He couldn’t casually summon her anymore. Offering benefits wouldn’t work, either. Wen Jun decided to play hardball.
Never mind that using force was a bad look, or that this woman had strong backing. In his eyes, Jiang Qiuqiu merely had the upper hand in public opinion. She was on Q3 Planet now, on his turf. Wasn’t she completely at his mercy?
There wasn’t a single little girl out there who wasn’t terrified of harsh reality.
Qiuqiu was forcibly "invited" away.
Little President Qian refused to let those heavily armed soldiers take Qiuqiu away. Amidst the struggle, a gun barrel ended up aimed directly at Qian Xingxing’s forehead.
The scene instantly plunged into dead silence.
Qiuqiu’s expression turned chillingly sharp as she instantly erected a wall with her spiritual power. Unlike other Spirit Healing Masters, she wasn’t defenseless. In fact, thanks to her systematic training, she was more than capable of protecting herself against a small squad of soldiers.
"Little President Qian, let it be.
"Let me go."
"No!" The man grabbed the uniforms of the soldiers. "If she has to go, I’m going with her!"
The number of targets couldn’t be reduced, but bringing along extras didn’t matter. Little President Qian and Qiuqiu both got into the beat-up vehicle.
In the car, Little President Qian secretly sent a message to Dean Zhu. As a result, by the time Jiang Qiuqiu arrived at the Captain’s office, what was supposed to be a solo trip had become a trio. Dean Zhu and Little President Qian stood on either side of her, faintly forming a protective formation.
The meeting took place in the same lavish, Chinese-style office where every inch of space was worth its weight in gold.
Captain Wen looked a bit more haggard than before. Upon seeing Jiang Qiuqiu, he stood right up. Before Qiuqiu had a chance to speak, he let out a few cold sneers.
"Youth truly breeds heroes.
"Dean Zhu and Boss Qian came along as well.
"It seems you are very afraid that I might do something."
Qiuqiu did not speak. Dean Zhu remained silent as well, leaving the two sides at a stalemate.
However, this standoff didn’t last long because Wen Jun had Qian Xingxing and Dean Zhu escorted out. He was about to unleash his ultimate move, and having people standing by Jiang Qiuqiu’s side would only hinder his performance.
The soldiers dragged the two men away. Only Wen Jun, his tall secretary, and four or five dark-skinned soldiers wielding Energy Guns remained in the room. Almost every single one of them was taller than Qiuqiu. They surrounded her from all four directions, every single one of them raising their muzzles. In combat, this was an extremely oppressive formation.
"You should know why you were invited here," Wen Jun said.
Qiuqiu glanced at him. "Yes, I know."
"It seems you’re a bit smarter than I thought." Wen Jun nodded, appearing satisfied with Jiang Qiuqiu’s answer. "Turn on your terminal. You can start explaining. Regardless of what you say, in short, you need to quell the storm on the internet." He looked incredibly entitled, adopting an imperious posture as if dictating the fate of the world.
"Why should I explain?" Qiuqiu remained expressionless. Even when facing the Captain of a planet, her face showed no fear. "Did I do something wrong?"
Her words easily enraged Wen Jun.
"So you’ve chosen to do this the hard way!?"
Anger caused emotional fluctuations, leading to spiritual instability. In the span of a single breath, Jiang Qiuqiu swiftly released the tendrils of her spiritual power.
There were six enemies in the room. Four were armed. The secretary was too far away and lacked importance. Wen Jun held the highest status. She planned it all out: she would control Wen Jun and the gunmen behind her, then snatch an Energy Gun. With hostages in hand, stalling for time wouldn’t be a problem! When the time came, she would strike.
In a mere instant, she had formulated a countermeasure. Right at that moment, the light screen on the side lit up.
This was the same thing Wen Jun had shown Dean Zhu, only the version presented to Qiuqiu was far bloodier. In addition to the accompanying text, there were several pictures.
—Shot to death at home. The glass and the bed were covered in a splattered mixture of white and red.
The subsequent ruling: Suicide.
—Death by poisoning. The entire body had turned purple. Someone had pried open the corpse’s mouth, and a massive amount of bloody water flowed down from the neck, leaving a puddle of mixed fluids clinging to the clothes.
The appraisal: An onset of illness, Gene Defect Syndrome, death.
—Out on a work trip to gather materials. Fingers severed, feet crushed...
The appraisal: Fell from a cliff top, accidental death.
Case after case, tragedy after tragedy flashed before her eyes. These had been vibrant, young lives. The holographic images were incredibly sharp, retaining every gruesome detail with complete clarity. Jiang Qiuqiu felt a sudden wave of nausea. But it wasn’t toward the pictures. It was toward Wen Jun!
She turned her head to look at him. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I’m simply telling you to think carefully about where you are and whose turf you’re on. Don’t think you can rest easy just because you know a few old folks.
"If you break the taboos, you won’t even know how you died."
Break the taboos? For a split second, Qiuqiu couldn’t help but wonder what taboos she had broken and what kind of secrets Q3 Planet held. She was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"Well, have you thought it through?" Wen Jun demanded. "If you haven’t, I can help you out," he said, a malicious smile appearing on his face.
"How exactly do you plan to help me?" In the split second of turning her head back, Jiang Qiuqiu covertly linked into Wen Jun’s Sea of Spirit Power.
Sure enough, this fat-brained fool’s Sea of Spirit Power was completely empty. She slipped in with effortless ease. Next, Qiuqiu only needed to activate her spiritual power to do a multitude of things. She could force him to his knees instantly, leaving him limp, powerless, and reduced to a puddle of fat, subjecting both his spirit and body to utter agony.
Meanwhile, Wen Jun had just opened his mouth, ordering the armed soldiers in the four corners to shoot through Jiang Qiuqiu’s legs first. "It doesn’t matter. You only need your upper half in the frame to explain everything on the livestream anyway."
Just as his voice fell, the office doors were violently kicked open.
The deafening CRASH drew everyone’s attention. The heavy wooden doors slammed against the walls. Seconds later, a squad of soldiers clad in dark green uniforms and armed with the highest-end military weapons leaned in slightly and swiftly breached the room. In the blink of an eye, they subdued the four gunmen in the corners.
The terrifying sight of those uniforms immediately sent Wen Jun into a panic. He started screaming, "Guards! Captain!"
His voice pierced through the entire floor, but no one responded. Something was terribly wrong.
His heart sank. Almost subconsciously, he pulled an infrared laser gun from his pocket and took a step forward, intending to take a hostage. But in that split second, Jiang Qiuqiu suddenly shifted backward. He looked up in astonishment just as a cold, circular gun barrel was abruptly pressed against the center of his brow.
Yet, far more astonishing than the threat to his life was the face that appeared before him—a face that absolutely no interstellar person could ever fail to recognize.
"Ad-Admiral Mo Si!?"
Clad in a green military uniform, the tall, slender man with a gaze as cold as a blade held the "delicate" Jiang Qiuqiu with one hand while pressing the gun against Wen Jun with the other.
When Mo Si applied force, the silver barrel nearly shattered his forehead. The sheer impact shoved Wen Jun straight to the floor. Mo Si shot him a cold glance and swiftly tilted his hand. A red light flashed from the muzzle, and a scorching beam shot right through Wen Jun’s knee.
A soul-searing agony tore a piercing shriek from Wen Jun’s throat. Infrared burns produced no blood, but all the surrounding tissue would be thoroughly cooked.
Following his shriek, he collapsed on the floor, wailing in misery. Seeing his boss in such a state, the secretary’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out on the ground.
The man on the ground was still conscious. Mo Si angled his body slightly, shielding Qiuqiu behind him, and took a step forward. The hard sole of his military boot ground into the back of Wen Jun’s hand. Wen Jun let out low cries of pain, curling up like a cooked shrimp.
"I-Illegal punishment," Wen Jun gasped. Tears and snot streamed down his face, but he was still trying to excuse himself. "The military and the government are separate! Y-You—"
"Captain of Q3 Planet, Wen Jun? I am Admiral Mo Si of the Expeditionary Army. I am formally notifying you that you are under arrest.
"For the foreseeable future, I will be taking over Q3 and subjecting you to a military tribunal."
The moment his words fell, all the soldiers in the office sprang into action. They immediately pushed aside the Q3 flag and various ornaments in the original office, hanging a military flag and a commander’s flag directly behind the massive desk.
Hiding at the doorway and peeking inside, Qian Xingxing was dumbfounded. His mind was completely consumed with a single track of thought:
Reinforcements?
An Admiral?
Reinforcements?
An Admiral?
Special protection reinforcements meant Admiral Mo Si?!
Could their company genuinely afford to host a streamer of this caliber?!
Amidst his sheer shock, Qiuqiu and Mo Si’s gazes met for a brief second.
Across the endless journey of the stars.
Just for this very moment.
In that fleeting exchange of glances, they seemed to silently speak a shared language:
"Are you okay? I’m fine.
"Long time no see. I missed you so much."