Chapter 59: Cripple Him… (Third Update)
Tali’yao practically undid his coat clasps the moment the man lunged at him. His body was as flexible as a snake, twisting into an impossibly contorted posture to slip through the gap.
The inspector only managed to grab an empty coat; the man had already dashed several meters away.
“Chase him!”
Seeing two more passengers stand up and close in on him, Tali’yao cursed under his breath. He shoved past a few people blocking his way and changed direction.
But as he turned the corner, two more figures lunged out.
Caught completely off guard, Tali’yao was tackled to the floor.
“Got him!”
“What did I do wrong? Why are you arresting me?!”
Making a final, desperate struggle, Tali’yao feigned the panic of an innocent passenger and cried foul loudly.
One of the inspectors sneered, “What did you do wrong? Tali’yao!”
Hearing the man accurately call out his name, Tali’yao’s hope died, and he stopped struggling.
A black collar was fastened around his neck. Near his Adam’s apple, a small red sensor ring lit up. This was an automatic suppression collar designed for beastmen.
If the beastman attempted to use their bloodline power to escape, the sensor ring would trigger an alarm. If not deactivated by the control key in time, the collar would auto-destruct.
Tali’yao knew exactly how lethal the device was, so he didn’t dare resist, allowing the inspectors to lead him away obediently.
When it came down to it, he valued his life and was too afraid to die.
The inspector ship departed the space station, heading back to the Prime Star.
Just as the ship was about to enter the Prime Star’s spatial tunnel, it was attacked. Tali’yao’s fate remained unknown.
Upon receiving the news, David immediately rushed to inform Shen Zexi.
Shen Zexi stared at the light-screen, replaying the entire footage of the inspector ship’s destruction.
An unmarked ship had appeared out of nowhere and launched the attack.
Immediately after hitting the inspector ship, the vessel retreated without a moment’s hesitation.
The entire incident took less than a minute.
Shen Zexi tapped her fingertips against the light-screen. A smile curled on her black-painted lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“An unmarked ship dares to attack a Federation Inspector vessel? Who gave them the nerve?”
David thought for a moment and suggested, “Could it be the space pirates from the Pirate Star?”
Because that particular Pirate Star was hidden behind an asteroid belt, ships rarely ventured there, making it a natural gathering point for pirates.
They frequently raided passing merchant ships. Typically, after a successful haul, they would hide on the Pirate Star and wait until the heat died down before coming out to commit more crimes.
Could it be that, with Marshal Shen absent, the pirates felt bold enough to provoke the Federation?
Shen Zexi shook her head. “Not necessarily.”
“Then it must be the people who supplied the inducer drug trying to silence him.”
David couldn’t think of any other explanation.
Shen Zexi steepled her fingers, silently watching the footage of the ship’s destruction looping on the screen.
“Speaking of the inducer, our investigation into restricted drugs hasn’t made any progress. This incident brings it back to the surface. If we follow Tali’yao’s network, we should be able to reel in a big fish.”
David nodded.
Lieutenant General Shen had once mentioned traces of restricted drugs on a waste star, suspecting bounty hunters had smuggled them in.
Following the Lieutenant General’s lead, David had investigated the bounty hunters who went to that waste star, but unfortunately, he found no concrete evidence.
Almost none of the bounty hunters who went to that waste star made it out alive. Furthermore, the Bounty Hunter Guild that accepted the contract on the young master was completely dismantled under the orders of Councilor Shen. They didn’t find any clues about the inducer, but they did uncover a lot of the Fifth Council Elder’s dirty laundry.
Just as David was about to leave to execute Shen Zexi’s orders, he was stopped.
“Wait…”
Shen Zexi swiped her finger, rapidly switching the screen until Wilikell’s face appeared.
“Cripple him. As for the things he’s done, release all the information to the public. Let everyone get a good taste of it.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
——
“You idiot, what exactly have you been doing behind my back?!”
The Fifth Council Elder kicked Wilikell viciously, his face livid with rage as he demanded answers.
Wilikell knelt on the floor, his head bowed low.
“Father, scolding him now is useless. The key is to find out if the other side actually has hard evidence of his actions, and whether there is any room to salvage the situation.”
Wilikell’s eldest brother, Wilibanna, also had a dark expression, but he didn’t share their father’s furious disappointment. He didn’t even spare a glance for his younger brother; his only concern was whether his brother’s actions would threaten his own interests.
“Your brother is right. Have you wiped your tracks clean regarding those matters?”
Wilikell replied, “No… I didn’t show my face. I hired outsiders to do it.”
“Kjell, tomorrow you will go to the border star.”
The Fifth Council Elder spoke slowly.
Wilikell’s head snapped up, his eyes bloodshot. “Father, you’re kicking me out?”
“Go lay low for a while, so we can avoid getting bitten by that Shen Zexi woman.”
Wilikell refused. “I won’t go! Is a border star even a place for people to live? I refuse to go!”
“You’ll go whether you want to or not!” Wilibanna said coldly, turning to the Fifth Council Elder. “Father, we cannot continue to coddle him. Last time, his son made our Wili family lose massive face, and now it’s him again! If we have to clean up their messes every time they screw up, what face will the Wili family have left among the noble star clans?”
Wilikell shot him a venomous glare. “When it comes down to it, you’re just jealous that I have a son with an S-grade fierce beast bloodline, while you don’t have a single heir! You’re terrified my son will threaten your position in the future, so you can’t wait to kick a man while he’s down!”
“Jealous of your son? Are you talking about that useless son of yours who does nothing but scream all day, caught some unknown disease, and saw his bloodline drop to B-grade?”
Wilikell’s arrogant demeanor vanished instantly. He stammered, “How… how did you know?”
Wilibanna sneered and didn’t answer.
“Kjell, is what your brother said true? Thor’s bloodline grade dropped to B?”
Seeing his father’s face darken to the point of dripping ink, Wilikell crawled forward on his knees, begging desperately. “Father, please save Thor! He caught some unknown illness, and his bloodline plummeted to B-grade. The healers said if we delay any longer, Thor will become a cripple!”
The Fifth Council Elder gritted his teeth. “Why are you only telling me this now?!”
“I… I thought I could find a healer to cure his illness, so… so I didn’t say anything…”
“You thought? Were you going to wait until my grandson was on his deathbed to tell me?”
The Fifth Council Elder was so furious he felt dizzy. Looking at his youngest son kneeling before him, he made his decision.
“Get your ass to the border star tomorrow!”
“Father, as long as you don’t send me to the border star, I’ll do anything! Even if you lock me in the Beast Blood Pool, anything is fine…”
The Fifth Council Elder waved his hand, and servants immediately stepped forward to drag Wilikell away.
Once Wilikell’s voice completely faded, the Fifth Council Elder pinched the bridge of his nose. “Eldest, take care of everyone connected to Kjell.”
“Understood, Father.”
Wilibanna hid the mockery in his eyes.
——
“Xiaowei, this is bad! Wilikell’s abuse and murder of servants has been exposed!”
“Lilith, isn’t it better that he’s exposed? We finally don’t have to die.”
Xiaowei was the young maid who had been crying in the hallway earlier. Now, her face was filled with relief and smiles.
Lilith, the older maid who had scolded Xiaowei back then, shook her head sternly. “No! I heard the Fifth Council Elder order Wilibanna to ‘take care’ of us. We have to run, understand?”
Xiaowei’s face drained of color. “‘Take care’ of us? Does that mean… what I think it means?”
Lilith dug out a few low-grade energy stones from her narrow bed and stuffed them into her bodice. Seeing Xiaowei still frozen in shock, she urged anxiously, “Xiaowei, what are you spacing out for? If you don’t want to die, follow me right now! If we delay, we’ll both die here!”
Xiaowei snapped out of it. She wanted to pack her clothes, but seeing Lilith only taking a few energy stones, she quickly copied her, stuffing her saved energy stones into her own bodice.
Fortunately, both were well-endowed, so the stones wouldn’t fall out, making it easier to run.
“But Lilith, how are we supposed to get out?”
“Follow me!”
Lilith cautiously led Xiaowei past the residential areas to a discreet corner behind the kitchen. She removed a few loose bricks, revealing a narrow tunnel.
“I found this abandoned tunnel by accident. If we go through here, we can get out. But the tunnel is extremely dangerous; one wrong step and we could lose our lives. The old Sector 5 was attacked by the Zerg and reduced to ruins; this place was rebuilt after Wiliyat became the Fifth Council Elder. The structural integrity below is unstable; a single misstep could cause a cave-in and bury us. Are you brave enough to take it?”
“I’ll go!” Xiaowei’s tone was resolute. “My younger brother is still waiting for me outside. I have to make it out!”
Xiaowei, who normally only knew how to cry when faced with trouble, now charged straight to the front.
Lilith replaced the bricks and picked up her pace to catch up with Xiaowei.
Shortly after they left, the butler arrived at the spot, reeking of blood.
He turned to a servant being held up by two guards. “Where are they?”
“They ran in this exact direction just now! I’m not lying, I really saw it! Please, please don’t kill me!”
The butler walked over to the corner, stared at it for a long moment, then reached out and actually pulled a brick loose, revealing the space inside.
The trembling servant’s eyes lit up with joy. “I told you they escaped through here… urk…”
The servant clutched his spurting neck, eyes wide open in death.
The butler flicked the blood off his laser sword and ordered, “Go in and catch them!”
——
The abandoned tunnel was even more dangerous than Lilith had described. Xiaowei nearly fell several times, only saved by Lilith grabbing her in time.
“Be careful!”
Loose pebbles crunched under their feet and tumbled down the abyss. In the dimness, one could vaguely make out jagged, craggy rocks at the bottom, alongside the sharp, vertical remnants of weathered, eroded ruins.
Xiaowei’s back was soaked in cold sweat. She swallowed hard and thanked Lilith.
“Lilith, thank you!”
Lilith gave a small smile. “Focus on getting out. This place is too dangerous.”
“Okay!”
The two cautiously navigated the narrow plank walkway, barely wide enough for one person. If it weren’t for their beastman bloodlines granting them enhanced endurance and the ability to partially shift, traversing the unstable bricks of the swaying walkway on pure leg strength would have inevitably sent them plunging into the depths.
Halfway across the walkway, Xiaowei couldn’t resist looking back.
She saw several moving light sources approaching them from the distance.
“They’re… they’re catching up.”
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