Evolution - Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Faced with a security check as troublesome as verifying his genetic sequence, He Qingzhi had no choice but to play his trump card.
He took a drug that slowed his heart rate to induce a state of suspended animation, activated the stealth device Saiweiyala had made for him, and was finally placed in a sealed container by Adonis’s men with a few bottles of oxygen. After a bumpy journey, they arrived at Hading Planet’s Third Spaceport just before two o’clock.
The entire process was an extreme test of trust.
Once he was inside, he was unconscious, like a living corpse, completely dependent on others for everything that happened outside.
He Qingzhi hadn’t agonized over the decision for long. On one hand, he could take a huge risk, with the best outcome being a quick reunion with his teammates, after which they would all take on the world together. On the other hand, if he missed this chance, he would have to fend for himself, trying every conceivable method to find his teammates in the vast sea of stars. If he was unlucky, he might have to return to the Alliance all by himself.
Comparatively, the latter option was far too grueling.
He had a profound realization: when a person is at their wit’s end, their gambling spirit grows strong, and they dare to do anything. After silently concluding that leaving a way out for others is a virtue, he resolved to take a huge gamble.
Fortunately, Adonis not only had good personal credit but was also skilled at managing his subordinates. Of course, it was also possible that he was afraid this troublemaker would be stuck on his hands and bring danger, so he upheld his promise with all his might and delivered him.
The four of them quietly admired their Sleeping Beauty for a moment before Nankong, with a swift hand, slammed the container shut with a thud.
“Alright, we’ve inspected the goods. No problems. We’ll deal with the rest on Wendeli.”
Although they didn’t know Nankong’s exact reasoning, everyone tacitly agreed. It didn’t feel wrong—after all, the person lying inside had no objections, right?
With the person safely aboard the ship, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Nankong sent Jixin and Saiweiyala, who had been on duty for the latter half of the previous night, to get some rest. Then he and Ji Changqing put their heads together and started playing a game.
After just two rounds, Nankong grew annoyed. “These idiots can’t understand plain language. Quick, let’s find a few more people ourselves and form a proper team!”
Ji Changqing blinked. Fine by her.
She stood up and went to knock on a door.
Kui Ye opened the door, beaming with delight. “What’s up? More business for me?”
He felt he had successfully been promoted from hostage to partner and wasn’t worried in the slightest. He was completely at ease, even pondering that if the formula from this transaction worked well, Ji Changqing and her group must have other, better ones. Building a good relationship with her would open up another path to wealth. With money, he could gamble even more happily in the future.
Even the previously trembling quartet couldn’t help but dream of striking it rich.
Ji Changqing couldn’t be bothered with whatever they were imagining. “Come on, let’s team up and play!”
The smile on Kui Ye’s face froze. For a gambling addict, what was so fun about games? They weren’t exciting enough, not interesting at all. At the gambling table, it was all about the thrill!
But he didn’t dare say so. He obediently sat down in a row with his men and followed Nankong’s instructions, logging in when told and joining the team when asked. He did exactly as he was told.
As they played, they started to find it fun, and soon everyone was shouting:
“Over here, over here!”
“Over there, over there!”
“Fuck, are you blind? Help me take out their turret first!”
“Commander, commander, don’t let them flank us!”
“I know, I know! I’ve got it under control. Stick to the plan, and everyone adapt as needed!”
“Forty degrees clockwise, cover your teammates!”
...
After a few lively rounds, everyone was fired up. Even the trembling quartet dared to shout at Ji Changqing and Kui Ye.
Having exchanged information through the combat game, Nankong seemed to lose interest.
At the same time, the ship’s captain was speaking with someone in the captain’s quarters. The person sitting opposite him had an imposing posture, radiating a gangster-like aura.
“What’s the deal with those people?”
“Kui Ye brought them on board. He said the trip was booked four days before departure.” The captain’s attitude was deferential. He reported only the information he had, not saying a single word more.
The other person grunted. “Are they being watched?”
“Same as always, we have people watching them, but they haven’t come out at all. This morning, Kui Ye sent someone to say he wanted to have some cargo brought aboard. I didn’t agree, so he came to talk to me personally. He said someone had approached him wanting to trade for a formula, and this cargo was a batch of raw materials. Once we get to Wendeli and the goods are delivered, they’ll give us a trial batch.”
“Do you think it was a spur-of-the-moment thing or planned in advance?”
Placing that useless piece of trash, Kui Ye, here was just a smokescreen to divert attention. Just think, a ship used by nobles to entertain guests, one that would let a good-for-nothing bring people on board for a fee—how could it possibly be used for such a confidential matter?
Every person he brought aboard was watched like a hawk. At the slightest unusual movement, they would be dealt with after disembarking.
However, up until now, everyone who had used this useless oaf’s connections to get on board had been well-behaved and caused no trouble.
The captain hesitated for a moment. “It looks like it was planned in advance.”
That idiot’s smug yet restrained expression made it clear he thought he’d found a way to make a secret fortune. After the captain’s firm refusal, he even brought up his older brother. Only after being rejected again did he reluctantly reveal the truth.
But the man opposite him was thinking more deeply. “Did you check it? Was it just cargo?”
“Just cargo.”
The man pondered for a moment. “Did you know something happened on Hading last night? A viscount died.”
The captain’s expression turned grim. “Are you saying…” He pointed in the direction of Kui Ye’s quarters.
“Not necessarily.” The man frowned. He had come from Hading, and when he saw these people board, he thought they were picking up a person, which was why he had become suspicious.
The captain grew worried. He held the title of captain, but in reality, he had to listen to this man. He couldn’t afford to offend Kui Ye, let alone this master of the arms smuggling operation.
And if you can’t afford to offend someone, you naturally have to shift the blame.
“This… will it affect us…” he began, his voice trailing off as he put on a worried expression.
“Alright, stop acting in front of me.” The man sneered, feeling a bit more relaxed. “What’s there to be afraid of? He was just a viscount on Hading Planet, and one with no backing at that.”
The captain gave a sycophantic smile and said nothing. Who didn’t know how to play the coward?
Since it was just cargo and not a person that came aboard, it mattered even less. “Keep an eye on them. Report any unusual activity.”
Ji Changqing and the others remained perfectly behaved until the ship landed on Wendeli. After disembarking, they headed straight for the exit of the den of extravagance, making their way to a casino they frequented with practiced ease.
Accompanying them, besides Kui Ye and his trembling quartet, were six men who looked like capable fighters, under the pretext of being bodyguards.
Kui Ye’s eyes lit up at the distant sight of the casino. Now, standing at its entrance, he was even more excited, completely forgetting himself. “How about we go play a few rounds together later?”
The six bodyguards glanced at him sideways. The one who looked like the leader reminded him, “Kui Ye, business first.”
“What business?” As soon as Kui Ye entered a casino, he couldn’t even remember his own ancestors. He declared with great authority, “My business is to go inside and play. You guys handle everything else.”
Ji Changqing went along with him, making a swift decision. She said to the leader of the bodyguards, “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Nankong was just as decisive. He grabbed Jixin, and together they pushed the container holding He Qingzhi. “We’ll go deliver the cargo first.”
Ji Changqing nodded and casually told them to be careful. She then firmly pulled the six bodyguards with her, lowered her head as if looking at her comm, and recited a number. “The item is stored here.”
Saiweiyala played along perfectly, mimicking the gesture of looking down at her comm for information. “You guys remember the password.”
Kui Ye and the trembling quartet nodded frequently. Exactly, you handle the business, we’ll just play.
Dragged along by the seven of them, the six bodyguards could only watch as Nankong and Jixin disappeared from sight.
What could they do? It was obviously a setup to prevent them from following.
Besides, they were frequent visitors to Wendeli and knew who was behind this casino. It was a grand magus who had a purely transactional relationship with the Empire, with no personal ties. Seeing how familiar these people were with the place, they had their suspicions and could only go with the flow and stay behind.
The casino’s storage area was protected by multiple layers of security wards. It was self-service; the staff inside were merely guards. You used the locker number to get a ward pass at a designated spot, were escorted to the location, and then opened the locker yourself with a password.
The leader of the six bodyguards thought for a moment. “Alright, you come with me to get the item. The four of you, stay with Kui Ye.”
He had been sent here not only as a bodyguard but also to sound out Ji Changqing’s group. In his eyes, everyone except Kui Ye was part of the same crew. They couldn’t follow Nankong and Jixin, so they might as well leave a few men to watch the remaining six.
Ji Changqing pretended not to notice and followed the excited Kui Ye into the casino with Saiweiyala.
A casino is a place where it’s easy to lose your senses, especially when your companion, and your nominal employer, are enthusiastically promoting it, constantly egging you on, and generously sharing the profits. These men were in a business that could get them beheaded; they weren’t exactly upright soldiers and certainly didn’t possess the integrity to be uncorrupted by wealth and unbent by force. Being constantly cued by everyone, their resistance grew weaker and weaker.
Gradually, they started to think, Hey, we’re just bodyguards and hired muscle. Inside a casino on Wendeli, our personal safety is clearly guaranteed! Besides, our official job is to protect Kui Ye and facilitate the transaction. The boss has gone to pick up the goods, so we just need to stick with Kui Ye—if anything happens, Kui Ye can take the fall.
So, since they were already here, why not play a round? It wasn’t their own money, anyway!
However, they still maintained a degree of vigilance, using a rotation method so they could gamble without interruption while ensuring someone was always keeping an eye on Kui Ye and Ji Changqing’s group.
But as they played, the man whose turn it was to keep watch found he couldn’t tear his attention away from the gambling table. He devoted a little too much focus to the game, and when the round ended, he habitually glanced up in Kui Ye’s direction, only to realize that there seemed to be fewer people.
He jolted, his mind instantly clearing. He quickly pulled away from the table and walked toward Kui Ye, scanning the area as he went, confirming that two people were indeed missing.
And yet, Kui Ye seemed completely oblivious.
“Kui Ye, where are they?”
“Who? They’re over there, playing.”
“Two of them are gone.”
“Oh,” Kui Ye said dismissively. “They went upstairs to a room to rest.”
The bodyguard’s face instantly darkened, and his tone became less polite. “Why didn’t you say anything when they left, Kui Ye? If something goes wrong, we can’t take the responsibility.”
“What’s that got to do with me?” Kui Ye finally managed to tear a sliver of his attention away from the game. His eyes widened in genuine surprise as he looked at the man. “I just gave them a ride. I took the money, I did the job. I connected you for a deal, and you went to get the trial goods. How you negotiate from here, what kind of deal you make, and whether it succeeds or not—none of that has anything to do with me, right?”
His face was full of astonishment, as if to say, “I’m just the matchmaker. Am I supposed to guarantee you a son, too?” For him, as long as he had the antidote, it didn’t matter if Ji Changqing ran off or not. He couldn’t afford to offend either side anyway.
The bodyguard shot him a cold look. A single useless teammate like him was worse than three god-tier opponents. He quickly notified his brothers that two people had left, telling them all to stop playing and keep a close watch on the remaining four. He also told them to look around and see if they could find the missing pair.
But in his heart, he knew it was most likely impossible.
By this time, Ji Changqing and Saiweiyala had already successfully rendezvoused with Nankong and Jixin, who had rented a small hovercar, and were speeding away. After leaving the commercial district, they took advantage of the complex terrain of high mountains and lofty ridges to shake off their tail. They quickly switched to a small, stealth-capable aircraft and flew toward a location they had secretly scouted during their previous stay on Wendeli.
The aircraft soared above the clouds, and the unfiltered sunlight shone down on them, so bright it seemed to bake away some of their gloom.
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
But the sigh was only half-finished when they heard Ji Changqing issue a devil’s warning: “Everyone, this is as far as my arrangements go. What happens next will be mostly up to luck and a little bit up to skill.”
The easy part was over. From here on, it was all hardships and obstacles.
Nankong was just about to open the container to give the quiet sleeping beauty the antidote and an inhibitor injection.
Hearing her proudly declare that the future was bleak, he couldn’t help but smile.
“No matter. If there are obstacles in the path, we simply flatten them.”
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