Chapter 178: Departure
The soldiers requested to inspect the boxes. Song Xiaoyu and his companion naturally couldn't refuse, so they opened them. At first glance, every box was filled with all kinds of exquisitely prepared food. Everything looked extremely expensive, and the soldiers didn't really think it was possible for anyone to be hiding inside.
They merely leaned over for a quick look before turning away.
Just as the two of them quietly breathed a sigh of relief, one of the soldiers suddenly strode over to the table and reached toward one of the boxes.
When Nan Yu and the others realized exactly which box he was reaching for, their eyes widened instinctively, and they nearly rushed forward to stop him.
Fortunately, they all had enough self-control. None of them revealed the surge of panic they felt. Instead, they remained perfectly still, neither moving nor speaking.
The soldier, however, changed direction halfway through. Instead of opening that box, he picked up another ordinary-looking container beside it and casually checked the contents. It was nothing but food.
After putting the box back down, he turned to the others and shook his head, indicating there was no problem.
Only then did the soldiers move away from the table.
Song Xiaoyu slowly walked over and carefully closed every lid one by one, while his companion followed the soldiers as they continued inspecting the rest of the starship.
After roughly fifteen minutes of searching, the soldiers found nothing suspicious.
One of them nodded politely.
"Thank you for cooperating. You're free to leave now."
"Before you depart, please come over and verify your identities one last time. Once everything checks out, you'll be cleared to leave. We wish you a pleasant journey."
Earlier, Song Xiaoyu had told them he was taking his boyfriend to a famous scenic destination on a neighboring planet for a vacation. That was why they had packed clothes and snacks—they intended to have a picnic there.
Looking around the impeccably clean starship, the soldiers were quite satisfied. There wasn't any unnecessary clutter, making the inspection much easier.
Their only regret was that they still hadn't found any trace of Nan Yun or Nan Zhen.
Although the brothers hadn't yet graduated from the academy, anyone who had seen their grades and combat ability knew their future potential was practically limitless.
Without question, they would eventually become outstanding defenders of the Empire.
Their father, Major General Nan Ming, had always served actively {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} on the frontier, safeguarding the Empire's borders.
Their younger brother was the number one Mid-Tier Mental Power User, capable of treating a considerable number of Ability Users with short treatment times and absolutely no side effects.
Now he had even joined Yu Lanfeng's legion, contributing directly to both the legion and the Empire's frontier.
Once Nan Yun and Nan Zhen graduated, they would undoubtedly enter the legion as well.
It could honestly be said that every member of the Nan family was a soldier worthy of admiration.
Those who knew the Nan family's history respected them even more. Generation after generation had joined the military, climbing the ranks solely through their own strength and achievements.
A family like that was the pride of the entire Empire.
Yet now, such a family had suffered this terrible tragedy.
Countless people kept asking about the progress of the investigation and whether the missing brothers had been found. Some civilians had even begun organizing volunteer search groups to help locate them.
Perhaps because Song Xiaoyu's transportation method this time was so unusual—hiding them inside sealed boxes—no one had discovered even the slightest clue regarding their whereabouts.
Even their optical computers could no longer be tracked.
Of course, the optical computers themselves had probably already been destroyed.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
...
Fu Yu'ang stared at the screen in front of him once again.
Connection Failed.
Search Failed.
The same notifications filled the display.
Without warning, he grabbed the cup beside him and hurled it across the room.
Crash!
The cup shattered against the floor, scattering broken shards everywhere.
He angrily buried both hands in his hair, gripping it tightly as though blaming himself for still being unable to help.
Someone standing behind him patted him on the shoulder.
Only then did Fu Yu'ang realize he wasn't alone.
One of the elite soldiers from Yu Lanfeng's legion—the very same soldiers who had recently been personally tutoring Nan Yun and Nan Zhen—was still there.
Concerned about Fu Yu'ang's safety, the soldier had accompanied him home.
Watching Fu Yu'ang's technical abilities firsthand had genuinely surprised him.
Compared to the true geniuses specializing in this field within the legion, Fu Yu'ang naturally still fell short.
But for someone who hadn't even graduated yet, his abilities were already astonishing.
No wonder that despite his mediocre combat strength, just like the two members of the Nan family, he had already qualified for exceptional recruitment into the legion even if he failed the official examinations.
Although...
Looking at it now, none of the three would ever need such special treatment.
Each of them possessed more than enough ability to pass through normal recruitment.
"Don't panic," the soldier said calmly. "And don't rush things. Military inspections are extremely strict right now. They couldn't have gotten very far. They're definitely still somewhere on the Capital Star."
Fu Yu'ang shook his head and forced himself to calm down.
"I know."
"But I still can't locate them."
"Where exactly are they?"
"If they're really on the Capital Star, then my system should absolutely be able to find them."
"The only place on the Capital Star capable of completely blocking every signal has already been taken over by your legion. No one should be able to hide people there without your legion knowing."
"And we're talking about two living people."
"If they're not there... then I honestly can't think of anywhere else."
"The device I implanted was hidden extremely well. It's only a tiny prototype, and its signal can't be detected casually."
"But as long as I activate my special tracking program, I should be able to pinpoint their location with incredible accuracy."
"I've tried countless times."
"And every single attempt has failed."
"So there are only a few possibilities."
Without waiting for any response, he continued.
"If activating the program produces no feedback..."
"The first possibility is that they're already dead."
"If they were killed, then the chip I implanted inside their bodies would stop transmitting as their vital signs disappeared."
"Once that happened, it could never be tracked again."
"The second possibility is much simpler."
"They're too far away."
"If the distance is great enough, the signal can't be captured quickly. The calculations could take several days."
"But everyone knows they couldn't possibly have left the Capital Star."
"So if they're still here and I still can't locate them..."
"...then the kidnappers must have found another location capable of blocking signals, just like the one your legion confiscated."
"Nan Yun and Nan Zhen must be hidden there."
"That's why I've tried again and again without receiving any positioning data."
"I couldn't even detect the slightest signal."
The soldier added,
"You're right."
"But there's one more possibility."
"The chip you implanted was discovered."
"They removed it and took it back to study it."
"Considering how advanced their research capabilities are... do you think they could crack your encryption?"
Fu Yu'ang twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"The moment that chip leaves the human body, it automatically self-destructs."
"So that's also possible."
"But that's not important."
"The important thing now is figuring out where they are—"
Before he could finish speaking—
The computer behind him suddenly erupted with an alarm.
This was the warning system he had programmed himself.
The instant it successfully calculated either brother's location, it would immediately trigger an alert.
So...
"What location is this?"
Fu Yu'ang quickly checked the coordinates.
The signal pointed to the nearest inhabited planet to the Capital Star.
It remained active for approximately two minutes...
Then vanished completely.
Fu Yu'ang slowly turned toward the soldier, his face full of disbelief.
"So this is what you meant when you said there was absolutely no way they could have left the Capital Star?"
"If I hadn't managed to lock onto them just now..."
"...would we have never found them again?"
"How did they leave the Capital Star?"
Fortunately, although the signal disappeared afterward, they had at least obtained the brothers' exact location from several minutes earlier.
Roughly ten minutes later, several secret military starships quietly departed from the spaceport.
Fu Yu'ang was among those accompanying the mission.
Bringing him along was a precaution.
After all, he had personally designed the tracking software.
If anything unexpected happened, his expertise could prove invaluable.
Ideally, they would rescue Nan Yun and Nan Zhen immediately and bring the entire incident to an end.
Furthermore, they still had no idea where the organization's members were hiding.
To avoid exposing the military's true operation, they not only continued the intensive searches throughout the Capital Star, but intensified them even further.
If they could force the enemy into desperation and make them reveal themselves...
Capturing them would become much easier.
...
Border Region One Military Base.
Yu Lanfeng set down the documents in his hands and looked toward Nan Yu.
"How are those two recovering?"
Nan Yu frowned slightly.
"They're both awake now."
"But they've been bedridden for too long, and their Mental Seas suffered prolonged damage."
"Recovery will take a very long time."
"They won't be able to get out of bed or move around freely for now."
"I'll let their roommates help take care of them."
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"Qin Wenxing, I'll leave that matter to you."
"I'm heading to Border Region Six to inspect the situation there and deal with several issues."
Nan Yu stared directly at him.
Yu Lanfeng didn't keep him guessing.
"Of course you're coming with me."
"Go pack your things."
"We'll leave together shortly."
"Time is tight."
"After this, we'll be extremely busy."
"We'll be inspecting every military base under our legion's command."
Nan Yu nodded immediately.
"No problem."
"I'll settle those two patients first, then go pack."
"Give me twenty minutes."
"I'll be back quickly."
After Nan Yu left, Yu Lanfeng asked quietly,
"What is it?"
Qin Wenxing answered,
"Marshal, the news has already spread everywhere."
"They've probably guessed part of the truth."
"What should we do now?"
Yu Lanfeng replied calmly,
"It's fine."
"Prepare a team."
"I'm taking them with me."
Qin Wenxing hesitated.
"The organization has already begun making moves."
"Marshal... are you really going to strike now?"
Yu Lanfeng smiled coldly.
"If not now, then when?"
"Of course we're striking."
"And we're going to strike hard."
"Leave no one alive except a few insignificant pawns on the outer edges."
Truthfully, Yu Lanfeng wanted even more than Qin Wenxing to capture high-ranking members alive for interrogation.
Unfortunately...
The organization rewarded absolute loyalty.
Anyone captured and killed after refusing to betray the organization would earn an enormous reward for their family, enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Because of that, every infiltrator they captured chose death without hesitation.
Even now, they still couldn't understand what allowed the organization to command such unwavering loyalty.
Supporting so many families indefinitely was no small expense.
Yet the organization always honored its promises.
Every member watched carefully.
As long as they saw those promises fulfilled, they remained absolutely loyal.
Anyone who betrayed the organization to save themselves...
Anyone who confessed everything...
Would not only be killed.
Everyone they cherished would be killed as well.
Yu Lanfeng continued,
"I'll be away for quite some time."
"Keep that matter completely secret."
"Not a single word can leak."
"Have all the legions been informed?"
Qin Wenxing nodded.
"Yes, Marshal."
"We've already blocked news throughout the Capital Star region."
"Military personnel will only receive official legion updates through their optical computers."
After giving a few final instructions, Yu Lanfeng dismissed him.
Not long afterward, Qin Wenxing assembled the team and sent them to rendezvous with Yu Lanfeng.
They simply waited for Nan Yu.
There wasn't much time left.
Since Nan Yu had promised twenty minutes, Yu Lanfeng knew he would arrive before then.
While waiting, however, Yu Lanfeng received an unexpected communication request.
The Nan family?
But aside from the butler, wasn't everyone else away?
When he accepted the call, heavy breathing came from the other end before a voice spoke.
"Marshal."
"My youngest son is in your legion now, isn't he?"
"Where is he?"
"I want to speak to him."
Yu Lanfeng thought for a moment.
In the end, he decided not to argue.
If he offended this man...
His future with Nan Yu might become much more difficult.
So instead he smiled gently.
"Father."
The person on the other end visibly twisted his expression before quickly regaining control.
"Marshal."
"Please don't call me that."
"Nothing has been decided yet."
"No one knows what the future holds."
"Anything can happen."
"Especially before a final conclusion has been reached."
Yu Lanfeng's heart skipped a beat.
"In that case..."
"I'll just make sure something happens between us sooner."
"Then we'll be together forever."
The man on the other end clearly hadn't expected such shamelessness.
He had no desire to continue speaking.
Yet this infuriating Marshal unexpectedly gave him reassuring news.
The caller was Nan Ming.
"You didn't tell him about that matter, did you?"
Nan Ming answered,
"His emotional state hasn't been very good."
"He can't be stimulated right now."
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"I understand."
"Thank you, Father."
Hearing that title again made Nan Ming's expression darken immediately.
He snorted.
"Anyway, just do whatever you're doing over there."
"Absolutely don't let him learn about this."
"Otherwise, once he returns to the Capital Star, it'll become another huge problem."
Yu Lanfeng had hoped Nan Ming would return and help keep everyone under control.
Instead...
After returning to the Capital Star, Nan Ming discovered that neither of his sons had been found.
Not only were they still missing—
No one even knew whether they were alive.
Yu Lanfeng had approved leave for Nan Ming.
Allowing someone to rest during such a busy period was extremely unusual.
Yet to Nan Ming...
Even that leave felt far too short.
The butler hurried over the moment he saw him.
"You're finally back."
"The situation isn't good."
"The legion insists both young masters are still somewhere on the Capital Star."
"They've deployed enormous search teams."
"At first I still believed we'd find them."
"But after search after search produced nothing..."
"I've begun to suspect they've already been taken off the Capital Star."
"I just don't think the legion has realized it yet."
Nan Ming asked,
"Can I participate in the rescue?"
The butler paused before shaking his head.
"I'm afraid not."
"It seems someone learned in advance that you were returning."
"They specifically instructed that you aren't allowed to participate."
If Nan Ming lost control of his emotions during the operation, he could endanger both the hostages and the soldiers carrying out the rescue.
Nan Ming understood.
Right now, he truly couldn't control his emotions well enough.
In that case...
He would simply stay on the Capital Star.
Although he couldn't personally participate in the rescue, at least he could receive information immediately instead of waiting days for reports while carrying out missions elsewhere.
If things dragged on any longer...
By the time he received the news...
The bodies might already have been cremated.
Nan Yu knew nothing about Nan Ming's return.
He knew nothing about his two brothers' disappearance.
Everyone was keeping the truth from him.
So he simply packed his belongings as quickly as possible, unwilling to make Yu Lanfeng wait.
When Nan Yu arrived, he found Yu Lanfeng already standing outside headquarters with an entire team.
He hurried over.
"I'm ready."
"Can we go now?"
Yu Lanfeng nodded.
"Let's go."
"Our first destination is Border Region Six Military Base."
"The situation there has become extremely serious."
"We need to deal with it immediately."
Nan Yu boarded the starship with the group.
After entering jump space, it took them less than three days to reach the planet.
Looking down from the starship, Nan Yu frowned.
The entire atmosphere appeared yellow.
Not because the atmosphere itself was yellow...
But because endless dust storms below had stained the sky that color.
At some point, Yu Lanfeng appeared behind him.
"What do you think?"
Nan Yu answered,
"First, we have to suppress the Ability Beast outbreak."
"Otherwise everything else will be meaningless."
"And judging from what I can see..."
"...the outbreak here is extremely severe."
Yet something felt strange.
Every year, nearly every military base reported roughly similar casualties and losses.
Occasionally, expenses increased because expensive equipment had been destroyed.
Yu Lanfeng had always approved funding generously.
Weapons were constantly upgraded.
The legion even developed many advanced technologies of its own.
Naturally, using those technologies required excellent academic performance.
Whenever Nan Yu accompanied Yu Lanfeng to inspect military schools, they always saw exhausted students wearing expressions full of despair.
Nan Yu asked,
"Are we landing now?"
"Can we already identify the landing zone?"
"What if the coordinates are wrong?"
"And why are we arriving here this time?"
Yu Lanfeng patiently answered every question.
"We can locate both the landing area and the military base."
"I've been here many times."
"My very first army was established here."
"At that time, this region had an unusually large population of Ability Beasts."
"So many that it immediately raised suspicions."
"Fortunately, the defenses were strengthened in advance."
"Otherwise..."
"...there wouldn't be this many people standing here today."
Nan Yu soon noticed the exhausted faces of the soldiers.
Some units had lost nearly half their personnel.
Even Yu Lanfeng found that abnormal.
He immediately asked,
"What happened?"
"Were the casualties really this severe?"
A greasy-looking middle-aged officer in military uniform quickly approached.
The surrounding soldiers immediately stepped aside to clear a path.
Contrary to expectations, the man behaved with extreme humility.
Carefully approaching Yu Lanfeng, he said,
"Marshal..."
"We really couldn't do anything."
"It feels like we drew the worst possible luck this year."
"We never imagined something like this would happen."
"We'd already completed the hunt and were returning..."
"...when everything went wrong halfway back."
Yu Lanfeng raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Take me to your office."
"I heard there are thirty-one people who tested positive."
"I want to see them."
The military base was enormous.
According to the comparison data stored in the central database, the numbers should have been far higher.
Which meant...
Border Region Six Military Base had very likely already been infiltrated.
The only question was—
To what extent?
Yu Lanfeng said quietly,
"We'll examine the files first."
The greasy officer hurried away down the corridor.
Five or six minutes later, he returned carrying a thick dossier.
It contained the investigation files on all thirty-one individuals.
These records didn't exist on the Capital Star's internal network.
Delivering them by hand was the safest option.