Chapter 87: Escape

Lily was crying her heart out in the interrogation room, her face smeared with tears and snot.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just hitching a ride,” she sobbed. “Did I get Mr. Tanaka in trouble? Please, don’t blame Mr. Tanaka. He was just trying to help me…”

“He’s really a good person. There was a boy at our place who got sick. He only had regional insurance, not universal insurance, so his regional insurance was useless on the capital planet. He kept enduring it, and his condition got worse and more expensive to treat. Mr. Tanaka found out and made sure he got medical attention, even paying for his treatment.”

“Everyone at our place knows Mr. Tanaka is a good man. Wuu wuu… Please, I’m the one to blame. I shouldn’t have complained to Mr. Tanaka. He was just being sympathetic…”

Outside the interrogation room, the woman in the black suit watched the proceedings on the screen with a grim expression.

An officer exited the interrogation room and reported to her, “She’s a nightclub hostess who has been struggling on the capital planet and couldn’t afford a ticket home. She met Tanaka at the nightclub, and he arranged for her to hitch a ride on Allison’s ship. She covered her face with a hat and mask to avoid causing trouble for Tanaka. After all, it was private use of a public ship. The man who picked her up is a neighbor from her hometown and a childhood friend. The person in charge of the ship was a minor supervisor in Allison’s technical support department, and he’s Tanaka’s lover. These people… are all clean.”

Yes, these people were all clean, but the whole situation was problematic.

Dr. Jiang Miao had executed a perfect escape under their stringent surveillance. She had vanished!

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Tanaka hid the K70. Jiang Miao personally modified it, erasing any traceable information and reprogramming the core with new behavior patterns.

The day after Yan He left, Jiang Miao went to the company to take a leave of absence. She entered the company as herself and left as the K70.

The national security spy drones, monitoring from high above, didn’t notice the subtle differences. If Major Yan He hadn’t known Jiang Miao so well, it might have taken several days before they realized something was wrong.

“Sir, a communication from the capital planet!” an officer shouted.

The woman in the black suit responded immediately, “Put it through!”

A holographic screen unfolded, and her subordinate on the capital planet reported, “Sorry, no leads. Min Tanaka doesn’t know when Jiang Miao left or where she went.”

“Did you use a lie detector?”

“Monitored the whole time. He didn’t lie.”

“Send me the text transcript.”

Reading the transcript was faster than watching the video playback. The woman in the black suit skimmed through it rapidly:

Where did Jiang Miao go?

“I don’t know.”

You’re Abetting Treason

“Treason? Are you kidding? Who committed treason? What’s your evidence? You think saying treason makes it so? I could say you’re a spy from an enemy nation!”

Did you know in advance that Jiang Miao would escape our surveillance?

“Escape is not the right word; getting away is more accurate. Of course, I knew. Her child was kidnapped by a scumbag, she’s taken a huge loss. Knowing her personality… you really don’t understand her at all. Jiang Miao would never let this slide. Honestly, the fact that she waited this long to act shows your surveillance was pretty tight. But seriously, if I knew, won’t you know?”

When, from where, and how did she escape?

“I don’t know.”

How can you not know?

“Because I just don’t know.”

Three weeks ago, the Foundation ship of Allison’s technical support department left the capital planet. You escorted a young East Asian woman onto the ship, correct?

“Yes, Lily, a hostess. She couldn’t make it on the capital planet and couldn’t afford a ticket home. Her hometown is in the Blue Cloud System, where our company has a factory. We often have ships traveling there, so I let her hitch a ride. This kind of thing, the company doesn’t care about, and it doesn’t break any laws. Are you detaining me illegally for this?”

The woman in the black suit massaged her aching temples and asked, “Is everything he said true?”

“Yes, ma’am. Tanaka Min has not lied; he genuinely doesn’t know where Jiang Miao went.”

“Did you take a blood test?”

“Yes, he hasn’t taken any sedatives or other drugs. Everything he said is completely…”

The woman in the black suit slashed her hand through the air, pushing away the holographic screen, cursing, “Damn it!”

Tanaka Min had completely cleared himself. There was no evidence to charge him with treason—he was telling the truth.

He genuinely didn’t know.

Could he really have nothing to do with Jiang Miao’s escape? Pure coincidence? Or did Jiang Miao, using her colleagues’ identities, cleverly exploit Tanaka Min’s information?

Time rewinds.

Jiang Miao and Tanaka crouched together in a virtual setting.

“One important principle—you must not be implicated,” Jiang Miao said. “You only help me find a shell. As for when I leave, where I go, and how I leave, I won’t tell you a word.”

“Okay, one-way information. This way, I truly know nothing,” Tanaka agreed. “No worries about lie detectors, I’m completely in the clear.”

Tanaka was responsible for finding Lily and obtaining a K70 from Dr. Taylor. As for Jiang Miao’s plans, he didn’t ask.

But he shared his schedule with Jiang Miao, who adjusted her plans accordingly. She pretended to be swayed by Major Yan He, confusing him and advancing her plans at the right time.

The day after Major Yan He left, she went to the company, retrieved and activated the K70, letting it leave in her place. She herself hid in the company.

After work, she placed a thin metal ring resembling a headband on her forehead. The ring activated, covering her face with an electromagnetic wave disguise.

This device worked like the chip Yan He had clipped to his nose. Jiang Miao had figured out how it worked while watching the surveillance footage. Allison didn’t have this tech, but Jiang Miao could easily replicate it using lab equipment.

Not sure about the capacity of the fake Yan He’s device, Jiang Miao had stored multiple identities in her creation.

To ensure Tanaka’s innocence, she personally obtained the identity information, all belonging to people she knew.

Using a colleague’s identity, she passed through the company’s security gates and left. Then, using a university classmate’s identity, she bought a ticket and boarded a public ship.

The automated or robotic security and ticket-checking systems were extremely convenient for her.

While Tanaka was seeing Lily off onto the company ship, Jiang Miao also boarded silently, gazing out the porthole at the capital planet.

At that moment, the National Security Bureau was still monitoring the fake “Jiang Miao” at home.

Everything went according to plan.

The woman in the black suit knew the mission was a complete failure. Even someone as experienced as her couldn’t help but feel dejected.

She waved her hand, signaling everyone to pack up.

Her subordinates, not wanting to provoke her further, quietly gathered their things.

The woman went to the break room. Normally, she could have a robot bring her a drink, but going herself meant she wanted some peace.

However, someone else was already there.

“Major?” The woman in the black suit sighed, not at all surprised to see who it was.

Major Yan He was holding a cup of coffee. He looked up at her, “Is it over?”

The woman replied, “It’s over.”

The break room was quiet for a moment before she spoke, “We were completely outplayed by her.”

“Yeah, completely outplayed,” Yan He stared at the coffee in his cup. It had gone cold, not a trace of warmth left.

After a long silence, he finally couldn’t help but set down the cup, resting his forehead in his hand with a bitter smile, “We were utterly tricked.”

The woman in the black suit asked softly, “Is she really going to defect?”

Yan He replied, “I don’t think so.”

The woman turned to look at him.

“Before we left, I went to her house and saw she took something with her,” he said.

The woman in the black suit was surprised, “What was it?”

“A small plush bear,” Yan He said, “She held it every night, it smelled of milk and a child’s saliva, and she refused to wash it.”

The woman, who had also been a caregiver, sighed gently, “At that age, children are the most adorable.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Yan He said bluntly, having never raised a child himself.

“Will she come back?” the woman asked.

“That’s up to her,” Yan He replied.

Both of them fell silent.

On the return trip, the team members quietly discussed the mission in their leader’s absence, analyzing and debating Jiang Miao’s actions.

“So, where did she go?”

“If the mainframe were fully operational, comparing massive amounts of ship and passenger data wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Yeah, she must have exploited that gap.”

As they chatted, they glanced out the porthole and saw a civilian public ship finishing its stop and heading in another direction.

Jiang Miao, having exploited the mainframe’s abnormal state, was on that ship. Civilian public ships made many stops and were much slower than the National Security Bureau’s vessels. As the bureau’s team returned, she was just reaching her next stop.

She wasn’t headed to the Blue Cloud System, which was one of the twenty-one outer regions—remote and impoverished. Jiang Miao’s destination was the Saint Martin System, one of the six major inner regions.

Jiang Miao didn’t know what the fake Yan He had done to the mainframe at Capitol Hill, but she had spent the previous month analyzing all mainframe-related information, concluding that it was malfunctioning.

So she boldly forged identities and account information—had the mainframe been fully operational, National Security could have submitted her information, and no matter how skilled she was, the mainframe would have identified her among the vast sea of data.

Fortunately.

Holding the plush bear, Jiang Miao gazed at the stars outside the porthole, the familiar scent from the bear bringing tears to her eyes again.

She still seethed with anger at how that bastard had taken little Jiang Rui away, clenching her teeth in fury whenever she thought about it.

Luckily, the Saint Martin System was much closer than the Blue Cloud System. Ten days later, with these thoughts in mind, Jiang Miao set foot on the ground of White Stone Star.

As soon as she landed, she changed her identity and facial disguise information. Any surveillance camera on White Stone Star would now show a completely different person.

Jiang Miao had already booked a hotel under her new identity during her journey. After checking in and freshening up a bit, she immediately went out.

Upon receiving the message left by that man at home, Jiang Miao had replayed his words in her mind over and over again. Thanks to her excellent memory, she remembered everything clearly.

He had said to meet on White Stone Star. He also mentioned the meeting place, a tea house in the commercial district.

He said the black tea at that tea house was amazing and that she had to try it.

He had emphasized “must” repeatedly.

Looking back now, it was all a hint.

Jiang Miao sat in the tea house he had mentioned, slowly sipping her tea.

The black tea was indeed fragrant, reportedly a specialty of this tourist star and directly shipped to the capital.

Jiang Miao used to be a coffee person and wasn’t familiar with black tea brands. It was that man who had gradually influenced her, and at some point, she had started drinking black tea with him.

After dinner, the fragrance of black tea would waft through the house…

Jiang Miao shook her head, trying to dispel those memories. In her distraction, she squeezed the cup handle too hard, breaking it and spilling the tea, which scalded her hand.

Her entire hand turned red.

The waiter rushed over in a panic, “Customer, please rinse it with cold water in the restroom. We’ll get some burn ointment for you.”

Jiang Miao shook her head, “No need.”

She pulled a small device from her pocket, and when activated, it emitted a beam of light that healed her scalded skin at a visible speed.

The waiter sighed in relief, “Good thing you have a treatment device with you.”

He then complimented her, “You’re well-equipped.”

Jiang Miao just smiled without saying anything.

She had been sitting there for three days without seeing the person she wanted to meet. Had she misunderstood? Did he really just praise the tea without implying anything?

Jiang Miao insisted on staying until dusk before paying the bill. The owner wanted to give her a free meal and apologized repeatedly. Jiang Miao knew it wasn’t the cup’s quality but her own carelessness and insisted on paying.

Walking out of the tea house, the commercial district looked beautiful in the sunset.

A tourist star was different from a big metropolis. Here, the buildings were sparse and rarely tall. The commercial district was filled with two- and three-story buildings, giving a vintage feel. If it weren’t for the diverse and peculiar clothing styles of tourists from various star systems, Jiang Miao might have felt like she was back on ancient Earth.

She didn’t immediately call for a ride but strolled down the street. The twilight made her especially melancholic, and she suddenly felt uncertain about the success of her mission.

As she wandered, her gaze lifted, and she froze.

In the distance, among the strolling tourists, a familiar-looking baby stroller was being pushed by a couple.

Jiang Miao took off running! She chased them to an intersection but lost sight of them.

She looked around frantically and suddenly spotted the stroller again! She sprinted towards it!

This time, Jiang Miao caught up and grabbed the stroller, only to find it was a look-alike.

“Sorry…” she apologized to the startled couple.

The woman was angry about her scaring their child, but the man tried to get her contact information. She shook her head and refused, turning to stand bewildered on the unfamiliar street.

This planet was a tourist star, unlike the capital and the main administrative stars of the six major regions with their climate control and perpetual spring.

In the area where the tea house was located, it was late autumn, and the wind was chilly against her face.

When Jiang Miao felt her cheeks grow cold, she sensed a gaze. She looked up and saw him.

He stood across the street, his long black coat flapping in the wind.

The bustling tourists created a mosaic of light and shadow, but he stood out unmistakably.

One glance, and Jiang Miao spotted him in the crowd.

Seeing him, she knew it was him.

So that’s why, she thought, looking like this, no wonder he could get a woman into bed in two minutes.

When she had been feigning cordiality with Yan He, she had asked him, and his best record was eleven minutes.

The stories he told her about his “past” were partly true after all.

Jiang Miao and the handsome young man stood gazing at each other from across the street.

A few seconds later, Jiang Miao strode across the street and stood in front of the young man.

His lips moved slightly, as if to say something.

Smack!

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