Chapter 101
Chapter 101: You Want to Dissect Jiang Tea Tea? Fine—Go Tie Her Up
Chong Ming folded Xia Wei Yi’s report and held it in one hand. His golden eyes flashed as his voice dropped into a cold, stern register.
“Minister Lu. Put that excitement away.”
Minister Lu froze. The joy drained from his face like ice water dumped over his head. He took a step back and stood rigidly at attention.
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming’s gaze pinned him in place.
“Minister Lu—judging by how ecstatic you were just now, how were you planning to treat Jiang Tea Tea?”
Minister Lu’s throat worked. He couldn’t lift his head under that stare.
“Commander-in-Chief, I… I didn’t—”
Chong Ming cut him off. “I don’t like lies dressed up as polite detours.”
Minister Lu’s scalp went numb. Xin Yi, standing off to the side, squared his shoulders and spoke instead.
“Reporting, Commander-in-Chief. Jiang Tea Tea has awakened a mutant plant-type psychic power. The rank is no lower than 5S, possibly as high as 10S.”
“Such a talent doesn’t exist in the Zhen Lin Empire—honestly, she’s unique in the entire galaxy. I believe we could cooperate with Director Li Ao at the Ability Institute and put her into a planned, systematic research program.”
“Her mutant ability is too special. If we discover the pattern behind it, we could cultivate this mutation artificially. Once we can reproduce it, the whole Empire’s ability users would benefit.”
“Every ability user in the Empire suffers ability backlash and mind sea collapse—every year, every day, every hour. If we can solve that, it would be a tremendous good.”
Chong Ming’s voice lowered, dangerously calm.
“So what you mean is… don’t let her off this ship. Send her straight to the Ability Research Institute. Onto a dissection table.”
Minister Lu still didn’t raise his head. “Commander-in-Chief, the Empire has hundreds of billions of citizens. High-level plant-type healers are far too rare—far too rare.”
“If sacrificing one person could benefit hundreds of billions of beastfolk… she could be remembered for all time. And you would be praised and sung about by the people.”
Chong Ming’s golden eyes sharpened into ice.
“What a phrase—‘sacrificing one person.’ I didn’t realize my most trusted subordinate was so comfortable deciding someone else’s life and death, ignoring her will, and sending her to an anatomy table… all so I could be ‘praised by the people.’”
“Minister Lu, you’ve disappointed me.”
Minister Lu’s body went rigid. A chill crawled from his soles to his spine. “Commander-in-Chief, I—”
Chong Ming stepped forward. The sheer weight of his presence forced Minister Lu to retreat again and again, trembling.
“Jiang Tea Tea didn’t just awaken a plant-type ability. She also awakened blink shift—high-speed movement. She can even breathe freely underwater without equipment.”
“She is my chosen, most valued candidate for future Commander-in-Chief.”
“And you’re telling me you want to drag her into the institute and put her on a dissection table to decode her mutant ability so others can benefit?”
His tone turned razor-edged, mocking in its clarity.
“Or how about this: I lie down and let you study me. You can decode why I have four ability types. Once you’ve ‘figured me out,’ you can artificially cultivate that, too. Let every other ability user awaken four abilities. How does that sound?”
Minister Lu looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. “I’m sorry, Commander-in-Chief. I… I’ve never seen someone like her. I got excited and lost my head.”
Chong Ming studied him like he could see through skin and bone.
“Minister Lu, you fought through countless battles to earn your post as head of the Medical Department on my flagship.”
“I thought you were a man of iron will—a man who held to his original intentions.”
“But right now you look bewitched. You see a treasure and instead of thinking, ‘This treasure should shine where it belongs,’ you wrap greed in pretty words about ‘what’s best for her’ and ‘what’s best for the nation.’ You want to cut her open to see what she’s made of—then find a cheaper replacement.”
“Go back to the Medical Department and hand over your duties. Once the ship reaches the capital planet, you will leave my flagship and report to the tenth star system—Posei Star.”
“Use that time to remember where you lost the heart you once had as a healer.”
Minister Lu’s voice shook. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Anyone allowed near Chong Ming had been tested endlessly—background checks for five generations, no stains tolerated. Minister Lu had risen from among countless candidates, earned Chong Ming’s trust, and become his most capable medical officer.
And yet, what he’d said today—what he’d thought—wasn’t what a healer should say or think.
Li Ao’s constant messages had poisoned his judgment. He’d let himself believe that sacrificing Jiang Tea Tea was “for the nation,” “for the people,” “for the Commander-in-Chief.”
It was madness.
Chong Ming continued toward the canteen, then stopped midway and called, “Adjutant Ai.”
Adjutant Ai crossed the distance in two strides and stopped behind him. “I’m here, Commander-in-Chief.”
“Cut off all funding and ongoing projects for the Ability Research Institute. Tell Director Li to take a vacation.”
Chong Ming’s eyes were cold. “Also tell him Minister Lu has been transferred off my flagship. He should watch himself.”
Adjutant Ai answered crisply. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Chong Ming paused, then added, “Notify the chief engineer in charge of mecha repairs. Have him prepare all body-measurement instruments. In half an hour, he’ll report to the canteen.”
“Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
*
The largest canteen on the ship had several long tables pushed together. Over thirty people sat in two rows while dish after dish arrived.
Jiang Tea Tea and Sui Xuan Chu were both familiar with this place—one came often, the other had been here twice already—unlike the others, who stared at the food like they’d never seen anything so tempting.
Especially Huang Da Zhuang, the puppy beastfolk.
He looked like he’d stepped in the luckiest pile of dog shit in the galaxy. Eating with his idol? He could die happy.
Leaning crookedly, eyes sparkling, Huang Da Zhuang stared at Jiang Tea Tea with pure canine devotion.
“Sister Tea, thank you! Because of you, I get to get close to my idol—more than once!”
Jiang Tea Tea tilted her head, amused. “Didn’t you say you weren’t a fan of him anymore? You said you only like me now.”
Huang Da Zhuang scratched the back of his head and grinned like an idiot. “I’ll stay a fan for one more day. After we finish eating, I won’t anymore.”
Cheng Xiao Ting and Ju Que nodded along. “Right, right! Sister Tea, we’ll stay fans one more day. After today, we’re done.”
“This is someone else’s territory. We have to show respect. Otherwise, how are we supposed to survive in the legion later?”
Across from them, the only 4S-rank white dragon beastfolk—an adult male—let out a contemptuous snort.
The air around the table snapped tight.
Cheng Xiao Ting and the others turned toward him at once, voices sweet with venom.
“Senior, are you coughing? Throat bothering you? Drink some water—moisten it up. If that doesn’t help, hurry to the Medical Department. Don’t delay treatment.”
“Yeah, Senior. This is the Commander-in-Chief’s ship. The Medical Department here has the best equipment and healers in the Empire. If you’re unwell, go get checked after the meal.”
“We’re all Empire citizens, right? Cadets. You’re second place, we’re first place—under the Commander-in-Chief’s mental pressure, it’s easy to get injured. Don’t pretend you’re fine and end up with a real disease.”
Jiang Tea Tea leaned toward Cheng Lin Yue and murmured, “What’s going on? Why are they being so snide?”
Cheng Lin Yue lowered her voice. “That one is Bai Mu Yuan—Airborne Command Academy, command combat department, fourth year. A 4S-rank white dragon male.”
“In the competition, we killed one of their white dragon clan members from a fifteenth squad. After we got crushed by the Commander-in-Chief’s mental pressure and bled from every opening, the Medical Department treated us.”
“After that, they started hating us and taking shots. Especially Bai Mu Yuan—he said we’re sneaky liars who tricked other people into slitting throats, just to make sure they got no points and got eliminated.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “So his clan mates and classmates couldn’t accept losing, complained to him, and now he’s here to avenge them.”
Bai Mu Yuan’s pale eyes slid toward her.
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t fear Chong Ming’s mental pressure. She’d awakened a mutant plant-type psychic power. She was also the runaway first-place winner of the 30-school military academy championship. An outstanding female like her was worth him lowering his pride, putting on a gentle face, and offering “favor.”
“Jiang Tea Tea,” Bai Mu Yuan said smoothly, “your teammates misunderstood me. My clan members and classmates aren’t sore losers. They just think they died unfairly.”
“I’m not here to make trouble for your teammates. I simply want to exchange contact info—so we can spar and learn from each other in the future.”
“Your teammates thought I was looking down on them, that I wanted to pick a fight. But the truth is, I most want to be friends with you.”
He stood and flipped open his Lightbrain, waiting with confident certainty for her to scan him.
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t move. “Sorry. My Lightbrain is broken. I can’t add contacts.”
“Broken? What a shame,” Bai Mu Yuan said, edges sharpening. “Then let’s talk about something else.”
“Jiang Tea Tea, you awakened plant-type psychic power at 3S rank.”
“I’m 4S. My teammates are mostly 2S and 3S. We have single-ability users, double-ability users—everyone suffers ability backlash and mind sea blockage. We can’t find a good healer.”
“After this meal, there’s still time. Name a price. If you can calm our backlash and clear our mind seas, we’ll pay whatever you ask.”
Cheng Xiao Ting and the others were already fed up and ready to explode, but one look from Jiang Tea Tea stopped them cold.
Jiang Tea Tea smiled at Bai Mu Yuan. “So you’re saying if I treat you, I can name any price, and you’ll pay?”
Bai Mu Yuan lifted his chin. Confidence was etched into him. “Yes. Name it.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s smile turned syrup-sweet.
“Thirteen of you. One billion star credits each. Thirteen billion total.”
“Tell me how you want to pay. And you handle the taxes yourselves. I only accept full cash. No collateral, no installments, no payment plans. I don’t take any of it.”