Chapter 182: Implication
Zhou Baichuan lowered his head and remained silent for a while before saying, "I'm sorry, General Yao. We were both very young back then. We didn't really think things through. I..."
Yao Anyang interrupted him.
"Don't waste time saying things that don't matter. You were young back then, that's true. But something like altering a person's background to make their records look more perfect isn't an idea two young people would come up with on their own. So tell me—who suggested it to you?"
Within the Empire, every citizen's identity records were kept under strict protection.
Altering them was absolutely forbidden.
The moment someone tampered with them, it became a crime.
Normally, anyone with even a little life experience wouldn't dare do such a thing, even if they had the means.
After all, nobody knew what kind of punishment they would face if it were discovered in the future.
Naive young masters, however, were different.
To them, murder was a crime.
Altering records was also a crime.
But some people committed murder and still lived comfortably without consequences.
So in their minds, changing identity records probably wasn't a big deal either—as long as they weren't caught.
The problem was that whenever something was done, traces were always left behind.
And now...
They had finally been discovered.
Nan Yu couldn't help thinking how incredibly useful the Empire's massive information database was.
If it could be applied to every field, it would be absolutely perfect.
No one would ever be able to alter records again.
Of course, something like this had to remain confidential.
Every system had weaknesses.
If its existence became public, someone would inevitably discover those weaknesses.
Nan Yu immediately thought of one.
Suppose someone abandoned a child at the entrance of an orphanage.
Then, throughout the child's upbringing, they secretly arranged people to educate him and gradually brainwash him.
The child's life history would be completely legitimate.
Nothing in the records would be suspicious.
But everything in his mind would belong not to the Empire...
But to the person who had indoctrinated him.
After all, the enormous database contained information on countless citizens.
Only essential information was recorded.
Ordinary daily life and insignificant events were intentionally omitted.
Otherwise, the amount of storage required would become overwhelming.
Nan Yu lowered his head in thought before looking toward Yao Anyang, who was still speaking with Zhou Baichuan.
His gaze then shifted to Yu Lanfeng.
"What do we do in a situation like this?"
Yu Lanfeng answered calmly.
"Follow the law."
"Whatever sentence the law prescribes, that's what happens."
Nan Yu frowned.
He wasn't entirely convinced.
Wouldn't that effectively acknowledge Jiang Youjian as a legitimate Imperial citizen?
What if he actually wasn't?
Yu Lanfeng replied,
"I checked again."
"He really is Jiang Youjian."
"Everything he told us earlier checks out."
"In any case, he'll still receive a prison sentence."
"He'll be exiled to forced labor for many years."
"So nothing will happen for the next several years."
"When he's eventually released, we can investigate further then."
Nan Yu nodded.
"So that's how it is."
"Then there isn't a problem."
"When the Empire's investigators arrive, we'll hand him over."
"...By the way."
"Did Zhou Baichuan mention that teacher's name?"
The moment he heard the surname Bai, Nan Yu instinctively thought of the Bai family.
Could this incident involve them as well?
Yu Lanfeng had reached the same conclusion.
But he wasn't in any hurry.
They only needed to wait for Yao Anyang to ask.
Yao Anyang didn't keep them waiting long.
"The Teacher Bai from the Royal Military Academy—the Bai Shanzhou you mentioned earlier."
"How much do you know about her?"
Zhou Baichuan froze.
He hesitated.
But after seeing the interrogation room on the screen and Jiang Youjian's deathly pale face...
He knew he couldn't hesitate anymore.
Whatever promises he'd made in the past...
He had to tell the truth now.
"We actually don't know much about Teacher Bai."
"Most of the time she approached us first, so..."
So...
They knew very little.
Jiang Youjian nodded.
"We only knew she was a member of the Bai family."
"She was our grade dean."
"At the time, she probably noticed my potential and kept encouraging me."
"She kept telling me to stay."
"She repeatedly said that staying there would give me the opportunity to participate in Marshal Yu's legion recruitment."
"And if I passed..."
"I could complete certain procedures to remain enrolled at the academy."
"Then I could join Marshal Yu's legion using the Royal Military Academy's student records."
"It wasn't until I actually passed the assessment that Teacher Bai Shanzhou officially approached me."
"While reviewing my records, she pointed out that my childhood background might become a reason for the legion to reject me."
"She even suggested we find professionals to alter the records."
Jiang Youjian continued,
"But we'd only just graduated."
"We didn't even have jobs."
"Forget finding people capable of doing something like that."
"All she gave me was a beautiful-looking card."
"I honestly had no idea how I was supposed to contact the person."
Zhou Baichuan couldn't help interrupting.
"I refused to give up."
"So I photographed the card and asked every friend I knew."
"But none of them moved in those circles."
"They had no idea what it meant."
"In the end, we had no choice but to go back to Teacher Bai."
"When she saw us and heard what we'd done, she immediately told us that the card should never be shown to other people."
"Although she also said it wasn't a serious problem this time."
"Then she asked whether we'd made up our minds."
"Of course we had."
"That very day she took us to a remote suburb."
"They seemed to own a house there."
"And..."
"That was where my records were changed."
"It was unbelievably simple."
"Afterward, Teacher Bai told me everything had been taken care of."
"Less than two hours after returning to school, she handed me a brand-new file."
"And told me to look."
Jiang Youjian took a deep breath.
"The moment I finished reading it..."
"I knew my entire future had changed."
"So I accepted it."
"After joining the legion, I worried constantly during the beginning."
"I thought that if the fake records were discovered, I'd definitely be finished."
"But..."
"They were never discovered."
"Until now."
"After that, I only stayed in contact with Baichuan."
"Teacher Bai..."
"It was almost as though she'd merely done me a favor on a whim."
"We never contacted each other again."
Perhaps their luck was simply too good.
Just after Jiang Youjian finished speaking...
A communication request arrived on Zhou Baichuan's communicator.
"Ah!"
"It's Teacher Bai!"
"How is that possible?"
"We haven't spoken in years..."
"So why is she contacting me now?"
The instant he said that, everyone on this side watched through Yao Anyang's communicator.
Zhou Baichuan immediately switched interfaces.
He minimized the ongoing call with Yao Anyang into a small corner of the screen to ensure Bai Shanzhou wouldn't see it.
Then he accepted the incoming call.
The beautiful woman who appeared on the screen was indeed Bai Shanzhou.
Back at the academy, countless Ability Users had admired her because of her family background, beauty, and strength.
Yet she'd rejected every single one.
After graduation, people heard she'd returned home for family matters and arranged marriages.
Since then...
She had disappeared.
So why was she suddenly contacting him now?
"Teacher Bai... hello."
Zhou Baichuan couldn't help feeling nervous.
He wasn't sure whether he could act convincingly.
Bai Shanzhou smiled gently.
"Why are you so nervous, Student Zhou?"
"I'm not your teacher anymore."
"If you'd like..."
"You can simply call me Sister Bai."
Zhou Baichuan obediently addressed her as Sister Bai.
Bai Shanzhou smiled happily.
"That's much better."
"Oh, right."
"I contacted you because my wedding will be held in one month."
"I'd like to formally invite you to attend."
After thinking about it, Zhou Baichuan felt it wasn't inappropriate.
Although the Zhou family wasn't one of the Capital Star's great families, they were still extremely influential on Fuling Star.
Receiving an invitation to Bai Shanzhou's wedding wasn't beneath them.
In terms of wealth...
The Zhou family was probably richer than many of the guests invited by the Bai family.
He took a deep breath.
He truly hadn't known she was getting married.
"Then congratulations, Sister Bai."
"I wish both of you a lifetime of happiness."
"May you share hardships and blessings together."
"And may your lives become happier with each passing day."
Bai Shanzhou laughed for quite a while before calming down.
"Thank you, Student Zhou."
"Oh, right."
"Do you have any news about Student Jiang?"
"I don't know whether he'll be able to return for my wedding."
Following her lead, Zhou Baichuan replied,
"Probably not."
"It's currently the season of Ability Beast unrest."
"Every soldier has to remain stationed at the border military bases, ready for deployment at any moment."
"And..."
"I've tried contacting him."
"For over a month now, I haven't been able to reach him."
Apparently dissatisfied with the answer, Bai Shanzhou's expression darkened slightly.
Zhou Baichuan then used an excuse, saying he still had urgent matters to attend to.
He asked her to leave the wedding invitation with the guards at his residence.
Then he ended the call.
Finally, he restored the hidden conversation with Yao Anyang.
"General."
"Did I forget to ask anything?"
"If I missed something, next time she contacts me I'll ask everything together and report back."
Yao Anyang first glanced at Yu Lanfeng's expression before speaking.
"Maintain contact with Bai Shanzhou."
"Tomorrow, tell her that you managed to contact Jiang Youjian through your own connections."
"Then ask whether she'd be willing to postpone the wedding for several months."
"Say Jiang Youjian won't be back until then."
"Ask whether she can wait for him before holding the ceremony."
The moment those words were spoken...
Everyone was stunned.
Delay a wedding that was only one month away...
By another three or four months...
Just to wait for a student she hadn't seen in years?
No matter who heard it...
No one would think such a request was reasonable.
Even Nan Yu found it unbelievable.
He looked at Yu Lanfeng.
Yu Lanfeng, however, remained perfectly calm.
"If this woman named Bai has an ulterior motive..."
"She'll agree."
Nan Yu frowned.
"But Zhou Baichuan's status isn't high enough."
"If someone with far greater status than Bai Shanzhou asked, that would be understandable."
"But compared to the Bai family..."
"The Zhou family is still significantly weaker."
"If he asks something like that..."
"It won't sound like a request."
"It'll sound like deliberate provocation."
More importantly...
There was another question.
Who exactly did Bai Shanzhou represent?
Only herself?
Or the Bai family?
If it was merely her own decision...
Why had she gone to such lengths to help Zhou Baichuan?
Or target their legion?
If she represented the Bai family...
Then the motive behind all this became far more intriguing.
Yu Lanfeng thought back to everything that had happened recently on Capital Star.
Its defenses had always been extraordinarily tight.
Nothing like this had occurred for decades.
Yet recently...
Incidents had happened one after another.
Especially the kidnapping of Nan Yun and Nan Zhen.
If there hadn't been an insider on Capital Star...
He would never believe the organization possessed such miraculous abilities that they could accomplish everything so effortlessly.
Had all the people they stationed on Capital Star become nothing more than decorations?
Yu Lanfeng gradually began suspecting that the Bai family might be collaborating with the organization.
Unfortunately...
There wasn't a shred of evidence.
The situation was complicated.
And dangerous.
If even one link in the chain went wrong...
Everything could collapse.
Yu Lanfeng said,
"Lock him up first."
"As for his punishment..."
"We'll judge it based on his future performance."
"If he performs well..."
"We can consider showing leniency."
"If..."
He stopped there without finishing.
Instead, he simply left with Nan Yu.
The two returned silently to the office.
They waited there for Yao Anyang.
After arranging everything outside, Yao Anyang hurried over.
Yu Lanfeng said,
"Let's discuss this."
Nan Yu spoke first.
"I think Bai Shanzhou most likely represents the Bai family."
"If it were only herself..."
"She'd have absolutely no reason to target Zhou Baichuan."
"Nor help him."
"Nor target our legion."
"But if we replace her with the Bai family..."
"I'm guessing there have been plenty of conflicts between your two sides over the years."
"They appear friendly on the surface."
"But who knows what the Bai family does behind the scenes?"
"So..."
"What do you think?"
Yu Lanfeng answered,
"There's no need to rush."
"Whether Bai Shanzhou represents herself or the Bai family..."
"We'll know after Zhou Baichuan asks."
"If she agrees..."
"Then it proves one thing."
"She doesn't represent herself."
"She represents the Bai family."
"If she were acting for herself..."
"She'd definitely refuse."
"There is no woman who would postpone her own wedding simply because one guest couldn't attend."
"But if she's acting for the Bai family..."
"That's different."
At present, the Bai family was almost certainly desperate for intelligence concerning Yu Lanfeng's legion.
Ever since every military base entered complete lockdown...
Not a single piece of information had escaped.
Even the information previously sent into the bases had received no response.
Nan Yu nodded thoughtfully.
"So from their perspective..."
"They're trying to make Jiang Youjian feel guilty."
"And grateful."
"And respectful."
"They're willing to make the entire Bai family..."
"And the family they're marrying into..."
"Wait several extra months."
"Just for him."
"To someone like Jiang Youjian..."
"It would feel like a dream."
In reality...
This sort of thing wasn't particularly uncommon among noble families.
As long as the wedding date hadn't truly been finalized...
It simply meant the ceremony had never actually been fixed for one month later.
Perhaps...
They were merely waiting for a reply.
If Jiang Youjian could attend...
Only then would they set the real wedding date.
Afterward, they could claim they had postponed everything specifically so he could participate.
Wouldn't someone as straightforward as Jiang Youjian be completely won over by that?
Nan Yu sighed deeply.
"This really is complicated."
"So now we just wait for Zhou Baichuan's response."
"In the meantime..."
"We should hurry and finish dealing with the nearly twenty thousand spies here."
"If we encounter more people like Jiang Youjian..."
"We can separate them and investigate them more carefully."
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"Agreed."
"But it's already late."
"We all need to rest."
"We'll continue first thing tomorrow morning."
Nan Yu glanced at the time.
"Then let's eat first."
After watching them head toward the cafeteria, Yao Anyang went to find Shuang Qingyue.
Although Shuang Qingyue had regained his freedom...
Yao Anyang couldn't understand it.
In his mind, unless someone was trustworthy beyond all doubt...
Marshal Yu would never release them.
But...
He also knew Shuang Qingyue couldn't clearly explain his origins.
Even if he could...
No one would necessarily believe him.
So what exactly had happened?
Shuang Qingyue smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry."
"I caused you trouble."
Yao Anyang shook his head.
"No."
"It was my fault."
"If it weren't for me..."
Shuang Qingyue interrupted him.
"It's alright."
"It's already over."
"Let's eat."
"No more unhappy topics."
"As long as I don't do anything harmful to the base..."
"I'll never have any problems."
"Don't worry."
"I came here..."
"Just to be with you."
Only then did Yao Anyang finally relax a little.
He wanted to pull him into an embrace.
Instead...
Shuang Qingyue lightly patted his surprisingly elastic belly.
Elastic...
Belly?
Only then did Yao Anyang remember how much weight he'd gained.
No.
This absolutely couldn't continue.
Over the next several days...
He would throw himself into brutally intense special training.
He'd make up for everything he'd neglected before.
Ten days or so...
That should be enough to lose all the excess fat.
"Just wait, Qingyue."
"No..."
"Not twenty days."
"Fifteen."
"Within fifteen days, I'll definitely return to how I used to look."
"I'll become the Yao Anyang you like again."
Shuang Qingyue didn't argue.
He simply led him toward the cafeteria.
"I know you'll be training hard."
"So you have to eat properly."
"If you're hungry while training..."
"It'll be miserable."
Yao Anyang truly did begin his intense training.
Whenever he wasn't training...
He accompanied the troops outside the base to hunt Ability Beasts.
As a result...
The task of escorting each new group of prisoners to Nan Yu was handed over to Shuang Qingyue.
Although Shuang Qingyue was a Mental Power User...
He enjoyed tremendous prestige throughout the military base.
No one objected to him taking over the job.
Even the previously restless soldiers gathered on the enormous training grounds gradually quieted down.
After all...
The intervals between groups of one hundred people being escorted away were so short.
Everyone naturally assumed that most people were being cleared and immediately released.
Everyone was completely confident in their own identities.
None of them realized...
The speed wasn't because people were being released.
It was because they had all been killed.
Not even ashes remained.
That was why the process moved so quickly.
It was only a matter of time before they realized the truth.
After finishing another batch, Nan Yu said,
"This is the tenth batch today."
"Every single one of them was a spy."
"Not one had any hidden circumstances."
Some of them had naturally tried every possible excuse.
Claiming they weren't this.
Or weren't that.
But Nan Yu saw through every one of them.
The real reason was simple.
His Mental Power was overwhelmingly powerful.
At close range...
He could clearly sense hostility directed toward him.
Neither Shuang Qingyue nor Jiang Youjian had ever given him that feeling.
Everyone else...
Without exception...
Radiated either naked hostility...
Or carefully concealed hostility.
But to Nan Yu...
It was all the same.
As long as that hostility was directed at him...
He could sense it with only a little effort.
Emotions couldn't truly be hidden.
They were instinctive.
Nan Yu leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.
Looking at the time, he said,
"That's about enough."
"Let's go eat lunch."
Yu Lanfeng had just finished burning the latest group to ashes and walked over beside him.
"Let's go."
"We'll rest a little after lunch."
"Then we'll continue."
One hundred people.
Half a minute each.
Fifty minutes total.
After processing one thousand people...
It had taken less than five hours.
With another afternoon's work...
Their progress would be extremely fast.
After lunch, the two returned to the interrogation room.
They had only just sat down when the communicator Yao Anyang had left behind began ringing.
Yao Anyang had gone to the battlefield.
He was currently using his backup communicator.
The original one had intentionally been left here.
So that if Zhou Baichuan contacted them...
Yu Lanfeng could answer.
Yu Lanfeng accepted the call.
Nan Yu sat beside him.
The camera angle showed only Yu Lanfeng.
Nan Yu remained outside the frame.
Yesterday...
Zhou Baichuan had spoken with Yao Anyang.
Today...
He was suddenly facing the Marshal himself.
The real Marshal.
Actually him.
His expression twisted.
He honestly didn't know whether he should scream in excitement...
Or report what he came to say.
In the end...
His expression became extremely strange.
Nan Yu found it rather amusing.
Yu Lanfeng asked directly,
"Did Bai Shanzhou contact you?"
Zhou Baichuan hurriedly composed himself.
Although...
The excitement shining in his eyes remained impossible to hide.
"Yes."
"She contacted me."
"I originally planned to wait until today."
"I was going to tell her I'd spent the night using my connections to contact Jiang Youjian."
"Then gradually bring up those questions."
"But..."
"Just as I was about to call her..."
"She contacted me first."
"I wasn't connected to your communicator at the time."
"So I can only recount everything now."
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"Go ahead."
"What did she want?"
"Did you tell her what we discussed?"
Zhou Baichuan nodded.
"She contacted me about the wedding."
"About whether Jiang Youjian could attend."
"So I followed the plan exactly."
At this point...
His face suddenly exploded with disbelief.
"I told her Jiang Youjian really wanted to attend."
"But because he couldn't leave the legion and return to Capital Star..."
"I asked whether she'd be willing to postpone the wedding for several months."
"I honestly thought she'd refuse."
"But..."
"Not only did she agree..."
"She immediately said she'd postpone the wedding by five whole months."
Yu Lanfeng narrowed his eyes.
"When you asked..."
"Did she say she needed to discuss it with anyone?"
Zhou Baichuan shook his head.
"I never saw her consult anyone."
"She was wearing a wedding dress and taking photographs."
"So..."
"Maybe she really did make the decision herself."