Chapter 18: Leaf Imprint

“Here it is, cheapskate.”

Without “others,” the meeting room was instantly quiet.

Chu Rong pretended that he had forgotten to drive out Qiao Zhiya, an “irrelevant person.” He kicked the middle-aged fat man who was still lying on the ground and said, “I will give you three minutes. I can’t tell you any valuable clues. I don’t mind listing the crimes you committed in the Federation and then send you back to the Empire.”

The middle-aged fat man, Bart, was terrified when he heard the words. He didn’t care about the painful fat all over his body. He got up from the ground and quickly said, “Before I left home, I secretly hid a mini space button on my body that was not found by the mine thieves when they caught me. After I got here, I bought an old protective suit with the contents of the space button. I also got some news, I…”

“Just say the important point.” Chu Rong interrupted his nonsense and deliberately checked the time, “You have two minutes left.”

Bart choked. He quickly swallowed the nonsense he had started to talk about and directly said, “The newcomer told me that he is actually a member of the Federation. If I provide him with enough money, he can bring me into the mining theft organization and settle down in the Federation. Believe me, what I said is true! If you don’t believe me, you can call the mine thief to come and confront him!”

“What if you are conspiring with each other to try to confuse the Federation and cause internal strife?” Xiang Hui interjected, with a look of ‘I’m very smart, you don’t want to deceive us wise Federalists.’ He frowned and looked at Chu Rong, trying to persuade him, “Marshal Chu, this vile person’s words are not credible, I think—”

Chu Rong didn’t even look at him and waved to Lin Zhen: “Let’s interrogate them. Bring all the mine thieves who have been in contact with him.”

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Nkd Hbld pvsse wr yde oyzjle swv sq vbl nsdqlaldnl assx okvbswv pyukdt y osae.

Mbl yvvkvwel sq vbl svbla ryavu xyel kv nzlya vbyv bl oyp tskdt vs valyv bkx yp yka. Dkydt Twk zssjle yv Jyav, obs oyp pbakdjkdt vs vbl pkel. Tl oydvle vs bkv bkx yde czsnj bkp xswvb!

Ekvbkd y qlo xkdwvlp, Nkd Hbld alvwadle okvb plhlayz rlsrzl.

“Rv’p bkx! Tl oyp vbl sdl obs rasxkple vs blzr xl! Tl’p y Wlelayz!” Jyav rskdvle vs sdl sq vbl uswdtla zssjkdt xkdl vbklhlp yde pbswvle.

Mbl uswdt xkdl vbklq oyp yv y zspp. Tl eked’v jdso obu bl yde bkp svbla nsxrydksdp olal caswtbv swv. Gv vbkp vkxl, pllkdt Jyav, bl oyp pbsnjle yde vbswtbv ycswv kv. Tl kxxlekyvlzu wdelapvsse obyv oyp tskdt sd. Tkp lmralppksd ycawrvzu pvkqqldle yde bl pvladzu pbswvle, “Ebs yal usw?! R esd’v jdso usw, ps esd’v vyzj dsdpldpl!”

Usdnladkdt bkp sod pyqlvu, Jyav kxxlekyvlzu czlo wr yde ulzzle, “Jlzz, esd’v ralvlde vs cl pvwrke! R tyhl usw ps xydu tsse vbkdtp. Mblal’p yzps y nbykd caynlzlv sq knl naupvyzp kd kv. Mblal yal sdzu plhlayz sq vblx kd vbl ldvkal Oxrkal. Psd’v pyu usw esd’v byhl vblx!”

Ubw Ssdt zssjle yv Nkd Hbld. Nkd Hbld wdelapvsse, srldle vbl qkzl, zssjle yv kv, yde alrzkle, “Mbl xkdl vbklq, Jlzz, obs nzykxle vs cl yd Oxrkal U-nzypp rzydlv alpkeldv, bye vball prynl cwvvsdp sd bkp cseu obld bl oyp nywtbv. Mblal oyp kdelle y nbykd caynlzlv sq knl naupvyzp kdpkel.”

Jlzz’p lmralppksd nbydtle yde bl cltyd vs altalv bkp kdkvkyz talle.

The other mine thieves probably understood what was going on. At ordinary times, they would definitely want to take the bad things off of Bell but at this time they were not in the mood to take care of him, and only minimized their presence. Beads of sweat could be seen on their forehead. How could the Xiang family be here? Could it be that their identities have been exposed? Could they still use their Empire’s identity to escape through a loophole this time?

Chu Rong observed their reactions one by one. Finally looking at Bell, he asked, “Which one of the Federals sent you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Bell ignored him and slowly approached his companions’ side. He stiffly said, “I am a resident of the Empire. You Federal people have no right to detain me. I want to return to my home country!”

Chu Rong was impatient to talk nonsense with him and looked at Bart again in a quiet tone, “I need more detailed clues and identification. You must have it in your hands, right?”

Obviously, he had a perfect and beautiful face, but his aura was so terrible… Bart trembled, just about to say that he really only knew this. His eyes swept over Chu Rong’s white hair, which made his facial features become more cold and harder. Something flashed in his mind and his eyes suddenly widened.

The Federal Chu family was a big family that lasted for more than a thousand years. Their family’s main characteristics were their black hair and black eyes. However, this generation had a member with a strange natural white hair, that was, the second young master of the Chu family who was born with an SSS-level spiritual aptitude, Chu Rong!

According to legend, the second young genius of the Chu family witnessed his parents sacrifice themselves in the human and insect¹[Not sure if it pertains to Zerg, the kind of insects that are the common enemy of humanity in interstellar novels.] battle ten years ago. His spiritual power was destroyed and was greatly stimulated. His temperament became irritable. He killed indiscriminately and his patience became extremely poor. He disliked other people’s disobedience and resistance. Even if the Royal princes and princesses of the Imperial family saw this, they could only do nothing but shrunk with their tails between their legs. The most important thing was that because of the sacrifices and decisive contributions of the second young master of the Chu family and his parents in that tragic battle, the second young master of Chu had some privileges in some aspects, such as being able to directly execute a prisoner who made him unhappy without carrying responsibility…

Now, on the Chu family’s warship, he actually saw a man with white hair who was suspected to be the leader.

He remembered that he had just yelled in agony without knowing the height of the sky, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. The survival instinct made his mind spin wildly and some details that had been ignored before popped up and jumped around in his head.

“I remember!” He suddenly shouted with excitement, comically waving his hand, “When I got the old protective suit, an old communicator fell from it, and then the communicator was snatched by Bell. I glanced at the screen of the communicator and saw that there was a faint badge pattern on it, like a family badge, with a white background and a silver pattern. It looked like the side of a mecha head—” He abruptly stopped and thought of the family in the Federation using this badge. He turned his head in horror to look at Xiang Hui who was wearing a white military uniform and then his heart was pierced by the opponent’s cold gaze.

Chu Rong also looked at Xiang Hui and the corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a smile that was not a smile.

Xiang Hui retracted his gaze, adjusted his cuffs gracefully, and suddenly moved his fingers.

The several mine thieves huddled on the side like a backdrop suddenly and violently rushed towards Bart. When Fan Xiangnan and Lin Zhen saw this, their eyes turned sharp and they stepped forward to stop them. Qiao Zhiya, who was standing behind Fan Xiangnan, was short and flexible, and was able to rush to Bart first. He then took the ball out of his storage ring and threw it towards the thieves who came rushing.

“Go!” The ball expanded in mid-air, all the vines spread out, waving towards the mine thieves and tying several people tightly.

“Wonderful.” Chu Rong got up and clapped his hands. He stepped forward and threw Bart to Fan Xiangnan. He stood beside Qiao Zhiya and blocked Xiang Hui from looking at him. He knocked on the table and asked almost cordially, “Colonel Xiang , I think we need to talk.”

Several federal officials sitting next to Xiang Hui moved aside without a trace, wishing they had never been to this conference room. They were just small shrimps who had no real power and lived by the four major families. Knowing too much was not a good thing for them.

“Indeed.” Xiang Hui suppressed his emotions in his heart and forced a smile. He also stood up, looked at Chu Rong, and said, “I heard that the family flagship that was damaged by the Chu family in the last war has returned. What kind of rare materials are missing for repairs? Maybe the Xiang family can help.”

This is the matter of negotiating conditions for private matters, this Xiang Hui was good at finding a breakthrough point.

Chu Rong looked at several federal officials next to him and politely said, “Dinner time is almost here. Why don’t you go to dinner first?” 

The federal officials got up and ran without hesitation as if they were granted amnesty.

Qiao Zhiya glanced at Chu Rong’s back, who was in front of him, and then at the ball that was still tying the thieves. He gloomily threw a sentence, “Take care of the ball and return it to me once you’re done.” He also turned and left.

With Xiang Hui here, Chu Rong naturally pretended not to hear his words, and even his expression did not change.

Fan Xiangnan followed Qiao Zhiya by sending Bart out.

“Thank you very much for today.” Fan Xiangnan covered Bart’s five senses with an enclosed shield, followed Qiao Zhiya, and gently said.

“I’m the one who’s troubling you.” Qiao Zhiya looked back at him, slowed down to match his speed, thought for a while, and took out a small pouch embroidered with leaves from the storage ring. He handed it over and said, “Help me hand it over to—” Halfway through, he remembered that the White-Haired Monster had never told him his name and his face became more strained.

“Help me give it to him.” After putting the small pouch into Fan Xiangnan’s hand, he quickly walked back to his room with drooping ears.

Fan Xiangnan watched him leave, glanced at the obviously hand-made small pouch in his hand, and sighed amusedly and heartily— the child’s feelings were all written to his face.

After an hour of controversial talk, Xiang Hui hurriedly left with his own people. When he left, his expression was so terrible that he could not even bother to pretend. The federal officials who were watching the wind bid their farewells and then ran away, not daring to stay on Chu Rong’s warship anymore.

It was so simple to send away obtrusive people and severely hit the unpleasant Xiang family. Ancestor Chu was in a good mood and he was about to go to dinner when he received a small pouch brought by Fan Xiangnan with a smile.

He glanced at the leaf imprints on his pocket, moved in his heart, and asked, “Did he not eat yet?”

Fan Xiangnan nodded and replied, “I think he didn’t.  He went straight back to his room after he left the meeting room.”

Chu Rong squeezed his small pouch and ordered, “Let the kitchen send two dinners to his room and prepare more fruits.”

Fan Xiangnan asked knowingly, “Two?” 

Chu Rong gave him a cold look, without replying, and went out towards the E1 area.

He was hammering the parts in their crucial areas to his target shape when the door of the room was suddenly knocked. Chu Rong’s voice came from outside the door. Qiao Zhiya’s hand shook, the hammer tilted, and the parts skewed. He straightened his face, hit himself twice, each with his left hand and his right hand. He then put down his hammer and went forward to open the door.

“Is there something?” he asked gloomily.

Chu Rong glanced at his drooping head and unspirited ear tips. He raised his hand and pinched, grabbed the back of his neck, entered his room, and closed the door. He glanced at the scattered parts, tools, and incomplete small mecha. He put him down, rubbed his hair, and asked, “Do you like mechas?”

Qiao Zhiya covered his head and sat on the floor beside the bed. He was downcast for a while and then he nodded honestly— The other party had helped him so much. Ignoring the other party for such trivial things as not knowing his name was too capricious and disgusting.

Such a grumpy kid.

Chu Rong retracted his gaze, sat on the floor like him, reached out to pull at his ear, and said, “Not good.” After he retracted his hand, he took out a mecha model from his space button and placed it directly in front of him.

“Here it is, cheapskate.”

The fineness of the official mecha model couldn’t be compared with that of the children’s toy version he could search in his light brain. Qiao Zhiya immediately forgot to be angry and closed his hands carefully to hold up the mecha. He touched its arms and legs, looked at the weapon slot and at the mini cockpit. His eyes were bright and his face almost overflowed with love.

Chu Rong sat and looked at his joyful appearance and suddenly felt very warm and relaxed at this moment. His expression unconsciously relaxed— it turned out that it feels this way of raising a pet and it was not bad.

In his chest pocket, the magic stone engraved with magic arrays was slowly rotating, absorbing all the “negative things” he could feel.