Eighth floor of the Golden Sun Wheel Military Building, office of the temporary inspector.
“Ha, it’s all done.”
Zheng Yue’s eyes lit up as he tapped the virtual screen with his ten fingers, and arranged several intercepted surveillance videos into several small windows.
“Lieutenant General Luther, do you now believe that there are moths in the Golden Sun Wheel? This is ironclad evidence.”
Several sections of surveillance footage were arranged in order. The first window showed a picture of several mechas landing from the starry sky, the second window was a picture of the mechas disappearing at the other end of Aslan City in the dark, and the last window was very blurry, but it could still be vaguely seen that the mechas were dropping down one after the other into the back garden of a huge mansion.
At the same time, there were also starship departures and return certificates provided by Albourne Star City, yet the Aslan Star City side did not have any proof of starship landing certificates, coupled with various pieces of evidence that Zheng Yue himself investigated some time ago.
These things, if taken out individually, only have little decisive persuasiveness, but if put together in this way, it formed a complete logical chain——
Someone intercepted this batch of real crystal ores from inside the Golden Sun Wheel this autumn and transferred them to this private mansion.
“This…..this……”
Beside the desk, Lieutenant General Luther craned his neck in disbelief.
The elderly and rigid old general slammed the corner of the table with a fist, his face turned red and ghastly pale at times, and spoke incoherently under the mix of shock and anger. “This…this is absurd!”
Jiang Jianming sat on the chair facing the desk, propped his forehead with one hand, scanned the videos with a slow and leisurely gaze, and opened his mouth, “Yes, it is absurd.”
Facing the young inspector who was almost one-third his age, Lieutenant General Luther broke out in a cold sweat and hastily lowered his head, “Inspector Excellency, this, this is indeed a crime of lax supervision by the lower officials. Within the Golden Sun Wheel Army, unexpectedly……how could such a major dereliction of duty occur.”
“Old general,” Jiang Jianming interrupted him lightly, tapping the corner of the table with his index finger, “Now the thief had not only stolen one or two real crystal ores, but emptied the entire starship. From top to bottom, only Major Zheng Yue found out the clue—and yet he was dismissed from the Golden Sun Wheel Army?”
“That day, Golden Sun Wheel’s transport ship rushed into the Jiuye River with a mecha interference wave transmitter, intending to kill people and silence them. Zheng Yue and I almost lost our lives in the river. Your Golden Sun Wheel military ships, is this how it is used as knives against foreign enemies?”
“Regarding the careless and sloppy military discipline, and about domineering influential officials, I won’t say anymore.”
Jiang Jianming glanced out the window, and in the clean corridor, several Golden Sun Wheel soldiers walked over while chatting.
He whispered, “I can’t even judge, in this tall building, how many people are still loyal soldiers of the empire…”
“……Your Excellency!”
Lieutenant General Luther’s face increasingly became paler, and knelt down on one knee with a thud, “It’s because of the lax of governance by the lower officials, causing frequent omissions in the Golden Sun Wheel, which is an unforgivable crime!”
“But Your Excellency, this lowly official, with his old life, guarantees with his lifetime of military achievements and honors!” The lieutenant general raised his agitated face and beat his chest with his fist, “Golden Sun Wheel……most of the imperial soldiers in the Golden Sun Wheel are innocent! Please allow this lowly official to send troops to seal off this mansion immediately and conduct a search inventory!!”
Jiang Jianming stared at Lieutenant General Luther’s expression and behavior for a while, and initially judged that the old man seemed to be unaware, it’s just simply……a little useless in terms of ability.
He stopped stimulating Lieutenant General Luther for the time being, and instead gestured to the surveillance footage with his eyes, “Which big house is this, it looks very wealthy.”
Zheng Yue spoke in a timely manner at the side. “Ah, this seems to be the Brandon family’s residence, Little Excellency.”
Ever since he found out the true identity of the Little Excellency and his relationships behind the scene, he seemed to have instantly become a hundred times more energetic and his courage had rapidly expanded. Even facing Lieutenant General Luther, the former old boss, there was no stage fright at all.
Lieutenant General? Hmph…what Lieutenant General, this morning, I saw with my own eyes the “fraudulent corpse” His Highness the Crown Prince handing milk to the Little Excellency!
(t/n: fraudulent corpse-Belief that a corpse can stand up before encoffining.)
Jiang Jianming frowned, feeling ridiculous to the point of wanting to laugh. “Why is it this family again?”
Lieutenant General Luther did not dare to slack off, and said with cold sweat on his forehead, “Your Excellency! It is a serious crime to hide real crystal ores privately. According to the law, the highest penalty is death, let alone the current matter of suspicion of colluding with the evil forces of space bandits…..this lowly official will immediately dispatch troops to contain the Brandon family to heed and be dealt with by the empire!”
“Old general, please be calm and not be impatient, I will give you a chance to prove your innocence.”
Jiang Jianming was quite steady. He glanced up at the electronic clock, and casually stretched out his hand to straighten his neckline, “Time is almost up.”
Lieutenant General Luther: “Time?”
Jiang Jianming gave a “hmm” and pointed to the back of his chair. “Later, the two of you, don’t do anything, don’t say anything, and just stand here.”
****
A moment of time had passed, then there was a knock on the office door.
Wearing electronic glasses and with sparse blond hair, Staff Officer Duke walked in with a dark face, holding a piece of paper full of handwriting in his hand.
Jiang Jianming, dressed in a platinum military uniform, sat upright behind the desk, crossed his gloved fingers into a tower, and smiled slightly, “Staff Officer Duke, have you come to hand in the copy?”
“Inspector.”
Duke’s face was very ugly. He first glanced at Lieutenant General Luther and Zheng Yue who were standing beside him, and then walked slowly to the desk.
He put the piece of paper in front of Jiang Jianmin. “Yes, I finished writing…”
Click.
Before he finished his sentence, Staff Officer Duke’s pupils constricted in astonishment—he lowered his head stiffly, and a silver-gray muzzle was pressed against his heart.
Jiang Jianming still maintained a smile, holding the Wings of Venus in one hand, but the bottom of his eyes were like a sword blade quenched with ice. “You colluded with the Brandon family, and assisted in the transfer of the real crystal ores. I have obtained ironclad evidence.”
He said softly, “I’ll only give you one chance to confess and be lenient.”
“Lieutenant General Luther is here, if you don’t explain, I can shoot you on the spot.”
“…….”
Behind Jiang Jianming, Zheng Yue’s eyes widened, and when he turned his head, he saw Lieutenant General Luther who was also equally stunned.
——The forefoot seized evidence overnight, and then the rearfoot drew a gun to intimidate the accomplice suspect? (TL: I don’t really know what this means)
The interval between them was less than 20 minutes, isn’t this too fucking fierce!?
At the current dark muzzle of the gun, Duke’s face turned pale instantly, but he still forced a smile. “Ins, Inspector Excellency, what are you joking about? This…”
He said, while subconsciously wanting to push his glasses.
Jiang Jianming gently pressed the trigger with his fingers, and said faintly, “Don’t move, raise your hands and speak.”
Duke’s face lost another layer of blood, he forced a smile and didn’t dare to move, “No, Your Excellency Jiang, it’s really embarrassing for you to be like this…”
“—I said, raise your hands and speak.”
The cold light in the bottom of Jiang Jianming’s eyes was too sharp, and there was an unmistakable killing intent. “The gun in my hand is a new crystal weapon, and I have used it to kill real alien creatures before…..Staff Officer, the moment I pull the trigger, even if you condense your crystal bone, it will not help, you will only die on the spot.”
Staff Officer Duke’s calf went numb, and he raised his hands tremblingly, feeling that his cheeks, which were barely keeping a smile, were already twitching.
“Lieutenant General, this, this is…” Duke turned his gaze to the Old General Luther with difficulty, “Haha, there must be some misunderstanding. You say it, you say it, I can explain.”
The old general stared at the pair of eagle eyes, and the corners of his mouth moved——
He has no choice, the Inspector Excellency won’t let him speak!
Even though he himself was confused now, the lifetime’s honor and innocence of the Golden Sun Wheel were all at the tip of his tongue!
Thus Lieutenant General Luther remained silent, looking at Duke motionlessly like an iron statue door god.
“……”
“……”
The cold sweat on Duke’s forehead grew more and more, but he couldn’t wipe his forehead with his sleeve, he could only let the sweat flow to his nose and the corners of his eyes, which made him blink repeatedly. “Ge, General…General?”
Jiang Jianming smiled. “Look, isn’t the person ignoring you?”
Duke’s eyes gradually turned bloodshot. “Inspector, forgive this lowly official for being unable to accept. You said that I colluded…colluded with outsiders to steal the real crystal ores, what evidence is there!?”
Jiang Jianming pulled the virtual screen and showed it to him. Duke glanced at it as if his tail had been stepped on and shouted. “What is this, hm? Show me what these mean. I don’t even know these mechas at all. Is Your Excellency going to insist that I ordered them? You don’t have any evidence at all!”
“This kind of behavior of being beaten into a trick, is simply slandering the soldiers of the empire! Even if you have the support of the old marshal behind you, the laws of the empire will not allow…..”
(t/n: being beaten into a trick-wronged people are forced to make untrue confessions under torture.)
Jiang Jianming frowned and chuckled twice, then interrupted him by shaking his head. “Staff Officer Duke, why look so ugly?”
“Do you really want me to say, that yesterday you went to see the eldest young master of the Brandon Family. Giving up?”
Behind Jiang Jianming, Zheng Yue and Lieutenant General Luther opened their eyes in disbelief.
Yesterday…Duke and Young Master Brandon met?
Needless to say, the sudden change in Duke’s face had proven everything.
Sure enough, the staff officer’s face flushed and said, “Me! We, we, we are just close…..close friends, and the content of the conversation is all private matters!”
Really meet and conspire?
Zheng Yue was both surprised and delighted in his heart, he simply didn’t know how to worship well.
The Little Excellency has been busy investigating the matter of the starship yesterday, how did he know Duke’s whereabouts?
However, Old General Luther shivered, and his mind flashed back to the scene of yesterday’s group meeting. The young inspector surnamed Jiang calmly asked Duke to write a copy and hand it over to the office the next day…….
After yesterday’s meeting, the senior military officers of Golden Sun Wheel were talking everywhere about the inspector’s “peculiar” way of building up his prestige.
But now it seems, could it be that the Inspector has planned this event since then?
Luther’s gaze gradually changed, and he looked at the back of the pale and thin young man in front of him again.
If His Excellency had prepared on catching Duke by surprise today, it meant that he only gave himself one night to catch the real culprit’s flaw behind the scenes.
What kind of character is this…
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Jiang Jianming kick the foot of the table. He put away his smile, changed into a cold face, and said quietly, “Staff Officer Duke, let me tell you the truth now, all the conspiring between you both, the old marshal has long been well aware.”
He sneered, “Otherwise, what do you think? A fledgling and an inexperienced young man like me, can I really thoroughly investigate all the evidence in just one night?”
“……”
Zheng Yue’s adoring eyes froze for a moment, almost a broken gong.
(t/n: broken gong-It means insisting on something but failing or pretending to be a certain image until the true color is exposed.)
Jiang Jianming looked back at him just right. “Even Major Zheng’s falling into the water was also planned. It’s just used to numb you all.”
Lieutenant General Luther gradually revealed a sense of confusion and shame in his eyes.
It turns out that the commander-in-chief is still wise.
Zheng Yue numbly thought to himself: How come he did not know that he, who lost his military rank, left by his wife and almost drowned, was in the plan!?
The Little Excellency appeared quiet and kind, yet how could he be so capable of deceiving people…..
As soon as he thought so, he looked up again, and was surprised to see that Duke’s facial features were throbbing ferociously, his eyes were blood red, like a ferocious beast that was driven to a corner.
An ominous premonition flashed in Zheng Yue’s heart.
In the next moment, just as Duke roared wildly, a sharp light surged from his fists—the crystal-like substance condensed and formed at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to catch.
Like a pair of crystal hammers, the lavender crystal bones slammed towards Jiang Jianming’s face and chest!
All of this happened in a blink of an eye. The distance between Duke and Jiang Jianming was too close. It wouldn’t take a second for the crystal bone to pierce a person’s body upon release.
However, Jiang Jianming had long been on guard against Duke’s frenzied homicide. At this moment, he was extremely calm, and slid under the table by the curvature of the chair to hide!
After a loud bang, the entire table was smashed by crystal bones, wood chips and metal flew about haphazardly. However, Jiang Jianming rolled twice on the spot in this chaos, got up again, took advantage of the opportunity and raised the Wings of Venus——
He just said that he could shoot him on the spot, but what he really wanted in his heart was to catch him alive. Jiang Jianming’s eyes hardened, and “bang bang” fired two shots in a row, aiming at Duke’s legs!
Then came a screech, and blood spattered the wall. Duke dodged the first shot, but was hit in the left leg by the second shot, and immediately staggered and fell by the window.
“Duke!!”
With a roar, Zheng Yue released the crystal bones almost at the same time as Lieutenant General Luther, and rushed towards Staff Officer Duke.
Jiang Jianming sharply saw Duke reaching out to touch his other wrist.
This action was very familiar to him, Jiang Jianming’s heart trembled, and he shouted, “—Fall back!!”
In the next second, a corner on the eighth floor of the Golden Sun Wheel building exploded and burst into flames.
“Eh——”
“What happened!?”
Countless pedestrians in the distance either turned their heads in horror, or screamed while covering their heads. A huge object passed over their heads, bringing up a gust of wind.
——It’s a folding mecha!
Both Zheng Yue and Lieutenant General Luther, who were badly battered, raised their heads, staring in astonishment at the mecha that crashed through the windows and walls and rushed towards the sky of the Aslan City.
This was not Silver Big Dipper, where battles may occur at any time, but the Golden Sun Wheel which was stationed in the empire—yet a mere staff officer, unexpectedly possessed a folding mecha!?
A figure swept past the line of sight of the two of them.
Without any hesitation, Jiang Jianming turned over and jumped out of the opening that was billowing with thick smoke, and the silver bracelet on his left hand flickered under the sun.
He sternly shouted, “Snow Dove—flight mode!”
In the dazzling light, Seth Henry, the intelligence, manipulated the mech S-Snow Dove, and directly assembled into flight mode while in mid air. Snow Dove was like a beautiful flying crane soaring in the skies, carrying Jiang Jianming, and chasing after the mecha that Duke was riding on.
