SCOM - Chapter 61
Chapter 61
After enrolling in the First Military Academy, Zuo Luohuan read all the course books and felt there was nothing left to learn. So, after staying at the academy for a month and accumulating enough credits, she left the campus to travel.
Zuo Luohuan chose the Western Region as her destination, eventually making her way to Xijiang Exile Star. There, she met a friend in the underground casino. The two hit it off and won a considerable amount of money together.
Neither of them cared much for money, so they spent most of their winnings there and had a great time. However, Zuo Luohuan had another purpose for coming to Xijiang Exile Star: she wanted to check on the progress of the 377th Army's mining operations.
Her initial plan was to bid farewell to her friend and go to the mining area by herself, but she never got the chance.
This was because the Hong family's heir invited them to the casino's anniversary event, even wanting to hire them as permanent guest players. Zuo Luohuan naturally refused outright, but her friend accepted.
The casino was bustling during the anniversary event, and Zuo Luohuan spent nearly every day there with her friend. Sometimes, they were invited to dine at the Hong residence, and she would go along with her friend.
The Hong residence had many large ore stones on display. The heir told her they were brought from the mining area to be tested for Silver-Blue.
"The 377th Army's conditions are poor. We want to partner with them, providing detection equipment and mining vehicles. The deal is almost finalized." At the time, the Hong family heir mentioned this when he saw Zuo Luohuan's interest in the ore.
Back then, Hong Tongdao was basically uninvolved in business matters; the Hong family's enterprises were all managed by this adopted son. Zuo Luohuan had no interaction with Hong Tongdao. It was only during a party at the Hong residence that she accidentally wandered into his study and saw a mineral analysis report on his desk.
Why would a man who didn't manage the business have a mineral analysis report?
Zuo Luohuan had just turned a page when the door opened. It was Hong Tongdao.
His expression changed drastically upon seeing her. He strode forward, snatched the report away, and demanded to know why she was there.
"Took a wrong turn." Zuo Luohuan raised her hands, shrugged, and smiled. "My apologies."
Hong Tongdao told her to get out, his eyes dark and menacing.
As Zuo Luohuan walked toward the door, the smile on her face faded. She had a feeling something was wrong with that mineral analysis report and decided to come back that night to investigate.
But events unfolded beyond Zuo Luohuan's imagination. After she returned, her so-called friend suddenly attacked her. The wound on her side, deep enough to expose bone, was from his sneak attack. Even so, she had managed to dodge his fatal blow.
"You're really not as simple as you seem." Her friend hadn't expected Zuo Luohuan to be so skilled. He looked at the bloody dagger in his hand. "A pity... I coated the blade with something."
Zuo Luohuan looked down at her side as her consciousness began to fade. Her last remaining memory was of him walking toward her.
When she woke up again, the person she faced was Hong Tongdao.
Hong Tongdao believed Zuo Luohuan had read the entire document on the desk and wanted to interrogate her to find out who she was working for and whether she had passed on any information.
Ji Yuezhi had asked Zuo Luohuan how long she was held there, and she had said she couldn't remember. In truth, she had never forgotten.
From the moment she opened her eyes, she spent a total of nine days and ten nights in that basement. The video Ji Yuezhi saw was only from the first day. By the tenth night, she was on the verge of death, and Hong Tongdao, having lost the mood to interrogate her, simply had her dragged away to be disposed of behind the mines.
Zuo Luohuan seized the opportunity to kill the two men taking her behind the mines and escaped.
After that, news came that the Hong family heir had been killed. Xijiang Exile Star fell into chaos for a while, and she found a chance to return.
Dawn was breaking. Zuo Luohuan turned to look out the window, a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were exceptionally cold: He'd better still be on Xijiang Exile Star.
"Hey, the look on you three's faces..." Luo Shaoyuan looked at the three of them early in the morning, studying them for a long while before inexplicably falling silent. She lowered her head and sent Zuo Luohuan a message on her optical computer.
【Are you planning to stir up trouble? Do you have enough people? Want me to call for backup from the Northern Region?】
Although Luo Shaoyuan wasn't skilled in strategy, she had good instincts. She had felt something was off with Zuo Luohuan's group since last night, not to mention the annoying 'eyes' that had been around for the past few days.
【Isn't Classmate Luo known for being able to take on ten opponents at once?】
Luo Shaoyuan looked up to see Zuo Luohuan smiling at her and couldn't help but scoff.
Everyone said Zuo Luohuan was like her father, but Luo Shaoyuan never thought so. The Chairman never smiled, and if he did, it was a genuine smile, unlike the fake one Zuo Luohuan wore year-round.
Luo Shaoyuan: 【Suit yourself. Call me if you need anything.】
"We've been here for a few days, thank you for the Star Lord's hospitality." After breakfast, Ji Yuezhi said to Zhou Li, who was in charge of receiving them, "We would like to pay a visit to the Star Lord. I wonder if we might have the opportunity?"
Zhou Li quickly smiled and said, "Of course. The Star Lord said long ago that you could visit whenever you wished."
The Star Lord worked in the administrative center of Xijiang Exile Star. Led by Zhou Li, the group took a flyer to the landing pad on the roof of the administrative building.
"I've already contacted the Star Lord. He'll be out of his meeting in half an hour. You all can take a tour first," Zhou Li said politely.
The administrative center building wasn't as luxurious as those in the city center, but it was sufficiently solemn and impressive. The group took an elevator down from the top floor, arriving at the 24th floor.
They toured the floor, and half an hour passed quickly. Just as they reached the door of a conference room, the Star Lord of Xijiang Exile Star came out. Upon seeing Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan, he greeted them enthusiastically, "I've been wanting to see Miss Zuo and Young Master Ji, but I've been swamped with work. I didn't expect you two to come over."
The Star Lord shook their hands while bowing slightly, the very picture of attentiveness.
Logically, there was nothing wrong with this. Xijiang was just an exile star, small and with few resources. It was natural for such a Star Lord to be attentive when meeting the children of the most influential army groups in the Federal Military Committee.
Zuo Luohuan's gaze shifted from the Star Lord to a person standing behind him, then quickly retracted. He's gotten in with the Star Lord of Xijiang Exile Star now?
"Is this... the Star Lord's son?" Ji Yuezhi tilted his head, noticing the young man in a high-end suit behind them, and asked the Star Lord.
The Star Lord turned to the person on his right and immediately explained, "No, this is my secretary, Zhang Yongzhen. He's very young, isn't he? But he's very efficient."
Ji Yuezhi nodded and handed over the gift he had prepared as a greeting present for the Star Lord.
"You've all been to the underground casino, I trust," the Star Lord said warmly. "Feel free to play a few more rounds. Put it on my tab."
"Our luck isn't very good," Zuo Luohuan said with a smile. "If we play a few more rounds, we might lose everything."
"Hahahaha, it's just for fun. A few rounds won't hurt." The Star Lord led them to the reception room, and the young man beside him efficiently poured tea for everyone.
Ji Yuezhi sat next to Zuo Luohuan, the two of them very close. The entire reception room was filled with the sound of his conversation with the Star Lord.
Zuo Luohuan leaned lazily against the sofa, her right hand hidden behind Ji Yuezhi, reaching past his waist to gently hook his right hand.
Zhang Yongzhen, carrying snacks, walked around the back of the sofa, and his peripheral vision caught the small, hidden gesture between the two.
"These are a local specialty of Xijiang Star," Zhang Yongzhen said, placing the snacks on the coffee table.
"Thank you." Ji Yuezhi nodded at him with the kind of casual politeness a superior shows to a subordinate.
"This is about all Xijiang Star has to offer locally. Everything else is imported," the Star Lord said, pointing to the snacks on the coffee table. "But it certainly can't compare to the capital."
"It tastes pretty good," Jiang Hong said, reaching for a piece and taking a bite.
Ji Yuezhi sat ramrod straight. Other than his right hand being held and played with by Zuo Luohuan behind his back, he didn't feel much of anything. He was just wondering if she was doing this for that Zhang Yongzhen to see.
"As long as you like it. I heard you all came here because of a classmate on Xijiang Exile Star." The Star Lord looked at the group, his gaze finally landing on Luo Shaoyuan. "Is it this classmate?"
"No, our junior is at the hospital today taking care of his parents, so he didn't come," Ji Yuezhi said. "His parents are with the 377th Army. They were injured in a mining accident some time ago."
"I see..." The Star Lord sighed. "The 377th Army has been mining for so many years without finding any useful minerals."
"I hear that after they finish mining the eastern mountain, the 377th Army will leave if they don't find any minerals," Ji Yuezhi said. "They should be returning to their unit next year."
"The 377th Army has worked hard all these years." The Star Lord shook his head and sighed. "Our exile star's finances are already tight. We have to provide for the local residents every year, so we have no way to subsidize them."
The group sat in the reception room for a while longer before Ji Yuezhi said to the Star Lord, "Could we possibly visit the mineral analysis research institute? I hear it's in the administrative district, and we've never seen mineral analysis before."
"Of course." The Star Lord turned to his secretary. "Yongzhen, why don't you take them over for a look? I have two more meetings this afternoon. But are the people at the institute working today?"
"Yes, they are. Last night, the 377th Army delivered ore from the eastern mine," Zhang Yongzhen said with a slight bow. "They should be separating the raw materials from the ore today."
"Perfect." The Star Lord bid farewell to Ji Yuezhi and the others and left the reception room.
Zhang Yongzhen walked ahead, turning sideways to say to Ji Yuezhi, "Please follow me."
The research institute was right next to the administrative building, a six-story white structure. Entry required a key card. Zhang Yongzhen contacted someone downstairs and waited for them to come down before he and that person led the group up.
"My apologies, the institute has a lot of procedures. Some test results are quite important and cannot be leaked," Zhang Yongzhen explained, looking back.
Ji Yuezhi nodded in understanding. Zuo Luohuan stood idly to the side, her gaze occasionally falling on him, perfectly portraying the attitude of an Alpha accompanying an Omega, utterly bored with her surroundings.
"Are you all students from the First Military Academy?" Zhang Yongzhen's eyes showed a hint of envy. "I was planning to apply to a military academy too, but unfortunately, I failed one of the academic subjects."
"I'm not," Luo Shaoyuan said. "I'm from the Northern Military Academy."
Zhang Yongzhen was surprised. "Then coming here..."
"Nothing to do during winter break, so I tagged along with them. To be honest, there's nothing fun to do on Xijiang Exile Star." Luo Shaoyuan yawned and kicked the back of Zuo Luohuan's heel. "Let's just go to the Western Region in a few days."
Zuo Luohuan leaned against the glass mirror of the elevator, looked at Ji Yuezhi, and said nonchalantly, "It's up to him."
Ji Yuezhi's lips curved up slightly, his eyes seemingly filled with the curiosity of a young master from a noble family visiting a poor place. "It's quite fun here. I've seen many things for the first time."
"Then we'll stay a few more days," Zuo Luohuan said.
Among the group, Zuo Luohuan could make the final decision, yet she cared about Ji Yuezhi's opinion. On the surface, the two didn't seem close, but in reality, they took every opportunity to make small, intimate gestures. They were indeed a couple in a secret, passionate relationship.
Through the reflective elevator door, Zhang Yongzhen subtly observed the relationships among the people behind him.
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