Chapter 53: The Great Opportunity part 1
Ning Yunyi stared at the entry [Usage Trace 5]. It took him a long while to come back to his senses. ??
The little meow cubâs wristband had five usage records?
Based on his understanding of the little guy, delicious food and small robots were obviously far more attractive than a wristband.
The cub was very obedient; if he wanted to play with the wristband, he would have asked permission first. Therefore, this wristband was definitely not used by Ning Little Meow.
The wristband had been in the castle initially, and now it was at home. Apart from himself and the cub, the only one who could access it… was the Big Cat?
Frowning, Ning Yunyi stepped forward and quickly pulled up the timestamps of the usage records. All contacts were made to the same person.
He rapidly typed on the interface to attempt data recovery, but he failed.
His expression grew increasingly grave. He began to counter-track the sole contact using the ID [Bai Xiao Miao]. The result was a specially encrypted, hidden ID. He withdrew just a split second before being detected by the other party.
The identity ID Ning Yunyi currently used was specially encryptedâan account he had obtained from Professor Ning, belonging to the high-tech research sector. Aside from that, the only people who could use such encryption were likely high-ranking military officials or members of the royal family.
To avoid being discovered, Ning Yunyi didn’t continue the pursuit. Instead, he stared at the five timestamps, specifically focusing on two of them.
The reason he noticed them was that these two points in time were too fresh in his memory. One was the day Zong Ling was to become the head of the Zong familyâthe day he had a video call with Marshal Zong.
The other… was the night of the Crown Princeâs engagement banquet.
Ning Yunyi’s expression became increasingly strange. He had previously assumed that Marshal Zongâs repeated special care was merely an exchange for the energy stones in his possession that could suppress spiritual riots. He thought Ichiâs repeated compromises and assistance were solely due to the allure of the energy stones.
But if he looked closely… would Marshal Zong really be lenient enough to agree to a request based on a single video call for a usage right, even if the energy stone of unknown origin was effective?
At the time, Ning Yunyi had been too worried about Professor Ningâs safety to think about it. But now… not to mention Marshal Zongâs public partiality at the engagement banquet and his clearing of Big Brother Ningâs name.
The reason Ichi gave was that the energy stones were effective and they wanted to exchange for more. If one didn’t think too deeply, it made sense. But looking at it now… it seemed more like Marshal Zong knew Big Brother Ningâs character in advance and was willing to help. But here was the problem: How did Marshal Zong know in advance?
Ning Yunyi looked at the usage traces and laughed out of sheer exasperation.
It was obvious. Either the Big Catâthis guy who had hidden his shifter identity from start to finishâwas a trusted confidant of Marshal Zong, a high-ranking general;
Or… the Big Cat was Marshal Zong himself.
The reason Ning Yunyi hadn’t suspected the Big Cat’s identity from the start was that the cat had appeared on a junk star and was a shifter, whereas Marshal Zongâs public image never mentioned him being a shifter.
Naturally, Ning Yunyi hadn’t suspected it. But now… it wasn’t so certain.
After all, Yuth, the Young Head who acted crazy whenever he pleased, was also the Vice Alliance Leader of the Shifter Alliance.
So, it was possible that Marshal Zong concealed his shifter identity for self-preservation, especially given the precedent of Young Lord Whiteâs birth mother.
Ning Yunyi pursed his lips. Memories of everything since meeting the Big Cat flashed through his mind. Marshal Zong always wore a mask in public and rarely showed his face. It could be interpreted as being low-key, or perhaps… a shifterâs appearance didn’t change after adulthood, and the mask was simply to hide that lack of aging.
Ning Yunyi slowly exhaled, leaned back in his chair, and frowned, remaining silent for a long time.
Although it was just a guess, Ning Yunyi was seventy to eighty percent sure that the Big Cat was Marshal Zong. Even if there was a twenty or thirty percent chance of an accident, the Big Cat was definitely someone closely related to the Marshal.
Ning Yunyi rubbed his brow. After the anger passed, he calmed down. He had two choices before him.
The first was to use the wristband traces to confront the Big Cat, forcing him to shift into human form to confirm his identity. That way, the issue of the Big Cat having low spiritual power and being unable to survive outside the Ning family would be resolved, and he could leave immediately.
But at the same time, the Big Cat had hidden this identity likely because he couldn’t save face. After all, over these past few months, the other party had essentially lived as a pet beast. His most wretched moments were displayed unscrupulously before Ning Yunyi and the cub under the guise of being a beast. Once revealed, the Marshalâs dignity would be completely destroyed.
Secondly, his spiritual riot hadn’t fully recovered. His repeated appearances were to save the Ning family in emergencies. Hiding his identity and staying in the Ning family was likely for the spiritual energy zone Ning Yunyi had set up in the study for the cub, which could suppress the riot.
Ning Yunyi frowned, recalling the first time he saw the Big Cat on the junk star. The other party had been so heavily injured back then. If he hadn’t happened to have spiritual energy, the cat really might have died on the junk star. Even if saved, he wouldn’t have lived long, just as the book stated.
When Ning Yunyi first saw Marshal Zong appear safely, he thought the man had encountered some “Great Opportunity” to suppress the spiritual riot. But the result?
He was that so-called Great Opportunity.
So, should he confess?
If he did, and the secret that the Big Cat was Marshal Zong in human form was revealed, the Marshal probably wouldn’t be able to face staying in the Ning household and would leave.
But once the spiritual riot became uncontrollable again… given the spiritual power Marshal Zong had unleashed previously, Ning Yunyi wasn’t sure if he could suppress it in one go.
Given that Marshal Zong had helped the Ning family so many times, did he really want to expose everything and force the Marshal to risk leaving prematurely?
Ning Yunyi stayed in the study for over half an hour. Finally, he chose the second option. He would pretend not to know the Big Cat was Marshal Zong, wait until his spiritual riot was completely suppressed and his injuries healed… and let him leave on his own.
That way, at least they wouldn’t be awkward if they met outside. Otherwise, thinking about how he had forcibly dragged the Big Cat onto the bed to act as a heater… he felt that not only would the other party be awkward, but he would be awkward too.
Ning Yunyi finished modifying the program on the cubâs wristband, set up another program, and then placed it back into the box.
On the other side, Big Brother Ning and Professor Ning followed Ning Yunyi’s instructions and spread the news of Mrs. Ning’s “passing.”
Ning Yunyi had already induced a “fake death” for Mrs. Ning in advance. Using special silver needles to seal several acupoints, he could make her breathing stop and her pulse vanish for several hours, perfectly presenting the state of a “dead person.” This was to deal with any potential visitors from the palace, using their mouths to spread the news.
Once the news spread that Mrs. Ning couldn’t be saved, the mastermind wouldn’t suspect that Mr. White possessed abilities beyond ordinary humansâthat he could bring the dead back to lifeâor that his stay at the Ning house these past days was to save her.
Sure enough, as soon as the news spread, many people came to inquire. Big Brother Ning turned them all away, citing that his father was too grief-stricken to see guests.
As evening approached, people from the palace arrived, including the Crown Prince’s personal guard and representatives sent by other noble families.
Big Brother Ning’s expression wasn’t good, but facing the guard representing the Crown Prince, he seemed resigned. Aside from the guard, he selected only two others, citing that he didn’t want too many people disturbing the peace. A total of three people entered the Ning house to see Professor Ning.
Soon, the three came out, repeatedly expressing their masters’ apologies. The others looked on, sighing endlessly upon receiving confirmation.
When Ning Zhanfeng had his accident months ago, and later when Professor Ning was arrested, everyone thought the father and son were doomed, and the only one who would survive was Mrs. Ning, who came from royalty.
The result was the exact opposite. The father and son survived, but Mrs. Ning was gone?
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thanks for the chapter!