Invasion - Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Cao Junmin was a man who paid great attention to his appearance. Perhaps because of his humble origins, he was even more particular about his every word and action than true nobles.
Almost at all times, his hair was neatly combed, his clothes ironed and properly fitted, and a gentle, scholarly smile was on his face.
He had maintained these habits for decades, never losing his composure in front of others.
Now, he sat at his luxurious office desk, his hands uncontrollably rubbing his face.
His hair was messy, his face swollen, his mood low, no longer with his usual grace.
A thick stack of paper lay on the desk. It was the investigation report on last night's assassination. They had spent a lot of effort collecting and organizing it, but it was no longer of any use.
Soon, he wouldn’t have to worry about these things anymore.
He had been dismissed, and would soon be leaving the empire’s center of power.
The successive assassinations of the Minister of Military Affairs and the Count weren’t minor matters that could be easily dismissed. Someone had to take the blame.
Cao Junmin, with his humble background, having lost his backer, and in the position of chief of the Public Security Bureau, became the best candidate.
The chief of the Public Security Bureau, negligent in his duties, failing to maintain order in the capital, resulting in the successive assassinations of two important imperial officials in their own residences. He had to be questioned and resign to take responsibility.
Cao Junmin didn't understand how he had fallen to this point. These days, for some reason, he had been incredibly unlucky. The backers he had painstakingly tried to please, spending countless amounts of money, almost giving up everything for them, had fallen one after another.
His career had finally come to a dead end.
Footsteps came and went outside the office door.
At this moment, many of his confidants in the Public Security Bureau were being investigated. Other than his office, clerks sent by the Royal Guard to investigate and take over were everywhere in the Public Security Bureau.
"Xiao Ji, why did things become like this?" Cao Junmin rubbed his swollen eyes and looked up at Ni Ji standing before him.
Ni Ji, like him, had been running around since last night, handling all sorts of matters, without a moment’s rest.
But he stood there, his legs apart, his back straight, his eyes sharp, not showing a trace of fatigue.
It was good to be young. Cao Junmin thought, having stayed up all night, then been busy for so long, not a hint of tiredness on his face, still so handsome, straight, and energetic.
No wonder the Minister took a liking to him at first glance.
When this thought crossed his mind, he instinctively caught something.
He had once carefully investigated Jiang Yimei's various preferences, and knew about some of her hidden quirks. He knew she liked powerful and handsome sentinels like Ni Ji.
He had deliberately recommended Ni Ji to Jiang Yimei.
What had that arrogant Minister of Military Affairs said at that time?
"He's a good kid, he should be rewarded. Bring him to visit me often."
So last night, he had brought Ni Ji to the Jiang family banquet. When they went, he had of course given a slight hint, Ni Ji hadn't shown any obvious resistance, he had even dressed up cooperatively.
Cao Junmin’s heart started to pound.
He thought of the various things that had happened since Ni Ji's return.
The successive deaths, the successive incidents, each one seemingly unrelated to Ni Ji, but there were always some clues that made him, Ni Ji’s direct superior, feel that something was wrong.
Cao Junmin looked up in surprise, and couldn’t help but carefully study the student standing not far away.
Ni Ji had changed out of the clothes he wore at the banquet, and was back in his black sentinel uniform, with the Public Security Bureau’s silver badge on his shoulder, his expression cold, his back straight.
He was a sentinel, a sharp blade, a fierce weapon, always ready for battle, never a flower to be picked at a banquet.
Ni Ji could be said to be a student that Cao Junmin had watched grow up, he actually knew this student better than anyone.
Could he really be a docile, obedient man who would willingly kneel?
Cao Junmin knew what Ni Ji had done last night, the thick stack of reports on the table contained Ni Ji’s name. There were witness testimonies and the investigator’s signatures, clearly recording that Ni Ji hadn’t been alone last night.
Among the many sentinels on the suspect list, without any evidence against them, Ni Ji was clearly innocent.
But once the seeds of doubt were sown, they were difficult to suppress.
Cao Junmin inexplicably wanted to ask again.
"Xiao… Xiao Ji," Cao Junmin's dry lips trembled, and he asked haltingly, "where did you go last night?"
Ni Ji looked at him, his expression the same as it had been these days, neither particularly humble nor overly docile.
"What does Teacher want to ask?" Ni Ji's tone was very calm. "I entered the venue with you, Teacher, and I also left with you. As for the period I left in between, it's all written in the report."
Cao Junmin's mind exploded.
It was him.
He knew this man, he should have known what a dangerous guy this was.
Back then, he had caused him trouble again and again, impossible to subdue, he had once been so angry at him.
How could he have been deceived by his lowered head these days?
Ni Ji's words, spoken calmly, were a wake-up call.
He knew he couldn't ask any more questions. Even if Ni Ji had really done something, he could only pretend not to know, and hope that it would never be discovered by others.
It was he who had transferred Ni Ji from the northern border, it was he who had personally brought him into the Count’s residence, and it was he who had personally recommended him to Jiang Yimei.
The Count's residence!
...
The more Cao Junmin thought about it, the more alarmed he became. He remembered that when the incident with the Count had happened, Ni Ji hadn’t actually been in his sight.
It was he who had personally written the testimony, proving that he, Ni Ji, and Tan Shu had been together. If these things really were related to Ni Ji, there was no way he could clear his name. Even the only person who could testify, Tan Shu, was dead.
Cao Junmin looked at Ni Ji, a little apprehensive.
Ni Ji, tall, his gaze calm, stood by the table, looking down at him calmly.
"What is Teacher thinking about? I am a student promoted by Teacher, if Teacher has any instructions, please feel free to tell me," the sentinel captain, who had returned from the northern border, said.
His tone was steady, without a trace of panic from having his actions discovered.
Cao Junmin’s heart trembled. He was a very perceptive person, he understood the hidden threat in Ni Ji’s words.
He knew why Ni Ji wasn’t afraid of him.
If Ni Ji was arrested, as long as he insisted that he had been acting under the instructions of his superior, Cao Junmin, there would be no way for him, Cao Junmin, to clear his name.
Who would believe that a sentinel, recently returned from the northern border, would do such a horrible thing without being instructed by anyone?
Cao Junmin felt a sense of suffocation and fear, as if someone was choking him.
The best thing to do, was to not know anything, not think about anything.
At least for now, he couldn't do anything unnecessary.
He? How could he dare? Cao Junmin’s back was drenched in cold sweat.
Memories from the past came flooding back.
He really did dare, Cao Junmin thought, he had always been someone who dared to do anything, since he was young.
Back then, still a student, with no one to rely on, still so young, he had dared to defy him, the principal. Scolding, punishment, being sent to the border, nothing could make him yield.
That unyielding bone of his had never bent to reality, never truly been broken by anyone.
Now, that young, naive boy had grown up, become taller, stronger, more composed, and better at disguising himself.
He concealed that unyielding bone under a docile appearance, and returned here, committing shocking acts.
He had even easily forced him to cower in his shadow, to compromise, to not dare resist.
For the first time, Cao Junmin felt old, his heart weary.
A lifetime of scheming, of discarding everything to build his high tower, only for it to be a castle in the air, collapsing in an instant.
He finally lowered his head.
"You can leave," the old principal, from behind his desk, waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, and Officer Luther from the Royal Guard has some handover tasks, he specifically asked for you, go see him."
Before leaving, Ni Ji took one last look back.
That usually straight figure behind the desk seemed to have suddenly hunched over.
He remembered when he had first entered the Sentinel Academy.
At that time, he was still a young child, and the principal was just a teacher at school, who had taken special care of those children from poor families.
At that time, he, still so young, had also been grateful to his teacher, wanting to use everything he had learned to bring honor to the teacher and the school.
Only, as time passed, the teacher became the principal, became the chief of the Public Security Bureau, abandoning his original heart on the path to promotion.
And he himself, was he still the same boy from back then at school?
Commander Luther of the Royal Guard, Ni Ji had once met this powerful figure in the imperial military at the Count's residence.
This officer had a noticeable scar at the corner of his left eye, making his heroic face look very serious at all times.
With the financial resources of the powerful figures in the White Tower, everyone could afford to erase all old injuries in a treatment pod. But in this aristocratic circle where everyone valued their appearance, he had kept the scar on his face.
The commander’s imposing face was almost his personal trademark, unforgettable.
Sitting in the command center of the Public Security Bureau, Luther, taking over the work of the Public Security Bureau, didn’t seem very concerned about Jiang Yimei's assassination, nor did he seem to care much about the handover procedures.
He left all matters to the civilian staff around him, and sat there with his bespectacled adjutant, studying a map of a contaminated zone.
When he saw Ni Ji enter, he turned around and waved to him.
"You came just in time. I was just about to send someone to call you."
Ni Ji stood by the door and gave a standard sentinel salute.
The commander sat on the desk, his military boots propped up, and picked up a sentinel's file from the table.
Ni Ji’s file.
"I've seen your file. 380 trips into contaminated zones, called the Blade of the Ice Field by the sentinels of the northern border," Luther, sitting there, flipped through the thick stack of records. "The ancient energy stones from the No. 5 Contaminated Zone last time, I heard you’re the one who got them for Cao Junmin. It’s a waste for someone like you to stay in the Public Security Bureau, handling petty theft cases.”
Ni Ji, his hands behind his back, stood at attention in standard sentinel posture, neither overly excited nor overly humble.
In front of a commander several ranks higher than him, when the highest authority in the Royal Guard showed an interest in recruiting him,
He just stood there quietly, waiting for Luther's next words.
Luther closed the file, pointed at him with the file folder, and looked at his adjutant with a questioning look. “Ji Xuan, what do you think?”
Adjutant Ji Xuan pushed up his glasses. “I also think he’s not bad, his character is steady.”
Luther jumped down from the table, strode forward, put an arm around Ni Ji’s shoulder, and walked back. “There’s something, our special operations team is short-staffed right now, we want you to join.”
Ni Ji’s eyes flickered slightly.
In the imperial capital, any department with the word “special” in its name was directly under the Queen’s command. They had special authority and mysterious functions.
For example, the Special Operations Unit, a branch of the Royal Guard, the Special Research Department, a branch of the scientific research department, the Special Investigations Unit, a branch of the Public Security Bureau, etc.
They were departments that ordinary people could hardly join.
"What do you say? Be straightforward," Luther tightened his grip on Ni Ji’s shoulder. "The pay is good, and the risks are definitely not small."
"Of course, it's my honor to be favored by the commander," Ni Ji replied.
Luther laughed, his large hand pressing on the map on the table. "Good, I like straightforward people."
Ni Ji followed his hand, his gaze landing on the map, a puzzled look quickly appearing on his face.
"Golden Tree?"
"That’s right," Adjutant Ji Xuan looked up and said, "under Her Majesty's orders, we're preparing to explore the Golden Tree Contaminated Zone."
Ni Ji slightly frowned, "No. 77 Contaminated Zone."
The No. 77 Contaminated Zone, also known as Golden Tree, was a contaminated zone that wasn't very old, but extremely dangerous.
Whether it was during "daytime" or "nighttime", almost all expedition teams that entered had never returned. The few sentinels lucky enough to escape had, without exception, gone insane.
Those sentinels who had narrowly escaped from the contaminated zone would only repeat three words after returning, "Golden Tree, Golden Tree, Golden Tree…"
"Yes, the Golden Tree in the No. 77 Contaminated Zone, we're planning to take it down," Luther’s fingers tapped the drawings and documents on the table. "No one has successfully conquered this contaminated zone so far. But it’s been constantly expanding. We’re planning to gather elite sentinels like you, with extensive experience in contaminated zones, to discuss a plan to take it down."
They were all action-oriented people, and quickly started discussing the drawings and information. Just as the discussion was getting heated, Ni Ji’s personal terminal flickered slightly.
Ni Ji glanced down, it was a profile picture that had been added for a long time, but had never lit up on his terminal before.
The profile picture was the one Ni Ji had privately set,
A small moon.
Ni Ji, who had been answering fluently about the new map and complicated information, paused, putting his wrist behind his back.
"You can go ahead and deal with it," Ji Xuan glanced at him, and said, "we’ll be here for a while, this is a good time for a break."
"It's a Guide, I added her on my personal terminal at the banquet yesterday," Ni Ji brought his wrist back, his expression calm and relaxed, his gaze meeting Ji Xuan’s without any avoidance.
Seeing that suddenly appearing profile picture, his heartbeat had skipped half a beat. But he quickly suppressed his emotions.
He would never again, like when facing Tan Shu’s questioning, be caught unprepared, his flaws exposed.
Ni Ji even smiled faintly at the perceptive adjutant. "She’s asking me something, I’ll reply to her."
The tall, handsome sentinel stood by the window, replying to a message from a girl he had just met last night. His beautiful features relaxed, a slight smile on his lips, he looked very relaxed and happy.
Orderlies brought in tea, and Luther and Ji Xuan picked up their teacups to rest.
Ji Xuan nodded at Luther, indicating that he truly accepted him.
There were some things he didn’t say. Only when he saw this sentinel standing by the window, chatting with a girl, did he truly relax, and decide to let this person participate.
Ji Xuan didn't like people who were too guarded, too flawless.
Those kinds of people always seemed to be hiding some secret purpose, making him feel like they were hard to control.
This Ni Ji, who would show off in front of a Guide, who would chat with a girl in front of others, gave him a more vivid impression than the cold sentinel in the rumors.
It even made him feel a little more at ease.
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