Chapter 412: Framed
“What’s this?”
Long Ming asked in astonishment, looking at the massive ships.
“It’s the Third Legion’s support fleet! We’re saved!”
Luoxue exclaimed in delight.
Just then, the Level 4 battleships opened innumerable launch bays.
WHOOSH!
A sky-spanning barrage of missiles poured out.
The dense volley of missiles shot past Long Ming and the others, striking the swarm behind them.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Innumerable explosions swept through the area, scattering the pursuing swarm in an instant.
The fleet paid no mind to Long Ming and the others, heading straight for Guangxiao Planet.
“Long Ming, get inside, quick!”
Luoxue shouted over the comms channel.
“Got it!”
Long Ming then entered through the ship’s emergency access hatch.
Soon, Long Ming walked into the control room.
“What’s the situation?”
“We’re okay,” Luoxue told Long Ming. “The ship took some damage, but it’s nothing serious.”
“Where are we headed next?”
“Back to Blacktan Fortress.”
“Okay,” Long Ming asked. “How long will the flight take?”
“At our current speed, it’ll take three days at minimum to reach Blacktan Fortress. We don’t have an FTL drive, after all,” Luoxue explained.
“Alright.”
Long Ming nodded.
Fu Fuqing then powered up the thrusters to maximum, and the small ship sped toward Blacktan Fortress.
…
「Three days later.」
The ship carrying Long Ming and the others returned to Blacktan Fortress.
As they disembarked from the ship,
Jing Chuan, Zhihan, and the others immediately surrounded them and asked with concern.
“Are you guys alright?”
“We’re fine,” Luoxue replied with a smile.
“That’s good. We were scared to death when we heard the Kunpeng was shot down.”
Zhihan and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sorry to make you worry. I’ll leave Doctor Finley and the others for you to settle in. I’m going to report on the rescue mission,” Luoxue instructed.
“Right!”
Everyone responded in agreement.
…
「That evening.」
Seventh Squad Warehouse, L District, 42nd Army.
Long Ming and the others were all waiting for Luoxue to return.
“Hey, how much military merit do you think we’ll get this time?”
“It should be at least 100 merit points!”
“In your dreams.”
…
Jing Chuan and the others chattered.
Just then, Luoxue walked back from a distance.
Everyone rushed up to greet her and asked excitedly.
“Sister Luoxue, how much military merit?”
“The preliminary approval was for 50 merit points. I’ve allocated 30 to Long Ming. The final count has to be verified by the higher-ups, so it won’t come down right away,” Luoxue said to Long Ming and the others.
“Fifty points? That’s quite a lot!”
“Long Ming, you have to treat us!”
“You just got here and you’ve already racked up a huge amount of merit.”
“Yeah, at this rate, you’ll probably get a promotion in no time.”
…
Jing Chuan and the others all said with beaming smiles.
“No problem. What do you guys want to eat?” Long Ming replied with a smile.
“Good booze and a hearty meal, of course!”
“There’s a barbecue place on the commercial street—the food is incredible!”
…
Jing Chuan and the others said excitedly.
“Let’s go, my treat!” Long Ming said to the group magnanimously.
“Let’s go!”
Luoxue and the others didn’t stand on ceremony with Long Ming.
They talked and laughed as they walked toward the moving platform.
While they were chatting happily,
they suddenly saw a man up ahead with a cold expression, dressed in a black uniform with a star pattern. He was leading a group of fully-armed soldiers escorting a group of non-commissioned officers away.
“What’s going on?”
“Isn’t that Bouton and his men from the Fifth Squad? Why are they being taken away?”
“No idea.”
…
Jing Chuan and the others had confused looks on their faces.
“Who are the people taking them away?” Long Ming asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Those soldiers are from the Third Legion, but their leader is from the Star Alliance’s special department—the Dark Abyss. That division specializes in investigating and trying officers, but they usually only handle high-ranking ones, right?”
Qian Wei was also very confused.
Just as they were feeling very perplexed,
a man in a black, star-patterned uniform with a scar across his left eye and a cold gaze walked straight up to Luoxue and the others with a group of soldiers.
Luoxue and the others tensed up instantly.
Long Ming’s heart sank as he quickly reviewed his recent actions. ‘Did I slip up somewhere?’
‘These people are clearly here to arrest us.’
“I am Kazir of the Dark Abyss. Who is the captain of the Seventh Squad?” Kazir asked in a cold voice.
“I am the captain of the Seventh Squad, Luoxue,” Luoxue stepped forward and said.
“Very good. Assemble all your personnel!” Kazir said to Luoxue.
“Right!”
Luoxue immediately raised her wristband and sent a message to all her team members.
Soon, all the squad members were assembled.
Kazir said in a cold voice,
“Now open your safes. We need to conduct an inspection.”
“Sir Kazir, we have no objection to you inspecting our safes. However, shouldn’t you provide a valid reason and present a warrant?” Luoxue asked, staring at Kazir.
“A large quantity of supplies went missing from the Kunpeng. We’re investigating the matter. Here’s the warrant!”
Kazir held up a document for everyone to see.
Long Ming’s expression didn’t change when he heard Kazir, but he was secretly on high alert.
“Fine.”
Luoxue and the others all opened their safes.
Long Ming also opened his.
Kazir then waved his hand at the soldiers, and they spread out to search Luoxue and her team’s area.
He personally went forward to inspect everyone’s safes. When he checked Long Ming’s safe, he couldn’t help but glance at him.
‘This guy actually has a Third Generation Mechanical God.’ He didn’t say anything, though.
Soon, Kazir had inspected everyone’s safes and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Just then, a group of soldiers walked over, carrying some Level 3 ore.
“Sir, we found some ore.”
“How is that possible? That ore isn’t ours.”
Luoxue and the others’ faces changed drastically when they saw the ore.
Long Ming’s brow furrowed. Clearly, someone had heard about the investigation into the stolen supplies and planted the ore in their area.
Kazir said coldly to Luoxue and the others,
“Whether or not the ore is yours, don’t be in a hurry to argue. Everyone who participated in the rescue mission is coming with us.”
“Alright. Everyone is to cooperate with the Dark Abyss’s investigation. No one is to resist!” Luoxue instructed everyone with a grave expression.
The Dark Abyss department had a notoriously bad reputation. Anyone who went against them rarely met a good end; many who went in never came out again.
That was why Luoxue specifically warned everyone not to get into a conflict with them.
“Let’s go!”
Kazir waved his hand.
The soldiers came forward and escorted Long Ming and the others away.
They arrived at the moving platform in L District, only to see many other non-commissioned officers just like them being escorted over.
Everyone looked grim, and some were even trembling uncontrollably.
Clearly, the guilt of some had already been sealed.