Chapter 442: Liu Linfeng Seeks an Audience
“I can’t say I’m that confident, but I have a few leads,” Ji Wuque said, enduring the others’ probing gazes.
Upon hearing Ji Wuque, the others’ expressions grew complicated.
Even though they were cooperating for now, deep down, each of them hoped their own faction would reap the greatest rewards.
Ning Xuan’s personal value was incalculable, of course. But she had returned from the New Star Body with countless Prajna Fruits—who knew what other treasures she might possess? Naturally, they wanted to get their hands on those treasures as well.
“Brother Ji, if you capture Ning Xuan first, let’s not talk about anything else—at the very least, you have to share some of the Prajna Fruits with us. We can trade other resources with you for them. Of course, the same rule applies if anyone else gets to her. What do you all think?” Gu Qingkong from the Starry Sky Academy scanned the group and said with a smile.
“I agree. However, no one knows how many Prajna Fruits Ning Xuan has or how many she can part with. Since we’re all relying on our own skills to capture her, whoever succeeds first, the rest must honor our agreement. No backstabbing, no infighting.” Ji Wuque wasn’t actually willing to trade the Prajna Fruits. He could agree verbally for now, but once he captured Ning Xuan and got his hands on her belongings, the number of Prajna Fruits would be whatever he said it was.
Seeing Ji Wuque’s demeanor, the others grew uneasy. They had all been using their own covert methods, but with no significant results. They had no idea what progress Ji Wuque had made. And while they had agreed to work together to capture Ning Xuan, for their own self-interest, each of them hoped to be the one to get her under their control.
“Brother Ji, Ning Xuan seems to know we’re watching her; she refuses to leave Central Star. I created a great deal of trouble for the Heavenly Might Corps just to lure Yun Han over to the New Star Body. I originally thought that with Ning Xuan’s fondness for Yun Han, combined with her gains on the New Star Body, she might be tempted to follow him there. But she ended up staying behind, and she hasn’t even left the main defensive zone. Do you have a good way to get Ning Xuan to leave Central Star? Do you need us to help?” Mo Changsheng said, probing for information.
His statement served two purposes: to inform the others of his contribution to the effort to trap Ning Xuan, and to test Ji Wuque in hopes of prying some useful information out of him.
“To capture Ning Xuan, we don’t necessarily need her to leave Central Star. As long as you’re willing to pay the price, it’s not impossible to snatch her, even if she stays in her villa on Qingluan Mountain,” Ji Wuque said meaningfully.
The others fell silent.
They all understood what Ji Wuque meant. The problem was, Central Star was a unique place. The cost of trying anything in a core area like the Qingluan Mountain villas would be astronomical.
On Central Star, ever since the incident at the auction house, Yu Mingche had been secretly setting a trap. Relying on the keen intuition of High-level Spirit Controllers, Qinghe and Di Youlin had identified three suspicious individuals among the auction house staff and the villa district’s security team within just a few days. A series of investigations revealed that one of the three had a close relative being controlled by the Ji Family. The other two had been replaced by impostors using a Secret Technique. After these three were exposed, the report to Central Star’s investigative bureau implicated a dozen more public officials with questionable ties. Since then, Central Star’s entire security system had been undergoing a new wave of rigorous checks.
“Contractor, a man is outside asking for an audience. He claims to be your subordinate and says he already left you a message, only daring to come visit after receiving your permission.” Nine-tailed was kneeling beside Ning Xuan reading her important documents when Di Youlin came in to report.
Ning Xuan raised her hand, and Nine-tailed instantly fell silent. Many people wished to visit her, but most were stopped outside the villa district. To be able to enter the area and find her villa, the person must have used a permit she had issued.
“Let him in.” Ning Xuan already knew who the visitor was.
“General, I’ve finally gotten to see you!” Liu Linfeng’s voice was thick with emotion, and tears welled in his eyes as he walked in and saw Ning Xuan sitting poised in her chair.
Though Ning Xuan was dressed as a woman, her sharp gaze and powerful aura immediately allowed Liu Linfeng to recognize her.
Back on the battlefield, Ning Xuan had disguised herself as a man for convenience. She had used makeup to darken her skin and give herself a scar. She only reverted to her natural complexion after her Yinglong awakened.
So, even though Liu Linfeng had seen Ning Xuan’s true appearance before, he couldn’t help the flicker of awe in his eyes as he looked at her stunningly beautiful face now.
“You’ve always completed the missions I’ve assigned you well. You said you had something to report in person. What is so important that it required you to come here?” Ning Xuan asked, her brow furrowing.
Liu Linfeng was a subordinate Ning Xuan had recruited on an S-Class Resource Star in an Edge Star System when she was out adventuring on her own. At the time, she had only wanted to experience life on the interstellar battlefield and temper her own Combat Power. She never expected to rack up military honors and gain a group of die-hard loyal subordinates.
When Ning Xuan left the battlefields of the Edge Star System and returned to the Second Legion Headquarters, Liu Linfeng and the others had wanted to follow her. However, Ning Xuan refused and instead assigned tasks to each of them, instructing them to work for her in the shadows.
Over the past year or so, Liu Linfeng and his men had completed Ning Xuan’s assignments exceptionally well. With the backing of her resources, most of them had established considerable influence in their respective domains, accomplishing a great deal for her.
“General, I suspect our communications are being monitored. It seems someone is aware that we are working for you. A couple of days ago, one of our brothers was urging everyone to come request an audience with you. His behavior was extremely abnormal. I felt something wasn’t right, so I investigated him covertly. I discovered something very bizarre… It seems he’s been replaced by an impostor. I didn’t dare alert him, so I used the fact that everyone wanted to see you as a pretext to come and report my findings in person,” Liu Linfeng said, his voice laced with worry.