from the military to recuperate, it would be a real backstab.

Just one stab has caused Bai Li to suffer for so many years.

At the same time, the live video of the chaos at the main stage of the recruitment competition was released. Although the live broadcast was cut off in time, the audience at the scene still saw clearly that Tang Kaiyuan attacked his opponent and his pheromones were running wild.

In connection with the previous scandal about the backstage of the sub-competition area 1, people's disgust and suspicion of the Tang family reached a peak.

I guess Tang Xiao must have a splitting headache now.

Mrs. Tang turned a page of the book in her hand, and then looked up casually at Tang Xiao who was using the personal terminal to communicate with the outside world.

Anger and anxiety made Tang Xiao's face red, and his neck, which was always raised like a fighting chicken, seemed to be thicker. The collar of his shirt, which was always tightly buttoned according to the old-fashioned aristocratic habit, was now loose, and the top button was unbuttoned. Tang Xiao was panting.

Mrs. Tang could no longer remember what Tang Xiao looked like when he was young, but she recently discovered that even the current Tang Xiao, mostly left in her memory was a dark shadow.

Shadow encompasses violence, selfishness, arrogance, and extreme inferiority.

After contacting all the relationships that could be used, but the results were not ideal, Tang Xiao came over dizzy, holding the back of the chair and yelling angrily: "Don't stand there! Don't you have contact with Xiao? Go ask them if they can find a way to contact the police station. I have to talk to Lin Sheng!"

Xiao is a petty noble, an old friend of Mrs. Tang when she was still living in the Bai family. After marriage, she had basically no contact with the outside world under Tang Xiao's control, and was forced to cut off contact with these petty nobles that Tang Xiao looked down on.

Usually, he didn't take these petty nobles seriously, but he was justified when he used them. Mrs. Tang sneered in her heart, but her words were still gentle: "Okay, I'll think of a way."

Tang Xiao's expression did not ease because of this. He still scolded the media and Bai's company, and also scolded others. He would scold anything that was not going his way.

"Why don't you go and have a rest first? You haven't had a good rest since last night," Mrs. Tang advised him, and put the medicine box in front of him, "Take some more medicine, it will take a while for Kaiyuan to come back."

"He really is... not very capable, but he will cause trouble for me." Tang Xiao muttered, grabbed the pills and put them in his mouth, and picked up the half-drunk wine and put it in his stomach.

Mrs. Tang helped him to bed. The pheromone of O with her own mark had some soothing effect on A. It didn't take long for Tang Xiao to fall asleep in Mrs. Tang's pheromones.

As usual, the personal terminal was thrown beside the pillow. Mrs. Tang patted Tang Xiao, but only heard a snoring sound. She mustered up her courage and pushed hard, and Tang Xiao dragged his heavy body to turn over.

She breathed a sigh of relief, took away Tang Xiao's personal terminal, exited the bedroom, hid in the study on the other side, entered the password and opened Tang Xiao's personal terminal.

This was the third time she checked Tang Xiao's personal terminal this week. Tang Xiao was quite smart and knew to clean up some of the data, so it was not easy for her to check.

The memories of her youth gradually became clearer during these repeated checks. She used to like to tinker with these things. Relying on her memory, she restored some of the data and then transferred it to her own personal terminal.

While waiting for the data to be transmitted, Mrs. Tang took a deep breath to calm her heartbeat. She touched Tang Xiao's medicine box.

"I'm almost done," she thought, "how many days have I taken the medicine?"

The competition has reached the third day, and two of the four models will be eliminated.

The further the competition goes, the more powerful the mechas and the superb skills of the drivers are. This year's competition is full of strong players. Even some of the mechas and drivers who lost the competition are still praised in the mecha forum.

But the most eye-catching one, apart from the final, is probably this afternoon's competition.

Bai's Research Institute and Shengshi Research Institute finally faced off in a long competition.

In addition to the competition itself, after a night and a morning, public opinion has already fermented to an uncontrollable point, and at the same time has pushed this competition to the forefront.

The citizens of the Empire were able to get some sleep, but those who were looking for information and breaking news could not sleep at all. After

waking up from a sleepless night, Tang Shi had already been hit on the head with a hammer.

Tang Xiao's transfer records and part of his text message records were anonymously exposed. Although they were just clues, after digging deeper, the key points were soon grasped, proving that Tang Shi had transactions with some tabloid paparazzi. Most of these paparazzi were found to have used the following means to guide public opinion and make false reports many times during the industry rectification some time ago.

Amid the anger and heated discussions outside, the competition between Bai Li and Tang Kaiyuan is about to begin.

Bai Li had also considered this in advance, and did not drive to the main stadium alone with Lu Zhao. The military had already proposed to keep a certain distance from the public eye, and Lu Zhao's identity was not suitable for appearing in such occasions.

Sure enough, as soon as Bai Li got off the car of Bai's Research Institute, he was shocked by the number of reporters and onlookers in front of him.

"Oh my god, so many people?" Situ followed him out of the car, looked up and took two steps back to get back in the car. He

bumped into Yang Han behind him, and instead of getting back in, he was pushed out of the car.

As a result, the researchers holding the equipment behind him followed suit and rolled down.

Bai Li was pushed by his good brothers and staggered. He didn't have time to put on his helmet, and took two steps forward to the center of the crowd.

"Ah, well, the interview will be after the competition is over," Young Master Bai calmly waved the helmet in his hand, "Let's talk about it after we win."

The assistant who was squeezed to the back row came over at this time, sorted out his thoughts and prepared to deal with the reporters, but unexpectedly found that the atmosphere was different from what he imagined.

The reporters did not come forward this time, nor did they rush up excitedly to ask about the competition like they did a few days ago. They kept a polite distance and stood apart, leaving a passage for Bai's Research Institute to go to the main venue.

There were many more reporters today than before, but the atmosphere was particularly silent.

Bai Li was also not used to it. After carefully distinguishing, he found that in addition to a few common faces since the start of the recruitment competition, there were also a few familiar faces.

The reporters who stayed at the main stadium were mostly employed by mecha-related publications, but now Bai Li saw several reporters from other platforms that he had dealt with before.

"Hold the helmet steady, the material is not strong and it is easy to break." Situ instructed, and then whispered, "Lin Sheng's incident was quite a big deal, and it is probably because of this."

The two of them knew in their hearts that it was not only the case of that year, but also the Tang family's scandal.

Bai Li was a little dazed. The fate of life was really unpredictable. He had once decided to spend his life under the prejudice, but he didn't expect that there would be a day when he could turn over.

The reporters did not ask questions eagerly, but just nodded silently when they looked at Bai Li. There were onlookers whispering, and someone called out Bai Li's name a few times, but no one asked any further questions.

People from the Bai Institute passed through the crowd under the flashing lights.

Someone next to him called out, "Major General Bai."

The voice sounded familiar, and Bai Li glanced to the side.

"It's been a few years," the man, whose clothes had the name of the newspaper printed on them, smiled and extended his hand to Bai Li, "I interviewed you before, do you still remember?"

"It's you," Bai Li smiled and shook his hand, "You were the only reporter who asked me in advance if he could interview me, but I was busy at the time, so I didn't accept."

"My last name is Li," said reporter Li, "I work for the Imperial Citizen Network."

The Imperial Citizen Network was also called the Imperial Citizen Society in the past.

It was also a rare news platform that took a positive view of the story after the tragic rescue mission that year, and the relevant reports were also followed up by this reporter Li.

Bai Li was quite impressed: "Why didn't you contact me later? I should have accepted it at that time."

"After that, I..." Reporter Li paused and said slowly, "Because of some work matters, I was transferred to a satellite planet and only recently returned to the main planet."

He didn't say it clearly, but Bai Li understood.

After the rescue mission happened that year, almost no one in the empire knew about it. Such a major accident was like a small stone falling into the water, causing an inconspicuous ripple and then quickly calmed down.

This little ripple was probably the reason why Reporter Li was transferred.

The old people who knew a little about the inside story were transferred or retired, not to mention the young reporters who planned to follow up and report.

The world is like a spider web connected by dense threads. On the surface, it seems that only Bai Li and a few people are affected by the moved threads, but there are also many people affected by the vibration.

"You've had a hard time these past few years, haven't you?" Bai Li didn't ask any more questions, just smiled.

"No, I've learned a lot these past few years." Reporter Li looked at him, pursed his lips, and his expression showed some recognition and respect. "I've learned that it's hard to keep your original intention, but we still have to stick to it."

His voice was not loud, but it was particularly clear because of the silence around him.

This was probably the most bookish and literati speech Bai Li had heard this month. He couldn't help laughing and patted Reporter Li on the shoulder: "Wait until all the competitions are over before you interview me again?"

Reporter Li smiled and nodded: "I wish you all the best."

"I wish you success." A reporter next to him echoed.

"Good luck in the competition, Major General Bai!" The onlookers shouted while holding up their personal terminals.

No one mentioned the things that had tortured Bai Li for many years, and no one asked too many questions about things that were not related to the competition. The researchers from Bai's Research Institute followed closely behind Bai Li. Situ patted Bai Li on the back and said, "Let's go. Time is almost up."

With the blessings of "Come on" and "Win", Bai Li walked towards the back door of the main stadium.

Jiang Hao and Lu Zhao had been waiting for a while. When they saw Bai Li coming, Jiang Hao shouted, "Here you are!"

Before Bai Li had time to say hello, he saw the people standing behind him stand up straight and salute Bai Li, "Major General!"

He was familiar with these faces.

In the rescue mission that year, all the comrades who acted with Bai Li and Jiang Hao except for the two of them were buried in the vast universe, and the people in front of him were either responsible for driving the warship or were members of the medical team that year.

They never met again after that. In a very short time, they were transferred to different satellite planets or retired early due to age.

Bai Li hadn't seen these comrades for many years. He was stunned for a few seconds before he came to his senses and smiled, "I have to change my words. I retired a long time ago."

"No," said the youngest one, "It has always been Major General Bai."

For a brief moment, Bai Li clenched the helmet in his hand.

People can resist sudden malice, but they are often at a loss when faced with a moment of bitterness.

"Come and watch the game," the retired medical captain smiled, "Adjutant Jiang said you will definitely win, and we will have a big dinner tonight."

"A big dinner!"

"A good meal!" Situ stretched his head and said, "One meal is not enough!"

Everyone laughed, Bai Li's palms were slapped by his old comrades, and Jiang Hao bumped shoulders with him.

"Beat that kid from the Tang family," Jiang Hao said, "Let him know that it's not that easy to get into the First Army!"

Bai Li said, "I'm good at this, beating people has always been my strong point."

Several old friends who rushed over from the affiliated stars got the quota to watch the game from their respective local army corps, and the retired soldiers also got admission qualifications through Jiang Hao. After saying hello, they all walked towards the ticket gate.

Lu Zhao had been standing in the back, leaning on the suspension car and watching Bai Li high-five those people he didn't know.

The reporters took photos from a distance and did not disturb him.

From the time they met until now, Bai Li was finally just Bai Li, not the Bai Li who married Lu Zhao.

After everyone had greeted him, Bai Li walked towards him, and raised his arm before he even reached him. Lu Zhao understood and accepted the hug.

"The time is too short to introduce them," Bai Li said, "You can get to know them after the game."

Lu Zhao said "hmm".

The two were so close that he could feel Bai Li's heartbeat. It was fast, but very powerful.

"You are very happy." Lu Zhao whispered, "They came to see you."

Bai Li's face rubbed against his shoulder, wiped away the moisture in his eyes without a trace, and whispered in Lu Zhao's ear: "It's like his mother's dream."

Bai Li's life is divided into two periods, and there are very few people who can participate in both periods.

Although Lu Zhao is unique, the time when he and Bai Li established a relationship is ranked very late.

He regretted that he never participated in Bai Li's most glorious years.

And these old comrades who were scattered to various satellite stars, in their impression, Bai Li is probably still the arrogant and domineering Major General Bai.

"Okay, I'm going in," Bai Li let go of her hand, "Xianhua, don't show up in front of the reporters too much. Go to the audience with Jiang Hao later."

Lu Zhao nodded, but did not let go of Bai Li's hand.

"Anything else?" Bai Li asked.

Situ had already called out from a distance, indicating that Bai Li was getting late.

Lu Zhao's lips moved, and he didn't know what to say.

He realized a problem for the first time today. Compared with Jiang Hao, Situ, and even Bai Li's former comrades-in-arms, he had participated in Bai Li's life for a very short time.

"Lu Zhao?" Bai Li called out again.

"It's okay." Lu Zhao replied.

Then he kissed Bai Li on the cheek.

The reporters not far away had not dispersed yet, and the people coming and going held up their personal terminals, filming the robots in operation.

Bai Li stood there, the warm and soft touch on his cheek made him feel as if he was soaked in warm water from head to toe, and he muttered something.

Lu Zhao didn't hear clearly.

"Have a bite from the right side too!" Young Master Bai said loudly.

Bai Li didn't need to think too much, there would definitely be a big quarrel on Starnet tomorrow.

It is estimated that in the eyes of many straight A, Lu Zhao's slightly forceful and ostentatious kiss is the evidence that Bai Li is a gigolo.

But Mr. Bai himself doesn't care. He is full of joy and walks with high spirits and says to Situ: "Hey, did you see it just now?"

Teacher Si said with a wooden face: "No."

"Impossible," Bai Li said, "You should have seen it very clearly from that angle. My left and right cheeks are--"

Situ pushed him: "Fuck you!"

The two pushed and cursed each other, and finally laughed so hard that they couldn't breathe.

The sound of metal hitting rang out on the main stage.

The researchers have turned on all their equipment and clapped their hands to encourage each other.

At the end of today, they will qualify for the finals.

"A big meal," Situ high-fived Baili, "One meal is not enough."

Baili put on his helmet: "Don't scold me."

"One meal is really not enough, there are so many old friends waiting in the audience," Situ said with his hands on his hips, "Don't let them down."

The main arena was still full of stars today, and the audience seats were full, but there seemed to be some subtle differences in the enthusiasm. The

virtual projections of white01 and LIN23 appeared on the main stage in turn. After another metal collision, the commentator's voice sounded: "The second game of the four-to-two match is about to start! The winner of this game will be on the stage of tomorrow's final! First of all, let us welcome the dark horse who broke into the heavy siege in this competition-Bai Li!"

After a final fistfight with Situ, Bai Li adjusted his helmet and walked towards the main stage under the starlight.

The helmet weakened some of the cheers from the outside world, but Bai Li could still hear countless people shouting his name.

More excited than before, they were waiting for Bai Li to step onto the stage and sit in the simulator.

Bai Li knew that they were watching Major General Bai.

Major General Bai, who had been walking alone in the darkness for many years, fought back into the starlight of the empire.

"——And the driver of the LIN23 model, which is known for its fierceness this year, Tang Kaiyuan!"

The news that had fermented overnight and morning took effect. When Tang Kaiyuan stepped onto the main stage, loud boos could be heard amid the cheers.

He was not wearing a helmet. Bai Li found that this man was energetic and his eyes were bright. There seemed to be some dark circles under his eyes due to lack of rest.

Although his body did not get enough rest, his complexion was the opposite. Tang Kaiyuan looked a little contradictory.

"Bai Li." Tang Kaiyuan's lips moved.

Bai Li did not walk directly to the simulation warehouse. He stood still, lifted the transparent mask of his helmet, and looked at Tang Kaiyuan's face coldly.

Tang Kaiyuan shifted the helmet to his left hand: "I said, see you on the court."

He stretched out his right hand, wanting to shake hands before the game.

Bai Li did not move. He held the mask of his helmet and said lightly: "If you get on the machine again, you will be completely useless."

In the noisy environment of the main stadium, the sound-receiving robot failed to accurately receive Bai Li's deliberately suppressed voice.

But Tang Kaiyuan, who was facing him, understood what Bai Li said between his lips.

Just when these few short words fell, a sense of fear captured Tang Kaiyuan.

Bai Li knew.

Bai Li knew from beginning to end.

The most secret secrets have been peeped at for a long time, and the peepers have been watching coldly, and perhaps even taking pleasure in the misfortune.

Tang Kaiyuan suddenly developed a strong hatred in his extreme fear.

He has experienced a huge sense of disparity in the past few days, from the high and mighty noble Tang Shaoye to a despicable person in the mouths of the media. His father's crazy reprimands and accusations last night seemed to still echo in his mind. The harsh remarks and ridicules from the outside world almost drove him crazy. After a sleepless

night, Tang Kaiyuan spent several hours browsing the Star Network, from social platforms to forum news platforms. Until the facts this morning, Tang has become a stinking joke.

He had to turn off his personal terminal so that he wouldn't have to read all the text messages from his former "friends".

Tang Kaiyuan didn't understand how things turned out like this.

He always felt that it shouldn't be like this.

"You know what," the hatred in Tang Kaiyuan's eyes almost turned into substance and penetrated Bai Li's chest, "You should have been disabled..."

He didn't finish, only his lips moved slightly, speaking words that only Bai Li could see.

"I roughly guessed what you were talking about recently." Bai Li put on the transparent mask and laughed, "That dream, right? I've had it."

It was as if a nerve was broken.

Tang Kaiyuan looked at Bai Li in a daze, what does it mean?

"My nightmare from childhood to adulthood, if it were you, it would be a dream." Bai Li gave him a thumbs up, "It's time for us to wake up, you little bastard."

The sound of metal collision rang out for the last time, and the drivers of both sides sat in the simulated cabin.

The competition between these brothers with different surnames is about to begin.